Did you know that there are lifestyle factors that may support your therapeutic reflexology treatment? In today’s post, we’ll broadly consider some of these lifestyle factors that will support your therapeutic reflexology treatments.
Six lifestyle factors can be identified as: (1) Breathing; (2) Diet; (3) Emotions; (4) Exercise; (5) Sleep; (6) Toxin Elimination (Bhikha, 2006).
Breathing
The air you breathe in and the way you breathe may influence your health and wellbeing. As humans, we were meant to breathe in the clean and fresh air, but as the world evolved and especially during the industrial revolution, it became normal for us to breathe in polluted air.
When we live in cities, it is not strange to be aware of the fact that we are breathing in polluted air. Even in rural communities, air pollution is evident in modern society, even on farms where crops are sprayed with chemicals and pesticides. If you are a smoker, you are directly inhaling polluted air.
Taking breathing a step further; have you ever noticed that when you are stressed, you tend to breathe shallowly and sometimes it may even feel that even though you are breathing, you are not necessarily taking in enough oxygen? That is also part of modern living.
To enhance your overall wellness, it may be necessary to put the necessary factors in place to ensure that you breathe in the best possible quality air and that you take some time to concentrate on breathing exercises to ensure that you breathe in enough oxygen.
A regular Therapeutic Reflexology session may assist you in relaxing and destressing you to the point where your breathing sequence may become optimal instead of remaining in a stressful state of shallow breathing.
Diet
Diet is another lifestyle factor to keep in mind when you want to live an optimal life of wellness. There are numerous diets available and it is within the scope of practice of a Dietician to assist you if you want to treat specific conditions with specific diets, but what you should consider, is that eating the right type of food and the right quality of food, may enhance your overall wellbeing.
Let’s put treatment through diet aside for a bit and then consider a general rule: Balance and Moderation. Everything in balance and in moderation are usually a good way to deal with your diet and what you put in your mouth. Do not overindulge and your body may react much better to the food and drink you consume.
Therapeutic Reflexology sessions may assist your body to balance itself which may surprise you when you realise that certain cravings may have disappeared just by getting a regular session. The body longs to be in balance; why not assist it with a regular therapeutic reflexology session?
Emotions
We do not always give much attention to our emotions as we live in a society where it is the norm to rather suppress emotions instead of acknowledging and dealing with it. Emotions are a crucial part of your life and if your emotions are out of balance, so is your body and it usually leads to decreased wellbeing.
No, I’m not suggesting that you should begin talking about all your feelings to every person; all I’m suggesting, is that you should be aware of your emotions. Know yourself, your body and your emotions.
Let me give you a personal example. When I’m tired, I am usually a bit down and sometimes feel sorry for myself. So, instead of walking around telling everybody that I don’t feel so well on those days, all I do, is become aware of the fact that some fatigue is affecting my emotions and then I purposefully avoid making crucial life decisions during those times. I first make a point of resting and then looking at situations before making important decisions. That is how I have learned to deal with my emotions. How are your emotions affecting you?
Therapeutic Reflexology is not only an effective healthcare modality to help your body balance itself, but is also effective in assisting your body to balance your emotions. When your emotions are out of balance, so are you. A regular Therapeutic Reflexology session may assist you in keeping your emotions balanced.
Exercise
Exercise is another lifestyle factor that may help you to enhance overall wellness in your life. When going to the doctor, you are usually told that you should do regular and appropriate exercise. Are you doing regular exercise or are you stiffening your joints and body on the couch?
Modern living is usually a sedentary lifestyle as we tend to sit for extended periods of time in front of computers and when we relax we tend to continue the sitting in front of the television or at the big screen when watching movies. There is nothing wrong with working on the computer or watching TV or movies, but once again, there should be a balance.
Regular exercise is good to help you destress, but also to keep you fit and your blood pumping. Getting enough exercise has been linked to decreased cardiovascular disease risk factors and to keep you healthy.
Exercising in conjunction with regular therapeutic reflexology sessions is an excellent way to improve your circulation and increase your overall wellbeing.
Sleep
Work, work, work! Productivity! Feel guilty when you do not work! These are the mottos of modern society. We have been conditioned to always be on the go, always be running from one meeting to the next and always to be connected on social media while permanently being available on the phone and Whatsapp. The result of such a lifestyle is usually increased stress levels and decreased health and wellbeing with increased chronic fatigue.
Your body was not designed to be constantly on the run. You should take some time out to rest and sleep well. No, sleeping for 2 hours is not enough. Your body needs proper deep sleep in order to restore balance and keep you functioning optimally.
In modern society, sleep has become a luxury, but it should be seen as a necessity. Your lifestyle may not be conducive to sleep and relaxation. That is where Therapeutic Reflexology can be extremely helpful; a regular session may help you to switch off, relax, destress and taking that well deserved hour out of your busy schedule to help you experience rest. A result of regular therapeutic reflexology sessions is also the fact that you tend to sleep very well after such sessions and usually wake up refreshed instead of waking up still feeling tired. Give it a try!
Toxin Elimination
Our bodies are flooded with toxins in modern society. If we do not consume large amounts of sugar or sugar replacements, we tend to digest additives and colourants or chemicals due to medication. These are just the toxins you are aware of. You may think that you eat healthy food, but due to modern agricultural methods, there may be some toxins that you take in even when eating fruits and vegetables. These are just the times we live in.
The body has been designed with the amazing ability to get rid of toxins, but if we flood our bodies with excess amounts of toxins, then the body struggles a bit to get rid of it all. Therapeutic Reflexology is a great way to help the body balance itself by elimination of excess toxins and chemicals; it also improves circulation and often helps with the elimination of waste while assisting in overcoming constipation.
Conclusion
There are various lifestyle factors that may assist you in living an optimal life of wellbeing, but sometimes the body just needs some assistance to reach such an optimal state.
2020 is the year in which you should consider to get regular therapeutic reflexology sessions in order to assist yourself to maintain a good balance of lifestyle factors.
References
Bhikha, R. (2006) 4 Temperaments 6 Lifestyle Factors. Roodepoort: Ibn Sina Institute of Tibb.
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
Dip.T.R.(Cum Laude) [IARAMT]
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 1080000737453
Tel. 072-800 7243