Progress of the Book
The book is, at last, being edited! Real book progress is being made. I hope to get it to the publisher soon. I plan to go over it one last time about mid July.
Thanks to everyone for your patience.
Please share this exciting news (for me, anyway) with your favorite media network.
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, NY
Time-Out for Sharing then Moving on to the Chakras.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing with you. I’ve offered information in each post for you, in turn, to share with your client partners. I’m following the advice of my teacher and mentor Marge D’Urso who emphasized the many things we can all do in conjunction with reflexology to encourage homeostasis.
Not all of this information applies to all of your client partners.
Some people come to our tables in order to feel better. Others want us to help them take greater charge of their own health. Yet others simply want to hop on the table, receive their reflexology session, and go away blissed out. And, there’s nothing wrong with that.
One special group wants to add other things to their lives which will help them
feel better
look better
avoid chronic disease
live longer
enjoy better health.
By sharing this information slowly, in small increments, you can, along with your reflexology sessions, give your client partners an opportunity to completely change their lives for the better in a non threatening way.
These gradual changes when mixed with reflexology offer dramatic improvements over time. The idea is to be sharing opportunities for good health without complicating lifestyles any more than they already are. You’ll be leading your client partners to a a more healthy lifestyle. They can completely change their lives 1 step at a time.
Slowly
Easily
Comfortably
Not all client partners will adopt every suggestion offered. Some won’t choose any suggestions. Some will try everything suggested for a time. Then, they’ll drop the health step after a few weeks. There’s something here for everyone. We are all different. Our attitudes, ages, and lifestyles are all different.
What’s important is that you are gently, without pushing, sharing suggestions for a healthier lifestyle.
When your client partners are ready, they’ll have this knowledge to use in the way which works best for them.
I’m taking a break with this series of posts to offer you, the reflexologist, some more hands-on posts. Then, I’ll return to these wellness posts for awhile longer…until I feel you have something to offer most client partners over a period of a year or more. You want to be sharing something which a person may accept and live with for awhile before taking on another health giving change. It’s important to let an adopted change settle in so they become lifetime habits.
Beginning next week, I’ll offer posts about Chakras and the feet. We have reflex points for Chakras in our feet. I hope you find these articles interesting. I hope you can use this information in your work!
Thanks for reading this blog/book.
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Thurman Greco
Tara Sanders: Healing, Yoga, and Reflexology
healing, yoga, and reflexology
As reflexologists, we add new clients to our practice often. Healing, yoga, and reflexology are important here. Depending on your personality, or your practice, you may ask a few or many questions from them on the intake forms and in the initial interviews.
Trauma is one area of a person’s life which we rarely approach. It is just too hidden, too destructive.
This is wise. Trauma is a subject which our client partners need to bring up when the time is right for them to share. Because nothing is said doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. It just means that the person isn’t comfortable discussing it.
Because, in reality, 1 woman in 4 has experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Personally, I question the 1-in-4 statistic. No woman reports domestic violence or sexual assault if she can possibly avoid it. Reporting is simply too painful.
When I first spoke with Tara Sanders, a Woodstock based yoga instructor and program director in the nonprofit Exhale to Inhale I was suddenly very alert. I realized that we, as reflexologists, need to be more sensitive to the secrets and hidden traumas of our client partners.
Exhale to Inhale yoga works to empower survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault to heal through yoga. Exhale to Inhale yoga guides women through postures, breathing, meditation. Taught in trauma sensitive style, practitioners are enabled to ground themselves in
their bodies
their strength
their stillness.
As this happens, the women connect to themselves. They work toward empowerment and worthiness. This practice can be transformative for survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence when they shed the cloak of victimhood.
Healers, reflexologists, and body workers have long known that when a person is traumatized, the event is stored in the muscles.
We also know that reflexology sessions are given a boost when combined with other modalities such as yoga, meditation, breathing, Reiki therapy, and massage.
Tara teaches the classes without music. She does not touch the students to correct a posture. Lights remain on throughout the class. These sessions offer survivors an opportunity to reclaim their lives through the healing and grounding of yoga.
Tara uses the yoga classes to help her students feel safe, strong, in the present moment. As she teaches, she is a conduit for healing and healthful programs in our community. Reflexology for the Spirit practitioners are also conduits for healing as we work the reflex points to encourage homeostasis.
Exhale to Inhale is a New York-based nonprofit offering free weekly yoga classes to survivors of domestic and sexual assault. After June 20, Exhale to Inhale yoga classes will be taught free of charge to women in area shelters in Upstate New York.
Not everyone has a Tara Sanders available in the community. However, it’s possible to suggest reflexology sessions offered in tandem with yoga, meditation, breathing classes. Whether or not you are aware of your client partner’s experience with trauma or domestic violence is not important. What is important is that you invite your client partner to experience this boost to your modality. Think of healing, yoga, and reflexology as a package.
Hopefully one day soon, there will be more Tara Sanders yoga teachers in communities everywhere.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Jennette Nearhood provided the media.
Thurman Greco
5 Ways to Be Connected
The human immune system is a fast responder. It knows immediately when/if we are having emotional or spiritual problems. And, of course, this response affects our health.
If wellness is important to you…and I think it is because you’re a reflexologist, then one of the best things you can do is pamper your immune system. This works for your client partners also. No one is exempt on this.
This we know: there is a direct correlation between negative emotions, disease, and accelerated aging. Appreciation, sympathy, understanding are important to all of us.
Inner peace is important to being well – being grounded.
One thing in life which promotes inner peace and groundedness is an appreciation for nature and seeing the connection that all living beings share.
There are several ways to promote this connectedness:
WALK IN THE PARK. Actually, a “walk in the park” is the generic term for any activity which gets you positively involved with nature That can include biking, hiking, museum going, or anything else which makes you aware of how connected we all are.
GET A PET. This is a biggie if you can do it. Not everyone lives where pets are allowed. But, if you can…a dog or cat is awesome. Pets offer something which humans seem to be unable to offer: unconditional love.
A pet will:
improve your immune system function,
give you a more positive outlook on life,
lower your blood pressure
love you unconditionally.
What more can you ask for?
KEEP A JOURNAL. For some this can be a challenge. But, this journal is not for anyone but yourself. So, don’t worry about the spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, etc.
The purpose of your journal is to make a note of special moments which sustain you when you’re feeling low. Such moments include:
a cat’s purr
a baby’s smile
a smell of a flower
a compliment
a smile from a stranger
When you record them, you may notice that these special moments occur more often than you thought.
BREATHE. This is a biggie. Breathe in while while mentally repeating a positive phrase such as “I bring positive energy into my life.” Hold your breath for a moment and then exhale as you repeat “I radiate positive energy.” Consciously breathing for a couple of minutes each day can have a profound impact on your life.
Many people go through their whole lives not even thinking about how they breathe or what their breath does for them. Honor your breath.
INCORPORATE SURPRISE. Try to do something unexpected every day. Compliment a total stranger on a haircut or a jacket or something. It doesn’t matter what, really. Just say something complimentary to someone who is totally not expecting anything.
Leave a small token for someone who is not expecting anything…and keep it a secret if you can.
Offer to walk someone’s dog.
Say “Thank you.”
GET INVOLVED. This can mean walking a dog at the local pound or hosting a food drive for your local food pantry. There are many, many groups out there where people are working to make life better for us all. Volunteering is an extremely positive way to go through life.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
don’t forget to join the email list.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Michele Garner donated the artwork for this post.
In a Perfect World…
We would all be disease free
Our brains would stay sharp
We would all experience good energy levels
Physical fitness would be very common
Everyone would feel young.
But, we don’t live in a perfect world. The question is this: How can we be disease-free physically fit, have sharp brains, experience less stress, feel young?
One way is to honor our immune system. It is our immune system which keeps us healthy, disease free, physically fit, mentally sharp.
People visit reflexologists regularly as they strive to prevent as much disease as possible. And, they are correct to do this. As reflexologists, we work to facilitate homeostasis – bring balance.
Focusing on the immune system is important, not only for the diseases we think about: colds, flu, etc., but for many other diseases we consider to be lifestyle or aging diseases:
MS
thyroid disease
colitis
rheumatoid arthritis
diabetes.
When the immune system is out of balance, it can become overactive. An overactive immune system participates in the aging process as it encourages autoimmune diseases.
As a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner, you are important to the health maintenance of your client partners. Your client partners will be healthier when their immune systems function at peak levels. An immune system functions at its peak when it successfully fights off viruses, bacteria, parasites.
Encourage your clients to contribute to a healthy immune system. As a reflexologist, you offer sessions and you also work to ground your client partners so they can do everything they need to do to keep themselves healthy:
breathe properly and therapeutically
eat a diet which is healthy for the individual
sleep sufficiently
exercise
smell the flowers
This is really what Marge d’Urso meant when she emphasized that reflexologists work with the whole client partner as we offer homeostasis.
Thank you for reading this blog book.
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I hope you found this helpful. Please leave your comments below and check out the other posts.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Other blogs by Thurman Greco:
photograph by Jennette Nearhood
The Fountain of Youth
On April 12, 1513, Ponce de Leon landed on what is now Florida. He is believed by many nowadays to have been seeking the Fountain of Youth.
Whether he was seeking a magic potion or not is irrelevant because he never reported discovering such a Fountain of Youth. And, today, it’s pretty well agreed by all leaders in the health field that a Fountain of Youth does indeed exist. However, we don’t drink it.
The Fountain of Youth is called Exercise.
Are you interested in being healthy?
Do you want your body to last a long time?
Do you want to have an active daily life?
Exercise daily!
Begin your journey to wellness and longevity and homeostasis by choosing an activity you’ll enjoy doing.
Walking is a good first choice. It costs very little to walk. Walk a few minutes each day. Begin by walking about 10 minutes the first day and then increase both the speed and the length of each walk until you get to a brisk 30-minute session each day.
When you walk you experience a mild detox and you heal on some level.
Organizing a walking group is a good way for you as a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner to motivate client partners, neighbors, friends, to become healthier. Walking is a social event as you see the same people on your walk every day. It’s fun to see how everyone’s doing on your walking route.
There are literally hundreds of exercising options: gym, cycling, running, swimming. It really doesn’t matter what you choose – the fountain of youth can be found in pretty much any activity that you’ll like well enough to do at least 3 times every week. What matters is that you move. Whatever your age, the state of your health, moving helps.
It’ll be even better if you can do your favorite activity in short bursts throughout the day if you are sedentary.
Yoga is a good choice because you compete only against yourself. It keeps you well stretched. Many people “grow” an inch or 2 when they take up yoga.
Whatever activity you choose, when you move, you get the blood circulating. The brain and nervous system become more active. It’s harder for muscles to go into atrophy. The immune system gets a boost.
Regular exercise helps you feel better about yourself, increases your energy level.
Some forms of exercise, if they are “right” for you, can be very grounding. This is important for a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner. Encourage not only yourself, but your client partners to find that activity which is physically challenging as well as spiritually uplifting – this is the fountain of youth!
Guideline: Move – partake of the fountain of youth!
Thank you for reading this blog book.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Circulatory System – Bottom Line Information, 15 Essential Oils, 54 Foods that Nourish the Circulatory System, and 2 Improvements to be Expected from Regular Sessions to the Circulatory System.
BOTTOM LINE INFORMATION:
A healthy circulatory system is important to a person’s overall well being, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our blood represents our life force. A key word here is happiness. High blood pressure, for example, can represent an emotional or spiritual issue in one’s life. And, while this may be a situation with emotional origins, it’s not an opportunity to ignore a warning sign.
A healthy circulatory system is necessary to feel and express emotions positively. A high cholesterol level interferes with open channels necessary for accepting happiness. High or low blood pressure represents longstanding unresolved emotional issues. And, of course, callouses on the heart area of the foot are important to the practitioner.
As you work the circulatory system, you have an opportunity to distribute love and healing feelings – improving a client partner’s sense of self worth and balancing blood flow. A person with a healthy heart is more likely to be happy.
ESSENTIAL OILS TO USE WHEN WORKING THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM INCLUDE cistus, clove, cypress, geranium, grapefruit, helichrysum, lavender, lemon, marjoram, myrtle, nutmeg, orange, peppermint, valerian, wintergreen.
FOODS NOURISHING THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM INCLUDE almonds, apples, artichokes, avocadoes, beans, beets, blueberries, broccoli, brown rice, butter, cabbage, carrots, cashews, celery, chocolate, coconut, coffee, cranberry juice, dandelions, eggs, fish, flaxseed oil, garlic, kale, leeks, legumes, mushrooms, mussels, nuts, oatmeal, olive oil, olives, onions, peanuts, pecans, peppers, persimmons, pineapple, pistachios, pomegranate juice, prunes, pumpkin, raspberries, sesame seeds, sesame oil, spinach, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, walnuts, water, whey, protein, yogurt.
Of the foods on the above list, the following items are also on Johnny Bowden PH.D.’s list of the 150 Healthiest foods on earth: almonds/almond butter, almond oil, apples, artichokes, avocados, beans, beets, blueberries, broccoli, butter, cabbage, cashews, celery, chocolate (dark), coconut/coconut oil, coffee, cranberry juice, dandelions, eggs, fish, flaxseeds/flaxseed oil, garlic, kale, leeks, mushrooms, mussels, oatmeal, olive oil(extra virgin), olives, onions, peanuts/peanut butter, pecans, peppers, pineapple, pistachio nuts, pomegranate juice, prunes, pumpkin/pumpkin seeds, raspberries, sesame seeds/sesame butter, tahini/sesame oil, sunflower seeds, walnuts, water, yogurt.
So you’ve actually got two lists here. The top list is the list of foods nourishing the circulatory system. The second list is those foods on Johnny Bowden, Ph .D.’s list. In the case of the circulatory system list, the majority of the foods are on both lists. This gets a little complicated but worth knowing. Please let me know if you have trouble with the information and how it is listed.
IMPROVEMENTS TO BE EXPECTED FROM SESSIONS TO THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM INCLUDE the fact that regular sessions will improve the circulation of the body and help normalize blood pressure if this is called for. There is a definite spiritual aspect to the circulatory system which Reflexology for the Spirit sessions address.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman
Fatigue is a very important component of disease.
Fatigue is an important symptom and is best not ignored…although many people try. The five reasons why people feel tired are:
Insufficient Sleep: The first step toward overcoming fatigue is to begin to sleep more. Sleep is extremely important.
We repair our bodies and souls as we sleep.
We maintain our mental and emotional systems as we sleep.
We use the subconscious mind as we asleep.
Try for nine hours of sleep each night. If you’re sleeping nine hours each night and still feel tired, you need to look further into your causes of fatigue. If you’re unable to sleep over eight hours each night and you’re trying to get that amount of sleep, you need to have your sleep habits evaluated at a sleep clinic. Sleeping pills are not the answer.
There is a correlation between insufficient sleep and some diseases. People with poor sleeping habits can suffer from type 2 diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, heartburn, heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, menopause problems, memory loss, and obesity more often than their counterparts with good sleeping habits.
I’m going to put in a plug for reflexology now. People who receive regular reflexology sessions report that they sleep significantly better.
Hormonal Imbalances: Often, if a person is sleeping eight hours or more each night and still feels tired, it’s time to go to an Endocrinologist and get the thyroid and adrenal glands tested. When the Endocrine system gets your body back on track you’ll feel like a new person.
Proper Nutrition: Most people think they eat properly. Most people don’t. Some basics for a good diet include eliminating things: flour, sugar, processed foods. Stay away from foods with label listings you can’t understand. If you read a word on the ingredient list that you don’t understand, don’t buy the product and don’t eat it. Much of what we buy in grocery stores today is not food. It is a collection of chemicals that have been manufactured and combined for consumption but it’s not food.
If you are serious about maintaining good health and overcoming fatigue, it’s important to get the proper vitamins and minerals. I use Liz at Village Apothecary here in Woodstock. Either contact her at 845-679-0790, or try to find your own nutritionist to guide you in the selection of vitamins and minerals you need to have the healthiest body possible. Just purchasing your vitamins and minerals randomly based on the color of the label or what might be on sale will not always result in you getting the best product for your needs.
Inactivity: The message here is easy. Keep moving. If you feel tired, try moving around. Walk on your lunch hour. Go for a hike instead of going to the movies or sitting down in front of the TV.
Depression: Fatigue and depression go hand in hand. And, the cause of the fatigue sometimes leaves clues in the kinds of depression experienced. For example, the depression caused by a low thyroid is very different from the depression created by too much sugar is very different from the depression caused by inactivity. If you find yourself depressed, think about how it is manifesting itself. What can be the cause?
Disease: There are at least 65 diseases for which fatigue is a symptom. This statement alone tells you how important fatigue is to diagnosing, and ultimately overcoming many diseases. Some diseases affecting the circulatory system that have fatigue as a symptom include Cardiomyopathy, Congestive heart failure, Myocarditis, Valvular heart disease.
When treating fatigue with Reflexology for the Spirit sessions, begin by working the brain reflexes.
Then work the respiratory system as you focus on the lung reflexes.
Follow the work on the lung reflexes by working the circulatory system with the emphasis on the heart reflex.
Next, work on the digestive system with a focus on the liver reflex.
Work the endocrine system with emphasis on the adrenal gland reflexes and the thyroid reflexes.
Finish the session by working the solar plexus.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
When you work the Digestive System, you Help the Intestinal Trct Normalize Itself
Constipation is common in people seeking the services of Reflexology for the Spirit Practitioners. The good news is that the condition seldom continues as regularly scheduled Reflexology for the Spirit sessions progress. This is true of both children and adults.
Risk factors for constipation include a sedentary lifestyle, eating a low-fiber, high-fat diet, not getting enough liquids and, in my opinion, not getting enough vitamin C.
It’s difficult for the human body to achieve optimum health without a clean intestinal tract. Many conditions throughout the body can be improved as the intestinal tract begins to function properly.
Often, when you have a client partner coming for regular session to deal with constipation, you will begin to see a person who feels better, looks better, develops better eating habits, has more energy, and has a more generous outlook on life.
Although sessions offer a gentle detox, a colon cleanse followed by a liver cleanse will improve things immensely.
In normalizing colon function, dry brushing after bathing, lymphatic cleansing with exercise, weekly Reflexology for the Spirit sessions and regular use of a mini trampoline in addition to the cleanse will help.
AREAS TO WORK: digestive system, immune system, lymphatics, urinary system, liver and solar plexus
ESSENTIAL OILS: anise, peppermint, ginger, fennel, tarragon
Thank you for reading this post.
Peace and food for all
Thurman Greco
Arthritis and Reflexology for the Spirit, Continued
When an arthritis sufferer uses all the health care professionals available to him/her, the results are better. Fewer drugs will be consumed. That’s an important result.
A Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner deals with the problems presented by arthritis over the long haul. When working with an arthritis sufferer, you need to learn about all the things s/he can do in the self help arena. Try to learn all the things that the rheumatologist recommends. When you know these things, you can work with them. Know about recommended exercise therapy. How does acupuncture fit into the overall picture? What does the nutritionist recommend?
Optimum improvement depends on repeated, regular visits to the Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner’s table. The other specialists will “come and go” as needed in the client partner’s life. You, on the other hand, owill be seeing this person weekly.
Arthritis sufferers often postpone getting needed treatment necessary for relief. This is not a good approach. The sooner your client partner begins to aggressively combat arthritis, the better off s/he will be – even years down the line.
When working with an arthritis sufferer, regardless of the type, keep in mind that you are dealing with a person who cannot help being overly critical both of self and others. Many arthritis sufferers appear to harbor resentment and blame in many areas of life. This is a huge statement considering the number of people suffering with arthritis.
AREAS TO WORK: solar plexus, entire endocrine system, urinary system, immune system, nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system, liver, solar plexus and individual joints the client partner is suffering with.
ESSENTIAL OILS: wintergreen, peppermint, nutmeg, German chamomile, clove, copaiba, helichrysum, Idaho balsam fir, white fir, pine, eucalyptus globulus, frankincense, and myrrh are popular with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis sufferers.
Violet Flame Reiki therapy is appropriate for arthritis sufferers.
The next post will cover bunions.
Thank you for reading this blog. Please contact me with any questions you have.
Peace and food for all
Thurman Greco
