Natural Therapies - part 3

This Friday's therapy video shows what happens during an ear candling treatment.

Ear candles were used by native tribes in healing rituals and ceremonies to cleanse and harmonise energy fields as well as physical therapy. The treatment includes a relaxing massage of the face and neck to help drain the sinuses.

This treatment is available Thursday to Saturday, between 10am and 6pm and lasts 45 minutes. It cost £28.

Natural Therapies - part 2

Following on frm last Friday's video on crystal therapy, this week Linda will be discussing the benefits Reiki can have.

Reiki is an ancient system of hands-on healing designed to help the body's energies rebalance by working on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.

Treatment is available Monday to Saturday, between 10am and 6pm.
30 minutes - £15
1 hour - £30

Also, for a limited period, 15 minute taster sessions are available for just £5!

Natural Therapies - part 1

Over the next few weeks, we thought we'd share some more information about our favourite therapies with you.

This week, Linda will be discussing the benefits that crystal therapy can have. Check out the video at the bottom of this post!

Crystal therapy uses the natural energy from crystals to draw out, transform and heal blockages within the layers of the aura.

The treatment is available by appointment instore Thursday, Friday and Saturday - choose from the following options:

• 15 minute aura cleanse - £10
• 30 minute chakra cleanse and balance - £18
• 1 hour full treatment - £30

Spring Cleaning - Detox Time

Most years, people choose to detox around New Year, which isn't really the best time for the body. The change of the seasons is a perfect time for detox. It's like a spring clean for your organs to help you feel clean, refreshed and centred.

Typical symptoms that might mean you need to detox include:

• feeling tired, fatigued, lacking in enthusiasm
• constipation, bloating, heartburn
• having bad breath, food intolerances
• poor digestion, a lack of appetite, slow to digest foods
• being overweight
• poor skin quality, acne, dry skin
• poor sleep, anxiety
• irritability, muscle tightness

We suggest using natural remedies to give you optimum health. If you have some of the above symptoms and are planning to detox, it is important to understand what a toxin is. Basically, a toxin is anything that shouldn't be there. A toxin is any unmetabolised waste in the digestive system, bloodstream or tissues. It is anything which has not been efficiently used by the body or mind; hence there can be mental toxins as well as physical. These toxins are removed from the body by using cleansing foods, herbs and massage.

A real detox will result in:

• feeling clear-headed and relaxed
• having easy digestion with a minimum of two bowel movements a day
• sound sleep and feeling refreshed on awakening
• vital energy and boundless enthusiasm

Treatment Ideas

Clean Greens from Pukka is a great product for long-term detoxification; it cleanses the blood and liver, and reduces organ inflammation. It is a nourishing, antioxidant blend of green plants to alkalise, oxygenate and boost the body's natural cleansing process.

For helping to move your bowels; a dose of Triphala Plus each night. The mix of seven herbs is famous for its ability to mildly but effectively detoxify and nourish the blood and bowels.

The liver often bears the brunt of our polluted environment, poor diet and stressed lives. Indian herbal combination Guduchi & Neem helps to regulate, cleanse and protect the liver.

For skin needing a detox, Neem & Sasparilla is great along with organic Aloe Vera juice.

If you need to clear heavy metals and pollutants out your system, Chlorella is brilliant for this, and helps to support the immune system. Renew Life also do a wonderful detox kit that helps with heavy metal toxins. Have a look at Sarah's blog post for more.

Drink delicious Pukka Detox tea - aniseed, fennel and cardamon to assist in flushing toxins from the kidneys, blood and digestive system; or a scrumptious Pukka Cleanse tea with nettle, fennel and aloe vera to purify the skin.

Massage

Massage and skin brushing during detox are great. They help to dilate the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) near the surface of your skin, clear toxins through the skin by helping congested lymph to return to the heart. These residual toxins will be excreted via the liver and kidneys.

It's best to massage yourself from foot to head every day with 100ml of warmed massage oil.

Dietary Suggestions

Eat the simplest diet that you can, with no processed foods, sugars, wheat, dairy or hydrogenated oils, coffee and alcohol. Drink lots of hot water throughout your detox. Hot water is a great detoxifier; like cleaning dirty dishes, hot water cleans your insides. Hot teas like spicy ginger or cinnamon & cardamon will help to relax your stomach.

Lifestyle Suggestions

• get lots of rest while detoxing
• don't over-exert yourself
• no strenuous sports during detox. Instead take slow, relaxing walks, or practise some gentle yoga to encourage good balance and breathing.
• visit a steam room to sweat the toxins out of your body

The Antipodes Facial

Over the last few months we've been changing some of the bodycare ranges and treatments we offer and we've started stocking Antipodes. Antipodes is a certified organic and natural skin care range featuring premium avocado oil and bioactive botanical ingredients from New Zealand. The company is also carbon neutral - they've even taken the footprint of global shipping into account!

So far, we've tried most of the products, but the one we really, really like is the Hallelujah lime and patchouli cleanser. It has a gorgeously fragrant exotic smell, and the base of avocado oil gently removes impurities while carrot seed oil promotes skin that glows with good health.  It's made with super high quality essential oils of lime and patchouli which have an amazingly uplifting effect after use.

We're also loving the Aura Manuka honey mask. Manuka honey is a traditional remedy of the New Zealand Maori. It powerfully draws moisture to your skin, intensely hydrating it. The facial mask delivers a deep moisturizing, cleansing and anti-oxidizing treatment. Fragrances of vanilla pod and mandarin linger to bring peace and balance to your aura, meaning you're tending to both your skin and spirit.

Antipodes have a range of over 15 wonderful wonderful products and we're incorporating a lot of them in our facials now. The Antipodes facial lasts an hour and a half, includes a back, face and scalp massage and leaves you with naturally stunning skin.

Appointments are available Monday to Saturday, between 10am and 6pm. When you book an Antipodes facial, you wil receive a 25% discount voucher for Antipodes products.

Dr. Christy Fergusson

Christy works instore 2 days a week - Wednesdays and Sundays - and she's downright amazing. She's a nutritional therapist, NLP coach and practitioner and a chartered health psychologist. This is her lovely website.

"Eat yourself gorgeous, healthy and happy with the Food Psychologist."

What Christy can do for you:

• Nutritional Therapy
• Dietary Analysis
• Clinical Hypnotherapy
• NLP & Nutritional Coaching
• Food Allergy Testing
• Hormone Testing
• Health & Nutrition Workshops
• Food walks
• Weight Loss Programs

Here's what some of her clients have to say...

"Although I ate good quality, healthy food I was often hungry between meals. My wife would accuse me of hanging around the kitchen like a vulture waiting to be fed. Occasionally I would become dizzy and break out in a sweat. Within a week of changing my diet the dizziness and loss of concentration had gone. With Dr Christy’s help, I have now established a healthy eating pattern that prevents me from becoming too hungry. In addition I now feel more alert and energetic… not to mention the stone I have lost." James, Glasgow

“When you have given up hope of solving your digestive problems- then Christy is the person to see’ Brian, Glasgow.

Feeling Festive!

You might have noticed that it's that time of year again; snow's been falling, people are buying food like it's going out of style, there's lots of films on the telly and nobody dies in this week's Murder, She Wrote.

We'd like to wish you all a peacful and joy-filled Christmastime and a wonderful New Year!

Here's to 2011!