Remedy
Where did you grow up, and did you know what you wanted to do as a career?
Georgina. Part of my early life was spent in France. On our return to England, I went to quite a rough school in South London before moving up to North Yorkshire. I had a bit of a French accent when I was about six or seven. I remember being teased and made fun of, which made me afraid to speak out, and I was quite shy as a child. Later, I became interested in acting and performing because I didn’t have to be myself and enjoyed being someone else.
We lived in a tiny village in the North Yorkshire Moors with just one street and what seemed like thousands of sheep. When I wasn’t at school, I had free range to explore the countryside all day. I loved playing in nature and making little remedies in our garden with the plants I found there. That’s where my love of Nature, Healing, and Herbs began.
We moved to the centre of York in my early teens, which I really appreciated. There’s a great theatre there, and I became interested in the arts, particularly acting and dancing. I joined a ballet and drama school, and when I was 17, I was talent-spotted by a modelling agency. That took me to London to begin a modelling career.
Japan’s heyday was in the mid-1980s, and they loved everything Western. I found myself suddenly transported to Tokyo. It was so exciting to be in such a vibrant city, working for fashion shows, TV commercials, and magazines, travelling, and meeting so many creative, interesting people. I fell in love with Tokyo and everything Japanese.
After Japan, I travelled extensively. I worked as a model in Los Angeles, Australia, New Zealand, Milan and Paris. My love of acting had never left me, and when I decided to change careers, I joined a drama school in London. I worked part-time in restaurants to pay my way and found myself working for the River Café in London. This opened a love of food, and I am so grateful for all they taught me. I love cooking and using healthy, seasonal ingredients and whole foods. Though the acting career never worked out, it allowed me to develop skills I still use today.
When I reached my mid-20s after a Hedonist Youth, I decided I wanted to save the world and went back to university. I studied for a degree in Environmental Science at King’s College, London, which I loved. It was in the 1990’s when global warming and pollution were not as hot topics as they are today. It was a great course, and I still stand by these principles.
Around this time, I met my first husband, and after I graduated moved to Hong Kong, where we lived for eight years. I didn’t want to live in a high-rise in a built-up area, so I found this abandoned house that used to be an AIDS hospice. It was up in the mountains in the New Territories, on the border of China. Hong Kong has a mix of environments; wild country parks in the middle surrounded by super densely populated areas. We lived in a remote location with wild boar, monkeys and porcupines, close to a nature reserve.
Our local village was very traditional, with snake restaurants where they drink snake blood! There is still a strong tradition of herbal medicine in Hong Kong, and in the mornings, locals go into the old Chinese medicine shops to get an herbal tea before work. The wet markets were incredible, with mounds of herbs and remedies in large piles, ginseng being a firm favourite. I learnt much from my time there, travelling around Asia and experiencing new cultures.
How did your interest and knowledge develop?
Georgina. I firmly believe that Thoughts, Ideas and Inspiration are Seeds Planted that come to life in the future. Nothing is a coincidence. Your thoughts do create your reality. Everything I have done has started from my imagination. I loved daydreaming as a child, staring at the sky, looking at clouds, and imagining the life I wanted. Through many strange coincidences, those daydreams have come to life.
My interest in natural health and herbal medicine has always been there. I loved the library as a child and spent much time reading about nature, healing, and Culpeper. Nicholas Culpeper was a Botanist, Herbalist, Physician, and Astrologer from the 1600s. Culpeper became a brand name in the 1970s and ‘80s, selling herbs and natural products. They had a shop in York, which I loved and spent much time in.
I recently found out our family were herbalists from Wales and moved to set up a famous apothecary in the City of London in the 1700s. They were Quakers and very altruistic. They imported a lot of herbs from Jamaica used to treat syphilis, which was rife at the time. In those days, you would be an apprentice for seven years to become a medical herbalist. So it’s in my DNA.
Over the years in Hong Kong, I started a family. When I had my second son, he unfortunately became ill as a baby. From seven months of age,
he had severe epilepsy and was often hospitalised in intensive care. It was a very challenging time. He was under the care of the medical team, but his condition did not improve; the medication was not helping his epilepsy, just sedating him, and I was desperate to seek an alternative.
Living in Asia, we often travelled around and spent much time in Sri Lanka, which we loved. On one of our trips to Sri Lanka, I met an amazing Healer staying in a guest house. She was a Homoeopath and a Craniosacral Therapist who offered to treat my son there and then. We stayed in touch and continued to see her for treatments. My son’s condition progressively improved. He stopped all medication and became fit-free and healthy. I was so inspired that it reignited that tiny seed, and I decided to be just like her one day and become a Natural Practitioner.
When I told my husband I was going to study to be a Homoeopath, he was so against it and couldn’t see the benefits and thought it a waste of time. Anyway, sometime later, after we had separated, I was talking with a friend who inspired me to take action. She was used to experiencing my homemade remedies and the weird smells coming out of the kitchen from homemade sauerkraut etc. She told me I could imagine you working with plants and I thought, that’s it, I need to be a Herbalist.
I did some research, and the next week, I signed myself up for a diploma at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Herbal Medicine. I loved it and knew that out of all the things I’ve tried, I was destined to do this. I absolutely loved my three years of study and continue to have a passion for learning today.
After graduating, my first job as a Herbalist was working for Neal’s Yard Remedies, where I learned much from their diverse customer base. They would tell me their grandmother’s traditional remedies that they had passed down. That knowledge has been cut off here in the UK, but it’s still strong in many other cultures. I loved working there for a great boss who allowed me to work in her shop and dispense herbs all day; it set me up for what I do today.
“They say you only learn 20% of your subject in the classroom, and the other 80% you learn from experience.”
How did you make the move to having your own business?
Georgina. I had moved to Kent and wasn’t enjoying commuting; it took up so much time on top of looking after a family as a single parent. I needed something more local, so I put that idea to the Universe. That sounds a bit out there, but I always do that.
One day, I was at the Kino in Rye with my daughter. When we left, we walked around the corner past the Health Store. There was a small sign in the window saying, ‘If you would like to take over this store, please inquire within.’ The original owners were retiring and planning to close it down. When I read that sign, my whole body tingled and I got the truth bumps. I knew that was what I wanted to do. My daughter said, don’t be stupid, Mum, that’s ridiculous; look, there’s a Holland & Barrett next door. I knew it was perfect. Consultations take time, but if you’re in a shop, you can give free advice to people all day and be a helping hand in a community.
I don’t think of the Rye Health Store as a shop; I see it as a community. I’ve been running it for over six years now and recently moved to a larger space next door when Holland & Barrett closed. The previous health shop had been in Rye for forty years. It energises me to chat with people and give advice as best I can to help people and make friends through the shop.
The larger shop also allowed me to introduce a therapy room, and we are blessed to have an incredible Massage Therapist, Lisa, who offers traditional Thai and oil massages. We are also extremely lucky to have fantastic staff: Lucy, the wonderful, knowledgeable manager, plus Niki and Lisa, both homoeopaths who run a successful drop-in Clinic on Fridays at the Rye Community Centre.
I do Bioenergetic Testing, using your body and your cell’s intelligence to respond to information it receives. It checks for chemical sensitivities, allergies, and food sensitivities, and it sees if organs, bodies, and glands are out of balance.
My education continues; I’m a bit of a course junkie. I recently trained in Bioenergetic Testing and Hypnotherapy to become a Clinical Hypnotherapist. I also attend ongoing herb seminars to further my knowledge. I often do herb walks with other herbalists, looking at what grows in what season. Nature is so intelligent and gives us the exact plant we need at the right time of year.
For instance, elderberries, a great antiviral, come out in autumn just before winter, helping with colds and flu. Then, in spring, the tonics come to life, like nettles and cleavers, which help detoxify the body and cleanse the kidneys and lymphatic system. Everything we need grows around us; we can all pick it and use it for free. That knowledge has always been available and was traditionally passed down through the generations.
Unfortunately, much has been lost due to an overreliance on pharmaceuticals. It is very important to know that our bodies have a wonderful innate self-healing mechanism built in. We need to trust in that.
“I learned about pulse and tongue diagnosis, and looking at the iris is a great way to make a diagnosis. It is fascinating how the body gives us so many clues.”
It’s easy to learn by the taste, the colour of the flowers, and the shape of the leaves. Nature gives you clues as to what each plant does. For example, a plant with yellow flowers will typically help the liver. It’s all so simple and clever. Once you’ve identified the right plant, it can be as simple as putting hot water over something and drinking it; teas are medicinal.
I live near some beautiful woods and try to spend as much time there as I can, sitting and meditating with plants. The more you work with plants, the more they start talking to you, which may also sound a little out there. However, many herbalists have talked about having a complicated case with a patient. As they struggle to find the best remedy, a plant will start wiggling in the breeze and, identify itself and say pick me.
The inner work is also very important. I am intensely interested in the mind-body connection and how our subconscious beliefs play a part in our healing. Hypnotherapy is not about controlling people like a stage hypnotist might. It is about putting people into a relaxed state to access the subconscious, where every memory, every thought, and everything they’ve experienced throughout their lifetime is stored. For example, there may be something that someone said to you when you were a child that has put a limit on some area of your life.
I love this area of my work and have seen some wonderful results when people have self-belief and confidence in their healing abilities. If the mind is powerful enough to make you sick, it is also powerful enough to heal you.
Many people are nervous about trying natural things. If you are happy to eat a carrot, which is a root, why not try another root, which is also a medicinal plant that can heal? It can be tricky because there is a lot of misinformation on the internet, which I first became aware of through my degree, to discredit herbalism and natural remedies. That makes people fearful, but with the proper guidance and advice, you can achieve wonderful healing results.
Georgina Woods - Herbalist
Rye Health Store
91 High Street, Rye, TN21 7JN
www.ryehealthstore.com
@ryehealthstore