What’s Your Definition of Healthy?
When I first studied massage therapy at PMTI, I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of things that make up the healthy human body. There are, for example, over 600 muscles.
From the beginning of this class in 1980, I have never stopped studying and learning about the human body, its wellbeing, and its health. Not even for a moment.
The question looming over all the studies, classes, and courses is this: What is the definition of healthy?
As a healer, my goal is to be a conduit for your healing. I am not here to change your story. And, I certainly cannot define “Healthy” for you. Each person I meet in my daily travels has a truly unique and individual definition of “Healthy”.
An important word in my vocabulary as healer is “homeostasis”. Through the years, I’ve worked to make that word and it’s definition a part of your life, too.
Homeostasis is the return to balance of your body. As a Reflexologist, my goal was and is and will be to bring your body to homeostasis.
And, of course, Homeostasis is a big word because the body has so many thousands of working parts.
That being said – what is Healthy? For me, as a healer, that word is loaded.
For many, healthy comes down to what you eat. After all, we’ve all heard and read the saying: “You are what you eat.”
And, I think we can agree that something that is perfect for one person is not good for another. That’s why there are so many different diets for people these days. Each of us has individual needs when it comes to what we need to be healthy. So, it comes down to this:
One body needs different foods compared to another body.
Our dietary needs continually shift.
Whether we’re talking diet, exercise, sleep, or any other activity, our daily decisions are spiritual.
So, this all includes judgement and criticism. This is an extremely eye-opening statement for some. But, I know it to be true. Many people feel judged for what they eat, where they get what they eat, and how they store, prepare, and serve what they bring home.
People not only feel judged for what they eat, they feel judged for how they look, whether they are over or underweight, and their lifestyles.
When we eat to be healthy physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, we come up against a lot of opinions and questions.
Something I try to never do is criticize another person for what they eat or don’t eat. However, that’s a tough thing to do. But, really, we never literally know what another person needs to be healthy.
You can simplify your life a bit if you just believe that we don’t know what another person needs and we don’t need to know. It’s just not anybody else’s business.
And, it’s easier to do this if we factor in the cost of food these days. Nowadays it’s getting to be more common to encounter people who simply don’t have the money to eat the way they might otherwise eat.
Instead of feeding their bodies and souls, they are” robbing Peter to pay Paul” (as my mother used to say) as they choose between rent and food. We can’t blame our unhealthy activities and habits on the rising cost of food when our rents have risen from $800 per month to $2000 per month.
Meanwhile, the job is paying more but not THAT much more.
Guess what, this blog post has just degenerated from a spiritual discussion of the word “healthy” into an economic politically spiritual one. Our struggles all have a spiritual component.
And, when a person finally loses the roof and life’s struggle includes finding a warm, dry place to sleep for the night, I wonder how they fit healthy into the struggle to get to work, get the children to school, and find a meal.
At this point, “healthy” becomes a lot about how to breathe deeply for grounding.
And now, I’m reminded of Kerrith McKechnie, my massage teacher at PMTI. She spoke a lot about breath, breathing, grounding and staying healthy.
I listened to her when she spoke about breathing and its importance to our health. And, every time she lectured or instructed us about breathing, I wondered how this was going to fit into the next exam.
Well, Kerrith McKechnie, I finally know the answer to my question. When the rubber meets the road, proper breathing techniques are essential.
Proper grounding and healing breathing techniques fit smack dab into the middle of the situation.
When you can, please schedule a reflexology or reiki therapy session for yourself, your family members, and even your pets.
If this seems a bit expensive, maybe it’s time to learn to practice Reiki or reflexology.
Thank you for reading this blog post article about the spiritual journey we are all on. My intention is that this article can be a conduit for your spiritual growth and healing.
If you haven’t yet read “Healer’s Handbook” this may be a good opportunity for you to order a copy.
Please forward this article to your preferred social media network and share it with your friends and relatives.
If you want to communicate with me, please email: thurmangreco@gmail.com.
“Ketchup Sandwich Chronicles” is about the spiritual journey of hunger as illustrated by the shoppers in the food pantry line.
Reiki for Transition – Reflexology for the Spirit
So, here we are, on the cusp of summer.
Only a few days away from the June equinox, we’re somewhere in transitions we’re all experiencing as we feel our way from the pandemic to the post pandemic reality.
Whether you feel the end of the pandemic is here or whether you feel there never was a pandemic or whether you fear the pandemic will never end:
This is a time to feel the earth underneath your feet.
This is a time to take a deep breath.
This is a time to balance your chakras and your body systems.
Now, more than ever before, we all need the homeostasis offered by Reiki. We all need Reiki’s gentle healing. We all need Reiki’s blessings.
Join together now and send Reiki to yourself, to your family members, to your neighbors, to the planet.
Whoever you choose to receive your Reiki, that person, place, or thing will appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness.
This is a time to send Reiki to all living beings.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please forward it to your preferred social media network.
Please share it with your friends.
Thank you.
Thurman Greco
Please check out the healing YouTube articles under:
Thurman Greco
Let’s Live with Thurman Greco
Thurman Greco with Reflexology for the Spirit
New sessions are added weekly.
Reflexology, Homeostasis, and Your Diet. 9 Ways They Help
Your body continually changes throughout your daily activities. Sleeping, dancing, or taking out the trash, your body tries to maintain a healthy balance – homeostasis.
When you visit a reflexologist, other bodyworker, or healthcare professional, you may be trying to address one or more ongoing, persistent, health problems in addition to your diet. You seek solutions while saying to yourself “I may have to learn to live with fatigue ( insomnia, constipation, headaches)”. A reflexology session does much for you.
Sleep comes easier as patterns change.
More regular bowel movements emerge.
Your body begins a mild detox.
Your tensions relax.
Your overactive or underactive glands and organs begin to normalize.
Your nerve and blood supply improve.
You begin to feel refreshed, relaxed, and energetic.
Pain and discomfort disappear.
The truth is, we don’t know how a person’s body will respond to or react to a particular reflexology session. Whatever the reaction, it is a sign that the therapy is working.
Things happen after a reflexology session because they need to happen – whether it’s sleep, relaxation, tension reduction, or pain loss.
These reactions and responses are important when you diet because of changes brought about by your weight loss as you change the foods you eat and you move more.
These reactions are also important because they tell you that you are self-healing.
One thing people don’t really mention is that both reflexology and your diet encourages you to tune in to your own feelings and your body to see what feels best for you.
This is a major change. I hope this sensitivity will stay with you long after the diet and extra pounds have moved on.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
www.thurmangreco.com
Beginning with the next post, I will be blogging about self-care during a diet. I feel that a diet is the ultimate self-care experience. It is your opportunity to care for yourself spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
Go for it!
Poor Sleep Can Wreck Your Quality of Life
If you let it, POOR SLEEP will leave you feeling tired, confused, and depressed.
Sleep can have many causes. And, that’s one of the reasons we struggle with it. In past blog posts, I’ve written many articles about sleep and here is yet another one. And, there will probably be many more.
However, this article is different from all the rest. In this article, you will learn POOR SLEEP HAS MANY CAUSES. Investigate every one that applies to your situation.
Poor sleep causes fall in several categories.
To begin with, COFFEE, CIGARETTES, AND DIET PILLS are in their own little but potent category.
Is caffeine part of your poor sleep problem? Remember, it is found in many things beyond just the cup of coffee you have in the morning. Try to find them all and banish them from your daily life.
Are your days spent in rooms with DIM LIGHTING? Poor sleep can be the result of this environment. What can you do to remedy this situation? Getting just twenty to thirty minutes of sunlight each day can make a difference.
Do you get enough exercise? MOVING YOUR MUSCLES IS ESSENTIAL to overcoming poor sleep. It comes down to this: You have to move enough to get to sleep at the end of your day. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.
Do you have one or more HEALTH ISSUES that promote poor sleep patterns? Some diseases make it hard to get to sleep. Others make consistent sleep throughout the night difficult. If sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and sinus problems interfere with a good night’s sleep, get treatment for them. The message here is this: Don’t let a medical condition cause your poor sleep.
Finally, we come to SLEEPING PILLS. For me, they are an absolute last resort. Sleeping pills come after you have done everything you possibly can to overcome poor sleep.
Why? Some of these pills create their own problems.
Several herbal remedies and supplements are on the market to combat your poor sleep. Two that come to mind are Melatonin and Valerian.
We don’t really know whether either one of them works because the studies have been sparse and contradictory. The preparations and dosages are varied so that it’s complicated to know how much and when to take either Melatonin or Valerian.
It’s best to take any sleeping preparations under the direction of a professional who knows about the products you are taking. That way, you won’t be wasting your money and you won’t be overdosing.
The BOTTOM LINE here is to encourage you to chase down each and every cause of poor sleep that you can. Deal with each and every cause in your search for blessed sleep.
Thanks for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
Healthy Blood Pressure – 6 Things You Can Do.
We all have a blood pressure. We don’t see it. We don’t feel it. Unless someone checks our blood pressure, we don’t know we have it. And, unless someone tells us our blood pressure is bad, we don’t even think about it.
That makes high blood pressure a quiet killer. While we go about our lives unaware of the situation, hypertension damages our blood vessels, heart, and eyes. High blood pressure is a set-up for heart disease, stroke, dementia, and kidney disease.
So, pay attention to your blood pressure. When your blood pressure is high, your heart is working too much to do its job properly. This stresses your arteries.
So, what can you do to get your blood pressure down to normal?
For starters, STAMP OUT YOUR CIGARETTES. Smoking, whether cigarettes or pipes, is not good for your arteries. When nicotine reaches your blood vessels, they constrict – which is not good for you.
GET A PET – Statistically, people with pets have healthier blood pressure scores. So, what is the best pet for you? I, personally, love dogs and cats. But you don’t have to get something that barks and meows. Birds, fish, snakes, even a gold fish make good pets. The important thing is to get one that is good for your situation.
DO YOU HAVE A HOBBY? – Find something that you really enjoy and can get interested in. Drawing, writing, skating, running, walking, and a thousand and one other things can be just what you need to calm your hypertension.
GET RID OF YOUR EXTRA WEIGHT. – When you lower your weight you’ll have better blood pressure scores, you will also feel better and look better. And, this is a segway right into the next suggestion:
NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING – Some foods encourage a good blood pressure score. Fruits and vegetables are good. Some people feel oatmeal has magical qualities. You’ll have better luck with this if you get several sessions with a nutritionist whose training aligns with your health needs.
EXERCISE HELPS, TOO! Yoga is good. But, so is anything else you do regularly. This includes almost any physical activity you like. The important thing is to move.
Not included in this list is pills. I think they are important and have been taking my blood pressure medication daily for decades. Just like everyone else I know, I objected to them for a long time. Once I admitted that I needed them, life became better. This is a decision for you to make, though. Everyone I know who takes a hypertension medication, including myself, went through stages of resistance.
After all, it’s hard to face up to needing a medication for the rest of my life. But, once I matured into this reality, my health improved and my attitude about myself certainly got better, too.
Thanks so much for reading this article. There are many other posts in this blog which will help you lower your blood pressure. I hope you get time to check out a few of them.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
Easy Wellness: 10 Tips for a Longer Life
Easy wellness is real and is even easier than you think.
JOB STRESS IS A FACT OF LIFE. There is a correlation between workplace stress and obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, gastrointestinal problems, asthma. It’s no surprise that people are more likely to suffer a heart attack on Monday than on the other days of the week.
So, what can you do to ease the pressure and experience easy wellness? Easy wellness techniques you can adopt are easier than you might think.
Go for a walk on your lunch hour.
Take your phone calls while standing up and moving around.
Play relaxing music.
Skip happy hour and go to the gym instead.
Wash your hands at least five times each day with soap and warm water.
Keep your bedroom clutter and electronics free.
Change your sheets weekly.
EASY WELLNESS EQUALS HEALTHY WEIGHT. Being overweight increases your risk for all illnesses and chronic conditions. Being underweight prevents the body from functioning at peak performance.
GET YOUR ANNUAL FLU SHOT. AND, AS YOU AGE, GET YOUR ANNUAL PNEUMONIA SHOT AND SHINGLES SHOT. It’s estimated that over 40,000 people die annually from the flu. An annual shot can prevent at least some of these deaths.
GET NAKED! Occasionally, inspect your body from head to toe. Look for blemishes, lesions, rashes, and other body oddities that are new on the scene. Your skin reflects the state of your entire body. If you will pay attention to your skin, you can catch the signs of underlying internal disease. Your body will tell you how well you are aging through skin tone, wrinkles, and color.
Expand the skin care routine you devote to your face and neck to include a skin care routine for your entire body.
GET OFF YOUR SEAT AND ON YOUR FEET. Easy wellness can go beyond the gym. Is your job physically intense? Or do you spend most of your time at a desk? Find ways to keep yourself moving throughout your day. Your body will love you for this!
DISCONNECT! At least twice a week give yourself a time out. It needn’t be too long. Try for 20 minutes at a time. Cut off your phone, your computer, your TV, your radio, your doorbell. Spend a few minutes enjoying your surroundings without interruptions. Your body, your mind, your spirit will thank you!
QUIT SMOKING – Okay, this may not be easy to do but, once you’ve done it, you’ll be healthier, more alert, richer, live longer. If you can get yourself down to 5 cigarettes a day, it’s easier to quit the habit completely.
GET YOUR HEART RATE UP FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES A DAY. This can be real easy wellness. One way to do this is to move your body and force your lungs and heart to work harder for 20 minutes every day. Your entire body will appreciate this effort – including your brain!
COFFEE CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU. Coffee goes in and out of fashion. I recommend a reasonable amount of coffee, especially in the morning. Both coffee and tea have antioxidants which we all need. Your coffee does not need to include the modern energy concoctions which are overloaded with too much coffee and sugar. Nor does it need to include any of the fashionable flavors being added these days.
GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF A DNA TEST. This is easy wellness in action. You’ll be fascinated by the information and you’ll also know yourself better. Results of your DNA test can point you in the right direction for wellness habits.
Results of your DNA test can also point you in a right direction for good nutritional habits. Through your DNA test, you’ll discover where you came from. Eating food in the style of your ancestors can help you nutritionally. I’ll give you an example. One of my clients wanted to know what to eat. He had a DNA test which confirmed that most of his heritage was Jewish. He had his answer right there!
Another client wanted to know what to eat. His DNA test confirmed that most of his heritage was Mediterranean. Well, the Mediterranean diet was a good direction for him to follow. Sticking with the Mediterranean diet food and cutting out all the other food clutter eliminated a few pounds which he needed to lose.
Thank you for reading this easy wellness article! Please share it with your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
