10 Easy Wellness Tips for Your Self Care
Self care is all about realizing that we need to take care of ourselves to function optimally in our lives. For many, self care is being selfish. This is simply not so. Eating properly, resting, getting proper exercise, smelling the flowers…these things are not selfish.
Lower back pain? Try not to overdo the bed rest. One or two days seem to be the best amount of time. to be off your feet. Lower back pain is a spiritual situation. Try to get up and about asap. Self care is needed when your lower back hurts.
Are your cholesterol numbers less than ideal? Try to exercise regularly. Can you lose weight? That will help, too. Eating fish helps. And, finally, omega-3 fatty acids really help.
Get your annual flu shot. Every year, I encounter people who come down with the flu. Most of the time, these people neglected to get their shot. And, getting a flu shot does not immunize a person for life. A flu shot must be repeated annually. This can be a bore. However, I’ve gotten a flu shot annually for the last 20 years or so and, somehow, don’t seem to get the flu.
Worried about toenail fungus? Keep your feet clean and dry. Wear well fitting shoes and socks. Snug, poorly ventilated shoes and damp, sweaty socks are a breeding ground for athlete’s foot. Go barefoot if you can. If you do have toenail or foot fungus, and if it is painful, it’s time to see a dermatologist.
To keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy, brush your teeth often. Brush your teeth after you eat with a soft bristled brush. Tooth brushing is essential for good self care.
Do you have hay fever? Cut back on alcoholic beverages during pollen season.
Do you chew gum? Chew sugarless gum to fight tooth decay.
Concerned about carpel tunnel syndrome? Keep your wrists straight when working with your hands. When you work on a keyboard, make sure your fingers are lower than your wrists. Carpel tunnel doesn’t always require surgery. A good body worker or physical therapist can often help you.
Buy your shoes in the afternoon when you’ve been on your feet for a few hours, and always have your feet measured. Know which foot is larger and fit your shoes to that foot. That way, you’ll have a more accurate shoe size and fit.
Pinkeye and other eye infections can be extremely infectious. Use care.
Always first on your list for self care is regular reflexology.
Thank you for reading this article.
Please refer this blog article to your preferred social media network.
Thanks again.
Thurman Greco
10 More Wellness Tips for Better Health
One of the most important wellness tips a person can use is the suggestion to take a few minutes out of every day to relax. A break every day for a few minutes will lower blood pressure, encourage good health and healing, and promote balance. Go Breaks!
Parsley is a popular garnish. Well, I eat the garnish! Parsley is both delicious and nutritious. So, I just can’t bear to throw it out. Join me in this habit.
Cut down on the salt. Add a few drops of lemon juice or substitute other herbs and spices. This can be one of your most important wellness tips!
Add avocado to your sandwiches and salads. Avocado is both delicious and nutritious. It’s high in nutrition and low in calories so that makes it a real bonus in your meal, and a practical wellness tip.
Read the Yogurt label because not all yogurts are created equal. If you want flavored yogurt, add your own. You’ll be eating fewer additives when you include fruits instead of purchasing the yogurt already filled with high sugary jams. Choose a yogurt with no artificial colors, artificial flavors, or no artificial anything.
Steam your veggies instead of boiling them. You’ll end up serving food which tastes better and has more vitamins and minerals.
Want to serve fruit with your cereal? Add your own! Many fruit containing cereals have little or no fruit in them. (This wellness tip is almost too easy!)
Avoid commercial dips. Your homemade dips will taste better and will have fewer additives. They will have fewer calories and fat, too.
Plain popcorn has fewer calories and fat than potato chips.
Drink water before, during, and after exercise.
Thank you for reading these wellness tips! Hopefully you’ll be able to use some or all of them. Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Thanks again for reading this article!
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
What is Healthy?
What is healthy, anyway? We’re all concerned about our health on some level. We try to eat better, exercise more, sleep more. There are many components to good health, but, at it’s basic level, what is healthy, anyway?
For starters, a leaner body is healthy. But, losing weight and keeping it lost can seem like chasing the Fountain of Youth.
And, of course, there is the old story about Ponce de Leon finding it. The Fountain of Youth headquarters is in St. Augustine, Florida. You can go there and visit it in a park setting. But, you don’t need to travel all the way to St. Augustine to visit the Fountain of Youth. Branches are right in your own community, maybe even in your neighborhood. Every fitness center around is a branch of the fountain of youth. All you have to do is join up and use a fitness center. The sidewalk in front of your home or office is also a branch of the fountain of youth. All you have to do is get out there and walk briskly for thirty minutes or so every day.
Using your fitness center regularly or walking briskly for a half hour each day will decrease your risk of developing diabetes. This will keep you on the path toward good health. And, while you exercise to protect yourself against diabetes, skipping sugary soft drinks and juices will help. And, if you have diabetes, find out from your health care professional how much exercise you need every day to strengthen your body as you work with this disease.
Trips to a fitness center and/or the healthy walks will help you develop a healthier heart and will help you reduce your risk of heart disease.
What is healthy? Visiting your local fitness center or walking helps you feel, look, and act better. It will also reduce your cholesterol levels. Add some dietary tips when you want to be healthy and you’re thinking of cholesterol. Use olive oil more often when you substitute it for less healthy oils, for example.
A brisk daily walk will strengthen your bones. You can also garden. Actually, the more things you can think of that will get you off your seat and on your feet, the better. And, while you’re getting off your seat, try walking a little faster on the sidewalk and running a little faster on the treadmill. A more intense workout will help you feel better.
What is healthy? Lowering your stress level is one way to improve your health. Hug your pet. And, if you don’t have a pet, can you hug a neighbor’s pet? Can you go to your local pound and walk a dog there? If you go to your pound and walk a dog briskly for a half hour, you’ll be doing two beneficial things at once!
And, what about your memory? Blueberries help. So do crosswords, scrabble, your local newspaper.
And, finally, what is healthy? Connection is healthy. Humans like to be connected to one another. This can mean different things to different people. Taking a class in something will help. Meeting the other people at the fitness center will strengthen your connection to your community. There are a million ways to get connected. A church, synagogue, or temple is there waiting for you. The important thing is to share yourself.
So, here are a few ways to help you define what is healthy for yourself. Find something you like and share yourself.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please share it with your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
The second edition of this book is on the way! Thanks to all of you who are using this book.
Thurman
Ten Good Tips!
Can I offer you Ten Good Tips that will improve your life significantly and still be easy to adapt to your lifestyle?
I hope so! Well, they may not all be super easy to become a part of your life but don’t hit the escape button yet. Please just read these Ten Good Tips and see how many of them you already do and how many of them will be easy for you and how many will be a challenge.
I honestly believe this list is going to be easier than you think. Just, give it a try.
Please.
Drink a cup of tea each day and then drink seven more cups of water throughout your day.
Walk 10,000 steps a day. Actually, this may be a lot easier than you think. Many people already walk 10,000 steps daily. If that doesn’t work for you, try to walk for thirty minutes every day.
Can you quit smoking? Have you already quit smoking?
Every day, sit down and put your feet up. Get quiet for five minutes. That’s all.
Reach out to a friend every day. Just to say “hi” if nothing else.
Enjoy a piece of chocolate every day.
Sleep well.
Eliminate prefabricated foods from your diet. You know what I mean. The instant macaroni and cheese that I lovingly call “yellow death” and the canned chili with ingredient words no one can pronounce. And, don’t forget the peanut butter with an ingredient list that takes up half the label.
Switch over to olive oil based salad dressings to control cholesterol.
Skip sugary soft drinks and bubbly sodas that have sugar substitutes instead of sugar. Either way, your body won’t miss them.
Add blueberries to your diet to enhance your memory. I buy frozen wild blueberries in bulk to cut their cost. Wild ones actually have more nutrients which are found in the skins because wild blueberries are smaller than the farmed ones. I put them over plain yogurt. Love it!
I’ve added a couple extra items to the list so you’ll have a choice.
Thank you for reading this article!
Please refer this blog post to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
The Second Edition of “A Healer’s Handbook” should be available within about two weeks! Thanks to every for your support of this book! Thurman
Sleep, Glorious Sleep
For a person struggling to sleep, it sometimes feels as if a good night’s sleep will never happen. Well, I don’t believe that. I’ve had too many client partners journey down the path to good sleep habits.
- Regular reflexology sessions really help. Begin with three reflexology sessions a week. After the first week, cut back to two sessions a week. Try to get two sessions a week for two months. Then, cut back to one session a week and continue with this weekly schedule until better sleep habits begin to be a part of your life. Then, you can cut back to a session every other week for awhile. Regular reflexology sessions definitely encourage sleep, glorious sleep.
- Self Reiki offers a better night’s sleep. Whenever you wake up in the night and think you’ll never be able to go back to sleep, spend a few minutes offering yourself a Reiki session.
- Write a sleep meditation for yourself which you can use when you are awake at night. Recite this meditation to yourself when you can’t sleep. Edit it over time until you feel you have it just right. In this meditation, you want to tell your muscles to relax so you can sleep. Tell your body that you are surrounded by a relaxing light that will encourage and support your sleep for the remainder of the night.
- If you feel hungry when you wake up in the middle of the night, fix a small snack for yourself. You don’t want to have an entire meal, or even a large snack, but a small serving of yogurt or a cup of a relaxing tea can coax you back to sleep.
- Try not to let yourself be overcome by worry. Sometimes urgent worry can keep you from returning to sleep when you wake in the middle of the night. Realize that the worry will seem smaller in the light of day.
- Do not let your thoughts control your night and your ability to sleep. After all, they are just thoughts. Let them slip away into the night.
- If you feel you cannot return to sleep, get out of bed and read for a few minutes. Then, maybe you will feel more like sleep when you return to bed.
- Gentle yoga before bed helps.
- Finally, give yourself permission to rest and to sleep.
Thank you for reading this blog post.
Please share this article with your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Reflexology Blog – 2 Principles for Healing
Principle 1
Commit to making your health a priority. This means believing you are a valuable being who deserves brilliant health and well-being.” – Inna Segal
When your health is a priority, it becomes a part of your everyday life. You become conscious of how healthy your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies are on a daily basis. When you realize that something is not right, you work to bring about homeostasis…not just ignore the condition.
When good health is a priority, you listen to the messages your body sends.
And, of course, to do this, you need a “plan, Stan.” The reason for this is simple: with a plan, a goal for your overall health improvement, your chances for success are better than they are without a plan.
When you focus on your overall health, the different pieces begin to fit together. They make more sense. The food you eat goes with the exercise you get goes with the information your body gives to you daily goes with the supplements you take goes with the importance of homeostasis.
Principle 2
“It wasn’t about getting a certain body size. It was about my health.” – Judy Molnar
Healing, a healthier lifestyle, is not about the perfect body. Seeking perfection is a setup for failure. The goal here is a healthy body, mind, emotion, spirit, that works.
If that gorgeous body appears and you end up with your photo on a magazine cover,
so much the better. But that’s not the goal.
Begin moving your body. Movement counteracts feelings of stagnation, depression, overweight.
There are many ways to move: walking, yoga, swimming, dancing, tai chi. Begin with something you are comfortable with. Walking is cheap, easy, and requires only shoes. Yoga is a good choice also. In yoga, you are working with yourself as you develop skills. There is no failure factor in either walking or yoga. Whatever you do, try to practice it regularly.
The Fountain of Youth does exist. A branch of it is probably in your neighbor at a nearby fitness center. Join. Visit it three times a week. Get to know the other people there. Enjoy yourself. This is the playground you fondly remember from elementary school.
Regular movement increases your energy, detoxes your body, sharpens your thinking, and helps you feel better about yourself.
Reflexologists, you will do much good for your self and your client partners if you will share these two principles with them.
Please share this article with your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
“A Healer’s Handbook” is now available! You can purchase it at Amazon and through my website http://www.thurmangreco.com.
Enjoy!
Sustenance! What is that?
Vitamins and minerals are important to prevent disease and retard aging.
Many, many books have been written about which vitamins and minerals we should all be taking. An early draft of my book “A Healer’s Handbook” had much information included in the chapters. I was uncomfortable with the information and removed it. It took months/years to assemble the information and get it in the manuscript. It took only a few minutes to delete it. I’ve never regretted that move.
Years later, the book is now out…without the information. I’m still happy with that decision.
That being said, I’m now going to share information about some nutritional supplements with you. This information is based on my own research, what I’ve learned over many years. I’m offering my professional opinion here. You may not, probably will not, agree with any or all I present. That’s okay. The whole subject is very controversial.
The controversy is based on differing opinions between science-based and belief-based groups. These 2 groups of people see supplements in different ways. Belief based people see supplements as natural products which:
promote health
overcome dietary deficiencies
are preferable to FDA products.
Science-based groups see supplements as being:
of questionable value
and of questionable safety.
I could continue on about this conflict for another 10,000 words…but I’m not.
There are many, many supplements out there. The questions to ask yourself are 2:
Which of these products should I take and how often?
I recommend that, whatever you choose, make sure the products come from reputable companies whose products are routinely tested by independent laboratories for purity. You want to be able to purchase a vitamin, mineral, or other supplement, composed of chemicals which are listed on the label.
You want your supplements to be manufactured by companies which have independent laboratories buy their vitamins or supplements off the shelf, test them in their own facilities, and publish the results.
There are many, many books out there recommending vitamins, minerals, etc. The authors of these books will list the products and then tell you how much and when to take them. I won’t duplicate this information. What I’m doing is telling you what I use, and why I use it. Nobody is paying me to recommend these products to you. I’m not selling them, either.
These are simply the best products I can find.
The first product is one that I feel virtually everyone should be taking.
Wiley’s Finest Wild Alaskan Fish Oil is an Omega-3 Oil. It’s processed from Alaskan Pollack grown in a well managed fishery. The fish is turned into oil and purified, then bottled and shipped out. This Omega 3 Oil is 100% American made.
If you can’t find Wiley’s Finest Wild Alaskan Fish Oil in a store near you, contact Village Apothecary, Woodstock, NY, 12498 and they’ll ship it to you.
I’m really sold on Omega 3 oils. If you are only going to take one thing…make it Wiley’s Finest Wild Alaskan Fish Oil.
Everyone recommends multivitamins. A multivitamin is a basic in our culture now. Like all the other health care professionals, nutritionists, etc. I recommend that we all, at least, take multivitamins.
I take multivitamins every day with lunch.
The multivitamin I take is manufactured in Boulder, Colorado by Nutriplex, a woman-owned, organic company. All Nutriplex products offer whole food nutrition with superior quality and nutritional standards. All Nutriplex products are formulated from evidence-based research.
The name of the Nutriplex multivitamin is Whole Food.
I take 3 Nutriplex products daily:
BFood
Whole Food
Promin.
Whole Food is the multivitamin that everyone recommends. .
BFood is a formula offering B-vitamin nutrition.
I take other nutritional products as well, but these are the basic ones I take. I rely on these products to do the job they need to do.
I hope you feel the same way about the supplements you take.
Thanks for reading this blog.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
My book “A Healer’s Handbook” can be found on Amazon.
Thurman Greco
9 Things Reflexologists Don’t Do – and 5 Things we Do
Cure – Reflexologists do not cure. Instead, we promote healing, which can be a very
different thing, depending on the issue.
Patient – Reflexologists do not have patients. Physicians have patients. We have client partners. Some reflexologists have clients. But, whatever we have, we don’t have patients.
Recommend – We do not recommend. Instead, we work feet. We concentrate our energies on facilitating healing.
Advise – Reflexologists do not advise. We support our client partners in their healing path. Our work brings about homeostasis and synchronicity.
Examine – We do not examine. We read feet or hands or ears. .We notice where our findings are located. We work the feet, hands, ears, to bring about healing, homeostasis, and synchronicity.
Prescribe – We do not prescribe. That’s for physicians and other medical professionals. We rely on our hands and hearts to tell us what we find, to encourage healing, to facilitate homeostasis, to see synchronicity.
Dispense – We have nothing to dispense beyond the sessions we offer.
Diagnose – We do not diagnose. Physicians assist us in our healing efforts when they offer a diagnosis. This is important because it’s much easier to overcome a health issue if it has a name.
Administer – We do not administer anything. Instead, we read feet, offer sessions. Our noninvasive sessions have been offered to client partners for ages and ages.
Reflexology for the Spirit practitioners use our hands, brains, and hearts.
We do not need to over schedule our days to be successful. Twenty-five appointments a week is a full time practice for a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner.
We are not wedded to advertising. Some of us don’t even have business cards. Referrals work well for us.
Because Reflexology for the Spirit works well with other modalities, many of us also practice yoga, massage, Reiki therapy, flower remedies. That means we are always growing, learning.
We honor our heritage. Reflexology for the Spirit practitioners take our traditions back many, many years:
Our history takes us far back in time with beginnings shrouded in mystery. What we do know is that early references to reflexology can be found in China, India, Japan, Egypt, Greece, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, South American and North America.
Historians tell us that Egyptians practiced both hand and food reflexology as early as 2500 BC. If you ever travel to Egypt, please visit the burial ground at Saqqara. The Physician’s Tomb there has a famous wall painting showing two people receiving reflexology.
If you ever find yourself in Japan, be sure to visit the Medicine Teacher Temple in Nara. There you’ll find a stone carving depicting the soles of Buddha’s feet in a carving dating to 790 AD.
In India, there are paintings of Vishnu, the Hindu god’s feet with symbols corresponding to several reflexology points.
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian form of medicine becoming popular in our country. Reflexology is incorporated in Ayurvedic medicine.
Reflexology has been recorded in ancient Chinese writings describing pressure being applied to fingers and thumbs.
From this glorious history and recent twentieth century trailblazers, we now have thousands of people practicing various kinds of reflexology throughout the world.
Reflexologists the world over work in tandem with physicians as our field moves toward integrative medicine in the twenty-first century. Integrative medicine works to heal the total person: the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.
Reflexology has endured the test of time and is modern as tomorrow in the 21st !century.
Thank you for reading this blog. It has been a long time since I’ve posted an article. I have been working full time/overtime on the new book! It’s happening!
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
Reflexology to Boost Your Client Partner’s Heart Health
A staple Spa Treatment in your “tool kit” is the heart health session because both life quality and quantity depend on a strong and healthy heart for oxygen and nutrients.
Heart disease looms large in health issues. Heart disease is one of the five biggest killers in our nation. And, it doesn’t spring up overnight. Instead, it lurks silently in the background for years, decades, before it strikes.
Your client partners will understand how important a Reflexology Heart Health Spa Treatment is. I recommend regularly scheduled Heart Health Spa Treatments in conjunction with exercise. Think of this session as a monthly exercise booster.
This Spa Treatment is also good as a special throughout February. It can also be used as part of the bride’s spa day activity on her wedding day.
As always, have the healing space specially prepared with this session. Have an essential oil selected. Recommended essential oils for a Heart Health Spa Treatment include:
peppermint
rosemary
tangerine
thyme
ylang ylang
If your client partner is not happy with one of these oils, choose something compatible with his/her personality. Whichever oil you choose will guide you to the music, the decor.
Have your music selection playing when s/he arrives for the appointment.
Begin this session with a soothing foot bath if you possibly can. Soak your client partner’s feet in warm essential oil enhanced water for a few minutes before you begin to offer reflexology.
After your client partner spends a few minutes in a relaxing and soothing foot bath, have him/her move to your healing table or chair where you anoint him/her with your selected essential oil and wrap both feet in warmed towels.
Move to your client’s head and bring in Reiki therapy as you offer three holds to the head.
Now move down to your client partner’s feet where you offer five minutes of warm ups on the first foot. Using a good lotion which is scented with the chosen essential oil can be important here.
After offering the warm ups, offer five minutes of general reflexology. Your client partner is now ready to receive the Heart Healthy Reflexology Spa Session.
Work the following reflexes on the first foot for twenty minutes in the following order.
1. Work the Solar Plexus and the Liver
2. Work the brain reflex.
3. Work the lung reflexes.
4. Work the heart reflex.
5. Work the adrenal glands.
6. Return to the solar plexus and liver again.
After working these reflex points for twenty minutes on the first foot, offer five more minutes of general reflexology on this foot and finish up with five minutes of warm downs.
Now, move to the second food and repeat the process. This means you’ll offer five minutes of warm ups, five minutes of general reflexology and twenty minutes working the reflex points on the second foot.
You’ll be working the
solar plexus and liver
brain reflexes
lung reflexes
heart reflexes
adrenal glands
solar plexus and liver
Finally, offer five minutes of general reflexology and then five minutes of warm down.
When this is completed, offer your client partner ten minutes of Reiki therapy on the feet. Now…seal the Reiki therapy part of the session.
Let your client rest for a moment while you get a bottle of water for him/her.
Spend a few minutes with your client partner while s/he drinks the water and returns to “now”.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Thanks again for your patience while I finish the editing part of the book.
Media was created by Jennette Nearhood.
Thurman Greco
Reflexology for the Spirit
This week’s post of this blog will not happen. I’m using this week’s blog post time to work on the new reflexology book. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. I’m hopeful that this will be a short recess.
I plan to be back online with a blog post the first week in January.
Thank you to everyone for your support.
Thurman
