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    • Colette McNeill
    • Jenny White
    • Maria Shlumukova
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Insomnia (Physician, heal thyself!)

6/6/2016

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I have recently had a few prolonged bouts of insomnia of the 2-hours-sleep-a-night-if-you’re-lucky variety. Sometimes this means strict measures are required. Here are a few which I engage in this type of situation!

  • no caffeine after 2pm … progressing to no caffeine at all
  • minimal alcohol intake … progressing to no alc.-at-all
  • all devices off 1 hour before bedtime … progressing to no devices, work or thinking whatsoever (including holiday planning, dissecting the day, or analysing my mental state) after 6pm.

I also try ...


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How our words create who we are (or ... how do you sell yourself?)

16/5/2016

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Forget Phil Spencer: Secret Agent:
how do you sell yourself? .....


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Making changes (and breaking habits) by Catriona Murray

30/4/2016

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Crossed legs
People often come to Shiatsu for support in making changes such as:
  • posture
  • style of living
  • even situations, whether at home, work or elsewhere.

​Each change may require us to take small steps, each a tiny change in itself, and many of these tiny changes may involve breaking a habit.

Maybe I come to shiatsu hoping to change the way my body feels (perhaps I feel physical pain, or perhaps I just feel a little 'uncomfortable'). In the course of my treatments, things may start to shift (as muscles relax and tension is eased). And ... as part of the process I may choose to change a habit or two in support of these positive shifts. Changes could be as wide-ranging as dietary habit, exercise or even thought or emotional patterns. Just as an example ... I might choose to sit straight (i.e. stop crossing my legs).
​
Sounds easy? Well, yes it is, I suppose, it’s so small: .....


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Making space

20/2/2016

 
Making space - blog post by Catriona Murray at Edinburgh Shiatsu
By Catriona Murray

Shiatsu is a way of creating space:
in our lives - a brief hour in which to chill undisturbed
in our minds - by bringing our attention into our bodies, habitual thought patterns may slow or even stop
in our bodies - gentle movement, whether hip rotations, stimulation of pressure points or vigorous palming, helps blood to flow, nerves to fire and space or a feeling of ease to spread in the body.

Regular shiatsu can support you in handling either daily life, or exceptional circumstances, by providing space in which to relax body, mind and spirit. Aches and pains may be soothed away; stressful situations momentarily suspended.

This is all most helpful, and yet, there are ways in which our own contributions may assist this process: we may help ourselves...
Take time to centre.
Simply paying attention to ...

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Self-Awareness and Shiatsu

16/2/2016

 
By Catriona Murray

One of the comments most often heard from clients on receiving Shiatsu is how much more aware of their bodies they are after a session. Although as Shiatsu practitioners we work actively on our clients' bodies, physically moving joints, applying pressure or movement via our thumbs, elbows, fingers palms and feet, what our clients often do not realise is that 50% of the effort comes from them!


Every movement, every ...

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Self-awareness and breath - an experiment

10/2/2016

 
By Catriona Murray
This is a little experiment in self-awareness and how paying attention to our breathing can help. Listen to the audio below for the best experience!
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Click 'read more' to see the text of the audio and read the rest of the article.


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Food Stories - cutting out sugar

18/6/2015

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Overall, I ate carefully to be sure I was getting the right vitamins/nutrients.

Within 2 weeks my chronically dry (from an early age) skin had all but cleared up and my hair was lustrous enough to elicit compliments. These unexpected changes were motivation enough to continue! Other changes I noticed:

  • I was far far less thirsty, and no longer woke up in the morning with a horrible dry mouth.
  • Weight dropped off (even though I’d had to stop running in 2009 so wasn’t really taking exercise).
  • My bowels regulated; the stomach pains went away.
I stopped the regimen eventually as the weight loss didn’t stop. I also suspected that my relationship to food had become a bit ‘weird’, so … I started eating ‘normally’, which meant permitting sugar. What I now noticed was:
  • My relationship to sugar and sugary food had changed. I could observe a packet of Gingernuts on the table without having to restrain myself from grabbing and eating the lot (full stomach or no).
  • I didn’t really ‘feel like’ chocolate or sweets any more. I had been a sucker for anything sweet, I was not fussy! Now, I could take them or leave them, and most of the time, I just didn’t feel like eating anything sugary sweet.
What was the cause? I’m not sure. Cutting out sugar eased the pain and helped with other things too.
I'll leave it to others to decide whether I was simply vulnerable to sugar cravings; whether the presence of an organism which craved it (such as candida) caused my sugar addiction; or whether there was some other reason altogether. For my part: I felt ill; I listened to my body, did what it seemed to be asking and then I felt better. (End of :-)).
weekends there’d be jam and butter on white bread with a glass of milk in front of Blankety Blank or The Generation Game …

I exercised heavily - lots of running, mostly distance, and other sports too. I filled the between-meals hunger with sweets, especially after I left home at the age of 17.

At a certain point, I noticed that my digestion was a problem. I visited the doctor with stomach pains (it felt like I was bleeding inside) and the initial suggestion was Fybogel for constipation/wind. This didn’t work. My pains grew exponentially; bowel movements were hit and miss. I had had enough. What I did however notice, one particularly painful Christmas, was that when I ate sugary things or alcohol, especially if they were consumed apart from a meal, my stomach immediately went into paroxysms. I knew a friend who had cut out sugar for health reasons, so decided I would follow her lead!

My regime for 6 months was this:
  • no sugar at all including fruit in any form, no alcohol, no pasta, no bread for 2 weeks
  • after that, no sugar in any form, no alcohol, no honey, no food containing sugar (so, careful checking of ingredients lists in supermarkets, especially for bread and breakfast cereals with hidden sugar), only very occasionally fruit, fruit juices likewise occasionally and always watered down, little if any pasta/bread
  • towards the end, the odd glass of red wine (and I might have had a couple of boiled sweets!).

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Breath part 2

4/6/2015

 
by Catriona Murray

Breath is important. In the last newsletter we touched on how important an awareness of breath is – especially when stressed – and how we can use “3 deep breaths” as a way to consciously calm, ground and center in moments of anxiety.

But we can use breath in so many other ways. It is the cornerstone of many health-giving practices, from yoga to Qi Gong, from singing to pilates.

Sometimes we can even just focus on breathing and forget the physical movement, and still feel a benefit …  

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What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu translates as ‘finger pressure’ and is based on traditional Japanese massage.  Combining acupressure, massage, flowing movement and joint rotations helps to disperse tension, reduce pain, promote relaxation and healthy functioning of the body systems (circulation, breathing, digestion etc.). Shiatsu  therapists are guided by their experience & knowledge of physiology and traditional Chinese medicine and apply pressure using fingers, thumbs, palms and elbows and combine it with other techniques.  ​
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