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.

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Facebook

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.  

Breast Cancer awareness month

October used to be a difficult month for me.  The promotion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month was a constant reminder of a painful and a scary experience for me.  However time (and counselling) has helped alleviate those raw feelings and allow me the hindsight to embrace Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Therefore this month’s blog post is a list of some of the active, holistic steps I’m taking to hopefully prevent the cancer returning.

 I have made daily life-style changes to boost my immunity.  I no longer take my health for granted and aim to eat healthily with a balanced, nutritional diet.  Exercise is a key part of staying healthy and following chemotherapy I struggled to be strong enough to walk the 5 mile Race for Life.  10 years later I’ve completed a triathlon and ran the Race for Life this year. 

Stress can be an immunity zapper and I did tend to worry and fret about anything and everything.  Using Reiki as a spiritual practice has allowed me to stop, take a breath and ‘see the bigger picture’.  I also use crystals, meditation, aromatherapy oils, massage and EFT to ensure I stay calm and relaxed wherever possible. 

Counselling was a life changer.  Admitting I wasn’t coping with constant, niggling worries of the cancer returning prevented my new life from evolving.  I contacted my Breast Cancer nurse who referred me to the local Hospice for counselling.  

One of the most important elements in the prevention of breast cancer is regularly checking your breasts! If you find a lump or thickening (or any of the symptoms in the picture below), pop to your GP and have it checked out.

Finally, I try to reduce the number of toxic products in my environment.  I use eco-friendly household cleaners (some home-made with essential oils).  The products I place on my body (as our skin absorbs a vast percentage of what we place on it) are based on organic, natural, and ethical health and beauty products.  I’ve found the Neal’s Yard Remedies range so amazing I am now a stockist of their products and use their products in my treatments.  You can find these products here:- https://uk.nyrorganic.com/shop/HeatherWinterton

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.

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Facebook

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. 

Macmillan Cancer Support fundraising

Help me raise much needed funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.  During this week I will be donating 10% of all sales to Macmillan Cancer support.  Orders for this event must be sent to me and NOT submitted through my website.  Please share this post with your friends and family; the more people that shop, the more money we can raise. 

Have a browse through my website https://uk.nyrorganic.com/shop/HeatherWinterton (or I can email you a brochure) but then CONTACT ME DIRECTLY and let me know what you would like.  As this is an online event, there will be a free draw for all ‘attendees’ contacting me direct to place an order.

Hassle free shopping in the comfort of your own home whilst raising valuable funds for Macmillan Cancer Support; it doesn’t get any better, does it? The event will be largely run through my Facebook page so please make sure you ‘like’ my Facebook page (link below) and then share this post with your friends and family.  

Last but not least, this fundraiser has no geographical limits (other than a UK postal address.) The more people that shop, the more money we can raise.  

Closing date for all orders, midnight (BST) on Friday 27^th September 2013.  Any questions, please contact me.  

Thank you

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Facebook

Filofax on travels

I know some of you love to hear how my Filofax(es) fare in real life. This blog post shows how I use a Filofax as a travel companion.

 I use the Pennybridge in pocket size purple as my travel assistant. I use the Filofax to hold copies of my next 3 months diary, my travel itinerary, essential contact details and my travel journal. The card slots and the zip area of the purse hold my foreign currency and one debit card.

Whilst at the airport, the Pennybridge was invaluable for checking flight times, terminals etc. As you can see, as part of my carry-on luggage, the colours of the Pennybridge and my Radley handbag complement each other beautifully.

Here’s another photo of the Pennybridge enjoying mid-flight refreshments.



During the flight (even when devices have to be completely shut off) I was able to scribble notes and drawings in the spare notepaper.

At the end of every day I spent 5-10 minutes journaling on the day’s activities. When I’m feeling stressed, it’s lovely to be able to re-call those relaxing moments just by reading my journal.

Once again, the Pennybridge has proved its worth. I certainly wouldn’t like to travel without it now. As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Facebook

Be compassionate towards yourself and others

In the final blog in the series on Reiki precepts, we look at compassion. I find it interesting that in the precept, self comes before others yet it is something many of us do not find easy.  I believe before we can truly show compassion to others, we must feel compassion for ourselves.  Why do we find it so difficult when we’ve made a mistake to show ourselves a little kindness.  How would we treat our loved ones in the same situation?

Treating others with compassion starts by realising we are all human and all have the same insecurities and the basic wish to feel loved and safe.  We have all suffered pain, loss, loneliness and we are all looking for ways to fill these voids.  We all have our own path and when someone treats us ill, we need to remember they may be in a current cycle of pain, fear and despair.  Can you recall how that felt when you were in that cycle?  Most of us are just doing the best we can at this moment in time.

Why develop compassion in your life? Well, there are scientific studies that suggest there are physical benefits to practicing compassion.  People who practice compassion produce 100% more DHEA (a hormone that counteracts the aging process) and 23% less of the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol.  Win – win.

I hope this series has helped you understand why I love Reiki and just the beginnings of its benefits. 

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Facebook

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.  

Reiki precept - Earn your living honestly

Welcome back to the series on Reiki Precepts. This weeks blog is discussing the precept "Earn your living honestly". There are also various translations which are similar to "Work hard".  On a superficial level, this sounds so simple. However if we delve a little deeper, there are so many layers to this precept.  

Earning a living can mean all types of work; not just your day to day paid employment. How about your day to day tasks; self development with daily Reiki practice, household chores, family responsibilities. 

Earn = money. There are some schools of thought who believe we shouldnt charge for Reiki. However, there are also beliefs that Usui himself realised there had to be an exchange of energy when offering Reiki to beggars. If, as a therapist, I have spent money training and developing my practice; should you not pay for my time?  
How about the people and places we associate with as part of our daily living. How we spend our time impacts the way we live our lives.  

How do you perceive your "living". Do you work diligently?  I'd love to discuss this with you further so let me know your comments below. 

Be grateful

Hello and welcome back to the third instalment of the blogs based on the Reiki precepts.  This blog post is based on the precept ‘Be Grateful’.

I find ‘being grateful’ is an amazing gift.  We could all moan and complain we don’t have enough money/time/friends/possessions …. Turn this concept around and I’m grateful I have enough money to live comfortably, I’ve been given the blessing of time with my family, I am loved and surrounded by family and friends.  I’m even grateful for having cancer; it was a life changing reminder to take every day as a blessing, to not take anything for granted and the opportunity to learn Reiki and help other people.  Being grateful for the littlest things every day reminds me what a fantastic life I am lucky enough to have. 

Some of the translations of the Reiki precepts have ‘Be Humble’ as the third precept.  These are similar sentiments; humble and grateful.  With Reiki, the practitioner doesn’t provide the energy, we are just a channel.  New clients are often amazed and ask how we acquired this ‘power’.  It can be difficult to clarify and it is honest and humble to explain that we merely provide a conduit for your body/mind/spirit to use Reiki as a trigger to heal yourself.  Reiki helps to provide a safe, calm and relaxing environment for healing to take place.

Reiki does not claim to cure; Reiki reminds us to remain humble and believe the outcome is for the greater good.  There is no room for arrogance and pride, Reiki helps us to serve others.

As always, I am grateful you have spent the time to read this blog.  If you have any questions or comments, please chat to me below.

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Facebook