Our Journal

The spring equinox this year occurs on Saturday 20^th March, a time when day and night will be of almost equal duration and which marks the first day of Spring.

It is a day to celebrate the revival of life after a long cold winter and when our focus shifts from the internal to external, from preparation to action. It is a time of rebirth as we see with the eggs hatching and birds returning from their migrations.

At Bedstraw + Madder we too are preparing for new life in our much-anticipated launch of our GMD basic range of plant dyed underwear.

We sourced the finest super soft unbleached GOTS certified organic cotton and biodegradable elastane whilst ensuring the perfect comfortable fit for our brief, Brazilian and thong.

Our babies are now ready to fly in the coming weeks in 3 beautiful plant dyed colours to support your nether regions in more ways than one! 

With every season comes change and the clearest sign of abundant health and vitality is our ability to adapt to it and maintain balance as we move from one to the next.

So, in addition to wearing natural plant pigments next to your skin what else can we do to keep our body in balance at this time of year?

Try some of these solstice rituals to help you feel aligned and ready for the year ahead.

Support your gut health

After a starch and often meat heavy winter, it is time to lighten up your meals with spring greens, fresh juices and spices of ginger and turmeric to increase circulation and to aid detoxification. Try water or milk kefir for the best probiotic support, drink bone broths and increase your intake of fibre in the form of fresh herbs, pulses and beans.

Love the skin you’re in

As the largest organ of your body, and a key organ for elimination give your skin some TLC. Do your best to support sweating with regular exercise or saunas and encourage the natural oils to tone and moisturise. Take care to eliminate any chemicals from getting on there and avoid wearing polyester.

Out with the old, make space for the new

This doesn’t just apply to your wardrobe or house. Let go of friendships and lovers that are no longer serving you and allow space for new ones to come into your life.

Smudge the corners of your rooms with sage and plant new intentions for your spaces.

Sow Seeds

This time of year, is a time to sow seeds with our actions, our visualisations and to start planting real seeds in the ground for future food or beauty to enjoy.

Ease the Hayfever

Don’t let hayfever get you down. Tackle it naturally by increasing your Vitamin C intake and drink infusions of elderflowers, nettles and peppermint.

Movement

Don’t be tied down to exercise routines that are not enjoyable. It is essential to move your body to allow your body to eliminate the toxins it has built up over the last few months. Find some rituals that bring you joy and increase your heart rate at the same time. Skip, run, hoopla hoop in a pair of our knickers, make love but make sure it makes you smile.

Happy Spring Solstice

x

While winter was a time to conserve our energy stores and slow down, spring is traditionally a time of growth, renewal and new life. It is also a time to cleanse, re-energize and re-evaluate, to make plans for the coming year.

We famously spring clean our homes but what better way to start the year than paying the same attention to our bodies.

In traditional Chinese medicine the organs associated with spring are the liver and gallbladder and it’s these we need to help at this time of year.

Nature assists us in this process by providing bounty all around us. The young nettle shoots picked and infused in hot water act as a diuretic on the kidneys and stimulate the liver to release toxins.

Or dry the nettle tops and powder them down to create a mineral rich sprinkle that can be secretly added to soups, porridge and smoothies.

The cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage that we love to hate actually contain antioxidants such as glutathione which assist in removing toxins as well as alkalizing an over acidic system.

As well as good nutrition, Homeopathy a gentle form of complementary medicine can assist this process too; by stimulating your body’s natural ability to heal itself and regain balance.

It works on the principle of “like cures like” - that is, a substance that would cause symptoms in a healthy person is used to cure those same symptoms in illness.

Two key remedies to help with detoxification are Nux Vomica and Sulphur. They both have symptoms of irritability, sluggishness and an increased sensitivity to their environment, all of which indicate an overburdened system.

Taken alternately 6c on a waning moon (a time when elimination happens more easily) for a couple of days can help remove impurities by cleaning all your organs of elimination - your bowel, kidneys, liver and skin.

Due to a high carbohydrate intake over the winter months digestion can slow down which can cause toxins to be reabsorbed back into the blood stream. A traditional herb originating in India called Triphala can be taken twice a day before meals which can reduce bloating and speed up the digestive process.

This time of year is notorious for colds which we love to moan about but these are in hindsight vital mechanisms for clearing out rubbish from the lymphatic system, just good house keeping.

We like to keep a few essential oils in our first aid kit should we feel the onset of a cold coming or to support the cold as it throws out toxins from your system. Black pepper and eucalyptus are fantastic for this and can make breathing a little easier.

Toxins and particularly heavy metals are a huge part of our life now as they infiltrate the water we drink, the fish we eat and the air we breathe. Keep some chlorella in your cupboard as it is excellent for supporting the removal of these heavy metals from the system by absorbing the metal ions onto its surface . For a spring fix try 1 gram mixed with water up to 3 times a day and used over the period of a month to compliment the spring cycles. 

Spring is literally the time, like nature we should be blooming so if you don’t feel that way it may be a sign to take a look at your lifestyle habits and make some positive changes. One step at a time.