What is Healing?
What is Healing? Let the feet do the talking.
What is healing? In medical terms it is to make free from injury or disease. This is achieved by some form of medical intervention. If you have a headache you take an paracetamol and hopefully you feel better. There are of course many conditions worse that a headache and for that we need to be thankful for the progress of science.
However, there are other forms of healing on much simpler terms that can ease less serious conditions.
For example our speech can help to ease discomfort and pain on emotional levels. Supporting and encouraging your friends to feel and think differently can really help them cope with the difficulties we all experience in life. If stored up they build up our stress levels which in turn will make us ill.
By using our ears and really listening without interrupting can comfort and console someone. On a professional level the skills of talking and listening is called Councelling.
Touch is so important in the role of our general well being. there are many examples of this just stroking a dog can release oxytocin, next time you do it notice what changes happen in your body. Some hospitals have Pat dogs whose sole purpose is doing just that.
If you have an ache in the body or bang your arm for example, the first thing you do is put your hand to the area of pain.. this is a form of self healing.
Reaching out and touching someone, a gentle pat on the arm can make someone feel better, and if they are receptive to it a hug is fabulous.
Reflexology is all about touch, if you find a good Reflexologist you may be surprised by the experience, and you also might just feel some healing somewhere in your body.
Restoration
Reflexology is so much more than a foot massage.
A foot massage focuses on muscles and tissues and is incorporated into a whole body treatment. Reflexology focuses on the internal organs.
We use reflexes firstly to tell us which areas need attention and secondly to work that area and improve symptoms.
The lovely thing about reflexology is that you only have to take your shoes and socks off and put them up while you recline in a comfy chair. You can safely drift off while your reflexologist works away on your feet to repair and restore your well being.
Missing out on Reflexology
There are so many benefits to reflexology whether you are coming for ease of a condition, menstrual cycle health, headaches or insomnia. We know that the touch factor is hugely important in maintaining our health. There are research projects that back this up.
With the NHS having less time for their patients, complementary treatments are coming to the fore and many more people are using them . We are responsible practitioners who see our work as complementary to, not alternative to the Medical profession. In my work as a Reproductive Reflexologist we regularly attend medical conferences and it is heartening to come across so many Consultants and Scientists who see the benefits of our practice. Why would you not use a practioner who can help you in the simplest way?
Reflexology is good for all the family including teenagers who are struggling with the changes all around them.They often talk to their reflexologists in an environment where they feel nurtured and safe.
Menstrual cycles and the changes taking place
Some people like to compare the menstrual cycles to the seasons. At different phases of your cycle, you will have different energies.
Some people like to compare the menstrual cycles to the seasons.
The bleed Is like winter, when trees are bare and the season is cold, dank, and dark. At this time, we often feel low and lacking in energy.
Next comes the developing follicle in the ovary, this is compared to Spring when buds are forming on the trees, birds are nesting, and there is new life and hope. This is a good time for creativity and being productive.
Ovulation is related to summer, warmth, green leaves on the trees, and everything is beautiful and ripe. Birds are hatching out of eggs. This time we can be full of hope and joy.
Post ovulation, know as the luteal Phase, is compared to autumn when the leaves turn to brown and we are heading to winter again. The mood before the next bleed changes again to feeling low, blue, and lacking in energy.
Seed Cycling is a naturopathic remedy to balance hormones. Some women find it helps conditions like Endometriosis, PCOS, hot flashes and bad skin.
It is so simple, all it requires is eating flax and pumpkin seed during the Follicular Phase, i.e. Bleed up to Ovulation, followed by sesame, and sunflower seeds post ovulation, i.e. from Ovulation till the day before the next bleed.
Always make sure the seed are really good quality and fresh. Either sprinkle them on your cereal, salad or put them in a sandwich. They are also good ground and added to a smoothie.
Eating well throughout the cycle can also be really beneficial. I will be talking about this in my next blog.
Natural Conception Control
Natural family planning has a seemingly outdated ring to it, yet the concept is timeless and back in fashion with a lot of women wanting to go back to basics. This is what we call Natural Conception Control.
Natural family planning has a seemingly outdated ring to it, yet the concept is timeless and back in fashion, with a lot of women wanting to go back to basics. This is what we call Natural Conception Control.
As women become more aware of their health and the impact chemicals can have on their bodies and the planet they start to think differently.
Natural conception control is a healthy method of fertility regulation that does not interfere with the menstrual cycle, protecting future fertility.
It is highly effective and can be used for both avoiding pregnancy and achieving it. If used correctly, it will be as effective as other contraceptives.
It is free from drugs and devices, and therefore from side effects, giving you back the control of your natural reproductive ability.
It is fascinating learning about your menstrual cycle, hormones and their effects on the physical workings of your body as well as your emotions.
Too often women turn to chemical hormones thinking they will cure an issue when in fact they mask the problem. Conditions such as endometriosis and PCOs never go away, but there are ways of managing them.
Recording and understanding your cycle will alert and prepare you for changes in your body.
By using natural period products you can have a positive effect on your cycle as well as the environment. Some women who have heavy bleeds report an improvement when using biodegradable, chemical-free pads and tampons.
So come a learn how to do it. Online lessons start in May. Introductory talk on April 1st.
Book your place, to learn things about your menstrual cycle and ovulation that you never knew.
This lecture is for both those who want to conceive and those who want to avoid it. Email harriet.combes@googlemail.com to book your spot.
Natural Conception Control with Harriet Combes.
Working with nature
We spend our lives trying to defy nature which often ends in disease, destruction and disharmony. As a reflexologist, I work with harmony in the body. Here are some thoughts on why harmony is so important.
It seems to me that we spend our lives trying to defy nature. We know better than Mother Earth and try to alter the course of the way things are done. As we can see it often ends in disease, destruction and disharmony.
One of our problems is that we don’t notice small things around us, our heads are usually filled with ourselves so that the environment around us becomes insignificant.
This week I listened to a wonderful talk about bees by Brigit Strawbridge Howard, I have never heard anyone talk quite so passionately about her subject. When she realised that she had no idea of the names of our native trees, it highlighted the fact that she hardly noticed the natural world around her. She has certainly come a long way from that moment as her knowledge of the 270 species of bees in the UK is next to none.
Brigit is an example of if you really look you find the most extraordinary things going on right in front of our noses. If we cannot appreciate their existence we cannot be aware of their importance. Her book ‘Dancing with Bees’ is a good example of this.
Recently, I have become aware of The Harmony Project which is a new way of looking at our world, exploring the principles of harmony and applying them in the workplace and education so we all understand connection and appreciation. Richard Dunne encourages us all to think about this. theharmonyproject.org.uk
Nature is brilliant. For instance, many drugs have their origins in plants. These plants have been used for thousands of years, but often once the components in the plants are extracted and transformed into drugs, they have side effects. Pure plants on the other hand work as a whole, another example of harmony.
As a reflexologist, I work with harmony in the body, making sure all our systems are balanced. This is the basis of good health. Our body is full of patterns that we never see unless we take a structure and look at it under a microscope. These patterns are so tiny, we need to look for them as scientists have done over the years, and appreciate those images and connect to the beautiful structures which are us.
Examples of DNA structure and Liver cells.
Menstrual Cycles
We survive on the cycles of nature. To be healthy our menstrual cycles also need to work in harmony. Here are three things you may not know about your menstrual cycle.
A Cycle is a sequence of events that repeat themselves, visually they are circular. We survive on the cycles of nature such as nitrogen cycles, water cycles, carbon cycles, and oxygen cycles. All of these natural cycles need to be balanced and to work in harmony. For example, if plants do not get enough nitrogen they cannot thrive but too much can be toxic.
To be healthy our menstrual cycles also need to work in harmony. This relies on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis which controls both the ovarian and uterine cycles. Each component part needs to be balanced for your menstrual health.
Image by Augusto BM, @_augustobm
The cycle begins with the bleed and ends the day before the next bleed. Length can vary in each woman and in the early and latter stages of our lives.
Unfortunately, there has been a trend to treat our menstruation as an inconvenience, but recently due to the fact that infertility rates have soared, those women are realising the importance of embracing our cycles and treating it with the respect it deserves.
Sperm Health
Having watched Rhod Gilbert’s Stand up to Fertility on BBC I was reminded by my Reproflexoogy Training in 2012. Fifty percent of the training was focused on
Male fertility. Yet people still aren’t talking about it.
Having watched Rhod Gilbert’s Stand up to Fertility on BBC I was reminded by
my Reproflexoogy Training in 2012. Fifty percent of the training was focused on
Male fertility. It was the first time I had really thought of the significance of the
male in relation to causal factors of fertility issues.
This has always been a passion of Barbara Scott who developed the course.
Through the work I do I have been so lucky to meet Andrologists Sheryl Homa
and Bryan Woodwood and to attend many lectures on the subject of Male
Fertility.
It is a fascinating subject but as Rhod has pointed out, it often over looked and
avoided while men find it embarrassing. Bring SPERM into the conversation and
people do not know where to look.
I have two sons who since their teenage years are quite use to hearing me say it
and have had to put up with sperm key rings, pens and other merchandise picked
up at The Fertility Show. We all need to be more open and understanding. If you
don’t talk or ask the question nothing will change.
