My dear friend Tiffany Youngs; a 35 year old Mum to beautiful Maisie and wife to husband, Tom was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma six years ago. Four years later she was given just four weeks to live. I remember the day she told me, it was devastating. 10 months after that diagnosis she was declared cancer free. Tiff is one of the strongest women I know, truly inspirational and always looks for the positives in everything she does. 

This year she has set up a new wellness and lifestyle brand called Roots. Simply put, these are the products that she felt worked for herself whilst she was very unwell. Tiff spent many hours researching each and every one of them whilst she was in hospital and she truly believes in them. 

Last month we chatted about some of the products she uses during the winter months to help boost immunity and what she's looking forward to this Christmas. 

As we've finally got to the end of this insane year I wanted to write some thoughts on Christmas and how I include wellness throughout it. 

"I know personally how stressful Christmas can be. Juggling the shopping, School Christmas plays, parties, baking and socialising the build up can become over whelming. This year of course it looks like it's going to be very different. But doesn't that bring on a new anxiety? 

How do we make Christmas 2020 special for our Children. One of the main things in my approach to wellness is to remember to put yourself on the list. 

The starting point of looking for alternative medicines also made me focus on the importance of mindfulness. I was told early on in my journey that: ”We need to nourish, nurture and support the intellectual and spiritual bodies as well as the physical. The power of the intellectual and spirit should never be marginalized. Their roles are equal to that of nourishing, nurturing and supporting the physical. The fear and anxiety created around your treatments are symptoms that need ‘treating’ to achieve desired results.“ 

Take time to slow down this Christmas, have long hot baths whilst relaxing with candles and do try our Roots sage sticks and take some time to stretch and do some yoga. For anxiety I use Apothem CBD drops, and the Pollen gummies are always with me. 

Also focus on boosting your immune system for the cold January and February months with our immunity pack, Wellco products, Turmeric, Manuka honey and of course our hand sanitiser to keep the bugs away! 

This Christmas I'm going to focus on the giving side. Making handmade Christmas cards and baking presents we can send to family we can no longer easily see. I'm going to try and make it slower. Longer walks outside in Norfolk with my family and cooking delicious feasts from scratch. The most important thing to remember is we're all in this together. We can't feel negative of what 2020 is, we need to find positives and magic in all the chaos". 

I've included a recipe below for my Turmeric spiced Christmas Latte, enjoy the warming taste of Christmas.