Tabla de contenidos para Issue 14 en WellBeing Wild

As I put this issue together, I found myself thinking a lot about how I approach life. Do I dance my way through it, do I stumble, do I spiral? I’ve landed on all of the above. We might not have control over the wild, unpredictable world that we live in, but we do have control over how we choose to live our lives. I like to live a vivid and full life. A life of spontaneity, calculated risks, and late-night dancing. A life of compassion, justice and planet preservation. A life where I choose to love and be loved. But to live this way, to choose these things, means I must also accept discomfort, pain and uncertainty. I’m a mum, which means there is a walking, breathing, cheeky blond…

Emma Diaz is no stranger to discomfort. As a performer, the Sydney-based actress best known for her role in the 2021 feature, Friends and Strangers, has put her body on the line, studying everything from the Suzuki method to ballet to butoh. They all require immense physical commitment and — perhaps more importantly — a desire to meet oneself at the edges of one’s comfort zone. Her passion for the local arts scene has seen the actress stay fluid in her contributions, stretching from creating opportunities to chasing them. As a producer, she’s worked independently as well as for acclaimed theatre companies, all while continuing to secure roles in TV programs like After the Verdict, Bump and Pieces of Her. But it’s perhaps her willingness to reflect on her own…

Some say ignorance is bliss. But when it comes to knowing your risk factor for a brain condition like Alzheimer’s disease, would you want to know? Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that causes a decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills; it accounts for 60-80 per cent of dementia cases (dementia is a term for the group of symptoms). According to Dementia Australia, there are more than 400,000 Australians currently living with dementia. Without a medical breakthrough, the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to over 800,000 by 2058. Alzheimer’s disease is caused when a protein called beta-amyloid builds up in the brain forming sticky plaques, which can cause brain cells to die, resulting in loss of function and memory. It isn’t known for certain why some…

Do you recall the moment you were first interested in natural health? Throughout my teenage years I really struggled with chronic tonsillitis and fatigue. Rotating rounds and rounds of antibiotics, the cycle continued and eventually I became sick of how unwell I constantly felt. Looking back, I feel like I missed out on so many fun experiences because of exhaustion and fear of becoming sick. I decided to seek an alternative solution and met a wonderful naturopath on the Gold Coast. Through simple dietary and lifestyle changes in conjunction with herbal supplements, my life was changed within two short weeks of beginning treatment. After noticing results so quickly, I continued the treatment plan for around six months as I healed my body. This healing experience excited me so much that…

When, where and why did your love for skin and body care first begin? From childhood. I was raised by a vegetarian mother and we often spent our time in health food stores. I have vivid memories of her wearing face masks and having a love for all things natural. We were the original hippies from the ’70s — nature focused, with a constant supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s still in my family today. We would never eat processed foods filled with preservatives and chemicals, and I feel the same way about skin. What does a typical day look like? I’m not proud of this and I’m trying to improve my morning ritual, but I basically wake up and start putting out fires. It’s hectic and full on…

For 30 years, Australian natural skincare brand, Natio, has harnessed the powers of aromatherapy. When founded in 1993, it took a considerable time to convince customers that “natural” had significant and long-term benefits for skin. Today, the natural skincare industry has boomed and customers are more receptive to natural, trusted ingredients backed by science. Aromatherapy practices have been used worldwide for centuries. Tell us more about the power of aromatherapy. My dad, Max Ross, founded the Natio brand in the early ’90s inspired by the principles of yoga and meditation. He understood that our sense of smell could assist with alleviating pain, improving mood and increasing relaxation. When Max created the Natio brand, he knew he wanted to instill this belief in his products, so he founded the Natio Aromatherapy…

Did you know you spend an average of one-third of your life in your bedroom? As the healing heart of your home, your bedroom should be a sanctuary to which you retreat for calm and rest at the end of the day. While you may think you have created the perfect bedroom for your aesthetic needs, have you ever thought about optimising your space to boost your wellbeing and quality of sleep? Many of the items we have in our bedrooms can actually sabotage sleep, so if you’re craving a great night’s sleep follow my tips for a bedroom “detox”. Digital detox Eliminating electronic devices from your bedroom can be game-changing. The combination of blue light, stimulation of the mind and distraction from listening to your body’s sleep signals can…

The drawcards of solo travel are strong. Visiting places on your own terms, at your own pace and relying solely on your own decision-making can be an empowering life lesson. But as liberating as travelling on your own can be, it can also be a lonely and sometimes isolating experience. As a travel writer, I have done my fair share of solo travel and have experienced both the liberating and lonely moments. What I’ve learnt is that solo travel does not, and should not, mean you’re on your own all the time. In fact, solo travel is at its best when it offers you the opportunity to forge meaningful friendships and connect with people you might not otherwise have come across in your everyday life. I make a conscious effort…

Non-Fiction You are Not Alone CARIAD LLOYD, BLOOMSBURY Grief is part of the human experience, yet one that is so rarely comfortable to talk about. In You Are Not Alone, writer, comedian and podcaster Cariad Lloyd explores how our discomfort with grief has become engrained in our culture, and explores new and more open discussions around grief. Personal anecdotes from the guests interviewed on Cariad’s Griefcast podcast are scattered throughout, as well as frank and sometimes painfully honest stories of her own journey through grief (Cariad lost her father to cancer when she was 15), all stories that serve to remind readers — as the title suggests — you are not alone. This book is a roadmap for anyone who has ever felt lost in the emotional fog of grief…

Tasmanian wilderness Hi WILD, I bought your magazine as a trusty companion for a road trip through Tasmania. It has been somehow uplifting yet grounding and has left me feeling romanced, enlightened and empowered. I’ve tried my best to put in words what makes me feel wild: “Wild is outside my comfort zone. Wild is throwing myself into whole-body experiences and knowing that I’ll be enriched because of it. It is spontaneous purchases of fresh seafood to cook on a dodgy camp stove. It’s the all-encompassing tired after a long day of exploring, slightly sunburnt and fully exhausted. It’s the pings of gravel against the caravan down a dirt road through a forest. It’s the broad expanse of sky and sea view when you emerge from the vegetation to the…

When I flick through my weekly calendar, a kaleidoscope of colour emerges in my mind. Monday is painted in plum, Tuesday takes on a lime-green tint, Wednesday appears in deep ocean blue, and at the end of the week, Sunday presents a creamy, buttery yellow. No, I haven’t just taken a psychoactive drug. I have synaesthesia, a rare neurological trait in which the stimulation of one sense activates another, unrelated sense. For me, my perception of numbers, letters, words, and even music, are intrinsically associated with specific colours, transforming my mind’s eye into an ever-changing painter’s palette. The word synaesthesia is derived from the Greek words “syn”, meaning together, and “aesthesis”, meaning perception. Colour associations are just one way the senses can be involuntarily cross-wired. Scientific studies have identified more…

Thrashing around in a mosh pit while a heavy metal band screams at you might not sound very chill, but for fans of the genre, it can be extremely therapeutic. So says Australia’s kings of metalcore, Parkway Drive, who have performed at some of the biggest metal festivals in the world. In an interview with ABC’s Australian Story, lead singer Winston McCall describes heavy metal as being incredibly cathartic. “It’s the place to let out all of these repressed feelings,” he says. “What do you think most people are doing when they’re in the mosh pit just losing their mind and throwing their limbs around and jumping on each other? They’re not trying to hurt anyone. They’re just, [letting] it out. And then you walk out of that venue better…

We’re on a path to eating less meat globally, for human health, the planet and animal welfare. It’s been nine years since the culture-shifting documentary Cowspiracy went viral; the WHO now officially classes processed meats as carcinogenic and animal agriculture is firmly part of the climate change debate. There are more vegan meals on menus, more plant-centric restaurants and more meat-free options available in supermarkets. Vegan is not the dirty word it was 10 years ago. I would know; last year marked a decade since I first went vegan. I’ve weathered a lot in those 10 years, including a boyfriend’s parents not accepting me because I didn’t eat animals, and a day in South Africa where my food options were barbecue kudu sausage or nothing. I’ve also learnt a lot.…

Wild Drinks by Australia’s top fermentation expert, Sharon Flynn, contains everything you need to know about infusing, brewing and fermenting delicious drinks. Across six comprehensive chapters, you’ll learn the basics of wild fermentation, the equipment you need, tips and tricks, as well over 60 recipes. In it, discover drinks made from grain including farmhouse sake, wild beer and kvass. You can also enjoy recipes for wild apple cider, country wine and wild soda as well as crowd favourites like kombucha, mead and ginger beer. On your journey, you’ll reduce waste and use fermentation by-products in recipes for crackers, pancakes, risotto and more. The how-to guide Wild Drinks is a perfect jumping-off point for anyone who is curious to learn more about the magical world of brewing and fermenting your own…

Have you ever peered into the mirror after an especially big night out and recoiled at the sallow, lifeless reflection staring back at you? You’ve probably had a case of hungover skin (along with the head-throbbing, nauseating real thing). According to Sylvia Crouch, founder of Brisbane-based cosmetics clinic Angel Aesthetics, drinking is one of the worst things you can do for your skin and those margaritas you guzzled are sure to show on your face the morning after. Lacklustre skin is the result of alcohol-induced dehydration. Can good skin and a few drinks ever mix? Sylvia enjoys a glass of wine like the rest of us and she has some safeguards that can protect your skin against the worst of the boozy damage. Alcohol will never do good things to…

Slim Aarons: Style by Shawn Waldron and Kate Betts, published by Abrams, distributed by Thames & Hudson Australia, AUD$120.00, available now.…

I expected motherhood to be less inevitable for millennials like me, but reaching my 30s, it’s like I missed the memo. I’m seen as a unicorn or an alien. I’ve come to see myself as “other”, not mother. Yes, (gasp!) I don’t want kids. I have no idea what my friend Liz means when she describes her “fluttering ovaries” (seriously, what are those?!). In fact, I’ve never felt the desire to be a mother at all. When my school friends fantasised about baby names, I would roll my eyes; the idea of growing a baby sounded more like a sci-fihorror show than something I would willingly pursue. Studying The Handmaid’s Tale in Year 8 English cemented my conviction to enjoy a life kid-free. I’m not convinced it’s our ovaries, pulsing…

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art I’m obsessed with Saxon Quinn’s work. He creates symbolic, playful art that shares meaningful motifs and mischievous humour. You can skip ahead to page 34 to learn more about the talented artist. book Style by Slim Aarons is my new favourite coffee table book, and my home just feels more stylish because of it. Style showcases the photographs that both recorded and influenced the luminaries of the fashion world. It features early black-and-white fashion photography, as well as portraits of the fashionable elite. You can check out Slim’s work on page 78. moment I recently spent a week in Tasmania for my brother’s wedding. The location reflected raw, rugged beauty like I’d never seen before. We celebrated love, saw penguins, drank mulled wine, laughed by the fire and danced…

Long before we had tracking apps, nature provided a natural reminder of the ebbs and flows of our menstrual cycle. The moon’s phases and the season’s shifts can be a helpful metaphor to describe the changing emotional and energetic space we experience during different menstrual windows. Instead of looking at our periods as a frustration, we can build supportive practices around the natural flow of our bodies. Bringing an awareness to your inner seasons can help you shift your schedule and health practices to a more supportive alignment. When you examine your body more closely, you can better schedule times for rest, expansive tasks, physical challenges and so on. How you nourish yourself during your different phases can impact how you will experience each season, and you don’t have to…

Over the last decade, the beauty industry has seen a surge in the popularity of cosmetic injectable treatments, such as Botox and dermal fillers, along with complex, chemical-driven skincare formulas. On the flip side, the “clean” beauty movement has gained momentum, making it clear that consumers are looking for alternative solutions when it comes to supporting ageing confidently and naturally. While cosmetic injectables certainly deliver results, these procedures do come with associated risks, ranging from poor cosmetic outcomes to, at worst, blindness or skin cell death. Likewise, “toxic” ingredients in skincare may have an adverse impact on your wellbeing. According to studies, you can absorb over 60 per cent of the ingredients you apply topically to your skin, the body’s largest organ — meaning the products can penetrate through the…

We spend approximately one-third of our lives sleeping. For the average person, this equates to around 26 years spent asleep; that’s 9490 days or 227,760 hours. We also spend a whopping seven years trying to fall asleep (much more if you suffer from insomnia). In total, that’s a staggering 33 years spent either asleep or trying to sleep. Given these figures, it’s clear to see how important the biological function of sleep is to our wellbeing. Sleep is essential for many vital and significant functions, including cellular growth and repair, development, energy conservation, clearance of toxins from the brain and body, cognition, balanced hormones, modulation of immune response and your psychological state. It’s no surprise then that the quality of your sleep is key in maintaining optimal health. The good…

If you have ever stood in front of a mirror and told your reflection you love it, you might be familiar with the sense of idiocy that washed over me as I faced my bathroom mirror, searching for a scrap of authenticity in the words I had just spoken. If only self-love were that easy. The words felt contrived, and not at all “me”. I wanted to love myself, but I probably wasn’t going to find it within some cookie-cutter wellbeing exercise. Self-love is perhaps the greatest love of all, but it’s also the hardest. There was a time when my high standards proved to be a powerful engine; they got me to where I wanted to go, but self-flagellation only gets you so far. That engine of doubt will…

I have finally arrived. I take a deep breath in and look around. The waves at Mollymook beach are gently breaking against the rocks, the sun is shimmering on the water and I spot an eagle soaring through the pink sky. I take another deep breath in and this time, I arrive in my mind. I reflect on the planning it took to make this two-day wellness stay in Shoalhaven happen. My toddler is with his doting grandparents, my work schedule is clear and my phone is turned off. I have officially clocked off all duties. It’s time to soak up everything this self-curated getaway has to offer in one of Australia’s most untouched wellness regions. Finding focus First up, I head to Life Centre Holistic Health in Bewong for…

Do you stare up at the cosmos each night, wide-eyed in awe at the mystery and magic it holds? Evolutionary astrologist Amber Harkin reveals what your stars are saying. Aries March 21–April 19 Aries, this season is full of fire! It will be an energising time for you as you learn how to sustain your momentum. This period kicks off with both Venus and Mars creating a dynamic pulse straight to your Sun. Feel into the creative potential and be with the exciting opportunities that may present themselves in the form of love, romance, passion projects and social opportunities. Invest in the things that light up your soul, rather than drain and exhaust you. It’s an important time to ask for what you want and need, because later in the…