|
 Roberta's Vitality Tips
Page 2 of 2
Reflexology
For instant energy and relaxation, I love reflexology treatments. Reflex points are like acupuncture points without the needles – each one represents an area of the body and as it is pressed or squeezed or massaged, energy surges along the meridian to where it is needed most. The treatment is a wonderful bowel tonic. Pituitary, thyroid, adrenal glands and pancreas can be balanced, energised and strengthened. Ovaries are activated. Brains are stimulated. Hearts are toned. Your immune system is supported and our liver is encouraged to chuck out rubbish. It’s a post-op healer. It frees the body form pain. It’s gloriously relaxing when done by the right hands. It feels self-indulgent – but it’s a medicine!
Echinacea
Echinacea drops or capsules to enhance
immunity to everything from sniffles and coughs to sore throat and
tonsillitis. What isn’t such common knowledge is the isnt array of
actions Echinacea has. Did you know that the herb could be taken to
successfully treat acne, mouth ulcers, candida infections, eczema, and
abscesses? Apparently a couple of hundred years ago, Native Americans
saw a rattlesnake bit itself into a state of angst. It immediately
slithered to a nearby plant and sucked on it before retreating to its
hole to hide. It emerged perfectly healthy and strong. The plant it ate
was Echinacea, known to have an ‘interferon effect’ by enhancing the
body’s resistance to toxic infection. Take daily from December through
February.
Flower Remedies
Rescue Remedy is becoming better known these days. It is one of the ‘energetic medicines’ that works by subtly lowering the rate at which the body vibrates and thus encourages a healing reaction. Dr. Edward Bach was a medical pathologist with a sixth sense when it came to tuning in to certain flowers and plants and their potential to cause symptoms. He then diluted and potentised them (in a way similar to, but the same as homoeopathic remedies) and gave them to patients by the drop. He was aware then, at the turn of the century, that negativity of thought and mind had an apparent effect of the molecular structure of the body. In other words – unhappy and destructive moods increase toxins and cellular damage, stressing our immune systems. Happy and constructive thoughts help to repair damaged tissue and to create new healthy tissue in its place, changing cellular structure for the better. He was the first known holistic practitioner. I use this principle in multi-layered ways in my practice. It is vast and complex and exciting. A simple way to boost healing of the body, mind and life in general is to take one or two Bach remedies at a time, 3 times a day over 6 to 8 weeks. Then observe how layers of emotions subtly shift for the better. There are 38 remedies altogether that each corresponds to an emotion. They were developed to self-prescribe, so you can get a booklet and pick two that you have narrowed down as your absolute priorities (its easy at first to think that you need every one of them!). Or you can see a professional holistic practitioner to test you and choose them for you in an objective way. S0-called ‘burn-out’ is the extreme of mental torment – a sort of nervous breakdown. I really believe all these remedies go a long way to preventing emotional illness, and subsequent physical illness. Some might call them faith remedies. To me that’s the whole point. Faith in our amazing bodies to heal themselves, given the right bio-chemical materials, mental direction, exercise, sleep, natural light and laughter.
An Energising Week
Energy is enhanced the lighter we are. Through years of self- experimentation and treating patients I’ve found that certain foods make us feel over-loaded, thick-in-the-head, lethargic, stiff, irritable, itchy, and just plain down and heavy. That’s an acidic reaction. Other foods, after two or three days to get used to the change, make us feel free, flat-tummied, strong, clear-minded, alert, joyful and light. That’s a re-alkalinizing action that sooths and it happens so quickly. The way to see for yourself that you can feel happy and comfortable and at peace with yourself in one week – is to do a little experiment. It won’t solve all your problems but you’ll gain energy so that you can see the way forward. I recommend that you steel yourself to do that as soon as you can.
Get rid of everything in your fridge and cupboards, if you can, either by giving it away or using it up. Set a day to begin and be sure that you have a clear week to spend your leisure time staying in and staying calm (by reading, listening to music, indulging in a hobby, playing the piano…) For seven days, get up and have a large glass of water with ½ squeezed fresh lemon in it. For breakfast have as much organic bio-yoghurt as you like (dairy or soya)and fresh fruit. If you absolutely can’t bear yoghurt, then have almonds and sunflower seeds instead. You may have one cup of coffee per day – if you’re addicted to coffee – before 10am. For lunch, have salad – as many salad veggies as you like – with unprocessed, unsalted nuts (including pine-kernels) and seeds or bio-yoghurt, or both – and an olive oil and lemon or cider vinegar dressing with herbs and sea-salt and cayenne pepper. For dinner have steamed vegetables, or stir-fried vegetables in a little olive oil with cashews and almonds and tamari sauce. Drink filtered water throughout the day – 2 – 4 litres – ideally on its own, or half organic apple juice, and herb teas if you like. Have as much fresh fruit as you like. Please note that if you have a nut allergy or you hate nuts, they will NOT make you feel better, so don’t have them. Instead have more yoghurt, and shake into juice one scoop of whey powder with each meal – three times a day. :-) Lymphatic Massage
We all know that exercise is great for firming, toning, relaxing and stimulating the lymphatic system, but if you just can’t get motivated in time to look lovely in your Christmas outfits, massage is the next best thing. Lymphatic massage is gentle yet superbly effective at draining off excess water-retention and puffiness, and reduce weight, in just one session. Unlike other types of massage – equally gorgeous but different – it has a lightening and lifting effect on the body and mind so that you bounce home with a sublime look on your face!
Laughter is the Best Cure
Christmas is traditionally a time of joyousness and merriment. It has become more and more difficult for people to attain the jolly feelings that come from a simpler lifestyle – when overindulgence and artificiality hadn’t almost saturated our souls. had never your denomination (or whether you have one at all!) the season of goodwill is a great time to brighten up the gloomiest time of the year. Studies have been done to prove that laughter is truly good for our health. When we laugh – every cell in our body laughs. Watch funny films, read hilarious books, and spend time with friends who see the humour in life. Immunity is the state of one’s heart and mind – so lighten up – take a break from being serious and sensible – and have fun!
Take It Easy
If you have been seriously trying to lose weight and wondering why you still have a flabby tum-tum, it is probably a reaction to stress! Do you gobble when you’re in a hurry, and gulp in the gaps of animated conversation with friends? Do you ever chew your food properly? Your brain probably thinks you’re in fight or flight mode and doesn’t bother to even switch your digestion to full on – you don’t need lunch when you’re running for your life! What’s worse your cortisol levels rocket and the food is stored on your body for protection! Take time to sit, put both feet on the floor, and breathe deeply 2 or 3 times before starting to eat. Its like a prayer. It shows appreciation for your food and for your body. Over time, it is more important than counting calories OR carbohydrates. Slow Cooker
It’s very easy to comfort ourselves in the winter with lots of starchy and rich convenience foods. The mornings are dark, the late afternoons are dreary and the nights are cold – so we bundle up in unflattering clothes and engorge our poor livers – no wonder we get depressed and lazy. I love my slow-cooker because it takes just a little bit of effort in the morning when I’m at my best, to chop a few carrots, onions, courgettes, new potatoes and other veggies with some strips of beef, chicken, or turkey (very low fat!) – or seafood for a chowder - or for a vegetarian variety – brown, wild or basmati rice and lentils or tinned chickpeas. Be sure to add stock cubes free from hydrogenated fat and low in salt; and garlic. The aroma at the end of the day is divine, and satisfying to the most robust of taste buds. Don’t forget to switch it on before you leave the house! Getting In Balance
Did you know that there are only four ways for your body to be out of balance – out of tune with nature? When assessing clients using muscle-testing techniques I check to see which of these four ways is their ‘priority’ imbalance at that moment in order to find the underlying cause of any symptoms. It takes minutes to do yet provides profound information unique to each individual. The four major potentially causative factors are electrical, emotional, bio-chemical or structural. There will always be something in one of those four categories that can be used as a guide to treatment. The most obvious is bio-chemical, to do with diet, nutrition, drugs, or absorption and utilisation by the digestive tract. Structural relates primarily to the spine – how it is aligned and whether or not there is pressure on the nerves creating irritation anywhere in the body. Electrical or emotional imbalances are less obvious and more subtle, but no less crucial to the overall healing of the whole person. It’s fascinating to discover things about yourself that you may not be consciously aware of! Keep It Simple
Beauty comes from within; we all know that, don’t we? Apparently not! We’re still spending zillions of pounds on creams to stick on our faces to make us beautiful. Doesn’t work. Happiness makes us beautiful, that glow that comes from feeling good that makes us radiate an energy to all around us. I watched an interesting documentary about anti-ageing products, and the long and the short of it was that a £300 face cream was so packed full of ingredients that they counteracted each other out. Under the microscope, skin did not change. The most effective product was a simple high-street brand that contained vitamin C and vitamin E. There was a noticeable effect, relatively quickly. If we simplify our lives, can we all be happy and beautiful? Probably. But it is individual choice that makes the world go around, and there will always be those of us who thrive on aiming to cram the most we can in to a day or a life. The key to happiness and beauty and radiance and successfully achieving – to whatever degree – is energy. We need energy to exist. We need energy to make the most of our lives. We need energy to actually feel happy. And we need energy to be beautiful. Have you ever thought of that? If we pack our lives with so much stuff that we physically and mentally burn up all the fuel, there’s not enough energy left for cellular repair. Not to the extent that we want, to stay youthful, fresh and radiant. Let’s simplify. Let’s see what we can do less of, let go of, and de-clutter. And make the most of what we're blessed with by eating simple, healthy food and boosting our energy naturally. Make A List
The days are getting longer and the light is getting brighter – how wonderful! For most of us, this time of year is the start of good things to come – a glorious summer to enjoy with our friends and loved ones. Recently I was interviewed for an article on ‘burnout’ in the light of growing awareness of serious depression due to overwork, inhumanely long hours and peer-pressure; as well as generally losing touch with who we really are and what we truly want out of life. This is a huge, deep and potentially dark subject. To me it is no wonder that this phenomenon increases in April, May and June. Spring is a time of light, growth and awareness, of seeing things as they really are with clarity. If we dread the thought of bright lights shining on our personal reality then it’s time to take one day at a time in the knowledge that the only way forward is just to do the best we can today. I have found that getting organized can be a positive and fun experience, so the first thing I do when things start to get a bit overwhelming is make a to-do list. Before I can begin to take action I need to get it straight in my head what I want to achieve – whether its clearing out the hall cupboard, shedding a few pounds and fitting into those great jeans, making a career change or starting a family – so everything goes on a list. If the writing of causes your stomach to know up, all the better. The bigger the reaction, the more it needs to be dealt with. Just stay strong. (And tap your way through it with EFT – that’s another chapter…)
|
|
