Possibility, Process and Wellness

Possibility, Process and Wellness–
The Role of Complementary Therapies and Holistic Health Care

Although you may find that definitions of complementary medicine are varied there is uniformity in attitude. You may be surprised to learn that: In the same way that mainstream or allopathic medicine has a basic consistency in the approach to health and well-being, so does the complementary, alternative, natural or holistic health care model. To help you in understanding the process, and maybe making the choice to use holistic health care or to learn complementary therapies, the course is as follows:

1. First Do No Harm (Primum no nocere)
The process of healing includes the generation of symptoms. We believe that this is an expression of the life force attempting to heal itself. Therefore illness can be a purposeful process of life. When we become ill the body is giving a warning signal to make some changes. In holistic health care we apply therapeutic actions to make change.

2.    Practice the Healing Power of Nature (Vis medicatix naturae)
The body has a built-in or inherent ability to establish, maintain and restore health and well-being. Nature heals through the response to life force energy and this process is both ordered and intelligent. Whether using therapeutic modalities or herbs to heal, give the body the appropriate tools and it will heal itself. Of course, this will include the use of allopathic medicine if appropriate, hence my favored term: complementary health care.

3. Identify and Treat the Cause (Tolle causam)
Quite simply, illness does not occur without cause. Symptoms are the body’s attempt to heal itself. We know that underlying causes of disease have to be discovered and removed or changed before someone can recover completely from illness or disease. Remember that the root causes may be on any level; body, mind, emotion or spiritual, and usually occur on more than one level. Holistic health-care looks at all the whole, which leads to:

4.    Treat the Whole Person (The multi-factorial nature of health and disease)
Health and wellness and/or lack thereof are conditions of the whole organism; involving a complex interaction of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components. This includes genetics, environment and social factors. The holistic health or wellness program requires a personalized and comprehensive approach to treatment.

5.    Practice Prevention (Prevention is the best cure)
The ultimate goal of holistic health care is prevention! This may be achieved through education; teaching and modeling health lifestyle choices. It is reinforced by promotion of healthy life-style habits that maintain good health. Learning healing modalities and practicing them, first for yourself and second as a professional if you wish, is your own step on the path to achieving this goal.

The emphasis is on building health and wellness rather than fighting disease.
Although there are many variations on the way to approach health and wellness, these basic principals make the model of holistic, natural, complementary or alternative healthcare. The School of Complementary Therapies Code of Ethics is based on these principals and all students of SCT are required to understand and acknowledge them.

Have you been overwhelmed by the information on the market available, by the advertising and marketing, by the controversial discussions? If so, start here by exploring the SCT website and learning from professionals who have been living, teaching and modeling healthy lifestyle. We are happy to help you and we are here to serve! Join us and sign-up for a course or program now.

If you are interested in one-on-one training or health care coaching please contact Jacqueline to get started now.

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Fabulous Feet July 2011

Healthy Feet ~ Healthy People

Not wearing shoes or sandals is known as going barefoot or barefooted and is considered to be a natural human state. However for functional, fashion and social reasons we more often than not wear some form of footwear. Have you ever considered that wearing shoes is an exclusively human trait?

For many the concept of wearing of footwear is a sign of civilization and wealthy living, while being barefoot is considered a sign of poverty.Even when poverty is not relevant some people choose to be barefootin some situations. Here’s a few interesting facts about going barefoot:

In 2006 a study found that shoes may increase stresses on the knee and ankle, and suggested that adults with osteoarthritis may benefit from walking barefoot (1)

In 2007 a study entitled, ‘Shod Versus Unshod: The Emergence of Forefoot Pathology in Modern Humans?’, was published in the podiatry journal ‘The Foot’. 180 modern humans were examined the their feet compared with skeletons that were 2,000-years old. They conclusion was that prior to the invention of shoes humans overall had healthier feet.(2)

A 1991 study found that children who wore shoes were three times more likely to have flat feet than those who did not, and suggested that wearing shoes in early childhood can be detrimental to the longitudinal arch of the foot.(3)

People who habitually go barefoot generally have stronger feet. They are more likely to have better flexibility and mobility, fewer deformities like flat feet or toes that curve inwards, and less complaints about their foot health and wellness.(4)(5)

Walking barefoot encourages a more natural gait, eliminating the hard heel strike and instead, allowing for a rocking motion of the foot from heel to toe.(2)

Although not always practical, taking some barefoot time is an important adjunct to using Foot Reflexology. Balancing life is important to our overall health and well-being, so a little barefoot time each day will lead to improved health and wellbeing. Paying attention to your foot health will lead to improved overall health.

Jacqueline Fairbrass RRPr
Founder, School of Complementary Therapies

(1) Shakoor N, Block JA (2006). “Walking barefoot decreases loading on the lower extremity joints in knee osteoarthritis”. Arthritis Rheum. 54 (9): 2923–7. doi:10.1002/art.22123. PMID 16947448
(2) ternbergh, Adam (April 21, 2008). “You Walk Wrong.”. New York Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2010
(3) Rao UB, Joseph B (1992). “The influence of footwear on the prevalence of flat foot. A survey of 2300 children”. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British volume 74 (4): 525–7. PMID 1624509
(4) Angier, Natalie (August 14, 1991). “Which Shoes Are Best For Children? Maybe None.”. The New York Times. Retrieved June , 2011
(5)Wikler, Simon J.. “How Shoes Cripple Our Feet”. www.unshod.org. Retrieved July 2011

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Enhanced Sports Performance with Emotional Freedom Technique

Enhanced Sports Performance with Emotional Freedom Technique

by John Digby

Note: Emotional Freedom Technique is a Complementary Alternate Medicine that is often referred to as tapping. The tapping component is likened to acupressure and it is a meridian energy therapy. John Digby is known in the UK as the ‘EFT Guru’.

Yes!  EFT can help you to be much better at your chosen sport.  Most people would think to get better at sport, work or anything where performance is measured, EFT would not be the first port-of-call.  But this would be an erroneous thought, as the way EFT works is not to improve what you are doing, but to dissolve the reasons that are not doing your best.

The mother of a young man aged around 14 contacted me as her son was a county level junior golfer whose game had stalled of late.  She brought him in and left us to it.  After some general chat and some light questioning, I asked him to tell me what had happened prior to the onset of the issue.  He said that he had been having problems with his girlfriend and we tapped on this which we cleared in one or two rounds.  I then tested results to see if he was clear, by asking him to visualise himself on the first tee and tell me what he was thinking as he was taking his swing.

He explained the swing and the result was a Hooked shot.  I asked what was going through his mind as he looked at the ball and he said it was his father and the argument they had over Christmas.  The row was a rolling one that spread over a few hours, so I used The Film Technique to defuse each hiatus as we reached it until he was able to retell all the events of the evening without any anxiety at all.  I then got him to address the ball again and swing.  Again, a hooked shot.  I asked what he was now thinking about as he swung.

This time it was his grandmother who had passed away a few months before.  The issue that was causing concern for the lad was that he was playing golf as she died and he could not be with her.  This time I had him visualise himself, sitting with his gran, holding her hand and as he tapped he spoke to her, explaining that he was playing golf and she had already told him it was OK and she knew why he couldn’t be there at the end.  He was able to say goodbye and accept that she was fine with him playing golf as it was his passion and what he lived for.  The moment he said "goodbye" to his visualised gran, I saw the tension in his face and body just melt.

We now worked on the game again.  He saw himself swing and connect with the ball and this time it was straight down the middle!  I asked him to look down at the ball again and what was going through his mind.  This time his focus was solely on the game and nothing else came along to interfere with this.

Two days later I was sitting at home and my work mobile rang. I answered and it was the lad’s mother.  She was calling to tell me that he had just come in from a tournament that he won outright!  So remember, to improve physical and mental performance, work out what is blocking energy flows or unbalancing this, then tap on everything that is getting in the way of optimum focus on the desired outcome.

EFT-Training-Eastanglia

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Labels

Labels

When you open a jar labeled pickles you expect to get pickles. I have been thinking about human labels and wonder how much they contribute to who we become. From birth we are either the oldest, middle or youngest child in our family. This label comes with its own set of statistics based on years of observation by humans who claim to know what they are talking about.

We are, generally speaking, either male or female, which also comes with another batch of statistics from the learned. For instance, you aren’t supposed to wear pink if you are a boy or play with mud soaked trucks if you are a girl. What would the neighbors think!

Then there is the ethnic label. God forbid if as a child, your best friend happens to be of a different nationality or color than you are. Even worse what if you continue to be best friends through your school years and wind up marrying the person. What would your grandparents think?

As we go through school we acquire many new labels placed on us by teachers and peers. We can be labeled smart, slow, artistic, athletic, studious, class clown, nerd and yes even stupid just to name a few.

How much do labels matter in the scheme of things? From my own experience I believe quite a bit, until you reach the point of looking in your mirror and recognizing who you really are. Anyone can be a pickle in a pickle jar it takes guts to fill the jar with your own unique ingredients!

by Barbara Loure` Gunn

Barbara Gunn

published author: Wake Up! and A Gathering of Spirit available through publishamerica.com, self published CD “A Hole in the Middle-Journey of an Enlightened Egotist”. poem “Pure Love” published on Best-Quotes-Poems.com

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Love Your Neighbor:They Are Closer Than You May Know

The six degrees of separation theory, popularized by American psychologist Stanley Milgram (1967), explains that everyone is one degree removed from people they know, two degrees from people their friends know and no more than six degrees away from everyone on the planet.

6 degrees of separation

Liking scientific explanations I found it interesting that Microsoft came up with the idea of using data from their Instant Messenger client to prove the theory. The researchers took an IM message between two unnamed individuals as a link and then examined how to connect 180 billion different pairs of users in the database. They found the actual number of links was 6.6, although 78 per cent of the world’s population can be linked in seven steps or less. However, some took over 20 links to find a connection.

One of the researchers on the project, Eric Horvitz, said he had been shocked by the results. "What we’re seeing suggests there may be a social connectivity constant for humanity", he was quoted as saying by the Washington Post newspaper. "People have had this suspicion that we are really close. But we are showing on a very large scale that this idea goes beyond folklore."

The results are not only amazing but encouraging. By recognizing that we aren’t that far apart may help us to accept each other and see the interconnections and benefit from truly being aware and mindful. 
In gratitude and service to you,

Alison/Devinder Kaur &
The PranaShanti Team

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Where’d I Park my Dreams

Do you remember years ago, maybe when you were a child, you used to spend hours on end dreaming about what it would be like when you grew up? Did you dream about traveling or living in wondrous places? Did you dream about being a musician, an author, a doctor? Perhaps you dreamed of having a husband or wife and a family of your own, owning a really cool car or being an astronaut. Where did those dreams go?
Maybe someone told you not to be such a dreamer, life isn’t like that. Or perhaps you got sidetracked somehow with work, bills, children, life in general? Whatever it was, we all have somehow found ourselves putting aside those dreams and gotten wrapped up in the day to day of our lives. Days, weeks, months and years pass and we may not even remember what those dreams were anymore….
Many of us are disengaged from life somehow. Our jobs and relationships are not fulfilling. We trudge through the day focused on what is in front of us and our dreams tend to be more about waiting for other things to happen – our vacation, the weekend, retirement. The problems we face take much of our time and energy or we are worried about the next one that might come along.
I have found that usually, people don’t feel the need to change anything in their lives until they encounter a challenge or problem. In fact, it is often our difficult times that motivate us to better ourselves. It is usually not a pleasant experience. However, there is another way! Our dreams can motivate us to change in ways that lead us to what we have always wanted and it can be a much nicer experience. Why don’t we do that? When was the last time you really sat down and thought about what your dreams are? What would your life be like if you were able to move gradually towards them with ease and grace? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have something to work towards and look forward to?
I encourage you to take some time this week if not today and pull up those parked dreams, dust them off, take a look at them, kick the tires and even fire them up and take them for a spin. Dreams are powerful things that can change our lives from lusterless to brilliant. Send me a list of them; I’d love to hear what they are.
Namasté
Robert Carscadden, Life and Business Coach

Carscadden Coaching
613 824-6429
bob@carscaddencoaching.com
www.carscaddencoaching.com
http://carscaddencoaching.blogspot.com/
Please feel free to pass this on to friends and contacts who you feel may be interested in receiving this. I only ask that you forward it in its complete form and without amendments.
To be added or removed from this mailing list, please let me know.
Copyright Robert Carscadden, Carscadden Coaching 2009

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Please Say: Please & Thank You – Thank You!

By Father Time

Have you ever noticed how some “adults” do not say “Please” and “Thank You?” Isn’t it amazing that when all of us were children, we were taught to say “Please,” and usually we were asked by an adult, at that time, “What’s the magic word?”

We were also taught to always say “Thank You,” yet today, many people fail to use this most basic of courteous words. We sometimes will hear someone say, “have a good one,” or “take care,” or “no problem.” This is not the same as please and thank you!

The cashier hands the customer their change, the customer says “thank you,” then the cashier says “no problem.” (You’re right it’s no problem, you took my money because I shopped here, maybe next time I will shop elsewhere, at a place where they are nicer and more polite!)

Sometimes, it is the customer lacking the social skills…The cashier hands the customer their change and says “thank you,” and the customer says, “Ah-ha.” That’s an acknowledgement, but it’s NOT a Thank You!

We should ALL be saying Please and Thank You! Always! Period!

Remember as kids, we used to sometimes say, “Pretty Please, with sugar on top?” Why do we ever stop saying that? If I ever need a money order, I buy one at my local grocery store for less than a buck. One time when I was in my bank, where I have an account, I wanted to get a money order for convenience sake, and I asked the teller about the cost.

Her reply was, “Six dollars.” I said, “I have an account here.” She said, “Yes, I know, it’s six dollars for account holders, and non-bank customers pay twelve dollars.” (Yikes!) So then I said, “Can I please get just one with NO fee? Pretty please with sugar on top?” The teller got the biggest smile on her face, and then said “Okay!”

Maybe we can all pitch in and help to make the world a better place! We might start by using those polite words we learned as children!

So, let’s please start saying “please and thank you” more often! Okay?

Thank You!

Father Time is a self-help writer, motivational speaker, and sells some cool items at www.FatherTimePublishing.com including an Awesome Daily Motivational e-mail.

Many Blessings!

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Recreating Yourself

Andrée Benson, Life and Career Management Coach

Did you know that the word recreation has two very distinct meanings?  The Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines recreation this way; Refreshment of one’s mind or body after work through activity that amuses or stimulates; play; activity that refreshes and recreates; activity that renews your health and spirits by enjoyment and relaxation; It also defines it this way; a forming anew; a new creation or formation. Interesting!

One word, two meanings!  Is it really two meanings, though?  Think back to your last vacation, remember how you felt? Were you refreshed, re-energized and ready to take on the world?  A break in routine, a change in daily patterns and scenery seem to give one a new outlook, a fresh start.  Some of us work each year toward our vacation.  We visualize where we want to go, look through brochures or websites and talk with travel agents. We plan and prepare for that all-important time when we can leave our daily routine or, for some, the daily drudgery to enjoy our recreation time.

Now, let me bring you back to a more distant past.  Remember, as a child in school, how you and all the other kids enjoyed your recreation time?  The bell would ring and off you would go into the school yard with your friends to break away from the books and the lessons. After playing and chatting, most of us would go back to the classroom with a clearer head and a more focused attitude, so that we could listen to the teacher.

I remember a time, not too long ago, when ‘coffee breaks’ were part of the everyday office routine. We would look forward to going ‘on break’.  It meant breaking the pattern created by our daily work schedule; it meant chatting with friends over a coffee, building or creating relationships. Breaks were meant to re-energize and re-focus employees for the task at hand.

We all need time to re-energize and re-focus. That is why we have weekends, vacations, breaks and time-off.  Much like the body needs sleep to regenerate and rebuild, the mind and spirit need a break too.  Herein lies the joining of the two words; Recreation and re-creation. When you are in recreation mode you have the opportunity to re-create yourself.

Recreation can take many forms.  Some people take a one-year sabbatical, others need only a week or two away in an exotic or foreign location and some require a 15 – 20 minute daily meditation.  Whatever is needed and whatever length of time is required, the key to fully profit from recreation is to do it consciously.

Recreation to re-create can simply mean resting and renewing, but it can also mean reviewing one’s goals, one’s career or one’s purpose in life.

When was the last time you had the opportunity to re-create yourself?  When was the last time you took time to look at a specific area in your life to see how you might improve it or change it?

Unfortunately, we often wait till we are faced with a significant emotional event (SEE) in our life to stop, breathe and renew ourselves.

We don’t have to wait for events such as a job loss or an illness to take time and re-create ourselves.  Re-creation can be a simple, daily action.

How can you better use your recreation time to re-create yourself daily? Stop for a moment and take a deep breath, notice how you are feeling, listen to you body.  Are you feeling tired, anxious, nervous, or just plain blah.  Listen and take stock of what is going on in your life, reflect on what you can do to make a few changes.

Take a break. Simply add a measure of playing, learning and laughing and you might just have a good recipe for re-creating yourself.  Whether you want to re-create a new you, physically or psychologically, or find a new more meaningful career, using recreation to do so will generate new energy and a positive outcome.  You need that moment to stop and  rest your mind and your body.

Everyday offers a new opportunity to re-create yourself.  No matter where you are today, if you are unhappy or unsettled in any area of your life, you can re-create that part of your life for a whole new you.

Ask Yourself…

  • When I take a break from my everyday life, do I take time to reflect on who I am and who I want to be?
  • Do I take vacations or time off when I need it?
  • What area of my life needs re-creating?

Your Wellness Strategy…

Take 15 minutes this morning to simply rest and relax. No TV, no books, just you and your thoughts.  Keep your thoughts positive.  If negative thoughts creep in, just notice them and then let them go, refocusing on positive thoughts.  Notice how you feel afterwards.

Use meditation daily.  Before you meditate, ask yourself what area of your life needs a little re-creation. Simply ask the question with no expectation then start your meditation.  Afterwards, take a few minutes to journal what feelings and thoughts came up for you. 

Excerpt from Wellness On The Go!  A guide to balance and wellness in your life with time to spare.

Andrée Benson is a Certified Life and Career Management Coach, a published author and a facilitator/training consultant.  She is an exciting and charismatic speaker. For personal consultations or speaking engagements please e-mail: andree@synergieleadership.com or call 613-841-9794. www.synergieleadership.com

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Step Outside the Box

Are you tired of the doing the same things, facing the same problems, and just surviving from one day to another? You are not alone. There are many of us who are tired of our day-to-day existence. We want something new and exciting-something fulfilling. Are you tired of the same old relationships, and looking for something new, but afraid to let go of what you have? Join the club. Do you find yourself getting older, but not wiser? Repetition doesn’t lead to new beginnings. You have to use your imagination.

When was the last time you did something exciting, had some fun, met someone new, or came up with a great idea? Most of us spend our days repeating the same old things and trying to solve the same old problems, and trying to live with the frustration of never feeling like a winner. When is it going to be your turn to get what you want? Aren’t you tired of just going through the motions? Do you sometimes feel like a zombie walking in place? All the propaganda and feel good slogans can’t do anything to calm your discontent. When you go to sleep at night can you honestly say you’re happy, or are you just relieved to have gotten through another day? Most of us want more out of life, but are tired of striving and seeing few positive results. but you can change all that. You can enter into a new reality, a place of your dreams. Yes, your dreams can come true if you have the right attitude and truly believe that things can get better. Here are ten things that can help you find your new reality.

1. Stop looking for solutions in the same old places.

2. Open you mind to the world of the possible. Stop saying no.

3. Get rid of your inhibitions. Everything is possible.

4. Rid yourself of your addictions. Try one step at a time.

5. Develop new plans. Don’t say that’s impossible.

6. Use your imagination. Those crazy thoughts you get.

7. Meet new people. Yes you can.

8. Have new dreams. The ones you can’t remember when you wake

9. Develop new goals. Nothing is too big.

10. Find a new reality that can make you and those with you find happiness.

(C) Copyright, Arthur Levine New Reality, Johnny Oops, Something New, Fun, Dreams, Goals

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Water Fluoridation

An Article by Joyce Fleming, RRPr SCT Student and Graduate

Health Units and dental associations diligently promote implementing natural fluoride to reduce tooth decay. But all is not what it appears according to sewer and water treatment plant employees in my city. The labels on containers used to fluoridate read “Hydrofluorocilicic Acid” and there is nothing remotely natural about this chemical. The employees had fluoridation of the water here stopped because they believe the chemical is so caustic it was eating through the pipes. This then was allowing lead to leach into the drinking water.
So, exactly where does hydrofluoricilicic acid actually come from? My research indicates that the chemical is shipped from phosphate fertilizer industries as a waste by-product. Environmental standards prohibit disposing it into the air or water systems and years ago pharmaceutical companies made deals to purchase and add it to dental products such as toothpaste, mouthwash as well as a variety of products such as anesthetics, fertilizers, rat poison and the list goes on. Also it was believed to help reduce tooth decay by adding it to our drinking water. This lucrative exchange has made these companies a lot of money.
Labels on toothpaste, mouthwash or denture products inform us of the dangers associated by swallowing the product so I believe that adding it to our tap water is contradictive.  Simply put, a small pea size amount of toothpaste on a toothbrush is the same amount of fluoride in an eight ounce glass of fluoridated water.
I further am convinced that hydrofluorsilicic acid has an accumulative effect on our bones and organs because our body is unable to fully eliminate it no matter how small the dose. Studies reveal a startling association with its use and disease. Reverse-osmosis, activated alumina systems, or a water distillation system is capable of removing it from your water supply, but it is expensive.
The bottom line is that ingesting this carcinogen into our bodies is not a viable solution to improving our dental health coupled with the fact that the health units are not being honest when they imply that it is natural fluoride they are promoting for water fluoridation. Safer ways to reduce tooth decay are to consume a healthy diet restricting sugars, flossing and brushing our teeth after eating and visiting the dentist on a regular basis.
Our team successfully lobbied our concerns in Dryden Ontario, March of 2008 to remove fluoride from our drinking water. For more information on this issue visit the website, “The Fluoride Action Network” whose spokesperson is Dr. Paul Connett, PhD for verifications and informative videos. They also have a professional statement petition with close to two thousand signatures from doctors, dentists and other health professionals from all over the world which will be presented to the United States congressional hearing. Joyce Fleming, RRPr

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