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!
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Thurman Greco
Mental Fatigue – Do you need a fogbuster?
Mental Fatigue…ahhhhh. All of us suffer with this occasionally.
Fatigue, whether it be mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual, can be a strong indication of illness. So, if your brain is tired more often than you want, you won’t be playing hypochondriac if you schedule an appointment with your professional healthcare provider.
Many diseases list fatigue as the first symptom. Popular among those diseases is adrenal imbalance
cancer
diabetes
poor thyroid function
It can also just mean that we’re a little overdrawn in the energy department. I occasionally wake up feeling less mentally sharp than I want. When that happens, I reach for an essential oil. Popular essential oil fatigue busters include:
Basil
Black Pepper
Frankincense
Idaho Balsam Fir
Nutmeg
Pettigrain
Pine
Rosemary
Sage
Spearmint.
Each of these oils will “do the trick”. Place 4-6 drops of whichever oil you have on hand and/or prefer. Rub the palms of your hands together. Cup your nose and mouth with your oil-soaked hands and take several deep breaths. You should notice a difference.
When an essential oil fragrance is inhaled, the odor molecules travel up the nose and end up finally connecting to the brain. The result is that the connection affects the
heart rate
blood pressure
breathing
memory
stress levels
hormone balance.
The scent of the essential oil can bring up memories and emotions not only in this life but, I believe, in past lives as well. This offers a powerful form of therapy which, when combined with reflexology, promotes homeostasis.
Combining reflexology and essential oils can be beneficial to your client partners. If your client does not notice a fairly quick feeling of energy returning to the body, it’s time to refer him/her to a physician.
Photography by Renee Ruwe.
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Thurman Greco
“Should I Accept Clients Who Smoke?”
What a question!
“Of course. Yes.”
“But, what if they smell of tobacco? I find it very offensive. And, besides, I don’t want my healing space reeking of smoke.”
Well, I stick to my guns here. Cigarette smoking is an addiction. It is a disease. You accept the client and offer assistance, support, guidance as s/he struggles to give up smoking.
Encourage the person to cut down on the number of cigarettes smoked in a day. If you can get him/her to cut back to 5 or fewer cigarettes a day, the final push will be very easy.
When people think of diseases smokers contract, they always come up with the same usual suspects:
lung cancer
throat cancer
COPD
Emphysema.
In reality, the diseases caused are many more and the health damage done is much greater.
Smoking and exposure to second hand smoke is really hard on the immune system. Smoking ages the body faster. This results in
wrinkled skin
clogged arteries
emphysema
cancer
impotence.
The most important reason for not smoking is what it does to the immune system. Smoking wrecks the immune system causing it to become overactive. And, the effects are often easily seen.
It’s not necessary to see a person smoking to know you’re looking at a smoker. It’s also not necessary to smell a smoker either.
The effects of smoking can be seen in the skin, hair, nails, eyes, posture.
The effects of smoking can be heard in the classic smoker’s cough.
You cannot help your client partner stop smoking. What you can do is help with the cravings and other discomfort while they go through the 5-6 week withdrawal process. Reflexology for the Spirit, Reiki therapy, and encouragement can go a long way to support during this time.
Help your client partner become dramatically healthier. Nicotine patches are available. CVS sells a smoking cessation program which helps.
After the 6-week period, you can help your client partner do a cleanse and you can offer support choosing a physical fitness program.
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Peace and food for all.
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.
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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.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Michele Garner donated the artwork for this post.
7 Ways to be Light, Vibrant, Joyful
.Surround yourself with things, people who make you feel light, vibrant, and joyful.
This can be a variety of things. For some, this can be
colors,
music,
books,
plants.
But, whatever it is, surround yourself with things that make you feel great, good, vibrant, joyful.
You may find yourself painting your walls or bringing more flowers home or showcasing a shelf of your books. The important thing is that you are releasing endorphins when you seek joy, renewal.
As a reflexologist, let the good, vibrant, joyful attributes be visible in your practice and your healing space. This effort will reflect itself in what your client partners take away from your sessions.
Spend a little time becoming aware of these endorphin moment(s). Once you know what makes you happy, you can put more focus on that outcome. When you are focused on a joyful outcome, you can be happy for longer periods.
Laughing comes easier.
Gratitude comes easier.
You’ll also be able to focus on the things in your life that you enjoy. Your happiness will multiply then, because what you focus on grows. You will encourage homeostasis.
As you share your happiness, others will begin to enjoy these moments as well. So you’ll create a ripple effect for your friends, neighbors, family, client partners. This can have far-reaching consequences of the positive kind.
Happiness is a rare commodity these days. Find it. Share it. Spread it around.
One of the pluses of being light, vibrant, and joyful is that these attitudes don’t take a lot of $$$. Happiness comes with gratitude and a smile. It can begin with a small plant or a book by your favorite chair.
Enjoy sunrises and sunsets and delicious smells like grass and fresh leaves.
If you feel that being light, vibrant, and joyful is difficult, it’s time to do something for someone else. The happiest people I know are those who have learned to share a most precious commodity: a smile and a little time.
Tap into your creativity. This will allow you to relax, have more fun, and explore life’s wonders.
Thank you for reading this blog/book. This is a series of articles focusing on ways to enhance wellness for yourself, the reflexologist, and your client partners.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Listen!
What is your body telling you? Listen!
When you listen, all four parts of your self will tell you what you need to hear: Your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves will speak to you.
Are you tired?
Do you suffer from a sleep deficit?
Are you unable to sleep because you are burning the candle at both ends?
Are you deeply troubled?
Are you studying for an exam?
Are you trying to get a promotion at work?
When do you need to rest?
Do you need to play?
How long has it been since you just had fun?
What is your work situation?
We all have cycles. What are yours?
When are you at your best?
Keep a regular, predictable schedule every day of the year. Listen! Your internal clock will develop a schedule of eating, sleeping, and exercising at the same time each day. Respect the regularity of this schedule.
Schedule some relaxation time each day. Give your brain a break. Let it review the day’s experiences. Allow your brain to turn events into memories. This will encourage the learning process. Allow your brain to refresh itself.
Listen! Every part of your body stores emotions, memories, thoughts, based on what the body part does for you. For example, your ears will store these emotions, memories, thoughts, that relate to hearing. Become more aware of events that contribute to issues or diseases in the particular parts of your body.
Find time to move your body at intervals throughout the day. This means taking the stairs whenever possible. Walk when you talk on the phone. Park farther away from your destination and walk to your destination.
When we ignore our bodies, stress, tension, fear, frustration, depression, anxiety, and disease set in.
As a reflexologist, you will improve both your life and your career significantly if you honor your circadian clock. Take a break every couple of hours to check in with yourself and see how things are going.
When you begin to honor your clock, you will find yourself keeping a regular schedule. This regular schedule is a tonic for some. For others, it is a wonder drug.
Your body will love you for this because it loves predictability. Stress is related more to lack of a schedule than to finances, marital problems, children, or work.
When you listen to your needs and offer your body predictability, you invite homeostasis into your life.
If you are new to this blog, I wrote a series of posts in which I offered suggestions and guidelines about how to listen to your body and also how to communicate with different parts of your body to bring about healing and homeostasis. You can find them in contents section of this blog. They were in late 2014 and early 2015. Most of the posts were entitled “Spirituality of……”
Teach your client partners about their circadian clocks. You will then improve their lives and careers. How cool is that?
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Art provided by Jennette Nearhood
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.
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 Blood
Blood is very exciting stuff.
For one thing, we can’t live without it. If we’re in an accident, and lose too much blood, we will die.
Blood tells the whole story. Often, when we visit the physician, a blood test is ordered. The story is here: our past, our present, our future.
In the womb, we shared our mother’s blood, who shared her mother’s blood, who shared her mother’s blood, and on and on and on to the beginning of time.
That being said, each person’s blood is unique. Like fingerprints, no 2 blood profiles are the same. And, blood changes with life events, nutrition, age. Because of this, there are many issues with blood:
high or low pressure,
circulation,
arteriosclerosis
thrombosis,
stroke
hemorrhage,
varicose vein,
anemia.
If you find yourself dealing with one of the above diseases, you are dealing with a spiritual disease. That doesn’t mean you forget the professional medical practitioner. It does mean that you do what that practitioner tells you to do and you deal with the spirituality issues in other ways.
When I think of the spirituality of blood, questions come to mind:
Have you recently found or lost a loved one?
Are you depressed?
Where are the conflicts in your life?
Are you nourishing yourself sufficiently?
Are you under a lot of pressure?
Are you angry?
Is someone or something threatening you?
Are you rigid with yourself and others?
Do you need to become gentler with yourself and others?
Are you afraid?
Are your life patterns stuck?
Does your lifestyle go against your beliefs?
Is too much going on in your life?
Are there too many people in your life?
What, if anything, is draining your energy?
Now might be a good time to try to deal with these questions one-by-one.
In order to develop the spirituality of your blood, proper diet is extremely important. Don’t just go to the grocery or the pharmacy and buy vitamins and minerals haphazardly. Find a nutritional consultant and get what you need.
No one diet fits all. Find the diet best for you…makes you feel better, helps maintain your weight, results in better blood test results. Your goal is to live a life bringing strength, vitality, purity to your blood.
Guided meditations can be instrumental for spiritual healing.
If you are a Reiki practitioner, give yourself sessions in which you offer an intent to heal and regenerate your blood to its optimum state. If you are not a Reiki practitioner, now is a good time to find one. This might even be a good time to learn Reiki therapy for yourself.
As your blood begins to experience this optimum state, you’ll invite joy, free expression, creativity, balance in your life.
Reflexology for the Spirit sessions are appropriate here. Homeostasis is necessary for the blood and for life in general. Reiki and reflexology work hand-in-hand here to help achieve the spiritual health our bodies need….no, crave.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Renee Ruwe offered the photograph for today’s article.
