Tag: holisticlifestylecoach

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

Earthing, the science of grounding

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

You are probably familiar with the term “grounding”. But what about the term “earthing”?

Photo by Anna Guerrero from Pexels

What is earthing

Grounding, also known as “earthing”, is a therapeutic and natural healing technique. It grounds our energy system as it electrically and energetically reconnects us to the earth. Apparently, walking barefoot on the ground for 20 minutes twice a day can significantly improve our wellbeing! Well, this is really how nature had designed us before we started wearing shoes, walking on concrete and living in buildings.

The science behind it and how it works

There is a whole science and physics behind this concept, called “earthing science” and “grounding physics” respectively. They explain how the earth electrically charges us, how we absorb energy from the ground by being in contact with the electrons on its surface. The whole process neutralizes free radicals in our bodies. These are generated through inflammation, infection, cell damage, stress and our toxic artificial environments.

For those that are not familiar with chakras, Reiki and energy healing, we have 7 major and 21 minor chakras (energy centers) in our body. Two of the minor chakras are on the soles of our feet (one on the center of each sole). Therefore, when we walk barefoot, those chakras are connecting and absorbing the earth’s energy. Our whole body and energy field become a circuit and charge just like a battery from the main source, our planet Earth!

How do we we practice grounding and where

Apparently, we can still practice grounding indoors in our houses especially when we have natural materials such as wooden floors. But for the best results, it is better to perform grounding outdoors by walking barefoot on grass, soil, sand or mud. Ideally we should be practicing for a minimum of 20 minutes twice a day. Moreover, we can also ground ourself by letting our hands or our entire body touch the earth or even by swimming in the sea.

Further research about earthing

To learn more extensively about this subject, you can watch a brilliant documentary on YouTube called The Earthing Movie: The remarkable science of Grounding. Its creators are scientists and can analyse in details about the whole process, benefits and importance.

Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing!

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

Photo by Ken Ozuna from Pexels

Most things in our lives are our choice. When we don’t like something or it makes us unhappy, then we have to change it. I know it sounds harsh and the truth is that for some things the decision to make the change is clearly much more difficult but again it is our choice whether to stay in that situation or not. There is no “I can’t do it”, there is “I don’t want to do it”. Either we do not want to accept a reality or we are comfortable with a situation and then we find thousands of excuses that we say to ourselves and others to convince ourselves that we are helpless and at the mercy of our fate. Many times it is easier to stay stagnant and just complain.

We have all been in a difficult situation, where we had to make a decision but we resisted. Our mind was telling us to go and our heart was telling us to stay and try harder: a dead-end relationship, a collapsed marriage, a job that we hate, living in a town/city where we were unhappy, a friendship that had betrayed and disappointed us, a home that had serious problems … The list is endless and we all have similar stories to share. 

The blunt truth is that, when we love, respect and value our lives, then we must take personal responsibility and decide how and when to make the necessary change. The longer we postpone it, the worse the situation will go. At some point things will become so bad that we will be forced to make the decision. 

On the bright side, once we take our decision, everything will magically start working on our favour. New people will enter our lives, new opportunities will appear out of nowhere, new doors will open. We just have to make a trust fall with the universe and believe in ourselves. Self-growth can be painful but it is a necessary process for a better quality of life and self-fulfillment. In the end of the day, it is better to look back and be proud of what we achieved than to look back resenting decisions we didn’t take.