This evening, why not start a gratitude journal?

I’d love to be one of those people who can keep a diary, and when I say keep a diary, I don’t just mean acquiring a beautiful mole skin note book and writing in it for the first 8 days of January; I am talking about Bridget Jones, Samuel Pepys – esque diary keeping! Sadly, I’ve never been able to sustain diarising. I am frequently too tired or too i’nto a good book’ to bother jotting down the ins and outs of my day.  What I have started to do however, and what has allowed a peaceful joy to settle upon me as I doze off, is the keeping of a gratitude journal.It’s brief, quick and simple. I often just write a friend’s name or a couple of words about a lovely reflexology client or perhaps simply ‘bike ride’ or ‘Bake Off“!  It’s wonderful to cast your mind back over your day and just note down a word for each thing you were thankful for… ‘pasta, coffee, the bus arrived as I got to the bus stop’.  Recalling these simple things and committing them to paper makes me realise how lucky I am and often makes me reevaluate what I may otherwise have perceived as a difficult day.

Give it a go!

An article in the Independent reveals Reflexology may be as effective as painkillers, according to a new scientific survey.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth have found that people felt about 40 per cent less pain, and were able to stand pain for about 45 per cent longer, when they used reflexology as a method of pain relief.

Participants attended two sessions, in which they were asked to submerge their hand in ice water.

In one of the sessions they were given reflexology before they submerged their hand, and in the other session they believed they were receiving pain relief from a Tens machine, which was not actually switched on.

The researchers found that when the participants received reflexology prior to the session they were able to keep their hand in the ice water for longer before they felt pain, and that they could also tolerate the pain for a longer period of time.

Dr Carol Samuel said: “As we predicted, reflexology decreased pain sensations.”

The research results suggest that reflexology can be used to complement conventional drug therapy in the treatment of conditions associated with pain such as osteoarthritis, backache and cancers.

Doctor Samuel states, “It is likely that reflexology works by causing the brain to release chemicals that lessen pain signals.”

Dr Ivor Ebenezer, co-author of the study, said: “We are pleased with these results. Although this is a small study, we hope it will be the basis for future research into the use of reflexology.”

Learn what else Reflexology can help to treat.
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Just, stare up at the ceiling and count down from 60. It’s that simple!

Gazing upward stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers blood pressure and slows the pace of the breath. Slow, deliberate counting will also help rid your mind of distractions. This can also help you sleep.

This can also help kick start your meditation practice.

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