How often do we find our minds wandering, day dreaming when we are meant to be writing our presentation or eating 4 chocolate chip cookies when we set out only to eat one or smoking when we know we shouldn’t be? This is thanks to one of the oldest learning processes known to man, it is prehistoric and all about the relay system of positive and negative reinforcement, which is essentially the most basic of systems that make us, do what we do.
“Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.””
In Chinese Medicine our Kidneys are the powerhouses of our system and their proper functioning is fundamental to our overall wellbeing. During the winter they can take a bit of a battering from the cold and over stretching ourselves during this supposedly peaceful hibernation season. The winter is traditionally a time to hunker down, eat less, meditate, reflect on what is going on in our lives and restore our bodies in preparation for the rebirth of the spring.
As my all patients know because I don’t stop banging on about it, the health of our kidneys is incredibly important for our overall wellbeing. They give us the motivation and stamina to keep going when times are tough, they give us the will to finish projects, keep on the path and not give in to external pressures and most importantly they are essential for healthy fertility; for the boys and the girls.
Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Do you find you can fall asleep but then continue to wake throughout the night and have trouble to get back to sleep? Or do you wake at 5am and then can’t get back to sleep for those last precious two hours before the alarm signals the beginning of the day?
If any of these scenarios sound familiar, then try acupuncture! With our increasingly stressful and demanding 21st Century life sleep disorders are becoming more and more common. A wide range of issues can disrupt sleep patterns, but when sleep becomes an issue it is usually hard to break out of it and get back to a healthy sleep pattern alone.
We are bombarded by messages in this world: “Don’t eat sugar, don’t eat soy, steer clear of gluten and dairy at all costs, do drink green juice, go vegan…oh no go paelo, don’t eat fat, oh actually eat LOADS of fat; why not just survive on nuts, avocado and kale… don’t touch caffeine, oh actually do drink caffeine, but only in the guise of an exhaustively expensive matcha latte made with an unsweetened nut milk… the list goes on and on and can be incredibly confusing, not to mention punishing and simply unloving if not done from a place of real love for yourself.
I have been featured in Vogue’s little Black Book as a top Massage Therapist in the UK.
To book please call me on 07801813385 or email me on philly@phillygammell.com
I was very honoured to be featured in this month’s Tatler Magazine as one of the top Massage Therapists in England – they featured my Mindfulness Meditation Massage.
“Do you feel sad and don’t know why?
With the rising pressure of living today we are increasingly in need of antidotes in order to help stabalise our stress levels. Stress can be, and has been, linked to many illnesses that are presently plaguing our society, such as depression, cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Massage has been proven to lower reduce the stress hormone cortisol, while releasing dopamine and seretonin, therefore making it ideal for combating both stress and the side effects of this modern epidemic. Stress does not only manifest itself by way of these rather serious diseases but begins to show signs in the body as extreme muscle tightness, mostly in the neck, shoulder and back areas as well as a host of digestion issues.
