There are not many people who will have escaped some form of the ‘dreaded lurgy’ at this time of year. Even the most resilient immune system is bombarded with airbourne viruses and bacteria - during commuting with the person spluttering near you; at work with the office colleague sneezing germs and touching shared equiptment all round  you; from school either from attending or from nursing a sick child; in the doctors waiting room with all the other people suffering – the possibilities of exposure are endless and numerous.

In an attempt to help protect the family from this exposure I use a mix of essential oils sprayed on our clothes. As our body heat warms the clothes the oil evaporates encapsulating us in a protective haze of therapeutic aroma. The oils we use in our family are eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender. They are fairly mild oils, inexpensive and easily available from most chemists and health stores. I keep all of these oils in our first aid kit at home and often burn them to kill any airborn germs in the house and office. (Please note, the links above are to give futher reading about these oils if you wish to know more. I strongly advise you check with a qualified aromatherapist before ingesting any essential oils and if you are pregnant or have health concerns, always discuss with a registered therapist and/ or your GP before use.)

Viruses cannot replicate and multiply on their own so have become one of the ultimate parasites. They invade and highjack the cells in our bodies and turn the machinery of our own cells, their host, into factories that make multiple copies of the virus. Hiding inside our own cells they keep churning out multiple virus particles that go and invade more cells and so the cycle continues until our immune system kicks in and eventually wins the battle with less serious viruses.

It is worth remembering there are viruses which the body finds more difficult to defeat and some like HIV and Hepatitis C, continue to wreck havoc in our bodies and even target our immune system to make it harder to fight off other infections.

It is easy to see that prevention is really better than cure when it comes to viruses. There are a number of things you can do to make it harder for the virus.

* Wash your hands regularly and especially after touching door handles, handrails, etc. Do not touch your face with your hands or rub your eyes. Clean hard surfaces regularly to kill germs.

*Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and/ or sneezing, using a tissue. Throw tissue away quickly and safely.

* Get plenty of rest. There is some evidence to suggest that people getting less than seven hours sleep are more susceptible to all kinds of illnesses.

* Taking Vitamin C regularly, not just when you feel a cold starting, is said to reduce the likelihood of catching viruses and speed the recovery for those taking it.

*Be extremely careful who you share bodily fluids with. Even kissing can pass on viruses and when it comes to the more serious ones, make sure and have safe, protected sex.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE

Have you noticed how the days are definitely getting longer and you can already see the buds on the trees? Spring is not far away. I love this time of year with everything getting ready to burst into life. I am lucky to live very close to an organic lavender field and look forward to seeing the purple haze creep through the foliage over the coming months. I am posting a picture I took on a stormy day last summer in the Mayfield lavender field near Woodmansterne. At one time there were miles of lavendar fields in the South East of England and with development these have all but disappeared. Find out if there is one in your local area or travel to see one this summer. Just walking through the purple lushness makes you feel good.

A new year…a new decade, a good time for reflection.

Professionally, reflection is an important part of my self-development as a healthcare practitioner. It is something I dreaded as a student osteopath because I was never really sure what was required of me. Now fully qualified, I really enjoy the process and feel free to indulge myself as I can set my own schedule and directly see the benefits not only to my patients but to me as a therapist.

On a personal level, I have always enjoyed self-reflection, especially as a new year approaches. It may well be part of my Scottish heritage as growing up, the dawning of a new year was a time to make changes, let go of the past and move forward onto future plans with new hope. Of course, the transitions were always well lubricated on both sides of the Bells and washed down by a few ‘Hair of the dog’s‘ in the following days.

I do miss being in Scotland for Hogmonay…bringing in the bells, going ‘first footing’, always plenty of parties on New Years Day and of course, the people. Still a bit of a traditionalist in some ways, I always make sure and ‘let the old year out and the new one in’ straight after kissing everyone and wishing them Happy New Year. Standing at the door, I take a few moments to remember our absent family and friends and raise a glass to them and a smile.

January 2009 saw the passing of a great musician and one of my personal favourites, the legend John Martyn. For those that do not know his work, here are a couple of links for you to check out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOi_wxypeGc (shows him in his youth with the cherubic face and angels voice) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR2uSWmlSHI (shows beautiful visuals with one of his classics playing) I hope you enjoy them.

What a successful year 2009 has been with their fifth studio album and a sell out tour for my favourite band The Prodigy! I went to see them play at Brixton Academy and my only disappointment was that I could not take my daughters with me as it is an 18+ venue. After the smaller venues, the band played a massive arena tour and are still gigging round the world finishing at a mammoth venue in Milton Keynes Bowl in July…which we all have tickets for of course;-) Other bands I have enjoyed this year include Florence and the Machine - she sort of reminds me of one of my idols Siouxsie Sioux; The Dead Weather and of course the success of Rage Against the Machine becoming the UK Christmas No. 1 and toppling the X Factor winner…priceless!

February 2009 saw a sporting hero of mine retire, Joe Calzaghe. Joe had an amazing career and retired as Britains only undefeated world champion boxer with a record of 46-0, 32 by TKO. He was also the longest reigning world champion boxer of the modern era and deserves to be celebrated as one of the best British sportsmen of his time. I was surprised to see him take up ballroom dancing on Strictly but quite glad that his stay in the show was relatively short.

I was delighted to see lots of progress in the world of women’s combat sports in 2009 with women boxers being approved to participate in 2012 Olympics; Lucia Rijker, one of my favourite women fighters, was deservedly voted into the world boxing Hall of Fame and we saw the first MMA show with a female bout as the headline. When I first became involved with the sport of womens boxing back in the 90’s these days seemed so far away. It is a pleasure to see how far women have succeeded in being taken seriously in this arena.

There is still work to be done however. I saw an interview with the UFC President Dana White where he made comments which demonstrated he is no expert in the world of MMA as he has failed to notice the likes of Cris Cyborg Santos and a host of other great female fighters and is refusing to let women fight in the UFC. Not only did his ignorance disappoint me, it infuriated me too as he exhibits the kind of predjudice that has typically held women athletes back for generations…shame on you Dana! Fortunately UFC is not the only MMA organisation, so props to Strikeforce for being openminded and making it happen.

2009 saw some great match ups and included seeing my fave MMA fighter George St Pierre defend his world title twice and show his critics the amazing athlete he is. Lyotos Machida knocking out Rashed Evans in his first loss was a shocker but the best bouts involving Rashed in 2009 were those between him and Rampage Jackson on the most recent Ultimate Fighter series where they were both coaches. Rashed got right under Jacksons skin and the resulting tantrums Jackson threw reminded me of Elton John on steroids but with more humour. I look forward to seeing these two in the ring one day soon.

My KO of 2009 might shock a few people. I am generally the girl who always supports the home fighter but 2009 saw a first for me…I wanted a British fighter to lose?!? The fighter I am referring to is Michael Bisping and while initially I thought he was cocky and a little arrogant, his behaviour on the Ulitmate Fighter series where he was coaching against Dan Henderson left me less than impressed. I found myself supporting Henderson in the lead up to the fight and hoped by dishing Bisping a big slice of humble pie, not only would he learn some humility but maybe even become a better fighter in the process. Only time will tell how the KO will affect Bisping but I list it as my favourite KO of 2009.

So what plans do I have for 2010?? Well I fully intend this to be a fun-filled fabulous year. As well as putting time into my business, I want to focus on getting fitter again and that is going to involve a lot of work. For me the best way to do it is to keep it fun and hence my main New Year Resolution is to dance more and make sure it happens at least on a weekly basis. I can thoroughly recommend this form of exercise to anyone. I have links to places where you can learn on this site…go on be good to yourself…you know you deserve it!

I would like to share a quote from Andrew Carnegie with you. It is certainly something I have noticed to have truth in my experience and backs the statement that actions speak louder than words.

“As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”

Peace, love and unity. All the best to you and yours for 2010