Harmony in Health: Recent Episodes
Harmony in Health Team
In our series of Harmony in Health podcasts we explore harmony principles with guests and team members, suggest ways in which our listeners can introduce more harmony into their self-care, their self-development and their community, and try to build our network of harmony in health practitioners.
What and how is it helpful to eat in the winter time for our overall well being? How does this depend on our 'type' and on what conditions or illnesses may be around? In this podcast, recorded as a live event with an audience, Dr Eleni Tsiompanou shares her knowledge of Ayurveda and the teachings of Hippocrates as well as delicious recipes and practical advice for helping our systems thrive throughout the winter.
Foods have the ability to harm or heal us. In this episode Julia Outlaw and Dr Eleni Tsiompanou talk to Natasha MacAller, ex professional ballet dancer and now renowned author and chef. They discuss the health benefits of particular herbs and spices, share the process of developing recipes and connect about the joy of eating! Includes recipe suggestions for improving mood and attention.
With spiralling mental health issues in young people and increasing eco-anxiety, how can connecting to nature play a role?
In this episode we hear from three young people with a passion for nature and all that it can offer. They discuss personal experiences in nature, their choice of career, and share their thoughts on sustainability; an insight into the role nature has in young people finding harmony in themselves and in the world.
Talking to Julia Outlaw from Harmony in Health are:
- Bobbit Benjamin-Wand, (age 26), Youth Programme Delivery Officer at the London Wildlife Trust
- Andrew Dixon, (age 26), Zookeeper and Young Advisor at the London Wildlife Trust
- Jazzie Peffly, (age 20),Physical Geography Student at King's College London
How does our environment affect our wellbeing? In particular, how can 'precious spaces' be created in schools that offer children and adults space to be themselves?
In this episode, Julia talks to Dr Emma Dyer, an educational adviser who works with many schools, psychologists, therapists and children, assisting in the creation of supportive environments. They discuss what makes a helpful space, the need for safety for learning and the importance for children to be comfortable and to move.
Given current architectural and political constraints, there are still many practical solutions and ideas possible.
Many people recognise that they feel better when spending time in nature. Why is this and how can this connection with nature be nurtured?
In this episode, hear perspectives from three women who work in different ways connecting people to nature: Leah McNally (London Wildlife Trust), Liz Ware (Silent Space) and Esther De Groot (The Really Green Gardener).
They discuss how nature can help wellbeing, touching on topics of diversity, access, creativity, sustainability and young people, as well as acknowledging the balancing balm that nature is for themselves and others.
Bartosz Nowakowski, theatre director, shares some rich lessons from his work with actors, young people and struggling communities.
Techniques involving rhythm, connecting with the body, coordination and simple presence, he says, can provide a path to deal with the experiences of life - creating confidence and trust.
Here he discusses with Julia Outlaw some of his insights from connecting with actors, Bosnian refugees, teenagers and prisoners - and what it takes to feel good with ourselves, and then with others.
We all feel better after a good night's sleep but sometimes events in the world, or in our own habits, can make this elusive. In this episode, team members Julia Outlaw, Dr Eleni Tsiompanou, Dr Hanna Poikonen and Dimitra Makarona discuss different holistic approaches to better sleep including our natural rhythms, ayurvedic teachings around diet and natural herbs. They share what helps them rest in the day and practical tips to improve sleep quality.
Harmonious cooking is about far more than calories or superfoods. There are many health benefits available to us - physical, mental and emotional - from cooking and eating.
In this episode, members of the team discuss different aspects of cooking and harmony, including; comfort food, community, diversity, the gut microbiome, cooking as making music, and the magic of the act of cooking itself. They share favourite foods and recipes, tips from ancient wisdom and personal stories of how cooking can heal.
At this time of the year, the end of harvest, nature is rich with changing colours, temperatures and fruits. It calls us to turn inwards and prepare for the winter.
In this episode, members of the Harmony in Health team offer a rich hour celebrating Autumn and its relation to inner and outer harmony. They discuss autumn movements and smells, nutrition, foraging and herbs for this time of year, and some traditions from across the world still celebrated today. They share poetry, offer seasonal journaling prompts and finish with a beautiful simple song for the harvest full moon.
Music has the potential to bring people together and can make a huge contribution to our practical exploration of harmony.
In this episode, Julia Outlaw talks to team member Sara Khoroosi about her work with music in the community: with children, displaced people, professional musicians and complete beginners. They explore how to create space for freedom of expression, the richness that comes from working towards a performance and how to find harmony in difficult situations.
Foraging has been gaining in popularity as people recognise the benefits of living more harmoniously with nature. Of course, it used to be a way of life for many.
In this episode, Konstantinos Tsiompanos shares his gentle wisdom and experience as environmental educator, forest school teacher and lover of foraging in a conversation with Julia Outlaw in which they touch on many related projects including; foraging for health, supporting refugees in western Greece, permaculture, medicinal herbs and mushrooms as well as ideas about how to forage harmoniously.
Hippocrates, the renowned physician from Ancient Greece, is often referred to as the Father of Medicine. Although his contribution to understanding the causes of and treatment for all sorts of illnesses (including airborne diseases) was vast, many of his theories on health have been forgotten.
In this episode, Julia Outlaw talks to Palliative Care consultant, Ayurveda practitioner and expert on Hippocrates, Dr Eleni Tsiompanou, uncovering many of these hidden gems and guidelines for coming back to health. They discuss different diets for different types of people, seasons, natural exercise and more, exploring the holistic nature of Hippocrates' teachings and how we can use these to take responsibility for our own health today.
Julia Outlaw talks to Gaiea (aka Gabriella Burnel) about her life-long study of the Sanskrit language, with its strong associations with Vedic Mantras, chanting and healing.
Gaiea will also perform some mantras to give a taste of the extraordinary power of language.
This is a trailer for our exciting Harmony in Health event on June 20. Details and booking on Eventbrite.
Julia Outlaw talks to presenters Anne Andenaes and Malgorzata Jablonska about the Summer Solstice in Norway and Poland. Ruth Routledge of Mind and Voice tells us about her work and will teach us a seasonal song on June 20. A new presenter for Harmony in Health, Toral Shah, talks about the importance of circadian rhythms and seasonal food. She will cook something live at the event later this month.
Julia Outlaw talks with fellow team member Anne Andenaes, ex-competitive swimmer, aromatherapist and teacher of natural movement, about her fascinating early life leading to working with movement and the senses in Norway in a highly individualistic way.
Harmony team member Julia Outlaw, herself a Long Covid sufferer, discusses this condition and the impact of our course with two women who are navigating their path back to health with us.
Here are some quotes from the podcast, on Ayurveda, natural breathing and other ways to help restore balance.
- I'm understanding more the idea of working with my body and am getting to know what might help me heal
- The Ayurvedic input on nutrition is another really helpful element.. I am cooking with more spices now.. and more warming foods
- I've been concentrating on allowing the natural exhale after the breathing session; my breathing, my voice, everything, has improved quite significantly over this last week - just from that little snippet
- It's very inclusive, it's very gentle - it's about taking things at your own pace - taking what works for you.. but there's so many gems, so much input there - and encouragement. something for everyone.
- ...finding ways to rebalance yourself and moving forward not only to healing with long covid but beyond that to a more balanced life.. yes quite transforming
When we were developing our Harmony in Health team, we were very keen to include people from the world of theatre. Anyone who has read Stanislavski or Grotowski, for instance, knows that in their training actors explore mind and body in a profound way. The Harmony principles of interconnectedness, interdependence, diversity and adaptation - for example - are crucial in a theatrical production. Performers can experience both different states of consciousness and the freedom to "play" within boundaries. Theatre researcher and doctoral candidate Małgorzata Jabłońskatalks to Julia Outlaw about this fascinating subject.
Julia Outlaw discusses this fascinating topic with team member Dr Hanna Poikonen. Hanna is a dancer, neuroscientist and the founder of the WiseMotion method.
The microbiome is central to contemporary discussions around gut health and the immune system, but is only part of the complex ways in which mind and body interact. Neuroscience is no longer limited to a study of what happens in the brain and is increasingly investigating the pathways of communication between mind and body which were once, thanks to Cartesian dualism, thought of as very separate entities.
Julia Outlaw discusses the benefits of singing with Harmony team member Ruth Routledge (mindandvoice.com). Particularly during the current crisis singing can be of enormous benefit as a way of connecting with people - even over Zoom - and as a subtle form of therapeutic exercise affecting lungs, heart-rate, the parasympathetic nervous system and emotional wellbeing.
Some of our team members discuss what to expect in the forthcoming Harmony in Health Long Covid Support course, which begins with an exploratory workshop on Zoon on 25 March (sign up on Eventbrite).
Julia Outlaw, who herself contracted long Covid over a year ago, talks to:
- Dr Eleni Tsiompanou (Nutrition, Ayurveda, Hippocratic Medicine)
- Dr Eva Bojner Horwitz (Professor of Music and Health) and
- Dr. Hanna Poikonen (Dancer and Neuroscientist)
Members of our Harmony in Health team met to discuss how to develop a support programme for sufferers of long covid, based on Harmony principles; i.e. focussing on building strength and resilience in the "bodymind" as a whole rather than focussing on specific symptoms.
This meeting was not planned as a podcast but the discussion was so interesting that we have decided to publish it.
The outcome of the meeting is that we are running a free pilot event on 25 March at 3:30pm (GMT). This will be followed by a course running over a number of weeks, the content of which will be modulated by feedback from the pilot event.
More details at www.harmonyinhealth.org/longcovid.html
The seasons are part of the cyclical nature of life on Earth, and human beings have found different ways to be in harmony with them. In this podcast we explore winter traditions - particularly from Norway, Poland and Persia - with some of our multinational team.
"Fascinating Rhythm - You've got me on the go!"
So said George Gershwin in his inimitable way....
This podcast on Rhythm is a stand-alone event but also a taster for our upcoming Zoom workshop on the same theme. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rhythm-tickets-140368071681
"Rhythm is omnipresent. There is something seductive about it. Rhythm is organic and has been with us from the beginning, because it is our heart beat that accompanies the creation of life." Bartosz Nowakowski
"How does the brain detect rhythmical patterns? How does rhythm create a sense of community?" Dr. Hanna Poikonen
"Rhythmic structures in music vary across cultures, so we thought to share with you a selection of Syrian, South Indian (Carnatic) and Aboriginal rhythms in this workshop." Sara Khoroosi
Some of our Harmony in Health team members exchange on how they view Harmony - in particular in relation to the self.
In this, our first episode, team member Julia Outlaw talks to Richard Dunne, the education lead at the harmony project. Richard has 30 years teaching experience and was headteacher of an Ofsted graded outstanding school for 18 years. His work in redesigning a curriculum around nature’s principles of harmony has already begun inspiring the next generation of teachers and children, with the approach to learning already in place in several schools across the UK.