SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT

I am a fan of medication !!

As a Natural Health Practitioner that may come as a bit of a shock to you, but I firmly believe medication has its place.  Clients sometimes are a bit hesitant to tell me they have "resorted to drugs" (their terminology) or feel embarrassed or even tell me actively they dont want to take them.

First of all it is not my place to disagree with a GP prescription and I will always work within the realms of what the clients lifestyle is and any treatments they are having.   Also we are not enabled to say we "treat conditions" but clients do COME with conditions...    I will always try to find natural ways to help and look at the overall health of the individual but there are times when medication is, of course, critical.  Here are just a few:

*   One of the most obvious is insulin for type 1 Diabetics - I am not talking here about Metformin for type 2 Diabetes, I have worked successfully with pre-diabetes levels in both myself and clients without recourse to drugs.  But Type 1 Diabetes is not as yet "curable", but totally manageable, and correct insulin levels are critical for survival

*  Sometimes for extremely serious debilitating skin conditions the client will be offered steroids (Prednisolone).  In my own personal experience a situation becomes completely intolerable and they are helpful in feeling stable again.   There are always things we can offer as natural suggestions, but these things can take longer to take effect, therefore for the benefit and sanity of the client who may be drawing blood, increasing the risk of infection or cellulitis and driving themselves crazy with itching, a short course is helpful to enable them to concentrate on other changes in lifestyle they can make while we investigate the root cause.

*  Blood pressure medication - I'm not talking here borderline readings, but very high persistent readings.    There are biochemical and emotional techniques and remedies we can use to help, and which can assist with achieving a bit of a reduction but when the numbers are high, it is advisable to seek help

*  Ulcerative Colitis - If a client is quite frankly losing blood, this is another time I have tried to make them feel better about taking medication, either on a temporary or longer term basis.   We can work naturally, as with anything, but if the client is at the lowest of the low AND the GP has prescribed medication then the client may feel it helps to get stable to again address root causes and be able to STICK to the suggestions made

Again, I am not a Doctor, and I do not prescribe medication, neither do I persuade clients to stop taking prescribed medication, neither do I suggest they go to the GP for every little thing - I want them to see me :) 

However medication has its place, and its about balance - as is Kinesiology

Well, to pass on information of course… but is it that simple?  We pass our driving test and then we REALLY learn to drive…. And in so doing we can forget what it was like to learn – BEFORE we knew nothing - before we could park without thinking (and maybe turning the radio off to do so) or before we could simultaneously negotiate a roundabout while thinking about what to do for dinner.

One of my greatest pleasures is seeing my kinesiology students move on from the classroom and become wonderful Kinesiologists  -  some of them professionally, others for their own and their family's benefit.  Some of them also go on to teach kinesiology, which is wonderful.   Whatever it is, the "journey" never ends because, aside from regulatory CPD requirements (!) we are constantly learning from ourselves and others.

That act of “forgetting” what it was like to learn or before we had our kinesiology skills, can impede our ability to teach - we forget what we didnt know.  Of course we don’t want to patronise but also not overwhelm.  We need to gauge the different levels of ability in the room – ability to remember short term or long term, ability to listen (really listen), those who are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, ability to have the abilities we cannot teach – and project to them all

In my Corporate days I worked with a lovely Training Manager whose favourite phrase was “It’s not WHAT you say IT’S THE WAY IN WHICH YOU SAY IT”.   He was an easy target and we had many laughs – WITH him AND at his expense AND of course he was/is right.

In Kinesiology we have many techniques to erase past habits and reinforce new ones, but blindly repeating affirmations “parrot fashion” simply doesn’t cut it.   The client really has to say what they want, like they mean it, and if the phrase/affirmation isn’t working for them they need to change it to THEIR phrasing to make it truly personal and effective.

Suggesting to a client that there could be some conflict in their thinking or subconscious beliefs is a tricky business, but important if they want to move forward.

I came across a phrase today that I hadn’t heard before – “toxic positivity”. 

When we test a muscle in kinesiology we are looking for resistance – the client should be able to resist the very gentle pressure we are using.  We also look for the muscle to have a bit of “give” – it should “weaken” under certain conditions, otherwise we refer to it as “hypertonic” which means it doesn’t relax.

When we find a hypertonic muscle this can sometimes be more important to balance than an overtly “weak” one.

Today I had a client with a hypertonic anterior deltoid – this muscle relates to the gall bladder and in Chinese Five Elements the emotion is anger.  As I was able to test which “mode” (structure,

I’ve been pondering mindfulness lately – notice I said “pondering”, not “practicing”  

I’ve always had a tendency to be rushing on to the next thing – if I’m brushing my teeth I’m wondering what else I could do at the same time – a leftover reaction from always having worked in busy offices I think.  I’ve noticed that I never do anything without thinking about the next thing I need to do, or place I need to be, or thing I haven’t done.

I don’t like the term “mindfulness”.  I’m not really sure why but it just seems to me to be something else to add to the list of things I have to do…. creating even more stress and pressure.

So recently I’ve tried replacing It with “being present”.  I know it’s the same thing but for me it feels more meaningful and less of a chore.

So I will persevere at being “present” and in that old phrase “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift, that’s why they call it a present”  I look forward to accessing my gift

Kinesiology is wonderful because it treats people holistically.  What do I mean by that?   Well, we look at ALL the components of a client’s health and wellbeing, not just individual symptoms or elements:

• Emotional wellbeing and general stress levels
• Physical and structural integrity – bones and joints
• Chemical input – skin and cleaning products, medication
• Nutritional status – lack and surplus, current food choices, hydration
• Electro Magnetic Stress – Bluetooth, wifi, strip lighting
• Lifestyle  - work life balance, exercise, hours at work, enjoyment or otherwise

Then of course we want to know what it is they want “fixing”

I was reminded recently of a quote offered to me by a work colleague during a particularly unhappy time in my life – “this too shall pass”.   It was extended with humility and love and couched in the terms that “this helped me once – it may help you”.

I think of it often – and it did indeed really help.

SUE Scale (Subjective Units of Emotion)

One of the issues I end up discussing with my kinesiology clients after they have released negative emotions, memories, habits or feelings is “filling the gap”.  These have often become such a regular fixture of the person’s life that suddenly not having to deal with it, whilst a relief, leaves a wide gaping hole, which if not careful can be refilled with sludge and other negativity.  The analogy I use is in the garden –