I have a confession to make . . .

I'm incredibly nosy. I love looking in other people's front windows. Hubby thinks I'm mad and my sister is jealous I don't fall off payment whilst my head is turning 90 degrees to the direction I'm walking!

Getting to the point; I'm sure several of you are nosy (in the nicest possible way) too. Well here is a nosy round our treatment room. Enjoy!

I'm also excited because it is the first video I have uploaded to You Tube and I've managed to insert into this blog.  

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

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"Client Testimonial"

Something slightly different this week.  I was delighted to receive an amazing testimonial from one of my clients and would like to share it with you.  I hope this gives you a personal insight into the therapies I offer, with the aim of helping you feel great. 

"I have known Heather initially as a work colleague and then as a friend since 1998.  She is an unassuming, upbeat person who always has a smile on her face.  Whilst she works in I.T., Heather is in tune with her spiritual side and always displays a positive outlook on life and it was probably this, her strength of mind and determination that helped her beat breast cancer 9 years ago.  She fully researched a healthy lifestyle which included Reiki amongst other things and it was at this stage that she found her niche in life and now helps other cancer patients through Coping with Cancer. 

My first treatment with Heather was a Reiki session and whilst I wouldn’t say I’m a sceptic, I was unaware what to expect and what the health benefits were.  I can only say that the session changed everything for me.  It gives me a chance to escape from the stresses and strains of every day life and I’m often known to fall asleep during the treatment!  I have also experienced some unique sensations which I won’t detail as they can be different from person to person (and not always experienced) but are nonetheless quite amazing.

Having been bitten by the bug I then booked in for an Indian head massage. I had had these before at beauty parlours and felt as if I’d just been slapped around the head. But Heather’s treatment is so much more and includes face and neck massage but for me, the best bit is the relieving of knots in my back and shoulder muscles – bliss!  

As Heather is always looking to continually expand her knowledge, she has also added organic facials and full body massage to her many talents (all self funded).  What can I say on both counts?  Superb!  I hate it when the facial comes to an end and whilst I cannot usually stand having my feet touched, this wasn’t a problem at all during the full body massage - I loved it as Heather was gentle but not to the point where my feet felt tickled.

Heather always greets you with a warm welcome and is very thorough at the beginning of all sessions to assess your current health and any problems since previous treatments.  I cannot decide which is my favourite treatment as they are all fab and choose them depending on how I feel – if I am particularly stressed, I will have Reiki; if I have a big night out coming up I will opt for the organic facial.  Treatment usually ends with a glass of water and I always leave with a feeling of euphoria and looking forward to next time.  I can highly recommend Heather and any of her treatments – you have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

Festive crystal

As you can imagine I read lots of blogs and try to absorb lot of information.  Whilst reading the incredibly informative Hibiscus Moon’s crystal blog (http://hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com/crystals-winter-celebration/) , she mentions her Garnet Winter Solstice meditation.  It sounded divine so off I trotted looking for some almandine garnet.  Not only did I manage to find some beautiful little tumble stones, the seller was local to me – Yay.

I have spent the last few days meditating with my new garnet and I’m looking forward to spending a little more time exploring any sensations and thoughts that may appear in the next few days. 

The Almandine garnet is a beautiful deep red (very seasonal) colour.  I’ve tried to take a photo on white to give you an idea of the depth of this beautiful crystal.  I therefore relate this crystal to my base chakra and feelings of sensuality, sexuality, compassion and self-confidence. 

Garnets are a related group of minerals. Members of this group include: almandine (red to violet red); spessartite (yellow, rose, or orange to reddish-brown); pyrope (deep red); grossular (white, yellow, yellow-green, brownish-red, orange or black); andradite (colorless, yellow-green, or brown to black).

It is said Noah used a garnet lantern during the Ark's journey through the rainy gloom. Eastern Europeans used the stones to ward off vampires and the Crusaders wore them as protective amulets. During the Victorian era, garnets were given as gifts to symbolize lasting friendship.

Garnet is also used to help stimulate success in business and Hibiscus Moon believes it helps with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). 

Around this Winter Solistice/Christmas period, what crystals will you work with?  Have you asked for any crystals for Christmas?

Thank you so much for reading my blog and supporting Heather Holistics in the past year.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very blessed Solstice and Christmas and a healthy and happy 2013.

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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.  

I finally got a Baroque

Long ago when Doris wrote her wonderful Philofaxy blog post on her range of Baroque Filofaxes (click here), I must admit I suffered with planner envy. I constantly watched Ebay just so I could own a Baroque. I wanted to stroke the super, soft, embossed leather and see for myself if the Baroque’s really were as beautiful in real life. After months of waiting, bidding and a few fails along the way I finally got my wish. So (drum roll please), here are the requisite photos:-

I’m using my mini black baroque as my daily carry around Filofax. Whilst I still adore my A5 Cuban filofax (for further details see here), sometimes carrying around an A5 Filofax is just too heavy and bulky. Even when I trim the contents down to bare minimum pages, A5’s can still be a bit of a beast.

However, a mini filofax is no hardship to carry or fit into the smallest of spaces. On occasions where I don’t even carry a handbag, the mini baroque serves as a filofax/wallet too. As I print my diary pages out from Outlook, downsizing them to mini size is not difficult either. Yes, it makes the print a bit small but still readable.

Here is a quick tour; The black leather is soft and smooth. The embossing on the inside is . . . just divine – classy and understated. In the front there are several card slots where I slip a debit card if I’m using the baroque as a wallet. There is also a small zip compartment where I keep my money if using as a wallet.

I print out my Outlook calendars using the Microsoft Calendar Printing Assistant and shrink it down via pdf to 50%. Next I just have some lined paper for notes, shopping lists etc..

At the rear is the cutest, little notepad holder I have ever seen. I put my business cards in there to save on bulk.

And that’s it. Baby baroque earned its stripes when I helped host a burger stall at the village Christmas fete a few weekends ago. I didn’t want to carry a handbag but I also didn’t want to be without pen & paper. Baby baroque was able to write down drinks orders, quickly show me my appointments to arrange meet ups, hold my money and provide safety for my business cards.

As always, thank you for reading this blog and following my crazy flitting from one filofax (size and style) to another. If you have any questions or comments, please chat to me below.

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What does Reiki feel like?

Obviously this is subjective and varies from one person to another and each session varies depending on what you require at that moment in time.

Some of my clients describe it as “that happy, floaty feeling you get when you’ve had a little too much alcohol to drink”.  Personally when I’m in a Reiki session I’m in a meditative state so, along with the client, I end the session feeling calm, centred and at peace. 

I practice Reiki on myself daily and try to live by the five Reiki principles.  I’m sure this practice of daily self Reiki has enabled me to cope with an extremely busy year; I’m a Mum of two gorgeous and extremely energetic boys, I work part-time as well as run my own business and I volunteer for two local charities.  Coupled with a house extension where my house didn’t always feel like the relaxing sanctuary it should.  My daily Reiki practice has enabled me to find (usually hidden rather deeply) that quiet, still place inside me where I find peace.  I can sit in my ‘Reiki bubble’ and the hustle and bustle of the outside world slowly disappears.

If you have been lucky enough to attend a spa or a wonderfully relaxing holiday or retreat, can you remember and still sense that inner calm you felt?  This is how I feel during a Reiki session.  I’m sure most of my fellow Reiki practitioners and clients would agree with this sentiment. 

Don’t we all want to find that beautiful calm space within ourselves?  Some people find this with meditation or yoga.  I would like to help you find your still/happy place and this is where Reiki can help.  Together we will start a journey to a more peaceful and content you.

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

My new crystal

I was drawn to a new crystal whilst away. It's beautiful creamy colour reminded me of dream clouds and intrigued I purchased the crystal (which I now know to be Selenite) and researched it's attributes.

Selenite is named after Selene, Greek goddess of the Moon because of its moon-like glow.  It is a crystallized form of gypsum and linked to the astrological sign of Taurus.

The Book of Stones describes Selenite as a spiritual activation crystal with links to the crown chakra. The Power of Crystals book suggests Selenite is an excellent tool for meditation; "simply rub while in a meditative state and take note of any visual images or symbols that may appear".  However, The Crystal Healer book suggests the healing qualities of longevity, helps with wrinkles, age spots and skin problems.

I prefer to use my own intuition when using a new crystal. Therefore, I have decided to meditate with this new crystal and ask what attributes or properties this crystal holds for me.  I must admit I felt superbly relaxed and peaceful (more than usual) whilst meditating with this crystal.  I also had ‘visions’ of delicate, white glittery wings which belonged to an angel.  I’ve also been carrying this crystal around with for the last couple of days and my (ever present) temper seems to have been soothed and I’ve purposely put myself first.  After all, if I’m not at my peak, I cannot support my family, friends and clients.  I’m really loving this crystal and I envisage I will be using this crystal rather a lot in the future.

Please be aware that Selenite is a 'soft' crystal and should not be cleansed using water or used in a direct method for creating an elixir.

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

Some of the information provided in this post has been taken from :-
The Power of Crystals by Denise Whitchello Brown ISBN 1-85605-637-6

The Crystal Healer by Philip Permutt ISN 978-1-904991-62-5

The Book of Stones by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian ISBN 978-0-9621910-3-9

Blue Calcite

Following on from my last blog post, my crystal super heroes certainly earned their stripes.  What could have been a negative, energy sapping and disturbing weekend become a weekend of peace, harmony and forgiveness.  As a quick recap, I used black tourmaline and smoky quartz to ‘repel’ negativity, rose quartz to promote peace and harmony and clear quartz to amplify.  I carried around a small ‘blessing bag’ of stones , I created a crystal elixir which I sipped at regular intervals and also created a crystal grid and programmed appropriately.  For more information on crystal grids, I recommend visiting the wonderful http://hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com/ who has written an e-book on the subject.

This week I would like to explore the crystal calcite, specifically blue calcite.  One of my clients is currently experiencing an unpleasant few months and is feeling anxious, irritable and tearful.  Their GP has put them on anti-depressants but they would like to also like to complement this with a more holistic approach.  I’m therefore in the process of creating them a holistic action plan combining several complementary practices such as Reiki, mindfulness, aromatherapy with a ‘take-home’ crystal blessing bag.  This is where I think blue calcite will excel. 

Blue calcite has been using for healing purposes for thousands of years and is derived from the Greek word choix, meaning lime.  It is an excellent stone for reducing stress, negativity and anxiety.  Blue calcite is fantastic for calming emotions and allowing one to be more optimistic.  When used near the throat chakra, it aids clear communication, helping you to speak calmly and tactfully. 

I can’t wait to put this action plan into practice and hopefully provide some comfort.

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