Body, Mind and Soul Reflexology

04/04/2023

https://www.gilhedley.com In this video I introduce the muscle tissues of the rotator cuff of the shoulder joint by means of a clay model, and discuss some o...

11/03/2023

Nourish your nervous system on every level.

31/01/2023

Your feet are your foundation.

𝑪𝒖𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒕

I love to cue foot placement by talking about the three points of the feet - the ball of the foot, the base of the pinky toe and the center of the heel. For at least 3 reasons:

🔹These points correspond to the arches of the foot and muscular attachments so there is an anatomical connection.

🔹This anatomical connection can help grow improve a person's ability to sense and feel their body (interoception) and where their body in space (proprioception).

🔹This can grow better balance, quicker pace, a grounded platform for better strength

And if you want more, join me Feb 14, 15 and 21 for my Power of Pure Movement: Strong and Supple Feet. Register here: https://learn.functionalsynergy.com/feet

𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘.

23/01/2023

Feeling stuck? Then maybe it’s worth trying Rock Water. This is the only Bach flower in the 38 remedies that isn’t from a flower, plant or tree. As I often mention to students, be your own laboratory like Dr Bach was to help you discover the nuances of the remedies. I’ve been doing that this past week with Rock Water. It’s not a regular choice for me but I felt drawn to it when I noticed how much I overthink which can leave me feeling stuck.

For example, wanting a perfect solution to a conundrum — the possibilities dart into my mind and then diverge into other scenarios. Pros and cons. (I was trained in risk analysis from four years old due to being left in charge of 3 younger siblings — so I think that’s in there somewhere). I took that responsibility very seriously so Oak tendencies have stayed with me too. I think this probably led into the overthinking, which became an instinctive way of being, that is still with me many decades later.

The over-thinking is multi-channelled. It’s only now at this stage of life that I’m giving more considered reflection to how it impacts on me. (Feeling overwhelmed by too many channels is one example.. the mind doesn’t seem to have the same flexibility, and neither does the body..) I had wondered whether any latent fear was influencing this, or lack of confidence yet that didn’t resonate in the condundrum scenarios. It was Rock Water that enabled the shift. To go with the flow instead of being fixed. To not make things/thinking harder than they need to be. That alone lightens the load.

Rock is fixed, Water is flow. There are fine qualities to both and yet if we are too much of one and not enough of the other then we can get stuck on the rocks or caught in a whirlpool.

As I write this I’m remembering how as a child I would escape when I could to the woods. If I wasn’t hiding with a book high up in my favourite tree (which as it happens was an Oak), I’d sling my plimsolls around my neck and paddle through narrow streams between banks of trees and undergrowth, intent on clearing any debris that impeded its flow. I’d be quietly elated when the water could run freely or when an unblocked tiny spring bubbled against my toes. Happy days.

Life goes full circle… 🌺

What is your experience of Rock Water? Which Bach flower have you experimented with for yourself lately? 🌺

21/01/2023

Sleep has been proven to be more important to a person's well-being than food and exercise combined, and lack of sleep can negatively impact our immediate and long-term health, as evidenced in many scientific studies and our own life experiences.

13/12/2022

Did you know your tongue is a lymph draining organ?

A strong well positioned tongue is an effective toxin clearing system.

Most people aren’t aware how important their tongue posture is.

It’s also capable of absorbing. The mucous membrane of the tongue can absorb some substances – for example medications that are to act quickly.

A tablet, fluid or spray put underneath the tongue, but not swallowed, is called sublingual administration, and absorbs into the body faster than the digestive system.

Let’s look at how the tongue drains into the lymph system.

The tip of the tongue drains into the submental lymph node under the chin.

The middle of the tongue drains into the submandibular node, which you can feel under the jawbone.

At the back, down toward the throat, it drains to the deep cervical nodes that run down through the neck which you can see on the image above.

What is important to remember is that lymph drains via movement.

Proper movement of the tongue is a skill that most people aren’t aware of. It is a complex muscle system, and each of these different segments must move properly for the lymph system to flow properly.

The tongue has a great ability to move in all directions. The reason for this is the way the muscle fibers are arranged, which is unique in our body. They run in all three directions: from front to back, from the sides to the middle and from top to bottom. This allows the tongue to make the following movements:

It’s the only muscle in our body that can actively contract and extend. When the vertical and horizontal fibers contract at the same time, the tongue becomes narrower and longer: we can stick our tongue out.

• Raising and lowering
• Bending backwards
• Advancing and retracting

So, let’s try a tongue movement exercise:

1) Open your jaw as wide as it will go
2) Poke the tongue out as far as it will go (keeping to straight to the horizontal)
3) Move slowly side to side touching each corner of the mouth (Repeat 10x)
4) Put the tongue to the floor of the mouth and lift the tongue right to the palate behind the upper front teeth (Repeat 10x)

Did you know the tongue movements clear the lymphatic system of the mouth and neck?

09/12/2022

Carols, festive lights, supermarket jingles, food and gift shopping are not always a welcome sign for everyone when it comes to getting into the Christmas spirit. So, having your own Bach flowers to hand can be a blessing.

It may be your first Christmas without a loved one (Star of Bethlehem), yearning for happier times (Honeysuckle), or there are the pressures of juggling too much (Elm, Oak, Centaury or Vervain are some of the possibilities), or worried sick about where the money is coming from to pay bills (Mimulus) or buy gifts (Scleranthus can help that decision). Or feeling guilty that you’ve either not spent enough or too much (Pine).

There might be your excitement of preparing a festive family dinner coupled with concern about their various food preferences/allergies (Red Chestnut). And if you’re Chicory inclined, then you’ll be going overboard creating something wonderful, while not wanting to feel disappointed (Gentian, or Willow if resentment creeps in) when others don’t reciprocate in the same way. (It’s all about needing to feel loved and appreciated).

If you say you prefer to be on your own, then your Water Violet tendencies could be leading you to withdraw. Yet it may be worth considering how a little time with others can be uplifting, but remember to leave company before the point of feeling exhausted.

Or are you someone who is oblivious to the build-up, not sure which day of the week is the 25th, and then on the 22nd rush around in a frenzy of solitary activity to put up and decorate the tree, buy and wrap gifts, write and mail cards, food shop and cook a four course meal for 8 on the day? Then you might be Clematis and Impatiens…

What is magical about the 38 Bach flowers is that you can find a single remedy or choose a bespoke combination of up to 7 to help you feel emotionally balanced and present to Christmas in a way that resonates for you.

Which Bach flowers have helped you?🌲🌺

08/12/2022

It's been understood for more than a millennium that the body alternates between predominantly using the left and right nostrils to breathe -- in anywhere from 30 minute to 4 hour cycles. This wasn’t verified experimentally until the late 1800’s. At the time, no one really knew what it was for and offered multiple dubious explanations. What has since been learned is that the body does this to help regulate a number of bodily functions and processes. Air taken through the right nostril stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing circulation, cortisol levels, blood pressure, heart rate, etc. Air taken through the left nostril stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering blood pressure, heart rate, cooling the body and reducing anxiety. And to answer the obvious question, yes -- selectively breathing through one nostril or the other CAN be used therapeutically.

26/11/2022

Tissue salts are a very helpful way to support your health, and this is a great offer.

Tissue Salts are specially prepared micro-doses of the body’s 12 essential minerals.

14/11/2022

As a reflexologist I am delighted to see this. Storing chi energy under the nails is also an ancient Chi Gung practice.

Human hands glow, but fingernails release the most light, according to a recent study that found all parts of the hand emit detectable levels of light.

Not only does nail polish and plastic nails block the flow of energy, the toxins in the products have been found in the bloodstream within 10 minutes of application.

https://www.carlagoldenwellness.com/2012/10/05/hands-shown-to-emit-light/