I work with a knowledge of meridians in many of my treatments; Holistic Body Massage (I like to look at where knots and tension are and if they may be lying over a certain meridian pathway), Facial and Foot Reflexology (reflexology points may also be related to certain meridian points).
Meridians are energy pathways, which form a continuous network around the body, transporting vital energy, known as 'chi' in oriental medicine or 'prana' in Ayurvedic medicine. Meridians can become blocked or imbalanced from the stress of daily life and each meridian has certain attributes related to it.
Here are the main meridians, their meanings and what healing may be needed:
The Lung Meridian
The primary negative expression of the lung meridian when it is imbalanced is GRIEF. Also, worry, anxiety, sorrow, resentment. So, if your lung meridian is imbalanced and I pick this up from Reflexology or from a Holistic Body Massage, where you have a lot of knots behind your lungs area on your back, you may need to heal emotionally in any of those areas. You may also be suffering physically with asthma, cough, stiff shoulders, congestion or a headache.
The Large Intestine Meridian
This is the partner of the Lung Meridian and is related to STUBBORNESS AND STAGNATION so you may also be holding onto grief, and past hurts. An imbalance can also indicate a contamination of the mind with toxic thoughts. You may also be suffering physically with the same symptoms as an imbalanced Lung Meridian, along with constipation, a lack of body heat and dry lips.
The Stomach Meridian
The primary emotion associated with the Stomach Meridian is ANXIETY. A lack of confidence, worry and sceptism are other emotions that may need to be healed. Physically, you may be suffering with dry tongue, stuffy nose and stomach problems.
The Spleen Meridian
This is the partner of the Stomach Meridian and it is often associated with THOUGHT - over-thinking or unclear thoughts and poor concentration. A busy mind may need to be healed. You may be suffering physically with insomnia, bloating, PMT, menstrual problems, low energy, obesity.
The Heart Meridian
The primary emotion associated with the Heart Meridian is LOVE and joy. A blockage can mean that the heart needs some healing in some way or another. Physically, a Heart Meridian blockage can lead to hot flushes, insomnia, general stiffness and any heart problems.
The Small Intestine Meridian
This is the partner of the Heart Meridian and is related to DECISION MAKING - forgetfulness, indecision and an unclear thought process. Envy or jealousy may need to be healed if the Small Intestine Meridian is out of balance. Physically, you may have neck pain, keeping feelings inside, restlessness, overworking and frequent bowel movements.
The Bladder Meridian
The primary emotion associated with the Bladder Meridian is MEMORY, willpower and determination. A lack of confidence may need to be healed if this is imbalanced. Physically, a Bladder Meridian blockage can lead to trembling, stress, restlessness, pain in spine or waits and bladder problems.
The Kidney Meridian
This is the partner of the Bladder Meridian and is related to FEAR. If you are feeling a lack of courage, no confidence and a lack of courage, your Kidney Meridian may be out of balance and you may need to look at healing these areas. Physically, there may be hair loss, nail biting, imbalanced hormones, kidney stones, infertility and painful joints.
The Liver Meridian
The primary emotion related to The Liver Meridian is ANGER. If your Liver Meridian is blocked, you may notice yourself shouting a lot or being aggressive. Depression is also a manifestation of a blocked Liver Meridian. You may need to look at why you are feeling angry or where there is repressed anger and heal this. Physically, there may be insomnia, dizziness, a tendency to eat too much sugar, liver pain, an aversion to wind and muscle weakness.
The Gallbladder Meridian
This is the partner of the Liver Meridian and is related to RAGE. You may need to heal any past hurts or pain that have caused you to feel this rage. Physically, there may also be nausea, gallstones, clenched fists or jaw, knee pains and a tendency to bruise easily.
If you would like to book in for Foot Reflexology, Facial Reflexology, Reiki or Holistic Body Massage, to help with any healing of your meridians, please do get in touch.
I often work with chakras, particularly when I am doing Reiki. Here is a quick reference to each one, so you know what I am talking about when I do talk about chakras! ...
Chakras are spinning vortexes of energy that lie just above our physical body. Each of these chakras is related to different areas of our lives. They are the life flow of our energetic body and can become imbalanced with stress, negative thinking, toxins and many other daily life activities. A Reiki treatment will aim to rebalance all your chakras, ensuring energy is flowing smoothly throughout your body. Each chakra has a colour which you can visualise if you want to meditate on the chakras. Each chakra is located at a different part of the body.
1) Root chakra - colour red - located at base of the tailbone
Related to thoughts and feelings about survival, shelter, home, food, clothing, work, money, posssessions and any other basic necessities.
2) Sacral chakra - colour orange - located at the pelvic area
Related to thoughts and feelings about sensuality and sexuality, pleasure, desires, cravings and your body.
3) Solar plexus chakra - colour yellow - located just above the abdomen, behind the naval
Related to thoughts and feelings about power and control - being overpowered or controlled by others, desire to be powerful or to control something or someone.
4) Heart chakra - colour green - located in the centre of the chest
Related to thoughts and feelings about love, compassion, forgiveness and relationships.
5) Throat chakra - colour blue - located at the throat
Related to thoughts and feelings about speaking your truth, communication and asking for your needs to be met.
6) Ear chakras - colour reddish violet - located at both ears
Related to everything that you have heard or listened to, negative or positive.
7) Third eye chakra - colour indigo blue - located between the 2 eyes
Related to thoughts and feelings about the future and the past and also your belief about spirituality.
8) Crown chakra - colour purple - located at the top of the head
Related to thoughts and feelings about spirituality, divine guidance, God/Love/Being/Consciousness.
We have all heard that it is really important to stay stress-free in pregnancy but why is that? I, for one, was really stressed in my second pregnancy. I began feeling very anxious at the thought of having to go through birth again, with the first birth being a very long labour, with a back-to-back baby, pre-eclampsia, induction and a forceps delivery. So I tried my hardest to increase more of what helped me relax (meditation, swimming, being in nature, yoga) so I could feel less stressed, just because I didn't want to feel like that and I also had an intuitive feeling that the stress was not good for my unborn baby girl. I now know that any negative or fearful thoughts and feelings I was having, whilst pregnant, were being passed through my placenta to her. When a foetus is in a mother's womb, the mother is the external environment for that foetus and any emotions and feelings affect the baby. If the mother is relaxed and happy, the baby is relaxed and happy. If the mother is stressed, the baby is stressed. Halfway through the pregnancy, the baby's brain starts learning and it does so through the placenta, which aswell as delivering nutrition through the blood delivered through the placenta, also delivers the mother's emotions and thoughts. If I had known this, I would have been having all the holistic therapies I could and meditating every spare minute I had! But seriously, life is stressful, being pregnant is stressful and we can feel fear with the impending changes in our body and what lies ahead when we bring a new baby into the world. But if we can become more aware that if we can try to keep our thoughts positive, try to look after our wellbeing and health (by having a Pregnancy Massage or Maternity Reflexology or Reiki) or learning to quiet our mind with Meditation, we can only be sending positive vibes to our little bundle of joy.
Meditation and a spiritual life helped saved me from a life anxiety. A life of fear-based and negative thinking, feeling constantly on edge and often scared, having a lack of confidence and low self-esteem, not being able to talk sometimes, over-analysing and 'what-if' thinking, shying away from social situations (or choosing to numb my feelings with drink and drugs), heart palpitations, feeling dizzy, low energy and tired all the time, not eating properly and a general feeling of dread upon waking each day.
I discovered meditation about 20 years ago. There were not many meditation groups around and it was probably a bit 'hippy' but I needed some peace and calm in my mind as it had reached a peak and I was living a very hectic and busy life in London. I needed to connect with some stillness. I started to meditate on my own lying down on the floor with a book called The Little Book of Calm. When I moved to Portsmouth in 2000, I discovered a beautiful meditation group at The Quiet Mind Centre, which is no longer sadly there and I really started to learn. "Everything is perfect as it is", "Everything happens for a reason" and "We are all one" were 3 of the many spiritual sayings that I chose to live by and when I felt this connection, I no longer felt so alone and my healing begun.
20 years on and I am still learning and growing and I 'meditate' not only sat on my bed in quiet (which is sometimes a bit tricky in my noisy household!) but when I am working with clients, when I am cooking, when I am writing, when I am in nature. Meditation is about connecting with the stillness and I try to connect with it at many points in my day. And the reason I do this, is because it is that stillness which heals us. That stillness, that quiet place, that inner peace is an escape from the chaos of everyday life. It is like a sanctuary you can retreat to and the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you can feel it through out your every day life.
Meditation slows the nervous system right down, it calms the mind, it slows down the thoughts, it helps you think more clearly and more positively, it physically slows the body down and helps you to breathe properly so no palpitations, it grounds you so no dizziness, it balances all the systems so you have a healthy appetite and enjoy food, it makes you feel happy so you want to be with people and your happiness will bounce onto them too, you feel excited about life, you feel connected to something more so you don't feel alone.
The thought of meditating, when you have anxiety, can put many people off. I, for one, did not want to sit down and be with my thoughts, I felt way too ungrounded for that. That is why I have made my meditation guidance more of a treatment. So you can come to a safe place, feel super relaxed on a warm couch with relaxing music playing and just lie down and let me do the work first. Let me show you the quiet space by guiding you gently into relaxation, then a meditation. Once you feel this stillness, you will want to know how to start doing it yourself, so I will show you a very short meditation to do at home. And if you like it, we meet again and we do the same, but with some different words to show you a different aspect of how it can help you. The course is 4 parts - Body, Mind, Heart and Soul as these are the areas, I believe, are really given a boost with meditation.
So, if you feel interested, if you are suffering with anxiety or have any other stress-related, busy-mind symptoms, why not give it a try. Meditation heals. Naturally. And I would be honoured to show you this and help with your journey of healing.
Compassion is the sympathy for the suffering of others and the desire to free them from it. Yet, how does one become a compassionate person and how can we try to live life from a generous heart, when we live in a world that often encourages us to focus on our own needs?
The Dalai Lama believes that every human being has an innate desire for happiness and does not want to suffer. He also believes that the purpose of this life is to experience this happiness. Our true human values, underneath our needs to achieve what we desire in our material world, are qualities like sharing with one another and caring for one another.
Altruism means a sense of caring for others and developing an attitude that our own individual concerns are less important than those of others. Love, compassion and forgiveness are basic human values that we would do well in trying to nurture within ourselves on a daily basis. Usually when faced with problems, we look at them from our own point of view. But to look at the situation from others' angles or with a wider perspective, can create compassion. We can see that we are all seeking to achieve happiness, we are no different, it is better that we solve this mutually, rather than creating disharmony and fighting. By recognising that the mind can be changed, that we can change our attitudes by using different thought processes, we can transform our minds from negative thinking to compassion. Meditation is an effective training of the mind which allows us to connect to our heart and develope our compassion. Human emotions are very powerful and sometimes overwhelm us. But if we can distance ourselves from these strong emotions before they arise in us, we can see them for what they are and that they will too pass.
If you can develope patience, tolerance, peacefulness and calm in your mind, these are signs of strength. The difficult times in your life provide the best opportunities to gain inner strength and develope a warm heart. The Dalai Lama suggests that as long as we are part of human society, it is very important to be a kind, warm-hearted person. This beautiful poem, sums it up:
May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy,
May the forlorn find new hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.
May the frightened cease to be afraid,
And those bound be free.
May the weak find power,
And may their hearts join in friendship.
