Learn Reflexology

I learned reflexology via a year long, in person course at a college, back in 2009.  I disliked feet and I remember the first week I was there a student was on the course who was my worse nightmare.  He had verrucas, athlete’s foot and of course it was my luck to be paired up with him.  However, it worked really well.  I got thrown into the gross deep end on the first day, had to wear latex-free gloves and the tutor ensured his feet didn’t rest on a towel but on disposable couch roll and he was booted off the course by her too (she basically told him that due to the level of fungus and plantar warts – it was pretty much over this feet and they stank – that he could only return based on health and safety when he had successfully treated himself).  It humbled me and my worst fears on the first session made everything thereafter feel easy.  All my fears about feet went and I still have my passion for all things reflexology.

I did my first year and then did a second year in reflexology where I learned hand, ears and spinal reflexes and since then have done quite a bit of CPD.  I  know that a lot of people find it very fascinating but they don’t have the time to attend college. I would say if this is you then yes, if you want to be a professional reflexologist please do not believe that an online course will train you. It’s really not an adequate way to learn and most insurance providers will not provide coverage; it’s also doing your clients a disservice. However, if you want to learn reflexology for your own personal needs and to know whether you would want to commit to a full qualification then this online course may  be the perfect taster (it’s also great for CPD/CEU for existing therapists).

 

 

 

Post-holidays 2015

Tomorrow I am working at the physio’s office. I do freelance massage therapy there and I enjoy working in a different practice and following slightly different ways to how I work alone.  It’s nice to be around other bodywork professionals and learn different client management systems.  The osteopathy teaching clinic is similar in that I am learning different administration approaches.

My own coach has a separate face cradle but both the physio and the teaching clinic have face holes built into the couch which is a different way of working.  Personally I prefer working with face cradles as I think they are a) more comfy for clients and b) I feel they open up the upper back in a better way and can be utilised almost like a tool in treatment.

I’m feeling like I ate quite a few of the wrong things for me over the holiday period. I ate quite a lot of refined, processed foods over the holidays because a) I was being too lazy and b) being polite to fit in and c) sometimes I think I like to see what happens (usually pain and bloating so then I groan at myself for being silly).

I’ve been taking the hair supplement every day since starting. Now I’m not certain yet if it has made a difference because hair doesn’t grow in 2 weeks but I have had no negative side effects from taking it so far i.e. no indigestion or reflux.  Did you know it takes about 55 days for eyebrows to grow back?  I have explained to quite a few women that plucking your eyebrows doesn’t last forever and that if their eyebrows are thin it could be due to thyroid issues and they need to see their doctor.

I have an exam weekend coming up on 9th January so my focus has been on that. After that I will be focusing more on my coaching programs for the New Year as I don’t have anyone in a coaching program right now other than the DIY Winter Wellness Detox program (if you are interested please subscribe to my newsletter).

Kick the Sugar and Reclaim Your Health!

Sugar is almost everywhere in our food. It’s not only in our pastries and desserts, but it’s also in our coffee, in cans of soup, even in salad dressings!

Sugar robs the body of nutrition. It can cause tooth decay and cause fatty deposits to build up in your liver and around the middle of your body, an area associated with increased risk of metabolic disease. It’s the main cause of cellulite and body fat. Sugar also creates an acidic environment in the body, which leads to disease and can increase the risk of some forms of cancer.

So you can see why it would be important to kick sugar to the curb and swap it out for healthier alternatives.

Now, I’m not about deprivation. Not in the least. I like a dessert as much as the next person. But I make sure that most of the time what I’m eating isn’t going to negatively impact my health, so I make sure that any treats I’m eating are either savoury or sweetened with a healthier sweetener, like an organic honey or maple syrup, or natural sugar substitute, like organic stevia. Honey and maple syrup, although still sugar also contain micronutrients and have a taste that can be easier to wean off than packet sugars. I also don’t use them as snacks between meals, rather ensuring that I eat enough of a main course that has a good protein and/or fat balance.

Once you start switching to healthy sweeteners and low-sugar substitutes, you’ll notice that you have fewer and fewer cravings for regular sugar and then you can start working to no added sugar. You will also find that you’re tasting the natural sweetness of fruits and vegetables without needing to put anything on top of them.

Getting off of sugar will help you to ditch the afternoon energy crash, stabilise your blood sugar, look younger, and create a more alkaline environment that your body will thrive in.

What will you swap out these week for a healthier, low-sugar or no alternative?

A 30-day trial of a hair supplement

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.  – Kahlil Gibran

I have long hair. I always had longish hair from about 5 years. My reason for long hair goes back to Star Wars.  The only person who was female in Star Wars was Princess Leia and she flew in spaceships and had long hair so my logic back then decided that long hair = space adventures.  In my teens my hair got to waist length.

I  am trialling a supplement in the UK  called Hair Anew for 30 days.  My hair was in very good condition in my teens but as my digestive system got worse alongside my menstrual cycle it started to look more like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards.  During my first pregnancy with my daughter I ended up having bald patches and really bad tangled hair after it.  It didn’t really recover for ages after and then I had my second pregnancy which ended in a miscarriage.  After that I became severely anaemic and didn’t have a clue other than I felt depressed why I was so tired and lethargic plus my hair was dropping out in clumps.  I was able to turn my health around using nutrition – working out what foods worked for me and what didn’t and then eating to regain my strength and energy.  It also helped my hair.

There are a lot of products for hair but most of them concern themselves with being put on the outside.  What really works is what we put inside our bodies.  The past few years my hair was healthier again but last spring I went through a major set of stress events.  One of the things I ask my clients to check is how their hair is and their eyebrows.  Trending at the moment are beauty products for hair and eyebrows and yet if you have any problems with either I always advise my clients to go to their healthcare provider (G.P.) as they can indicate thyroid or other medical issues. Adding a product to rinse or disguising your thinning eyebrows with powder

Anyway I was fortunate enough to be able to trial a supplement newly available in the UK.   I’m going to be testing it for 30 days.  Hair growth takes longer than this but it will give me an indication I hope.  Although I am not a nutritional therapist and don’t directly prescribe supplements to my clients I do give advice so they can discover what works for them (if they are on medication then I ask them to check with a pharmacist or primary healthcare provider before taking anything as supplements can interfere with pharmaceuticals).

Day 1:  I took the supplement with my daily meal of breakfast.  What I did notice was I had no after effects like indigestion, no unpleasant taste nor odour and no burping.

Is your sleep troubling you?

“When you have insomnia, you’re never really asleep, and you’re never really awake.”- Fight Club

Sleep issues are a major factor for many people.  Sleep can affect our health short and longterm. When we have disturbed sleep our ability to function the next day can be seriously lowered.  When this happens repeatedly our wellbeing can suffer.  Diabetes Type 2 and even heart disease can occur because of problems with sleeping.

Stanford University says there are over 100 sleep disorders.  There can be physical or emotional reasons for them and also many people have to work with shifts such as nurses so there are social reasons too.  These all have detrimental effects but there are ways to improve the quality of your sleep.  First port of call is always your doctor and mainstream medical care.  As you know my business is in complementary therapies and these can also help alongside.

At the moment I have exams coming up and that has affected my sleep. I’ve been doing clinic time too and the journey there is quite difficult so I have to get up early.  I pay the price if I don’t get to bed early enough.  Rudolf Steiner discussed how the cycle of the day and in particular sleeping before 10 pm helped with the quality of sleep.  There is a lovely proverb that says “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a men healthy, wealthy and wise.”  Sleep is not just a shutdown with eyelids closed. It takes our brain through cycles that allow it to rest, replenish and recuperate our mind and body.  We also wake up taller in the morning from sleep as our spine is allowed to decompress from not being upright and it also gives our organs a rest.

I made this infographic about a year back and it contains a lot of useful tips to get a good night’s sleep.  Another very important aid to restful sleep is breathing. Pranayama is a yoga practice that works with breath.  I attend a restorative yoga class once a week and have practised albeit on and off for years.  It helps greatly with getting a good rest in.  One simple breathwork exercise is the 4-7-8.  On my health coaching training course we learned this from lecturer Dr Andrew Weil and I try to do this if not each and every day at least several times per week.  I find it works best if I use it in the morning and then I work with different breathing at night (I find if I focus on my breathing I can send myself to sleep but it’s when my mind gets over busy that I lose track and then it takes longer).  Being comfy in bed is really important too.  I often see in my massage practice people who are not sleeping well and a question I do ask is what are their pillows like and how is their mattress.

About:

I’m Elizabeth Plant, a clinical massage therapist and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.  I work with managing stress and pain issues in my clients and hold qualifications in an array of complementary therapies that all work holistically.  I can work hands on or my coaching is done via Skype so you can work with me from the comfort of your own home.  My 7-day Winter Detox is available now here.

 

Unwelcome comments

I have lived in a world where unwelcome comments have shaped, formed and hammered me into some kind of distorted version of myself that often feels like the true I that I am is looking down a tunnel, trapped and screaming at who I have become outside.  Sometimes I remember who I really am and try and squeeze myself back.

Anyway I learned about a term called thin-shaming yesterday.  A friend of mine received critical and unwelcome comments from family members and I realised that it’s something I have had over the years too.  I thought I had eating disorders in my teens because I kept being told I was too skinny etc.  I thought I did because after a while if people keep telling you have something or are something you can end up becoming that.  Except I didn’t.  Now I am older and have learned about nutrition and my ASD I realise that I had major food intolerances which were the reasons I found eating certain things very hard on my digestion (pain, bloating, discomfort and feeling completely out of sorts – my food aversions were actually very sensible given what I know now even if they irritated other people who perceived me as a ‘faddy eater’).  I had UTIs, ear infections and eczema quite frequently as a child; nowadays someone medical would have picked up that dairy didn’t agree with me at that time (I ended up giving up cow dairy in my early twenties and used self learned protocols that helped me to reset my system).

Anyway, thin-shaming is interesting. People make comments that you are too thin and also make judgements on what you are or are not eating or about how you live.   What is said seems to build up in a peer situation (so if one person says it others will join in which is pretty typical for human behaviour).  Also what is said on the surface has deeper meaning underneath.  The implication could be that the people saying these things suspect you have something wrong with you, perhaps a mental health issue e.g. disordered eating or that you must work very hard to maintain being the shape that you are which is somehow wrong too.  What about the thought that the person who eats well and works out is in fact considerate about their health and wellbeing and also ENJOYS what they do and it is in fact not obsessive nor disordered?  Also maybe they have learned to eat in a particular way because that is when they feel at their best.  Also if the comments are meant to compliment the person, then maybe choosing something as simple as “You look glowing and healthy” would work.  Maybe the commentating person is curious in which case something along the lines of “Hmm I hope you don’t mind but you are inspiring me.  What works for you please? I would like to know so that I can make some different choices myself…”

But that fantasy aside, the only person you can change is yourself as I have been told so many, many times (unless you are a skilled practitioner of NLP/hypnosis which I am not).  So are there are any tactics that can be used?

Here is a tactic I learned.  When they, the party that makes the comments, say the stuff notice what sensory aspect you have it strongest.  So is it hearing it or feeling it somewhere? Then you can play with it – so if it is an audio sensory hit then play with the volume dial or add a funny image to them (imagine them as wearing a silly hat for example).  It is a technique I learned from some coaching with cognitive behavioural therapy which I had briefly some years back.   I have found it useful with my clients although I cannot crack it with my own family who flood me with negative comments the whole time (apparently in their bid to improve me from the outside – may as well hit me with a brick on a regular basis because that is how the barrage feels).  After living for 15 years away from my family it made life a lot easier to be my very own self but right now I am back living with them so I need to work on this tactic myself.

About Me: I am a health coach and massage therapist.  My website is at Springtime Holistics