Philly Gammell » Bodywork

Kidney Supporting Black Sesame Tea

Philly Gammell — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:29:21 +0000

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.

There are many things that are good for the Kindneys health which you can read here, but a simply way to boost them is by drinking Black Sesame Tea:

1 cup black sesame seeds
2 soft dates – pitted
3 cups water 1 cup homemade almond milk or almond-sesame milk (see recipe below)

1. Boil the sesame seeds and dates in some water for 30 minutes

2. Add some homemade almond milk and continue to boil

3. Optional you can strain the liquid removing the sesame seeds and dates or you can whizz them all up together to make a thicker, frothy drink

4. Add honey to taste if the dates aren’t sweet enough for you

Trouble catching some zzzz’s? Acupuncture can help with sleepless nights!

Philly Gammell — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 10:44:32 +0000

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 21^st 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.

Acupuncture works to calm our whole system down while nourishing our energy, which, in turn helps us to sleep. If you have ever had acupuncture you will know what I am talking about – patients regularly leave my treatment room feeling as if they have been on a mini holiday! Not only do I see the evidence on a regular basis in my clinic, there are many studies that show that acupuncture does indeed help with sleep issues.

Along with acupuncture treatment there are various other ways that you can help yourself such as:

Keep coffee down to one a day – preferably before 12pm
Keep the bedroom a ‘gadget’ free zone – no iphones, ipads or computers
Log off said ‘gadgets’ at 10pm and dim lights if possible so you can start to adjust to the dark and set off wind down process within your body
Lie with your legs up against a wall for 10 minutes concentrating gently on your breath. (To get into this position put you hips right up against the wall, and gently place your legs stretched upwards against the wall so you make a right angle shape.) This pose is very restorative and calming so can help if you are ‘tired and wired’ which I see in my clinic more and more.

If you are interested in booking in a consultation to see how I can help with your sleep patterns then please contact me and I look forward to hearing from you!

Is HOW we eat is just as important as WHAT we eat?

Philly Gammell — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 16:09:02 +0000

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.

These new guidelines are not without wisdom; sugar and processed food is killing us – literally – however, I would like to look at how we approach this new way of looking at diet. Why do we eat? We eat in order to nourish ourselves, and if you want to take it a step further, to change our vibration making us happier, more vibrant, more deeply in touch with the passing seasons and all the wisdom they hold and as an act of love for ourselves.

The emotional body and mind we bring to the table is just as important as the physical body we bring to the table and what’s actually on the table (within reason!). If we constantly look at food in terms of being ‘good’ and ‘bad’ that creates huge amount of stress within us – in Chinese Medicine how you eat; in a hurry, while anxious, in a state of stress etc, is an actual ‘cause of disease’.

Its worth pausing on that last sentence – how we eat can be a cause of disease…

Its huge… When we are deciding what to eat we have to make sure that the decision process in itself isn’t negating the amazing healing potential of the food we are eating as stress within causes our whole digestion process to shut down.

Make sure your choices really do come from a place of wanting to nourish and love yourself, be calm when you eat – and if you do decide to pick up that ‘treat’ enjoy every mouthful of it and feel it nourishing you – emotionally or/and physically.

Be calm and breath… then shine and spread the gooood vibes by just being you!

Best Massages in England – Tatler Feb’15

Philly Gammell — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 12:38:03 +0000

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?

If the answer is yes, you might not think that a rub-down is the answer (Prosecco? Prozac? Both at once?), but you would be wrong. An hour at the hands of Philly will leave you transformed, body and mind. After a career as a professional skier ended in a life-changing accident, she chose to devote herself to healing. In the past 14 years she has studied sports massage, shiatsu, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, Chinese Medicine and meditation. Session complete, you feel like you’ve had three treatments – a lesson in mindfulness, a thorough massage and some extraordinary craniosacral. You’ll roll out of bed the next day feeling elated, hell-bent on recommending her to every overworked person you know.”

If you are interested and want to book please call me on 07801 813 385 or email on philly@phillygammell.com

How Massage and Bodywork can help you…

Philly Gammell — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 11:15:00 +0000

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.

We can find ourselves constantly in a “fight or flight” mode causing us to hold ourselves in a tense and static fashion which is very different to if we were on holiday for example, this causes a domino effect of tension echoing across our body. In turn this can lead to chronic muscular tension and tension headaches due to a reduced blood flow to the head. Massage can be of huge benefit to those under such stress to help avoid more serious joint injuries due to muscle imbalances, as well as calming the mind and spirit. It is important to remember that the tension in our body reflects the tension in our minds.

Massage has long been relegated to the realms of ‘pampering’, a luxury as opposed to a vital part of our own preventative medicine. We all tend to wait until it is too late when it comes to looking after ourselves, we tend to battle on through until we are literally brought to our knees by physical ailments or mental disorders. It is essential to start looking after ourselves, not only by going to the gym and eating well, but also by looking at how we feel, both physically mentally, paying heed to any warning signs.

A massage is not going to ‘cure’ you instantly, however, a regular weekly treatment can go to considerable lengths to ease away build up of physical and mental tension, creating an inner peace and calm. This ancient healing art still has much relevance to us in our modern world today.