{"id":1666,"date":"2016-09-16T16:48:47","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T16:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/?p=1666"},"modified":"2023-10-09T09:20:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T09:20:12","slug":"five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Tips to Living a Healthy Life: A Jamaican Herbalist Shares Her Secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gillian Francis, better known as Minka Luv to her friends and family, is a self-professed \u201cJill of all trades.\u201d Born and raised in Jamaica, she\u2019s cultivated many interests over the years: fashion and jewelry design, songwriting, and, most notably, herbal healing. Ever since Francis was a little girl, she felt it was her calling. \u201cI always spoke to plants and they\u2019ve always spoken back to me,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

When she was six-years old, her cousin injured himself while they were playing outdoors. Instinctively, Francis grabbed lime and water to make a soothing mixture for him. \u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t know back then that lime is considered an anti-bacterial,\u201d she says. \u201cMy spirit just guided me that day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now a certified family herbalist, she\u2019s one of Jamaica\u2019s experts in natural healing. To further her knowledge, Francis is also pursuing a degree in preventative medicine. <\/span>Outpostings<\/span><\/i> met up with her at her home in Kingston to learn her tips for a healthy life.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take a holistic approach to your health.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    “As an herbalist, I believe you have to cleanse and nourish the body, but I don’t believe in fixing the body as most doctors would. Traditional doctors isolate issues, but as an herbalist, I believe in a holistic approach of taking into consideration a person’s mental and physical state. There’s always a mind and body connection…and the first step to begin your journey is to get your mind in line with your body.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Say affirmations to begin your journey to becoming healthy. <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cStart with repeating daily affirmations such as \u2018I have a healthy body,\u2019 and, \u2018I am an embodiment of perfect health.\u2019 Put these positive thoughts out into the universe, and you\u2019ll find that anywhere your mind wanders, your energy will flow there too. You’ll become aware of people and places that will help you in becoming healthy. One day, for example, you’ll see a health food store that you\u2019d never noticed on your usual way home. You will begin to see the universe conspiring with you.”<\/span><\/p>\n

      \"img_5600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Burn sage, thyme and rosemary to clean your aura.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        “Your aura is an energy field that surrounds your body, and you want to take care of it. I believe diseases manifest first in your aura. It’s now proven that when you burn sage, it actually kills bacteria and viruses in the atmosphere for days. So smudging your space with sage is not just a spiritual thing to do, but it helps improve your health as well. Burning thyme and rosemary helps with removing harmful elements from your environment too. It helps to keep you healthy.” \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Listen to your body…but also know its needs.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          “<\/b>This is the most important step in becoming healthy. Listen to your body, but remember that it’s also about balance. There are times that my body only wants to eat fruits or vegetables, but I know that the body needs more. If you give the body what it needs, the body will always take care of itself.”<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Don’t go on the journey alone. <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            “You want to make informed decisions, so that you don\u2019t make health decisions that are actually detrimental to you. So, seek the right kind of help for your journey!” \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

            Keep up with Francis on her website, <\/span><\/i>http:\/\/minkaluv.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Gillian Francis, better known as Minka Luv to her friends and family, is a self-professed \u201cJill of all trades.\u201d Born and raised in Jamaica, she\u2019s cultivated many interests over the years: fashion and jewelry design, songwriting, and, most notably, herbal healing. Ever since Francis was a little girl, she felt it was her calling. \u201cI always spoke to plants and they\u2019ve always spoken back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":1677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-wellness"],"yoast_head":"\nJamaican Herbalist Shares 5 Secrets to Living a Healthy Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gillian Francis aka Minka Luv, is a self-professed Jamaican herbalist. She suggests cleaning your aura, taking a holistic approach to your health, and more\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jamaican Herbalist Shares 5 Secrets to Living a Healthy Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gillian Francis aka Minka Luv, is a self-professed Jamaican herbalist. She suggests cleaning your aura, taking a holistic approach to your health, and more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Outpostings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-16T16:48:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-09T09:20:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/09\/Five-Tips-to-Healthy-Life-Jamaica-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"910\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"397\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"outpostings\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"outpostings\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/\",\"name\":\"Jamaican Herbalist Shares 5 Secrets to Living a Healthy Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/2016\/09\/16\/five-tips-living-healthy-life-according-herbalist\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/09\/Five-Tips-to-Healthy-Life-Jamaica-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-16T16:48:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-09T09:20:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.islandoutpost.com\/outpostings\/#\/schema\/person\/f3469d74bc3f5369ba1edd14f399d90d\"},\"description\":\"Gillian Francis aka Minka Luv, is a self-professed Jamaican herbalist. 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