The Energy Body

Harness your energy

Reiki-HealingDid you know that every cell in your body contains energy?  Much research has now proved that the human body is made up of energy not just matter.  The energy within our cells is referred to as many different things such as life force or chi in Chinese culture.  Energy healing is a holistic practice that activates the body’s subtle energy systems to remove blocks. By breaking through these energetic blocks, the body’s inherent ability to heal itself is stimulated.

I’d like to share with you some interesting facts on how energy healing can help each and every one of you.

Reiki

Reiki is the Japanese tradition of energy healing, and dates back to the early 20th century. Chakras, the seven energy transmission centres of the body, are described in many ancient texts – they comprise of the Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye & Crown. Meridians, the energy superhighways of the body, are the road maps on which traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, base acupuncture.

Although various ancient cultures used different modalities to stimulate the body’s natural ability to heal, they all saw internal energy as a powerful force of good.

You don’t have to be spiritual to benefit from energy healing

Just like you don’t need to understand the law of gravity before you can fall down, you don’t need to completely grasp the concept of energy healing before you dive into the practice. I would recommend going in with an open mind for maximum benefit.

Any time is a good time to visit an energy healer. If you are stressed, anxious, or physically drained, an energy healing session can help you relax and feel more balanced. And if you’re already feeling good, it’s always possible to feel a little better! It’s important to note that energy healing is a complementary modality that shouldn’t exclude any Western medicine you may be taking.

Your energy at home.

Just as you shower and brush your teeth every day, energetic cleansing should also be a daily commitment. Once you visit with an energy healer, keep the good vibes flowing by taking a bath in Epsom or pink Himalayan salts for 20 minutes whenever you start to feel the heaviness creeping back into your body. Smudging, or burning sage around you, also clears negativity from your aura. High vibrational crystals have their own healing properties and can help give your energy field a boost.

How can energy healing benefit you?

– It clears stress and tension to allow deep relaxation.  Stress is just not felt in our heads, but in our entire bodies.

– It accelerates the body’s natural ability to heal itself and increases vitality.  One way that energy healers can support you is by being conduits of universal energy. Energy healers open themselves up as a channel to bring life force into the client’s body. This energy enables your own healing system to engage.

– It can help with acute injuries, chronic health issues and relieve pain.  The body’s natural state is health and vibrancy. It automatically knows how to heal itself.

– Dis-ease in the body often shows us what needs work and what we still need to learn. Because energy flows to where attention goes, it is a powerful force. Energy healing activates and energizes the body’s natural ability to heal. Lower back pain can be a physical manifestation of fear, related to survival issues. Clearing the Root Chakra and kidneys of these blocks can bring much-needed relief over time.

– It helps clear negative emotional and mental thought patterns.  Unexpressed emotions can get stuck in the body creating blockages.

Feed Your Chakras

You may have heard the saying “Eat the Rainbow” as it ensures you eat many different colours and in doing so you eat a wide variety of nutrient rich foods.  The Chakras each have their own related colour so they are a good guide to follow: –

Root Chakra – Red – Red Apples, Cranberries, Beetroot & Red Lentils

Sacral Chakra – Orange – Carrots, Squash, Sweet potato & Oranges

Solar Plexus Chakra – Yellow – Yellow Peppers, Banana, Melon & Turmeric

Heart Chakra – Green – Celery, Courgettes, Green Apples & Broccoli

Throat Chakra – Blue – Blueberries, Sloes, Water & Prunes

Third Eye Chakra – Indigo –Acai, Plums, Aubergine & Goji Berries

Crown Chakra – Violet – Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Cabbage & Purple Potatoes

Energy Healing can be extremely powerful at the same time as being relaxing and restorative.  Whether it be to help your body to heal from something physical, or to clear emotional blockages from your past, all you need is an open mind.


Learn the truth about diets and why they don’t work…

Today, I start my first blog of a series which will tell the truth about diets and why they don’t work, and why they are not the answer to reaching your goals.

I will look at dieting and what it’s supposed to achieve.  I will then look at why calories don’t matter & what does, the lowdown on fat vs carbohydrates, why we’ve been misled by the food industry, the “healthy” alternatives to sugar and much more…

Sit back and relax whilst I take you on a journey to demystify & learn the truth about diets, and why they don’t work…

Before I begin, I must point out that when I refer to the word “diet” I’m not talking about the situations when you’re on a diet for serious health issues i.e. coeliac or are following a vegetarian or vegan diet.  I’m talking about when the word “diet” is used to represent, what is normally a short term finite restrictive eating plan with the goal to lose weight.

How many times do you hear yourself or someone say “I want to lose some weight before my holiday”, or “I need to get healthier so I’m going to go on a diet” or “I’m going to cut out carbohydrates this week as I’ve heard it’s better for you”?  You’re determined this time to make it work, and are going to be so good with your weekly allowable treats, you might even join a slimming club, as all your friends go and this time that’s what you need to help you do it!

The diet industry in the UK is a huge business, they even make it easy for you by providing branded “diet” foods that you can snack on, cook in the microwave quickly and make the adding it all up extremely easy.

Why diets are not the way to go

What if I was to tell you that on average, 95% of people who lose weight by dieting will regain it in 1-5 years.  Moreover, the deprivation of restrictive diets may lead to unhealthy eating cycles.  Your body naturally doesn’t want you to starve either, and it will respond to overly-restrictive diets by slowing down your metabolism to hold onto the food its getting, for fear of starvation, and in doing so make it even harder for you to lose weight.

Many diets can be potentially damaging

Restrictive diets, or those that get you to eat in a certain way, and especially those including processed foods, recipes with unhealthy ingredients etc. (have you heard of the chicken recipe that uses diet coke to cook it in!) are often lacking in essential nutrients and do nothing to teach you about overall healthy eating.  Once you’ve completed your diet, the majority of people then slip back into their old unhealthier ways of eating that caused the weight gain and health issues in the first place.  This is more than often the beginning of what is known as ‘yo-yo’ dieting, which can also bring its own health problems.

Unhealthy obsessions

Being on a diet (which for a lot of people can be a forever thing) where their life is full of constantly counting points & calories, weighing food, weighing themselves and starving themselves during the week so that they can save enough points to enjoy a trip to McDonalds and a glass of wine at the weekend.  If you asked most women (and some men), they will all agree to have followed such a regime at some point in their life, and many continue to do so either all the time, or when their jeans start feeling a little tight.

This sort of obsession is unhealthy, not only from the food being consumed, but from the fact that this sort of repeated behaviour can lead to eating disorders such as emotional over-eating, anorexia & bulimia.  According to research, people who diet are 8 times more likely to develop an eating disorder than those who don’t.

No fun

Now if you’re already being honest with yourself from reading this, you must be admitting that actually being on what seems a permanent diet, or repeatedly going back to being on a diet really isn’t much fun.  When we restrict ourselves in such a way, we are not generally in the best of moods, and if you add to this the fact that energy levels may also be lower too, due to the fact of restricting calories, or other nutrients, it’s not really the happy place we want to be in.  There is no pleasure involved in this road to seemingly better health, and it is very common for women especially, to adopt an unhealthy attitude towards food, and therefore develop a bad relationship with eating and food generally.

So, I hear you ask, what should I do instead?

For many, this is where the knowledge & support of a Nutritionist or Nutrition Coach can help as each of us are completely different.  Not only in the way we look and feel, but also in the path we have trodden through life, and in the way our lifestyle is currently.  Whether it’s weight loss you are aiming for, or want to have more energy – what you eat is only a small part of your overall healthier lifestyle and so many contributing factors can predispose us individually to suffer from symptoms whereby our body is showing us a flag to be acknowledged.  This may be as simple as a headache, or more complex, such as suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms etc.  You may feel you have a tendency to bloat after meals, or after eating certain foods, you may struggle to lose weight easily, or you may have very low energy levels during certain times of the day.  These are just a few of the extremely many symptoms our bodies can produce to let us know something may be out of balance.

As a general guide, you should therefore be looking to: –

–          Ditch the diet and embrace gradual changes towards an overall healthier way of being – being happy & healthy is a long term goal, not something that can be achieved in a short space of time.  Rather than opting for the latest fad diet, focus on making gradual changes to eating more wholesome foods that have been processed as little as possible, every day.  Change your relationship with food to focusing on nourishing yourself with natural, nutritious and whole foods.

–          Agree to love and nourish your body (it’s the only one you’ll have).

–          Be realistic about how long it will take you to achieve your goals – if you are aiming for permanent weight loss and a more nutritious lifestyle, changes need to happen slowly to ensure healthy adjustment, not only with what you eat & drink, but also with your mind & body.

–          Become more mindful of the food you choose, and how it makes you feel – digestion and satiation starts before food reaches your mouth.  Think about how food is nourishing your body. Think of how you respect your body.  Even the look & smell of food can begin the digestive process. Eat at a table not in front of a TV or device.  Chew your food at least 10 times, and slow down your overall eating time.  Look at food, think about what you’re eating, smell it and savour it.

–          Recognise when you’re hungry, instead of just tired or emotional – being in tune with your eating patterns will help you.

This is only the beginning of your journey to throwing away the scales, stopping counting calories and making amazing gradual permanent changes that will make you feel & look fabulous inside & out. I will delve in to why calories don’t matter and what does, in my next blog, and follow me on Facebook to find out more…

In the meantime, if you’d like help with your journey, you can contact me, to arrange an initial, free, no obligation 15-minute phone call.

Have an amazing weekend.

 

Love

 

Amanda

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Sugar, Fat and the tale of how we were all misled…

Firstly, welcome to March!  It seems a while since I last wrote and I have a good excuse, I’ve been busy studying and helping clients and to be truthful, the days have just run away with me.  I’m sure like you though it feels amazing to be having more daylight hours, and the sunshine this week has been wonderful – I’ve had my running shoes back on and have had some beautiful runs with my dog!

Primroses

I’m sure you’ve heard the news about the Sugar Tax in the budget this week – it’s really good to hear and is definitely a step in the right direction.  I think we all know though that the battle against sugar has only really just got started, as over the last 30 years there has been so much misleading information, that people are now, understandably confused.

SugarThere is a lot more research and evidence in the public domain now that disproves the advice we were told to follow in the 1980’s, saying that all fat was bad, and that we should follow a low fat, high carbohydrate diet.  During this time, instances of heart disease have continued unabated, cancer has continued to rise, and Type II Diabetes and Obesity occurences have gone through the roof, both in adults, and sadly children too.  Even back in the 1950’s Professor John Yudkin presented much research on the topic, and advised that carbohydrates (sugar) was the problem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Yudkin).  In addition to that, more extensive research has been done on this, and Dr Deidre Tobias is known for her contribution, and findings as reported in the Lancet http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(15)00367-8/abstract.  All of this has influenced the guidelines we are now hearing, and why sugar is now known to be the enemy and healthy fats are indeed our friend.

Amongst regular research I do on diet & health, there is one functional medicine professional I follow with interest and admiration for his work in healing, and that is Dr Mark Hyman MD. You may be asking what is functional medicine?Dr Mark Hyman

Functional Medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease & illness, addressing the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms.

I thought I’d therefore share with you his recent interview by Lewis Howes – you can watch it here, and I’d really encourage you to take a look.

In his interview he talks about the past, and clearly explains the reasons why we now know the truth about sugar. I do hope you find it interesting and helpful.

I will be writing more next time about this shift in thinking, but in the meantime do contact me if you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you.

Have a lovely weekend!

 

Amanda

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Why New Year health resolutions often fail, and how to make 2016 different!

Our focus in January is always drawn to new year resolutions or health focus – all of which can be good but we can so easily put too much pressure on ourselves to achieve goals which are often unrealistic, seen as a short term fix or are too much of a change too soon.

I was reminded by my wonderful yoga teacher at Oceanflow this morning that during the festive season our bodies are often stressed with the amount of arrangements to organize, whether it’s hosting Christmas Day, or remembering gifts for school teachers, costumes for plays or just a myriad of all including lots of social occasions where we over indulge (those festive lattes and mulled wine & mince pies are so tempting…), and survive on less sleep etc. We may have been less active during this time too and then expect our bodies to suddenly jump into a new running or gym routine (so we can try out the fab new sports watch we got for Christmas!) or we begin to chastise ourselves with the “I’m going on a diet” mantra, and tell as many people as possible to receive supportive comments and understanding nods.

Whether it’s exercise or diet, or indeed both – January sees gym memberships and slimming clubs attendance rise.  Statistics show that most gym memberships then lapse by Easter, and we may feel happy with initial weight loss but are constantly reminded that we are deprived of treats, or indeed they are seen as sins, and are encouraged to save these for a blow out at the weekend! Then yo-yo dieting ensues.

Neither of these approaches leads to what we really want to achieve, which is ultimately a healthy & happy mind & body, with long term good health and enjoyment of life, whilst loving our body as much as it deserves.

You may have seen me say before that I don’t like the DIET word, as on the whole it is seen as a short term thing, to fix a problem.  Unfortunately many diets focus on just calories, and not good nutrition (100 calories of apple vs 100 calories of a Mars bar are a good example), and also don’t encourage and empower us to learn to change our way of eating forever, without the incessant calorie counting and stepping on weighing scales, and with more of a focus on loving our bodies and understanding how they work with what we feed them with, and how that can affect how you feel, how you look and also ensure we are having a wide variety of nutrients to nourish ourselves.

 

Do we feel good when we heat up a plastic coated microwave meal which is the right amount of calories or points?  Does it look amazing visually (which is the first part of our body engaging in the digestive process)?  Does it taste delicious and fresh, and is it packed full of nutrients to flood our body with goodness?  I think you’ll agree with me that the answer to these questions have been or would be no.

Here’s the thing…it doesn’t need to be like that.  All of us are different – different sizes, different likes & dislikes but the one thing we should all share is the respect for our own body.

Healthy weight management can be far better achieved with a focus on making gradual small changes towards your relationship with food overall.  Understand better what your body needs, and how you can nurture it with delicious and fresh natural ingredients to produce meals which are a feast for the eyes, stomach and every cell in your body.  Help your body to reach your goals naturally, whilst still enjoying wonderful food and healthy natural treats.

These small changes will grow into more changes, which will grow into major changes……and slowly you will transition to an overall healthier lifestyle where your choices are guided by your enthusiasm to love and nourish your body, as you not only love your new way of eating as you feel energized and happy, but the word diet no longer features in your vocabulary.

So today, I’d like you to think about how do you feel, how does your body feel, and consider how you could start making small and gradual changes to a long term healthier you.

I will be writing lots more about our journeys with food, so keep reading and if you’re on social media, check out my Facebook page too.

For those of you who would like to know more about how I could help you with your journey, have a look at my For You page on my website.

For now though, remember “You are what you eat – eat food that loves you back”

 

Love

Amanda
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Matcha – why you should be drinking it now!

CS-matcha-powder_mediumYou’ve probably heard about it, possibly seen it on the shelves but do you know why it’s so good for you, and how you can try it?

I’m a huge fan, so thought I’d share with you the lowdown on why Matcha is so great, and some delicious ways to try it too.  Get ready to ditch your morning coffee and swap it for something just as energising, but natural and flood your body with powerful antioxidants!

What is it?

Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown green tea, and just one serving (1/2 teaspoon) is equivalent to 10 cups of brewed green tea.

Why is it great?

You’ve probably all heard about the wonderful properties of green tea, well given Matcha’s potency, these benefits are even more amazing in just one serving.  I think if I’m honest, like most people, I would struggle to drink 10 cups of green tea a day, but with Matcha I know I only need to have one serving to be reaping the benefits.  Here are just some of them: –

– Immunity boosting & boosts mental awareness

– Helps control stress

– May help in weight loss due to it helping to boost the metabolism

– As energising as an expresso but without the rise in your cortisol levels (our stress hormone)

– Caffeine creates an instant boost for around 1 hour, but you will crash as the caffeine leaves your system, leaving you with an energy dip

– Although Matcha contains caffeine, it’s only around half the amount of a regular coffee

– Matcha is absorbed much slower too over a period of about 5-6 hours, giving a much preferred slow release of energy

– No impact is given to insulin levels, in fact Matcha helps to stabilise blood sugar levels, and contains I-theanine (an amino acid that aids relaxation)

– Helps the body get more oxygen and nutrients to cells, and can help with anti-ageing and producing radiant skin

What are the different types?

There are two main different types of Matcha.  Food grade contains slightly less antioxidants and is used for flavouring foods with Matcha.  Ceremonial grade Matcha has a much higher concentration of antioxidants, and is therefore far more potent and good for your health.

Like most things you do get what you pay for, so I would suggest you always look for organic and the best ceremonial grade Matcha you can afford.

How to drink it?

Matcha powder is quite versatile and can easily be drunk is many ways.  My favourite is as a Matcha Almond Milk Latte: –

Gently heat a cup or mug of Almond Milk (preferably home made) in a pan

Place 1/2 tsp of Matcha powder into a cup or mug

Add a little water and mix into a paste

When the milk is warmed through, add it to the Matcha paste and whisk with a spoon until combined

I like to then just add some cinnamon and turmeric, or some natural vanilla extract, but you can just drink it plain or add a little coconut nectar or raw honey to sweeten if you prefer

20150717_110721

Alternatively you can add Matcha to smoothies and juices to give them a boost of antioxidants!

So, the next time you feel like you need a coffee, have a think about switching to the wonders of Matcha……….

Enjoy

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Did you know you had two brains?

Brain_Skin_Gut-600x618Yes, you did read that correctly, and I’m not talking some alien type image of a man with two brains!

I’m talking about your gut, that little place where all your food goes.  Your gut is central to all your body systems, and how healthy it is, and if it’s in balance can play a dramatic part in how we feel and how we react to stress.
Remember that feeling you get when you go for an interview, waiting to go into an exam or even the dentist? How about that similar feeling you get when something doesn’t feel right, or your anxious about something you’ve done?

You’ve probably heard the phrases “I’ve got the collywobbles” or “I’m listening to my gut instinct”?

We’ve all experienced some of these, right?  Well, these are great simple examples of the brain-gut connection.

A healthy gut environment is key to good mental health, and helps with our recovery from stresses once they’ve gone.

So what prompted me to share this with you? Well, if you’ve read about me, you’ll understand the journey I have been on to be where I am today.  My gut had been compromised with IBS, Candida etc, and with changing what I ate I healed my gut and felt amazing. The trouble is as you’re learning now, reading this, how you feel has a huge impact on how your gut feels. So when I went through the dark period of stress & depression, even though I was eating well, my gut was being compromised by the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.

Here’s the admission (takes a deep breath)! My emotional state also clouded my thinking, and whilst I thought I was lucky having the knowledge I have, as I was eating well during this time, my mind forgot to remind me that stress can impact the balance of your gut regardless.

What was my tell tale? My skin!

Your skin is a great place to analyse what’s going on inside, and I started suffering from rosacea acne, and flare ups got worse as I had a particularly stress induced emotional day.

So, I started to focus on healing my gut – you’d think just by eating healthily, this would cure it, but there’s a lot more to it than that.  Basically, when your gut is compromised it causes a state called “Leaky Gut”, this can cause a lowered immunity, enable bacteria to enter the bloodstream, and for absorption of vitamins & minerals to decrease.

Action plan in place, here’s what I decided to focus on. There is many conflicting information out there, but after lots of research I decided, these were for me:-

1. Removing foods and factors that damage the gut

– luckily for me I already don’t have gluten, dairy or processed sugar in my diet

– so in addition, omitting high sugar fruits, yeast, caffeine & alcohol (thankfully I have minimal consumption of these two anyway)

2. Eat more healing foods, including prebiotic rich foods to encourage good bacteria

– luckily I love and eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and am a huge garlic fan!

– Kefir and fermented products

– Coconut products

3. Repair the gut with supplements

I did a more research into this, and for me I decided to give this a try: –

– L-glutamine – this is an essential amino acid that is also an anti-inflammatory, and great for growth and repair of the gut lining

4. Put more beneficial probiotics in to my body

– I take a probiotic supplement daily anyway, and sometimes it’s good to change the strain, so I changed mine

My journey with healing is still ongoing, but my skin already looks so much better.  Time to heal depends on how long your gut has been compromised, but mine is so much better already 🙂

Have a wonderful healthy week

Love

 

Amanda

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September arrives…

IMG_20150905_191322

As I sit here writing this I can’t believe it’s the end of the summer holidays, especially since the weather is so glorious at the moment.

September often means a change of routine – going back to, or starting school, going back to work or just preparing for the Autumn ahead.

Now is therefore the perfect time to try something new (just like I did over the summer with body boarding for the first time – I’m hooked and love the surf! Quite chuffed too that my wetsuit is Nourish purple!!).  Why not add a little health boost into your day? Small steps can all add up to a big difference in time…

Nourish wetsuit

 

Here’s a couple you could try: –

Drink a glass of water immediately after waking – your body becomes dehydrated whilst you sleep, so the sooner you can rehydrate the better. Even better, try some warm water with a slice of lemon & grated ginger – this will not only hydrate you, but also alkalise your body and kick start your metabolism for the day ahead.

Eat a decent breakfast – we are often in a rush in the mornings, but eating first thing will not only help your metabolism but will also provide you with energy, and avoiding you reaching for the biscuits before lunchtime. A good mix of slow release carbohydrates, healthy fats and protein will really give your energy levels a boost.

Healthy ideas include eggs, wholegrain, rye or home made gluten free nut & seed toast (recipe coming soon), avocado, salmon, nuts, seeds, healthy smoothies (sign up to my newsletter to receive a delicious recipe).

For now I’m sharing with you my Healthy Granola recipe, which is packed full of energy giving vitamins & minerals, alongside slow release carbs, healthy fats & protein and is also free of sugar.

Healthy Granola

I hope you enjoy!

Have a lovely day

 

Amanda

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