Welcome to Gower Serenity
Gower Serenity is run by Alexandra Martin, a qualified Master Herbalist, trained Iridologist, experienced Aromatherapist and Reiki Practitioner. It is based in Swansea in South Wales, UK and has been established for nearly twenty years. Read the blog on www.serenity-healing.blogspot.com to keep up to date with herbal happenings and seasonal harvesting. Get FREE RECIPES on making your own delicious food and drink from your own wild gatherings.
One of the chief ways I celebrate herbs is through blending my own range of herbal teas. I love to mix the colours, tastes, and scents of the different varieties within the theme of a specific remedy. There are teas available to Serenity clients who have come for a one-to-one consultation for indigestion, insomnia, water retention, mineral deficiencies and hormonal balancing. There is truly something for everyone and the whole range is very popular. Three teas are available in the Serenity Shop without a consultation too. There is great emphasis on delicious flavours so that it helps the medicine go down! Some people like to drink these teas as their daily cuppa instead of standard teas while others prefer to use them when occasion demands. Either way they are nutritionally sound and very effective.
Recent legislation has restricted the dispensing of herbal tinctures to those clients who have consulted a qualified herbal practitioner in a one-to-one setting and cannot therefore be sold over the net. However all the products in the Serenity Shop can be safely bought on-line and will be sent to you promptly via first class post. You can pay for them with your credit card for ease of purchase. There are also some lovely aromatherapy creams and blended massage oils and a very effective mouthwash, which, although it is a herbal tincture, is gargled rather than drunk.
There are also ebooks on the properties of herbs you might encounter in the wild. These are in-depth looks at British plants and are two pages long with beautiful photographs to help you identify the herbs correctly and safely. There are also dosage, storage and remedy instructions alongside interesting folk lore on each plant. Contra-indications are also included.
During a consultation, the needs and wishes of the you, the client, are always respected and honoured and enough time given so that a genuine therapeutic exchange can occur. The art of good listening is often under-rated but is vital at the beginning of any healing journey.
Because of the range of therapies available at Serenity, you can choose from herbal medicine - using iridology to support the choice of herbs prescribed; aromatherapy - gentle massage using beautiful essential oils in a safe and secure setting (this is a ladies only service); Reiki healing - this is given fully clothed and at Serenity incorporates the extra energy of healing crystals, music and either a foot or face aromatherapy massage - a real fusion of lovely methods to give complete relaxation. A little bit of heaven on earth!
I like to use soft music to accompany treatments but am always guided by the client's preferences. Some prefer to hear the birdsong from the garden or the patter of raindrops on the roof. Others have been known to like rock music! I go with the flow...
Also on offer from Serenity are opportunities to learn about plants in the wild. Workshops and guided walks can be arranged for groups of no fewer than six. We walk along the stunning countryside of the Gower peninsula where I live and look at the wild plants along the way. Always there is a magnificent coastal backdrop to admire as well as the detail of the local flora. We harvest a small amount of a herb suitable for each student, being careful not to take too much from any one plant, and make a herbal tincture outside. Full written guidance notes are handed out and discussed. You will get to know your plant intimately before you go home with some of it in your pocket - preserved and labelled as your own personal medicine.
To supplement the outdoor workshops catering is provided either as a Spanish al fresco feast or a healthy picnic. The picnics are usually enjoyed as part of the workshop, for an additional fee and the feast is eaten as a separate activity after the pleasures of the herbal studies. For menus see the herbcrafting page on this website.
If you are like me, you like being outdoors and in Nature. I love to gather Nature's harvest and feel part of the seasons. Her abundant generosity never ceases to amaze me. Neither does her infinite beauty. 
It is our heritage to be happy and in being so we are generally speaking well and vitally alive. Sometimes what we need can't come from taking any medicine but just from a good listener and space in which to relax, refresh and renew. At Serenity all of these benefits are available to you as you continue your personal journey through lifes ups and downs.