1. Tuning into your cycle helps you to learn about its length and frequency, noticing your unique patterns, including changes in mood. You can start tracking at any stage, however, a great time to start is at Day 1 of your period so that you can begin to understand your cycle length!

2. You’ll know around when you ovulate. Ovulation is the main event within each cycle. It is when an egg is released from the ovary. The exact day of ovulation is very difficult to pin point, however you’ll have a “fertile window” of a 5-6 days leading up to ovulation, including the day of ovulation.

3. You’ll have increased awareness of your overall health. By tracking, you may begin to see patterns. You might notice that you feel fatigued or get migraines, feel irritable or even calm during the same part of your cycle each month. If something isn’t right with your body – illness or stress for example, your cycle will be disrupted. Your menstrual cycle is your monthly report card.

4. You’ll gain insight into your sex drive. We usually feel our highest levels of sexual desire right at the end of our Follicular Phase, in the five days leading up to ovulation. This makes evolutionary sense because it’s also the time you’re most fertile, so most likely to conceive.

5. Understand and manage mood. Tracking your cycle gives you a better understanding of when you might feel happy, productive and energetic, or when you may feel tired, irritable or low. The more you know about what to expect from your moods, the better equipped you will be, to cope with them as they come! The Follicular Phase is a great time to get things done. Testosterone & Estrogen play a big role in higher energy levels and a better mood. In contrast, allow yourself a lot of self-care and downtime leading into the final week before your period. Progesterone has a relaxing effect on the body & mind and is dominant during the Luteal Phase, however, just before your period begins, it decreases drastically, often leading to feelings of anxiety and irritability.

To begin tracking your cycle, either use a paper calendar to mark your symptoms throughout the month, or download a period tracking app. ie. Clue, Glow or Flo.

It’s time to empower yourself when it comes to your cycle & wellbeing!

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It’s very easy to think that children don’t suffer from aches or pains, and that adults are the only ones that need to be physically pampered from time to time. 

However, any parent who’s had to cope with the worry of watching their children teething, fighting off infections (very common in the under-developed immune systems of children), suffering ear/eye problems, insomnia, digestive issues or confidence problems are very aware of the fact that children do need to be pampered too!

Every parent wants to see their children and babies happy and healthy, and reflexology is undoubtedly one of the best natural alternative medicine to achieve this. It involves gentle pressure applied on the feet to help stimulate the proper functioning of organs and body systems, as well as strengthening the immune system against all types of diseases. For parents, it’s a very rewarding way to help children in their early years and it may be applied without any problems. It is simple, nurturing and safe.

10 Benefits

• It’s a very effective way for parents to help their children to be healthy. It promotes an emotional bond between parents and children and is easy to learn if the parent is interested in being the one who performs the massage.

• Helps balance the organs, body systems and emotional energy.

• Stimulates blood circulation, helping to deliver fresh oxygen and nutrients to all body cells.

• Stimulates the functioning of the endocrine glands, which produce hormones, etc.

• Balances the body’s vital energy to help combat muscle and back pain, and can help reduce headaches, migraine, eye problems, and issues such as glue ear.

• Supports the body’s defences against respiratory problems such as colds, coughs, sore throats and tonsillitis.

• It helps to relax children when they are upset or crying. It helps them sleep, combats insomnia, which in turn improves concentration on school days.

• Reflexology helps to regulate the digestive system. One of the problems that can occur in the first few months of life is colic, which is due to the development of the immature digestive system. Reflexology can help regulate and reduce the symptoms of colic and can also combat diarrhoea or constipation – it helps to tone the intestines and encourage their smooth operation.

• It helps to strengthen and balance the immune system. This is very important as it can help the child to fight the germs and foreign bodies that fill their environment. A strong immune system can prevent infection and allergies for the rest of our lives. 

• It encourages the self-healing capacity of the body. Unlike conventional medicines, which often focus on treating symptoms rather than addressing the causes of ailments, Reflexology balances and encourages self-healing, making children strong and resistant to infections and diseases of all kinds.

Children grow up healthier and less dependent on doctors and medicines, and will have a growing confidence that their body has an amazing ability to heal and repair itself, with only a little help from us, such as Reflexology, preparing them for lives less dependent on drugs.

Is it safe?

Reflexology is absolutely safe! It even provides beneficial effects, such as relaxation, wellbeing and emotional regulation. The healing power of touch is something that children need to balance their energy system, providing them with confidence and security.

I regularly run baby & child reflexology classes online. This gives parents & primary care givers an excellent opportunity to learn & apply reflexology techniques to their babies & children – and reap the benefits listed above!

Neasa

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A little bit of stress is good every so often, but the wrong kind of stress can be toxic and it is important that it is released. When you get a bad migraine, it’s obvious that your head is under stress but the dis-ease doesn’t just stop there. Nerves carry signals from your head to other parts of your body and these signals communicate with different organs, muscles and systems that there is something wrong. Immediately they too begin to react, perhaps your neck feels stiff, your feel nauseous, your fingers tingle… nothing in our bodies works in isolation so go ahead and take your prescribed medication to deal with the pain of migraines but don’t for a minute think that’s the end of the story.

It helps to consider the reasons why migraines occur. There are the headaches that are caused by tension, anxiety and anger. Then there are the type that are related to another part of the body – poor digestion/menstrual imbalance/sinus problems… whatever the cause, a whole body response is necessary.

Reflexology is a great tool for managing migraines as it emphasises the whole person, recognises that pain is the body’s way of signalling that it needs help and flushes out all those toxins and stressors that need to be released to allow you to have better health.
I always encourage clients to think about where they are at in their lives – what’s going on with them. The head is symbolic of our emotional and spiritual side. Think of headaches that arise at times of great stress and emotional turmoil. During these times, our body is sending a signal, an ache that we can’t ignore. It is hoping that we will register that we are not emotionally equipped to deal with a certain situation. It wants us to seek help or make changes before stress sets in and we descend into a deeper level of ill health. Our body works constantly to allow us to function at peak health and when it comes up against a problem it will signal for help – we shouldn’t ignore these signals.

If you decide to come to me for help with migraines then please know that there is no magic button on your foot that I can press to make them instantly disappear. We will work together and it will be a bit of a journey. I have had really positive results with clients. One client in particular no longer has to look to pain killers for relief, her migraines have shortened from four days to just a few hours and they reoccur a lot less frequently. She was tired of taking medication and covering over the symptoms, so she came to me for help to address the cause.

Through Reflexology I can relax your body – only a relaxed body can truly heal, and as you heal the symptoms and impact of the migraines will be reduced. But you will have to work with me because Reflexology will make you more aware of what might be causing your migraines – your feet will have a story to tell and it’s up to you to listen and act on their wisdom.

You can find my IGTV video over on my Instagram, on how you can work the reflex points on your hands to help relieve migraines and headaches. For more information, contact me by email!

Neasa x

E: info@enhancewellness.ie

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The post Migraines… What a pain! appeared first on Enhance Wellness.