Essentially Yours Aromatherapy

06/07/2024

Great article!🙃

Essential focus on……..Feet!

No this isn’t about an essential Oil of Feet, although I can imagine what smells it would conjure up with people, myself included!

No, this month I thought I would discuss the feet as they are predominantly a large part of what I do, being a Reflexologist. You can imagine I see a lot of feet, ranging from well looked after and pedicured to cracked, extremely hard and dry and ultimately more difficult to work with.. But I do also have a treatment especially for those with very dry and cracked feet with deep fissures around the edges of the heels. It is an in depth treatment with a Micro pedi skin filing system, to remove very hard dead skin. For really bad hard areas of dead skin, I can gently and slowly remove it with Professional Pedicure Knives. The double-sharpen edge blades are thin and sharp, perfect for removing callus, picking out corns and cutting down hardened nails. (However I would always suggest that folks with those sorts of issues regularly see a Chiropodist or Podiatrist to keep them from getting too far ahead.)

The feet are given a lovely foot Polish also usually with pink Himalayan salt, Lemon oil, Peppermint oil and Calendula that can help tone and soften skin's texture. It calms irritated, itchy, and rough skin due to its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Moreover, its cleansing characteristic helps improve the skin's health.

The foot treatment is completed with a good foot and lower leg massage. I use my own Foot Balm that I have developed with as many of the best ingredients for foot health you can get in a pot…nearly…!! It is very rich and nourishing and just what you need to treat those deep fissures around the heels and very dry skin and hard cuticles around the nails. However, whilst a session with me is great for starting to get your feet healthy and a regular session every fortnight or month, the other big benefit is moisturising your feet EVERY DAY!!!!……you may think that sounds too much, but believe me they need it. Your feet go through a lot more than your face, yet many women and some men now, daily give their faces a cleansing, maybe a Glycolic Exfoliant or Exfoliate Enzyme cream once or twice a week, a serum once or twice a day and a day and a night cream……and so many people can’t take 3-4 minutes to pop on some cream on their feet either in the morning before putting on socks or at night when they get into bed! The difference it can make moisturising your feet every day can drastically reduce the need to have to see your foot therapist so often.

My mantra is “where ever you have skin, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise” …so that is everywhere, as it is just as important to exfoliate, dry skin brush, in the right areas regularly as the average adult human actually loses something close to 500 million skin cells per day! Don't worry, though. Your body is made up of far more cells than that: about 30 trillion, or nearly 100,000 times more than the number of skin cells lost each day. But they have to go some where and exfoliating them off is the best way to keep your skin smooth, not so dry and facially keep wrinkles at bay, as it stops dead cells settling into your natural laughter and frown lines. But hey, that’s another topic for another day!

Below is a comparison of a Clients feet when we started weekly work. It wasn’t long before his feet looked great with him using balm daily at home. ….I now see him maybe every 2 months, but it’s never as bad as we were at the beginning.

If you have trouble with your feet, don’t be embarrassed to call for a consultation to see what we can do. It could be that your a bit immobile and don’t find it easy to get to your feet and it’s always nicer lying back, relaxing and have someone else do it for you👣🙌

Give me a call or text on 07747145064 or send me a message through Facebook on Essentially Yours Aromatherapy.
This cream is available through me at the Treatment room at £13 a pot. You don’t need much, it’s very intensive.

06/07/2024

I thought I would share this article again from a couple of years ago, as I have been working on a lot of peoples feet lately. Whether it be Reflexology of other matters pertaining to the health of the Pedites.
This pot of cream is little miracle. Used regularly it will your feet in tip top condition. With an occasional visit to someone like myself who can give feet a really good “Footcial” as I call it or foot spa, there is no reason that anyone should be walking around with feet that they are either embarrassed to show in sandals or at very worse, painful. ….nobody should be suffering that, and must not be even shy about coming out of shadows to do something about it.

Essential focus on……..Feet!

No this isn’t about an essential Oil of Feet, although I can imagine what smells it would conjure up with people, myself included!

No, this month I thought I would discuss the feet as they are predominantly a large part of what I do, being a Reflexologist. You can imagine I see a lot of feet, ranging from well looked after and pedicured to cracked, extremely hard and dry and ultimately more difficult to work with.. But I do also have a treatment especially for those with very dry and cracked feet with deep fissures around the edges of the heels. It is an in depth treatment with a Micro pedi skin filing system, to remove very hard dead skin. For really bad hard areas of dead skin, I can gently and slowly remove it with Professional Pedicure Knives. The double-sharpen edge blades are thin and sharp, perfect for removing callus, picking out corns and cutting down hardened nails. (However I would always suggest that folks with those sorts of issues regularly see a Chiropodist or Podiatrist to keep them from getting too far ahead.)

The feet are given a lovely foot Polish also usually with pink Himalayan salt, Lemon oil, Peppermint oil and Calendula that can help tone and soften skin's texture. It calms irritated, itchy, and rough skin due to its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Moreover, its cleansing characteristic helps improve the skin's health.

The foot treatment is completed with a good foot and lower leg massage. I use my own Foot Balm that I have developed with as many of the best ingredients for foot health you can get in a pot…nearly…!! It is very rich and nourishing and just what you need to treat those deep fissures around the heels and very dry skin and hard cuticles around the nails. However, whilst a session with me is great for starting to get your feet healthy and a regular session every fortnight or month, the other big benefit is moisturising your feet EVERY DAY!!!!……you may think that sounds too much, but believe me they need it. Your feet go through a lot more than your face, yet many women and some men now, daily give their faces a cleansing, maybe a Glycolic Exfoliant or Exfoliate Enzyme cream once or twice a week, a serum once or twice a day and a day and a night cream……and so many people can’t take 3-4 minutes to pop on some cream on their feet either in the morning before putting on socks or at night when they get into bed! The difference it can make moisturising your feet every day can drastically reduce the need to have to see your foot therapist so often.

My mantra is “where ever you have skin, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise” …so that is everywhere, as it is just as important to exfoliate, dry skin brush, in the right areas regularly as the average adult human actually loses something close to 500 million skin cells per day! Don't worry, though. Your body is made up of far more cells than that: about 30 trillion, or nearly 100,000 times more than the number of skin cells lost each day. But they have to go some where and exfoliating them off is the best way to keep your skin smooth, not so dry and facially keep wrinkles at bay, as it stops dead cells settling into your natural laughter and frown lines. But hey, that’s another topic for another day!

Below is a comparison of a Clients feet when we started weekly work. It wasn’t long before his feet looked great with him using balm daily at home. ….I now see him maybe every 2 months, but it’s never as bad as we were at the beginning.

If you have trouble with your feet, don’t be embarrassed to call for a consultation to see what we can do. It could be that your a bit immobile and don’t find it easy to get to your feet and it’s always nicer lying back, relaxing and have someone else do it for you👣🙌

Give me a call or text on 07747145064 or send me a message through Facebook on Essentially Yours Aromatherapy.
This cream is available through me at the Treatment room at £13 a pot. You don’t need much, it’s very intensive.

01/01/2024

01/10/2023

REOPENING UPDATE
As you will know, I have been closed for appointment’s since the 9th August, due to a total knee replacement. It has gone well and my recovery is as expected. I have already begun to the lighter therapy’s….Facials, Champissage and Facial Cupping, which is a new face treatment.

I will be now starting to take appointments for Reflexology, and Swedish Back,Neck, Shoulder Massage.
However….Full Body Holistic Massage and Aromaflex will not be available for a further few weeks, and will be updated again at the end of the month.

Thank you for your patience whilst I recover from surgery, and I hope to see some familiar and new faces soon.
Heidi (Dee)

02/07/2023

Due to my forthcoming operation. My studio will temporarily close for business from Wednesday August 9th until September 25th at the earliest. The reopening will of course depend on my recovery progress. Therefore, I may need to alter the date. If I feel I can undertake certain therapies I will update which of them are available. Thank you for your continued patronage and support.

18/03/2023

It’s Facial morning in the treatment room today. I love doing facials….massage to the face is equally important to me as any other part of the body and I like to include a small facial massage in a Full Body Holistic. In a facial it’s a chance to really work on the facial muscles with some Lymphatic Drainage & targeted Massage Techniques to tone your facial and neck muscles. Using some of the most prized and beneficial Essential skin oils available. And of course to use my own skin care! If you don’t do facial massage, it’s the best thing you could start to do for your face, it doesn’t take long if you incorporate it in your face cleansing routine. I do it with my cleansing balm, because it doesn’t dry out.

02/12/2022

This months Focus on
Massage and the Oxytocin Connection
Those feelings of bonding and connection you get when you cuddle your loved one, breathe deeply, walk in nature or stroke your dog? They are generated because of the release of Oxytocin, often called the “love hormone or love drug” because it is the hormone that helps you stay in love.
Oxytocin originates in the brain’s hypothalamus and is secreted into the bloodstream by the pituitary gland. It is a neurotransmitter that affects numerous psychological and physiological responses in your body’s nervous system. Oxytocin also works with your opposing hormone, vasopressin (part of stimulation process that produces the stress hormone, cortisol) to create a healthy and balanced response to external life experiences. There is evidence that oxytocin plays a significant role in our ability to socialise and create connections with each other.
But exciting new research shows that it can do much more... 

It can keep your bones and muscles strong — and even reverse other signs of ageing…..A mouse study found that oxytocin could prevent the development of osteoporosis. It helped slow bone breakdown and increase the growth of new bone cells.

Then researchers found oxytocin may reverse age-related muscle wasting or sarcopenia. This condition comes on gradually starting in your 40s and 50s. And if you do nothing about it your body simply “wastes away” over the years. 

Skeletal muscle mass can drop 35% to 40% by the time you reach 80. That’s about three pounds every decade. There are no drugs for it. In fact, the treatments tried so far have been linked to cancer. 

The researchers found that blood levels of oxytocin declined with age. And there were fewer receptors for oxytocin in muscle stem cells in older mice.

But when they injected oxytocin under the skin of old mice for nine days, things changed. Their muscles healed much faster. They healed at about 80% of the rate of young mice. The researchers also disabled the oxytocin gene in young mice. When the mice reached adulthood, they started to exhibit signs of premature ageing…..so what does this mean?

Levels of oxytocin are high when you’re young. But your supply of this happiness hormone starts to decline as you age. It drops off after you turn 40. This is why its recommended you increase your levels of oxytocin….I can hear you asking…”how?”

You can teach your body to produce more oxytocin naturally. You just have to choose activities that promote its release. Touch prompts your body to release oxytocin, . Everywhere you touch your body, there are nerve endings. Sensory nerves on the skin are exposed to constant tactile, circadian, microbial, emotional, and environmental stressors. In fact, just one arm has over a million nerve endings, which you can calm by applying oil with a professional massage. What’s more is that microbes responsive to oxytocin concentrate on healthy, moist skin, which provides nutrients in the form of water, amino acids, and fatty acids. When the skin becomes dry, stressed, or chemically-altered with lotions and creams, the environment for a healthy skin microbiome can become compromised. A certain species of microbes (perhaps all microbes part of normal skin flora) feed on sebum, suggesting that the ancient practice of oil massage supports skin health in ways we are just beginning to understand.
Without a doubt nowadays, we all suffer from to much stress in our busy lives. Most of us don’t even realise we are stressed. Or we think we can deal with it. Or believe stress is some kind of force that drives us on, then some will crash, burn out, or simply have a breakdown.
I have seen so many clients just like this, fortunately they have realised they are under stress. They also understand their bodies respond to the power of oils and touch. That is why when they leave their session of a full body holistic massage with oils they feel like they are floating out of the door. Everyone is of course different and depending on their personalities and circumstances, will determine how long this experience continues. But by the time they are back again for their next session, I can see that the difficulty in life has taken its toll once again.
Therefore, if you find yourself stressed, or your body is feeling older than it should, it’s amazing what a massage can do for your skin and cells and mind and well being.
click this link essentiallyyoursaromatherapy.co.uk. then call
or text Heidi (Dee) on 07747145064.

31/10/2022

Focus on Myofascial Release & Myofascial Pain Syndrome

I thought this month for my “focus on” article, I would revisit a subject a covered a couple of years ago about Fascia, but go a little more in depth about how a certain massage technique with the connective tissue(fascia), works to bring about pain relief and a better range of motion.

How it works: Myofascial release
Myofascial pain shows up in all sorts of different ways: you could have lost some flexibility, maybe after an injury, noticed painful “trigger points” in your muscles that are restricting your movement or have ongoing pain in your legs, shoulder, hips or back.
Maybe you’ve tried other treatments with little or no success. Myofascial release therapy could be the answer to your chronic pain.

What is myofascial pain syndrome?

To understand the solution (myofascial release), you have to first understand the problem (myofascial pain syndrome).
Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic pain disorder caused by sensitivity and tightness in the myofascial tissues, comprised of muscle (“myo” meaning muscle) and fascia.

What is fascia?
Fascia is the thin connective tissue that runs all over your body, creating an uninterrupted web that supports your bones, organs, nerves and blood vessels, along with all your muscles. It absorbs shock and helps your muscles move as part of the myofascial system. As a result, it can accumulate trauma from sudden injuries, damaging repetitive movements and chronic conditions.
Restrictions in the myofascial tissues can often be traced to specific points on the body, known as “trigger points,” or what some therapist like to refer to as knots which can cause pain in other parts of the body, even parts that don’t seem directly connected to your issue. This is known as referred pain. We have all heard it talked about by the Doctor.
Myofascial pain syndrome is more than just muscle discomfort, which everyone experiences from time to time. The discomfort of myofascial pain syndrome will continue to bother you or even get worse, long after the known cause has passed.

What does myofascial pain feel like?

Common symptoms of myofascial pain syndrome include:
An aching pain that feels like it’s coming from deep inside the muscle and you just can’t pinpoint it
Persistent pain
Worsening pain
Muscle knots (trigger points) that are sensitive to touch
Trouble sleeping due to pain/discomfort or soreness in muscles

What is myofascial release therapy?

Myofascial release therapy is a therapeutic approach that can be used to treat myofascial pain syndrome. It’s a hands-on technique that works to relax, lengthen and realign your fascia. The goal is to bring you pain relief, as well as give you back your full range of motion.

Myofascial release techniques
A therapist will do a, hands-on assessment of your muscles and movement. Healthy fascia should feel malleable and elastic, whereas areas that are holding trauma and tension will feel stiff and tight. These are your trigger points, and could be the origin of your pain.
Remember, these are not always the same points as where you feel the pain, since you could be experiencing referred pain from another part of the body.
Using a firm, slow, manual pressure, your therapist will massage and stretch the trigger point, sometimes holding that point for a few minutes. Your therapist may repeat this process a few times on each trigger point they find, until they feel a full release.

Conditions treated by myofascial release

Myofascial release can be used to treat a range of conditions, bringing pain relief and better myofascial function. Common conditions include:
Chronic neck and back pain (upper and lower)
Chronic shoulder and hip restrictions
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Migraines and headaches
Plantar fasciitis (the most common type of heel pain)
Fibromyalgia
Whiplash
Build up of scar tissue
Post-surgical rehabilitation
Menstrual or cervical pain
Acute sprains and strains
Poor posture and/or loss of flexibility
Other complex pain issues that have not responded to treatment

Myofascial release therapy has very few risks, but is not recommended for individuals dealing with:
Burns or open wounds
Fractures or broken bones
Fragile or weak bones
Deep vein thrombosis or deep vein issues
Blood thinners

Finding myofascial trigger points

There are two main types of trigger points: primary and secondary (or satellite). If a primary trigger point develops in one muscle, it can restrict the muscle’s proper movement. Left untreated, other muscles might compensate as your body finds new ways to move around the first injury. This compensation can result in a secondary or satellite trigger point in the new muscle(s) being used.
It’s possible to find your own trigger points at home, but it can be tricky. The trigger point could be hidden in a muscle that’s too rigid or behind a bone or larger muscle, making it difficult to locate and release on your own. To get the correct angle and pressure to work slowly is very hard.

Myofascial release vs. massage therapy

Myofascial release therapy is not the same as massage therapy. First of all, they each have a different focus. Massage works with soft tissue that connects muscles tendons ligaments that can become easily injured or strained and the overall system of muscles in the body to relieve stress and tension. Myofascial release works specifically with the connective tissue (fascia) to relieve the tightness that causes muscle restrictions.
Secondly, the type of touch involved in each technique is different. Massage therapy involves steady movement, like kneading, petrissage and effleurage on the muscles to bring relief; myofascial release uses sustained firm pressure to stretch and lengthen the fascia.
Lastly, there is a difference in the use of lubricants. Massage therapy usually employs oils or lotions to help with smooth movement, whereas myofascial release therapy doesn’t need a lubricant or very little as you need to have a friction against the skin to work slowly over the facia to help it stretch. The experience of having Myofascial Release Massage is not necessary a relaxing one, working to release connective tissue can be uncomfortable, but your therapist will always make sure that you are as comfortable as possible during your treatment whilst still getting a result for you.

If you feel it is something that you could benefit from, your first appointment will have a health consultation with me before therapy begins, so we can discuss your best options, if your not certain. Call or text Heidi on 07747145064 or e-mail deeateya@icloud.com

02/10/2022

Focus on REFLEXOLOGY

What is reflexology?

Easily put, it’s a specialist massage on the feet using specific thumb and finger hand techniques.
But Reflexology cannot easily be defined from its name, as are other therapies e.g…psychology, aromatherapy, etc.Reflexology is also known as Zone therapy, Compression massage, and press point therapy.

In western medical books nine bodily systems are known and the way in which they function can be worked out and proven. However the west is just beginning to accept that less easily explained ‘systems’ do exist in the body, which the East have been using to diagnose and treat the organs related to those systems for hundreds of years.

Reflexology is one of the few therapies which brings relief through remote application. The theory behind it is that the feet are a micro-system of the body and by applying pressure to specific parts of the feet you can have a different effect on the corresponding part of the body,

So how does reflexology work on the body?

There are a number of theories as to how reflexology works but there is still no known reason how the exact mechanism works. One theory is the nerve impulse theory, the idea that pressing a point on the foot sends a message to the brain and then on to the corresponding part of the body via the nervous system. Another is that the treatment works by unblocking energy meridians, the same way acupuncture does.
Also, there's the notion that the relaxing effect of reflexology eases a lot of pain, discomfort and illness caused by stress

How it can help you
When pressure is applied where these lines come to the surface of the feet, it brings about relaxation and in normalising bodily conditions. It must be mentioned that the points can only indicate the probable organs where there may be a disorder, not the cause , only that something is present.

Reflexology is for anyone and everyone! Generally speaking though, my clients tend to split into three categories: those who come with a specific complaint or reason, those who use it as a maintenance treatment to mitigate the effects of stress and those who just find it wonderfully relaxing and do it as a treat…..or even help to get pregnant and yes she did have a baby boy!

Reflexology is not a cure, neither is it intended to provide a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment. Although in the hands of an experienced practitioner it can effect a change of better circulation in the body. Success depends on the ability to give accurate massage of the reflexes.

How to recognise a blockage

The blockage is always felt by the client when the pressure is applied correctly. It varies from a sharp knife like sudden pain of a rippling, like there is lead shot or grain of salt crystal under the skin. The latter is only something that the therapist can feel, but the client may feel an unpleasant sensation. One has to carefully watch the clients mood through the session or ask questions if I feel they are trying to keep pain to themselves. Three minutes on a troubled reflex is usually enough in any session.

People are also worried it might be painful, which it can be but it's never excruciating! Pain is very important as it tells us which areas need attention but I always work within a client's pain threshold. Lastly, a lot of people just don't like having their feet touched - don't worry, it's nothing like having your feet tickled as a Child!

This post could go on for a long time as Reflexology is a fascinating art. However if you feel that you have had you interest stirred and wish to experience this treatment, then please call or text me on 07747145064