Archives for December 2016

Dec 21 2016

Season’s Greetings

I’m signing off for the year so I can devote all my attention to the family members I am fortunate to spend these days with.

I want to wish you all a blessed holiday, filled with good friends, loving family, delicious food, lots of rest and time to give thanks for the year just past.

Whether you are in a snow-covered landscape or basking on the beach, the meaning of this time of year is the same. Boots or flip-flops, it doesn’t matter – I know from experience having moved from the Canadian prairies to the Sunshine state years ago.

My appreciation and gratitude to all of you. You are the reason I do what I do.

much love,

Karen

Dec 14 2016

The Almighty Digestive System – Let’s Give It Some Help This Season

The digestive system has always held an interest for me. In fact, when I was doing my teacher training in reflexology back in the 1980’s, I got to pick a couple of systems that I would like to teach. My first choice, without any thought, was the digestive system.

I have been fascinated since my early 20’s on how what we put into our bodies affects not only our physical, but emotional and mental health. I’ve formally studied nutrition and herbalism, as well as many thought processes that explore the effect of mind and emotion on our body’s ability to stay healthy.

In the simplest of terms, the digestive system is tasked with receiving all input handed it, whether thoughts, images, sounds, experiences or food; breaking those into forms that the body can assimilate; delivering those nutrients to the cells; and discarding whatever is not needed.

Things get complicated because we know so little about our own individual digestive systems, other than the general mechanics.

Many of us have food allergies, sensitivities and/or intolerances – and do not even suspect it. We don’t know what our particular metabolism thrives best on, so we eat what tastes good to us or what the latest food fad is, never questioning the chronic acid reflux, flatulence or constipation that we live with.

Add to poor food choices, an agribusiness hell-bent on making as much money as possible off our gullets, eating too much, too fast or too late in the day and you can already see the signs pointing towards disaster.

Although it is beyond the scope of my license and this post to discuss how you should eat, (Do you know there are over 40 dietary eating plans out there all purporting to be THE way to eat – and lose weight, of course?) I would like to share a few ideas that may bode you well over this holiday season.

* Chew food completely. And along with that, chew and eat slowly. It’s not a race. Taste your food. Enjoy it.

* Eat food – real food, in its most whole state as possible – not food-like substances.

* When you eat, eat. Don’t watch television, read a magazine or fool around on your device. Ideal way to eat is to share meals with family and friends. Talk, laugh and eat.

* Drink a cup of strong peppermint tea before going to bed. Great digestive aid.

* Indulge in this holiday season and all the once-a-year tastes and treats it has to offer. Don’t deny yourself; just be mindful of how much you are eating.

* Spend about 10 minutes when getting into bed each evening to support your digestive system’s attempts to digest and assimilate all that you’ve taken in.

Massage some lotion or butter into your feet – butters with essential oils of ginger and/or orange are good for digestion.

Thumb-walk the arches of your feet, between the pelvic and diaphragm lines, longitudinally and horizontally. Stop and gently hold any points that get your attention.

Work the Vagus nerve reflex, the longest cranial nerve ending in our abdomen and the most important nerve in our parasympathetic system. It helps to reduce inflammation (Irritable Bowel Syndrome anyone?), acts as the walkie-talkie between your brain and your gut, and generally aids in digestion.

* Get a good night’s sleep, so you wake refreshed to continue with the festivities the next day. Afterall, this time of year comes only once. Enjoy it!

Dec 07 2016

Start the Year Out With A Plan!

2016 has just about come to an end, folks. Looking back, are you pleased with the number of people you have been able to connect with and help with reflexology?

For those who are less than satisfied with the size of their clientele base, I’d like to suggest an easy way to spread your name in the community by reaching out to targeted populations. With a little pre-planning and implementation your response to the question above can be quite different at the end of 2017.

In the United States – and likely also in Canada – every month in the calendar year is marked to bring awareness to some group or organization. Many of these lend themselves well to a connection with reflexology.

I’ve compiled a monthly list for you and how you might reach out to these people with your message. Create a campaign for the whole year, or just pick the ones that speak to you. Your offers should reach people the last two weeks of the month prior to the event month. You can offer an extra 15 minutes to the session, or a one-time fee reduction (always time-limited to the month), or whatever other bonus that fits. I’ve made some suggestions below.

Use your blog, social media pages and/or newsletters to let people know what you’re up to. Incorporate testimonials.

January – Thyroid Disease Awareness. Write a blog or publish a post on your social media page about thyroid disease and how supportive reflexology is to the health of the entire endocrine system. Of course, focus your session on the endocrine system.

February – No surprise that this month is Heart Disease Awareness Month. Again a short piece on the effects of stress on the heart and how reflexology is a fabulous way to relax and reduce stress. If you want to get even more specific, February 5 is National Wear Red Day recognizing women’s heart disease. (Remember to wear red on that day!)

March – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Month and Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. Check your local listings to see if there is a support group for these health conditions in your community. Offer to come give a short talk and teach folks how to give themselves a little reflexology. Do your research about these health situations so that you can speak confidently about them and how reflexology might help support someone living with one of these conditions. If you have a client with one of these conditions, ask if s/he would accompany you and speak about his/her experience with reflexology. Offer a reduced introductory price for sessions. For CFS, give an overall general session; for MS, focus on the central nervous system reflexes. I’d make contact now, if this one interests you; these groups often plan their speakers well in advance.

April – Lots this month to choose from: Parkinson’s Disease, Autism, STRESS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and National Library Week (11^th -17^th). A few ideas: Give a talk at a Parkinson’s or Irritable Bowel Syndrome support group; offer reduced sessions to caregivers of children with Autism; offer a special to your local library staff. And stress, well that’s a no-brainer with reflexology. Write it up; let people know how well reflexology is able to reduce stress. Invite them in – guarantee they’ll feel more relaxed – no risk to them.

May – National High Blood Pressure Education Month, Better Sleep Month, Breath Easy Month and National Digestive Diseases Awareness Month. These are all naturals when it comes to reflexology.

Partner with a meditation teacher to give a short class to people with HBP; talk about reflexology’s ability to relax and teach them how to thumb-walk on their own feet and hands.

Share reflexology’s history of helping to relax the digestive system to ensue smoother operation of that critical system. Teach them how to work on themselves. Offer discounted sessions; focus on digestive, solar plexus, diaphragm and Vagus nerve reflexes.

For the millions of people who have trouble sleeping, offer sessions focused on the nervous and endocrine reflexes. Research some information for them on ways to change their sleep habits and give a pretty handout.

Breathe Easy: focus on respiratory, solar plexus and brain reflexes.

June – National Headache Awareness Week (1-7), National Men’s Health Week (14-20), National Cancer Survivors Day (6^th). Chronic headaches debilitate thousands of people on this continent. If you’ve taken my Say Goodbye to Headaches class you’ll know how to help people determine the cause of their headaches; offer sessions focused on the cause, not just the symptoms.

This might be a good time to reach out to the men in your community. Did you know that men are much more loyal than women when it comes to service providers? When they find the service and provider they like, they stick with it. Men are becoming more aware of the importance of self-care too, so this is a good time to invite them in.

Stage a day for cancer survivors. Invite other practitioners in your community to participate. A group that sells and makes smoothies; massage therapist to give chair neck and shoulder massage; aromatherapy talk and samples; and of course reflexology. Celebrate with these brave folks!

That’s a good start. In the New Year, I’ll post the July to December events, so you can plan those out. I hope you find this useful.