Chakras, Insight and Reflexology for the Spirit
heart with wings
We know from our basic reflexology classes that the organs of the body, the skeletal system, the endocrine system, etc., are mirrored on the feet. The same is true of the chakras. Each chakra has a specific place on the foot.
Once we factor in the chakras with reflexology, we come to the heart of the Reflexology for the Spirit concept.
This offers us another layer/healing tool important both to us and our client partners. How does this work?
Let’s say you’re working a person’s feet and you find a hollow. It’s located on the bottom of the foot immediately below the little toe. This hollow is also red. If we were to pinpoint this hollow on the reflexology map, it would be the shoulder.
Looking at the chakras on the reflexology map, we know this is the 4th chakra. So, we know that we have a shoulder issue and a 4th chakra issue.
This is an over simplification of what’s happening with the chakras and reflexology but it gives you an idea of how this is going to work.
The next few posts will focus on the chakras and how they impact our work as reflexologists. Many of you will be well acquainted with how chakra work. Others will be in new waters.
It doesn’t really matter what your experience level is here. What matters is that we, as reflexologists realize that a hollow on the 4th chakra level will have an extra meaning for you and your client. So will a corn on the 3rd toe.
We will not only see what:
crystals,
hollows,
corns,
warts,
athlete’s foot,
redness,
yellow skin
and anything else found on the foot reflects. But, finally, we will gain specific insight into what areas of your client partner’s life the crystals, hollows, corns, warts, athlete’s foot, redness, yellow skin actually affect.
A callus on the heel, for example, is a 1st chakra event. This callus will impact the core beliefs of your client partner.
You will know when you find hollows or crystals or mushiness (or anything else) in the kidney area of the food, that you also have a second chakra event.
Chakras form the total energetic makeup of a person. When working a person’s feet, it’s important to know what each chakra means, how it affects the person’s day-to-day life. Insight into a person’s deeper layers helps them recognize things about themselves which they
may have forgotten,
didn’t feel were important,
or didn’t care about.
INSIGHT IS A POWERFUL HEALING TOOL.
The chakras are all interconnected. They build on one another. What this means is that if one chakra is not balanced, all of them will be affected. The entire body will be affected. When you have a cut on the bottom of your foot, it may result in painful walking which will result in a spine thrown off balance which will affect the health of the entire body. There is a ripple effect.
This also works for the chakras. When the first chakra is unbalanced a person may feel ungrounded which will affect how the person deals with depression (a second chakra issue), which will no doubt affect one’s digestion (a third chakra issue). and on and on.
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Artwork donated by Jennette Nearhood.
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
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
The Spirituality of the Pituitary Gland
The Pituitary Gland is the mother gland of the endocrine system. This makes it a pretty important component of the physical/spiritual body.
Even though the pituitary gland is only the size of a large lima bean, it secretes hormones that affect organs throughout the body:
kidneys
breast
uterus
bones
soft tissues,..
Other endocrine glands that are controlled by the pituitary include:
adrenals
thyroid
testes
ovaries.
With a healthy pituitary, we feel balanced. We are able to think clearly and have a sharp memory. We do not feel fearful or threatened and we are able to make good decisions.
To encourage your pituitary function, keep a short journal and spend about 5-6 minutes every day writing. The goal is to clear out confusion and disorder. Writing in this journal will allow you to let go of mental and emotional clutter.
You will be less burdened by pressures. When this happens, you will open up space in your life for things like compassion, creativity, and forgiveness.
Write about whatever comes into your mind without worrying about spelling or grammar. Focus on feelings, dreams, hopes.
As you do this, you will open paths to openness and healing. You will access your deeper self.
Dedicate this journal to a healthy pituitary.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
The Spirituality of the Ovaries
This is where it all begins…this center of creativity.
The ovaries represent not only the source of life but the source of creativity as a woman. Today’s woman experiences many pressures –
lifestyle,
motherhood,
career.
A number of these pressures were not faced routinely by women in the past.
Today’s woman faces many issues on various fronts. How:
do you feel about creating life in your own body?
do you feel about being a woman?
can you “have it all”?
are you dealing with any pressures from outside sources to start/continue a family?
are the many masculine tasks which you routinely perform impacting your life?
do you nurture, support, honor, validate yourself?
long do you think you can “run on empty”?
As women, we all reach a point in our lives in which we must claim our voices and our wisdom. The first step in this process occurs when we become aware of our needs and desires.
It’s important to enjoy oneself as the goddess you are. It is equally important to cease:
self rejection
self neglect
self invalidation.
Begin by giving yourself just 5 minutes each and every day. Sit quietly, close your eyes, inhale and exhale deeply a few times. When you are quiet, review some of the things you are grateful for:
the insight you experience
your intuition
the courage and strength that you gain from being a woman.
Offer appreciation to your body in general and your ovaries in particular. Reflect on how your ovaries function for you.
If your ovaries are not as healthy as you feel they should be, send them healing energy and love. Thank your ovaries for all they have done for you.
If you no longer have your ovaries, send them gratitude for the support they offered to you when you had them.
Conclude this session by thanking your body – the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical parts of you which are moving you through your life day by day.
End now by gently moving in graceful motions.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Artwork provided by Jennette Nearhood
Spirituality of the Heart
It has been said by many that our eyes are the window to our soul. When we speak of the heart, we refer to it as our emotional home. The heart is where we struggle, hurt, yearn, like, dislike, feel joy.
When we fall in love, we feel our heart flutter, beat loudly. When this happens, we go a little wacko. We also drop about 50 points on our IQ scale. We recover as we move into the second stage of love.
We all experience conflicts, abuse, hurt, loss. Occasionally, the heart becomes the repository of love locked away. If the pain is too great, we limit our feelings and have trouble expressing love.
People isolated from love experience mistrust, uncaring feelings, hate, prejudice, and fear. Fear shuts the heart down. When that happens, people feel worthless, angry, bitter, stressed, anxious, disappointed and lonely.
People come into embodiment to open the heart. This task can take a lifetime and is a powerful teaching. Respect and trust are hard to learn sometimes. Learning to listen to one’s heart and act on that message can be very difficult indeed.
Our hearts protect us through love. The heart carries much wisdom. Learning to listen to the messages the heart offers is important.
Opening your heart to experiencing love is one of the most essential life experiences a person can have. When you open your heart, you allow people to get to know the real you. When this happens, you allow yourself to experience the many forms of love.
Take a few minutes to find a quiet, safe place where you can breathe into your heart.
Sit comfortably. Put on some quiet music if you like.
Begin to breathe into your heart. Place your hands on the heart space in the center of your chest. As you inhale, breathe in softness, openness, positive thoughts,
Now exhale, as you release fear, resistance, any negative experiences in your life.
Breathe happiness into your heart space as you inhale.
Let go of fatigue, heaviness, stagnation as you exhale.
With the next inhale, breathe in unconditional love to protect yourself.
Now begin to offer gratitude to your heart for its work which never stops as it keeps you alive and as it works ceaselessly to offer love in your life.
Listen to your heart’s wisdom and guidance.
Resolve now to pay more attention to what your heart is telling you.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Artwork provided by Michele Garner
Forgiveness Meditation with Mary, Queen of Angels
Find a quiet place:
A room, or a corner of a room.
A garden.
A place in a park.
Any place where you can be quiet and relax.
Sit quietly as you feel tension leave your body. Feel it drain out of your fingertips and toes.
Take a few breaths. Breathe deeply as you inhale and then exhale.
Now, in your mind, take yourself to a meadow. Sit quietly on a rock located in this meadow. Look around you and notice all you see.
You have come to this meadow to learn to offer forgiveness. You’ve tried throughout your life to offer forgiveness at times when you feel you’ve been wronged. You’ve never felt truly successful in your efforts to forgive someone.
So, you are here today, sitting quietly on a rock located in a meadow.
A person comes to join you. You see Mother Mary, the Queen of Angels.
As she comes to join you, take note of how she looks. What color are her robes? What is her hair like? What does her face look like? Try to notice every detail.
She joins you to help you learn to forgive. Mary will remain with you as long as you need while she assists you in your efforts to forgive.
Mary is here to teach you…
without words,
without pictures…
how to be silent and learn to forgive.
Spend time with her in deep silence, meditating on teachings she offers you now. You know that, as the mother of Jesus, she experienced life events requiring serious forgiveness. Mary persevered. You feel now the experiences Mary had in her life which caused her to learn to live the act of forgiveness.
It’s not necessary to know anything about Mary in order to understand what she’s teaching you. It’s not necessary to be a Catholic, or a Christian even. Mary is recognized not only in Christian theology, but also in Orthodox and Muslim teachings. Mary’s story is universal, touching us all. Her life motivates us to all learn to forgive. Mary belongs to all of us…no matter what our religious beliefs.
When you feel that you have absorbed all you can at this time, you know it is best to go. You thank Mary, Queen of Angels for visiting with you and for teaching you to forgive.
You know Mary is here for you. Feeling gratitude, love, light, you know you can return to this meadow any time you need to visit with Mary again.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Michele Garner created the artwork for today’s article.
5 Ways the Uterus is Enhanced in a Reflexology Session
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The uterus receives the fertilized egg and houses and nourishes it until birth. The uterus is mostly thick muscle. It’s made up of 2 parts: a neck (cervix) and a body. As the fetus grows, the uterus grows.
When the uterus reflex points are worked, the following things happen:
The uterus is supported to remain healthy.
Infections are prevented.
Blood circulation to the uterus is supported.
The uterus is encouraged to maintain flexibility.
Monthly menstrual functions are encouraged to normalize.
The reflex points for the uterus are found on both feet in the hollows beneath the inner ankle bones.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
5 Ways the Hip Reflexes Enhance a Session
The hips are connectors; they connect legs and the buttocks area to the body.
Built to hold the weight of the body, the hips are stronger than the shoulders.
When you work the hip reflexes, several things happen:
When the hip joints are stimulated, blood circulation is increased.
Muscles and nerves surrounding the hips are toned up.
Muscles are surrounding the hips are relaxed.
Clotting is prevented.
Swelling is relieved.
The hip reflex is located on both feet. It is about 30% of the way up the foot from the heel on the outer edge of the foot.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
14 Ways the Adrenal Glands Enhance a Reflexology Session
The adrenal glands are 2 small endocrine glands found over the tops of the kidneys. The adrenal gland reflexes are found on both feet. They are third chakra glands, best known for creating the “fight or fight” reaction humans experience in emergencies. They also give us butterflies. So, with these two reactions, we actually feel these glands.
Adrenal glands do much more than create butterflies. When you address the adrenal glands points, several things happen:
The glands secrete hydrocortisone, to support inflammation reduction.
Air passages open as the adrenal glands secrete cortisone.
Glands regulate kidney functions and release hydrocortisone.
Glands enhance the muscle tone of the digestive organs.
Adrenal glands fight fatigue.
Tissue swelling is reduced.
Alertness is accelerated.
Sodium and potassium levels are balanced, normalizing blood pressure and heartbeat.
The muscle tone of the heart is influenced.
Kidneys begin to flush, offering a mild detox action.
Sodium and potassium levels are controlled.
Breast tissue swelling is reduced.
Premenstrual bloating and swelling is reduced.
Metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates is regulated.
Adrenal gland reflexes are found on both feet just above the kidney reflexes.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
