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.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
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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!
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Thurman Greco
Buyer Beware – 6 Things to Know About Eating Better
In another time I lived in the interior of Venezuela – 50 miles from headhunters in 1 direction and 50 miles from a grocery store in another direction.
Milk for my family was delivered weekly by a Spaniard who owned an area dairy. I got to know him and his cows very well. It wasn’t that I considered him to be so interesting or entertaining. I was afraid of getting milk infected with tuberculosis. I had 2 toddlers and I was doing everything I could to keep them healthy.
Most of us, when asked, will admit to eating a nearly perfect diet. Delve deeper, and you’ll find that everyone’s diet is different. You’ll also find many of the diets are not healthy…some are not even safe.
It’s hard to know which is the correct diet. There are thousands out there. Many are touted as being the best. We can go into a large book store or library and find an extremely generous selection of cookbooks, each promoting a different way of eating. Top off that with the TV Food channels and the internet and everything becomes confusing.
So, what do you do as a reflexologist when your client partner begins to discuss diet or ask questions about digestion issues?
I offer a few sane suggestions for your own diet as well as that of your client partners, friends, neighbors, and anyone else trying to eat better:
Eat whole foods that are fresh and locally grown. I realize that you may have heard/read this before but I offer new twists on the same old sentence.
Eating locally grown food is important. It’s important to not only know that the food is locally grown, but it’s important to know which farm the food came from.
Can you afford a CSA? If your household is too small, split a membership.
Eating locally grown or raised foods includes
fresh vegetables
fresh fruits
whole grains
beans
fish
lean red meat
dairy products.
When you eat whole, fresh, locally grown foods, you’ll be eating food which experiences less processing, packaging, and shipping.
Foods grown in your area can be picked later, and eaten sooner. Overall, this means a better product.
When I think of fresh foods, I think of health promotion. It’s much better to eat an apple from nearby than to eat pears, apples, strawberries or whatever from South America or China.
And, if you know the farm this food comes from, you’re even better off because you’ll know about the pesticides used. You’ll never be able to learn what pesticides were used on food that came from Chile or China, or any other foreign location, no matter what the label tells you. Our government sends few to no inspectors to faraway places to verify what they say they do.
When you eat whole, fresh, locally grown foods, you’ll be eating better quality food offering the opportunity to protect your heart, stabilize your blood sugar, boost your brainpower, and generally improve your health.
Farmers shipping their products long distances focus on growing foods that travel well as opposed to products that taste better.
Begin your quest for locally grown food at a farmers market.
Don’t be shy. Ask your grocery store produce manager where the food comes from. It goes without saying that we need pure foods if we can get them. Organic, non-GMO, etc., are important.
At the very least, buy organic when you can. Here again, it helps to know which farm the food comes from. The term “organic” doesn’t mean what it did in times past. Many farmers claim to sell organic foods today that could not make that claim in the past. This is because the government has relaxed the organic designation guidelines.
If you’re on a budget, it’s important for some foods to be organic. Foods needing to be organic include:
apples
bell peppers
celery
chard
cherries
domestic blueberries
imported grapes
kale
lettuce
nectarines
peaches
potatoes
spinach
strawberries
Foods that do not necessarily need to be eaten in the organic state include:
asparagus
avocados
cabbage
cantaloupe
eggplant
grapefruit
kiwi
mango
onions
pineapple
sweet corn
sweet onions
sweet peas
sweet potatoes
watermelon
We eat many foods over time. I’ve only listed a very few items. However, the 2 lists offer insight into what constitutes a food needing to be organic and a food that may not.
Staying away from boxed and canned foods is important. They are often filled with additives which are not good for the human body. Many boxed and canned items aren’t even foods. They’re products which have been manufactured to eat. In the 21st century, just because something is sold in a food store to eat doesn’t mean it’s a food.
Food shopping in today’s world not only involves selecting items which are foods – whole, fresh, and local – but also being careful where you buy these items. Just because a store claims to be health oriented doesn’t mean that everything it sells is nutritious or even safe.
Approach each item with a questioning attitude. Read the label. If there are a lot of words which are hard to pronounce, return the item to the shelf.
Your grocer is in business to make $$$. Food is put on the shelves to sell. Just because it’s on the shelves doesn’t guarantee that it’s healthy or even safe.
This doesn’t mean that eating can’t be fun. It can be. It’ll be even more fun once you know exactly what you’re eating.
If you can, buy your breads from a local bakery which uses organic whole grains.
Become knowledgeable about your dairy, meat, and fish products. If at all possible, stay away from fish that are farmed.
If you eat meat, eggs, cheese, try to get products coming from animals that are free range, organic fed.
Purchase eggs coming from cage free hens.
Ham, bacon, and smoked fish should have no synthetic nitrates or nitrites.
Meats should be hormone free, free range grazed, and antibiotic free.
I realize that not everyone has access to these foods. We can’t eat what we don’t have access to. I also realize that these foods may be expensive. We also can’t eat what we can’t buy. Everyone faces choices when it comes to food shopping. Staying away from processed foods can free up some funds for fresh, whole, local.
It’s okay to be a food snob only wanting the most nutritious, healthiest food available.
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Peace and food for all
Thurman Greco
Why do they come to our tables? Homeostasis!
Why do they come to our tables? People visit a reflexologist searching for wellness and healing. Many have never thought about being in in control of their bodies and their health. Of course not, in today’s world everyone has so little time. No one has time to learn and absorb concepts about healing…especially when information overload is a way of life for us all.
They know their body is trying to tell them something on some level but they’re not sure what. For some the message comes in the form of a symptom:
painful feet,
clogged sinuses,
high blood pressure.
For others, it’s a much more subtle voice:
a spiritual message sent on a subtle wave length.
But, whatever the message, they make an appointment.
Reflexology for the Spirit offers homeostasis. When a person embraces this concept, life changes. Healing becomes a priority. Wellness is a journey. The person begins to heal on all levels.
The reflexology table is the hub of a wheel of growth. Marge D’Urso taught us a reflexologist needs to know much more than just where the points are.
THIS NEXT SERIES OF POSTS WILL ASSIST YOU, THE REFLEXOLOGIST, in your journey as you guide and assist your client partners on the path to wellness and healing: homeostasis.
THIS NEXT SERIES OF POSTS WILL ASSIST YOU, THE CLIENT PARTNER, on your path to wellness and healing: homeostasis.
This path is a process, not a pill.
Give homeostasis an opportunity to occur. When this happens, the process can be felt on several levels.
General relaxation throughout the body occurs when a person receives Reflexology for the Spirit regularly. This feeling is so rare in some that it takes several sessions before the client-partner even understands what the feeling is.
Over time, as different healing habits become a lifestyle, the body begins to heal itself. This concept can be new for a person embracing homeostasis….especially when a person begins sessions thinking there is no control over health at all.
Information gained in the coming posts and shared with your client partners will offer opportunities both you and your client partners to:
improve cardiovascular health,
lower your risk of diabetes,
prevent osteoporosis
and learn about many other health benefits.
The feet themselves will begin to improve.
Finally, an improved sense of emotional well being takes place. The result is an increased awareness of one’s body and how it feels when healing occurs.
You, the reflexologist, have an opportunity to profoundly influence health, longevity, and well-being as you inspire and guide your client partners.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Jennette Nearhood provided the artwork.
Envision Balance and Wellness
Envision balance and wellness, homeostasis, or whatever you want.
After including reflexology in your life, the most important thing you can do to bring about homeostasis is to become aware of the path you are now on..
We’re never going to get where we need to go unless we know:
where we’re going,
how we’re going to get there,
what we’re going to do when we arrive. .
This may seem like a subject that doesn’t belong in a reflexology text book, but it really does. If you’re going to help people get to a better place health wise, they need to know where they are going. Not everyone knows about setting goals. As you teach them goal setting they’ll envision the balance and wellness which is best for themselves and their health. And, you, likewise will benefit from setting your own goals.
Learning the importance of how to envision balance and wellness is a good start.
Sometimes, client partners come to a reflexologist, massage therapist, or whomever. After a few visits they begin to feel better and forget why they came in the beginning. Then they stop coming. Without lecturing, teach them that energy follows intent.
Your client partners need to see Reflexology for the Spirit as a process, not a pill. Keep them (and yourself) focused on what you find as you reflex their feet. You do this when you learn, gently, what is happening in their lives and their visits to other healthcare professionals.
Review, periodically, how their feet have changed, and how these changes affect their health in general as they envision balance and wellness.
You can keep your client partners focused on the goal if you know what it is. So, an important question to ask during the first visit is “Why did you come today? And, why not 6 months ago? Or 2 months ago?”
When you can get the answer to that question, you’ll both be on the way to balance and wellness (homeostasis) through a health goal.
Many healthcare professionals recognize health red flags. These flags differ from professional to professional. They can be
test results
client appearance
client remarks.
Red flags for a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner include:
fatigue
loss of appetite
fever
pain
itching
boils
irritation
inflammation
headaches
feeling jumpy or uneasy
coated tongue
halitosis
colitis
sinusitis
stomach ulcers
canker sores
boils
cancer
Many of your client partners may have multiple issues.
Each individual is unique. But, homeostasis is a goal that all can seek.
When this happens, the body is in a good health balance.
Disease is a sign that the flow toward homeostasis has reversed. So, the red flag words become markers teaching how far away from homeostasis the body has drifted.
You, as the Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner, are concerned with a person as a whole. You work to create a natural balance that is wellness oriented.
You seek to expand the positive potential for good health in all areas.
Disease prevention is the best medicine.
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Thurman Greco
Spirituality of the Thyroid, a Challenging Issue
The thyroid is a small endocrine gland found at the base of the neck. The spirituality of the thyroid, a challenging issue, is evident because it’s an endocrine gland. The thyroid functions as the “gas pedal” of our bodies, facilitating energy and strength.
More women than men suffer with thyroid issues. They’re difficult to diagnose. The tests are not accurate enough to properly find a mildly troubled thyroid. For some, an untreated thyroid issue is very difficult to live with.
Menopausal women ask spiritual questions as their lives move into a new phase. The spirituality of the thyroid, a challenging issue is “front and center” here.
An underactive thyroid causes depression, weight gain, low energy, hair loss, dry skin, mental dullness, and sleep disorders.
People suffering with thyroid issues seek balance, courage, energy, mental alertness, vitality.
Sometimes an under active thyroid takes what seems like forever to diagnose. If you have thyroid issues and cannot find a solution, don’t give up. A persistent professional healthcare provider can get you to the foundation of the spirituality of the thyroid issue.
You can also try meditation to help cope with the issues of the spirituality of the thyroid. The following short meditation may help you. It’s seeks the wisdom of Mother Mary. She helped me tremendously in my journey for a solution to my thyroid problems.
Find a quiet place where you are safe and will not be disturbed.
Sit quietly and allow Mary, Queen of Angels, to come to you. When you feel her presence, open your eyes, ears, and heart. Her teachings offer compassion, courage, and vitality.
At first, you may feel nothing. However, after a few sessions, you will feel Mary’s presence in some way. She will answer your questions around universal truths.
It’s not necessary to be a Catholic to receive Mary’s teachings. It’s not even necessary to be a Christian. Nor is it necessary to believe in God. Mary’s compassion is open to all.
Mary, Queen of Angels, is an icon of wholeness. We can all seek Mary’s truths when the challenges of the spirituality of the thyroid seem to be overwhelming.
Sit with Mary for short periods several times a week as you seek her wisdom and insight.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Michele Garner donated the artwork in this post.
The Spirituality of the Adrenal Glands
People sometimes have issues with the adrenal glands and are unable to identify them as needing balance.
A few tip offs include:
Fatigue
Having experienced so much stress and trauma that you are stuck in the fight-or-flight response.
Panic attacks.
Fear.
Anxiety.
We each have 2 adrenal glands. One is perched atop each kidney. Because there are 2, they come under the category of body parts needing balance. Other body parts needing balance include lungs, and kidneys.
Adrenals are very spiritual third chakra glands which we feel when we experience butterflies in our stomach. Adrenals are part of the endocrine system which also emphasizes their spiritual qualities. The adrenals process fear, anger, excitement and stress overload.,
If your your adrenals need to be balanced, go to a quiet, safe space where you will not be interrupted and get comfortable. Turn on some relaxing music if you like.
Breathe in deeply as you inhale calm. Breathe slowly – deeply – consciously.
As you exhale, breathe out anxiety.
Breathe in positive energy.
Exhale as you release fatigue.
Inhale peace.
As you exhale, let go of all your fears.
Inhale nurturing energy.
Release any panic you may feel as you exhale.
When you feel grounded, place your hands 1″ to 3″ above your body over the area of your adrenals. Hold your hands here for a couple of minutes as you give them a chance to communicate with your body in general and your adrenal glands in particular.
What information are you receiving? Do you feel tingling, heat, cold, nothing? Whatever you feel is good and appropriate for this time and place. Continue this communication for a few minutes until you feel it’s time to finish the session. Now, breathe deeply as you inhale and exhale several times.
The information you receive may not be apparent immediately. It may be several minutes, hours or days before you receive a message. You may receive the communication in a dream.
The important thing is to be open to receiving the information you need whenever and however it comes.
If possible, arrange to receive some Reiki therapy sessions focused on your adrenal health. In addition to Usui Reiki, 2 forms of Reiki appropriate for the adrenals are Lightarian and Gendai.
Essential Oils which work well for adrenal gland function include clove, frankincense, German chamomile, nutmeg, and spikenard.
Weekly Reflexology for the Spirit sessions will encourage homeostasis.
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Michele Garner created the Zentangle art.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
7 Ways the Brain is Enhanced in a Reflexology Session
The brain is the control center for the body. As with other organs of the body, very little is known about what the brain actually does. We know that it houses memories, tells the heart to beat, processes sight and hearing. Scientists are discovering exactly how the brain works.
The brain and the mind are different things. No one knows how the mind works.
When the brain reflex point is worked, several things happen:
The body’s sense of equilibrium begins to activate itself.
The neurological functions become energized.
Both physical and emotional reactions seek balance.
The physical and emotional activities are more controlled.
Organic functions are regulated.
Emotional stress is calmed.
Sleep activities are balanced.
Brain reflex points are located on the tips of the toes on both feet – especially the tips of the big toes.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
8 Ways the Eye Reflexes are Enhanced in a Reflexology Session
The eyes expose the central nervous system to the external world. Most of the raw data making up our knowledge bank is processed through the eyes. It is said by many that the eyes are the mirror of the soul.
When the eyes are worked, several thing happen:
The seeing functions of the eyes begin to improve.
The body begins to fight vertigo and distortion.
Blood and lymph circulation are stimulated.
Tired and irritated eye tissues are refreshed.
Toxic wastes are removed.
Optic nerves receive better circulatory action.
Eye tissues are flushed.
Irritants are removed.
The eye reflexes are located on the ridge of the food located where the toes join the foot.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
The pituitary gland enhances a reflexology session many ways as it controls the endocrine system.
The pituitary gland is located in almost the center of the brain. As manager of the endocrine system, it sends messages to the other glands. The pituitary gland also releases hormones which trigger physical and emotional actions.
When you work the pituitary gland reflex, several things happen:
The pituitary gland secretes hormones controlling, coordinating, and regulating the function of endocrine glands throughout the body.
The glands of the endocrine system include:
thyroid gland
parathyroid glands
pancreas
adrenal glands
ovaries/testes
The pituitary gland reflexes are found on both feet in the center of the pad of the big toe.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
