Ancient practices for a modern world. Traditions and Celebrations. This important point in the sun's cycle has been celebrated all over the world for thousands of years. For the Norse and Celts, it was Yule, for the Romans, Saturnalia, and it has now been Christianised into Christmas. But all these celebrations have the same theme in common - the rebirth of the sun (or 'the son' in Christian terms). Our ancestors were very keen to honour this time of the year and designed

Ancient practices for a modern world. Lammas / Lughnasadh - 1st August 'Gratitude'. Late summer is an important transitional season, a time to re-centre, create stability, balance and comfort, in preparation for the cooler yin stages of autumn and winter. In yoga we focus on core stability, connecting to the earth and feeling centred. The first harvest; and the corn is being brought in from the field and apples are ripening. During the season of harvest, we take time t

Ancient practices for a modern world. Early Summer End of April – Mid June The energy for early summer is of calmness, feeling relaxed, joy, positivity, having a clear mind and having a feeling of wanting to be more social. An imbalance in energy creates the opposite of wanting to over work, shy away from social events and anxiety. Assess your energy levels, re-balance and find that happy medium where you are busy but not over-worked. TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

Ancient practices for a modern world. Imbolc - February 1st (Candlemas / St. Brigid)​'Awakening'. Winter into Spring Between now and the Summer Solstice in June the light will be expanding. The world is waking up after winter sleep bringing transformation and regeneration. Life is beginning to show again with new shoots and flowers popping through the cold ground. This is a time when the first lambs are born and ewe's milk is available again after the long winter. The year

Ancient practices for a modern world. Seasons and Cycles. Life is full of cycles and change. So often we are too busy to be in tune wth them. The seasons are the most obvious to think of and they really can affect how we feel. We are creatures of nature with the same response to seasons as animals and in winter we slow down and feel like being in more (hibernating) and in spring our energy changes and we want to be out more and doing things. Some really feel the difference

Relaxation Therapies mostly involve techniques and tuition that can be learned and applied at home or as one off treatments or a course of treatments and tuition. YOGA THERAPY Yoga Therapy / Yin Yoga and Restorative yoga - a very slow meditative form of yoga for specific healing. Restorative and Yoga Therapy are usually done as 1-2-1 session or as course. --- BREATH THERAPY Breath Therapy - Is done as 1-2-1 tuition and although techniques can be learnt in one go, it may take

​I also do Reiki Facial massages. There are about 16 major muscles, 14 bones and assorted arteries, veins and blood vessels that help your face do the things it does. Like muscles in other parts of your body, your face muscles absorb and store a lot of stress and tension. Unless you relax those muscles, they get stiff and hard and look strained. Tense muscles also constrict blood vessels, limiting the flow of blood and nutrients to your face. What's more, the tension in your

What Is EFT Tapping? ​ EFT tapping is a self-help technique that originated in the 1970s when several doctors began using acupressure points to assist patients in managing stress, fear, and phobias. One method, developed by Dr. Roger Callahan, is known as Thought Field Therapy. Gary Craig later simplified this process and introduced it to the public under the name EFT. Both methods involve tapping, though they differ slightly in their approach. Tapping combined with positive

In January 2024 I had an operation on my foot and I knew it was going to take a while to heal being that it's a weight bearing joint and it has to heal despite gravity always going to make it swell for a lot longer than anywhere else on the body would. The day after the opeation was pretty horrendous and that's when I needed something other than painkillers every 4-6 hours to get me through as they were super strong and not doing my tummy any good, so I wanted to limit them a

What is yoga therapy? Yoga therapy is a truly holistic modality in that it recognises that our health and well being depends on a complex interplay of physical, mental, emotional, environmental and lifestyle factors. What is the difference between a yoga teacher and yoga therapist? A yoga teacher often has only one 200 hour training course to their name with maybe some specialities via extra training, but usually their main 200 hour training is very limited on using yoga for

A lot of new age mysticism and therapies have added to the chakra philosophy over the years, so there are many different viewpoints on this subject. This is a collection of different findings over the years as my own opinions and research has gone back and forth on the subject. --- Here is a basic overview of the chakras and the use of crystals and yoga to balance them. These are said to be naturally occurring energy centres in the body, that produce life force (Prana, Chi

By: Andy Mattison March 10, 2010 It's a great way to reduce stress and it's being offered for free at Crouse Hospital. Reiki therapy promotes healing by applying treatment to various parts of the body. Our Andy Mattison has more on how it works. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It's a great way to reduce stress and it's being offered for free at Crouse Hospital. Reiki therapy promotes healing by applying treatment to areas around a person's head, shoulders, stomach, legs and feet. One

Original post: September 19, 2010 Reiki is a natural, gentle, powerful, yet non-invasive method of healing that is passed from practitioner to client by means of gentle touch. This ancient Japanese healing art originated many thousands of years ago and was brought to this country in the early 1900s by holy man and scientific scholar Mikao Usui. Since that time, Reiki has grown rapidly in popularity as an excellent form of complimentary and alternative medicine. The results

Original Post: May 2010 If you suffer from any form of pain, whether chronic or acute, it may not be necessary to rely on traditional medicine such as pain medication to relieve it. There are many natural pain management techniques that are available to try so it is just a matter of finding the best one for you. Some of the most popular are outlined below. Pain Management Technique #1: Acupuncture In acupuncture, fine needles are inserted into the skin in order to u

Hippocrates was a Greek physician born in 460 BC on the island of Cos, Greece. He became known as the founder of medicine and was regarded as the greatest physician of his time. He based his medical practice on observations and on the study of the human body. He held the belief that illness had a physical and a rational explanation. He rejected the views of his time that considered illness to be caused by superstitions and by possession of evil spirits and disfavour of the go