Hayfever - help the natural way!

Here are things I have learned about hayfever which have helped me and I am now mostly symptom free.

 

I developed hay fever symptoms after getting Hep B vaccine (I had to have it to work as a carer) I was so bad it even kept me in bed.  Homeopathy helped a lot by getting rid of the side effects of the vaccine first then I got given a remedy specific to me. I still had to use most of the tips below to really clear it.

 

Watch you food: cow's milk and cheese are catarrh forming so cut them as much you can, (watch out for those tempting ice creams on sunny days! make some lollies from fruit smoothies instead (much better for your immune system too) You can use rice, almond, hazelnut oat milk which are now widely available in supermarkets. Wheat and soya can be problematic too so reduce these. 

If you have some nettle tea, make up a strong tea, as it helps has anti-histamine properties and you can or add a little lemon juice (cleansing) and honey (local if possible) and drink it. You can use young nettles in cooking - great for soup - (very similar to spinach)- remember to use rubber gloves to prepare them.

Avoid the caffeine, alcohol  and refined sugars as they trigger histamine release.

For the sore, itchy throat, here is what I do: A cup of hot apple juice (made with concentrated apple juice from my local health food store) with 1/2 a tea spoon of my spice mixture (This is pre mixed in a spice jar ready for use- 1ts of ground ginger, 1 of ground clove and 2 of ground cinnamon mix ready for use) stir and cuddle up somewhere comfy and rest.

To help balance the immune system: take Echinaforce (echinacea in liquid form from A.Vogel) especially if you are prone to colds and flue the rest of the year.  Bee propolis is good to take.

If it goes to your chest and you are coughing then you can also take Ivy thyme complex from the same company) Also read my earlier blog on clearing catarrh

For the runny nose you can take Luffa Complex by the same company.

All 3 can be taken with water together if necessary.

For the itchy eyes you can bathe them (with a clean egg cup if you don't have an eye bath)with cooled boiled water with a little bicarbonate soda added. Luffa complex mentioned above is also helpful for itchy eyes.

Read more on hayfever.

To tackle the root cause of the imbalance, you may want to consider what is irritating/ stressing you. You may find it is something you can't do much about (having to care for elderly parents, a situation at work) but you can still reduce the pressure you feel by checking in with yourself to see what would help ease this and do you best to state your needs clearly. (Make sure it is YOUR need, not what you want others to do, it is up to them how they respond to your need for example, I need to feel more supported- I need to rest -have a holiday...not I need you to cook dinner for me, do more round the house....- for more help with this find out about Marshall Rosenberg's Non Violent Communication or NVC)

Even if there is nothing you can do to change the situation, you can change how you view/perceive it. We often feel stressed because we feel out of control. In fact if you think about the situation you will realise that you are choosing to be there for some reason, often because not being there seems worse - putting parents into a care home , being out of work for example. By accepting that you have some choice in the matter can reduce your stress levels.

You might find having a good scream in a pillow and beating it (or beat the punch bag at the gym while thinking of your stressful situation) can help you release that frustration - better out than in.

If this isn't enough to create a shift then EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing- helps to reframe your situation and give you perspective. You can also watch these videos of how EMDR works on my channel playlist . 

Your body is letting you know something is out of balance so take more time to listen to it. We often spend too much time doing, not enough time being, resting, contemplating our achievements or just being grateful.  Allow yourself to be! Read more about stress and its effects

If none of this has helped, alternative therapies for you to consider are Homoeopathy, Acupuncture, Kinesiology or BodyTalk

I hope these help and please share what works for you and let me know if you would like to use EMDR to reduce your stress levels.

How to improve confidence

For me, body and mind are not disconnected parts of us that can be dealt with independently.  Body and mind are actually one Body~Mind unit interconnected and this 20 min video shows you how much that is true.
Body language affects how others see us, but it can also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how! Posture can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

Let me know on a 0 to10 scale how confident you feel in the comments below.
If you want help improving that score or your posture or both of course then contact me for a free 30 min taster session.

The secrets of language!

Watch the video for a different take on the use of language.
I help client re-phrase their desired outcomes or goals from sessions as they often don't know how to phrase what they really want. They can tell me what they don't want and this makes it difficult for them to achieve their real desired goal. Language is very powerful so watch what you say and what it really means.  For example, I don't think of what I do as work but as play, in the way that a child learns through play and exploration. This is because work implies effort and this is the opposite of what I want to achieve in the muscles when I want them to relax, I want softness, ease and freedom.
When you understand how the everyday language you use can keep you trapped in a life you don't fully want and begin to re-phrase things, it is much easier to change it.  It does take awareness discipline though to stop saying things like "I want a break" and say "I want a rest" instead.

Enjoy observing yourself and let me know what phrases or words you used and how you have changed them. If you don't know how to change them let me know in the comment box below and I will see if I can come up with something for you. Have fun!

Get rid of catarrh with a bottle of water and a straw! Easy tip

I have been looking after my mother since she broke her hip skiing.
After my first night there, she had been coughing during the night, and woke complaining that she had a lot of catarrh stuck at the back of her nose and throat. When she blew her nose it had no effect.

I decided to test one of the exercises I had seen, while I was training as a nurse. This was used in the hospital by the physiotherapists for post-operative care to reduce the risk of lung infections.

It consists of a large bottle almost full of water and a pipe. The best I could do to replicate this was a 2 L bottle of water and a straw. I gave it to my mother and said: breathe in through your nose, then blow out through the straw that is as deep in the water as possible. Do this about 10x3 times a day.

That night I notice she had not been coughing much. When I got to see her in the morning she declared the catarrh had cleared.

The reason this works is because your body produces catarrh to fight chronic hyperventilation which occurs when most of the breathing is done through the mouth rather than the nose. Breathing against the pressure of the water also ensures the lungs function better.

This particular practice along with square breathing (as described in my blog about sleep) is also helpful for conditions such as asthma and other chest complaints. Cutting down on cow's milk and taking garlic are also helpful. For chesty coughs then Bronchosan A Vogel remedy is also helpful

To find out more about how breathing affects many aspects of your health, you can also learn about the Buteyko method. 

If you have any other tips for breathing then please share them in the comment box, thank you.

3 tips for better sleep.

Good quality sleep is important to feel well and be able to function properly during the day. I hear so many people say they can't remember things, they loose their temper and even thought they don't like something, can't really be bothered to do anything to change it. These can be a sign of sleep deprivation. When you are well rested, you can think more clearly, plan you day, get things done more quickly and will feel less stressed.

Here are 3 tips to help you get better sleep:
1) Plan your food and drink intake so you are not having coffee, tea, chocolate, coke and other pick me up drinks after 2pm and eat 4h before going to bed.
2) Have a bed time routine, this will train your brain that you are going to be going to bed. Here are some ideas of what your evening could be like: Write down any unfinished business you need to attend to the next day so you can let your brain rest rather than churn over it in bed. Switch off phones, computers and tablets at least 1hr before bed time. Avoid exciting movies just before bed, watch them early and then read for example. Get changed, brush your teeth and keep lights to a minimum (ideal if you have dimmer switches or bed side light.  Do some stretching, relaxing or breathing. (not cardio exercises)

3) If your mind can't switch off you can practice 'square breathing' - breath in for a count of 4 pause for 4 out for 4 and pause for 4 so as you breath you can say in your head in 2,3,4, pause 2,3,4, out 2,3,4, pause 2,3,4, The slower you can count and keep the breathing in that rhythm the better.

This is one of the techniques I teach on my relaxation workshop (see below) and it is available on my relaxation CD designed specifically to help induce sleep.

Here is some more information that might help you:
Read more: March of the Sleep Deprived
Read more on making decisions and habits 

If you would like more help then sign up to my newsletter. You will know when the next relaxation workshop is and my next talk on Body~Mind Coaching  for stress relief using EMDR.  You can watch this video of how EMDR works.
 For one to one sessions contact me.

What are your sleeping tips?  I would love to know. You can share them anonymously in the comment box.  Look forward to hearing from you.

What chemicals are you prepared to use on your body?

Do you believe the media/ adds and glossy mags that tells you how you should look to look good?
What price are you paying for this kind of supposed beauty?  I don't mean in £ or $ I mean the price your health is paying for it in the long run. All these beauty products are usually full of parabens and all manner of other chemicals that cause cancer and other diseases. You can read more about this below and if you decide you want to change what you put on your skin then let me know there are lots of healthy alternatives I can suggest.

Sustainable Earth and Health: What Price, White Face?: Finally, we may perhaps be about to have a much longed-for backlash over skin whitening creams and, if we do, it’s not before time. An art... Click the link on the title to read the full article.

Sugar v Fat

If you didn't get to see the horizon program about sugar V fat last night, it is worth watching. There are some interesting and unexpected results about diabetes and how you won't loose much weight by cutting out fats or sugars. Here is the link www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/.../Horizon_20132014_Sugar_v_Fat/
What's worse for us: sugar or fat? Doctors Chris and Xand Van Tulleken investigate.
If your New Year's resolution was to lose weight then watching this is a must.