Fingers and Thumbs

28/11/2025

✨ Solar Plexus Chakra — Confidence, Power & Self-Worth ✨

Located just above the navel, the Solar Plexus Chakra is your centre of personal power, self-belief, motivation and boundaries.
A balanced Manipura feels like inner fire — steady, warm, and quietly determined.

Signs your Solar Plexus Chakra is balanced
• Strong sense of self-worth
• Healthy boundaries
• Motivation, focus and good follow-through
• Feeling capable and in control of your decisions
• Balanced digestive energy

Signs it may be blocked
• Low confidence, self-doubt, feeling “not good enough”
• Procrastination or lack of direction
• Overthinking, perfectionism or people-pleasing
• Digestive issues, bloating, fatigue
• Feeling powerless or easily overwhelmed

Ways to support this chakra
• Movement: core strengthening, brisk walking, energising yoga
• Holistic therapies: abdominal massage, acupuncture for digestion & stress regulation
• Fire element: sunlight, candles, warmth therapy
• Practices: goal-setting, breathwork, setting small boundaries
• Foods: bananas, oats, ginger, turmeric, lemon
• Affirmations:
• “I stand in my own power.”
• “I am capable and confident.”
• “I trust myself.”

27/11/2025

🧡 Chakra Series: The Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)

The centre of creativity, emotion and flow.

🧡 What it governs
• Creativity & inspiration
• Emotional expression
• Sensuality & pleasure
• Healthy boundaries
• Fluid movement (hips, pelvis, lower abdomen)

⚖️ When it’s out of balance

You may notice:
• Mood swings
• Emotional numbness
• Creative block
• Low libido
• Pelvic tension or lower-abdominal discomfort

🌊 How to support it
• Gentle hip-opening stretches
• Creative activities (drawing, writing, crafting)
• Warm baths / water-based relaxation
• Reflexology or abdominal massage
• Eating orange-coloured foods (mango, carrot, sweet potato)
• Visualising a warm, glowing orange light in the lower belly

26/11/2025

🌿 Introducing the Root Chakra (Muladhara)

The foundation. The anchor. The place your whole energetic system begins.

The Root Chakra sits at the base of the spine and is connected to your sense of safety, stability, grounding, and belonging.
When this chakra is balanced, you feel secure in yourself and your environment — steady, centred, and able to move through life with confidence.

When the Root Chakra is out of balance, you might notice:
• Feeling anxious or unsettled
• Overthinking
• Feeling “ungrounded” or disconnected
• Tension in the legs, lower back or hips
• Difficulty relaxing

You can support your Root Chakra through:
• Walking in nature
• Grounding breathwork
• Gentle pressure on the feet + lower legs
• Massage + reflexology
• Slow, warm, nourishing routines
• Red, earthy foods (beetroot, root veg, berries)

Affirmation:

“I am safe. I am grounded. I belong.”

25/11/2025

Let’s talk about chakras

A gentle check-in with your energy can make such a difference to your mood, sleep and stress levels.

The chakras are seven little “energy hubs” that hold our grounding, creativity, confidence, love, truth, intuition and sense of peace.

Over the next few posts I’ll walk you through each one — simple daily habits you can do at home to feel a bit more balanced, calm and supported.

Kettle on, blanket round your shoulders… let’s do this together. 💜✨

24/11/2025

22/11/2025

Auricular Acupuncture: Supporting Addiction, Detox, Anxiety & Chronic Pain

Auricular (ear) acupuncture is a highly effective clinical method used to regulate the nervous system and support whole-body balance. By stimulating specific points on the outer ear, we can influence areas of the brain linked to stress, cravings, pain perception and emotional regulation.

What it may help with

• Addiction recovery support (alcohol, drugs, smoking, sugar)
• Detoxification and metabolic balance
• Anxiety, stress & overwhelm
• Chronic pain, including back pain, sciatica and migraines
• Sleep disturbance and nervous system dysregulation
• Emotional tension and somatisation

How it works

Fine, sterile needles are placed into mapped points on the ear. These points activate neural pathways that help calm the sympathetic “fight-or-flight” response, release endorphins, reduce pain signals and improve overall regulation.

What to expect

Most clients feel a quick, mild sensation at insertion, followed by noticeable relaxation within minutes. Sessions are short, focused and deeply grounding.

If you’d like to explore whether auricular acupuncture could help you, feel free to message for advice or to book an appointment.

21/11/2025

Good morning, you beautiful people ❄️✨

How lucky are we to wake up each day and watch the seasons gently shift around us?
A soft blanket of frost, the last apples clinging to the branches, that quiet winter stillness… it’s nature’s reminder to slow down, breathe deeply, and take care of ourselves.

At Fingers & Thumbs, this is your nudge to honour your body the same way the seasons do — with rest, warmth, and a little nourishment.
Wrap up, stretch gently, drink something comforting… and if your muscles are feeling the cold, you know where I am.

Here’s to winter magic, self-care, and finding beauty in the little moments. 🤍✨

16/11/2025

🌿 Anti-Inflammatory Herbal Tea for Arthritis Pain

Ingredients (1 mug / 300–350ml)
• 1 tsp turmeric root (or ½ tsp turmeric powder)
• ½ tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp dried nettle leaf
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• A pinch of black pepper (boosts turmeric absorption)
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)
• Lemon slice (optional)

⸻

Why these herbs help
• Turmeric: reduces inflammation and joint stiffness
• Ginger: natural COX-2 inhibitor → helps pain
• Nettle: anti-inflammatory + mild analgesic
• Cinnamon: improves circulation and warmth to joints

⸻

How to make it
1. Add turmeric, ginger, nettle, cinnamon and black pepper to a teapot or mug.
2. Pour over hot (not boiling) water — around 90–95°C.
3. Cover and steep for 10 minutes (this stops the volatile oils escaping).
4. Strain, sweeten with honey if you like, and add lemon.

10/11/2025

Start the week right 💪🏽
Athletes train. Bodies recover.

If you’ve pushed hard over the weekend — gym, running, rugby, football — your muscles need a reset to avoid tightness, niggles and overuse injuries.

✅ Sports massage to flush soreness
✅ Mobility focus for hips & hamstrings
✅ Trigger-point work for calves & lower back
✅ Simple breathwork to switch off “fight or flight”

Recovery is where the gains actually happen.

I’ve got limited mid-week appointments in Ryton.
Message to book or text 07751 974961. 🌿

07/11/2025

Seasonal Affective Disorder is real — and it affects thousands of people every winter

As the days get darker and colder, our mood, energy and motivation can dip.
If you struggle each winter, here are a few simple ways to prepare yourself:

🌞 Get more daylight – even 10–15 minutes outside in the morning helps your body clock
💡 Light therapy lamps can boost serotonin and energy
🚶 Move your body daily – walking, yoga or dancing in the kitchen all count
😴 Keep a sleep routine – same bedtime, same wake time
🍊 Support your nutrition – Vitamin D, omega-3s and magnesium
☕ Stay connected – don’t isolate yourself
✨ Plan things to look forward to – trips, crafts, meet-ups, treats
🧠 Check in on your mental health – speak to someone if things get tough

You’re not alone, and there are lots of ways to make winter feel lighter 💛