Holding the first bottle of a new botanical blend is so exciting

AMY WRIGHT, FOUNDER OF LONDE BOTANICS

- SHARON PARSONS

A connection with nature has always been important to Amy Wright. ’I was born in London, but when I was 10 my family moved to Western Australia where my dad established a sandalwood farm,’ she explains. ’It meant I grew up with a keen respect for responsible agricultural methods, as well as the land and what it produces.’

This abiding appreciation was to prove her lifeline when she moved to Bristol’s Clifton Village with her British husband George, a financial consultant, and their two young sons, Lawton and Teddy, in 2016. ‘George was working long hours in London, and I was trying to find my way in a new country with a toddler and a baby to look after,’ she recalls. ‘I felt so isolated and exhausted – and it really took its toll on my physical and mental health.’

Then one day as she leafed through a book on Ayurvedic principles, she came across a section on abhyanga – the Indian healing practice of self-massage. ‘It’s a ritual to restore balance to mind, body and soul,’ Amy explains. ‘It made perfect sense to me, especially when I discovered that cultures throughout the world have used oils for self-care rituals and blessings for centuries.’

The practice involves slowly massaging natural oils into the body from top to toe, mindfully acknowledging each part as you do so. ‘The first time I tried abhyanga, it felt a little odd to be concentrating purely on me,’ Amy admits, ‘but after the second attempt, George said “You look powerful”, and for the first time in ages, I felt it.’