Massage, Mind & Body

You may have heard of EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique, as an alternative therapy to deal with pain, stress or anxiety, amongst other conditions. But you may not know the details or who can benefit from it. I’ve only dabbled with the technique myself but did feel a reduction in stress (what I was aiming for) with pretty little effort on my part.

Below is a brief description (courtesy of 123eft.com)of this fascinating therapy that, though I still don’t completely understand, seems like virtually any one can benefit from.

EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques in brief:

* EFT is a meridian energy therapy - just like acupuncture, it works directly on the meridian system in the body. But instead of needles, you stimulate the major meridian points by tapping on them or massaging them lightly.
* EFT is a true mind/body healing technique because it combines the physical effects of meridian treatments with the mental effects of focusing on the pain or problem at the same time.

*EFT is a self help protocol, designed for ease of use and so everyone can benefit from Emotional Freedom Techniques without prior knowledge about meridians.

Check out 123eft.com for full descriptions and diagrams on the technique.

With swimsuit season fast approaching the majority of the country, it is important to find healthy ways to safely reduce our winter coat of fat. One tool that can assist a diet and exercise program is a colon cleansing routine. Problem is, there are many products to choose from and therefore the decision can be quite daunting for the average consumer.

Luckily, Natural Healing Today provided a rating of some of the most popular colon cleansing products on the market today. Continue Reading »

Strange question, I know, but what IF no one in America were fat? That’s the exact question that journalist Shirley Skeel posed in a recent MSN post. The answers from a financial standpoint were astonishing. Take a look… Continue Reading »

Tis the season of spring when thoughts turn to the weather warming, the day becoming longer and new life blooming all around us. For many, new they yearn for new life to begin–within them. For those women and their partners who are attempting to become pregnant the following tips, brought to you by Dr. Ben Kim, may be vitally helpful.

Strive to Be at a Healthy Weight for Your Structure

According to The Nurses’ Health Study, a body mass index (BMI) between 20 and 24 allows for your best chance of getting pregnant. To calculate your current BMI, use the simple BMI tool found here.

Use the Fertility Awareness Method to Time Intercourse

Ensure Nutritional Excellence

The most essential ways to ensure nutritional excellence are:

1. Eat mainly plant-based foods.
2. Eat healthy fats; avoid unhealthy fats like:

Avocados
Olives and olive oil
Coconut and coconut oil.
Fresh, unroasted nuts and seeds (about a handful per day)
Healthy fish
Organic eggs

3. Eat foods that are naturally abundant in complex and simple carbohydrates; avoid foods that are rich in heavily processed carbohydrates.

4. Ensure adequate intake of folate and nonheme iron (found in legumes, vegetables, fruits, and plant-based, whole food nutritional supplements)

Work at Feeling Emotionally Balanced

Visit Dr. Ben Kim for the entire article and have fun trying for a healthy pregnancy.

Where would we be without our hands? Quite inconvenienced in most cases. But did you know your hands can be responsible for maintaining your health (and I’m not talking about picking up the phone to make your next massage appointment!). Merritt Watts for Prevention.com wrote a list of 5 simple ways to use your hands to help with weight loss, fight osteoporosis and even help prevent thinning hair. Read on for a excerpt:

LOSE WEIGHT
Check portion sizes when eating out. Three ounces of meat is about the size of your palm. An ideal 1-ounce-size serving of dessert (say, a brownie) is roughly the size of an average woman’s thumb.

RELAX–AND GET HEALTHY HAIR
Give your noggin a qigong self-massage; practitioners say it can stimulate hair follicle growth and thickness. Place your fingertips on your forehead at the hairline and exhale as you stroke through your hair to the back of your neck. Repeat 10 times.

Here’s the article in it’s entirety.

I recently posted on some innovative uses of olive oil that can clean, brighten and freshen you home without toxins. That article was written by Cal Orey and it was only the tip of the iceberg of what this renowned expert knows.

Cal Orey has written about the benefits of a common kitchen ingredient in her book The Healing Powers of Olive Oil which are not limited to weight loss lowered cholesterol blood pressure, even disease and cancer prevention. She has also highlighted the benefits of vinegar in her book The Healing Powers of Vinegar. Those benefits include dozens of home cures for treating acid reflux disease, canker sores, depression, fibromyalgia, hot flashes, universal emergency,and many more.

Check out her books and start using olive oil and vinegar for more than just salad dressing!

Headaches are pretty high on the list of reasons several of my clients see me on a regular basis. Their headaches are usually combine with sinus or neck pain and most times they can be alleviated 15 minutes into an hour long massage.

I often give these clients a little homework to try on their own to diminish the throbbing pain when I’m not around. I’ve posted before on one very effective technique. Below is another way to address headaches on your own. It does not compare to receiving treatment from a professional massage therapist, but it certainly can reduce the pain significantly in a pinch. This technique was found at Massagetherapy.com:

Tension headaches can feel as though there is a tight band around your head. By massaging the band, you can often relieve the muscle spasms that produce the pain.

Ed. note: Self-massage can certainly help in a pinch. But for best results, seek a qualified massage therapist, so you can relax while she/he erases your head pain. Regular bodywork can also prevent or lessen future migraines and headaches.

source

One of the best ways to conquer stress in your life is to first know where it comes from. Getting to the source, or trigger of your stress can open up new avenues to reduce stress or eliminate it alltogether.

Psychology Today posted a multiple choice test that should shed some light on what causes the most stress in your life AND (most importantly) some tips on how to handle it. Check it out!

Before you throw out that ever-too-soft or easy to bruise piece of fruit, consider this:

Fruit at or just past its peak contains disease-fighting antioxidants called nonfluorescing chlorophyll catabolites, according to a study from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

This helpful tidbit was found at Prevention.com. and could possibly cost you hundreds of dollars or more over the years in prematurely disgarded fruit! Here’s the entire article.

The following video has become quite popular in the last few weeks. Perhaps you’ve seen it already. It’s a video of a brain scientists personal account of a stroke she had years ago. It’s a fascinating, unique and insightful account of how the brain responds to such trauma. I had quite a strong interest in this perspective for personal reasons but also because of my strong interest in the mind. I hope you get as much out of it as I did: Stroke Account.