What do these three amazing ladies have in common apart from being on the cover of Holistic Bliss? Answer: They are local women with a passion for plants and herbs. Whether it be helping or educating people, they are unique in how they work with nature’s treasures.

Trijntje Reilly

When you visit Trijntje Reilly’s clinic ‘Middle Path’ and home in Maleny, it’s like stepping into a lush, botanical haven. Trijntje and husband Dr Fergus Reilly are committed to making a difference in people’s lives, they are world leaders in weed medicine and impart their knowledge and send their medicinal herbs all over the world.

Trijntje is a fountain of knowledge and wisdom with years of experience as a Naturopath, Herbalist. She is also passionate about her unique one day detox program which involves three spring water colonic irrigations, health assessment and regime, medicinal herbs and rest. Trijntje grows a lot of her own herbs and 90% of the tinctures are made at her home. People often refer to Trijntje as the ‘Weed Lady’ as she is an expert in all aspects of edible weeds. She says that at least eight of the weeds she uses specifically assist in treating over 100 ailments each. Trijntje mentions that weeds (nature’s medicine) can remove heavy metals and will replace what is missing in our diet. Interestingly, weeds will come up in various places in the garden balancing and providing nutrients to the soil. Trijntje educates people about the real truth about common weeds.

She says, “In many ways we are like plants; when we are given the right nutrients, we are vital, but if we don’t, we wilt, go yellow, and die.”

Trijntje’s tips for spring:
The following edible weeds are great for spring: chickweed is abundant now and is fantastic for eliminating fats in our bodies after eating stodgy, comfort foods in winter.  Yellow dock is growing everywhere and is a blood purifier and energizer. Plantain cleanses the system and draws out poisons from the body. All herbs are available from Trijntje in conjunction with a face to face or online consultation. Her medicinal herbal teas are available online as well as pictures and information about the weeds.

Trijntje and Fergus have also launched CyberSayer, an online conversational oracle, based on their revolutionary development in man - machine communication technology called iESP™. This allows a computer chip to act as an antenna to tune into a person’s energy field providing accurate insight into their prominent concerns.

www.middlepath.com.au
www.cybersayer.com

Vivienne Coleman

Vivienne Coleman is a woman on a mission, but a timely tree change (after a full life in politics on the Sunshine Coast), led her in a ‘leafier’ direction.  Vivienne and her partner Mike Middleton bought the Ninderry Nursery in 1992 and later created an eco retreat and organic café on the property at Ninderry Cove. Vivienne is passionate about her work and offers people an holistic way of creating healthy gardens.

For many years she says our westernised approach to gardening has been engineered rather than observing how the natural world operates. She believes that this has resulted in gardens which, “look good but have no real function.” Vivienne says, “I’m trying to educate people that a garden is an extension of our lifestyle. It’s a place to play, entertain and renew our spirits rather than just something that looks good from the outside.”

Vivienne describes herself as an enthusiastic gardener and educator. “There are hundreds of natives that have a purpose and the last few generations have become disengaged from the natural world and there is a real longing that people don’t even understand. I work with the vision that people have for their gardens and also impart my years of knowledge,” she says.  

It’s a real joy for Vivienne to discover that her customers have been able to get out and do some gardening themselves. Some have never been in the garden or watched a plant grow. “Gardening is an incredibly creative process, it’s like a work of art and you can engage with it forever. When people reconnect with nature it sings to them in a way they can’t articulate fully and they don’t understand it but it’s very healing. If we want our souls to be fed, it’s the natural world that feeds our souls,” she says.

Vivienne believes we need to live more sustainably and we can do a lot on a local, micro level. She says that we can prepare for the big changes that are to come that will ultimately take us back to where we started but with more wisdom about our connectedness. “Nature provides us with everything,” she says.

Viv’s tips for spring:
Healthy gardens are like healthy bodies and healthy soil is like a healthy body. So this is the time to focus on your soil, to mulch and give the soil organic goodies. Spring is also the perfect time to plant!

www.ninderrynursery.com

Miriam Young

Miriam is a gifted, holistic practitioner and medical herbalist who specialises in natural fertility management and detoxification programs.

Originally from the UK, she has treated people with a range of aliments from all over Australia as well as overseas.  Through the use of pure plant herbal medicine, she has assisted people with their recovery from serious illnesses and prevented many from undertaking invasive surgery.

Miriam has a practice in Doonan and has just started seeing clients at Andrea Bicket Acupuncture (a natural fertility clinic) in Maroochydore.

Miriam says more and more couples are starting a family later in life, so there is a huge demand for information on natural fertility, and this is an area where herbal medicine can be of great assistance. “Herbal medicine is very effective in the treatment of gynaecological complaints in women and acupuncture alone increases the chances of a woman falling pregnant by 45%,” she says. Miriam adds that natural fertility management is about looking at the health of the prospective parents and helping them to identify the ‘right time’ of the month to be making love to increase chances of falling pregnant. Herbal medicine increases sperm levels as well as the health, movement, shape and number of sperm and for women it helps increase oestrogen levels and ovulation. It’s progesterone that will maintain a pregnancy and herbal medicine can assist in this area as well.

Miriam says the liver and kidneys play a big role in fertility, so liver and kidney detoxification is very important. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it’s the kidney energy that feeds the whole reproductive system.

So if the kidneys are weak or toxic, then there will not be enough chi (energy) to fall pregnant or for the foetus to grow. So acupuncture and herbal medicine can help organs to function well.  Miriam also assesses the level of emotional issues which may create barriers to falling pregnant.

Miriam says, “For healthy pregnancies, healthy birth, healthy babies, and a healthy breast feeding experience you really can’t go past herbal medicine and acupuncture.”

Miriam’s tips for spring: Work towards being alkaline…swap coffee for green tea or white tea. Avoiding coffee also takes the burden off the liver. For couples trying to conceive, be aware that if a woman’s mucus is too acidic, sperm won’t be able to swim through it and therefore conception will not occur. Fertile mucus is alkaline.

www.detox4life.com.au