Press: Winter Wellness — my feature on Earth Mama Aromatherapy’s blog.

Eliza from Earth Mama Aromatherapy is a dear friend of mine. She creates handmade products with pure essential oils with a special focus on motherhood and parenting. She recently interviewed me for her blog, we spoke about wellness tips for the cooler months, rural living and music.
Eliza has kindly let me share the interview on my new blog!

Meet Alice Haddy. Certified naturopath, musical goddess and all around sweetheart. I've known her since primary school, where she was effortlessly cool with her flowing locks and handmade cowrie shell jewels.

More recently, Alice has been based in Adelaide, SA, where she led a busy life studying and zipping around to venues and weddings to serenade folks with her angelic voice.

Nowadays, Alice is back living in her hometown of Streaky Bay, running her own naturopath clinic and enjoying a slower pace of life. Grab yourself a cup of plant mylk matcha, curl up in the winter sun and read on to learn more about this gorgeous girl and her top tips on staying healthy in the cooler months.

Hello lovely Alice. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. In a few potent words, tell me about yourself

Thank you for having me on your beautiful blog! I’m a naturopath (Bachelor of Health Science) and musician from Streaky Bay. I went to high school and studied my degree in Adelaide but have just moved to Streaky Bay to establish a wellness clinic on Wells Street. I work with clients one-on-one in a clinical setting to formulate and achieve health goals. I love herbal medicine and nutrition and find it so rewarding to gently support the body back into vitality with small changes based on naturopathic principles.

Along with being a naturopath, you're also a talented musician with an angelic voice. You've played at hundreds of weddings, gigs and venues. What do you love most about performing music, and what are the biggest challenges?

Oh my gosh, that’s very flattering!  I miss playing music, at the moment I’m having a massive dry spell obviously due to the coronavirus. I think I needed a little break but now I’m ready to swing back into action. I’ve bought a lot of recording equipment and have set up a home studio in the flat out the back of my home, so hopefully I can start to make my own music again. 

My favourite thing about it is how universal music is. Not many people don’t enjoy listening to music, and I’m such a music fan. It’s nice to be able to add atmosphere to a venue, I like to be able to contribute to the environment whether it's a wedding or a pub! 

I have learnt to love playing at weddings, but at the start I found them incredibly stressful. This was probably my biggest challenge at the beginning. I found I put a lot of pressure on myself to have everything perfect because its someones big day! I‘ve definitely fallen in love with this type of gig now though. I enjoy being a part of the frame work of a wedding day, I’ve got to make friends with some other incredible suppliers and venue staff and I’ve learnt the flow of a wedding day, so I definitely love the atmosphere of a wedding.

You have recently relocated from Adelaide to the small town of Streaky Bay, where you grew up. What are you loving most about living back at 'home’?

It’s been such a blessing to have a few solid months at home in Streaky Bay. I was hesitant at first as I’ve somehow hardwired myself to live a fast paced lifestyle. The last 4 years I’ve either studied or worked as a musician 6-7 days each week, hence this has been a necessary slow down, I was dancing on the boarder of burnout! 

One of my favourite things about living in Streaky Bay is the jetty pool, I’ve been trying to swim every other day, even when it's cold. The fresh air and close proximity to the sea is something I quickly take for granted so I have to remind myself how precious this untouched coastline is. I’m also loving spending quality time with friends, we’ve had a lot of fabulous cups of tea and dinner parties making clay creations and reminiscing.

What are your favourite self care practices?

I love to dry skin brush each day before I shower. It's a great way to activate the lymphatic system and draw out stored waste from the tissues.

I also love to hop in an infrared sauna any chance I get (e.g. a cheeky morning sweat before Splendour when I’m in Byron Bay). I have just invested in a sauna for our clinic space for the community to use, its set to arrive in August, I’m counting down the days.

My favourite self care practice of all is probably my night time routine, I have just got my hands on some CBD oil from a dear friend, so I take that, set my diffuser on my bed side table and read. I’ve started keeping my phone charger in my living room so that I’m not tempted to check it before I go to sleep. I'm really trying to practice what I preach with sleep hygiene techniques.

Tell me more about CBD oil. Why do you take it and what are its key benefits?

CBD oil is the refined constituent of Cannabidiol and it has benefits like minimising anxiety, relieving pain, it is neuro-protective and there is some mounting evidence that it may be beneficial for blood sugar management. 

I personally take it to add a sense of calmness to my evenings. I’ve been using it for a few months and I’ve found it incredibly helpful with my hormone balance. I was blown away with the fast results I saw in myself.

I understand that you use essential oils, both in your home and your clinic. Tell me more about when/how you use them, and what impact they have on your well-being.

I adore using lavender before bed, I sleep so well each night I have it diffusing in my bedroom.

We learnt a lot about volatile oils and their therapeutic uses in a class about the pharmacology and pharmacognosy of herbs. I find essential oils very interesting especially their effects on mood and cognition, I used rosemary oil on my wrists before most exams (that’s probably how I managed to memorise the Latin names of each herb). 

I use tea tree oil frequently in clinic for skin creams that have antiseptic and antibacterial requirements.

Yes, it's such a powerful antibacterial. What are your top winter wellness tips for staying healthy and vibrant in the cooler months?

The immune system is often what struggles the most in the cooler months. As much as it’s not a pleasant experience it can actually be beneficial to the body to get a seasonal cold or flu each year as a little tune up and to keep our immune processes functioning. Though if you are experiencing prolonged symptoms or recurrent infections this is a sign that your immune response is lacking.

I like to utilise functional nutrition as much as possible, so relying heavily on vitamin C (citrus, red capsicum, strawberries) and zinc (pumpkin seeds, oysters, chickpeas) rich foods are important. As well as this, getting just 10-15 minutes of sunshine each day plays a huge role in a healthy immune system. Vitamin D is an underrated nutrient in terms of its importance in immune modulation, bone health, mental health and hormonal balance. 

What is your favourite nourishing dish to cook on a cold winter's night?

My mum has an excellent veggie patch so I love sneaking up to her house to pinch some organic veggies. I throw them in the slow cooker with some of Louis Fuller’s Liquid Gold bone broth and let that slowly bubble all day. I’m very excited for winter as I’ve been craving a warming Kitchari, I’m going to make a big batch this week. My favourite cookbook Intuitive Eating by Jana Brunclikova has the best one! She shared the recipe with Vogue Australia.

Finally, where can my readers learn more about you and your offerings?

I have a brand new website launching very soon, but until then you can find me on Instagram and Facebook for wellness tips and nutrition inspiration. 

Our retail space is located at 40 Wells Street and we are open 12-1pm Monday to Thursday or by appointment. Pop in for an organic chocolate treat and a chat.