Peace in Your world for 2018

How to stop battling symptoms and get the co operation you want from your body

At 80 years old, and never having flown before, my Grandma emigrated from Swansea to Canada to live with my aunt and uncle in Ottawa.

She sent me this Christmas card after celebrating her 100th birthday.

Peace on Earth sounds a great idea. 

Unless we are waiting for other people to behave themselves (or other people's world leaders for that matter.)

We could be waiting a long time!

So how about bringing Peace as close to home as possible. Peace within ourselves.

Peace is the harmonisation of apparent conflict. And the key to finding Peace is to change from seeing the problem or enemy as separate from us and on an opposing side. To consider that it's possible to find a mutually beneficial resolution.

So how might we be opposing ourselves?

Try this. Think of a symptom you have - whether it's painful or just annoying, chronically constant or occasionally irritating.

Instead of bracing yourself for fighting a battle against illness or disease, imagine for a moment that there is an internal communication from an aspect of ourselves. And that aspect is simply tying to get our attention because we've been neglecting or mistreating it.

What could this symptom be pointing to? 

Is the body overtaxed? (A plug for Dry January here!)
Is there a need that's being ignored? (Anything from trace minerals to more daylight)
Or a natural function being over ridden? (Classically eating on the hoof instead of sitting relaxed, or not allowing for the natural ebb and flow of energy during the female hormonal cycle)

Does an opportunity to take better care of ourselves come to mind?

Consider that there is the possibility of a Win-Win solution. One in which you feel more well overall and not just suppress the symptoms and suffer side effects later.

Holistic treatments help us reconnect within ourselves, to understand our symptoms as 'messages', and to learn what we need to change in order to feel more physically, emotionally or mentally at peace.

For help with more inner peace and welbeing in 2018 you can call me on 07518 587434. I am making my clinic hours more variable with appointments available Monday through Saturday.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year, and

Wishing you well,
Jane
07518 587434

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!

Decode your Symptoms - How to understand the body language of your internal Complaints Department

proverbial area of choice?

Louise Hay (author of You can Heal Your Life) discovered hers were a 'body language' communication - a physical expression of a self-critical thought or emotion. She mapped how various negative thoughts expressed themselves in different illnesses and areas of the body.

For example the spine is to do with support. So she interpreted back pain as an opportunity for a person to look at in what way they might feel unsupported.

She developed a procedure of clearing unhelpful thoughts and feelings, then replacing them with positive ideas - affirmations.

Now I'm not saying that if your foot is run over by a truck you should sit and meditate on your bad karma instead of going to A&E!

But what if we tried to understand what could have contributed to a symptom arising? What if we asked, as F. M. Alexander pondered 'Could it be something I am doing to myself that is the cause of my problem?"

Then, if there is anything to learn, change or improve, we have the opportunity to do that.

The 'squeaky wheel' might seem like only it is shouting for the grease, but this call for help is not confined to just the area that feels the pain, discomfort or dysfunction.

Shiatsu teacher Diego Sanchez asks the question 'What is the symptom giving a solution to?'

He might ask a person who is finding it difficult to lose weight, for example, to consider whether perhaps they need to be a certain size to feel they have a large enough presence?

This 'no blame' attitude implies everything is actually working together, to the best of our ability, even in apparent dysfunction. 

We are not made up of inter-changeable parts, like a car. We are an interconnected ecosystem.

Fighting, conquering, beating and eliminating the symptoms of an illness or condition is an attitude of conflict. Opposition to something which has - slowly or suddenly, temporarily or long-term - become part of us and our experience of life.

And we all know how effective civil wars are at creating  a peaceful country!

If you would like help understanding your 'body language' and discovering what might improve your wellness just give me a call.

Wishing you well,
Jane
07518 587434

How to find balance when things are changing all the time

The Equinox is a point of balance – one of only two occasions in the year when there is evenness between night and day.

Only two days of balance annually? That says it all!

With constant change in life how can we hope to achieve the 'Holy Grail' of balance in our lives?

In Pilates this week we were asked to stand with one foot closely in front of the other and to balance.

Then close our eyes!

I wobbled. But I stayed in the move not because my feet were still but because I allowed my feet and ankles to flex and adjust in order to keep in place.

Balance is not a static condition that we attain and then hope to keep.

In the Alexander Technique class this Thursday we discussed being balanced on a horse. The horse is not still, so balance can't be still either.

Perhaps it's not so helpful to maintain a fixed ideal of a balanced lifestyle, balanced mind, balanced diet.

Maybe it's healthier to accept the dynamics of constantly adjusting to life's variations.

And wobble freely.

September is Shiatsu Awareness Month
Which means a Special Introductory Offer.
Free Consultation at First Appointment - Normal Price £60
£10 off in September ~ 90 minutes only £50

Given the right conditions and healthcare support we have amazing abilities to get well and stay well.

If you would like help with your wellness, just need to relax and let the stress melt away or chat about improving your health and lifestyle please give me a call.

Wishing you well,
Jane
07518 587434
p.s. This offer applies for Meridian Massage first appointments too - it's Shiatsu with aromatherapy oils.

Fat facts and fiction

Discrediting news about coconut oil this week. But is it as bad as the American Heart Association claims? 

Here's what I've discovered about fats, cholesterol and statins. There's lots on these subjects so I've given links to reputable sources for more information.

Debunking the Bad Fat Myth
Our bodies make cholesterol because it's essential. It is the building block for all our hormones. And it is vital for healthy brain function.

Understanding cholesterol
Cholesterol levels are not the best marker for measuring risk of heart disease, stroke or heart attack. One of the better measures is called 'oxidative stress'.

Five rules for cooking with fat
Fats high in Omega 6 (for example polyunsaturated fats) contribute to arterial damage.

Unsaturated, polyunsaturated and refined vegetable oils are less stable at cooking temperatures so they oxidise (go rancid) more quickly. Ingesting oxidised foods causes inflammation, which leads to cardiovascular disease. 

Saturated fats are more stable and therefore don't oxidise so easily. Fats high in Omega 3 however, such as fish oils, are anti inflammatory and balance the high levels of Omega 6 in our diets.

Yet the BBC news headline rang the alarm that coconut oil is unhealthy, and so are beef fat and butter. The BBC also recently announced a hopeful new human trial on a vaccination to replace statins for lowering cholesterol to reduce risk of heart disease. This report also states statins are safe and effective. Who to believe?

The NHS website says statins, like all medications, can cause side effects, and are not helpful for many people, such as those with an underactive thyroid (remember the link with cholesterol and hormones?) and the over 70's (who have a particular interest in conserving brain function.)

Consider that medications, designed to repress symptoms instead of addressing any causes, upset the body's natural ability to heal and rebalance itself (known as homeostasis.) 

Given the right conditions (diet, lifestyle, stress reduction) we have amazing abilities to get well and stay well.

If you would like help with your wellness, whether we talk about diet and lifestyle or you just relax and let the stress melt away with a massage or Shiatsu, give me a call.

Wishing you well,
Jane
07518 587434
p.s. Extra bonus info on coconut oil - here's how to keep your gums health by gum pulling.

Turmeric or Cider Vinegar?

Turmeric is becoming well known for helping with joint pain.
Cider vinegar is also a natural, nutritional and effective remedy for joints. So which is best?

Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory. The active ingredient works best in combination with some black pepper and a little fat.

Great! If you're cooking a soup, stew or curry, just saute the onions, for example, in coconut oil (or other fat that's stable at cooking temperature), add a teaspoon or as much turmeric as you fancy in with the other ingredients, season with pepper and enjoy!

Cider vinegar breaks down the uric acid crystals present in osteo-arthritic joints. But more than that it, surprisingly, has an alkaline effect on the body.

Now this is important because too much stress, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, meat - i.e the Western Lifestyle - has an acidic effect. And the body's coping mechanism for the effects of acidity is inflammation.

If you have a condition which ends in the suffix 'itis' which means inflammation - such as colitis, arthritis, cystitis, sinusitis, diverticulitis - then there is something in your diet, lifestyle or environment that is causing your body to respond with inflammation.

So is Turmeric best for you because it treats inflammation? Or cider vinegar because it addresses one of the causes of chronic inflammation - acidity?

I use both. When I'm cooking I add turmeric if it suits the recipe. I also drink cider vinegar every day.

Other helpful edibles include raw organic dark chocolate, vegetables in general, magnesium and Omega 3 oil (found in walnuts, oily fish, free range egg yolks, flax and chia seeds.)

Roast Veggies with Walnuts, Feta Cheese and Turmeric

           I rarely weigh ingredients unless I'm baking, so this is deliberately vague so you can adapt

           quantities to suit what's in your kitchen, how many you are cooking and to your own taste. 

           The oven temperature and time are accurate, though you'll need to check the veggies and 

           toss them around in the oil part way through. 

The most important thing is to find out what is causing the problem. What is causing the acidity? What is causing the inflammation? What is causing the pain?

Is it work stress, or Life In General stress? Do you rush when you eat? Is there something in your diet that causes inflammation or just doesn't suit your digestion? Are your joints painful because of a misalignment or mis-use such as RSI?

So I'll give a plug here for stress relieving Shiatsu and Massage treatments. During a consultation we can talk about work-life balance, we can look at diet and lifestyle changes to suit you, we can see if a re-alignment or different way to use your joints might help.

Relaxing in the treatment your stress hormone production switches off, your nervous system calms down and the recuperative, re-balancing, restorative processes that bring you back to feeling well have a chance to do their thing.

Don't put up with joint pain, inflammation or stress. Come and find out what might be causing the problem and see what solutions there could be. You never know, it might just be chocolate!

Wishing you well,
Jane
07518 587434

New Year's Resolutions and Good Intentions have a Bad Reputation.

Choosing goals, and focusing our intention over time on achieving them, pays dividends.
But fuelled by 'I should', 'I ought to' and 'I must', they soon fall by the wayside.

So how can we wholeheartedly follow through on the goals we set? Stick with improved lifestyle changes? Work consistently to fulfill our New Year's resolutions right through until next December?

Motivation lapses for many reasons. One pitfall is when goals are a mental resolution, based on rationally knowing what's best for us, but ignoring or trying to override our emotional or subconscious motivations.

The key to success is to use our whole brain - the left 'logical' hemisphere of rational thought and the right 'intuitive' hemisphere which includes the emotions.

Here is a 5 Step method to uncover any conflicting fears or feelings and 'take the handbrake off' in areas where we've felt held back.  

I've applied this process for 25 years. For more explanation and full details read Robert Langs fascinating book Decoding Your Dreams.

1) Put a notebook and pen ready before you go to bed.

2) Go to sleep, while your subconscious mind processes what you really think and feel about everything that's going on in your life. 

3) When you wake up, while you are still half asleep, start writing down your dreams. Do not edit. Use the first two thirds of each line only. 

4) Don't analyse at this stage but if an insight jumps out jot notes in the right hand third of the page. Include any insights, feelings, associations and tangents that come to mind, regardless of whether they seem relevant.

5) Re-read your dream and see what links, themes or associations you can find.

A bizarre dream can be random synapses firing. But a repeated theme or a cross reference, just like a cryptic crossword clue, looks absurd but hides an answer you'd normally never think of.

Here's an example from one of my New Year's dreams.

Driving and Red and Green Traffic Lights recur: so they are dream themes. 

Theme development - at the first junction I don't question my route or stop to review my choice. I am prevented from progressing and made to realise I should have stopped to check. 

At the second junction I know have to stop. There are other drivers and pedestrians. I realise I'm not clear on my route and feel fear about having to move before knowing which way to go. When I am given time to stop and think, I find I know the information, I just needed to pause and remember it. I feel relief, and I happily and confidently change course.

Being brought back to the junction is another aspect. Decoding this, I remember a recurrent thought from late 2016, a complaint regarding things I tried to progress with of 'one step forward, two steps back!' 

Theme development - Red and Green lights have a dual function. At the first junction they indicate which direction to take, Left or Right. As I ignored that, at the second junction Stop and Go is more strongly emphasised. Only after stopping can the best direction be taken. Right can mean a direction or certainty. At both junctions I assumed I was right, but it turned out I was wrong! However, at the first junction I needed a sign to show which way to go, and an authority figure to make the correction. At the second junction I knew I needed to stop and backtrack, and certainty about the correct direction came from Inner Knowing.

So the inner wisdom of the dream is telling me that whilst driving through life I need to stop and check which way to turn at junctions. In the past I've looked for 'red light/green light' signs but now I can rely on clear inner knowing. How I drive through life affects not just my journey but other 'road users' too. And if I'm not progressing with some area of life as fast as I think I should then maybe the delay is a good thing as it gives me time to re-assess the situation!

Have fun decoding your dreams and see what you can discover!

Jane

M 07518 587434
FB Press Pause Shiatsu massage
E prescottmassage@hotmail.co.uk

Physically Incurable or a Hopeless Hypochondriac?

"Illnesses are seen as either biological or psychological" writes Jo Marchant in ‘Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body”?  Why, according to Peter White, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) specialist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, do “The vast majority of doctors have this dualistic understanding of mind and body – go and see a psychiatrist for the mind and a physician for the body”? Jo describes Peter’s frustration that this leaves CFS patients believing that their condition is biological and currently incurable or it’s psychological and they are hypochondriacs!

Psychological and environmental stress contributes to quite the majority of illnesses these days. The link to tension headaches and ulcers is well known. Less obvious is the effects of stress hormones in creating hormonal imbalances such as underactive thyroid and menstrual or menopausal discomfort. Back pain can be made worse by stress.

Research shows that chronic stress leads to high levels of inflammation and, according to a study described in a Huffington Post article, 'chronic inflammation has been linked with a range of conditions such as heart disease, depression and even cancer. “This study provides a nice mechanism for how psychology impacts biology,” study researcher Nicole Powell, a research scientist in oral biology at Ohio State University.'
 
So why settle for a treatment which helps only the mind or just the body when you can have both! At Hits the Spot we have many practitioners who support welbeing holistically - we work with the mind and body partnership: the 'whole person.'

The Alexander Technique teaches that 'Man is not a machine, but he has a machine which he operates.' Yoga literally means 'yoking' – the unification – of mind, body and spirit.

And Shiatsu and Meridian massage works with the flow of 'life force' (Chi to the Chinese, prana to the Indians) which interconnects all areas of the body and all aspects of being.

So sooth the stress right out of your system with a Shiatsu or Meridian massage. It's not just pampering, it's preventative!

Wishing you well,
Jane

M  07518 587434
FB Press Pause Shiatsu Massage
E prescottmassage@hotmail.co.uk

Too hard? Too soft? Or Just right?

My little nieces are coming for a sleepover this weekend and, for the second time only, their toddler brother. Along with the bedtime stories required before they will settle down, Aunty Jane has learned that she now has to give not just two but three sets of hand and foot massages. 

Goldilocks style, I always ask them if it's too hard, too soft or just right. It's so important with children not to apply heavy pressure. That's also the case with adults.

How many of us have had 'No pain, no gain' instilled into us? Or we think 'I can bear it', 'it must be working' or 'She's the expert' when really your body knows it's counter productively too much?

The central topic on the 'Treating trauma and vulnerability' Shiatsu training I went on in March surprised me. It was not learning the most calming pressure points or gentle techniques. It was simply how to encourage people to give feedback.

Many studies have shown that healing best occurs when the body and mind are relaxed, such as in deep sleep and holistic treatments. Insensitive, overly firm or invasive treatment will trigger the 'fight, flight or freeze' defence response. Feeling safely supported and not a victim of having something 'done to you' allows your energy flow to open up again for rebalancing, reconnecting and tension release.

Shiatsu and Meridian Massage allow you to take responsibility for your own health whilst being supported. That equal partnership between therapist and client includes the encouragement to say 'too much, not enough or just right.'

Amphora Aromatics

Did you see the feature on The One Show about mini plastic beads in face scrubs? Who would have thought that plastic beads make good exfoliators? Well, they don't really, if you care about plastics slooshing around in the water system polluting the environment.

I have used organic face creams and cleansers on principle ever since I worked at a pioneering Wholefood shop and health clinic, The Haelan Centre in Crouch End, London, in the 90's. Mineral oils such as Johnson's baby oil, I learned in my massage training, are pore clogging by-products of the petro-chemical industry and not good for anyone's skin let alone babies!

I am not a fashion follower or a beauty therapist. I could care less about which face creams the latest film star advertises or on spending £60 on a wrinkle cream. What's important to me are simple, pure and affordable products which use essential oils, no petrochemicals, not animal tested, and where I can understand the names of the half a dozen or less ingredients listed.

My personal favourite is Amphora Aromatics. UK produced in Bristol. For my skin type I prefer their Frankincense and Rose face cream. This is also the variety of Shea Butter I use in clinic for massage, in addition to the Lemon and Lavender oils I add to the Grapeseed oil. I've been in their shop off Cotham Hill, and know that when I'm ordering online that the products are travelling just a few miles.

I use their candles as well as their oils as they are soy based, so no petrochemicals or fake scents there either. My favourite in clinic is Juniper and Pine, and I use Rosemary and Thyme in the kitchen at home. Did you know that artificial scents, such as those used in candles and air fresheners have been linked to increased asthma and depression?

If you want quality, inexpensive and unharmful candles, face creams, candles or even bath oils take a look at Amphora's website here.