Is your life overcrowded and cluttered? Add Self-Care!
Do you ever somehow find yourself in a place where you know you need to get back to your basic self. Things remind you it’s time to return yourself to your heart.
These reminders may include fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, loneliness, burnout, or foggy thinking.
You wake up one day, or a moment in one day, realizing that you are spending 80% of your time scanning, scrolling, downloading, and editing. And you’re spending only 20% of your time processing all those things you’ve been inputting.
Or maybe you are spending 80% of your time frantically chasing tasks which have no meaning for you but are on the “necessary list” anyway.
Alas, it’s the old 80-20 law at work again. The essential processing is getting 20% of your focus and the scanning and scrolling are getting 80%.
There ARE things you can do to help you find your heart.
Try self-care. Self-care can be magical because it comes from inside yourself where you process important things better.
Suddenly, the 20% takes on renewed color and shape and form as it becomes the center-stage activity it should have been all along.
But, where do you begin? Begin with intention. Whatever you choose for your self-care therapy, if you begin with intention, inspiration will follow.
So, how do you start this new project?
Begin with trust. Trust that your intuition will inspire you to know what is calling you. Your intuition will allow you to try different things and focus on what appeals to you. Self-care can be many different things. It can be one thing.
As you begin to explore self-care, allow yourself to respond to what appeals to you. Let your heart guide you to what you need.
Let’s say that you are attracted to essential oils. Or, maybe you always wanted to begin a meditation practice. These two options can be followed one at a time or together.
The important thing is that you listen to what is calling to you.
Whatever self-care tools you explore and use, you connect to your body to support your spiritual, mental, and emotional self.
One good beginning option is to create a daily movement ritual. The options are many here: dance, walking, massage, reflexology, Reiki, exercise, stretches.
When you choose a movement practice, you connect with your body and build a relationship with your power.
This daily movement ritual promotes gratitude. It builds resilience and inspires your creativity. You will set your endorphins free! You will serve those around you better.
You will build a relationship with your power. Joy and mood stability become part of the package.
But, whatever self-care journey you explore, there is no perfect way to explore the options. Use what calls to you. Maybe you seek something which feels comfortable to you. Whatever calls to you, allow yourself to explore whatever feels natural to you.
Thanks for reading this article. Please share it with your favorite social media network and forward it to your family and friends.
You can learn more information about self-care from earlier blog posts. She discusses self-care in her three books “A Healer’s Handbook”
You can order copies of her books at www.thurmangreco.com.
Connect with Thurman at www.thurmangreco.com.
Thurman discusses self-care techniques with guests on “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” on YOUTUBE
Thanks for Asking!
One important thing to know about reactions we experience in a reflexology session: a client will not always experience the same reaction at every session.
After all, our bodies are different every day. The most common reaction I experience during a reflexology session is sleep. I slip off into a sleeplike state during most sessions.
Reactions vary with each session. They are based on what your body needs on a cellular level at that particular time.
One thing consistent in a reflexology session is this: reflexology encourages homeostasis: the balance of all body systems.
Reflexology students ask questions about reactions to reflexology treatments.
The reactions your client experiences during a reflexology session are homeostasis in action.
It’s amazing what reflexology can do!
Because many healers read this blog, I don’t give nearly enough blog time and energy to these inquiries. People ask, I answer, and then my focus moves on to other things.
Well, at last, I’m focusing some time and energy into sharing information. After all, for every person who asks, others remain silent.
And, for those of us who practice reflexology either as a career or as a hobby, how often do we think about these important pieces of information?
My training is that there are more than a dozen different reactions to reflexology sessions. Reactions listed in this article mostly happen during or soon after a session.
Other reactions happen several hours later. They are all important.
A reaction is a sign to me that the reflexology session is working.
As a reflexologist, you and the session you give are a vital wellness link between a person experiencing a challenge and appropriate professional support.
INCREASED URINATION – Focus on urination becomes part of the session when it becomes obvious. I have a client who simply cannot make it through a session without a trip to the ladies room. For me, this is a good sign. The session stimulates her urinary system!
FLATULANCE and INCREASED BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Marge d’Urso taught us that fully 50% of our clients have digestive issues. Unless a client brings up the subject, I don’t really ask. I prefer to hear about constipation or other irritable bowel solutions when my client initiates the conversation. I love it when a client reveals she no longer has issues.
Marge d’Urso taught, and I believe, that health begins and ends in the digestive system.
AGGRAVATED SKIN CONDITIONS SUCH AS PERSPIRATION and
PIMPLES
IMPROVED SKIN TONE and TEXTURE
Skin changes are pretty common for my clients. I love to ask my client to look in the mirror on her way out of the healing space after a session. There is nothing like looking 10 years younger after a reflexology treatment.
INCREASED MUCUS SECRETIONS IN NOSE, MOUTH and BRONCHIALS
DISRUPTED SLEEP PATTERNS – EITHER DEEPER or LESS RBED
Disrupted sleep patterns are personal with me. I always sleep so much better after a reflexology session! Occasionally, rarely this can be extreme.
One December, after receiving a reflexology session, I felt a strong need to rest about an hour after my appointment ended. I returned home, got comfortable, dozed off, and woke up the next day.
When I recall this event, I’m not really surprised. I was working too hard and my body, after its reflexology session, demanded a time-out.
DIZZINESS – NAUSEA
Reflexology sessions can modify and minimize dizziness, nausea, and pain experienced by cancer patients.
The first time I offered a reflexology session to a client cancer patient, I wasn’t prepared for how how dramatically she felt better after her appointment.
After seeing the changes she experienced, I studied more about reflexology and the cancer patient. I took continuing education classes and even attended one at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
It wasn’t too many more sessions that I began to use words such as pain reduction, improved quality of life, reduced fear of the future, better sleep, and reduced fatigue.
TEMPORARY OUTBREAK of a SUPPRESSED DISEASE
INCREASED VAGINAL DISCHARGE
FATIGUE – HEADACHE
These symptoms often disappear during a session if not long after. They can also be a reaction to a session.
FEVERISH – TEARING
Some feverishness and tearing can happen during a session. A lot of this happens when the client feels safe in the healing space. I keep boxes of tissues handy for tears.
Everyone needs to cry tears at one point or another. Reflexology sessions can be a safe place for this.
Sometimes, reactions to a session can be subtle, even silent, for a short period of time after the end of the session.
Just because you don’t see any behavior or skin changes immediately, don’t assume that there aren’t any reactions. Chat with your client for a few minutes after the session to be sure that everything is okay.
After all, you don’t want your client to leave your healing space and wander out into the parking lot, still a little vague about the session.
One time I received a scheduled session from a practitioner in New Paltz, New York, just a few miles away from my home in Woodstock.
It was a wonderful session. I left her office a few minutes too soon, though. It took me over an hour to get out of her area and on my way home.
Thanks for reading this article! Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and relatives.
The YOUTUBE channel has an ever-enlarging selection of videos focused on reflexology and healing.
ENJOY!
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
P.S. Much of the info in this article was shared from “Healer’s Handbook – Wellness for All” by Thurman Greco
Poor Sleep Can Wreck Your Quality of Life
If you let it, POOR SLEEP will leave you feeling tired, confused, and depressed.
Sleep can have many causes. And, that’s one of the reasons we struggle with it. In past blog posts, I’ve written many articles about sleep and here is yet another one. And, there will probably be many more.
However, this article is different from all the rest. In this article, you will learn POOR SLEEP HAS MANY CAUSES. Investigate every one that applies to your situation.
Poor sleep causes fall in several categories.
To begin with, COFFEE, CIGARETTES, AND DIET PILLS are in their own little but potent category.
Is caffeine part of your poor sleep problem? Remember, it is found in many things beyond just the cup of coffee you have in the morning. Try to find them all and banish them from your daily life.
Are your days spent in rooms with DIM LIGHTING? Poor sleep can be the result of this environment. What can you do to remedy this situation? Getting just twenty to thirty minutes of sunlight each day can make a difference.
Do you get enough exercise? MOVING YOUR MUSCLES IS ESSENTIAL to overcoming poor sleep. It comes down to this: You have to move enough to get to sleep at the end of your day. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.
Do you have one or more HEALTH ISSUES that promote poor sleep patterns? Some diseases make it hard to get to sleep. Others make consistent sleep throughout the night difficult. If sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and sinus problems interfere with a good night’s sleep, get treatment for them. The message here is this: Don’t let a medical condition cause your poor sleep.
Finally, we come to SLEEPING PILLS. For me, they are an absolute last resort. Sleeping pills come after you have done everything you possibly can to overcome poor sleep.
Why? Some of these pills create their own problems.
Several herbal remedies and supplements are on the market to combat your poor sleep. Two that come to mind are Melatonin and Valerian.
We don’t really know whether either one of them works because the studies have been sparse and contradictory. The preparations and dosages are varied so that it’s complicated to know how much and when to take either Melatonin or Valerian.
It’s best to take any sleeping preparations under the direction of a professional who knows about the products you are taking. That way, you won’t be wasting your money and you won’t be overdosing.
The BOTTOM LINE here is to encourage you to chase down each and every cause of poor sleep that you can. Deal with each and every cause in your search for blessed sleep.
Thanks for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred 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
Self-Care for you, Reflexologist – 2
Working a full day is challenging. Only another body worker or healer knows what a day full of appointments means to you, the reflexologist – physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally.
There are things you can do to minimize the fatigue encountered on just such a day.
One thing you can do that will help immensely is release the appointment when your client partner’s session comes to an end.
What you want is to release the person, the issues, the intention, the time spent to the universe.
When you do this, do not forget to “cut the cords” between you and the person to emphasize that the session is over.
You have done what you can for this person in the time allotted during the session. It’s time now for him/her to accept your healing efforts and return to the world.
Once you release the person, both the your client partner’s body and issues are gone from you until the next appointment.
The whole release may not take but a few moments. A suggestion is that you write a script for release and mentally repeat it as each client partner leaves your table.
If you are a ceremony person, you may write a ceremony of release to practice in your space at the end of each shift. This ceremony may include essential oils, smudging, prayer, Reiki therapy.
This releasing gesture seems easy enough but many people don’t do it. This release makes a difference in your health, your energy, your career.
Whatever you do, it’s important to release each and every client partner who comes to your table.
Thank you for reading this blog.
Please refer this article to your favorite social media network.
Jennette Nearhood provided the artwork for this blog.
Thurman Greco
Envision Balance and Wellness
Envision balance and wellness, homeostasis, or whatever you want.
After including reflexology in your life, the most important thing you can do to bring about homeostasis is to become aware of the path you are now on..
We’re never going to get where we need to go unless we know:
where we’re going,
how we’re going to get there,
what we’re going to do when we arrive. .
This may seem like a subject that doesn’t belong in a reflexology text book, but it really does. If you’re going to help people get to a better place health wise, they need to know where they are going. Not everyone knows about setting goals. As you teach them goal setting they’ll envision the balance and wellness which is best for themselves and their health. And, you, likewise will benefit from setting your own goals.
Learning the importance of how to envision balance and wellness is a good start.
Sometimes, client partners come to a reflexologist, massage therapist, or whomever. After a few visits they begin to feel better and forget why they came in the beginning. Then they stop coming. Without lecturing, teach them that energy follows intent.
Your client partners need to see Reflexology for the Spirit as a process, not a pill. Keep them (and yourself) focused on what you find as you reflex their feet. You do this when you learn, gently, what is happening in their lives and their visits to other healthcare professionals.
Review, periodically, how their feet have changed, and how these changes affect their health in general as they envision balance and wellness.
You can keep your client partners focused on the goal if you know what it is. So, an important question to ask during the first visit is “Why did you come today? And, why not 6 months ago? Or 2 months ago?”
When you can get the answer to that question, you’ll both be on the way to balance and wellness (homeostasis) through a health goal.
Many healthcare professionals recognize health red flags. These flags differ from professional to professional. They can be
test results
client appearance
client remarks.
Red flags for a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner include:
fatigue
loss of appetite
fever
pain
itching
boils
irritation
inflammation
headaches
feeling jumpy or uneasy
coated tongue
halitosis
colitis
sinusitis
stomach ulcers
canker sores
boils
cancer
Many of your client partners may have multiple issues.
Each individual is unique. But, homeostasis is a goal that all can seek.
When this happens, the body is in a good health balance.
Disease is a sign that the flow toward homeostasis has reversed. So, the red flag words become markers teaching how far away from homeostasis the body has drifted.
You, as the Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner, are concerned with a person as a whole. You work to create a natural balance that is wellness oriented.
You seek to expand the positive potential for good health in all areas.
Disease prevention is the best medicine.
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Thurman Greco
5 Ways theThyroid Reflexes Enhance a Reflexology Session
When I think of the thyroid, I always think of the gas pedal of a car because the thyroid regulates the metabolic rates, monitors the pulse rates, and controls the amount of oxygen used.
It’s important to keep the thyroid balanced because people suffering with overactive or underactive thyroid are miserable. The fatigue of a person suffering with an underactive thyroid is not to be described. It affects the entire body including the brain.
When you reflex the thyroid reflex points, several things happen:
Metabolic rates are regulated.
Muscle tension is balanced.
The pulse rate is regulated.
Calcium levels are controlled.
Phosphorus level is regulated.
The thyroid is found at the base of the neck in the body. The thyroid reflex is found on the soles of both feet. It is below the first and second toes in a crease on the pad of the foot.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Michele Garner offered the artwork for this post.
Fatigue is a very important component of disease.
Fatigue is an important symptom and is best not ignored…although many people try. The five reasons why people feel tired are:
Insufficient Sleep: The first step toward overcoming fatigue is to begin to sleep more. Sleep is extremely important.
We repair our bodies and souls as we sleep.
We maintain our mental and emotional systems as we sleep.
We use the subconscious mind as we asleep.
Try for nine hours of sleep each night. If you’re sleeping nine hours each night and still feel tired, you need to look further into your causes of fatigue. If you’re unable to sleep over eight hours each night and you’re trying to get that amount of sleep, you need to have your sleep habits evaluated at a sleep clinic. Sleeping pills are not the answer.
There is a correlation between insufficient sleep and some diseases. People with poor sleeping habits can suffer from type 2 diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, heartburn, heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, menopause problems, memory loss, and obesity more often than their counterparts with good sleeping habits.
I’m going to put in a plug for reflexology now. People who receive regular reflexology sessions report that they sleep significantly better.
Hormonal Imbalances: Often, if a person is sleeping eight hours or more each night and still feels tired, it’s time to go to an Endocrinologist and get the thyroid and adrenal glands tested. When the Endocrine system gets your body back on track you’ll feel like a new person.
Proper Nutrition: Most people think they eat properly. Most people don’t. Some basics for a good diet include eliminating things: flour, sugar, processed foods. Stay away from foods with label listings you can’t understand. If you read a word on the ingredient list that you don’t understand, don’t buy the product and don’t eat it. Much of what we buy in grocery stores today is not food. It is a collection of chemicals that have been manufactured and combined for consumption but it’s not food.
If you are serious about maintaining good health and overcoming fatigue, it’s important to get the proper vitamins and minerals. I use Liz at Village Apothecary here in Woodstock. Either contact her at 845-679-0790, or try to find your own nutritionist to guide you in the selection of vitamins and minerals you need to have the healthiest body possible. Just purchasing your vitamins and minerals randomly based on the color of the label or what might be on sale will not always result in you getting the best product for your needs.
Inactivity: The message here is easy. Keep moving. If you feel tired, try moving around. Walk on your lunch hour. Go for a hike instead of going to the movies or sitting down in front of the TV.
Depression: Fatigue and depression go hand in hand. And, the cause of the fatigue sometimes leaves clues in the kinds of depression experienced. For example, the depression caused by a low thyroid is very different from the depression created by too much sugar is very different from the depression caused by inactivity. If you find yourself depressed, think about how it is manifesting itself. What can be the cause?
Disease: There are at least 65 diseases for which fatigue is a symptom. This statement alone tells you how important fatigue is to diagnosing, and ultimately overcoming many diseases. Some diseases affecting the circulatory system that have fatigue as a symptom include Cardiomyopathy, Congestive heart failure, Myocarditis, Valvular heart disease.
When treating fatigue with Reflexology for the Spirit sessions, begin by working the brain reflexes.
Then work the respiratory system as you focus on the lung reflexes.
Follow the work on the lung reflexes by working the circulatory system with the emphasis on the heart reflex.
Next, work on the digestive system with a focus on the liver reflex.
Work the endocrine system with emphasis on the adrenal gland reflexes and the thyroid reflexes.
Finish the session by working the solar plexus.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Reflexology blog: Fatigue is a Symptom Not to be Ignored.
Fatigue is one of the most important symptoms a human can have. Whenever your client partner complains of fatigue, please don’t ignore the remark. Try to get him/her to visit a health care professional who is not going to blow this symptom off. A good healthcare professional will take this seriously.
Feelings of chronic tiredness may be due to such things as overwork, poor nutrition, stress, and illness. There are many diseases for which fatigue is the first thing felt.
Fatigue is a normal response to physical overexertion, long term emotional stress, sleep deprivation, viral or bacterial infection, endocrine disease, cardiovascular disease, or neurological disease.
Fatigue is also a spiritual response. People respond, on a spiritual level, to boredom, resistance and lack of love. One thing that can help…whatever the cause of fatigue…is to learn to become enthusiastic about something.
Homeostasis is a good goal when working with fatigue sufferers.
WHEN OFFERING REFLEXOLOGY FOR THE SPIRIT SESSIONS TO A PERSON SUFFERING WITH FATIGUE, WORK THE FOLLOWING SYSTEMS:
nervous system focusing on the brain reflexes, respiratory system focusing on the lung reflexes, circulatory system focusing on the heart reflex, work the liver and the solar plexus, and, finally, finish the session by working the adrenal gland reflexes.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
Please share this article on your preferred social network.
Thurman Greco
22 Reactions to a Reflexology for the Spirit Session
During a reflexology session, several things can happen. A reaction is a sign that the therapy is working. Most clients respond to Reflexology for the Spirit by the 5th session at the very latest. A rule to remember is that we don’t know how a person’s body will respond to or react to any given reflexology session. The responses differ somewhat each time. The body changes daily because of the continuous changes taking place on a cellular level. Also, energy follows intent.
Common reactions include sweating palms and soles, coughing. laughing, sighing deeply, weeping, runny nose, increased urination, more frequent bowel movements, increased vaginal secretions, twitching or tingling in limbs, sudden cramps, electric-type shock up a zone, warmth in treated area, feeling movement or clawing feelings, great fatigue, overwhelming desire to sleep, and/or disappearance of all pain and discomfort.
A common reaction to Reflexology for the Spirit during a session for regular clients is sleep. Many client partners fall into very deep sleep states in which the throats become extremely relaxed. This can be a strong healing state for them. The space surrounding them always becomes quite warm when this happens.
But whatever the reaction to the reflexology session, the time frame is no more than 24 to 48 hours after the session. And whatever the session, this is a sign that it is working. Therefore, the reactions are a benefit.
There are some long term reactions to Reflexology for the Spirit which occur when the client partner makes a commitment to regular sessions received every week to 10 days. These benefits include consistently sleeping better, overall stress reduction, improved circulation, regular bowel movements, a gentle, natural detoxing, and a feeling of improved disease prevention.
These generalized benefits occur in addition to the specific one that the client partners can achieve through regular sessions.
There are many reactions which a client can exhibit during and after sessions. It’s best not to elaborate on them because a certain percentage of people will experience reactions simply because you discussed them. Let them occur naturally…if they are going to happen.
People come to a Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner because they want to deal with one or more issues bothering them, such as sinusitis, for example. They often deal with the sinus problems and then also experience better sleep patterns, overall stress reduction, improved circulation, natural detoxing, etc. This is because Reflexology for the Spirit works to balance the entire body through homeostasis, not just the one problem that was offering symptoms.
It works on a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body offering benefit to a person’s overall health and well-being.
Thank you for reading this post. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
