Month: August 2021

Constipation and diarrhoea have lots of causes but one of the most common is as a physical response to stress, anxiety, depression and fear – and we’ve all felt at least one of these over the last 12 months and more!

If your poo routine’s out the window then you might find this hand reflexology routine useful for helping to calm and regulate your digestive system – along with  a balanced diet of plenty of fluids, fruit, veg and fibre.  As always it’s suitable for your kids too.  With the return to school around the corner I know many kids, from tots to teens, are feeling a little anxious about going back and this can have an impact on their bowels.

If you’re familiar with the reflexes you might find the video above should be enough – just remember to repeat head, diaphragm, digestive system and adrenals on the right hand too!  If you’re not, then refer to the sheet below and follow these instructions, starting with either the left or right hand:

HEAD

Tummy troubles are not nice and feed the stress and anxiety we’re already experiencing, so we start off by working on the head reflex.  Caterpillar walk (imagine your finger or thumb is moving like a caterpillar) up and down the head reflex on the thumb x 1.  Repeat on the other hand.

DIAPHRAGM

Calming and relaxing the diaphragm can have a knock on effect to the whole digestive system as well as making the whole body feel more relaxed.  Caterpillar walk along the diaphragm and back x 3. Repeat on the other hand.

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

I think this one is obvious!  Working this area means we cover the stomach, liver, spleen, gall bladder, intestines and colon.  As with the instructions for the head. Repeat on the other hand.

ADRENAL / KIDNEY

An extra bit of focus here because of the role the adrenal glands play in releasing stress hormones and the role of the kidney’s in removing waste products as your food and fluid pass through your digestion system.  You should be able to locate the adrenal / kidney reflex by walking your thumb or finger up the fatty pad of your thumb, pressing gently as you go…very often it’s very tender so go gently!  Once you’ve found it apply pressure (you can decide what feels right for you) for around 30 seconds – 1 minute. Repeat on the other hand.

COLON

This is another obvious one, and we are working to rebalance the colon to help return stools and bowel movements to ‘normal’.  The only rule with this move is you MUST start on your RIGHT HAND so that you follow the natural flow of your bowels!  Caterpillar walk along the line shown in the diaphragm from your RIGHT hand to your LEFT hand x 3.  Repeat this move but this time just sweep along the line with your thumb or finger x 3.

PS: Sometimes, just sometimes, this routine can get things moving fairly quickly so, especially with young children who have less control over their bowels than us, please make sure you are near to a loo for at least 30 – 45 minutes after having done the routine!

If you want some more support or advice about how you can use complementary and holistic therapies like Reflexology to help you with stress, anxiety and tension then contact me for a confidential chat, or you can text or call me on 07715213392.

REMEMBER

Complementary and holistic therapies like Reflexology are never a replacement for conventional medical treatment or advice from your GP.  In the case of constipation if symptoms persist please contact your local pharmacist or GP for advice, and in the case of diarrhoea if symptoms persist more than 24 hours or become severe within those 24 hours contact your GP for advice.

There’s no getting around the fact many more of us are feeling more stressed than before, and it’s not just because of C19; the kids are off school (again!), it’s raining, finances are tight, the job’s getting on top of you – or could be that life is just pants at the moment. 

When you are stressed you can go through the whole gamut of emotions, one minute you’re living off adrenaline flying high, the next your teary or angry, the next you are just totally and utterly exhausted.

You might find this little hand reflexology routine can help – it only takes about 10-15 minutes, and all the instructions along with a video, downloadable sheet are in this post. It’s suitable for all ages, and it could even be something fun to teach your kids over the holidays…..just imagine, 15 minutes of quiet time while they work on their hands! Oh! Happy Days!

Click here for the video

THE HAND REFLEXOLOGY ROUTINE EXPLAINED

HYPOTHALAMUS

The hypothalamus sits in the brain and has an important role in the body, including regulating the release of hormones. Using a firm pressure rub in small circles at the lateral edge of your thumb, adjacent to the nail for about 1 minute. Repeat on the other hand.

SPINE

The spine protects the spinal cord and back pain often goes hand in hand with stress. Using a caterpillar motion walk up and down the length of the spine – from the first joint in the thumb all the way to your wrist and back. Repeat 3 times using a medium to light pressure. Repeat on the other hand.

LUNGS

When we’re stressed we are often not getting enough air into our lungs and we shallow breath – we want to slow this breathing down and make it deeper. Cross hatch the lung area 3 times using a caterpillar walking motion, or by rubbing in large circles for 1-2 minutes. Repeat on the other hand.

ADRENAL GLAND / KIDNEY

Adrenal glands are responsible for secreting hormones like adrenaline when we are stressed, and the kidneys are involved in filtering and removing toxins from our body – we don’t want that adrenaline hanging around! Walk up and around the fatty pad of your thumb using a caterpillar motion. Roughly in line with the index finger you may find a tender spot – work into this in small circles using whatever pressure you want to…don’t be surprised if this area feels tender and bruised!  Repeat 3 times and the repeat the sequence on the other hand.

Hay fever is one of the most common allergies in the UK and depending on what pollens you are allergic to you could be experiencing hay fever symptoms from February/March with tree pollen, to as late as October if grasses and weeds are your trigger.

In this post I explore what seasonal allergies like hay fever are caused by, and what you can do if you want to try a more holistic approach.

WHY DO WE GET HAY FEVER?

The medical term for hay fever is seasonal allergic rhino conjunctivitis and it occurs when pollen enters your body (via your nose, mouth and eyes) and rather than viewing it as something harmless your body instead thinks it’s being attacked and reacts as if it were being attacked by a virus.  Your immune system kicks in by ‘attacking’ the pollen with histamine (which is why you take antihistamines to treat hay fever), and it’s the histamine that causes the itching, sneezing, runny nose and irritated eyes.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP HAY FEVER?

There is no cure for hay fever but there are a lot of effective over-the-counter medications available and for serious cases your doctor can prescribe a steroid nasal spray.  But what can you do if you want to take a more holistic approach?

1 Try complementary therapies

Complementary therapies can be a great way to help alleviate your symptoms in the short-term and they may also bring about some long-term benefit.

I’ve been, touch wood, relatively symptom free for the past 4 years – and it’s all thanks to the Bowen Technique – also called Bowen Therapy.  (In fact, the impact on my symptoms was such it’s one of the reasons why I became a Bowen Therapist.) Simple, pain free and deeply relaxing, a Bowen Therapy treatment once a year seems to be all I need to keep the worst of the symptoms at bay.

Reflexology can also help, and I’ve made a quick video showing you some hand reflexology techniques that can help you work on key problem areas such as eyes, nose and throat.  The video also contains some suggestion on how you can work on the systems and organs in your body that have a role in hay fever and other seasonal allergies including your lungs, spleen, lymph, adrenals and kidneys – like the work we do in a Bowen Therapy treatment, working these areas are key to a longer-term approach to seasonal allergies – getting to the root cause.

Click here for a quick video on hand reflexology techniques to help with seasonal allergies

Alternatively, if you fancy something ever so slightly indulgent then why not try a holistic facial?  While there are the obvious aesthetic benefits of nourishing and promoting healthier looking skin, the real focus of a facial is your health and well-being.  Using a mixture of massage, acupressure and lymphatic drainage on your face, neck, and scalp, a holistic facial can help to relieve the congestion and itching associated with hay fever, as well as lifting emotional stress and anxiety, physical stress, and tension, alleviating their impact on your mind and body.

While life might well be like a box of chocolates, your health and well-being is like the layers of an onion. As a therapist my job is to peel away those layers to get to the root cause of your current problems, whether that’s your aching back in the morning, your painful knee as you walk up the stairs, your stiff shoulder that’s stopping your from reaching round to undo your bra strap, or that aching hip that’s stoping you walking the dog as far as you’d like.

The onion principle explains why, without you even realising it, your body has been compensating subtly over the years, to the point where the pain or discomfort you feel now could be located far away from the initial problem.Let’s take the example of a knee injury you experienced in your teens:

• Layer 1: Your thigh muscles have worked extra hard to support your knee
• Layer 2: Your hip and pelvis have provided additional support to those thighs
• Layer 3: Your lower back has taken on the additional strain to help those hips
• Layer 4: Your back starts to niggle
• Layer 5: Your back hurts every morning, waking you at 5.30am
• Layer 6: Now its your hips too, waking you throughout the night as you toss and turn, trying to get comfy

Your knees?

Aside from the odd creek when you walk up the stairs, they’re just fine because every other part of your body is helping them! Like an onion your body has created layers of compensation where the original issue is barely visible.

This is why the first thing we do at a treatment is talk, because I want to you to wake up at a normal time, to run up your stairs, to move your arm freely in whatever direction you want to, and to get back to walk your dog.

Click here to read more about the treatments I offer, and here to contact me about how Bowen or Reflexology might be able to help you start to peel back those layers to good health and well-being.