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Faith is belief in the absence of proof

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

I have been exceedingly busy in the last few weeks, so have not had a great deal to say. In the midst of studying degree modules and completing tasks towards fund raising for our big event in March next year, and getting back into training for that, on top of integrating a whole new format for teaching yoga, and work and  homelife and somewhere in that schedule I have to find time to sleep! :-) blogging has been a bit low in my list of priorities, so guess I will have to get to it when I can.

At this moment in time, life is hectic but, oh so much fun…….everyday I am proving to myself that aspirations are possible and the only things that stop us is the ‘taking action’ part, ‘feeling the fear and doing it anyway’. I am finding inspiration in books, films, other people, quotations as in the title of this post. “Faith is belief in the absence of proof”.

We generally think of faith as religion, Christianity, Judaism, Islam…. religions which put their faith into  texts of old and practice without questioning, the words of those texts and of their respective religious leaders.

But faith can be belief  in a theory or philosophy, in an individual, but probably and most importantly, in my own thinking, faith can be belief in oneself. In ones own abilities and strengths to achieve and accomplish, to complete and arrive wheresoever ones choices take them. Of course belief in ones abilities to  accomplish, cannot be subject to testing scientifically and so by default proof of ability is absent. Track record becomes the benchmark.

 What is it to have sufficient faith in oneself, blind belief that their dreams or aspirations are within their own reach? Some might call it delusion or wishful thinking, or having your head up in the stars. Maslow called it self actualisation and Jung referred to it as individuation.

History has given us Einstein, Newton, Mother Theresa, Margaret Thatcher and Barack Obama and many countless more who started with an idea, a dream or an aspiration. Whether you are the first female priminister of Great Britain and turned out to be an iron lady, or you are the first black American President in a country who would until  147 (January 1st 1863) years ago been considered a slave. Whether you were Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandhi or Nelson Mandela, this world has seen huge amounts of belief in the absence of proof, and thank God! ( if there is a God) that these people did believe and did fight for freedoms and dreams. Imagine what this world would have been had we stood down to the mass murderers and dictators of time gone by.

The human spirit is a powerful thing, but humans on the whole are pretty cool, full stop!!  Consider for one moment the way we tick and what puts us out of sink, simply complicated…not a man made machine to compare, nor a species of intelligence able to match. Humans are truly unique  and that uniqueness expresses through to us individually, even though we are made up of common components.

This brings me to what I work with… the human body…in states of pain…physical, emotional, psychological. Conventional professionals (not counting the open minded ones, obviously!) berate the work of my kind and tell us it is without scientific foundation and yet countless patients walk through my clinic door and amaze me in their ability to work with their own healing. Colleagues all over the country report similar experiences and each time I encounter such events my belief becomes stronger. My faith in  my work and in the human spirit is reinforced. My faith in Fascia :-) is bound without scientific proof. This simple but beautiful structure, compliant and yet specific in its mechanics and memory, supporting our body’s structures from skin to internal organs is truely a thing of wonder and when felt or sensed and complied with can take a person from pain to health, from misery to joy, from a life without quality to a life of endless potential and possibilities.

From a common cold to a potentially terminal illness, I believe the cure is in the individuals own body, to re-address health and fitness. It is by no means an easy task and does require enormous, unflinching belief and as with all things the human spirit is its key.

I was out shopping last Thursday, and met a patient who I had worked with a year ago. A woman who suffered anxiety, heart palpitations, panic attacks, she saw the whole world as her enemy, she felt herself unliked and unwanted, she was prone to carrying the worlds burdens on her shoulders and yet when she saw me she greeted me with the most beautiful of smiles and her posture was changed dramatically, her words were all positive. she paid me a compliment by telling me she “could never have done it without me”. The truth is actually the reverse of that, when you consider she had been doing whatever she had been doing for a whole year, without seeing me. My reward was in observing her so changed, so healthy and so vibrant. What I learn from that is that proof doesnt always have to be measurable, it can as easily be seen, to be believed.

Craniosacral therapy, visceral manipulation, myofascial release therapy and manual lymphatic drainage  are powerful aids to the body’s own healing capabilities. If you have questions or concerns related to health matters you can email me directly on shehnaz@touchofhealing.co.uk or visit my website www.touchofhealing.co.uk

thankyou for reading

Shehnaz

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Trauma after surgery

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Anyone who has undergone an operation under general anaesthetic, or even under local anaesthetic and then gone under the knife, will be able to relate to the trauma involved with surgery. Firstly, being told they will have to have surgery, then dealing with the thoughts and stress of accustoming to the idea of having that surgery, and once having had the surgery, their next consideration is for dealing with the healing time. Waiting for swelling, inflammation and bruising to settle down, stitches to take, scars to heal can all have their own effect. For medicine each surgery is a procedure, but for the person having surgery, it can be traumatic. Sometimes the trauma can be minor and shortlived and other times its effects can last a life time.

In my work I deal with the trauma of surgery in different ways. Physically it can be a question of rehabilitation. Treating muscle tissue to bring range of motion back upto an acceptable level. To a certain degree I address the  scar tissue which forms around the surgical incision, and by doing this it permits the body to return to a state as close as possible to that which is considered natural. If the scar tissue is not treated it can lead to problems as time goes by. Thickened scar tissue can prevent muscle from re-establishing correct alignment and it can prevent the flow of circulation and nervous responses. The surgery can have associated emotional issues linked to it.

You may be knocked out and therefore not consciously aware, but believe me, at some level your body is aware of what memory the surgery leaves. If you are involved in a car accident, needing you to be cut out of your vehicle, where you find you have a serious break or blood loss requiring surgery, this is all data your body tissue stores as emotion… like fear, connected to the idea of losing your life, or not knowing what will happen and losing control. If you were in the vehicle with others and they were injured or died that might also compute at some level..so scars are not always physical….but though the physical scars might heal well, the psychological scars may be trapped, and still leave their mark. These scars may manifest as depression or constant unidentifiable physical pain. These are the things which conventional medical techniques can struggle to resolve, but these are also the things which rob a person of their quality of life.

Not all surgery scenarios are as complicated as I have suggested, but can still have bad memories attached. A simple appendectomy, where the scar can be small and precise, can become very complicated, if the appendix is not where it is supposed to be anatomically. Some of my patients  decribe their surgeons as butchers……I of course cannot comment and it is not my place to offer up any reason why this should be, and its important to stress that not every surgical case goes ‘wrong’.

Major heart surgery can leave a massive scar which aesthetically can effect a persons esteem in terms of their body image.

It is my job to use the skills at my disposal to help the individual whose body has undergone the trauma of surgery to overcome the physical and emotional scars which have been left. Craniosacral therapy is a very gentle, non invasive healing technique which can realign body tissue and help address emotional issues. Its uses are far reaching and it can prove highly effective. Manual Lymphatic Drainage massage can reduce healing time, by speeding up the removal of unwanted fluid in the area of tissue damage. It can support the immune systems fight against secondary effects of infection. It can bring necessary nutrient value to aid the healing process and it can permit scar tissue to develop in a manner which brings the least trauma to the physical structure of tissue. Myofascial Release therapy is also useful in both alignment of body tissue and emotional release of trauma trapped in the body. If an individual has an organ removed through surgery, this will effect the way other organs within the body lay, and visceral manipulation can address the delicacy of visceral alignment and function.

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The origin of pain

Monday, June 21st, 2010

In my not so distant youth, I cannot say that I was ever really aware of feeling aches and pains. I was too busy being a mother and a wife and supporting my husband in his work to be aware of things not being right with me. Now, however, I find myself waking up, feeling a bit stiff and achey and my work, rewarding as it is can be, often physically depletes my energies, and I am left wondering at what point did things change? When exactly did I start to feel aches and pains? The answer is I have no idea…but somewhere in the last 5 years the back pain has come and gone, the tight sensations in muscles and joints appear from nowhere and I find myself getting frustrated at myself…..how can I be in pain!…its my job to help others in pain, pain is simply not something I should feel…:-)….how one forgets that ‘yet still she is human’…The nice thing is my muscles complain, and sometimes scream at me, I hear them and very quickly using Myofascial Release Therapy and Trigger Point therapy I can get rid of what troubles me. sometimes I can even treat myself with some craniosacral therapy…but its not like when someone else does it for you…being a complete treatment junky and given the opportunity I would jump at any chance to get given the treatments, I am fortunate enough to have studied.

The point I guess I am trying to make is that pain is something many of us suffer, in differing degrees at some point in life. Stress can induce pain, injury trauma, repetitive strain, over work and good old emotional and psychological stuff, which none of us are immune to can knock our body’s out of kilter.

I  have written an article on pain on my website, its for information purposes and anyone reading it may achieve some insight as to the whys and hows of what they are going through, pain wise.

I am a little pushed for time today, but i would like to leave you with something to think about. The first two are alternative ways to deal with emotional turmoil and thus a route to relief from pain of the psychological kind, the last is a reminder of how at one time in our lives being happy was all we had to concern ourselves with.

the crying game

laughing for joy

a childs laughter

which one made you smile?

Also before I go, just wanted to remind that you can become a fan of my touch of healing page or a friend on facebook of touch of healing clinic of complementary medicine, and if you would like to, you can join the group “shehnaz treks to the himalayas for British Heart Foundation. Its my aim to post inspiritational stuff through those facilities and if something there may be of help then its there if you need it.

Thankyou for reading

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“and then we die”.

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Writing these blog posts and feeling like I have something interesting to contribute is often quite hard. Obviously something interesting has to happen during the day for me to be able to write about it. The problem is life is only occasionally interesting, so the dilemma is what to write about today………….A while back I wrote a blog post on the rhythm of life, and some of you found it thought provoking….so in the absence of anything ‘happening’, happening I’m gonna talk about a similar theme…

Did you know that for an individual who has a limb amputation its possible that sometimes, despite the absence of the limb, they feel pain and sensation?……. as if the limb were still there…. and for someone who has been given the gift of an organ from a donor, deceased or otherwise, they are often aware of drastic changes in their own personality. If you have heard about such things, then maybe you have an answer as to why and I would love to know your thoughts and opinions, but in the meantime, I will have a go at offering up my own take.

In ancient eastern philosophy there is a belief that we are inextricably linked to a source…..the universe, God, Allah…give the source whatever name you choose, and this link occurs via an invisible but electrically natured network, which I will describe as a pool of energy.

If you visualise the highest mountain LOL….Everest and put yourself at the very bottom in a pool of cool, pure crystal clear water, you realise that that water comes from a source high up in the mountain, and with it, it brings everything it picks up en route. So when it gets to you its packed full of good stuff. It surrounds you and you sense its benefits and what it can potentially provide you with. The water that surrounds you doesnt penetrate your skin, but somehow you can get a feeling of being part of the mountain through it……you and the mountain arent seperate, you are two small parts of one whole. 

So the source connects to us, and essentially it provides our essence with enough energy to exist. On the ground we have to give that essence sustenance, nourishment, not just of food and water, but of thought and expression. The thing is the food cant be junk, it has to have nutritional value and the thought and expression has to be positive and vital, to ensure happiness and health. So what does that have to do with an amputated limb or a donated organ or even the rhythm of life?

The common denominator is our essence, our spirit, our soul. Our bodies arent just made up of bone, flesh and blood (In truth there are 7 aspects of our body, the physical is only one of those). These aspects are effectively the invisible network of electrical energy which surrounds, interrelates and penetrates the physical form, and it is layered, in a manner that allows us subtle connection to different aspects of human-ness, which flow back and forth from the source. These different aspects have an energy signature or frequency, that change and become less and less audible, until you address them and learn to tune in to them….this is the journey you take to enlightenment…so the first energy frequency is the physical body, the part that we all can see, touch and feel. It is made up of different rhythms, and the physical vehicle is the sum total of all those rhythms. The blue print of that physical state, translate via the etheric body, which is our second layer, and you can remove the bricks and mortar, but the blue print that mimics them can never be erased…..so if you remember the orange haze surrounding young kidz in the ready break adverts, the etheric body can be pictured that way. It contains  the blue print for the physical form. In amputation you remove the flesh, blood and bone, but how do you amputate the  etheric blue print. The answer is you dont, only the source can do that, and that will only happen when the physical form no longer has use of the soul….and then we die…..Sensation and proprioception are not therefore confined to just the physical form. Amputations are very traumatic occurences, which can activate the energy circuit in a way we might not be normally immediately aware of.

Having pondered on this issue for quite some time and asked questions as to why or how this strange phenomenon might occur and coming up with the conclusion I did, how surprised I then was to discover that science refers to this happening as ‘phantom limb pain’, or neuropathic pain. It is explained thus: the body has natural mechanisms, which help it to inhibit and excite pain. The neural networks that let this happen are not just confined to a single part of the body or to the brain, but it happens along a length of the nerve pathway. When a limb is amputated, the neural cells in the spinal cord which it communicate with in that part of the body dies, and the homeostatic mechanism the body adopts to return to norm, upon healing cannot happen and the pathway becomes disjointed and the pain is therefore still felt, because natural pain inhibition has no effect and often its felt more severely and impossible to treat.

We are  through our DNA individual, but we are each of us a part of something greater. I mentioned in the Rhythm of life post that our organs each possess a rhythm, it is usually standard no matter what body it occupies, but there is a very subtle difference which makes that organ unique to the individual in whose body it resides. If the overall physical body dies, then the whole body has to die for the soul to be free to leave. If however any body part is saved, the essence has to stay with it. The personality associated with that essence stays too, hence a person with someone elses body can sometimes experience, changes to their personality…they sense themselves as two people in one body…..heavy stuff hey….:-) just provoking some thought…I dont say it is so…its an idea which makes sense to me. You make of it what you choose…

The teachings and philosophy that I make reference to is a basis for the work I do. It gives me great joy and nourishes my soul and if you would like to know more then you can get further information from www.touchofhealing.co.uk

Thankyou for reading

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The Stress Of Exams

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

All over the Uk there are young people doing their GCSE’s and A’levels. Its that time of year when all 16 year and 18 year olds are feeling the stress of exams and the future implications of the results they achieve.

I remember back to when I was doing my exams at 16, at that time we called them O levels, so it was alot of years ago. I have to admit I dont remember feeling stress, but I also do not recall  being bothered at the outcome and so I did not do as well as was expected of me. What I do remember is that during  that time I was felt more stress at how aweful the weather was. June, that year, in London was unusually wet and thundery. Lightening storms and very little sunshine were not normal from what I could remember and that irritated me more than feeling the stress of exams.

Some 29 years later, and back in study mode, its a different matter entirely, and I am feeling the stress, I perhaps ought to have felt at 16, now. A lifetime seems to have passed where priorities have changed and things that I used to be chilled about have become alot more important and I am finding myself feeling stress. I am sure I have mentioned that on top of all the ongoing learning I do for my work, I decided around this time last year to undertake a psychology degree. I began it last October, and the only stress I could identify is a sort of irritation at how easy it all seemed.

However, in February I took a couple of higher level modules, hoping to be challenged, but  find that is creating stress in me. Still nothing worth having is ever really easy and why should this be an exception. I am really enjoying the course I am doing, the subject matter is  interesting, but I find the assignments confusing. Give me a subject and ask me to write an essay and I have no problems, however throw in a few numbers, graphs, convoluted questions and woosh, over my head it goes.

I realise I havent had to think outside of the box for a such a long time, that it makes it an issue of stress, and I am having to cope with thinking in a way that I haven’t had to since I was 18. I had forgotten that exams in the academic world were not an easy ride and that all the learning I have done since then, just tended to test my knowledge, and so I never found myself feeling stress when preparing for a non academic exam.

Ofcourse my exam is not until October, and I only have one,where as the youngsters nowadays are sitting many exams over a number of days and some are even doing more than one in the same day. I feel some sympathy with them, but the nice thing in the majority of cases, is that their commitments will be confined to possibly a part time job, or helping around the house. Coping with stress is not easy, no matter what the age, but it can I suppose me more difficult during these formative years.  There will be stress adapting and adjusting to changes in life and in oneself. Then there is the stress of coping with exams. Some students will cope better with the stress than others, either way there are young people all over the country wishing June would be over and looking forward to a summer of no study.

Craniosacral therapy is very useful in coping with stress, it seems to strengthen mental processes and calm the mind. Reflexology is also useful in regulating nervous and circulatory responses to the stress mechanism. Yoga and meditation are also very useful tools in combating stress. T’ai Chi is a meditation in motion practice, and it teaches you to slow down breath and mental processes which help bypass the physiological triggers of stress.

Coping, maintaining and finding ways of dealing with what creates stress inside you during exam time is the best  means of battling its consequences. In me stress seems to freeze my mind from thinking clearly and I lose the ability to focus. Realising that I am feeling the effects of stress, I will remove myself, and do something completely different. The other night I went onto you tube and sought out funny videos, things that would make me laugh. I sat down and planned, how I would timetable my study period, and gave myself achievable goals to get me to my one exam in October….:)) Hey it works for me!!…… perhaps I’m being alittle over concerned, but when you look at the amount of reading I have for this one exam, on top of the rest of my life, it might not seem like an over reaction. Stress is not good for any of us, and as you grow older stress becomes a bigger problem, because the coping mechanisms of youth slowly fail us…

Its important for each of us to find our way to coping with stress of any kind, not just the stress of exams. Stress is a big fact of life in modern times, and unless we learn to cope or deal with it we will over time suffer its consequences, becasue out bodies are simply not equipped to handle it day in day out for ever. Find a way that works for you..and maybe the stress related articles on  www.touchofhealing.co.uk  may be of some use to you.

Thanks for reading.

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A different perspective on healing

Monday, May 31st, 2010

As part of my marketing campaign to raise awareness for my business, I have been learning to get to grips with facebook for networking. I already have a personal page which enables me to communicate with friends and family. The thing I like about it most is that it has enabled me to actually interact with some of the nieces and nephews and young people who would probably have never thought to speak to me. With the marketing of my business in mind I opened up another account and have been adding friends through this, and soon discovered an email from a young man, claiming to  be a medical student.

He asked me a couple of questions which I am assuming connected to the ‘complementary medicine’ aspect of the name of my business.

I realise the science profession on the whole turns its nose up at anything which seems to challenge conventional stuff. Having a science background I have to admit the energy aspect of my work, intially took some accepting, but I kept an open mind and also along the way questioned everything from a point of logic and found I got really compelling answers and arguments. I understand that I am applying my own perspective to the mix, but placebo or otherwise I work with one aim and that is to encourage in patients mental attitudes that lead to their self empowerment. I use physical bodywork techniques to address anomalies of fascia or connective tissue,  encouraging ease in the body. A body at ease and not undergoing stress is a healthy body.

Its all about the patient. Its arrogant to assume that a therapist or medical practitioner can cure a body, like we were God….healing is profound and its amazing, but its the territory of the individual. With Reiki and Colour Healing I channel, with Craniosacral therapy  I intend an outcome of ease to the body and work with the body to that intention. With Visceral Manipulation, I get to feel and listen to what the body wants, and basically do what it asks of me. I do hear many people in my profession take the attitude that they are curing a problem in someone else and its sad because while someone begins to understand the reason why their body is in dis-ease, they also begin to take on board that they have the power within, (all be it with some help)  to choose to change the pattern which the body has so far adopted. If we as ‘healers’ display that level of arrogance then we take the opportunity of their own growth and development from the patient and instead promote dependency and awe.

I wish the medics would recognise that often their drugs (with their many side effects) and disclaimers cannot do what self empowerment, raised self awareness, a change in thought patterns, an attitude of happiness and love can do to promote health. In an ideal world people like me ought to be working alongside conventional medicine, because its not about us, its always about the patient.

If that were possible the philosophy, which the east has advocated for longer than the bible has been around, would be available to everyone. But I realise, when drug companies have so much at stake in keeping us sick, so they can try to fix us, that that is just an impossible dream. When I see the numbers of Doctors learning Craniosacral therapy and Visceral manipulation I take heart that maybe one day perspectives on healing might change.

On balance there is no question of what the medical profession is capable of and its miracles too, are pretty profound. But no one way, is ever the only way and if the patient is the one that counts, dont we owe it to them to open our minds to possibilities and different perspectives? I think we do

I was recently doing some research into using the treatments of my clinic for Parkinson Disease and came across a helpful website. It connects Craniosacral therapy which I mentioned earlier to possible improved life quality in sufferers of Parkinsons disease. 

Thankyou for reading

Shehnaz

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Inside the mind of Lucifer

Monday, May 24th, 2010

The mind is such a fascinating  thing to reflect upon, and as has become my habit I often find myself doing exactly that, through things I hear, books or stories I read. In my last post I mentioned I had read about young adults taking their lives through suffering at the hands of bullys and the stress this creates upon their victims.

I work with individuals who’s physical pain appears to be an expression of   emotion which is trapped inside them. People who are anxious about everything, worry and have low self esteem. People who talk about dreams and aspirations they had as children or teenagers and then dwell on how they never achieved them, either through family pressures, relationship commitments, not feeling clever enough etc, etc. I am continually discovering how the philosophy behind this work can bring out the best in people and give them back life quality and alleviate the stress of life. (If its of interest and you want to know more then go to www.touchofhealing.co.uk you will also find articles on stress and stress related matters) . You may wonder what relationship this has to the rest of what I touch upon. It should become clear at the end. 

I am left asking myself all kinds of questions, what makes a criminal mind? what makes a loving kind mind? Is it as simple as good and evil? Are people born genetically good or genetically bad, or are they shaped by their environment and by the people that occupy that environment around them?What is the essential ingredient or set of ingredients which distinguishes between the performing of good wholesome acts and the kinds of depravities we describe as evil?

Is a bully evil? What is it that goes on in the mind of a bully that compells them to make life a misery for another human being? I have been reading articles and literature on the subject and came across an Interview taken by a lady called Donna Smith. The individual in the interview seemed to be a reformed bully, someone who realised and regretted over the error of his ways. But other literature I read seems to echo that “once a bully, always a bully”.

The dictionary definition of a bully is any individual who intimidates, persecutes or oppresses, either physically or morally another human being. In later life definition changes slightly. In yester year bullying may have entailed having lunch money stolen, being verbally abused and called names.  A bully was someone whose path you avoided. Today bullying can take more overt  forms, such as texting and emailing, leaving disturbing phone messages and social exclusion. 

I read a book recently called “The Lucifer Effect”, written by Phillip Zimbardo, which was about how good people become bad, and this book documented the ’stanford prison experiment’. This book for me highlighted how an individual when placed under particular circumstances and subjected to various demands can display an altered personality. This personality can develop from a sense of what an individual perceives as being expected from them. This is a video clip to show visually how  the experiment panned out and gives commentary around the experiment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0jYx8nwjFQ&feature=related

The personality may indeed exist within, and requires tapping into so that it comes to the forefront…a different person comes to light..so to speak. It was a disturbing experiment which had to be cut short, because it became an example of how easily a persons human rights could be abused, but also shockingly how a person can display Jekyl and hyde type characteristics and be totally unaware of doing wrong. Philip Zimbardo’s experiment and his subsequent book went some way to describing how  humans  commit the atrocities we have been witness to, throughout history. The interesting thing is that each example leaves us horrified and adamant that such things should never happen again, but history keeps repeating itself. The Holocaust is possibly still the most documented of atrocities one human being can commit towards another, but did it teach those who suffered; to be mindful of their own actions towards others in the future? What Isreal does, that is never made public, in the name of protecting their ‘biblical’ lands is not very different. It may seem like I’m straying from topic, but the seeds in the mind are the same.

I am talking about bullying at school and what makes a bully. A bully is usually an individual, who are  themselves bullied, commonly at the hands of a parent or sibling, but it can also be an adult who has some impact upon them. The bullying they suffer, effects their self esteem. They display an inner cowardice towards the person who they are being bullied by. Their own inadequacies are satisfied by then doing to another what is effectively done to them. The more weakness their victim displays, the stronger they feel, the more perceived kudos they achieve amongst their peers. They feel good as opposed to feeling bad, and that sensation of feeling good does not permit them to look at their actions, nor does it allow them to think what it does to their victim. As they are spurred on by their peers, it taps into the energy of feeling important, and the power that comes with that can, I suppose, be addictive. The Stanford prison experiment was halted after 6 days through a process of choice, when suddenly an objective view point addressed the issue of boundaries being crossed. A bully knows that they are doing wrong, but they choose the wrong over the alternative, because it makes them feel better, and often the line between right and wrong becomes blurred. They learn not to be able to tell the difference, and this is possibly the point at which they are able to destroy the lives of others. The question is how do we stop a child, who is essentially born innocent, from developing this kind of personality?

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What is stress?

Monday, May 17th, 2010

This year, for a number of reasons I have chosen through stupidity or enthusiasm to take on a lot of tasks which see me often working 18 hour days. I have undertaken a psychology degree, I have decided to trek to the Himalayas for the British Heart Foundation, which means I have a huge financial commitment in fund raising to fullfill as well as undertaking sufficent physical training to ensure that  when I get to Everest I can actually complete the climb. On top of these three things, I have a business, which I work at but actively promote, (hence my blogs….. come on isnt it was most of us do? :-) ) using a variety of methods, each of which need planning into a day and remaining organised for.

Additional to this I have certain hobbies, one of which is singing.  All this is on top of my family and home commitments, the mundane stuff like housework, cooking.

All of this means that fitting other things in is nigh on impossible, but as an eternal optimist I do try…although I am speedily learning to say ‘no’.

People say to me “Wow, Shehnaz isnt that rather alot, are you sure you are not over doing it?”. I smile because I know I am, but its all so much fun, and I am at that time of life, where I have been the wife, the mother and I guess I am trying to be me. Fulfill my dreams and aspirations and reach that place ’somewhere over the rainbow, way up high’, but no matter how much fun it is, I am not a machine, my body isn’t getting younger, and if I am not sensible and organised and disciplined, the more likelihood there is of me going into meltdown, through the sheer stress of commitment I have undertaken. But what exactly is stress? Why does stress happen? Whats the point of stress if it stops us functioning and achieving our goals? and why does stress effect different people in different ways?

Obviously there are alot of questions here, and probably outside the scope of this particular blog, so what I am going to do is refer you to my website www.touchofhealing.co.uk  where you will find a series of articles, starting today and beginning with a definition of stress. Its a huge subject and is infact part of one of the modules I am studying for my psychology degree. My reason for focusing on the subject of stress, apart from it being involved with my work and the potential for it becoming a current aspect of my life, I am aware that stress effects so many of us in so many different ways and it manifests so much more than a feeling of being overwhelmed and not being able to cope. So if its something that interests you then watch out for the articles and future blog post here…they may help you cope and understand with time with the huge subject of stress :-) .

thankyou for reading

Shehnaz

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Spaldings First Yogathon

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

I know I have said this before but many of you may already be aware that I am relentlessly trying to raise money towards a trek to  base camp everest, which myself and two other family members are doing. The amount we have to raise is pretty substantial, but in a couple more weeks we will have achieved the first £1000. Just another £11,000 to go :-) )

Towards this huge task I have taken on, I have thought of a whole bunch of ideas towards raising the money, the first of which, myself and my family did on May 1st which was flower parade here in Spalding. The next event is a yogathon. A marathon yoga session?…….. but really it will be alittle over a standard session, where the meditation and warmup may be alittle longer. The ‘thon’ part comes from the idea of getting as many women as possible to take part. We have a fairly big hall as the venue to do it from.

The response is not guarateed, because going into June, people are leaving on summer holidays, but perhaps this problem with the old icelandic volcano, which does not seem to want to stop coughin up ash, might delay peoples plans…I realise I’m being somewhat selfish…but I’m sure you will understand how needs must…Â

I have managed to get a wonderful friend of mine to lead the session. She is a fitness instructor, primarily, who since childhood took part in gymnastics and continued to develop her flexibility. She like me runs her own company, and though I have trained with alot of yoga teachers..she is as good as many we see and read about in the various yoga publications around the world. I feel quite priviliged that she has agreed to help me out. I am hoping my own students will benefit from another method of teaching. If anyone reading out there is even remotely interested in knowing more then you can find information on Facebook at my fan page  for the trek, and at the member page for my network site 

Ofcourse you can also visit my website www.touchofhealing.co.uk where as I update my events page you will be able to access whats going on. With regards to yoga however, I have a personal theory on why it is such an effective regime of exercise. No one can argue its ability to calm the mind and bring our focus from the humdrum and chaos, back into our bodies, so slowing the sympathic nervous processes right down. It builds physical strength through balance, but since in Myofascial Release therapy I use the character of connective tissue to release restriction, and free up obstruction to the required flow of blood and fluid, stretching muscular tissue, has the same effect.

Whilst practicing yoga myself I am very aware, that I am effectively doing a similar thing, and the stretch feels so good, especially where ever I  am tight. Once I have stretched, everything seems to move more freely and I find vitality is restored and I feel more energetic.

Visceral Manipulation is also founded on the principal that the bodies organs need to and want to be able to move free inorder to function effectively. Sometimes when we investigate the way the body is positioned or moving during yoga, we discover it has a similar positive impact upon organ structures. Colour healing can be utilised easily during the meditative parts of yoga and begin to impact positively on the energetic components of our aura, and ultimately benefits our physical body. Yoga is truely a whole system of healing. It incorporates physical movement, with correct positional alignment, permitting our bodies to adopt the posture which is of optimum benefit throughout life. It takes care of peace of mind so targets psychology, and because it accesses the realms of spiritual development, it takes care of our soul. The connection between mind, body and soul, can rarely be seen so simply in one single art form. Some might say T’ai Chi achieves something similar, and since I practice this too, I wouldnt argue, but as far as addressing the lay of connective tissue, or fascia I am not entirely convinced. But hey… I have an open mind :-)

Namaste

Shehnaz

PS. Perhaps someone out there might like to offer up an explanation on that point. In the meantime, anyone who might wish to contribute to our fundraising can do so at www.justgiving.com/Shehnaz-Batul-Dungarwalla Your contribution could go a long way in helping many who suffer with coronary heart problems, achieve a better quality of life. It doesnt have to be much, I maintain that if enough people gave  £1.00, we would soon reach our target. So if after reading this you feel even alittle charitable, please click into the above link and give something. Love and appreciation to all for your kindness x.

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The stress of politics

Monday, May 10th, 2010

I am not someone who is really interested in politics. I find myself not entirely believing what the politicians say, infact I realise I am alittle synical about their motives…this coming from someone who essentially tries to see the good in all humans (well until they me otherwise)….sadly that is not the case and in recent news the greatest depravity of mankind shows through, in alot of what is going on. Greed is just one example…

I dont consider myself in any shape or form an authority I go on what I see, as politics goes, and looking at Mr Cameron I am reminded of Tony Blair who many years ago promised us the earth and then took us into a futile war on the behest of an american president. Right now Nick Clegg is in an unenviable position of brokering a deal, but we are all still wondering which way it will go…bless him…we thought England was going to see History in the making, judging by the poles, he may have thought he had a real chance at the premiership… 

But if I am honest I look at Gordon Brown and my heart goes out to him. He so wanted to govern this country, but luck has simply not been on his side. My husband mentioned that Brown and Blair had had a pact in the early years that at some point Blair would give up leadership of Labour and leave the avenue open for Brown to take over provided there was no opposition. Well Blair must have had a crystal ball in tow, because he got out just before the preverbial s***  hit the fan so to speak.

I voted on Thursday, but I have no idea of what my local candiditates name is and my daughter later mentioned he didnt even live in the area…I know I voted for the leader. Alot of people do that…the leader of the party is the face we most see, and therefore it is in truth the person we vote for. Even though here in the UK we dont have a presidential electoral system, personality counts. Policies are important too, but its about who we most trust. The hung parliament implies that maybe we dont really know who to trust. Going back to the leaders themselves, David Cameron, with majority seats is entitled I suppose to claim the highground, but I keep thinking about Gordon Brown.

If as I mentioned earlier the country votes primarily on leadership, then Gordon Brown was never voted in by the public. Ever since he has come into power the world in general has been going into melt down, driven to a large degree by the greed of the banking industry, which here in the UK had regulation lifted from them. At the time it may have seemed a good idea for our econony, but history has obviously shown it was a huge gaff, and probably a big part of Browns eventual downfall. That an scandal  after scandal. Personality wise he isnt great, though his intentions may be genuine, what we see is whats on the outside.

In the last debate, after he locked horns with the lady in the north, he looked exhausted. In that final debate he was struggling to keep his eyes open, and they were bloodshot, probably from lack of sleep. He could not even manage what I would describe as a genuine smile. He looked in need of some manual lymphatic drainage massage for the puffiness around his eyes, and some serious muscular lift and enhancement on his jowels. (Acupressure and facial rejuvenation). Ofcourse this is all aesthetic and to a large degree is a reflection of whats going on inside him, but his stress levels must have been through the roof. Its scary to think what it must feel like to him, what it must be doing to his esteem to know his party internally must be biting their lips to see him off and the public obviously finally got to say ‘get out’ to him. I dont envy his position one little bit. Personally, I cannot blame him for wanting to be top dog, but I feel that he should have gone to the poles immediately Blair left and given the public a chance to have their say as to whether it was ok for him to be their priminister. If he had been brave enough to do that instead of hanging on to something that the public didnt see as his, he might not have been staring at the the kind of humilation that I feel sure people are just edging to meat upon him. Its a shame but…..c’est la vie.

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