The Healing Power Of Nature With Emma Drady

You're listening to Women's Dream Enlightenment.

Dream decoding,

Deep discussions,

And spiritual stories of self-discovery to inspire your personal enlightened journey.

I'm your host,

Megan Mary,

Founder of Women's Dream Analysis.

Let's bring in the light.

Welcome.

Today we have Emma Drady.

She is a women's health naturopath and writer based in Sydney,

Australia.

She supports women and their families internationally to work towards achieving their optimal health through the use of natural medicines.

Thank you for being here today,

Emma.

Thank you.

It's my pleasure to join and have this wonderful chat with you.

Yes,

I am so excited to have you here today to talk about a number of things.

I want to hear all about what led you to do the interesting work that you do,

How it helps women,

How it's different,

And also how that plays into all of your other interests.

I think this will be really interesting.

Yeah,

Me too.

My favorite topics.

All right.

So my first question that I like to ask everybody,

Because I think everybody has a different answer and I feel like it really sets the stage for the conversation,

Is what does enlightenment mean to you?

Enlightenment means to me,

I think it means a lot of things to me.

But the first thing that sort of comes to mind is sort of that freedom from suffering and discontent that many of us experience regularly and that aiming towards a more peaceful existence and that would be in our heart,

In our health,

In our mind,

And for our future as well.

And I think it would be a goal that we're working towards to alleviate ourself from some of that suffering.

And of course,

As humans here on Earth,

That experience is part of being a human.

Suffering is something that we can't escape,

But I guess sitting in that less and allowing it to release and to go back to peace as often as we can.

So yeah,

I think that to me is what enlightenment means.

Yes,

I love that.

Wouldn't that be great if we just had more peace and less suffering?

That would just be in our minds and bodies,

Because it's all connected.

And when our body suffers,

Our mind suffers,

And when our mind suffers,

Our body suffers.

It's a reciprocal thing.

And you talk a lot about gut health on your blog,

And I feel that that is crucial to your mind being optimal.

Yes.

Talk a little bit about how you work with that in your practice.

Yeah,

Absolutely.

So I know that a lot of naturopaths,

And I think even the modern medicine community is really understanding how gut health is really the seat of a lot of our health woes in this modern world,

Because I think because of the way that we have essentially treated our bodies,

And that is usually the things that we're eating,

The things we're ingesting,

Giving ourselves the time and the space to sit and enjoy our meals.

And so that has caused a lot of gut disturbances.

And so in my practice,

What I do is I really help people come back to balance through the use of really mindful practices around eating,

Informing them a little bit more about what healthy food really is,

Outside of all the restrictive diets.

I'm definitely not a big fan of the restrictive diets and following rules and counting calories,

Measuring things,

That kind of thing is just creating more stress.

And so I prefer teaching people a little bit more about mindful eating and intuitive eating and the foods that are going to be beneficial for them.

And that changes a little bit throughout our life and even as women throughout our cycles.

So that's a really big component of gut health.

And then also,

I love diving into the microbiome,

Which is the bacteria,

The parasites,

The viruses,

The fungi,

All of the things that live inside the gut that are essentially another organ for us humans.

We all have,

I think it's about two or three kilos worth of microbes living in our bowels.

And so they do so much for us,

They process hormones,

They detoxify for us,

They help us break down our food.

And then of course,

When it comes to the mind,

They are also helping us produce neurotransmitters,

So things like serotonin,

Which is our feel good hormone.

So if we're a little deficient in certain microbes,

We can be deficient in some of those actions as well.

So we can't break our food down as well.

We might get hormone imbalance,

A buildup of toxins.

And then our mental health also tends to be the brunt of that too.

So the way that I do that is often through testing to see what's actually happening in there,

What the balance is like.

And then there's so many beautiful tools that we as naturopaths have to help with that food,

Certain fibers,

Certain probiotics,

And lots of beautiful herbs as well.

So gut health is a big topic.

I could talk about it almost all day.

But yes,

It really is the seat of a lot of our health.

And if we have a good gut,

We often have good health.

Yes,

It is our second brain and that dysbiosis can essentially cause dys-ease.

So let's talk a little bit about how you came to do the work that you're doing.

What was your enlightenment journey like?

And was there a pivotal moment where you went off your existing path and went down this path?

Yeah.

So like a lot of kids in high school,

I just had no idea what I wanted to do.

I moved around a little bit in my teenage years.

So I had been to about four different high schools.

And by the time I got to my last one,

I was a little bit sick of it,

To be honest.

And I just couldn't wait to finish.

And I just wanted to get out there and make some money.

So I went out there and worked in the corporate field.

I did a degree in business.

And I thought that was my path.

And I was happy to just make money and live this lifestyle of party hard on the weekend,

Work hard during the week and save a bit of money and travel whenever I could.

And that was the path that I was going down for a really long time.

And then in my sort of mid 20s or maybe early 20s,

I started to practice yoga.

And yeah,

Something really shifted within me when I started to attend those regular classes.

And I got a little bit hooked,

A bit addicted to the yoga classes.

And I was going almost every single day.

And the teacher that I had at the time was an elder.

She was not your typical yoga teacher that we see these days,

Who's fit and doing headstands and wearing the latest active wear.

She was in her 60s and really wise.

And a lot of the postures she didn't even do herself.

She just talked through them and really delved into the philosophy behind yoga.

So that was my initial introduction.

And I got really,

Really interested in exploring the behind the scenes of just the yoga postures.

So that's where my sort of spirituality journey began through meditation,

Through reading the Vedic texts and that side of things.

And then and that kind of flowed into the rest of my life.

And the trips that I started taking were really different to what I did before.

I used to go on a summer holiday to Europe and party or to a party island and just lay in the sun and have cocktails with my friends.

And then from that introduction of yoga,

Things changed.

I went to India,

I went to yoga retreats,

I would spend time in Nepal hiking.

And it was on one of those trips that I found myself in Sumatra,

Which is a really beautiful and interesting island in Indonesia.

And while I was there,

I had a psilocybin journey.

And it was a really powerful and strong journey.

And there was this moment where I was sitting,

Watching the sun set over this beautiful lake in a place called Denatova.

And I just realized that I wanted to change my trajectory and I wanted to help people.

And I just knew in that moment that everything was going to be different for me.

I was almost finished my business degree at that stage.

And I think I had one semester left.

And I came back and was just about to quit and thought,

No,

This is not what I'm going to do.

My mom talked me into finishing that degree like all parents would.

But I knew,

As soon as I graduate here,

I'm doing something different.

This is not my path.

And then I stumbled across Netropathy through the beautiful science of medicine called Ayurveda,

Which is the traditional Indian medicine that often goes hand in hand with yoga.

That was really where my eyes were opened to a different way of helping people in a one-on-one setting.

And yeah,

Then the journey began from there.

Wow,

You really had a lot of travel and enlightenment going on in that.

I love that story.

It's great.

So what are the common misconceptions about what you do and how is what you do different from traditional Netropathy?

Yeah,

So I guess in Australia,

To be a naturopath,

We have to do a four-year health science degree.

So lots of study,

Lots of science,

Lots of facts and information,

And a lot of really heady sort of topics.

And so if you want to practice as a naturopath here,

You have to graduate with that degree and you have to have that scientific health background.

But in terms of what really brought me into Netropathy,

Wasn't that.

It was the traditions and the beautiful long lineages of herbal medicine.

That's what really drew me in.

And so I did the degree like I had to,

But the way that I practice is I prefer to use things like herbal medicines and lifestyle medicine.

And lifestyle medicine can be just helping people live more in alignment with what's going to help them.

And that could be waking up earlier,

But going a bit earlier.

It could be exposing your eyes to natural light in the morning.

It could be putting a filter on their water if they live in the city.

It could be taking your shoes off and getting out in the grass more often or slowing down or saying no more to the rush,

Rush,

Rush,

Do,

Do,

Do kind of activities that we're all doing.

So that's a really big component along with the herbs.

And of course,

I use pathology and testing and I use everything that is still backed by science.

But I think that's just a bonus.

The science to me is just a happy bonus because I think herbalists throughout history haven't had that scientific evidence and yet the medicine has always worked.

So I prefer to practice in that way,

But that's not to discredit other naturopaths in the way that they practice because they get beautiful results and there's a different practitioner for every person and you've got to find the right person for you.

So I'm not everyone's cup of tea,

But I don't think I should be either.

So yeah,

That's a little bit about how I practice.

But yeah,

In comparison to other naturopaths,

Even other naturopaths that I work with in the clinic that I currently work out of is really different.

So yeah,

We're all really different.

And we talked a little bit the last time about hindrances when trying to help clients and them looking for a quick fix,

Thinking that it's just going to,

You're just going to take this herb and then everything's going to go away.

Talk a little bit about those roadblocks.

Yeah.

So this is such a hot topic and I feel really strongly about this.

And I try to let all of my patients know from the get go that this is not going to be a one session,

One herb all fixed within a day or two experience.

What the purpose of our sessions really is,

Is trying to work out what actually caused your main concern.

We don't just get,

Say,

For example,

A breakout of acne on our face for no reason.

There's always something that led to that,

Whether that was something in the diet,

Whether it was long-term stress,

Whether there was hormone imbalance or a million other reasons why we could get that breakout.

So we could technically just do topical things to make the skin look more beautiful.

But the point is that we're trying to work out what was the cause and then to either support that cause with the use of herbal medicine or diet and lifestyle medicine.

But also that comes with a lot of behavior change as well,

Because if you're someone that we get to the point where we realize it's something that you eat really regularly or something that you do really regularly that's causing that breakout,

That's the thing we need to change.

And that's not usually something you just do once and it's fixed.

That's a long-term behavioral change.

And so naturopathy is absolutely something you have to come to when you're ready and you have to take that first step of just coming to the appointment.

But you've also got to be ready to take the next step as well.

And I think that can be a longer journey for some people.

It can be a lifetime's work.

It could be a matter of months,

But it's absolutely going to be more than just taking herbs once and the problem is fixed.

Yes.

And I find there's so much overlap there with dream work because you have to be ready to come to the table for that and to do that dream work.

It's not just one session isn't going to tell you everything you need to know.

It's going to start you on that journey.

That's part of the reason that people look to the quick fixes and look to the dream dictionaries and try to figure out,

Okay,

I'm just going to figure this out myself.

I'm just going to look up this one symbol or this one thing and see what it means.

And it's not going to mean that same thing for you.

And you're going to miss that introspective piece that's necessary to actually accomplish the change that your dream wants you to achieve.

And so I think that we're both working up against those misconceptions,

But we need to encourage people to take that first step because in the long run,

The benefits are profound.

It's just know up front that it's not a quick fix.

One thing fixes all type situation because life isn't that way.

It continues on other challenges present themselves.

In your case,

You continue eating,

You continue with your lifestyle,

You continue with your situation.

And that all feeds into the mind,

Body,

Spirit connection.

Our emotions have such an effect on our health.

And of course,

Your dreams are based in emotion,

Very emotional.

So having that awareness is the key starting point for healing,

Whichever modality you're using.

I have.

Yeah.

And I've always found the concept of a dream dictionary really interesting because I think we've all come from different backgrounds and different lifestyles and things mean different things to each of us.

And to look in a dictionary and what does a what does saying a fox in a dream mean?

It's going to be something different to someone who lives in the city,

To someone who lives in in the rural city setting that sees boxes all the time.

So it's yeah,

It's really interesting.

And I guess that's sort of somewhat similar to an atropathy in the sense of people often want what herb is going to make me feel X,

Y and Z.

And that's just it's that's not the way we can't we we can't really prescribe that way.

Of course,

There's herbs that can make you feel less bloated or make you or help you go to sleep.

But that's not that's not the root cause of what's happening.

So,

Yeah,

I think they are really closely linked.

And the root cause,

What you said is so true.

I think that you have to get you have to get under the hood.

You know,

The dreams are buried way deep in the subconscious and whatever they are trying to tell you about,

Which could be your health or your career or your relationships or just your path in life is is cryptically masked in the puzzle of your dream language.

And so working with that is such a personalized experience.

It's such a customized approach.

And I think that that's probably very similar with what you do.

You look at that specific person's situation and then take all of the different influences and background that you have and address it in your own unique way.

Yeah,

Yeah,

Exactly.

You have to look at the person sitting in front of you and the whole person as well,

Not just their symptoms or that organ that's currently under stress.

It's the whole person.

It's their journey.

It's their family history.

It's a lot of of information to to come up with the right formula for them.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

So if you were to recommend something everyone should stop doing and what they should start doing,

What would those things be?

Why should everyone stop doing?

I think in terms of stop doing would probably be try to let go of the fancy.

Diets and let go of the fancy superfoods and all of that kind of marketed hype around health,

Let go of it,

Because while it's not harmful and maybe it is a little helpful,

It's probably not necessary for most of us.

I think restricting ourselves is,

You know,

It's not something we've ever done throughout history on purpose.

And I think that cutting out whole food groups,

For example,

Or measuring things and being really,

Really,

Really particular about our food and the combinations of our food takes a lot of the joy and the love and the pleasure of eating out of our lives.

And really,

That's a huge component of of eating.

Of course,

We want to eat healthy,

But we also have to enjoy that experience.

And same with all of the superfoods and things like that.

You know,

We don't need to eat quinoa and goji berries and all that kind of thing to be healthy.

We can eat simple foods that we can grow in our garden.

Or we can get from the farmer's market that are local to our area that aren't flown in from far off lands.

They're just our local foods and they are just as potent and powerful and nutritious as.

All of those fancy foods.

So that was one thing that I would say people can stop doing.

And then something that people should be doing is getting outside more and spending more time in nature.

And that could look like so many different things.

It doesn't mean you have to go hiking or camping or going anywhere specific.

It could be taking your shoes off and putting your feet in the grass or smelling a flower when you walk past one.

It could be growing herbs on your windowsill.

It could be simply opening the window and the blinds and letting the sunlight in when you wake up in the morning.

Interacting with nature more is,

I truly believe,

The key to our success,

Our healthy success on this planet as humans.

So that would be the thing that I would recommend people do more of is to get outside and get into nature and commune with nature.

That's a great segue to your new book,

Women and Nature.

So tell listeners about your new book.

Yeah,

So my book is coming out in Australia at the end of August.

It will be coming out in the US and the UK next year,

But it can be purchased in Australia as of August.

It is a few things,

This book.

It is a collection of stories about women from around the world who do really beautiful and interesting things in nature.

For example,

Some of the women I have are farmers.

Some of them are freedivers.

Some of them are artists and designers and photographers.

Some are flower growers.

They're all doing something really unique and powerful in nature.

And while they're all from different places around the world,

Really,

They're all doing slightly different things.

They really all share a similar message.

And that is the message that I wanted to share with the readers is that it doesn't matter what you do in terms of connecting with nature,

You're going to have a really similar experience.

And that experience is slowing down.

It's finding a community,

Whether that's with other humans or the community of nature or your of nature or your local environment as your community.

It's patience.

It's a lot of beautiful learnings that we get only from spending time in nature.

So I have these beautiful stories and lots of absolutely stunning photography in the book.

If for no other reason,

Just buy it to look at.

It's something that you can keep out and flick through whenever you feel like you need a little nature fix.

There's absolutely beautiful,

Beautiful photos in there.

And then throughout the stories,

I've also put some activities for the reader to do.

And these are all nature-based activities.

And they're all really easy to do,

Really accessible and a nice place to start if you're really feeling that itch to spend more time in nature,

But you're not really sure where to start or what to do.

And then at the back,

I've also got a little nature first aid kit.

So some things that you can do with nature to support your health.

So it's a collection of different things.

It's a really active,

Fun,

But also really beautiful and inspiring book that I'm so excited to come out.

Oh,

I'm excited to read it.

That sounds really fascinating.

I love that you integrated the photography because I love photography and I feel like imagery is so subconsciously healing.

So integrating that with the stories and then with the other aspects,

It sounds really fascinating.

And I love what you said about being in nature,

Being a person that sits on my computer all day I definitely should spend more time in nature.

And when I do get out there and the sun is shining on my face,

I'm like,

Wow,

This feels so different from sitting at my desk.

And so it really does make a difference.

And that connection is so easy to demote and not prioritize,

But it really,

Really does make a difference.

Yeah,

It makes such a difference.

I agree with the photography.

And there was,

While I was writing the book,

I came across this really amazing study being done in the UK on how looking at images of nature affects us positively in our mental health.

And I think the research concluded that if you simply look at 10 to 15 images,

I think they found,

You can change a lot of your stress markers in the body simply by looking at images.

And so that's another part of the book is that just flicking through that can be medicine in itself,

Which is really exciting.

And I'm so happy that research like that is being done.

Oh,

Yes.

I love reading about that type of thing.

And I try to integrate a lot of imagery on my website for that reason,

Because I feel like I'm a very visual person.

And I think that's fascinating that it can affect your stress level just looking at it.

I guess it transports you there in a way.

It allows a little bit of that experience to come through,

Even if it's a still photo,

Which is so interesting.

And then,

Of course,

A video would be even more beneficial.

But I love that you integrated a picture book,

Because any book about women in nature,

Definitely should.

So I think that's,

I can't wait to read it.

Thank you.

Yeah,

I'm super excited to have it out there and share it with everyone.

So what's next for you on this journey?

Obviously,

Your book is a huge accomplishment.

And where do you see yourself going after that?

I really loved the experience of writing and having that creative outlet in my work.

As much as I say that I love the traditional aspects of netropathy,

It is still very heady work.

You know,

It's really thinking,

Using the mind.

I'm often sitting on my computer a lot,

I do still have to do research.

And to have that experience of just flowing and creating and beauty is something that I want to incorporate more into my future going forward.

So I think there will be more,

Hopefully,

More books and more writing on the horizon.

However,

That looks.

And just more,

Yeah,

More regular creating.

That's really what I would like to incorporate into my work.

And then personally,

I think for me,

I want to find somewhere to ground and to build my own garden.

That would probably be my next goal and my next step in life.

Don't know how long that's going to take.

But that is what I'm working towards personally,

To grow my own food,

To grow my own medicine and have a space where,

Yeah,

I can connect more with the outdoors on a really regular basis that feels safe and yeah,

Somewhere that I feel really connected to.

Yeah.

Well,

Thank you so much for being here today.

I really appreciate hearing your stories and hearing about what you do.

And I know that our listeners will too.

And I think it would be very beneficial.

And I know we're all looking forward to your book.

So thank you for being here today.

Thank you.

Thanks so much for having me.

It's been lovely chatting with you.

Yes,

Thank you.

Thank you.