Tag Archive for: headaches

DIY Reflexology tips

Your feet take us everywhere; they carry our bodies all day long.  Have a little look at your feet after they’ve spent a day in those lovely leather shoes, or peering out of your open toe sandals.

What do they look like? Feel like? Are your feet pink and healthy and ready to go? Maybe, maybe not…  Possibly your ten toes are pressed against each other like sardines in a can. The skin of your feet looks lifeless, perhaps grey in colour and slightly clammy to the touch. Let’s liven them up with a foot massage!

I think most of us would agree that many of today’s illnesses could be attributed to stress and tension, manifesting in conditions such as backache, headaches, insomnia, constipation, and IBS. What I have found helps hugely though is reflexology.

Here are five ways to reap the benefits of reflexology at home.

  1. Quick mood lifter

To give yourself a quick mood boost simply bring your endocrine system back into balance by working the reflex for the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. To do this simply massage your thumbs on both hands and/or both big toes, paying particular attention to the center of the widest part of the toe or thumb. This area could be a little sensitive to begin with but will improve with continued massage.

  1. Beat stress and lethargy

To give yourself an energy lift, banish lethargy and beat stress focus on the areas on the feet or hands which relate to the adrenal glands. By stimulating this area you will regulate your metabolism, lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation and motivate sluggish intestines. To do so simply massage the middle inner sides of your feet or hands.

  1. Stay mentally alert

To give yourself a mental boost you need to focus on the reflex which relates to the thyroid gland. You do this by using your thumb to walk around the base of your big toe or thumb. This is also the area to focus on to aid weight loss, nervousness, rapid heart beat, dry skin and to control the levels of cholesterol in the blood. This gland has also been called the third ovary and has been known to have to have a big impact on women’s health.

  1. Banish tension

Deal with stress induced tension, either physical or emotional, by massaging the reflex point with correlates with your nervous system. The spinal cord transmits millions of messages back and forth between the brain and the body while spinal nerves connect to the body’s organs, glands ands structures. It is no wonder then that any abnormal tension on the muscles or ligaments will cause pressure on the spinal nerve. To work your brain roll your finger over the tips of your big toes and to release tension on the spine massage the inside of your foot. Massaging these areas can also help with headache, PMS and constipation.

  1. Overall boost

Even if you don’t have a particular problem reflexology can help improve your overall wellbeing and make you feel more energized.

You can do this by massaging your solar plexus and diaphragm. Do so by drawing an imaginary line down from the second toe to just below the ball of the foot until you find a hollow. If under stress use your thumb to hold this point, while pressing slightly upwards, for 20 seconds. Don’t lose contact as you release pressure, just relax it gently. Try this three times, breathing in as you press in and exhaling as you breath out.

Alternatively you can receive the benefits of reflexology in these and other areas by running a golf ball around in your hands, focusing on the areas where you feel you need the most help. This can even be done while waiting at traffic lights.

It might also to help to walk on smooth pebbles in a driveway. This can’t pinpoint specific reflexes but can help boost a sense of well-being.  Nafisa is also available for reflexology sessions to restore and revive. Click here to contact Nafisa and discuss a treatment plan that is right for you.

 

 

 

PMS

 

Starting to feel a little bit emotional, angry, snapping at the slightest thing…. Are you starting to feel like your coming out in spots, need to eat chocolate NOW! Maybe a little tired, a bit more than usual…? What’s going on?

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) maybe upon you!

PMS can be caused by a trigger by a change of hormones within a menstrual cycle, it can women sometimes make women well up with emotions, suffer headaches and cramping and just blowing up at slightest thing. Legs and abdomen can feel bloated and backs can sometimes ache. Sometime men think women use PMS as an excuse for a lot of things.

Over the 16 years I have been working as a reflexologist I have seen great results in PMS symptoms with regular reflexology treatments. I have treated women regularly at different points in their monthly cycle, reducing some of the symptoms they have experienced. Reflexology has helped their wellbeing.

I have found that reflexology seems to lessen severe symptoms through relaxation and stimulation of endorphins. Lessened the pain associated with cramping before and during menstruation.

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Reflexology treatments can focus on reflex points that influence the endocrine system, particularly the glands in the reproductive system as they are responsible for hormone production and distribution.

What my clients have told me: “Reflexology has allowed their body to relax and de-stress”. “ My back seems to be aching less”. “My abdominal cramping has eased up”. “My periods are more consistent”.

What I have told them: “ Reflexology has stimulated the body’s own healing system to work more efficiently to help the body return back to its natural state of balance – also to let go of emotions”.

A little self help:

LUMBER SUPPORT: When your lower back feels achy to help soothe the pain: Find the bone that runs from your big toe to the heel, along the instep, rub up and down with a little oil. Do each foot for a couple of minutes.

EASE BLOATING: Massage the top of your ankle. This is the area for your Fallopian tubes, they can tend to get swollen. So find your ankle bone and massage all the way around it as if you were wearing an bracelet around your ankle. Work back and forth for a couple of minutes, then move onto the other foot.

Have you ever considered that reflexology could help to alleviate some of symptoms? Or maybe stop them altogether.

My aim is to bring the body back into a state of balance. If you feel more balanced, surely that’s a good thing.

 

 

 

 

Self care

Our lives can get so busy, and life doesn’t stand still or slow down for the menopausal women. It carries on as normal, whilst we are left to carry a new bag of emotions, sweats, and sometimes tears. We should be allowed to let go and understand the need to let go and allow the change to happen. It’s not an overnight thing, it can happen gradually and because people cannot see the symptoms from the outside, some don’t have empathy towards it.

It typically happens between the age of 45 and 55 years and is an absolutely natural process. Having treated many women whom it affects emotionally, physically and mentally, it is clear that it’s a phase that some women fear and cannot embrace. It can make a women feel insecure effecting life’s balance on so many levels.

There are so many ways to look after ourselves and nurture our body as nature intended. Walk in nature, eat fresh, be mindful of exercising, laugh and cry if you want to.

Acupressure massage and reflexology treatments are also one of the ways  to support a menopausal woman, helping them to tune into their body’s needs, highlighting imbalances and areas, which need attention. It can relieve the symptoms of menopause by balancing the qi flow through the endocrine system. Having a treatment with an empathic therapist and a tranquil environment can provide a safe space in which to relax, be self-focused, and allow you to let go.

Stimulating some acupressure points through massage and reflexology can help balance the fluctuating hormone levels, aiding a woman to have a smoother transition to menopause.

Some of Points that can be worked:

Gall Bladder 20 –  used to relieve the most common symptoms like hot flashes, dizziness, stress and irritability. It is also called the ‘Wind Pool’ point, and it is located on the ridge of the occipital bone, midway between the ear and the spine, between the two joining muscles.

 

Reflexology regulates hormones and glandular functions of the body, also helping to alleviate and balance both the physical and emotional systems. By working with the hypothalamus and pituitary, reflexology can help to restore balance to the endocrine system. This in turn can alleviate menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and anxiety. By calming the central nervous system, sleep disturbances can also be alleviated and anxiety and stress levels reduced. By regulating calcium and phosphorous levels in the thyroid gland, bone loss can prevented. Reflexology also helps the ovaries to regulate their oestrogen secretions and the uterus to maintain its natural health and flexibility.

Liver 3 – one of the most functional acupressure points for menopause that helps in relieving all varieties of menopause symptoms like mood swings, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, headaches and dizziness. This can be found on the foot and reflexologist can manipulate this point each session.

 

Spleen 6 – an extremely important acupressure point that is called the Three Yin Crossing. This point is positioned three finger widths above the inner ankle bone, along the back of the tibia. It is the crossing point of the kidney, liver and spleen meridians. This point is useful in acupuncture and menopause for promoting the general balance of all issues of female regulation.

Research carried out at the UK School of Complementary Health in Exeter indicates a marked decrease in anxiety, depression, insomnia, hot flushes and night sweats among menopausal women who received regular reflexology over a 4-month period. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12269681

The effects of reflexology are cumulative and depending on specific needs and symptoms, a course of treatments is usually recommended. Many people find it beneficial to have 4-6 weekly or fortnightly sessions initially, followed by a more general ‘maintenance’ session every 4-6 weeks.

So if this is your stage of life, call Nafisa for a chat and book in your session today.