Alchemy Natural Health

15/04/2026

Today in the woods I found a beautiful herbal gathering growing side by side — nettles, dandelion, cleavers and wild garlic.

I have carefully gathered some to dry and store for my horses, I loved the way these plants have grown together as companions, each one bringing something slightly different, yet all working in harmony.

Nettles are one of the most nourishing herbs we have. Rich in natural minerals, they have long been valued for supporting strength, vitality, skin, coat and overall condition. They feel like a true rebuilding plant — deeply supportive, strengthening and full of goodness.

Dandelion is such a generous herb. Traditionally used to support normal liver function, digestion, appetite and fluid balance, it is often thought of as one of nature’s great spring tonics. A simple plant, but with a huge amount to offer.

Cleavers are a wonderful cleansing herb, traditionally valued for supporting lymphatic flow, healthy skin and the body’s natural drainage processes.

Wild Garlic is vibrant, pungent and powerful. Traditionally it has been used to support circulation, microbial balance and general resilience. I use the leaves sparingly and with care, as a little goes a long way.

What I love so much is how these herbs each have their own gifts — nourishment, cleansing, circulation, digestive support, mineral richness, seasonal balance — and how in the wild they so often grow together, as though nature already knows how beautifully they complement each other.

There is so much wisdom growing in the woods. 🌿

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

16/02/2026

You are not the chitter chatter in your head.

That constant commentary —
analysing everything, worrying about what might or might not happen, replaying past events, predicting the future, interpreting and making meaning out of absolutely everything —
it isn’t you.

You are the ever present awareness gently observing everything that shows up…

Thoughts pass through.
Emotions move along.
You are the great open sky that contains all the weather phenomena and are certainly not the temporary storm.

Instead of getting pulled into the noise
you could step back.

You don’t need to believe the voice.
You don’t need to follow it.
You don’t need to push it away.

You simply observe that it’s there with an attitude of warm unconditional acceptance.

And when you do, the intensity of the chatter drops.
The mind stops running the show.
The body no longer has to brace itself.

This is where your presence in the here and now returns.
You get to reconnect with yourself beneath the noise.

At Alchemy Natural Health, we take a holistic view — not just the physical, but the whole person.

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

12/02/2026

When the nervous system is tired… overloaded, everything seems challenging and often times harder to keep upbeat,

I see this so often.

People doing “all the right things” — eating well, trying supplements, going to bed earlier — and still feeling wired, foggy, tearful, overwhelmed… or just not quite themselves.

And underneath it?

A nervous system that has been carrying too much for too long.

Not just today’s stress.
The years of holding it together.
The pushing through.
The being the strong one.
The never quite switching off.

From a naturopathic perspective, the body is incredibly intelligent.
It adapts. It compensates. It keeps you going.

Until it can’t keep doing it in the same way.

Healing the nervous system isn’t about forcing calm.
It’s not about “positive thinking” your way out of exhaustion.

It’s about helping the body feel safe.

That might look like:
• Nourishment
• balancing blood sugar so you’re not running on adrenaline
• restorative herbs that feed and rebuild rather than stimulate
• breathing that works for your system
• permission to reduce the load

When the nervous system begins to settle, everything else often shifts with it — digestion improves, sleep deepens, hormones feel less reactive, energy steadies.

Often times the real healing begins when we stop asking the body to try harder… and start supporting it properly.

If you feel like you’ve been “on alert” for far too long, this is something we can work on together — gently, intelligently, and in a way that makes sense for you.

✨ Alchemy Natural Health

About Alchemy Natural Health, Naturopath Nutritionist in Exeter, Naturopath in Newton Abbot, Crediton, Naturopath Nutritionist in Totnes, Food Intolerance Testing near Exeter, Food Intolerance Testing near Totnes, Natural Health, Blood Test, Natural Healing, Natural Remedies, Hormonal Imbalances, Sk...

08/02/2026

Lovey day with lovely people at my clinic in Exeter today ❤️ 🍃

01/02/2026

t’s Imbolc today — the start of spring 🌿

Not such obvious signs…

The one you feel before you see it.

Where you notice a little spark of energy and a bit more hope creeping back in.

That’s Imbolc.

The word means “in the belly” — when life is forming under the soil, when ewes begin to give milk again, when the light is slowly returning and winter’s grip starts to loosen.

This was the time of Brigid — herbs, hearth, home, healing. Fresh air.
A sense of starting again, of new beginnings.

You don’t need to do anything fancy.

Open a window for a moment.
Think about what you don’t want to carry with you out of winter, what you’re ready to leave behind as it fades, and what you’d like to let go of now the light is coming back.
And think about what you’d like more of as the year unfolds, what you’d like to invite in, and what you’d like to nurture over the coming months.

Before anything blooms…
it starts beneath the surface, you can’t see it yet, it’s working its way up through the soil.

Snowdrops bravely work their way through frost showing us that spring is on its way.
A little more light in the mornings.
The sun begins to warm the air a little more
A feeling that the heaviest part of winter has passed.

If you feel like it’s time for you too to breakthrough and enjoy new beginnings in your health and wellbeing then it’s now the perfect time in the year to begin.

Happy Imbolc 🤍🌿

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

19/01/2026

Hope can be a little light you hold in your pocket on the hard days.

But faith is the moment you choose to move anyway.
Even when you don’t feel ready.
Even when the road looks messy.
Even when you’re tired of carrying it all.

And healing can feel exactly like that.

Not perfect. Not instant.
Just one brave choice… then another…
until your body starts to remember what “better” feels like again.
More energy. Less inflammation. A calmer gut. A clearer mind.
A sense of you coming back.

If you’ve been stuck, overwhelmed, or fed up of feeling “not quite right”…
Alchemy Natural Health is here to help you gently unravel what’s going on and support your next steps forward 🌙✨

If you’re curious, have a little browse of my reviews —
just Google Alchemy Natural Health Dartington and you’ll see exactly what others have experienced 💛

Healing is possible.
And it can start with one small step today — one gentle change, one new choice, one moment of deciding that you’re ready for things to feel better.

Your body knows the way back…
sometimes it just needs the right support, the right guidance, and a bit of patience while everything begins to settle and strengthen again.

This is your fresh chapter.
Step by step, we’ll get you feeling more like you — calmer, clearer and more at home in your own body.

And you don’t have to figure any of it out alone. 🌿✨

Alchemy Natural Health
www.alchemynaturalhealth.com
EXETER & DARTINGTON

About Alchemy Natural Health, Naturopath Nutritionist in Exeter, Naturopath in Newton Abbot, Crediton, Naturopath Nutritionist in Totnes, Food Intolerance Testing near Exeter, Food Intolerance Testing near Totnes, Natural Health, Blood Test, Natural Healing, Natural Remedies, Hormonal Imbalances, Sk...

12/01/2026

Most people think they only have two choices in relationships…
Speak up — but lose connection.
Stay connected — but lose your voice.

But that’s not true.

You don’t have to choose between being honest and being close. You can do both. And that’s what I call Loving Power.

Loving Power is the ability to say what you need while still holding care for your partner and the relationship in the same breath. It’s strength with warmth — not force.

Because when we’re not in Loving Power, we often slide into control, and it tends to show up in two familiar ways:

🔸 One-up control: “You need to change.”
🔸 One-down control: “I’ll keep the peace… but I’ll quietly resent you for it.”

Either way, control is a losing strategy. It erodes trust, softens intimacy, and leaves the nervous system stuck in fight/flight/freeze — even if everything looks “fine” on the surface.

So here are a few simple ways to practise Loving Power:

Let go of needing to be right.
In relationships the real question isn’t “Who’s right?”
It’s “How do we solve this together?”

Speak from your own experience.
Instead of: “You always interrupt me.”
Try: “I really want to hear you — could we slow down a little so I can take it in too?”

Assert your needs without control.
Instead of: “You need to show me more affection.”
Try: “I love feeling close to you — could we be a bit more intentional about making time for that?”

Start with appreciation.
Instead of: “You never do anything right.”
Try: “I love it when you do this — I’d really love more of it.”

And here’s the golden question:

✨ “What can I give you to help you give me what I’m asking for?”

That one question shifts everything — from demand to connection, from pressure to partnership.

And here’s why I’m sharing this on a health page…

As a holistic practitioner, I never look at nutrition alone. Stress, emotional load, and relationships shape the body every single day — sleep, digestion, cravings, inflammation, hormones, energy, even how resilient we feel.

So if relationships have been feeling heavy lately, consider this your reminder:
You’re allowed to be kind and clear.
You’re allowed to be connected and have boundaries.
You’re allowed to ask for what you need — with love.

If you’d like support with creating steadier foundations (body + mind + life), my Full Health MOT is a beautiful place to begin.

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

Alchemy Natural Health ✨

03/01/2026

🍃 JANUARY FULL HEALTH MOT ✨

If you’re stuck in a loop of trying things, stopping things, Googling symptoms, and still not feeling right… I can help you with a shortcut.

This is the appointment people say they wish they’d done years ago.

Our FULL HEALTH MOT is where you can stop guessing and get a clear picture of what your body is asking for —

People come to me for help with: fatigue, hormones, gut issues, IBS, skin flare-ups, allergies/food sensitivities, sleep problems, stress, headaches/migraines, blood-sugar inbalance, low mood/low motivation and more.

If you want 2026 to feel different, start here.
With code ALCHEMY26 you can enjoy a £25 discount on a Full Health MOT.

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

See my lovely reviews by googling alchemy natural health Dartington or Exeter 💚

25/12/2025

Yuletide greetings from Alchemy Natural Health 🌙✨

For many of us, this year has felt like an annus horribilis —
This time of year I think of the late Queen’s Christmas message — a moment to pause, to reflect, and to find solace in the simple things.
At Yuletide, there’s wisdom in slowing down: keeping the hearth, lighting candles, bringing in evergreens, and letting the world be quiet for a while.

So wherever you’re at right now — joyful, tired, tender, or simply relieved to have made it to the end of the year — I’m wishing you a peaceful Christmas.
May you feel held by warmth and reminded that the light is returning, little by little, day by day.

Thank you for your trust, reviews and support this year.
Wishing you a blessed Yuletide, a beautiful Christmas, and brighter days ahead.

With love,
Marianne and her team -
Elsie and Ernest the joyful Whippets,
Candle the delightful little English Toy Terrier,
Valentine the trusty Highland Pony,
Sabre the Sassy little American Miniature Horse
and Narnia the cutest, Kindest tiny little Dartmoor Hill Pony 🎄 🌿✨

21/12/2025

✨ Winter Solstice ✨

Tonight is the longest night of the year.
Light begins to return.
Not all at once.
But slowly and faithfully as it always has.

I’ve always loved the solstice for this reason. It asks nothing of us.
No forcing, no pretending to feel brighter than we do.
It reminds us that even in the deepest dark, the story is still unfolding the light is returning.

If this year has asked more of you than you ever expected…
If you’ve carried grief, exhaustion, endings, or disappointments…

Please know this:
The dark was not wasted time.
It was where you learned how to stay.
How to breathe when things felt heavy.
How to keep going even when nothing was certain.

Tonight is for candles in windows.
For hands around warm mugs.
For placing a palm over the heart and whispering, I’m still here.

You don’t need to see the whole path ahead. The light never returns in a rush. It comes in small increments — a minute more of day, a breath easier, a flicker of something possible.

And this is how new beginnings arrive.

Beneath frozen ground, life is already preparing.
Beneath tired hearts, hope is stirring.

The wheel turns in its own time, and slowly, we find ourselves carried forward.

So if you feel tender, uncertain, or brave just for having made it here… you are exactly where you need to be.
What has been resting will begin to rise. What has been heavy will begin to soften.

The darkness has done its work.
And now, ever so slowly, the light returns.

Blessed Solstice 🌙

The light is coming.

— Alchemy Natural Health 🌿

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

13/12/2025

Feeling stressed ?
Here are some Alchemy Natural Health tips to help you feel calm.

🌙 The Vagus Nerve “Melt”

Beautiful for when everything feels a bit tight or fiery.

How to do it:
• Sit comfortably.
• Turn your head just slightly to the right (not a stretch).
• Keep your eyes forward.
• Breathe softly for 30 seconds until you feel a little sigh, swallow, or softening.
• Repeat on the left.

🌙 Soft Belly Breathing

Gorgeous for bloating, worry, and when your system’s on high alert.

How to do it:
• Place both hands over your belly.
• Breathe in for 4, expand the belly like a warm lantern.
• Breathe out slower for 6 or 7.
• Imagine the breath stroking your insides with kindness.

Do 8–10 breaths.

🌙 The “Hug the Heart” Wrap

A nervous-system cuddle.

How to do it:
• Cross your arms and place hands on opposite ribs.
• Gentle pressure.
• Breathe into your hands.
• Stay for 1–2 minutes.

Helps your body feel held and steadied.

🌙 Orienting

Perfect for when everything feels too much or your thoughts race.

How to do it:
• Look around the room slowly.
• Notice colours, textures, the firelight, a houseplant, a cushion, anything that feels pleasant.
• Let your eyes rest on whatever gives you a tiny moment of “mmm yes”.

This resets the system.

🌙 Gentle Pelvic Rocking

Lovely for the gut, especially when things feel tight, bloated, or reactive.

How to do it:
• Sit or lie down.
• Rock your pelvis forward and back slowly, like waves.
• No effort. Just tide coming in and out.
• 1–2 minutes is plenty.

Helps the gut area relax and re-flow.

🌙 Butterfly Tapping

Comforting and regulating.

How to do it:
• Cross arms over chest.
• Tap one hand, then the other, like a slow rhythm.
• Keep it soft and soothing.

Very grounding.

www.alchemynaturalhealth.com

04/12/2025

🌙 The Cold Moon 🌙

There’s such a comforting light from tonight’s full moon… the sort that makes you want to curl up by the fire, tuck your dogs close, and wind down for the evening.

This moon is traditionally called the Cold Moon (sometimes the Long Night Moon) — a name given by our ancestors who recognised this time of year as one of rest and deep reflection.

In old folklore, the full moon nearest mid-winter was known as the “keeper of the hearth.”
Its glow was believed to carry protection, especially through the darker nights. Families would gather indoors, tending the fire, drying herbs, sharing stories, and trusting that the moon was watching over their home.

Our ancestors had some wonderful ways of honouring this moon:
✨ Herbs dried under Cold Moon light were said to hold their scent longer through winter.
✨ Hearth ash was sprinkled at thresholds to bring grounding and luck for the months ahead.
✨ A bowl of water left on a moonlit windowsill symbolised inviting clarity and reflection.

The Cold Moon is brighter, helping us through the long night.
We’re close to the winter Solstice, the turning of the year when the days begin to lengthen again, almost unnoticed at first — a lovely reminder that warmth and brightness are already on their way back to us.

💛 As the moon begins to wane, gently release what feels heavy or outgrown, creating space for something more nourishing and aligned to find a way in.

Wishing you a warm, cozy night as the Cold Moon rises.
May its glow bring steadiness, comfort, and the promise of returning light.

With love 🤍 🌿✨🌙