Mind, Body & Soul


Meditation in middle age works for me


Born and bred in Kent, Phil Brown runs his successful labour of love, the survival workshop Badger Bushcraft company, from the magnificent 3,000- acre Belmont Estate on the North Downs. Here he reveals why meditation helps in middle age…


How are you? At the ripe age of 48, I’m doing fantastically well. I’ve discovered more about myself both physically and spiritually in the last 18 months than I could have possibly imagined, I’m in the best shape of my life and there is still plenty of room for improvement. It’s a marvellous journey of rediscovering myself!


How is your health generally? Generally very good, at the moment. A combination of regular exercise, good diet, hardly any alcohol and regular meditation seems to have given me a second lease of life, where I feel full of vitality.


Have you ever had any major illnesses? At 19, I suffered my first prolapsed disc and I know have a collection of three discs that are prolapsed. Back in my late 20s I suffered with very severe migraines that were totally debilitating, some would last for weeks on end. I’ve also developed an allergic reaction to wasp stings and a recent encounter with an angry wasp leſt me with the start of sepsis working its way from my wrist up my arm - not very handy for somebody working outdoors!


Do you take any medicines? I really try to limit my use of medicines. Te cocktail of pharmaceutical products prescribed for the damaged discs leſt me feeling really unwell, both physically and mentally, so I stopped taking them. I still have to take codeine for when the pain is excruciating but, again, I try to keep this to a minimum.


Te single most important piece of advice I have ever been given was to try meditation.


Have you ever considered herbal remedies? In my career, I do practice what I teach! Native plants and trees have such amazing uses and a short walk in the countryside can provide us with a full apothecary’s shop of cures. For instance ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) is my go to herb for the relief of insect bites and yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is what I use on cuts and grazes. Mother Nature has a huge bounty of herbal


remedies and our early ancestors, in my opinion, knew far more about the uses of herbal remedies than we do today.


Ever needed an osteopath or chiropractor? With prolapsed discs it is a yes to both, I last saw an osteopath about five years ago. Knowing I have a problem means that I’m really careful when it comes to liſting heavy things. I also love mountain biking but, sadly, the impact up into my spine rules out anything more adventurous than a meander along the country roads.


What, if any, exercise do you take? I exercise daily and I’ve recently converted my conservatory into a gym, buying some amazing second hand equipment that has hardly seen any use from the previous owners. Every evening, I use a NordicTrack cross trainer for 30 - 40 minutes, then sprint sessions on a NordicTrack exercise bike followed by some use of free weights. At nearly 50, I’ve got no intention of atempting to gain muscle mass so I use relatively light weights and go for repetitions. I finish my session with some stretches and an abdominal workout - which helps with the back problem too.


What are your vices? My favourite vice is a small bowl of walnuts and dates sprinkled with cacao nibs. It’s something I’m happy to treat myself to daily, it provides great nutrition and is amazingly tasty.


What is the best piece of health advice anyone has ever given you? Te single most important piece of advice I have ever been given was to try meditation. My first atempt was as a sceptic but within a week I was hooked. I believe that once we can conquer and control the mind then everything else will follow. Stilling one’s thoughts and removing the daily pressures that modern life gives us is hugely difficult. But it was not until I connected with this inner stillness and peace, that we all have access to, that I realised just


how much I was thinking even about the most trivial things in life. Once I discovered this new internal realm, I found everything I was searching for started to fall into place. I’m feeling exceptionally healthy and the happiest I have ever felt in my life.


Tere is a great free app called “Insight Timer” which provides thousands of free guided meditations, which is where my journey started.


Would you like to live forever? I’d like to be reborn with the knowledge and beginnings of wisdom that I now have as I approach my 50s. I’m not sure that living forever appeals and it goes against the natural order of this world. I think it’s important to live every day as though it is the last, cram as much as one can into that day, to learn new things, to love and to be the happiest you can as there may not be a tomorrow.


Perhaps there is a forever once we depart this life? I’ll find out one day, but not too soon I hope.


Phil Brown can be contacted via www.badgerbushcraſt.com Mid Kent Living 43


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