Real Life example of Holistic Therapies and Teenagers

Hello all.  How are you?  I thought I’d use a real life example of how I integrate Holistic Therapies into everyday life for this week’s blog post. 

I was called away from work yesterday by my son’s High School.  My eldest son had been involved in an incident and had injured his neck.  Whilst the injury itself was not serious, the emotional impact on my sensitive eleven year old cannot be under-estimated.

We spent the afternoon discussing his feelings whilst watching a film together on the sofa.  After checking there was no heat or swelling around the neck area, we alternated cold and hot compresses.  I also used oral arnica tablets and Neal’s Yard Remedies Arnica salve in a gentle massage around the affected area.

I realised my son’s active imagination would mean falling asleep would be an issue so he listened to a meditation app, I placed a crystal grid around his bed and used Neal’s Yard Remedies to Roll Sleep on his pulse points.  Needless to say hands-on and distance Reiki have been continuously used.

Today is going slowly as I just want to check how he’s doing; patience has never been one of my strongest points. 

Are there any other holistic therapies you would have used in the same situation?  Let me know below, I’d love some more ideas.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope this advice helps someone lead a healthier, holistic life.  Any questions, please ask me in the comments below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine.  

Friday ramblings

Just a short and obscure blog this week.

Initially I thought about discussing aesthetics; specifically those relating to human beauty.  You see, sometimes I am guilty of not noticing when someone has a new hair style or has lost a few pounds.  I don’t believe I’m being ignorant but I notice people as a whole – not just their body and image but their soul.

For example, as a child I had a crush on a high school teacher.  This teacher certainly didn’t fill the category of what most teenagers called attractive but his personality shone through.  I saw the teacher holistically. 

In TV programmes, I tend to admire, respect and am attracted to those characters who appear wise, kind, humorous and caring.  My home-made pin-up calendar at work (don’t ask why!!) raised a few eyebrows.  Not because of their body or good looks, entirely the opposite. 

Perhaps this is why I enjoy holistic therapies.  I look at the person as a whole; not just the physical but the spiritual and emotional.

Any guilty crushes you’d like to admit?

As always, thank you for reading this blog.  If you have any questions or comments, please chat to me below.

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How holistics can help with stress

Aromatherapy, Reiki, Indian Head Massage and hot stone massage are some of the range of treatments which can be classed as Holistic therapies. Holistic therapy treats the person as a whole, no matter what the complaint. You may start your treatment because of back ache, insomnia or even acne and the holistic therapy can help treat issues you don’t even realise are there.

Holistic therapies are often based on ancient therapies, where wisdom realised there is not just your physical health but also your mental health to balance and care for. Any imbalance between your physical, mental, spiritual or emotional can surface as an illness or physical issue. Modern medicine is beginning to realise the link between stress and illness. It then follows if you can reduce your levels of stress, hopefully your health with improve.

Spending as little as 30 minutes being pampered sends a message to your subconscious that you are worthy of only the best and deserve this special time to relax and unwind. To quote the L'Oréal adverts “because I’m worth it”.

What holistic therapies have you tried? What holistic therapies would you like to try? I’d love to try a hot stone massage . . .

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What is Reiki?

Last week I discussed why I was initially drawn to Reiki but what is Reiki (pronounced Ray-kee)?

The word Reiki translates from the original Japanese meaning spiritual/Universal energy. Eastern medicine has always recognised and worked with this energy, which flows through all living things and is vital to well-being. Known as ‘ki’ in Japan, ‘chi’ in China and ‘prana’ in India and the practices of Acupuncture, T’ai chi and Yoga are also based on the free-flow of this energy in a person. The system of Reiki was developed by a gentleman called Mikao Usui in the early 1900’s. I think Reiki can sound confusing and very hippy and this can put people off just trying Reiki.

In basic terms, a Reiki practitioner asks the recipient to sit or lie somewhere comfortably. The Reiki practitioner then places their hands on or just above various areas of the recipient’s body. Reiki is activated by intention and addresses physical, emotional, spiritual and mental imbalances. The recipient’s physical, emotional and spiritual systems responds by moving toward balance. This response is typically experienced as relaxation. Whilst in this state of relaxation, your body starts to heal and balance itself. The Reiki Practitioner is not the healer; your body uses the Reiki Practitioner as a channel to this spiritual/universal energy.

There are 5 reiki precepts which everyone could bring into their daily life and the five I like to work with daily are:-

Just for today do not worry
Just for today do not anger
Respect every living thing
Honour your parents, teachers and elders
Earn your living honestly

I meditate on these 5 precepts twice daily and they are in the front of my Filofax as a constant reminder.

Do you have any questions about Reiki? Ask me below and I will try and answer them for you.

Why not give Reiki a try? What have you got to loose?

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Winter review

OK so I know we are all busy in the run up to Christmas but my next blow post isn’t due until Friday 30th December (I try and publish a blog post every Friday) and I wanted to give you all something to think about between Christmas and New Year.

Now is an ideal time to look back and review.

According to some calendars, yesterday (21st December) was the Winter Solstice. However technically, the shortest day this year falls on the 22nd December. See here for some further details:- http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-solstice-on-december-21 I found this fascinating and enlightening. For me, I can now start to celebrate the start of longer, lighter days. It is also a reminder for me to spend some time in the sun, even 10 minutes during my lunch break and I feel much happier.

I have a routine where I look at my tasks, to-do’s which have been written in my Filofax. This happens weekly, monthly and yearly and I carry forward what hasn’t been completed, what needs to be updated and what no longer applies.

Also remember to look back and review the last year on how you have grown emotionally and spiritually. Reviews also include what didn’t work, how can this be improved?

How about keeping a notepad around during the excitement of Christmas of present wrapping on Christmas morning and writing down who received what present so you can write thank you notes. Did you receive any thank you notes last year and if so, how did they make you feel. I love receiving thank you notes (especially hand written ones) so I hope the recipients of my notes get that same feeling.

Thank you for reading my blog. Wishing you all a wonderful and peaceful Christmas.

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