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'Making You Whole'
Newsletter
Healing In The Workplace
Healing In The Home
Integrated Therapies
'Making You Whole'
Special Offers
SPECIAL OFFERS FOR AUGUST THROUGH TO OCTOBER
New Clients £5 reduction for first session.
QUOTE ' NEW CLIENT -£5'
Pay for 4 sessions get 5th session free.
QUOTE '5-4-4'
01932 883693/07752 297625
HEALING IN THE WORKPLACE
July
SPECIAL OFFER
Holistic Massage
£30
CONTACT 01932 883693 / 07752 297625
Healing In The Workplace
JULY
Special Offer
USUI REIKI
one hour sessions
book 2 sessions at the same time
25% discount, normally £50 per session
Peaceful Moment
just take some time to meditate on this affirmation
Please visit this site for more information about meditation - www.peacefulearth.com
Thought for Today
Happiness is what you are, not what you have.
www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk
Special Events
REIKI AWARENESS WEEK
The UKRF held its annual Reiki Awareness Week
6th - 12th June 2010
Healing In The Workplace
provided taster sessions of
Usui Reiki
here at the
Chertsey Practice throughout this week.
Voluntary donations went to
Sam Beare & Woking Hospice
If you would like to receive a copy of the UKRF list of events during that week then please send a sae to:
"What's on RAW"
UK Reiki Federation
PO Box 71
Andover
SP11 9WQ
Healing In The Workplace
Chertsey, Surrey
MONTHLY SELF-DEVELOPMENT GROUPS 2010
GROUP 1- 2nd THURSDAY evening, 7.30pm
GROUP 3 - 3rd TUESDAY afternoon, 12pm noon
These small but lively groups have been running now for just over eighteen months with guided meditations, healing circle, members articles of interest and a general discussion about our own development and any queries regarding different aspects of mind, body and spiritual awareness.
Previously the current members attended Felicity Prudence's group until her move to the Isle of Wight, where upon the group attended various members homes until the practice suite in Chertsey was completed.
The groups have now been meeting in Chertsey for three years on a regular basis on the above evenings and afternoons of each month.
If you are interested in joining a group please book your place by contacting:
June Lawrance at this email address
info@healingintheworkplace.co.uk
AVAILABLE NOW
Holistic Massage
sessions at the practice suite in Chertsey
or
at your workplace
after arrangement with your employer
details available from June Lawrance
01932 883693 / 07752 297625
SPECIAL OFFER
one hour session for just
£30
usually £50
full body massage plus neck, facial and scalp massage
available only at the practice suite in Chertsey, Surrey
Massage Reduces Chronic Tension Headache
15/07/2010
University of Granada researchers have shown that a 30 minute massage is able to reduce tension headache symptoms. The project involved cooperation between the University of Granada, the University Rey Juan Carlos and the Clinical Hospital San Cecilio. Between them they revealed how massage changes the physiological as well as psychological state of tension headache patients inside of 24 hours from receiving the massage.
The standard treatment for tension headaches, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the population, is to administer analgesics, but these only temporarily relieve the symptoms.
The researchers already understood that one of the main reasons for the development of tension headaches is the presence of trigger points, which are specific points on the body that literally trigger pain or headaches.
Leader of the study was researcher Cristina Toro Velasco, who worked under the supervision of Professor Manuel Arroyo Morales. She worked on massaging the cervical trigger points of her patients for 30 minutes in order to improve the regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Interestingly, the treatment led to both a physiological improvement as well as a better psychological state in the form of a reduction in the "stress and anxiety associated to such a disturbing disorder".
Within 24 hours of treatment, the patients were reporting relief from their symptoms. The researchers think that this was due to the massage lowering the pain activated by the trigger points which in turn resulted in a better general sense of well being in the patients.
The American Journal of Manipulative Physiological and Therapeutics is to publish the study.
Relaxing Extends Cancer Survival
10/06/2010
A study has revealed that women with breast cancer are able to extend cancer survival by learning to relax. The study conducted in the U.S. examined the survival rates of women who had their cancer return after their initial treatment. The group of women volunteers worked with psychologists to come up with ways to reduce stress; stress being one of the main causes of cancer complications.
Reducing stress levels enabled the immune system to remain strong and resulted in Improvements in the quality of the women’s lives. The women who were part of the support group that helped them deal with stress lived on average 6 months longer than those that did not.
From Ohio State University, Columbus psychology professor Barbara Andersen said, "If you have someone who can provide effective, research-supported ways to reduce your stress, not only will that affect your mental health. It will likely affect your symptoms and your recovery."
The 227 women who volunteered for the study were newly diagnosed with Stage II or III breast cancer. Some of the women received therapy to enable them to understand their stress, cope with it, stick to the cancer treatment prescribed to them and develop an over all better emotional state. The other women received a psychological assessment.
What was unusual about the results was that the therapy enhanced the women’s survival rates which had not been known before in other studies.
Andersen further explained the details of the study, saying: "It was far more than the popular notion of support groups of patients in a room talking about their troubles," adding that “Certain patients talked about things that were stressful to them, but they also learned really effective ways to cope with that stress."
Previous parts of the study showed that 45% of women who had attended the support group had less likelihood of their breast cancer returning after 11 years of follow ups.
The enhanced survival rates revealed in this last phase of the study were above and beyond any drug treatment improvements.
From Washington University in St. Louis, Sarah Gehlert stated that "An intervention that increased survival would be incredibly valuable. It represents a new tool for improving the lives of women with breast cancer." She had no connection with the study.
The Cancer Clinical Research journal is to publish the findings
MEDITATION TO HELP WITH DEPRESSION
Imagine if you could cure depression with a therapy that was more effective and long-lasting than expensive drugs, and which did not have any side effects. These are the claims being made for a form of Buddhist meditation.
Last week, psychologists from the University of Exeter published a study into "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy" (MBCT), finding it to be better than drugs or counselling for depression. Four months after starting, three quarters of the patients felt well enough to stop taking antidepressants.
MBCT marries Eastern meditation with Western cognitive therapy. Patients are taught the simple technique over eight sessions and then practise it at home for 30 minutes a day. Professor Willem Kuyken, whose team at the Mood Disorders Centre of the University of Exeter carried out the research, says: "Anti-depressants are widely used by people who suffer from depression and that's because they tend to work. While they're very effective in helping reduce the symptoms of depression, when people come off them they are particularly vulnerable to relapse. For many people, MBCT seems to prevent that relapse. It could be an alternative to long-term antidepressant medication."
MBCT was developed in the mid-Nineties by psychologists at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Toronto to help stabilise patients' moods during and after use of antidepressants. About half of patients relapse into depression – even if they continue taking the medication. One common reason for a relapse is when a normal period of sadness turns into obsessive brooding.
"Brooding is a key feature of depression," says Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford and leader of the team that developed MBCT. "In mentally healthy people, sad thoughts pass quite quickly but in people who suffer from depression they don't. MBCT tackles brooding and teaches people to be more compassionate to themselves and others."
The MBCT technique is simple, and revolves around ''mindfulness meditation''. In this, you sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. (See box for details). Concentrating on the rhythm of the breath helps produce a feeling of detachment. The idea is that you come to realise that thoughts come and go of their own accord, and that your conscious self is distinct from your thoughts. This realisation is encouraged by gentle question-and-answer sessions modelled on those in cognitive therapy.
In the University of Exeter study, funded by the Medical Research Council, 47 per cent of patients with long-term depression suffered a relapse; the figure was 60 per cent among those taking medication alone. Other studies, including two published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, had comparable outcomes. As a result, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended MBCT since 2004. But NHS availability is still patchy. Many sufferers seek private treatment, with courses at Buddhist centres costing around £120.
"One of the key features of depression is that it hijacks your attention," says Prof Williams. "We all tend to bring to the forefront of our minds the thoughts and feelings that reflect our current mood. If you are sad, depressed or anxious, then you tend to remember the bad things that have happened to you and not the good. This drives you into a downward spiral that leads from sadness into a deeper depression. MBCT prevents and breaks that spiral."
1. Sit upright in a straight-backed chair, with your spine about an inch from the back of the chair, and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Close your eyes. Use your mind to watch your breath as it flows in and out. Observe your sensations without judgement. Do not try to alter your breathing.
3. After a while your mind will wander. Gently bring your attention back to your breath. The act of realising that your mind has wandered – and bringing your attention back – is the key thing.
4. Your mind will eventually become calm.
5. Repeat every day for 20–30 minutes.
BodyTalk: Could a new therapy be the answer to all your aches and pains?
Rumoured to be popular with Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama, BodyTalk is now finding converts in Britain.
By Tessa Boase
Published: 12:00PM GMT 22 Jan 2010
Have you ever wondered how the superhuman among us – the Barack Obamas, the Oprah Winfreys – manage to appear so gleaming, so lucid, so centred apparently all the time? Don't they ever have an off day?
Obama, who this week celebrated his first year in office, shares a little secret with Oprah. They are reportedly both fans of "BodyTalk", the alternative healthcare system of the moment, now finding converts in Britain.
BodyTalk is based on the belief that the body knows how to heal itself but, like a computer, can get overloaded, leading to malfunction. A BodyTalk practitioner offers no diagnosis or prescription, just a "rewiring" session using muscle testing and light tapping on the head and sternum to re‑establish channels of communication within the body. Then the body will start functioning optimally again. Words like "innate", "healing" and "wisdom" set off alarm bells for me, especially when used together. But look past the jargon – and past the fact that this is a booming Florida business whose founder, Dr John Veltheim, resembles an outsize elf with bushy beard and evangelical smile – and there is sense in recognising the body as a "whole" with interconnecting systems. After all, we know that when one thing goes wrong, diverse other symptoms can crop up. Veltheim, an Australian, once ran a busy clinic for Chinese medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic and naturopathy. He became exhausted, got ill and couldn't recover. The long search for a cure led him to experiment with blending these and other alternative therapies, creating "acupuncture without needles".
His eureka moment came in 1995 with the discovery that you can literally tap into the body's energy circuits by using simple muscle testing to discover areas of sluggish communication. Tapping on the head then tells the brain to "fix" the faulty circuit, followed by tapping on the heart to "store" the fix, just like a computer downloading a programme.
Confused? Cynical? London-based practitioner Britt Jorgensen was when she first encountered BodyTalk on a yoga retreat in the United States four years ago. "People were talking about this miracle cure," she says. But no one could come up with a description that made sense to her.
Three weeks later, Jorgensen booked onto a BodyTalk course in New York and was captivated. She started practising on her husband, on friends and children, and says the results were demonstrable. Backache disappeared. Depression lifted. Skin complaints cleared up. Hyperactive children sat still. She continued training, gave up her high-powered job and qualified as a practitioner, treating people for complaints as varied as phobias, slipped discs and digestive problems.
I put Jorgensen to the test with a clutch of minor ailments: stiff back, aching wrist, sore throat – plus an unhealthy surfeit of anger. I lie on the treatment table and she wiggles my hand and arm, then lightly taps my head and chest bone. She also holds my feet briefly and lays a hand over my middle (she picks up straight away on the anger: the liver meridian apparently needs "balancing").
Does she have healing hands? No. BodyTalk is an "energy medicine", based on scientific principles. Veltheim has used neuroscience to back his findings, including a recent experiment in which the brain's responses to BodyTalk were monitored. I leave the treatment room still unconvinced. The tapping feels too much like knocking on wood – vague optimism rather than hard science.
But, one month later, the results of three sessions have shaken my scepticism. All physical complaints disappeared within hours of treatment. More surprising has been my change in mood: I feel increasingly clear-headed, light-chested, optimistic and energetic, as if the white noise of 21st-century urban life has been switched off in my head.
I still don't know how it works, but then I don't understand what my computer repair man does either.
For your nearest practitioner and training go to www.bodytalkuk.co.uk
Massage for Sickle Cell Disease
13/08/2009 Massage is now being used extensively for physical as well as psychological benefits. To help publicise these benefits researchers from the at Nationwide Children's Hospital have published their ‘Journal of Paediatric Psychology’ that illustrates how effective massage has been in the areas of physical medicine, rehabilitation and with organ transplants patients.
The journal especially highlights the effectiveness of massage in dealing with depression, pain and anxiety experienced in children who had Sickle Cell Disease.
Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic disorder affecting the red blood cells, altering their shape and texture. The children’s hospital used massage and encouraged the children’s’ parents to also provide a massage service to the children. They trained 18 parents of children with Sickle Cell Disease in the art of massage using trained massage therapists. The results say Kathleen Lemanek, PhD, and Mark Ranalli, MD were very successful as the children experienced a reduction in pain, depression and anxiety after being massaged by their parents.
Dr. Ranalli, who is a doctor in Haematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant, said "Massage is an inexpensive and easy way to manage pain, which is a big part of having Sickle Cell Disease." He further elaborated on the benefits by revealing the alternative to massage. He said "Pain management for Sickle Cell Disease typically includes hydration, nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs and narcotics. Massage as a pain management technique can relax the muscles, increase circulation and help medication take a more effective route."
Paediatric psychologist from Nationwide Children's Hospital, Dr. Lemanek, issued some cautions regarding the blanket use of massage, saying "It's important to note that massage may not be right for all patients with Sickle Cell Disease or even patients who may suffer from chronic pain," and that "You have to consider personal characteristic and comfort levels of both the parents and child first before determining if massage is right."
Dr. Lemanek, who is an Ohio State University College of Medicine faculty member said, "Even though parents' anxiety levels were increased, parents from the study said they would continue to use massage as a pain management tool." He said this baring in mind that "When your kids are in pain, despite medication, and parents feel hopeless like they have exhausted all options, massage can help them feel in control of the disease. When your child looks at you in pain, massage gives you the opportunity to do something to actively try and help.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160546.php
ADHD Symptoms Reduced by Meditation
20/01/2009
A study involving school children revealed that regular meditation practice reduces ADHD by 50%. ADHD is a condition on epidemic proportions. Although the pharmaceutical companies were quick to label it a medical condition that was in need of drugs, many experts believe it is more to do with lifestyle and diet than it is with biology.
To find a non invasive, non pharmaceutical aid to ADHD, a group of medical experts conducted a trial on middle school level children with ADHD who were requested to practice transcendental meditation two times a day.
Cognitive learning specialist Sarina J. Grosswald, Ed.D from George Washington University who was also the study leader, said "The effect was much greater than we expected," in that "The children also showed improvements in attention, working memory, organization, and behaviour regulation."
On describing in more detail the immediate benefits of the meditation sessions, she said "teachers reported they were able to teach more, and students were able to learn more because they were less stressed and anxious."
Study co-author, Professor William Stixrud a clinical neuropsychologist indicated to previous research that told how ADHD children had brains that developed slower and in turn were less equipped to deal with stress. He said "Stress interferes with the ability to learn - it shuts down the brain."
When the topic of pharmaceuticals came up as a way of dealing with ADHD, Strixrud said "Medication for ADHD is very effective for some children, but it is marginally or not effective for others. Even for those children who show improved symptoms with the medication, the improvement is often insufficient or accompanied by troubling side effects,"
To summarise the expected benefits from the study, Grosswald said "What's significant about these new findings is that among children who have difficulty with focus and attention, we see the same results. TM doesn't require concentration, controlling the mind or disciplined focus. The fact that these children are able to do TM, and do it easily shows us that this technique may be particularly well suited for children with ADHD."
The study and results are to be published in the Current Issues in Education journal.
Another study dedicated to transcendental meditation and ADHD is planned and will be funded with £1.4 million.
www.HealthyPages.com
The British College of Integrated Medicine
At the launch at the Royal College of Physicians in Regents Park, the Integrated Health Trust, formed in November 2007, will announce its first achievement - the formation of the British College of Integrated Medicine which will start its first courses to educate doctors and nurses in all aspects of the IM model in January 2009. This course will be run by IM pioneers Dr Rosy Daniel and Dr Mark Atkinson and other leaders in the IM field. It will be professionally validated by the team of Professor Karol Sikora at his innovative Medical School at the University of Buckingham.
Integrated healthcare combines the very best of all medicines - orthodox, complementary, psychological, nutritional, spiritual and self-help - for the care of the sick and the prevention of illness. IM practitioners treat the cause and not just the symptoms of illness and enhance the self-healing potential of the body, mind and spirit.
Professor Karol Sikora, Clinical Dean at Buckingham University and Medical Director of Cancer Partners UK* is one of the Trust’s advisors, and will be speaking at the launch about the importance of Integrated Medicine in the UK. He said: “This is a remarkable and ambitious initiative aiming to bring IM into routine use throughout healthcare in Britain. It urgently requires a focus for training, teaching and research that this project envisages. The combination of aging populations, technological progress and an informed, demanding clientele will result in increasing financial strain in all healthcare environments. Predominantly tax based systems, such as Britain’s NHS, are particularly vulnerable to meltdown unless new approaches can be found to return people to health with simpler and cheaper holistic strategies.”
Mac Jeffery, a beneficiary of integrated medicine who will be speaking at the launch, said:
“Integrated Medicine has played such an important part in my survival from cancer.
I have received excellent orthodox treatment, accessed the best in complementary therapy and on the way met some amazing practitioners.
Integrated Medicine has focused on 'all of me' not just my illness and given me strategies to take control of my life and health.”
Usui Reiki
1st Degree Shoden Introduction
1 day course
9.30 - 17.30
Chertsey, Surrey
Course content:-
Learn about the history of Usui Reiki and it's founder Mikao Usui
Be attuned to the Universal Energy
Learn how to use Reiki on yourself, your family, friends, pets and plants
Experience meditations for self improvement.
Available throughout 2008, for specific dates contact Healing In The Workplace
Cost is £150 and this includes follow-up service by the course provider for at least 21 days
(discount for clients of Healing In The Workplace)
info@healingintheworkplace.co.uk
01932 883693 / 07752 297625
New Venues
The Runnymede Centre
Chertsey, Surrey
We are pleased to announce that Healing In The Workplace
is providing
Usui Reiki & Holistic Massage sessions
for the staff at this location
on the first Tuesday of each month.
CREST CANCER ORGANISATION
This organisation provides Relaxation & Pamper Days for Cancer Patients and their Carers twice a year. Relaxation & Pamper Days are organised by Sara Dobson and the staff at Crest Cancer, based at the Spelthorne Council Offices in Staines.
These Relaxation & Pamper Days provide 2 complementary therapy sessions for the attendees over the course of the day, starting at 10am through to 4pm. Crest Cancer also provide refreshments during coffee and tea breaks, and a beautiful buffet lunch at midday.
These days are held at Manor Mead School in Shepperton and we must thank them for allowing the Relaxation & Pamper Day providers and attendees to use their beautiful premises.
Complementary therapists and the staff and volunteers of Crest Cancer give their services for free to provide this exceptional day of pampering. Healing In The Workplace is pleased and proud to be a provider of Usui Reiki to cancer patients and their carers on these Relaxation & Pamper days.
The last relaxation & Pamper Day was held on 6th March 2010, SATURDAY and was extremely well attended.
Why not get in touch to find out when the next Pamper Day will be held?
To be arranged for Sept/Oct 2010, Saturday.
www.crestcancer.org or go to the links page.