A BALANCED DIET

A balanced diet is based on five food groups which are fruit and vegetables, bread, other cereals and potatoes, meat, fish and alternatives, milk and dairy foods. The major food groups which are protein, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, vitamins.


PROTEIN: meat, fish, eggs etc


CARBOHYDRATE: bread, rice, pasta etc


FIBRE: is a component of carbohydrate and is mainly found in fruits and vegetables.

FATS: meat. dairy foods, nuts and some oily fish. Fat provides a concentrated source of energy and is a carrier for fat-soluble vitamins A D E and K.  Essential fatty acids are important in the formation of cell membranes, particularly in nerve tissue.


VITAMINS: are complex organic substances that are needed in very small amounts, but are essential for health. There are two groups, fat-soluble and water-soluble, both types have to be provided by the diet the body does not make them. The exception is vitamin D, which is processed by the action of sunlight on the skin.

DIET AND EXERCISE

Whilst I do not hold any formal qualifications in exercise I have studied anatomy and physiology as underpinning knowledge as part of my holistic therapy diploma. We covered the mechanics of the body, various conditions and diseases of the body and the effects of exercise or lack of it on the body.
We  also studied chemistry as part of the underpinning knowledge and as part of the certificate in nutrition, alongside examining the chemical constituents and possible effects of the essential oils.
Personally I have always had a strong interest in diet and exercise and have tried many types of exercise and various dieting fads, from fasting, to juice detoxes, low carb and low fat diets.
A few years ago I went on a personal training programme with a personal trainer and I stuck religiously to the exercise regime that he made for me for a period of 12 weeks. During that time I did not lose any weight at all. I felt and looked healthier and looked more toned and measured less in vital places but didn't lose any weight. I had not altered my diet.  
A couple of years after this I gave up alcohol and fasted strictly for a month and I lost approximately one and half stones and that was without doing any exercise other than normal day to day activities. No gym or exercises at home even. So this indicates to me that overeating was the main contributor to my excess body fat, not so much a lack of exercise. It could be said that I had built up muscle during the personal training programme and muscle weighs more than body fat, hence no weight loss showing on the scales. Muscle also burns more calories even when resting unlike EXCESS body fat which does nothing than store toxins in the body. You need a certain amount of fat though, for such things as protecting the body's vital organs, maintaining body temperature, absorbing vitamins and as a back up source of energy to fuel the body.
A sensible approach for a healthy body is probably to cut down on junk food and exercise in moderation. A combined exercise programme of cardiovascular and weight resistance training is good for all round fitness. Activities such as walking (briskly enough to be out of breath), running, cycling, dancing and swimming for 20-30 minutes at least three or four times a week is enough to improve the cardiovascular system. Muscle toning exercise such as training with weights and yoga improve and develop muscles and keep the joints supple.

HYDROTHERM

Hydrotherm/water bed massage

Hydrotherm is a water bed based massage. The hydrotherm kit consists of two big plastic cushions which are filled with warm water, there is a small thermometer gauge on each cushion to indicate the correct temperature of the water inside that is required for the body massage to be safe and comfortable. Also included are various sizes of booster blocks (square pieces of covered foam, which are placed under the client’s head/neck and an inflatable bolster cushion to go under the knees to provide stability and support.

The cushions are filled and placed on a couch (in spas they are generally left in situation with thermostatic pads underneath them to maintain the correct operating temperature). I as a mobile therapist, did not have the thermostat so I used to fill my cushions up with warm water from the kettle and tap, when I got to the place where I was treating, and they can retain the heat long enough to complete a full body massage.

Once the water filled cushions have been placed on the couch the therapist will assist the client to get on top of them. There is a specific way of doing it and it can seem a bit daunting and unstable when you first get onto he cushions as obviously they move with the water and you feel as if you are going to fall off the couch. I’ve never had a client fall off the water beds and I used to do a lot of waterbed massages in a large well known spa that specialised in this type of massage. Once the client is safely situated and correctly positioned the booster blocks are placed under the head/neck and the bolster under the knees, this support with the help of the water makes you feel as if you are floating. The client is then covered with large warm towels as they would be for any other type of massage.

The water cushions are good for the therapist to use as the pliable plastic allows the therapist to slide her hands under the body, to massage and manipulate the various muscles from underneath. There is no need to turn over for a full water bed massage as all of the muscles are pulled and manipulated in this way. The warmth of the water has also has a very relaxing effect on them,it’s a bit like getting into a warm bath to ease muscle fatigue.

The massage itself is quite different from other massage techniques we use, such as in aromatherapy and Swedish body massage. There is some gentle stretching of the limbs involved which is really good for relieving tension and stiffness in these areas.

A water bed massage is soothing and is good for people who can’t lie on their fronts for a back massage such as pregnant women, frail or elderly people or people who suffer from breathing conditions. As the back muscles are worked on from underneath.


Contraindications would be as for aromatherapy massage(see earlier post)

CRYSTAL HEALING

I quite like crystal healing,  It's similar to intuitive reiki but obviously the crystals are supposed to work in conjunction with the spiritual healing. Or you can put yourself (if you are doing self healing) or your client in a healing grid of crystals and just absorb the energy from the crystals.
Clear quartz points are used to create a grid around the outside of the persons' body creating a circuit of energy. Then you, after dowsing with a pendulum for areas of imbalance (if you are self healing), or the therapist will choose appropriate crystals which are then placed on the chakras/energy points of the body.  It seems customary to choose crystals with corresponding colours to the colours that have been assigned to the chakras. An example  of a crystal healing layout would be.
Clear quartz points all around the body and at the crown chakra.
 Amethyst(purple) is placed on  the third eye (chakra colour is indigo)
 Turquoise or blue agate placed at the throat chakra which is blue
 Jade or green jasper for the heart chakra
 Citrine(yellow) for the solar plexus
 Topaz or amber for the sacral chakra,
 A grounding stone is usually placed in between the feet(brown or black, black obsidian or hematite.)for the root chakra.
The crystals all have different healing qualities assigned to them. So if you don't want to work on the colour matching  chakra principal you can look up which crystals have particular qualities for the areas that you wish to work on, and or emotional/mental/spiritual concerns or conditions that you want to address. Or as many therapists do, choose the crystals that are required intuitively. There are many good crystal books which give their properties and uses and you can also buy small charts to consult the properties of many different crystals. You can also buy chakra sets which have the specific crystals for the chakras and instructions for use. You dowse with a pendulum to pick up areas that need healing and clearing and then place the crystals on the energy centres, once you have cleared those areas.
I have never picked up much energy/ vibration from the many of the crystals I have worked with except for clear quartz and hematite. Hematite is magnetic and so has that field to it. With clear quartz I have sensed a pulsing sensation from a clear quartz grid that was put around me by someone else and I also sense the same energy form a large piece of quartz that I have and use for self healing. Clear quartz is a conductor and amplifier of energy and is used in watches and radios. The dog seems to like lying by the clear quartz, so he must pick something up from it as well.
Lots of people carry certain crystals, in their pockets, bags/purses for their vibrations and healing or protective qualities.
After using the crystals for healing they need to be cleansed and recharged. You can do this by leaving them in salt water or in moon or sunlight,or wash them in the sea if you get the opportunity. To charge a crystal with energy you hold it in your hand and choose a mental affirmation for it, for healing etc.  Or if you are a reiki practitioner you can use one of the reiki symbols to concentrate on as you hold the crystal.

HOPI EAR CANDLES

Hopi ear candles are stiff pieces of cotton rolled in honey and camphor (although you can get other versions with different fragrances such as lavender), I prefer to stick to the original ones.
Inside each candle is a small white plastic filter.
Apparently  Native American Indians used to use ear candles in some of their ceremonies as they thought it cleared a person's aura of negative energy.
They come as a pair, one for each ear and the client is placed on their side and a candle is then lit and place in the ear.  The therapist will create a vacuum effect with their hands around the base of the lit candle. It is a warming and relaxing treatment to receive and the warmth and heat has a massaging effect on the ear drum and loosens any wax that may be there. The wax is then drawn up inside the tube of the candle past the filter and into the cotton tube. It's important to always use candles with the filters otherwise any debris from the candle itself could fall into the ear.
It takes around 15 minutes for the hopi ear candle to burn down. There is a red mark around each candle, and when it has burnt down to this it indicates that the it is time to remove the candle from the ear.
The therapist will do each ear and then a face and scalp massage with pressure points is carried out. The warmth and massaging effect of the candles can also help to relieve sinus problems.
After the treatment is over the therapist will peel back the seam of the candles to open them out and it is possible to view any wax or fluid that has been drawn up into them.
Some people have said that the debris that is left in the candles is just the melted honey and cotton, but if that were the case then everybody's end result would look identical. I have done quite a lot of ear treatments and I've never had two clients with the same type of waste that has been drawn up into them.  In most cases even the client's two ears give a different result.
I have seen big clumps of very dark wax, fluid and mucus type material which wouldn't resemble the burnt cotton or honey anyway. People say that they find them beneficial and that their ears and sinuses feel better afterwards as well as feeling very relaxed by the treatment. However always go to a qualified therapist and always check that the candles they are using have the filters in them.


CONTRAINDICATIONS TO HOPI EAR CANDLES


1: Tumours of the ear
2: Grommets
3: Perforated ear drum, artificial ear drum
4: Cysts in the ear
5: Ear drains (tubes present)
6: Mastoiditis (inflammation of the bone behind the ear)
7: Any ear infection which is being treated with antibiotics
8:Recent ear surgery, head or neck injury.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR AGEING SKIN

VIOLET is a nice oil to use for ageing skin,it also refines the pores and helps with thread veins.




 PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS : Both leaves and petals contain nonadienal, parmone, hexyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, ionone and viola quercitin, among others.






SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, possible sensitization in some individuals.






AROMATHERAPY USES:
Skincare; acne, eczema, thread veins and wounds.

ROSE




PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: It has over 300 constituents, some in minute traces. Mainly citronellol (18-22 per cent), phenyl ethanol (63per cent), geraniol and nerol (10-15 per cent), stearopten (8 per cent), farnesol (0.02-2 per cent) among others.






AROMATHERAPY USES;
Skincare: Broken capilliaries, , dry skin, herpes, mature and sensitive complexions, wrinkles.

AGEING SKIN

Skin health is a reflection of the impact of diet, exercise, stress, pollution, genetics and many other factors that we have exposed ourselves to over our life span. Skin deterioration is somewhat inevitable although we can influence many of these factors and so limit the rate of cellular decline.  Here's a question: how old are you? It's a lot trickier that you might imagine. The correct answer, it turns out is about 15 and a half. According to recent research, that's the average age of your body - your muscles and guts, anyway. You might think you have bee around since the day you were born, but most of your body is a lot younger. Unfortunately over time mitochondrial ~DNA is damaged and loses some of its capabilities. in skin, for instance, mitochondrial mutations are thought to be responsible for the gradual loss in the quality of collagen, the skin's scaffolding, which is why skin loses it's shape and forms wrinkles. Fortunately, advances in nutrition provide us with important tools to aid our beauty regime. (An excerpt from my nutrition training manual)
Supplements which can help ageing skin are:
Acerola cherry extract, the high vitamin C and mineral slats have been shown to aid in the remineralisation of tired and stressed skin.
Hemp seed oil, the ideal ratio of essential fatty acids in hemp seed oil helps to stimulate the optimum formation of hair, skin and nails. Hemp seed has been found to have positive effects on dry skin conditions such as eczema.
Pycnogenol, helps avoid and reduce wrinkles. Procanthocyanidins (OPCs) protect against free radical damage, suggested to be a major cause of the ageing process. 


Green tea is beneficial to skin as it has a high collagen content and also if applied topically to the skin can reverse the effects of sun damage on the skin, ie skin discolouration, and wrinkles.
I have been drinking green tea and  also using green tea as a moisturiser, mixed with glycerine for 12 months now (the glycerine and green tea mix is for the external application, I do not drink glycerine). I had some little patches of skin discolouration under my eyes which I have had since my last pregnancy 21 years ago and they have nearly faded altogether along with some freckling on my nose, since using and drinking green tea.  After my last child I was left with two big skin discolouration's patches(the mask of pregnancy, chloasma or melisma) on my forehead and underneath both of my eyes. I used to use a concealer to cover them up.
 I had tried some products mainly(vitamin A which is good for acne and wrinkles)  and they had faded considerably over the years but there was still one patch under one eye which seems to have gone with the green tea .And overall I think the green tea applications to my skin have proved to be better than more expensive skin care products that I have previously used.