What Needs to Go?
Now is a time of beginnings. Things are changing. Transformation is in the air. What needs to go?
Change can be a scary time…and a scary word.
Sometimes change means to shuffle things around. Other times change means to add another layer. Yet again, it means to move emphasis from one point to another.
Sometimes, a transformation happens. Something comes to an end to make way for something new.
Whether you find yourself angry, frightened, or excited, embrace the new beginning.
Ask yourself: “What needs to go?”
Move on.
Put the past in your rearview mirror to make way for a new beginning.
Get rid of what no longer fits, is worn out, or is outdated.
This includes habits, worn-out schedules, patterns that are no longer effective, cycles, clothes you no longer wear, books and other household objects that are no longer useful to you.
This can also include spiritual beliefs that you no longer identify with.
When these things move off, a new order and life can grow.
Ask the universe to support you in your coming activities. Release what you need to let go in love and gratitude.
This is a good time to send blessings to others and to the world as you welcome what comes your way. While releasing what no longer works for you, include mental housecleaning. Seek guidance to support you now and in your future.
A meditation can work to help you release portions of your life which may no longer be positive. This will help you attract the positive things and situations to support you in your forward journey.
One of my favorite meditations involves clouds:
Find a quiet and safe place to get comfortable for a few minutes. Loosen any constricting clothing. Remove your shoes if possible. Relax your shoulders. Close and soften your eyes.
Begin inhaling from your abdomen as you breathe in fresh air. Notice how each inhale sounds. How does it feel? Slow your inhales. Embrace and enjoy each one.
After each inhale, exhale toxins, negativity, and any stress or other emotions you feel you don’t need anymore.
This is the time to use your breath to let go of those things which you no longer need or plan to use.
As you gently and slowly inhale and exhale, notice what you are letting go from your life.
See a sky with beautiful clouds passing overhead. Notice the things you are releasing as they leave your life, riding away on the beautiful clouds.
After a few minutes, it is time to return to this room. You can return to this meditation any time you want. It is waiting for you to enjoy at your convenience.
Reflexology and Reiki sessions release stress and encourage homeostasis. They are natural bodywork systems which support your releases, housecleaning, and spiritual renewal.
It’s okay to book extra sessions if you feel the need. Reiki, especially, is a good modality for daily sessions.
Maybe this is a good time to learn Reiki so you can offer self-healing sessions whenever you feel the need.
heart with wings
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Find more information by reading past blog pots.
YOUTUBE has information, too.
Letting Go
Recently I was standing in a grocery line, my cart piled high with much needed food. After a couple of minutes, I realized that, not only was it not moving, the line was getting longer and longer – seemingly by the second.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in a similar situation – I was stuck in traffic. It seemed I was in this situation for the duration of the afternoon.
Both cases shot my schedule. I wasn’t going to make it to my next appointment, or the one after that, on time. The most could say about these situations was that they were a crashing bore.
In the grocery line, I shifted into neutral. It was time to chill. This was a situation where I felt everything was going to go the way it was going to go – I was stuck.
This created a perfect opportunity for two things: First, it was time to ground myself and be peaceful. Second, it was time for Reiki energy to join the crowd.
Sure enough – within a moment, I felt Reiki energy energize my hands while it moved through the crowd and grounded everyone. I felt the people in the line calm themselves and take on an entirely new perspective.
When I’m in a crowd and Reiki energy join the group, I’m always grateful that I learned Reiki in such a way that it goes to work as it is needed.
Even without Reiki energy, grounding was a wonderful thing to experience in this situation.
Whenever we’re in a stuck event, the first inclination is to push. When that doesn’t work, the next step is to figure out a way to fight and struggle against the event.
A good option in this situation is to do your best to be calm. This attitude may give you an entirely new perspective.
Is this an easy thing to do? Probably not. But, when you succeed, you may feel you participated in a spiritually grounding event.
WOW!
Truthfully, it’s hard to plan for these events.
When they happen, embrace the opportunity to practice Letting Go. This short time in the grocery line or traffic jam is a good way to release and/or heal the various events and thoughts crowding your life with negativity.
See this situation as a moment for yourself. Think about how you can benefit from it.
Work on releasing any thoughts, habits, or beliefs that clutter your life. If you have doubts, think of the release is a way of loving yourself.
You may want to let go of a person or situation in your life which is uncomfortable or too negative for you. Do this with love and compassion. Ask the universe for guidance and assistance.
You may be able to move toward forgiving someone or some past event.
Because you are in a situation, you may be inspired by the spirituality and grounding of the moment to receive inspiration.
Sometimes the universe sees an opportunity which you didn’t know was there!
This may even be time for self-talk and self-acceptance.
This may even be time to commit to an action.
This may be time to participate in a Letting-Go moment where you release frustrations, mis-guided expectations, and other restrictions into the wind.
Take a moment to blow them away. As you breathe out, send them to wherever they need to go to become positive expectations, thoughts, and goals for others.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and family.
You can connect with me on Facebook: Thurman Greco
You can also learn more by reading past blog posts. YOUTUBE has information, too.
Do you want to learn more about Reiki or Reflexology? My books and videos on YOUTUBE have more information. I also have a video about reflexology which I made with the generosity of Arlene Ferrieri and Karen White.
A Good Morning Body Scan Reveals Healing Options.
Every morning I start my day by checking in with my body, my energy, my emotions. My goal is to know how I’m feeling. I’m tapping into my inner wisdom. For me, the best time to do this is at the beginning of the day when I have a few moments just for myself.
I begin by checking in with my body from my feet up. I work my way through my ankles, knees, hips, abdomen, chest, back, spine, shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists. I’m sure to include my neck, ears, mouth, nose, chin, face, forehead, eyes, scalp. Finally, I examine my hair.
I ask myself:
Is anything feeling out of balance?
Do I hurt anywhere?
Am I tight or sore anywhere?
These are the basic “little things” that need attention. If ignored, they can easily become “bigger things”. Pay attention to every part of your body.
Here’s an example:
If you answered “yes” to hurting anywhere, look more deeply:
Where does it hurt?
Why does it hurt?
What does this pain feel like?
Is this pain on the surface of my body or does it go deeper?
What is the exact location of this pain?
Listen to your answers. What are they telling you?
“I should probably look further into this, just…not right now.
Then, I ask myself about my moods, emotions, and mental outlook.
Am I feeling disconnected from myself and my body?
Am I depressed, happy, anxious?
Finally, I ask myself if I’m hungry.
How long has it been since I last ate?
Did I drink enough liquids in the last 24 hours?
The most important thing about this scan is learning to listen to the answers. Your body is a wonderful communicator. Between your chakras and your abdominal brain – you can keep tabs on your body, mind, heart, soul.
Tracking your feelings gives you a good opportunity to journal this information each day. Over time, you may realize that you are keeping track of yourself on a deeper level.
Checking in with your inner wisdom often and regularly will help you know yourself better.
When you scan your self and journal the results, you are researching your body, emotions, mental activity, and spiritual aspects. Your journal will encourage you to trust what you feel and experience. You are researching your self!
Include reflexology and reiki sessions at every opportunity. This wake-up scan works well with a self-Reiki session.
This scan is not a substitute for regular reflexology sessions.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find more information in previous blog posts and in “Healer’s Handbook”
You can purchase your copy of this book at www.thurmangreco.com and at Amazon.
Please forward this blogpost to your preferred social media network and share it with friends and family.
There are related video productions on YOUTUBE at “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco”. New titles are added weekly.
Thank you for reading this article. It may be that you need a moment for yourself.
This article allows you to think about your self-care. But, however you ended up reading this article, I invite you to expand self-care support and seek ways you can benefit from this practice.
Self-Care: Choose You
Are you fried?
Have you nothing left to give?
Does your energetic body (which usually feels wondrous and fluffy), feel dried and flat like crushed cotton candy?
It doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s more in your soul – you just can’t find it right now because you’re running on empty.
It’s time to choose YOU – your whole you. Honor your entire body – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, energetic.
Your balanced whole body is ready for you to claim it. It’s waiting. Everything is connected. Nothing operates independently. Authentic balance comes from within and is different for everyone.
Your entire body has a shaggy footprint which includes everything – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic.
This includes your memories also. Include your muscle memories, your mental memories, your past-life memories, your emotional memories – everything.
When you discuss caring for your body, include diet, exercise, sleep. Include choices, thought patterns, stress management, drugs.
Include meditation on your balance journey. Focus on experiencing your self – your whole, entire self, which wants you to get to know it better.
Read this meditation as often as you want. Allow your self to enjoy it.
Find a quiet, safe, and comfortable place to sit where you won’t be interrupted for a few minutes or so. Allow your body to be supported by the chair, bed, or floor you have chosen.
Drink a glass of water.
Quiet your mind and check in with your self.
When thoughts enter your mind, encourage them to comfortably come and go.
Notice how you breathe for the moment. Are your breaths shallow or deep? It doesn’t matter, really. Just notice your breath. – Notice how each each breath brings in a pure white light.
This white light is perfect and healing. It will stay with you. It’s job is to heal and nurture.
This white light knows where the need is greatest. It knows where to go.
As you breathe in, feel the healing energy riding on each breath. Feel this energy spreading out from your lungs to every artery and vein in your body. This white light is healing and regenerating every cell in your entire body.
Now, take a deep breath. Inhale and feel yourself relaxing. Notice whether you are becoming quiet. Are you becoming still?
Where is your body tight?
What’s happening with your energy level? Continue breathing in and out. Allow your self to become relaxed, still.
Now, move your hands along your body, beginning at the crown of your your head. Hold your hands several inches above your body. What do you feel as you move your hands along your body? Heat. Cool. Quickly moving energy. Slowly moving energy. Stuck energy.
Is something stressing you? What does this smell like? How does it feel? Do you hear stress? Where does this stress feel comfortable?
How do your senses react to your stress. What do you feel as you move your hands along your body?
(You can repeat this meditation many times as your hands become comfortable with what they find.)
When you notice a stressed or stuck area of energy, communicate with this particular place using nurturing feelings, and thoughts.
Speak directly with this stressed place. Tell this place that you love it, that you want it to be perfect.
Breathe in an extra breath of white light and focus it directly on the stressed place.
This process of sending white light to stress points and communicating with specific points using nurturing feelings and thoughts changes much. When you do this, you encourage your total self to release blockages, erace mistakes, and create perfect images.
See your self in perfection. Your breaths, sending white light to your whole body, release feelings of health, alertness, and relaxation.
Etch this feeling in your mind now so you can return to this feeling whenever you want.
It is time to return to your room now. Gently bring your awareness back to your day. Remember that you can return to this place any time you want.
Thank you for including this journey in your day.
Thank you for reading this blog article. Please forward it to your favorite social media network. Share it with friends and family.
You can connect with me on Facebook and also on YOUTUBE.
You will find other meditations on earlier blog posts. You can also find more wellness information on my books.
www.Thurmangreco.com.
Your Crown Chakra
When you connect with your spiritual center – your Divinity – you activate your crown chakra. Likewise, when you feel a connection to the Divine, your crown chakra is open.
That’s what it’s all about.
I believe we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. As such, I feel we spend time and energy throughout our lives longing for a return to the Divine.
This is where we remember who we are.
The crown chakra is linked to your endocrine system, an important thing to know
because a balanced endocrine system supports your chakra system.
When you are connected with your crown chakra, you should experience an ease
and flow in your daily life.
Are you trying to deepen your connection to the divine through your crown chakra?
A good thing to do is to construct an altar.
Begin with a vessel of clear water to represent mercy and healing energy.
You may want to select a goddess to teach you. When I first began my search,
Kwan Yin introduced herself to me. Kwan Yin has served me well. I love her
story. I love her energy.
You may want to select herbs for your altar. You may already have an
attachment to some specific herbs. If not, try to find some herbs that will support
your capacity to grow, align you to the energies you seek.
When you feel motivated, add 1 or 2 crown chakra gemstones. Again, you may
already be using amethyst or selenite or some other gemstone. It’s nice to
already have items for your altar which you know and understand. I found
Herkimer diamonds before I really understood their connection to any chakra.
As time passes, you’ll find essential oils, crystals, and yoga postures to help you
connect with your crown chakra. They wait for you along your path.
Crown chakra meditations are important. I’ll post one on my next blog post.
Meditation calms the chatter and allows your mind to stay focused.
For me, regular Reiki therapy, reflexology, or other healing sessions can be part
of your spiritual practice. Different people are drawn to different healing
techniques. The choice is large. On your journey you may include yoga,
massage, dietary changes.
You may select a modality and then, after time, change to another one. Time and
journey indicate different modalities.
Each chakra offers a different focus on our spiritual journey. All of them work
together to enhance health, happiness, and harmony.
More information about chakras in general and your crown chakra in particular is available in “A Healer’s Handbook”. You can order a copy of this book at www.thurmangreco.com.
Thank you for reading this article. Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and family.
More information about your crown chakra is located on early blog posts: www.reflexologyforthespirit.com.
Discover more about Thurman at www.thurmangreco.com.
Send comments to thurmangreco@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Thurman Greco
A Throat Chakra Meditation – Know your Truth
Get comfortable and relax into peace and calm.
Take a few slow deep breaths.
Inhale slowly through your nose.
Exhale through your mouth.
As you breathe deeply, close your eyes. Encourage your whole body to settle down into the calm.
As you let go, feel lighter with each breath.
As you continue your breathing, you see an iridescent, pale blue light surrounding you. This light is encasing and protecting you.
You look around and see you are floating in the air while this light protects you. You drift higher and higher. You float through large puffy clouds.
You float even higher.
Soon you see the earth below as you float higher and higher in your own inner space. You continue your journey surrounded by a cocoon of bluish white light.
You feel comfortable in this cocoon.
As you float higher, you feel this bluish white light filling you with love and light and harmony and peace.
As you look around you, you notice a group of shadowy faces which are familiar. As you look more closely at these faces, you see glimmers of a person you love who has passed over. Then, you notice a face you know who is a guide for you. Everyone is smiling to see you.
You know in your heart that these beings have a message for you. You listen quietly and absorb healing wisdom and feelings.
You are blissful in a holy space of truth and wisdom. You feel blessed.
You accept the gifts of love and light and truth which you receive in this iridescent light space surrounding you.
You pause for a moment to receive a message of truth and wisdom now.
You take a moment to thank these beings for the truth and wisdom they share with you.
You feel a sense of gratitude. – You feel this gift so strongly that you send your gratitude forward as a healing to the earth.
You envision peace and calm and good health for all beings on earth.
The special blue light surrounding you begins its descent into your space now. You are grateful for the wisdom you experienced on this journey.
You know it is time for you to return to your room now. It is time for your special iridescent blue bubble to merge with the air of your place.
You know you can return to your special light of wisdom and truth whenever you want.
You send feelings of gratitude for this experience.
heart with wings
Thanks for reading this article.
More information about chakras can be found in previous blog posts.
Healer’s Handbook also has information about chakras.
Please forward this article to your preferred social media network and share it with your friends and relatives.
Find out more at www.thurmangreco.com.
You can reach me a thurmangreco@gmail.com or on Facebook.
A Third Chakra Meditation – Strength, Warmth, Energy
I open this meditation with three different photos of a sunlit space.
My message is this:
Go with whichever one works best for you. Go with all of them if you like.
The sun gives strength, warmth, and energy so you can access the power of your solar plexus chakra.
Relax yourself as you breathe slowly, deeply. Breathe in clean oxygen, air, energy, light. Inhale slowly, and deeply to fill your body with cleansing fresh air.
When you exhale, let go of everything negative: toxins, anger, anxiety, pain, fear – anything you don’t need anymore.
PAUSE
As you continue to slowly inhale and exhale deeply, feel your body relaxing. Continue to inhale and exhale until your body is as relaxed as possible.
Experience this feeling as it moves throughout your muscles, bones, your chakras.
As you exhale, release toxins through your feet. Feel the toxins leaving through your toes.
Inhaling, feel your body filled with light. – Feel the sun’s rays beaming down on you. Feel the sun’s warmth and power as it blankets your body. This warmth and power nourishes both your body and soul.
Feel this power give you strength and wisdom so you can move forward in whatever endeavor you choose.
Feel this power focus on your solar plexus. Feel light and peace and positive energy. Experience the strength and wisdom in your solar plexus.
Now, breathe deeply and see you are surrounded with a beautiful, loving and peaceful golden-orange light. This light sends you inspiration.
Inhale deeply.
You may notice a spirit being joining you now. Notice how this being appears to you.
How is this being dressed?
What color clothes does this being appear to be wearing?
What kind of shoes does this being wear?
If you want to ask this being a question, ask it now.
PAUSE
You may not receive an answer in the moment. But, you will receive an answer when the time is right –
Feel the presence of this wisdom. Trust that the answer you receive will be the information you need to empower yourself and your development.
Now, stay relaxed in your golden-orange light as long as you want. Bathe in the light. Absorb this powerful, healing energy.
When you are ready to leave this space, offer a blessing:
Amen.
You can return to this meditation, this spirit guide, and this powerful, positive energy whenever you need, by remembering this experience in the light.
Your golden-orange light is waiting to surround you whenever you want.
Thanks for reading this meditation.
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Share it with your friends and family.
You can find other guided meditations in earlier blog posts.
Much of the info in this blog post was shared from “Healer’s Handbook.”
thurmangreco@gmail.com
Who Shouldn’t Receive a Reflexology Session, and Why (Contraindications)
My introduction to contraindications began at my first massage therapy class at the Potomac Myotherapy Institute in Washington, D.C back in 1979.
Our first class began on an autumn evening with about 40 students. By the second class, that number had shrunk to a few over 20. Missing students were culled because of contraindications.
A contraindication list changes based on several factors:
Wellness and reflexology writers each have lists based on their experiences and training.
Healers each have a list. My experience in this field tells me that this list is highly individualized, again based on each healer’s experiences and training.
Teachers in both schools and continuing education seminars have opinions. These professionals teach from a list compiled not only by themselves but by the school owners and the states where they teach.
When I first began practicing massage, Kerrith McKechnie cautioned us to not treat cancer patients, or anyone with fever, or a rash. And the list continued beyond that.
Later, when I studied reflexology, Marge d’Urso’s list was different.
Mary Ruth VanLandingham’s Reiki therapy list had no contraindications.
Over the past three plus decades, I have a list of my own. This list has changed over time based on my experiences, and classes taken.
And, of course, this list begins with
CANCER PATIENTS
As a student at PMTI, we were cautioned against working on cancer patients at all.
Years later, I know reflexology offers much for a cancer patient: relief from pain, stress, and nausea.
When I first offered reflexology to a cancer patient, she received her reflexology sessions 48 hours after chemotherapy. The theory was that she was toxic for 48 hours after receiving her chemotherapy.
I waited the 48 hours to protect myself.
The first time I offered reflexology sessions to a cancer patient, I did it because she asked. We discussed the situation and she felt that she had no options left.
To put her situation bluntly, I was offering reflexology to a terminally ill client. She wanted the relief offered from pain, stress, and nausea.
Now, of course, fewer and fewer cancer patients receive chemotherapy.
What’s important here is the journey reflexology and other healing modalities have taken as we learned more about cancer.
Years later, at a seminar at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, I learned that reflexology, massage, and Reiki therapy are appropriate for cancer patients whenever they want to receive a session.
For me, cancer is no longer a reason to refuse a reflexology session to a client.
PREGNANT WOMEN
I do not offer reflexology sessions to pregnant women experiencing the first trimester of an unstable pregnancy.
Nothing is more wonderful than a reflexology session offered to a woman in her 7th month of pregnancy and has not seen her feet for a couple of months and still has 2 months to go.
The rule I follow: avoid offering reflexology in the first trimester and stay on the bottom of the feet when you offer sessions thereafter.
If you have any concerns, switch to Reiki therapy. Reiki therapy is wonderful for pregnant women at any stage of the pregnancy. With a regular Reiki therapy client, you can offer sessions weekly and can offer to go with your client into the labor and delivery stages of the birth process. Then, of course, you have two clients.
CLIENTS WITH INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Infectious disease sufferers should not receive reflexology for your protection. If you decide to offer a session to someone in a contagious condition, consider some options: gloves, mask, etc.
SEVERE CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
This is a good time to use your Reiki therapy skills.
GANGRENE
Gangrene occurs when a person’s cells begin to die in a particular place when there is no circulation in a certain place in the body. Gangrene is fairly rare but can be seen in cases of advanced diabetes. This situation requires a physician’s attention.
ADVANCED OSTEOPOROSIS
Persons suffering with mild osteoporosis or osteopenia benefit from reflexology sessions. Use a light touch and a short session taking care not to fracture bones.
The red flag begins to fly when a new client approaches you with advanced osteoporosis. By then, it’s too late for your services without permission from the physician.
EXTENSIVE ATHLETE’S FOOT, ETC.
Whenever there is a rash, an open sore, athlete’s foot, etc., offer hand reflexology instead of working the feet. If you are uncomfortable offering hand reflexology to a person who has a contagious or infectious condition, use gloves.
ADVANCED DIABETES
Clients with mild diabetes respond well to reflexology sessions offered to both hands and feet. Use gentle pressure when working the pancreas. Use a lighter pressure in general for diabetics because their skin may be thinner or more sensitive and bruise easily. Also, reduce sessions to 30 minutes or less for new clients.
HEAVILY MEDICATED CLIENTS
Persons taking a lot of medicine may have a buildup of toxins. Because reflexology sessions offer a natural detoxing action you need to take care not to overload the person. Offer a light thouch and shorter session.
SEVERE SWELLING
Swelling may indicate an internal injury, such as torn ligaments caused by a sprain, strain or fracture. Do not work an ankle, or foot that is swollen and painful. Once a medical professional has ruled out any underlying conditions, you can use your reflexology skills.
OPEN SORES OR CUTS
Cover blisters and cuts to keep them free from bacterial infections. Sometimes open sores may indicate an underlying, chronic condition, such as diabetes. The sores may also be related to contagious skin disorders.
BREAKS OR SPRAINS
Wait for permission from a physician. And, do not remove a cast or bandaging to offer reflexology. Work with what tissue is available to you and focus on a gentle touch and slow movements.
This may be a good option for Reiki.
FEVER
Fever is not a health issue. It is a symptom of an infection somewhere in your body.
For me, fever is one of the most important symptoms you may experience. It can indicate a heart attack, tumor, trauma, or a reaction to a vaccine.
Reflexology offers homeostasis which is important when a person has a fever. Returning your body to an ideal temperature is one of the best outcomes a person with fever.
Giving a reflexology session to a person with a fever can be a healing situation once you understand the cause.
FEAR OR ANXIETY
The final item on my list is highly personal. If I suspect a person is afraid of receiving reflexology or is experiencing anxious emotions about being on my table, I offer to cancel or postpone the session.
Sometimes, people who have never received bodywork or healing are unsure about being ready for a session. This is not the time to change someone’s mind or feelings.
They can always reschedule the session at a time when they feel calmer about their session.
Throughout the years that I’ve offered healing sessions, I’ve had only two people arrive for appointments. I knew the minute I saw them that something wasn’t “right”.
I followed my intuition and offered to cancel or reschedule the appointment. Both people were relieved to receive my offer. And I was happy I offered to cancel or reschedule. The moment the words left my mouth I knew they were the right words.
Thank you for reading this article!
None of the above contraindications occur often. But when they do happen, I like to feel I am following guidelines learned in classes throughout the years.
Please refer this post to your preferred social media network and share it with a friend.
Some information in this post was shared from “Healer’s Handbook”. More extensive information regarding contraindications may be found in prior blog posts and on presentations on YOUTUBE.
If you have any further questions or remarks, I can be reached at thurmangreco@gmail.com.
Thanks again,
Thurman
Thanks for Asking!
One important thing to know about reactions we experience in a reflexology session: a client will not always experience the same reaction at every session.
After all, our bodies are different every day. The most common reaction I experience during a reflexology session is sleep. I slip off into a sleeplike state during most sessions.
Reactions vary with each session. They are based on what your body needs on a cellular level at that particular time.
One thing consistent in a reflexology session is this: reflexology encourages homeostasis: the balance of all body systems.
Reflexology students ask questions about reactions to reflexology treatments.
The reactions your client experiences during a reflexology session are homeostasis in action.
It’s amazing what reflexology can do!
Because many healers read this blog, I don’t give nearly enough blog time and energy to these inquiries. People ask, I answer, and then my focus moves on to other things.
Well, at last, I’m focusing some time and energy into sharing information. After all, for every person who asks, others remain silent.
And, for those of us who practice reflexology either as a career or as a hobby, how often do we think about these important pieces of information?
My training is that there are more than a dozen different reactions to reflexology sessions. Reactions listed in this article mostly happen during or soon after a session.
Other reactions happen several hours later. They are all important.
A reaction is a sign to me that the reflexology session is working.
As a reflexologist, you and the session you give are a vital wellness link between a person experiencing a challenge and appropriate professional support.
INCREASED URINATION – Focus on urination becomes part of the session when it becomes obvious. I have a client who simply cannot make it through a session without a trip to the ladies room. For me, this is a good sign. The session stimulates her urinary system!
FLATULANCE and INCREASED BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Marge d’Urso taught us that fully 50% of our clients have digestive issues. Unless a client brings up the subject, I don’t really ask. I prefer to hear about constipation or other irritable bowel solutions when my client initiates the conversation. I love it when a client reveals she no longer has issues.
Marge d’Urso taught, and I believe, that health begins and ends in the digestive system.
AGGRAVATED SKIN CONDITIONS SUCH AS PERSPIRATION and
PIMPLES
IMPROVED SKIN TONE and TEXTURE
Skin changes are pretty common for my clients. I love to ask my client to look in the mirror on her way out of the healing space after a session. There is nothing like looking 10 years younger after a reflexology treatment.
INCREASED MUCUS SECRETIONS IN NOSE, MOUTH and BRONCHIALS
DISRUPTED SLEEP PATTERNS – EITHER DEEPER or LESS RBED
Disrupted sleep patterns are personal with me. I always sleep so much better after a reflexology session! Occasionally, rarely this can be extreme.
One December, after receiving a reflexology session, I felt a strong need to rest about an hour after my appointment ended. I returned home, got comfortable, dozed off, and woke up the next day.
When I recall this event, I’m not really surprised. I was working too hard and my body, after its reflexology session, demanded a time-out.
DIZZINESS – NAUSEA
Reflexology sessions can modify and minimize dizziness, nausea, and pain experienced by cancer patients.
The first time I offered a reflexology session to a client cancer patient, I wasn’t prepared for how how dramatically she felt better after her appointment.
After seeing the changes she experienced, I studied more about reflexology and the cancer patient. I took continuing education classes and even attended one at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
It wasn’t too many more sessions that I began to use words such as pain reduction, improved quality of life, reduced fear of the future, better sleep, and reduced fatigue.
TEMPORARY OUTBREAK of a SUPPRESSED DISEASE
INCREASED VAGINAL DISCHARGE
FATIGUE – HEADACHE
These symptoms often disappear during a session if not long after. They can also be a reaction to a session.
FEVERISH – TEARING
Some feverishness and tearing can happen during a session. A lot of this happens when the client feels safe in the healing space. I keep boxes of tissues handy for tears.
Everyone needs to cry tears at one point or another. Reflexology sessions can be a safe place for this.
Sometimes, reactions to a session can be subtle, even silent, for a short period of time after the end of the session.
Just because you don’t see any behavior or skin changes immediately, don’t assume that there aren’t any reactions. Chat with your client for a few minutes after the session to be sure that everything is okay.
After all, you don’t want your client to leave your healing space and wander out into the parking lot, still a little vague about the session.
One time I received a scheduled session from a practitioner in New Paltz, New York, just a few miles away from my home in Woodstock.
It was a wonderful session. I left her office a few minutes too soon, though. It took me over an hour to get out of her area and on my way home.
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Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
P.S. Much of the info in this article was shared from “Healer’s Handbook – Wellness for All” by Thurman Greco
Spirit is a Change Agent: 5 Ways to See. 6 Questions. 3 Lists.
Sometimes, when spirit reaches out, we rejoice.
Spirit speaks, whether or not we are interested. The message may be loud or soft, depending on your self-care situation.
Lately, I’ve been hearing from people, each of whom is in dialogue with spirit. One thing, spirit brings change. I think about change this way:
When I choose change, the words in my life are different:
I can love myself more.
I release resentment so forgiveness can become part of my life.
I move from the old to the new.
I express love in more ways.
Today’s article focuses on one prompt instead of the usual list of 5-7 self-care suggestions I’ve been offering. I’m interrupting the series with this one focus because it needs attention.
Do you feel resentment when a client, a relative, a neighbor, a manager, a stranger asks something of you?
Do you want to spend more time with someone but cannot?
The tendency is to swallow your feelings and press on. Whatever the message, spirit speaks truth. However spirit reaches you, the message is an opportunity. Eventually, when spirit bubbles your feelings up, you cannot pretend you don’t feel the tug. Spirit is a change agent.
How does spirit speak to you? Do you feel anger, depression, fear? Do you feel love, calm, excitement? Do you smell roses?
Do thoughts enter your head? “I really don’t want to do this job, see this person again, drive this commute, feel this stress, stay in this apartment, live in this town, put up with this pandemic stress even one minute more.”
Do you see answers in clouds, on pages of books you find open?
Eventually, spirit convinces you to honor your situation and yourself. It’s time to honor change.
A good next step is a list. After all, “if it’s not on the list, it doesn’t exist.” Right?
For starters, I propose two lists. A heart list comes first. This is an ongoing document you create while traveling on your life path.
I first found the Heart list in a book, “Fireflies” by Coleen Murtagh Paratore – a successful and spiritual writer:
Take a piece of paper and draw a large heart on it. What words make you happy? What words make you smile? Put those words in the heart you just drew.
Set this heart list aside for the moment while you create your Change list.
On a second piece of paper, list things to change in your life. You are creating your Change list.
Now, ask yourself:
How can I turn the Change list entries into action?
What should I do to improve my situation?
What can I give away, move, rearrange?
Change is a gift. Is it time to allow gratitude into my life?
Can I get comfortable with change? Do I even want to get comfortable with change?
How long do I want to live with negativity in my life: Ten minutes? Ten days? Ten weeks? Ten Months? Ten years?
Put your two lists away. But, don’t hide your heart list. Place it where you can see it whenever you want. Add add words to your heart list often.
When tomorrow comes, look at your Change list. Your positive future may lie in this list. Seek ways to create what will work for you.
Find ways to graciously and generously reduce contact with stressful people, places, and situations.
Are there people and aspects in your life you want to draw closer? Do you want to spend more time with others? What places do you want to know better? Are there positive activities you want to include in your life?
What are the best ways to remove unwanted habits? Changes shift outcomes. Situations move and create a rejuvenating ripple effect in your life.
The third list, my Ben Franklin Change List, is important now. I’ve used this list for years when taking action becomes confusing. .
Sometimes I’m trying to decide what to do. My options have narrowed down to two or three and I’m still trying to decide. I haul out another piece of paper and draw two or three lines on it. I list everything that can happen if I move down path A, and then I list everything that can happen if I move down path B.
I include “the best thing that can happen if I…” in each option of my Ben Franklin list. I also include “the worst thing that can happen if I…”
After I’ve written down everything and anything, I examine the opportunities these lists created. One list will be longer than the other.
Listing all the options and then seeing them for what they are on the page clears my head and my heart. This information usually points me in a direction.
And, finally, if I’m at a yes/no point and have not reached a decision, I dowse for an answer. My trusty pendulum always helps.
If you don’t dowse, there are still things you can do:
Several years ago, I was in a real quandary. I felt I was going in circles. Confusion reigned.
Someone invited me to visit New York City for a weekend. On that visit, I wound up walking through Washington Square Park late on Sunday afternoon.
I’ve been there many times – there were always people enjoying themselves in this park. People sat around visiting with one another. People walked their dogs. Watching everyone was always fun.
On this afternoon, the place was deserted. Seated all by himself on a bench, sat a smallish, older man wearing an unusual hat.
I was drawn to him. How could I not be? The dogs, the college students, and the tourists were gone. Even the pianist playing songs for tips on his grand piano was gone. There was only the quaint little man and me. As I got closer, I saw a tarot deck next to him on the bench.
You know how this story ends.
I walked over to him and we chatted. He read my cards. His words coaxed my own intuition to pull what I needed from his message. His voice, his posture, his cards, were perfect for me at that moment.
– – – – – – – – – – –
My book, “Healer’s Handbook,” dealing with the spirituality of health, discusses change in several entries.
People get angry when they aren’t comfortable with change. Sometimes this anger surfaces as health issues or disease. Arthritis, boils, burns, carpel tunnel syndrome, cold sores, depression, diarrhea, kidney infections, laryngitis, menstrual problems, obesity, pink eye, sprains, and warts are just a few.
Sometimes, when contacted by spirit,, we see our souls hanging out in front of us. Messages we didn’t ask for show up at a time when we don’t want change in our lives.
When that happens to you, acknowledge the situation and move on. Maybe you’ll be up for change soon.
Take whatever steps you can when you are ready.
Consider this: You may be more ready than you think. After all, spirit is connecting with you and you are listening.
I’m reminded of the old children’s game: “Ready or not, here I come!”
Change is the journey we travel.
Change is opportunity in the face.
Change is a naturally occurring life event.
Change surrounds us all.
Change can create joy. Joy allows you to love yourself and everyone else.
Doing what you can, connect with however many things in your life bring joy.
Change can sometimes be ungrounding. That’s where reflexology comes in. Schedule a session. Grounding is something to appreciate during stressful times.
Reflexology sessions bring the change of homeostasis. With homeostasis, you can take responsibility for your health and find the person you are meant to be.
When working for change, I focus on the immune system and nervous system together for the first part of the reflexology session. This can be transformative.
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Thanks again.
Thurman Greco
