Reflexology For The Spirit

spirituality of one's health

Cancer and Your Spirituality

Spiritually, few diseases have an impact as strong as cancer.  Grief eats away at your body.  Carrying past wounds makes you fearful, angry.  You attack yourself from the inside out.  Finally, you are running on empty.

Cancer is a complex and life-threatening disease.  It requires specially trained health care professionals.  Your journey to wellness will be easier and more effective if your medical knows about any and all alternative remedies you use.  Your recovery calls for conventional physicians and integrative medical techniques.  In other words, use every tool you feel will work.

Include internists, physical therapists, nutritionists, bodyworkers, healers in your wellness team.  Everyone is needed to care for you and give you a better path to success.

As with arthritis, there are many different forms of cancer.  Your reflexology, Reiki, and chakra healing sessions, received 24 to 48 hours after chemotherapy help move the medication throughout your body more efficiently.

Regular sessions offer a deep sense of relaxation, homeostasis, pain relief, and reduce stress.  If reflexology is not available, try other bodywork modalities.  They can change your cancer experience.  Safe, effective healing bodywork therapies offer nurturing in tandem with cancer treatment.

When you suffer from cancer, continue all your treatments, both allopathic and complementary.  Your reflexologist will support your return to good health through all your treatments.  Your sessions will be most effective when you combine reflexology with Reiki, chakra healing.

Do you practice Reiki?  No?  Now might be a good time to start.  Self Reiki sessions can help with fear, nausea, and pain.

RISK FACTORS

The list is long:  age, air pollution, diabetes, excess sun exposure, exposure to chemicals, family history, heavy alcohol consumption, obesity, polyps in colon, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, poor health.

Some professions believe cancers don’t need risk factors because many people get cancer who don’t have applicable risk factors or who are not exposed to them.  This makes cancer a more spiritual set of diseases.

CHAKRAS

The location of your cancer tells you which chakras are affected.  With cancer, the chakras need to be balanced.

Prostate and rectal cancer involve your root chakra.  Cancers of your cervix, ovaries, uterus, colon, unbalance your sacral chakra.  Cancers of your stomach, liver, intestinal tract, pancreas, unbalance your solar plexus chakra.  Your heart chakra becomes unbalanced by breast and lung cancers.  Lung cancer unbalances your throat chakra as well.  Finally, brain tumors affect your crown chakra.

REFLEXOLOGY SYSTEMS TO WORK

brain reflexes, endocrine system, digestive system, immune system, respiratory system, the lymphatics, circulatory system, nervous system, liver, solar plexus

ESSENTIAL OILS

Canadian red cedar, clove, dill, Douglas fir, galbanum, grapefruit, hyssop, Idaho balsam fir, lavender, ledum, maleleuca, myrrh, myrtle, nutmeg, patchouli, rose, sage, sandalwood, tarragon, thyme, tsuga, valerian, ylang ylang

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

Consult with your nutritionist, your physicians, and your entire support team to choose vitamin and mineral supplements for your situation.  Nutritional support will help decrease any side effects you experience.  Some professionals believe you will recover faster, have fewer complications if you take nutritional supplements.

If you have questions about which supplements are best for you, I refer you to Village Apothecary, 79 Tinker Street, here in Woodstock, New York, 12498.  I get all my supplements at Village Apothecary.  I trust Neil Smoller’s advice.

THINGS TO DO

Normalize your cholesterol levels.  Exercise.  Use smart food choices, portion control to balance your weight.   Staying active helps relieve fatigue, reduce anxiety, lift pain, boost energy, preserve muscle strength, protect bones.  Avoid overexposure to sun. Skip the alcohol.  The list, it seems, is endless.

If you read this section of the book, maybe you’re taking stock of your life.  Now is a good time to search your inner self and seek those lost parts you’ve ignored for a long time.  Move them onto your front row of attention.  Nourish those feelings and thoughts.  Put them in the spotlight.  Your goal is to feel safe so you  can heal.

IMPORTANT FOODS IN YOUR DIET

There’s a correlation between fat, meat, and cancer.  Fruits, vegetables, fiber are necessary for you if you are trying to prevent or treat cancer.  Nutrition is important.

Some well known cancer-fighting foods include green tea, garlic, soy, turmeric, and ginger.  No one food can cure cancer.  But a good diet can help your quality of life while you fuel your body.  At mealtime, fill your plate with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

DEFENSE STRATEGIES

Living well offers protection against many cancers.  Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet.  Exercise regularly.  Avoid tobacco and alcohol to prevent many cancers.  Get a bit of sunlight every day.  There is, however, no magic bullet.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

Have I left my community behind?  Is deep stress undermining my immune system?  Can I be honest about my feelings?

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Thanks for reading this blog!

You Have on your Screen a Special Healing Blog

You have on your screen the blog with information I would love to have had when I was a young mother with two active, inquisitive children.

This is also the information I would love to have given to my daughters when they started their families.  So now, I pass on this information to you as well as my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to use as they travel through life.

The information in this blog is a ticket to your healing adventures.  After all, wherever you go, if you’re caring for someone else or yourself, you’re on a journey.  This information has you covered.

I’m sharing information which took me decades to discover and organize.  You’ll find it presented in easy, practical, uncomplicated ways to use in today’s world.

The information I share has stood the test of time.  Medical training isn’t necessary to to read and understand the words on these plot posts.

For thousands of years, reflexology (for example), has been used to successfully treat health issues from common ailments to serious disease.  Because I’m a reflexologist, you’ll find references to this modality on many pages.  That doesn’t mean you need to be a reflexologist to read, understand, or use this book.  It’s there for you if you want to adapt it to your needs.  If you know nothing about reflexology, you can still benefit from its philosophy about health and healing.

Reflexology teaches you this:  Your body is different every day.

My healing practice teaches you this:  your body is not just physical.  Indeed, your components include physical, mental, emotional, spiritual aspects.

Future blog posts will focus on your health, healing, and wellness.  I’ve planned posts on your body systems.  I’ll include important foods in each system as they apply to its healing.

I’ve planned future posts focusing on chakras.

I plan to list more and more ailments and remedies alphabetically.
Each entry will include spiritual qualities unique to that specific disease.  I’ll be listing essential oils although I won’t be describing how to use them.  That is a different subject entirely.

These blog posts are designed to be practical and easily adaptable to your needs.  I hope you will enjoy them.

Thurman Greco

Please refer this post to you preferred social media network.

And, enjoy good health!

How to Use This Blog –

This blog offers you something difficult to get in today’s market:  insight into your health.  It’s not a substitute for an x-ray or an MRI.  Nor will it take the place of a blood test prescribed by your primary healthcare provider.

I’m a reflexologist, not a doctor.  The information I share and the experiences I relate are based on my research and career.  It’s not intended to diagnose or treat a disease.

I do not prescribe  medications or treatments of any kind.

Healthcare professionals are trained and work in several different healing systems.  I feel they all work toward the same goal:  developing and maintaining your good health.  Healthcare professionals include Medical Doctors, Doctors of Osteopathy, Naturopathic Doctors, Homeopaths.

The information in these blog posts will allow you to see your health care through the added dimension of a spiritual event or situation.  This can enhance your physical situation.

This blog is not intended to replace your primary healthcare provider, or any healthcare provider, for that matter.  Instead, this blog adds a layer of personal care to every situation in your healing life.

If you have a health question or situation  offering no answer, do not be afraid to dig into the past blog posts.  There are several hundred of them.

In the coming months, there will be several hundred more.  My sincere hope is that you will join my future posts.  If you do, thank you for joining me.

Thurman Greco

PS:  Please refer this post to your favorite social media network.

Maintaining Your Good Health – Inner Fitness for Life

We each have an inner core, a spiritual center needing encouragement, support and protection.  Your inner core lets you travel through life with minimal bumps.  When encouragement, support, and protection are deficient in some way, you run a risk of developing a lack of self-confidence.  There are ways to give yourself a boost.  Life is easier with a strong inner core.

THINK POSITIVELY

Put yourself in a positive frame of mind before you even get out of bed.  Ask yourself:  “What can I be happy about?  What makes me happy?”

CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

Volunteer someplace.  Get a job.  Read a local paper.  Use your library.  Get into your community.

INCLUDE EXERCISE OF SOME KIND…EVERY DAY

In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the Fountain of Youth in what is now St. Augustine, Florida.  The Fountain of Youth still exists and keeps people everywhere healthy.  There is at least one branch of it in your neighborhood, located on the sidewalk or roadside where you can walk every day.  If that’s not a good option for you, the other nearby branch is in your local fitness center.  You’ll be healthier and your body will thank you if you visit one of these branches every day.

CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

De-cluttering is a bit of a fad and it’s okay with me.  This grounding and uplifting exercise has become part of my daily schedule.  I spend fifteen minutes every day clearing out clutter in a room.  There are books written about it.  Reading one is a good idea if you need a starter boost.  Whether or not you read a book about de-cluttering, your inner self will be more fit when you adopt this habit.

REVIEW YOUR SITUATION

Now might be a good time to journal about important events in your life.  Or short stories.  Or poems.  Or anything that seems appropriate for you.  You don’t necessarily need to focus on what happened to you.  The important thing is what you did with what happened to you.

SUPPORT YOURSELF

Do something nice for yourself.  Think nice thoughts about yourself.  Your nice thoughts about yourself are a treat, a gift you give you give to yourself.  You deserve it.

Thank you for reading this blog post.  Please share this article on your favorite social media network.

Thurman Greco

Five Things You Can Do For Your Good Health

Good health is not that hard to achieve.  Really.  When it comes down to a bottom line, five things are essential to establishing and maintaining your good health.

NOT SMOKING IS ESSENTIAL.

Do you smoke?  Reduce your habit to five cigarettes a day.  When you are  down to five, you can get to zero with little effort.

Join a smokers’ support group.

Hypnotherapy and Biofeedback both offer successful results for many smokers.

The bottom line is this:  Do whatever you have to do to give up this habit.

MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT.

This is a high priority.  Losing or gaining weight to reach your ideal weight for your good health gets harder with every passing year so the younger you are when you work on your weight, the easier it will be.

Weight Watchers is a good support group.

An interested nutritionist can help you reach your desired goal and include specific foods contributing to your continued good health at the same time.  You’ll get twice the bang for your buck with a nutritionist.

An example of this:  If you need to gain or lose  weight and you have heart health issues, a nutritionist can work on the weight issues along with your heart issues.  I don’t know about you, but I love to be able to do a couple of things together.  I get all involved in the different aspects of synchronicity.

EAT MANY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Many wellness gurus teach five servings of fruits and vegetables are a minimum number for a well nourished person to eat daily.  This five serving recommendation is easy for me to pass on.  And, it’s also easy to have fun with.

I like the concept of thinking about which five fruits and vegetables will be on my  plate today.  Planning ahead for each day’s selection gives them focus and importance.

I also like the idea that advance planning gives me a chance to play and experiment a bit.  You can do this too.  It’s easier than you think.  All you have to do is choose one new vegetable or fruit each week.

Take it home and learn what it’s called.  What countries is it commonly grown in?  Learn how to cook it, store it, combine it with other foods, and finally how to eat it.

If you learn about one new fruit or vegetable each week, your dietary skills will be vastly different in a year.  Adventure!

EXERCISE REGULARLY.

This can be a drudgery or it can be fun.  Your good health options are open here.  Participate in  one or more activities  regularly.  The point is to keep yourself active  daily as you go throughout your life.

You can put in as much time or money as you want here.

You can also combine exercise with other daily habits. I wear an exercise watch which beeps when I’m not moving enough.  It also congratulates me when I’ve gone beyond my daily goal.

I went out and got a second job which requires that I stay off my seat and on my feet.  So, I’m making money while exercising.  I enjoy this a lot.

AVOID STRESSORS.

This can be a biggie.  Stress contributes to many health problems.  Like the sleep suggestion a few pages back, you’ll find a chapter on stress later in this book.  Things like meditation, walks, laughter, sharing, singing, nature bathing, journaling, drawing can help you avoid stress.

Stress relief is important – just as important as your diet and exercise.

Thank you for reading this blog post.  Please refer it to your favorite media network.

Thurman Greco

 

 

 

Positive Longevity: 10 Tips You Can Use

Positive longevity habits  always help us if we  use them.

GET YOUR SHOTS   – Shots  can be a royal bore but they can save lives and much disease.  These are positive longevity habits. The problem is that we have a tendency to make sure the children and the pets get everything but we skip our own vaccinations.    These things should just be added into our schedules.

Vaccines and booster shots can help us avoid things like whooping cough, shingles, hepatitus.

Some people  are afraid to vaccinate and immunize themselves and their children.  I am not in that camp.

I lived in both Mexico and Venezuela for several years.  I am a great grandparent.  My life experiences have  permitted me to both experience and see other people I know  experience some of the planet’s dread diseases.  I have seen dengue fever first hand.  A friend of mine had  typhoid.  And on and on and on.  I lived through a polio epidemic.  Fortunately, no one in our family was struck.  But still.

There are some diseases I do not want to have.  There are some diseases I do not want anyone I know  to have.

My friend who had typhoid was extremely ill.  When he finally got over the disease, he was a tragedy to behold.  He looked like he was a prison camp survivor.

I have  a  friend  with shingles now.  Shingles  is a terrible disease I definitely never want to experience.

Vaccinations only take a few moments.  They save lives.

Join the prevention club.   Get vaccinated.

SCREENINGS ARE A GOOD WAY TO PREPARE FOR A LONG LIFE – Plan for the screenings now.  Screenings are positive longevity habits in action.  Know what screenings are good in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, …..70’s?  In future posts, I’ll list the screenings  needed by agecategory.  For now, just know that you need to get these screenings periodically.

An easy beginning is an annual trip to your health care provider.

Plan to get your screenings every decade.  They are important longevity goals in action.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH  –  If you are interested in a long healthy life, your teeth are important in your life.  Positive longevity habits include attention to every tooth.

When your teeth deteriorate,  so does your life.  Without teeth, there are a lot of foods you cannot eat because you can’t chew them.  This  directly impacts  your health because you won’t be receiving the nutrients you need.  A visit to a dentist at least once a year is important.  Learn to brush your teeth properly.  Learn about which toothpaste is good for you.

DON’T FORGET YOUR FEET – Your feet move you forward in life so they are important too.  For one thing, 25% of the bones in your body are in your feet.   Neglected feet may result in painful bunions,  corns, warts, and other problems which   make walking painful to impossible.  Comfortable, well fitting shoes are important.

Regular foot reflexology sessions promote homeostasis, the balance of all body systems.  If you are interested in feeling your best, include these sessions regularly.

-DIET IS IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE TO LIVE LONG AND WELL – Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.  When you eat lots of veggies and fruits, you can help prevent chronic diseases and…prevent obesity!  Select  as many colors of produce as you can and go for the leafy greens.  These are positive longevity habits in action!

DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE SOAP AND WATER IN BATHROOMS.  Washing your hands five times a day is a good minimum goal.  When  you wash your hands often, you’ll be less likely to catch colds and  other germy diseases.

STRETCH!  Stretching regularly makes sure your daily life is easier as you get in and out of cars, buses, elevators.  Stretching regularly will help prevent falls because you’ll  have better coordination and balance.  Your joints will love you for it.  You’ll love your joints because your life will be easier.

KEEP A TO-DO LIST.  This will make your life easier day after day after day.  Year after year after year.  If you keep postponing your to-do list until you need it, it’ll be much harder to include in your life.

Besides, nobody wants someone to tell you that you need to keep a to-do list because you forgot an appointment and stood up some important friends or co-workers.

DO WHAT THE DOCTOR DAYS  – As we go through life, it’s a given that we’re going to come down with something.  Who knows what?  Diabetes, bifocals, a broken bone, high  blood pressure, whatever.

When the time comes to take medicine, get glasses, exercise regularly, eat properly, it’s important to do what should be done.

Unless you don’t really care whether you live a long, healthy life or not.

GET A DOG!  The happiest people I know are dog owners.  Your pet gives you  unconditioned love, something you can’t get anywhere else.   Dogs also need to be fed at certain times of the day and they need to be walked, communicated with, and enjoyed.  These are all activities that have positive outcomes.  Go for it!

WHAT DOES YOUR GOOD HEALTH MEAN TO YOU?  I hope you’ll take a few moments to define  your health care goals and what you hope to get out of longevity.

This is one of the last posts in the longevity articles.  It is my sincere hope that you found a few things that  resonated for you.  I hope you will be a healthier person because of these posts.  Thank you for reading this blog.

Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.

Thurman Greco

Woodstock, New York

 

10 Wellness Tips for Better Health

Wellness is something we should all be interested in.  We can all increase our health awareness through wellness..

Following are ten easy things you can do to  promote your wellness.

Not all muffins are created equal.  Read the labels so you choose a  muffin which is more nutrition and less junk.  Look for a muffin which has less than 500 calories and at least contains whole wheat flour in addition to eggs, butter, and other healthy ingredients.

Like baked potatoes?  To get the most nutrients from your favorite food,  eat the skin too.  Ounce for ounce, the skin is where you’ll get more fiber, iron, potassium and B vitamins.  This is wellness in action!

Eat foods rich in vitamin C every day.  Besides oranges, the best sources of vitamin C are asparagus, blackberries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, kale, mustard greens, peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes.  These foods help protect against cancer and other diseases.

While you’re at it, eat at least five other fruits and vegetables daily.  Make sure these  five servings are high in antioxidants.

If you’re concerned about urinary tract infections, drink ten ounces of cranberry juice cocktail daily.  While this won’t substitute for medication, cranberry juice cocktail taken daily will help reduce infection rates over time.

Looking for low-fat cookies?  Try fig bars.  They’re both low in fat and high in fiber.

Like to bake cakes and brownies?  You can reduce the fat in the recipe when you substitute applesauce or fruit puree for the oil, margarine, or butter in the recipe.

Low-fat milks are not created equal.  If your concern is fat content, go for nonfat or 1 %.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are tasty, nutritious snacks.  Frozen bananas, strawberries, strawberries are delicious!

Try a new fruit or vegetable every month.  At the end of a year, you’ll know a lot more about food than you do now.  And, the chances are that you’ll have new favorite foods!

Read labels on frozen breakfasts.  Some are very high in fat.  Others are also very high in calories.  Go for the less fatty products.

So!  Here you have ten suggestions with a bonus thrown in for good measure.  I’ll be sending along other easy wellness tips along in coming blog posts.  Hope you enjoy them all!

Thanks for reading this blog and thank you for reading this article.  Please forward it to your friends. through your favorite social media network.

Thanks again!

Thurman Greco

Healthy Sleep-

SLEEP WELL

Some of us sleep well.  Some of us wish we could sleep well.  And, some of us battle sleep and try to improve it.  And, for some, this is a lifelong endeavor.  Sleep simply eludes us .

Even though I sleep well, I fall in the category of those who try to improve my sleep. Through the years, I’ve developed some techniques that give me a successful night’s sleep not just once in awhile…but most nights.

Sleep is a priority with me.  And not just a decent sleep, either.  I want and need a good night’s sleep every night.

An important step I take each evening before I get into bed is establish a sleep intention.  I do this every evening because  I want my sleep to be restful and serene.  I want to sleep throughout the night because my goal is to wake up rested and ready for the coming day.  This is the  intention I set each evening before I get in my bed.

CAFFEINE…OR NOT

I begin preparing for sleep each evening in the morning before I leave home.  My caffeinated drinks are exclusively early  day beverages and I taper off the caffeine as the day goes on.

One way I do this is limit my coffee to no more than five cups a day. Even though five cups is my limit, often I never even get to five cups.  I enjoy unsweetened iced tea so I may drink more tea than coffee.

As midday rolls around, I switch to a latte.  I may occasionally have a decaffeinated coffee in the afternoon.  But, not often.

Most of the time, my afternoon drink is a large unsweetened iced tea.

TV TIME

When I’m home relaxing, I resist the temptation to watch “just one more program”.  And, I limit my email time after dinner.  And, neither my TV nor my computer can be found in my bedroom because they can interfere with my sleep.

A SLEEP SCHEDULE

I try to maintain a sleep schedule so that I go to bed pretty much the same time every evening and I get up about the same time on weekdays.

A PERFECT BEDROOM

My bedroom is the most serene room in the house.  The walls are a pale cream color.  The carpet is a quiet brown.  I have several pieces of art on the walls which make me feel calm and positive.  Sleep comes easy in this room.

And, my bed is perfect!  I love it.  The mattress is sooo comforting.

Are your sheets comfortable?  Some people love cotton sheets.  Others prefer flannel sheets.  I’m on the flannel sheet side of the argument.  I love the feel of the flannel sheets every night of the year.

When you buy sheets, carefully check the labels to be sure that you get what you pay for.  Be sure your sheets are good enough quality that you  can wash them in hot water and put them in the dryer.

Is the sheet fabric tightly woven enough to keep away dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens.

Whatever you choose, make sure you have sheets and blankets that you like.  You need to like the color.  You need to like how the fabric feels when you touch it.

And finally, you need to feel your bedding is inviting.

THE TEMPERATURE

Is your bedroom too hot or is it too cool?  The last thing you want is to sweat or shiver throughout the night because when you’re shivering  or sweating, you are not sleeping.

YOUR APPLIANCES

Your sleep doesn’t need to be disturbed with computer, smartphone, TV, and other appliances beep.  So, they don’t belong in your bedroom.

CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER

Clearing out the clutter in your bedroom really helps.  An uncluttered space is calming, inviting, serene.  Go for it!  Try clearing out the clutter about fifteen minutes a day until the room is all cleaned out.  You’ll feel better and sleep better for it.

When I started clearing out the clutter, I felt things would look better in my bedroom but I was unprepared for the wonderful difference an uncluttered space made in my sleep.

MOVE YOUR HOME OFFICE TO SOMEWHERE ELSE

Ban your office from your bedroom.  When you bring your work to your bedroom, you make it harder to unwind as you think about tomorrow’s problems before you try to go to sleep.

There are a kazillion other things you can do to improve your sleep.  I’ll be discussing them over time.  Some of the suggestions I’ll bring up may not interest you.  Try what seems good to you.  As you discover what improves  your better sleep, you’ll benefit from the changes.

You may find you look better, feel better, and think better.  It’s worth the effort to change your habits and environment.

Thanks for reading this article!  Please refer it to your favorite social media network.

Thurman Greco

 

Healthy Kitchen

Our lives are often over full with  too much going on.  We’re all busy.  Working.  Caring for children.  Running errands.  Studying.  Volunteering.

Where is the time to shop for and prepare a leisurely, healthy meal?

Food can often be therapeutic.  But, sometimes it’s hard to serve a healthy, healing meal to someone. when everyone is overworked, underpaid, short of time, and out of space.

BUT…

there are things that can be done to make your  kitchen healthy and the meals easier.

Begin by making your kitchen a place where you want to be.  Are the walls a color that you like?  Is music that you like available in your kitchen?  Do your utensils work?

If the answers to your questions were “no”, it’s time to try to make your kitchen a place where you want to be.  Tackle one thing at a time and the room will soon be your favorite place.

Review your recipes.  Do you have a few recipes for meals that are nutritious, delicious, easy to prepare, and fun to eat?  If not, be on the lookout.

What you need is an arsenal of easy-to-prepare meals which you can rely on.  Start with a few slow-cooker recipes which you can use during the week.  This way, you can load the slow-cooker with ingredients before you leave for work, turn on the cooker, and return home at the end of the day to a delicious meal.

Do you have a favorite casserole recipe?  Prepare this dish on your day off and then have it ready to eat the next evening.

Eat together as a family at least three times a week…more if you can.  Make eating together non-negotiable.

Get your family members to help with the meal.  Setting the table, washing the dishes, taking out the trash can all be done by family members.

I’m living proof that it is possible, even easy, to cook and serve healthy, nutritious, delicious, clean food that is easy to prepare and doesn’t cost a fortune.

When you work at this, you’ll soon have a kitchen that everyone enjoys.  Your food will be delicious, easy to prepare, inexpensive, and fun.

Thanks for reading this post!

Please share this article with your favorite social media network.

Thurman Greco