After what felt like a very long wait, congratulations to our Osteopath Robin Outram and family on their new edition!
There must be something in the water, or perhaps Osteopaths are just a very fertile bunch.
Rachel live at the Yoga Show!
Yes, after much trepidation, umming and ahhing, I have decided to launch my therapeutic yoga workshops at the Yoga Show 29, 30, 31 October in London. So book your tickets now! We have a stand booked and watch this space for classes and lectures.
I will be offering workshops for back, neck and shoulder problems using some wonderful Yoga approaches to these areas. These will be aimed at Yoga and Pilates teachers, as well as other manual/physical therapists who use exercise with their clients and want to get better results.
There should be some free passes available, so if you’d like to support me, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!
Posted in Kilburn Osteopaths pages.
Money4mums2be!
Hopefully anyone currently expecting a baby is aware of this great grant from the government to support women’s health and wellbeing towards the end of their pregnancy.
The grant is available to all women from 25 weeks pregnant and is for £190. There are many things I could see being of value (well I would say that, wouldn’t I!) but pregnancy Yoga has been shown to help shorten labour in a recent study in Thailand, and of course the value of Yoga and relaxing the body and mind speak for themselves. A pregnancy osteopathic check up can make sure the lower back, hips and pelvis are all moving smoothly and as fully as possible, and of course a post-natal check can be invaluable in helping the body settle back down to its old self after birth. While ligaments are still soft, and the effects of the hormone relaxin still active, adjustments are very easy to make, and of course the body is in a state of change, so early on is really the perfect time for treatment.
Many people are finding hypnotherapy helps them to really relax and enjoy the whole experience of giving birth, and many people are offering specialist services to help couples in this way.
I’m always keen to promote people, classes or services who are helping pregnant women at this special time, so do let me know of any you’ve been impressed by.
The link for the grant is http://www.direct.gov.uk/money4mums2be
Every little helps!
Posted in Kilburn Osteopaths pages.
Visceral Osteopathy
November and December have been busy months for CPD courses and truly inspiring. First of all was the World Osteopathy Congress in Berlin, and the chance to learn from some of the most influential and groundbreaking thinkers in Osteopathy such as Jean-Pierre Barral. And of course have a look around an amazing city. Then a wonderful weekend with Caroline Stone in Warwick, learning about scars and adhesions after operations: the consequences to the tissues and how these can translate into new tension patterns that effect the body more globally. As always, everything comes back to knowing your anatomy….
So lots of interesting stuff for women who have had C-sections, or are planning to have another baby after one. Caroline has sadly moved to Australia now, so it was great to catch her on her world tour!
Posted in Kilburn Osteopaths pages.
The Yoga Show 2009
The Yoga Show is a yearly event at Olympia in London, spread over 3 days. This was my first experience of it, and sadly I only made it for one of day. But what a day! Well half a day, after feeding was over…
Olympia is a fascinating venue. Much older and full of history you can’t find at EXCel or its ilk. I kept pushing down the thought that they held dog shows there on other occasions. It’s just hard to get your head round a room with at least 4 different classes, lectures and demos going off at the same time in the same space, while being lured into the wonders of Pukka ayurvedic remedies and oils, unguents, nasal drops, aura photographs, more dvds than you can shake a remote at, and the most beautiful books!
My accountant will no doubt notice that I did get my head round this from the rampant spending that occurred in such a short time…
My personal treat was a lavender filled eyebag to keep the light out when in Yoga nidra (flat-out relaxation), and some amazing new yoga anatomy books by Ray Long.
The total highlight, however, was my initiation into AcroYoga. It’s hard to describe the blissful, childlike exuberance of lifting each other off the floor, balancing face-down on your partner’s feet, doing handstands that flipped us back up to standing, and all made to appear absolutely, definitely possible to do. Just having someone take your whole weight, while you dangle in mid air was brilliant and life-affirming. My back made more clicks than it’s ever done at the Osteopath’s and felt light and released.
I can highly recommend AcroYoga London, if any of you are down that way. Or even to make a special trip. Release your inner gymnast, it’s never too late!
Posted in Kilburn Osteopaths pages, Yoga.
Birthlight pregnancy Yoga
As anyone who knows me will verify, I do like a good course. I’ve always loved learning, and expect I always will. So when I decided to expand my Yoga teaching to include pregnant women, I was delighted to find a Birthlight Diploma coming up in Matlock. A pleasant change to having to work out how to get to London for a 9am start….
The course was led by Jane Collins who runs Escape Yoga in Matlock, and very importantly involved fabulous lunches at the local vegetarian restaurant. Jane is a wonderful teacher, with loads of experience of pregnancy, yoga and women. It would be hard to find a more genuinely supportive and positive person to learn from.
The first part of the course ran over 3 days, building on the foundations: Ease of movement; ease and depth of breath; pelvic awareness; holistic practice; and remembering the babies! Obviously women have very different needs at the different stages of their journey to parenthood, and postpartum and the course reflects this. What is lovely about Birthlight, is the aim to make the whole process as light and natural as possible. It’s founder: Francoise Barbira Freedman, was inspired by her experience of living with forest people in the Amazon region of Peru as a medical anthropologist, and combined this with her knowledge of Yoga.
The other course participants came from all over the uk and included several very experienced midwives who were wanting to set up ante-natal Yoga classes in their areas.
I had a wonderful time at Escape, with such lovely people, and learned far more than I’d hoped or expected. I’ve now taught pregnancy Yoga one-to-one over 8 weeks, and I’m now very excited about teaching my first group. This starts on Monday 3rd August at 6pm at the Whitemoor Medical Centre, and if you’d like a place, you’d better get booked on! Numbers are limited.
Yoga really is a godsend in pregnancy, as many millions of women can testify. It’s a unique and precious time to prepare yourself, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually for the amazing, life-changing journey ahead. And for many women, it’s the start of a lifetime love affair with Yoga.
Posted in Kilburn Osteopaths pages.
You can heal your life
I know that this book has been around a while, so I’m a bit behind some of you, but I wanted to share it with those of you who are interested in the link between thought patterns and physical ailments and haven’t come across it yet.
I’m a bit of a believer in things coming into your life when you’re ready for them, and this came via recommendation from my business coach, Vanda, after I mentioned I’d got an underactive thyroid. And I have to say I was shocked by how accurate Louise Hay was in describing the probable thought-pattern linked to this. In this case: “When is it going to be my turn?” It really struck a chord.
The great thing about this book is how it attempts to help you understand what your underlying belief system is and what events and people in your early life may have led to these developing. Once you have some clarity here, Louise teaches processes and affirmations to help release old, limiting thought patterns that are preventing you from realising your potential.
For me, it certainly illuminated a kind of “poverty mentality” which I was unaware I had, but am quite happy to leave behind. And in the year when my lower back was a problem, I could certainly identify with the feeling of financial insecurity, having started in business again from scratch in a new county. One strange thing has also occurred during the time I have been working with this method, and that is my long term allergy to horses seems to have disappeared.
Certainly this can be very uncomfortable reading, and may be something you reject; but if you are on a healing pathway and read with an open heart and mind, you may find something of rare value.
This book and Louise Hays other books are published through http://www.hayhouse.co.uk
Posted in Self-help.
Learning to Relax
Although I may come across as incredibly serene and calm, deep beneath lies the heart of a stress bunny; and it has been the journey of many years, books, tapes, meditation, retreats, talking, listening and Yoga to reach this point.
My latest discovery is a great self-hypnosis cd “Heal Yourself with Medical Hypnosis” by Andrew Weil and Steven Gurgevich. Andrew is famous for his integrative approach to medicine, go to http://www.drweil.com for more info. Steven talks you through several different types of trance-induction. All of these seem very successful at teaching you how to achieve a state of deep relaxation, during which healing can occur.
One of the things I love about hypnosis cds is that each time you play them you notice different words, phrases or meanings depending how deeply into the trance you have gone. It’s always different somehow. They are also great for having a very deep, refreshing relax in a relatively short space of time(the main mind-body healing session is just 27 minutes). As a Yoga teacher, it is also fascinating to compare with Yoga relaxation or “nidra” and how powerful certain words can be.
I know many people express great fear at the idea of hypnosis, not realising it is a state they have experienced already many many times without realising. The worst thing that could happen is that you will actually nod off. And that might be just what your body needs.
Steven’s website is http://www.tranceformation.com For local readers, try Scarthin’s bookshop in Cromford.
Posted in Self-hypnosis.
My gall bladder cleanse…
Well, my life as a blogger had to start somewhere, and where better than surfing the wave of a gall bladder cleanse….?
For those of you new to this, or just curious, try typing in gall bladder cleanse in google and witness a whole industry waiting to de-stone you. All with the help of some epsom salts (ugh!), olive oil, water and grapefruit juice.
In typical Rachel fashion I attempted to bring together the best bits of a few versions, condensing 6 days preparation into 4; drinking about a litre of pressed apple juice. On top of my usual grazing of course.
Then on the 4th day, no food after 2pm to clear the way… for the little blighters.
Things were a little late getting started, as I got way-laid in TK Max, but finally I got my solution of Epsom salts and water and knocked back the first cup. Absolutely disgusting, I have to say, and 2 hours later, a second cup, was really even worse, as if my body was rejecting it. Afterall, it’s not often you imbibe something that says on the side, “pour in bath under running water”.
Then just before bedtime, the piece de resistance-shaken olive oil and fresh grapefruit and lying very still in bed…
I awoke at 6am with a strange gurgling and ran to the loo. I disappointedly gazed in the collander to see nothing out of the ordinary.
This continued after my 3rd epsom salts… even more awful to take down and keep there. At this point was really giving up hope… and tried another oil/grapefruit mix.
Then after a few hours these tiny bright green things appeared… like fluorescent capers. And over the next 24 hours, they continued to pop out. And before each, a visceral rumbling of the abdomen that could be seen and heard at quite a distance…
None of my family were keen to hear the details, so bless the web for being there and listening..
Having gone through the “you look like death” and feeling pretty ugh and wondering if I should have researched a bit more before trying it, today I felt pretty good after a Wakefield curry and the realisation that I’d lost half a stone in the passing.
It will be interesting to see how I feel in a week or two…
Anyone had any similar experiences?
Posted in Detoxing.
Hello
Welcome to the new website of Kilburn Osteopaths!
This is our blog, feel free to leave us any comments!
Posted in General.