Touch Therapy

“…..It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.Eddie Cantor

A recent camping holiday with my daughter in (very wet and windy!) Norfolk reminded me of the benefit of taking things at a slower pace. Being away from TV’s and computers, our preoccupation with keeping our tent securely pegged down and cooking on basic equipment was fun and brought our focus back to enjoying each other’s company, chatting and playing Scrabble (she won every time!).

Many of us live in ‘fast forward’ – and pay the price for it. Our work, health and relationships suffer. Over-stimulated, over-scheduled and overwrought, we struggle to relax, to enjoy things properly, to spend time with family and friends. It wouldn’t be practical on an everyday basis to shun technology, live in the wilderness or do everything at a snail’s pace, but we could aim to strike a balance between fast and slow.

Eating more slowly is better for your digestion and gives time for your appestat – a hypothetical region of the brain thought to control the amount of food intake – to kick in, so you stop eating before you get overfull.

Anaerobic exercising, particularly in disciplines such as Yoga, Tai Chi or Pilates are more beneficial when done at a snail’s pace- the muscles have to work harder when you don’t allow gravity or the impetus of a movement to help get you in or out of a position.

When I do a massage treatment I alternate some more energetic bodywork with some really slow, soothing, almost hypnotic techniques, enabling a deep, therapeutic relaxation. Clients often say that while they were relaxed and suspended in this ‘slow’ time, their thoughts flowed more creatively and perhaps opened up the way forward with an issue which had been vexing them.

‘Southwell Life’ – Oct 2007

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Weather has short and long term effects on our bodies according to biometeorologists – scientists who study this connection. “UV-A and UV-B light in small doses has a stimulating and harmonising effect on our energy levels, immune systems, metabolism, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, endocrine system and our ability to concentrate, work and learn.” (Dr Jacob Libermann, ‘Light – Medicine of the Future/Dr. Zane R. Kime, ‘Sunlight could save your life’)

Our reactions to the weather affect the production of hormones in our bodies which are also affected by pain and stress, resulting in a cocktail of ‘enemies’ which can combine to lead to us feeling ‘under par’.

We are well aware of the damage to unprotected skin by the ultra violet rays of the sun and high levels of sunlight to eyes may be harmful. We are also cautioned about exposure to sunlight when taking certain medications, after using particular toiletries or having a massage with phototoxic essential oils such as Bergamot, Ginger and the citrus oils which make you more photosensitive and accelerate that painful and harmful sunburn.

But it’s not all bad news – these cautions shouldn’t put us off getting a healthy daily dose of sunshine – even just 10 minutes is beneficial. It is needed by our bodies to make vitamin D which boosts our immune system and aids calcium absorption, to promote healthy bone growth. Vitamin D is also available from food sources such as milk, oily fish and egg yolks but some sunshine on our eyes has the added advantage of affecting our hypothalamus which governs mood among other things.

The late arrival of summer seems to have contributed to a general low mood this year, but a daily dose of this free ‘medicine’ could help perk us up again.

‘Southwell Life’ – Sept 2007

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(Mark Twain)

“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. (C. S. Lewis)

I’m aware that the more ‘available’ time I have, the less I seem to do – I achieve far more when I’m busy, knowing that I have to fit tasks into ‘spare’ time and can’t afford to put them off.

Labour saving devices don’t seem to have made more leisure time. Half our life is spent trying to do something with the time we have rushed through the day trying to save! But do we allow ‘free’ time for creative thinking to help us intuitively spend our time in the most efficient, effective way? Time is a precious commodity – once ‘spent’ it’s gone; we need to treasure it.

How many times have I heard myself say ‘I haven’t got time to….’ Is that really true, or is it that my focus, priorities or desire is actually directed elsewhere? If I really wanted or needed to do something, wouldn’t I ‘find’ time? Or is it, in the words of Ecclesiastes, ‘For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven’ – when the time’s ‘right’ I will do it?

So there’s no need to berate yourself that you ‘haven’t had time to…’. If you are interested in a healthy lifestyle, simply keep that aim in mind and you will do those things that can help maintain health and well-being, such as see a friend, walk instead of drive, take time to cook using fresh ingredients, perhaps even have a massage.

P.S. It was lovely to see so many local people visited our Complementary Therapy ‘Chill-out Zone’ for taster sessions at the Gate to Southwell Folk Festival – an ideal opportunity to experience ‘still’ time.

‘Southwell Life’ – Aug 2007

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(Amos Bronson Alcott, Philosopher – 1799-1888)

It’s interesting that last month Howard was highlighting the difficulties that can arise between neighbours. Not long after he had written that, we had both, among many others nearby, experienced the trauma of being flooded, which, in contrast, brought out the goodwill that a crisis can evoke in neighbours – cups of tea, offers to help, general concern about our situation and mutual moral support.

An enforced change of circumstances can remind us what is important and that it’s not so much what life throws at us, but how we react. Usual routine is interrupted and raised adrenaline levels to ‘fight or flight’ have, in my case, prompted an energetic clear-out and re-organisation which I probably should have done months if not years ago, but somehow never found that kind of energy!

Having an everyday routine is useful in that we don’t need to think constantly about what to do – some activities just happen on ‘autopilot’. But having the opportunity to step outside of that routine gives a renewed energy and interest in approaching life from a different viewpoint.

I aim to approach my holistic treatments without a specific routine in mind. When I was training, a massage routine was a useful way to become familiar with techniques. However, once I had absorbed them I took a more individual approach with a ‘listening touch’. By working without a restricting routine I have more energy to give and can formulate a ‘cocktail’ of techniques which combine appropriately to make a treatment more dynamic and focussed towards individual needs.

Obviously, at each visit, we can discuss if ‘more of the same’ is what you need and like, or whether a more intuitive and ‘go with the flow’ treatment would be more effective.. it’s your choice.

‘Southwell Life’ – July 2007

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“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference” (2)

There are the changes that happen to us and around us – age, health, seasons, events – and our reaction to those changes rather than the changes themselves may influence how we are affected. We can recognise that change is happening, accept or fight/resent those changes, but they are often inevitable and we may have to change our thinking, lifestyle or patterns of behaviour in order to deal with them.

However, making the changes that might improve our well-being, possibly without an external ‘trigger’ – exercising more, eating more healthily, being more aware of our posture – can seem daunting. Our head tells us that if we change nothing, nothing changes, but it’s often easier to stay with our habits. Try crossing your arms the other way round from how you do it naturally and you can see just how difficult and strange it feels to do something differently.

However it might only need a small decision or step to start the process. Involving a friend in your change, giving yourself a timetable to plan it – ‘Think it, believe it, do it’, following a self-help book, working with a professional you trust, giving yourself rewards when you achieve a small step, will all help you stick with the process of change.

A holistic complementary therapy treatment which starts with a health consultation and lifestyle assessment can help ‘kickstart’ your change, and subsequent treatments can maintain the momentum of that change and reward yourself for making the change.

(1) Anthony J. D’Angelo
(2) Reinhold Niebuhr 

‘Southwell Life’ – June 2007

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“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony” (1)

Our body is a complex organism comprised of a combination of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual elements, which ideally work in unison creating harmony and well-being but can react against each other creating disturbance.

Thus, mental stress can manifest in tense muscles, overwork might mean a person takes little exercise, lack of spiritual nurture – whatever that means for an individual – can lead to emotional unease – a vicious circle of ‘disturbance’.

According to the Gaia hypothesis all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth’s environment that promotes balance in order for the planet to work effectively. The controversial global warming crisis appears to be about man’s intervention in that natural balance.

Similarly our activities or non-activities may affect our own body’s homeostatis (2) and tip it ‘off balance’. Possibly the most frequent occurrence of imbalance that I see in clients is how we use our muscles – always carrying things in our dominant hand, sitting or standing ‘lop-sided’, playing a sport which has a one-sided emphasis. By contrast, Yoga, for example, includes balanced exercises to ensure equal practice for left and right sides.
All muscles have a natural elasticity or ability to stretch and contract. If we have complete control of a muscle, we can achieve a muscle tonicity of zero – complete relaxation. But if we lose our voluntary control of a muscle its resting tonicity can increase up to 40%. We may think our muscles are relaxed when not in use, but in reality we may hold our muscles in a chronically contracted state even during sleep.

Exercise, relaxation and massage help us become more aware of our body and work towards maintaining a harmonious balance.

(1) Thomas Merton, French clergyman – 1915-1968
(2) The maintenance of physiological conditions required to maintain the life of the organism

‘Southwell Life’ – May 2007

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Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.2

We’re usually very clear about whether we feel we’ve had enough sleep or not. Deprivation can quickly affect our healthy physical and mental functions; we may get ‘out of sync’ with our circadian rhythm – the twenty-four-hour pattern, initiated by exposure to sunlight and darkness, which governs the cycle of wakefulness/sleep to which most human bodily processes are set.

It may help us to understand the link between sleep and health if we examine the interaction between the hormones melatonin – the body’s own natural sleeping pill and ‘timekeeper’ – and serotonin which is involved in pain perception, temperature control, blood-pressure regulation, appetite, memory, and mood. During the day, our exposure to natural sunshine stimulates the production of serotonin. As daylight fades and we prepare for sleep, our bodies start secreting melatonin which is derived from serotonin.

If our lifestyle and sleep pattern upsets this hormonal balance and our circadian rhythm we may notice adverse effects similar to ‘jet lag’ – inability to control speech, access memory, and solve problems. The body may also become more susceptible to disease as the immune system may be compromised.

Good quality sleep is necessary to restore depleted resources, repair damaged cells and chemicals. It may also help to clear away or ‘file’ information and make sense of our experiences and thoughts. “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it”3 ”

Sleep can ‘escape’ us for a variety of reasons, for example, stress, anxiety, alcohol, physical comfort, environmental influences – “People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one”!4

Strategies to improve quality of sleep include

• stabilising your circadian rhythm by keeping a regular bedtime
• exercise, but not too near bedtime
• limiting stimulants such as nicotine and caffeine. Alcohol is a sedative, but when its effect wears off, sleeping patterns become erratic.
• not lying awake – worrying about falling asleep keeps you awake. Get up and do something else until you feel sleepy. “A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow”5.
• eating and drinking a couple of hours before bedtime to avoid indigestion or the need to urinate during the night
• ‘winding down’ can help you fall asleep – try meditation, relaxing with music or a warm bath.

(1) Mike Wilson (2) Thomas Dekker 1572 – 1632 (3) John Steinbeck 1902 – 1968 (4) Leo J. Burke -1893 1990 (5) Charlotte Brontë 1816 – 1855

‘Southwell Life’ – April 2007

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Sounds can soothe and calm, remind us of good times, be pleasing or entertaining such as birdsong, crashing waves, rustling leaves, music and the spoken word.

But sounds, when they become ‘noise’, are “the most impertinent of all forms of interruption … a disruption of thought” (2) and may be a source of irritation and stress. Noise may ‘block’ what we don’t want to hear or think about, cause sleep disturbance or interfere with an individual’s right to peace and quiet at home.

Judging by the proliferation of muzak and of earphones with wires dangling to MP3’s or mobile phones, “an inability to stay quiet is one of the most conspicuous failings of mankind (3).”

Veteran rocker Pete Townshend blames his hearing loss on a lifetime spent using headphones and experts say today’s iPod Generation is storing up trouble for the future by listening to music at high volumes for periods of an hour or more a day. Royal National Institute for the Deaf found 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds admitted they thought they had the volume too high – possibly because they’re using headphones in a noisy environment and they crank up the volume to drown out extraneous sounds.

After a noisy concert you may have experienced the ear-ringing effect where sounds seem temporarily dulled, muffled or quieter than normal. This “temporary threshold shift” that can last for some time afterwards may be alright once in a while (4) but if the ears aren’t allowed to rest between such bouts of concentrated noise, there is irreparable damage to ‘the microphones’; the hair cells in the inner ear, which results in a loss of hearing. This is compounded by the natural ageing process of those hair cells which deteriorate from birth.

Ears, like the rest of your body, need a break from the stress of noise. Not being a fan of ‘whale’ music and recorded sea sounds, I choose my music carefully to accompany treatments, or silence if a client prefers. I see this as an important part of an holistic therapy. “True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment”(5)

(1) Seen on a bumper sticker
(2) Arthur Schopenhauer
(3) Walter Bagehot
(4) Jonathan Parsons, British Academy of Audiology.
(5) William Penn

‘Southwell Life’ – March 2007

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“Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour” William Cowper – “The Task” (1785)

After Christmas we may well be feeling the effect of the fact that 1g of fat contains double the calories of 1g of carbohydrates or protein. It was interesting to note that we eat fewer calories than 50 years ago, having been encouraged to cut down on saturated fats and sugar. But the flipside is that there is more processed food and attractively presented prepared meals available. This may cut down our consumption of complex carbohydrates which help keep our hunger satisfied for longer and means that food on our plate is further away from its healthiest, natural state. However, it is encouraging that certain food companies (and we have some excellent local ones) are working hard to exclude trans fatty acids, source local produce and use minimum additives.

A healthy eating regime needs to include foods of different colours to ensure you get a variety of nutrients, as well as a combination of food type – protein, fat and carbohydrate – to ensure the ‘building blocks’ for a healthy body.

It is also about eating balanced portions of freshly cooked ingredients on a regular basis to keep your digestive system active. By ‘starving’ yourself or missing a meal your body starts to go into ‘survival’ mode and slows your metabolism down, but it seems our current lifestyles and social habits don’t lend themselves to Adelle Davis’s adage – “Eat breakfast like king, lunch like lord, dinner like pauper”.

Meals often get squashed into the time available, yet taking time to enjoy the preparation of a meal and then to eat it slowly, savouring every mouthful, means you’re less likely to overeat. This ritual can become part of the holistic way of looking after yourself. Nutrition is like a good savings account – one whose interest is compounded at every meal and is an important key to maintaining good health.

‘Southwell Life’ – February 2007

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Fire is the origin of stone. By working the stone with heat, I am returning it to its source.
Andy Goldsworthy

We all used heat to warm us and heal – hot water bottles, poultices, wheat bags; the Japanese use stones to warm their tummies to aid digestions and the Chinese have used them to relieve muscular pain for thousands of years.

Mary Nelson’s LaStone Therapy updated this idea by incorporating massage with smooth basalt stones of varying sizes, heated in water.

The effects of holistic massage are intensified as the stones slowly release their heat to relax the muscles which allows for deep tissue work. It can be a sublimely relaxing treatment which dissolves stress, as well as a powerful therapy which relieves pain, decreases recovery time from injuries and helps tone the muscles.

The ‘designer label’ Hot Stonefusion Massage has been developed by Meghan Mari of Jing Advanced Massage. This is a creative blend of specialised massage strokes:

• using the stones flat or on edge
• using hand, forearm, and knuckles
• alternating between a heated stone and the heat of the hand
• combined with stretching techniques to release areas of tension or strain
• using a varied pace from slow and focussed to the placing of warm stones on strategic points of the body to prolong the effect of the therapeutic heat

Hot stones are particularly beneficial for longer-term conditions, but where there is a recent injury, the stones can also be used cold to help reduce any inflammation.

Obviously if you have a sensitivity to heat, the temperature of the hot stones would need to be carefully monitored, but the heat need be no more intense than a warm bath.

Because they are smooth and cupped in the therapist’s hand, there is no sense of the hardness of stone. Even the gentle clinking of the stones as they are handled can be therapeutic, reminding you of waves crashing on a pebbly beach.

Don’t take my word for it – try it!

‘Southwell Life’ – December 2006

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