10 Tips to avoid coming down with the lurgy

It's easy to feel under the weather this time of year. So here are my top ten hints, tips and recommendations to keep you hale and hearty.

1) Day light. Doesn't have to be sunlight. Even cloud-filtered decaf-lite light boosts Vitamin D levels.

2) Your immune system depends on a healthy large intestine. If you have had antibiotics you will likely have poor levels of good bacteria and unhelpful levels of yeast. Consult a nutritional kinesiologist for tailored advice and/or a hydrotherapist to restore optimal digestive function.

3) Get 'Food State' Minerals and Vitamins. Don't bother with synthetic supplements from the supermarket. They are cheaper for a reason - check the ingredients list! Sugar and sweeteners will do you more harm than good.

High doses do not mean you are getting lots of nutrition. In fact the opposite is true - synthetics are pretty indigestible.

4) Biostrath Swiss Herbal Elixir is a great stand-by tonic. Keep a bottle in the fridge and take a teaspoonful for that ominous tickly throat.

5) To knock a bug on the head use Citiricidal grapefruit seed exctract. It tastes bitter but it works! Made by Higher Nature, another top quality supplement company.

6) Echinacea is a popular winter herb because it stimulates white blood cell production. Use this as soon as you hear someone has a cold you might catch from them. Herbalist Alfred Vogel's company BioForce have invested in research to support these findings. Read their Prepare for Winter Blog.

7) Moderate exercise. Fresh air and exercise even better. Raises the metabolism and lifts the spirits. NHS guidelines can help you get started.

8)  Sleep! The quickest way to feel run down is to burn the candle at both ends. In hibernation season there is no substitute for rest and relaxation. Gearing down can be misinterpreted as feeling down - it's ok to want to do less this time of year.

9) Many Aromatherapy oils have antiseptic, anti viral, decongestant and immune boosting properties. Tea tree oil is available as a hand cream and sanitiser spray.

Olbas oil is famous for sinus-opening Eucalyptus, Juniper and Mint.

Pine, Rosemary, Eucalyptus and Thyme  oils combine antimicrobial forces in the fabulously fresh and reviving Athletic massage oil.

10) Add Massage to Rest and Aromatherapy and you have a three in one immune-booster. Research shows that the therapeutic relaxation of a massage boosts white blood cells, reduces inflammation and lowers stress hormones, all of which are key for wellness.

This is my personal shortlist - in no particular order of priority and for your general interest.

For specific advice tailored to your personal health and constitution please consult a health professional.
Wishing you well,
Jane

Help for Joint Pain and Stiffness Part 2

"Don't be bamboozled" said Carola Beresford-Cooke, as she started to teach us 'Cliff's Universal Joint Technique. 

"People will often give you labels for what is wrong with their joints. Don't be bamboozled by the labels."

For many people it is a huge relief to have their problem identified. Whether the diagnosis is a syndrome, a disease, or a Latin name for the symptoms (for example polymyalgia just means 'many pains.')

Certainty replaces the anxious query 'What's wrong with me?' Despondency turns to possibility that a cause can now be identified. Hope of an appropriate treatment to follow.

Yet, as 20th century sage Jiddu Krishnamurti said, "The description is not the described; I can describe the mountain, but the description is not the mountain, and if you are caught up in the description, as most people are, then you will never see the mountain”

Principle 2: 'Open wide and Focus' is about the way to give attention to a problematic joint.

Open wide means all of the sense and intuition 'antennae' are up. Attention is honed in solely on the joint, not the wider connection with the rest of the body.

How does this joint feel? What does it need in order to feel better? Where is the right place to press or to hold? What is the right direction to move it or open it?

A diagnosis such as arthritis (arthro = joint, itis = inflammation) has it's uses. We can now look for what irritant is causing the inflammation. But the associated belief that it's inevitable wear and tear due to age can stifle the open-ended question of what could help.

Technique 2: What on earth is Cliff's Universal Joint Technique? Simply a procedure to find the blockage points above and below, then across the joint. "Feel for changes to the plumbing" said Carola.

Working with this technique there have certainly been some 'unblocking' releases and more flow and freedom of movement.

My first practice of this was on a pair of elbows, one damaged the other not.

To me, it felt like the forearm was detaching just enough from the upper arm to make space for the inside of the joint to be cleaned out!

The owner-operator of the elbows, Gary Jones, said "it felt like there was a lot of activity in the bone and surrounding area - churning - like it was straightening and loosening."

Don't ask me how! All I can say is that our bodies are repairing themselves all the time, and that given the right circumstances we have remarkable abilities to be well.

Look out for Part 3: Help for joint pain and stiffness - new techniques and essential principles coming soon!

Wishing you well,
Jane
07518 587434

Help for Joint Pain and Stiffness Part 1

"Never treat a joint in isolation" taught my Shiatsu instructor Carola Beresford-Cooke. 

"Always treat them in relation to each other. The joints evolved as part of the whole. They are not individual isolated mechanisms."

My first treatment, in my 20's for right knee pain during martial arts practice, was by an osteopath affectionately nicknamed 'Old Ironfingers' by my Aikido club.

He astounded me when he said my problem wasn't my right knee.

My problem was a pelvic misalignment.

Principle 1: 'Never treat a joint in isolation' links with Technique 1: If a joint is too painful or recently injured to work on directly 'Treat Opposites and Diagonals'

The theory that working one side can affect the opposite was, to me, just that - theory - until I worked on fellow course participant Sarah's right foot.

And she told me she was feeling responses in her left foot!

This wasn't something I was trying to do. Or anything that can be predicted or 'made to happen'.

It was just one of those healing releases and internal adjustments that arose given the right conditions.

If you would like help with joint pain or stiffness, feel the need to relax, stretch and iron tension out, or want to chat about how to prevent muscle and joint pain please give me a call.

Look out for Part 2: Help for joint pain and stiffness - new techniques and essential principles
Wishing you well,
Jane

07518 587434
p.s. Meridian Massage is great for joints too. Carola Beresford-Cooke created 'Meridian Massage' as a way of applying holistic shiatsu principles using aromatherapy massage. Your choice of soothing or invigorating oils!