Category: massage

Self care is not selfish

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

Photo by Madison Inouye from Pexels

With the dawn of the new year, we all start making resolutions and goals. Even if we don’t literally write them down, we all have hopes for a good year and our priority is a better quality of life, health, happiness, fulfillment and prosperity. Therefore, we make an effort and start investing in our wellbeing. And here is where the meaning of self care emerges and a deeper knowledge of the subject is needed in order to fully understand how we will successfully improve our wellbeing.

Nowadays, the meaning of self care is so misunderstood that there are different myths about it that, unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe. The most common beliefs are that self care is a time-consuming selfish indulgence and it is all about a superficial physical pampering. Although physical pampering is indeed one way to practice self care, it is however only one type of the different physical types which belong to one category in the list of the different self care categories that you can practice!

The big bold truth is that self care is a mindful and holistic daily practice that covers all aspects of our lives. Ideally, it should be a holistic lifestyle that, when done properly and with consistent effort, it nurtures all aspects of our wellbeing. Life is diverse and complicated and so are we and our health! Taking care of ourselves in a mindful way that covers all areas of our lives, not only is not selfish and a waste of time, but crucial for our existence, happiness and prosperity! Apart from our general and holistic wellbeing, self care leads to building resilience and replenishing us, both physically and emotionally. Most importantly, self care can even prevent a burn-out or a mental break down, which are so common in our modern society these days.

So what are the different categories of self-care and what types of practice does each category contain? Let’s have a look!

Social self care – healthy connections and healthy communication

  • making healthy connections, relationships and communicating in a healthy way with others
  • connecting with people with similar interests, views, beliefs (in person or online via social media)
  • spending quality time with friends and family
  • keeping in contact with people who lift you up and have a positive impact on your life (even if it is a short text or voice message)

Educational self care – self-growth through knowledge and life-long learning

Emotional & Mental self care – anything that contributes and affects our emotional & mental wellbeing; these 2 categories are so interwoven that most types of practices below are affecting both of them

  • journaling to express and release your thoughts and emotions
  • art therapy or dance therapy to express and release your emotions
  • meditation
  • good sleep
  • yoga
  • making time for fun and hobbies
  • solitude & introspection in silence; distance yourself from everything (not only physically but also digitally) to reconnect with yourself, find your inner balance, process your emotions, process thoughts and generally release what does not serve you
  • keeping up with your tasks, responsibilities, work, finances etc
  • Earthing, aka grounding
  • spending time in nature
  • Epsom salt baths; the combination of salt and water can release both muscular tension and negative emotions from your energetic field
  • mindfulness (either on your own or with a mindfulness coach)
  • positive affirmations
  • positive self-talk
  • talking therapies, such as councelling, CBT, psychology, psychotherapy etc
  • finding your purpose and manifest your dreams and goals (either on your own or with a coach)

Physical self care – anything that contributes to and affects our physical wellbeing

  • healthy and balanced meals
  • good sleep
  • drinking plenty of water
  • exercise (sports, gym,dance)
  • yoga
  • Epsom salt baths; the combination of salt and water can release both muscular tension and negative emotions from your energetic field
  • massage
  • dry brushing
  • keeping yourself groomed and presentable (the opposite is actually a sign of poor and declining mental health!)

Spiritual self care – a very personal practice that can be different for each one

  • having a faith (not necessarily religion but spiritual practice that connects us to the meaning of life and gives us purpose)
  • spiritual practices that make us better people, kinder, more compassionate and humble
  • unconditional helping/volunteering for others, community, animals, environment etc; offering services to contribute to others

The list is to be used as a suggestion and advice. There so much more types of self care and the list is endless. Please use the above list as a general guide for inspiration, start investing in your own self care and encourage others to do the same! Let’s create a better future starting from making changes in our lives!

The link between emotional stress and pain

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

In the universe, everything is energy and vibration. In a previous article, we analysed the healing power of positive words. In today’s blog post, we will talk about the power of emotions.

Whatever we feel is a vibration, an energy that we create. It affects not only our energy system and physical body, but also others around us. We essentially become a source of energy; we emit and vibrate what we feel, think and say. Of course, positive emotions create positive vibrations and strengthen us on all levels. But how do negative emotions affect us?

Whatever negative emotion we have, it creates a negative vibration firstly in our aura (our energy field) and then in our physical body. Having negative emotions is part of life and we all experience it daily. But problems arise when a negative emotion becomes constant due to circumstances or negative thinking. Essentially, this negative energy that vibrates becomes an embodiment and appears as pain or even as a health issue.

Our different energy centers (chakras) and parts of the body are “responsible” or otherwise represent and store different emotions. So let’s see what the different physical pains mean depending on the part of the body that they appear.

  • Headache – when we constantly think about the same problem or do not find solutions to a problem or situation. Also, over-analyzing a problem traps energy in our head and creates an imbalance in our energy field.
  • Neck pain – when we are stubborn and fanatical about our beliefs and behaviours, without accepting other people’s differences, opinions and beliefs.
  • Shoulder pain – responsibilities or emotions that weigh on us. It can either be a pain from the past that we carry in the present or problems of others that we tend to solve and become drained to our disadvantage.
  • Upper back pain (between the shoulder blades) – Lack of emotional support or love from family and our environment.
  • Lower back pain – Lack of financial support. Lack of emotional support from family and close relationships. Also lack of sexual satisfaction.
  • Elbow pain – Difficulty and rigidity in life’s constant changes.
  • Wrist pain – Fear of life’s changes. Inability to take and give to others.
  • Hip pain- Fear and resistance to and move on and go with the glow of life. Fear of the future.

So how do we get rid of these pains and what can we do to prevent them? The solution is to follow a holistic lifestyle. This means following practices that balance our wholeness, the connection of our mind-body-spirit. Some of these practices are:

  • Positive affirmations
  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Tai-Chi/Chi Kung
  • Martial arts
  • Dance
  • Holistic therapies such as massage, reflexology, acupuncture and Reiki (energy healing) and crystal healing

If you like to learn more and improve your life and health, you can book for a Holistic Lifestyle Coaching introductory session.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Five top benefits of dry brushing

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

Have you heard of dry brushing?

Dry brushing is an ancient Ayurvedic technique which combines exfoliation and massage. It’s daily practice has many health benefits:

  • removes dead skin cells,
  • reduces cellulite,
  • improves skin texture and condition,
  • encourages lymphatic drainage,
  • increases blood circulation.

The most important benefit of dry brushing is the stimulation of the lymphatic drainage, also known as lymph node drainage. But why is this so important and why is dry brushing so effective?

First of all, our lymphatic system is responsible for eliminating cellular waste products. Thousands of lymphatic tubules collect waste and toxins from our tissues and then they transport them to our blood and kidneys for elimination. This process is known as lymphatic drainage. When our lymphatic system is not working properly, waste and toxins build up. This can lead to lymphatic congestion which is a major factor of inflammation and disease. This is why we need to stimulate our lymphatic system and help it release those toxins. And that’s why dry brushing is such a powerful detoxification aid.

Dry brushing should be incorporated in our daily routine, ideally before our morning shower. Firstly, choose a wooden, natural fibre body brush with a long handle. Start by using long, smooth stokes, and brush your skin from the feet upwards towards your heart. Then brush your arms, starting from the hands and again towards the direction of the heart. Include the shoulders and neck but not the face (facial skin is more sensitive and could be irritated). Overall you can dry brush for 5 minutes, then take a shower and finally use a moisturiser.

Photo by Cottonbro from Pexels

The healing power of silence

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

“Listen to Silence. It has so much to say.”

Rumi, 13th century Persian poet
Photo by VisionPic from Pexels

Since ancient times, ascetics from different spiritual practices have spent significant amounts of time in silence and isolation, either with prayer or meditation. Even nowadays, monks and spiritual practitioners retreat themselves for days without socialising or talking to anyone. Throughout history, artists and musicians always had the tendency to spend time on their own in order to connect to inspiration and creativity. Nowadays, many meditation teachers advise that frequent meditative pauses throughout the day have poweful healing effect to our body, mind and soul regardless of our spiritual beliefs. So what is the significance of silence in our lives?

Modern science has proved that noise is destructive to us while silence is healing us. Various studies have shown that noise has a powerful physical yet destructive effect on our brains, because it causes the release of stress hormones. Actually, not only our brain, but our whole energetic field, our aura, receives noise as disruptive sound waves. Even when we are sleeping our body receives noise as intrusive and threatening to our system, therefore it reacts with releasing stress hormones. Consequently, living in a consistently noisy environment causes high levels of stress and can even lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, tinnitus and insomnia.

In 2006, physician Luciano Bernardi studied the physiological effects of noise and music. He surprisingly made a very important discovery. During the study, the participants were not only exposed to noise and music, but also to random stretches of silence in between. These pauses were far more relaxing for the brain of the participants than the relaxing music. In fact, these ‘irrelevant’ pauses became the most important aspect of the study as they had the most powerful and relaxing effect.

In 2011, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that the root cause of 3,000 heart disease deaths in Western Europe was due to excessive noise.

All these facts and other important studies and practices are a proof that taking time to switch off is crucial to our wellbeing and our lives in general.

According to the “attention restoration theory”, when we are in silence, the brain can recover some of its cognitive abilities. Moreover, according to Imke Kirste, a Duke University regenerative biologist, two hours of silence per day can initiate cell development in the hippocampus, our brains center of our memory and senses.

Unfortunately, in our modern digital world, our brains have minimal time to switch off as we are exposed to enormous amounts of information. Modern life demands our brains to be in constant attention and consequently a lot of stress. This mental overload leads us into difficulties with making decisions, solving problems and daily functions. However, when we switch off and ideally spend time alone in silence, our brain is finally able to relax, release this constant focus and start its healing process.

To conclude, silence replenishes and nourishes our cognitive powers, raises our concentration levels, increases our motivation and helps us connect with our centres and balances us emotionally. Hence, as ancient spiritual masters always taught, silence is healing as it connects us deeply into ourselves and balances our body, mind and soul. The simple yet ancient practice of silence might be the healing balm we all need to cope with our modern lifestyle.

The benefits of Epsom salt baths

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

Did you know about the benefits of Epsom salt baths?

Photos by Nono Bayar, Craig Adderley and Castorly Stock

Generally speaking, having a bath in warm water both relaxes you physically and emotionally. By adding 2 cups of Epsom salt and submerging yourself for at least 15 minutes, the process becomes even more healing. Firstly, on a physical level, the salts draw toxins from your body. Secondly, on an energetic level, their healing properties cleanse your entire energy system (your aura) and also they help you release stress and negative emotions.

 In case you don’t have a bath, there is also the alternative of a foot soak which is equally powerful. Just add warm water and epsom salts in a plastic container and immerse your tired feet while you sit on a chair. This therapeutic soak will both ground your energy and relieve your tiredness at the end of a long day.

You can add this healing ritual into your weekly self-care routine. Baths are both meditative and destressing so it is a perfect “me time” break. Apart from salts, you can also add essential oils and herbs such as lavender which has relaxing properties. In the end, remember to rinse away so nothing is left on the skin after the bath.

Behind the Scenes: Massaging for the Film Industry

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

filming on set
Fun shooting for the “behind the scenes” film edits – photo by Fiora Touliatou

Over the last few months, we were thrilled to have the opportunity of working for the film industry. So far, film sets have been the most unusual and exciting workplaces we have experienced. On the other hand, we had no idea what to expect or how the days would progress.

Our massage services were booked as a gift of appreciation from the actors and producers the various teams and were booked at the last few weeks of each film shooting. The bookings were extended over various dates as there were a lot of people to treat. We massaged both filming crews and members of the cast: cameramen/women, scriptwriters, make-up artists, nurses, actors, producers and other members of the production team. Everyone was so happy, appreciative and excited to receive their sessions. Their feedback was amazing and they wished we could be there every day. Also, we were excited to learn some details about the films but unfortunately, due to confidentiality, we cannot share.

Life is a like a movie. Write your own ending.
Keep believing, keep pretending.

John Henson

The film shootings took place at the premises of Warner Bros Studios and each day we would work on different locations depending on where filming crews and production teams were. Their free time was limited and sometimes they even had to go before the end of their session as they were called via their intercom to run and assist. Parts of the areas we were accommodated were not glamorous at all (outside tents in parking areas or between backdrop areas) while others were inside modern offices and very nicely decorated with posters of various past productions such as the Matrix Reloaded. This diversity and adaptability is part of the industry as we realised and the overall result is what matters.

The overall experience was unique and we are looking forward to watch the movies whenever they are released as well as to recognise some of the clients we massaged!