Take Time to Love Yourself

Stresses of the day - family - work - home - finances - relationships - break us down.  Lack of sleep, eating bad foods, lack of exercise, not drinking enough water, all add to the stress we feel.  Every now and then you need to take a step back and recharge your internal batteries.  We have discussed how music affects your mood, and we have talked about how scents affect your mood... so... now let's talk about bathing and massage. :)  A love letter for yourself!

If you have a favorite scent - one that makes you smile and feel wonderful - Great!  If not, go to a natural food store and go to the aromatherapy oils and figure out what scents you like best.  Just like perfume, essential oils smell differently on you than they do in the bottle.  Find some soap, or bath salts and candles in your favorite scents. 

Your recipe for step one includes:
bath salts / soap
candles
soft calming music
favorite white tea

You need about 30 minutes of privacy to maximize your bath.  Water has grounding - stress relieving properties.  If you are ever really stressed or anxious - go wash your hands or take a quick shower.   This will help alleviate your stress.  Fill your tub with very warm water and add your bathing salts.  Turn out your lights and light your candles - turn on your soft music so low that you need to pay close attention to hear it.  Sink into the water and let your cares float away.  Don't forget to put your tea next to the tub so you can sip on your favorite flavor too... Once the water has cooled enough to make you want to move... it is time to buff your body with your towel... now it is time for some simple massage. 

If you have a mate, lucky you!  Lay on your stomach with your arms spread wide and your legs laid out hip wide.  Lay a flat pillow under your hips.  Have them begin at the top of your head and slowly work their way down.  Always think positive thoughts when touching another - think of sending good healing energy to the person you are touching.  Always work the massage out to the finger tips and down the legs... this draws the bad / trapped energy out and away from the body. 

If you do not have a mate, this will be a loving gesture between you and your body.  Always pay attention to how you are feeling when you are massaging yourself.  Find your tender spots and work on them (both emotionally and physically).  For self massage you will work on your hands and your feet.  Your hands and your feet have direct connections to your organs.  Pay close attention to any tender spots and refer back to the chart that references the corresponding organs and make sure you get tested to see if there are any issues.  And begin to eat foods that will help strengthen your weak organs.  There is much healing you can do when you self massage.  Reflexology is a wonderful way of getting in touch with your body and nurturing yourself.  You will be amazed how taking an hour out of your week will dramatically destress the rest of your week.

Blessings... E 

Alternative Medicines

I have been asked several times about the different types of medicine that fall under alternative medicine.  Here is a partial list with a bit of information on each. 

Naturopathy - the belief that the body can heal itself if provided with the proper diet, exercise plan, and mental well being.  Ailments are warning signs that the body is not healthy and changes must be made to one of the three pillars to bring the body back to a healthy state.

Homeopathy - the belief that small preparations of natural remedies will stimulate the immune system to heal itself.  Similar to immunizations - give a diluted form of the disease in small amounts to stimulate the body to create natural immunity to the disease. 

Reflexology - massaging of the hands, feet, and ears to stimulate internal healing.  Our hands, feet, and spine all have points that are all directly related to our organs.  If you run your hands lightly over your hands, do you have any tender spots? knots? pain? Massaging these areas will also stimulate the directly related organ.  The webbing between your thumb and pointer finger - if massaged - has been known to relieve migraines.  Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed, you rub your temples?  It automatically calms and relaxes you.  Have you ever found yourself touching your chin when you are thinking?  Yes, another acupressure / reflexology site.  http://www.reflexology-research.com/

Acupressure - applying pressure to specific sites to induce a change or stimulate an organ.  By applying pressure or centering energy at specific points you can change the energy flow and stimulate the immune system.  Many have used acupressure to quit smoking, to stop addictions, to heal emotional scars, and to heal ailments.  http://www.acupressure.com/

Acupuncture - inserting needles into specific points on the body to relieve / heal ailments and to relieve pain.  This is a very well known Chinese therapy that many people use for many of the same reasons as acupressure - the primary difference between the two are the needles.  http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/acupuncture-whatis.html

Chiropractic Medicine - adjusting the spine to relieve ailments.  As with reflexology, the understanding that there are points along the spine that directly relate to organs http://www.dorn-method.com/index_files/SpineOrgansConnectionsTable.htm  With Chiropractic medicine, the proper adjustments to the spine will extend to the connected organs and aid in healing.

Aromatherapy - in the simplistic of terms, aromatherapy is healing with scents.  Smells carry the strongest memories we have.  How often have you smelled something and immediately thought of an ex boyfriend / girlfriend?  Or smile because that smell brings a flash of a favorite childhood memory?  My favorite smell is cinnamon - it carries with it the memory of my grandparents and my childhood.  Smell is a very STRONG healer.  Aromatherapy can involve baths, candles, massage, pretty much any where and anything.   

Massage - healing through touch and pressure points on the body.  The healing power of touch is HUGE.  We transfer energy when we touch one another.  Massage for some is intensely personal and intimate.  Someone with energy medicine back ground is able to feel spots on the body that need attention.  Knots / tenderness in certain areas may relate back to organs.  If you visit a masseur, make sure to pay close attention to any sore spots and check online to see what organs they relate back to - and check to see if you have a problem, disease, illness related to that organ.

Energy Medicine - healing by transferring, realigning, and / or absorbing energy from others.  Donna Eden is the first person to openly discuss energy medicine.  She is able to see energy, like some can see auras and is able to use her energy to fix energy paths in others.  She related a story in her book about a woman that had a bad hip - it had bothered her for years.  Donna ran her hands lightly over the area and both women began to quietly weep - in repairing the energy flow in that area, she had released a memory that had been trapped that was very painful.  Once relieved, she never had pain in that hip again.

Herbology - using herbs to heal.  This can be by eating the fresh herbs, creating tinctures, poultices, etc.  Herbs have a lot of power in them.  Using them requires an experienced hand - herbs can cause the same adverse reactions as pharmaceutical drugs - so please use caution and study the herbs before using.  Some herbs do have reactions with pharmaceutical drugs.