Barefoot Reflexology - My Blog

As the weather turns colder and more damp, and the schools are back after the summer break, the good old cold and flu viruses are doing the rounds again - thriving on the fact that colder conditions dampen our immune response.    Recent research has shown that cold viruses actually thrive in cooler temperatures, and having a cold nose could increase your chances of becoming sick.    See the  Science Line Health Blog  for more information about this study.   Reflexology has been found to be very effective when dealing with seasonal illnesses, and colds and flu are no exception.    The main symptoms - headaches, congested or tight chest, blocked sinuses, runny noses, sore throat, low energy levels, muscle aches, feeling hot and cold and having swollen glands in the neck - can all be helped.      Reflexology could: ·        stimulate our immune system and boost our immune response so we can fight off ...

Ask a perimenopausal or menopausal woman what their three main difficulties are and they’ll probably say hot flushes, poor sleep and anxiety.  This is because of fluctuating oestrogen and progesterone levels.  Oestrogen is responsible for regulating the menstrual cycle and helping with bone formation.  When oestrogen levels change, the result can also be breast tenderness, irregular menstrual cycles, hot flushes, night sweats, headaches, memory lapses, insomnia and fatigue and in addition, the risk of osteoporosis increases.  Oestrogen also has a direct impact on the stress hormone cortisol.  As oestrogen levels drop, cortisol levels can rise which can cause anxiety and stress.  These emotional problems can be very distressing and can lead to women feeling as if they’ve lost control of their lives.    As if this wasn’t bad enough, decreased progesterone levels may also cause periods to become irregular and heavier. ...

  One of the best and most enlightening books I’ve ever read is “The Biology of Belief” by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D.     In the book he explains how our mental state and feelings can actually have a physical affect on our bodies.     It radically changed how I felt about my own thinking, and how my mental state could actually have an effect on my physical wellbeing.     We’ve all heard about someone dying of a “broken heart” and we’ve all felt that very tangible knot in our stomachs when facing something scary.     We’ve read about the negative way in which stress can affect our bodies and we’ve heard the miraculous stories of super-human feats performed in life-or-death situations.     So it should come as no surprise that an illness such as depression can actually have a negative effect on our physical health.       It’s worth mentioning here that holistic therapies such as Reflexology treat problems with the whole pers...

World Reflexology Week is 18 - 24 th   September - It’s good for the sole! Reflexologists worldwide are celebrating and participating in World Reflexology Week, raising awareness and promoting the health benefits of reflexology.  Why not come along and see for yourself how a Reflexology treatment could help you? Reflexology is a popular and relaxing holistic treatment based on the principle that reflex points on the soles, tops and sides of the feet are connected to corresponding areas throughout the body.  In this way, the feet can be seen as a "map" of the body.  Save 10% on a reflexology treatment during World Reflexology Week by contacting me at  jo@barefoot-reflexology.co.uk  or going through my website  www.barefoot-reflexology.co.uk  for more details.

We’ve all felt stress at work, whether it be meeting a deadline, difficulty in prioritising jobs, too much paperwork or just having to be in too many places at the same time.     At some time or other, we’re all going to be affected by it and it’s all too easy to ignore, but it affects our performance (which of course makes matters worse) and starts affecting our homes lives too. Stress has been cited as having a negative effect on over a third of the working population.    It is thought that up to 75% of an illness is stress related.      So how can stress affect us in the workplace?  ·        It costs business a lot of money It reduces performance in physical tasks It increases time-off caused by illness It increases tiredness and irritability It has a negative effect on decision making, planning and creativity  It lowers our immune system, which of course, leads to the development of physical illness Luck...