Body & Mind

Image: Katharine Davies

MAGIC FORMULA

Mike Hewitson MPharm FFRPS FRSPH IP MRPharmS, Pharmacist, The Abbey Pharmacy

It might seem fanciful but we pharmacists have (accidentally) had a massive impact on this time of the year, and a great many other things besides…

In 1886 Dr John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia invented a new tonic, which he hoped he could market as a new proprietary medicine. He took kola nuts, which are high in caffeine, and brewed them with coca leaves (the plant which is used to produce cocaine) to create an ‘uplifting tonic’. It proved so successful that he started selling it for five cents a glass. Its name? Coca-Cola – one of the most successful consumer products ever invented. What has this got to do with Christmas? Well, Coca-Cola is often credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus, in his red suit…it may not be completely true as others had previously used this imagery, but it is certainly true that Coca-Cola popularised this singular vision of Father Christmas that we all know today. While Dr Pemberton’s lasting footnote in the history books has probably been a boon to dentists worldwide, he remains the most successful pharmacist of all time for his commercial legacy.

When you tuck in to your Christmas pudding chances are that you may accompany it with some custard, possibly made from the famous Bird’s custard powder. Mr Alfred Bird, a pharmacist, born in Gloucestershire decided to formulate a replacement for custard for his wife who was allergic to both eggs and yeast. He used cornflour, flavourings and colourings to produce the thick imitation custard that we now see marketed as Bird’s custard. Bird also went on to invent and mass-produce the form of baking powder which is still used by bakers today.

When you reach for the chocolates, you might happen across the name Nestlé, which is of course familiar to us all. Heinrich Nestlé was a pharmacist, and while he didn’t invent chocolate he did invent baby formula, which saved the lives of thousands of premature babies in the late 19th century. The Nestlé company has many tentacles these days but without that initial success, who knows if your chocolate selection box would look quite the same? KitKat, Aero, Milkybar, Smarties, even Quality Street, are all now owned by the Nestlé company.

As you light the Christmas pudding even the humble match you are holding was invented by pharmacist John Walker of Stockton-on-Tees. In fact, if you were to douse the pud with cognac, specifically Hine’s cognac, a well-known brand particularly in the 1970s, it has a connection that is even closer to home. Our other pharmacy is based a few miles down the road in Beaminster and was founded in 1790 (the same

year as The Abbey Pharmacy) by a Mr Richard Hine. Thomas, the sixth of Richard’s 12 children decided that pharmacy was not exciting enough for him, so he set out on an adventure to learn the secrets of cognac. The company which Thomas Hine founded is still alive and strong 230 years later.

Absolutely no connection to Christmas, but nonetheless interesting, is that one of the successors to Richard Hine at Beaminster Pharmacy was a pharmacist by the name of John Tynegate. Tynegate had an interesting, if somewhat odd, claim to fame. He had perfected the recipe for stage-blood, which he marketed under the trade name Kensington Gore, and which featured in the seminal Hammer horror films. So successful was his recipe that Kensington Gore is still in use today as shorthand in the theatrical industry for all stage-blood. Hopefully your Christmas will not include any gore, real or otherwise.

There is one other invention which I didn’t know about until about half an hour ago, and this one is probably for the ladies as you get ready for your Christmas parties. A young pharmacist called Terry Williams invented a new beauty product for his sister Mabel to give her the appearance of longer eyelashes. Mr Williams combined his sister’s name and the word ‘vaseline’ to create the product Maybelline mascara. Thankfully, we no longer use vaseline and coal to produce mascara!

As we begin to look forward to the end-of-year festivities, now would seem like an opportune moment to thank everyone who has supported our independent business throughout 2021. We are very hopeful that our plans to expand and transform the pharmacy will be progressing in early 2022. We are very happy to look after patients new and those we have gotten to know over a good many years. Operating an ancient independent business in a town with as strong a sense of heritage and character is a great privilege, but it is one that we cannot take for granted in a world that is increasingly digitised. This is one of the main drivers for us taking on the expansion project, which we see as vital to protecting the long-term future of the pharmacy, and to providing some really exciting new services for the people of Sherborne and its environs.

From everyone in our family business to everyone in your family, we hope you will have a happy festive season, and wish us all a healthier and happier 2022.

SHERBORNE

NESS LEE

Mindfulness Coach and Counsellor

8-Week ‘Mindfulness for Wellbeing’ course beginning Wednesday 12th January 2022 on Zoom www.mindfulnessherborne.com ness@mindfulnessherborne.com

YogaSherborne

Sherborne, Milborne Port and Trent

• Hatha Yoga • Relaxation and guided meditation Contact Dawn for more details 07817 624081 @yogasherborne hello@yogasherborne.co.uk Yoga Alliance qualified teacher

Muntanya is an independent trekking and outdoors shop offering clothing and equipment from major suppliers. 7 Cheap St, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3PT 01935 389484 • 07875 465218 david@muntanya.co.uk

www.muntanya.co.uk

This month if you are able, please consider visiting the Just Giving website to donate money, which you can gift aid. Your cash donations are valuable and enable us to buy items for babies, children and people with special dietary needs. www.justgiving.com/sherborne-foodbank Thank you.

www.sherbornefoodbank.org

07854 163869 help@sherbornefoodbank.org

ANGER AND YOU

Lucy Lewis, Dorset Mind Ambassador

The 1st – 7th of December, just a few weeks before Christmas, is National Anger Awareness Week (NAAW). The holiday period can be a stressful time for many; increased financial and social pressures can cause many people to experience more anger than usual. NAAW encourages everyone to build their awareness of anger and related management techniques whilst considering the effects unmanaged anger can have on individuals, groups, and society. We at Dorset Mind have collated some relevant information and top tips for managing anger, in anticipation of NAAW.

When Is Anger a Problem? It must be highlighted that anger in itself is not problematic. It is a universal, natural emotion that does not require shame or guilt. However, when these angry feelings become overwhelming or affect one’s behaviour, this can indicate a problem.

The Cycle of Anger Firstly, an event or situation triggers the anger response, such as unfair treatment at work or a traffic jam. This results in negative, unhelpful thoughts, such as ‘my boss is a terrible person’, or ‘my day is completely ruined’.

Negative thoughts lead to uncomfortable emotions such as anger, but also related emotions like shame, guilt, sadness, or frustration. These emotions are coupled with physical symptoms that can make anger a very uncomfortable experience, including shaking, pounding heartbeat, ‘seeing red’, and sweating.

These thoughts, feelings, and physical symptoms can detrimentally influence a person’s behaviour; they may experience and give in to urges to shout, be spiteful, or physical aggression. Every individual moves through the cycle in different ways with differing thought patterns, feelings, physical symptoms, and behaviours.

Managing Anger The first stage to managing anger is building awareness of one’s anger cycle. What situations do you find angerinducing? What thoughts run through your mind when you are angry? What emotions and physical symptoms do you experience?

Recognising your anger cycle is important, because once you can recognise your anger early warning signs, you can implement management techniques before the feeling spirals out of your control. The early warning signs can act as an alarm system, indicating that you should take a beat and take some heat off the emotion, before it leads to negative consequences.

Anger is an automatic process, so it may take some practice to slow down the process in order to control it.

The second stage of anger management is practicing and implementing relaxation skills once you begin to feel angry. These skills require practice, both when feeling calm and following anger warning signs.

Try a range of skills and be persistent; everyone benefits from different techniques, and it can take a while for them to begin working in the moment. Additionally, not every skill is suitable for every situation or everyone, so it’s worth having a range of techniques to choose from.

Here are some useful strategies for you to try: •Take 5-minutes out from the situation •Distract yourself •Try relaxation techniques (search online for breathing, grounding, and mindfulness techniques) •Talk to yourself kindly and with compassion •Consider the consequences of anger-related behaviours •Visualisations •Write a letter expressing your anger •Get active and go outside if you can

If you are struggling to cope with your anger, or mental health in general, talk to your GP.

Dorset Mind offer 1-2-1 and group support for a range of mental health challenges. Visit dorsetmind.uk for more information about the support they offer.

If you’re in a crisis, treat it as an emergency – call 999 or The Samaritans, free on 116 123.

STAY FOCUSSED AND UPRIGHT THIS WINTER

Craig Hardaker BSc (Hons), Communifit

Image: Stuart Brill

Now is traditionally the time to relax, overindulge and enjoy quality time with family and friends. This is doubly the case in 2021 as we try to compensate for last year’s disappointment of not being able to see our loved ones.

It is also of course the ideal time to reflect on your health and fitness achievements this year and to focus on setting your new goals for 2022! The key word here is SMART – set targets which are: Specific – what exactly are you trying to do? Don’t just have a vague idea. Measurable – how are you going to measure it? By time, distance, repetitions? Achievable – don’t set yourself goals or targets which are not safe or too much at this moment in time. Build up slowly and stay within your capabilities. Realistic – work around your lifestyle. Don’t set targets that you know, deep down, you won’t be able to achieve, or sustain. Timed – what timeframe are you giving yourself to reach a particular goal? Is the timescale sensible?

On a separate issue, as winter is now well and truly with us, the number of falls unfortunately increases at this time of the year.

Here is some guidance to hopefully help you stay on your feet this winter, helping in turn to reduce the chance of serious falls and injury.

1 Visualisation This is incredibly important with balance. Picturing what you are doing before doing it can significantly reduce the chances of falling. We are most likely to fall when we are concentrating on something else. If we can keep our focus, we are then better able to concentrate on the task at hand. The best example is stepping on and off the pavement – visualise this step with full concentration and effective body weight distribution.

2 Body weight distribution We lose our balance easily when we don’t distribute our bodyweight evenly. This is one reason why activities such as climbing stairs, turning around on the spot and stepping up and down from pavements can be challenging. Practising body weight distribution – forwards, backwards and sideways can help improve our balance. The benefits of this practise are that when we need to adapt to body weight distribution in everyday activities, we are more likely to succeed and this in turn lessens the chances of falling.

3 Strengthen We are less likely to go outside when it is dark, cold and wet – so we must make sure we continue to move our bodies. You will know from previous articles the importance of strengthening exercises, and the benefits such exercises have for our bodies. Put time aside to strengthen, keep your muscles, bones and joints strong – all of which will help keep you upright rather than ending up on the ground.

There you have it, three tips to not falling over this winter – none of which involve avoiding alcohol!

We truly appreciate your support over the past year and we can’t wait for another exciting year ahead with you all. Everyone at Communifit would like to wish you the best for a very merry Christmas and prosperous New Year. Stay safe, stay well and see you in 2022.

Cheers!

CAN YOGA IMPROVE MY RUNNING?

Simon Partridge BSc (Sports Science), Personal Trainer SPFit

Last month I wrote about the benefits of ‘fartlek’ training for those wanting to develop their running and I have previously written about how ‘Broga’ (a type of fitness yoga) can improve technique. Knowledge is motivational and empowering, so let’s look at running specifically for the purposes of this article again, but the benefits will of course crossover into other sports and our everyday life.

We have a flourishing running club and private gym, but I face a constant battle to get our members to work on their mobility and flexibility. How many people go to the gym but don’t know how to mobilise and stretch effectively?

A simple yoga routine loosens tight spots, strengthens weak spots and makes you a better, less injury-prone runner. I am 52 and had a recent lifechanging injury followed by an operation, but now yoga is helping my recovery and I have started to run again. I started running before I was aged 10 (probably), yet started yoga when I was 45. There are no prizes for guessing which I was best at or where my weaknesses were before and after my injury and subsequent operation. Yoga benefits the runner’s body (improved flexibility, range of motion, muscular strength) and mind (more focus, less stress) helping to improve performance and reduce injury.

Yoga is also the perfect recovery activity for runners. It relieves soreness in hard-working muscles and restores range of motion so you can perform better the next time you train.

There are numerous yoga moves which could be recommended following a run or on a rest day (or both), but if you are new to yoga and have been running with tight muscles for a long time, be careful. Ease into each position, never push to the point of pain. Leave your ego outside! As you continue to practice, you will notice improvement in your running and on your yoga mat.

My favourite pose, and the one which was the lightning bolt which made me realise yoga was for me, is Downward Dog:

Benefits of Downward Dog: Stretches hamstrings, calves, and foot arches; strengthens shoulders. In fact, I love the feeling it gives me by stretching the whole of my posterior chain rather than ‘traditional’ fitness industry stretches which only stretch individual muscles.

How to Do It: Begin on your hands and knees. Align wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Spread fingers and press into palms. Tuck toes and lift knees off the floor. Gently try to straighten legs and raise hips into an inverted V. Breathe deeply for 10 breaths. As your muscles relax, try to straighten legs more and sink heels toward the mat. I cannot stress how important using your breath to relax into the stretch is. This takes practice.

Why not use yoga to improve your running and if you don’t run just enjoy the amazing benefits it will give you? Whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi keep practising and you will be amazed at the progress you can achieve.

See you on the mat very soon. Good luck.