Cambridge Holistic Healing

07/03/2026

Why Am I More Triggered When Fasting?

Fasting isn’t just a metabolic detox; it’s often a profound psychological discovery.

If you’re feeling more agitated, sad, or triggered—especially late in the day—you aren’t failing.
You are actually experiencing a phenomenon known as “drive state coupling,” where hunger (a biological drive) activates emotional reactivity (a psychological drive).

😫 The “End-of-Day” Emotional Surge
Without the usual affect regulation strategy of comfort eating, your brain is no longer able to suppress certain stimuli. The hedonic hunger is gone, leaving raw emotional exposure.

🚊The Reality of the Transition:
· Week 1: Often our emotional / stress eating withdrawal stops. You are sitting with the physical experience of anxiety/anger without your usual coping mechanism of emotional eating.
· Week 2+: By now if your blood glucose is stabilised by eating with whole foods, you are supporting neuroendocrine balance, making it easier to break the emotional / stress eating cycle and practice mindful eating post-Ramadan.

👥 The Triggering Contexts:
Are specific people or situations grating on you more than usual?
Fasting increases interoceptive awareness (awareness of internal bodily states).
If certain dynamics bother you more now, it’s likely those feelings are valid—they were simply, previously numbed by food.

🧠 From a Health Coaching Perspective:
1. Identify: What is the affect label? (e.g., frustration, grief, anger)
2. Locate: Where is the somatic manifestation? (e.g., tight chest, hot face, stomach burning)
3. Context: Who was present?
4. Antecedent: What happened prior to your uncomfortable feeling?
5. Response: How did you respond?

🖊️ Ramadan highlights the script.
📝 After Ramadan, we can rewrite it.
If you’re ready to dive into the health behavior change regarding these situations, I would be honored to guide your journey. 🤍

28/02/2026

Increased Physical Symptoms During Ramadan?

Overall and in the long term, fasting should help alleviate aches and pains due to the detoxing effect.
However, for some of you, you may notice an increase in musculoskeletal discomfort or other physical sensations during Ramadan.

From a Health Psychology perspective, this can reflect heightened
INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS = increased sensitivity to internal bodily signals.
This may be particularly during periods of fasting, altered sleep patterns, and lifestyle adjustments.
These temporary symptom fluctuations may represent the body’s adaptive physiological and psychosomatic response to changes in routine.

Rather than viewing them as purely pathological, they can be understood as meaningful somatic feedback.

*Basically, your body is trying to talk to you!*

ADVICE:
1. I encourage you to engage in self-monitoring by documenting any symptoms and observing their progression throughout Ramadan. This supports greater mind–body awareness and helps identify patterns.
2. If these symptoms persist or re-emerge after Ramadan, please feel free to reach out so we can explore what may be the potential contributors and try some lifestyle adjustments.

24/02/2026

🩸A gentle reminder that menstruation — in Ramadan and beyond — is a divine mercy.

❄️ This phase is often called the WINTER season of our menstrual cycle.
⏸️ A sacred pause designed for depth, not doing.

🤔 Have you noticed during this time:
• You may feel less sociable?
• More introverted and inward?
• Calmer in your reactions?
• More still in your thoughts?

WHY?
📉 Because your hormones are almost dormant; creating space for reflection.

✨ This is the season God invites us to *Reflect, Review & Retreat.*

❄️ WINTER SPIRITUALITY
Sit with Allah and a warm cuppa ☕️
• Time to listen
• Time to reflect
• Time for *Muhaasabah* (self-accountability)
• Time for *Repentance* — shedding sins as we shed blood
• Intuition is at its highest — pay attention to *Tahajjud & Istikhara* insights
• Create a cosy home *itikaaf* space with dim lights & stillness. 🕯️

📖 WINTER JOURNAL PROMPTS
• Who am I right now?
• ⁠What is my mind repeatedly saying?
• ⁠What habits are no longer serving me?
• ⁠Where do I need healing or growth?
• ⁠What does my mind & body need?
• ⁠Is my heart connected to Allah
• ⁠How am I nourishing my spiritual woman this week?
• ⁠Intentions for the next cycle?

🤍 RELEVANT WINTER PHASE NAMES OF GOD
Repeat, meditate, or breathe with them:
• Al-Baatin — The Hidden, The Inward
• Al-Badee — The One who begins anew
• Al-Mu‘idu — The Restorer
• Al-Jabbar — The One who heals and realigns

May we honour our menstrual seasons the way Allah designed them 🤲🏽
REFLECT, REVIEW & RETREAT🌙✨

19/02/2026

WARM WATER?
- Cold water dampens digestive fire, slowing digestion and encouraging bloating & gas.
- Warm water supports a smoother transition after fasting.

SOUP:
- Make enough for 2-3 days.
- Adds nourishment and much-needed fluids.
Tip: sprinkle with herbs & seeds 🌿

MAIN DISH:
- Again, make enough to last 2 days.
- Avoid experimenting with new recipes in Ramadan.
- We stick to our usual meals — fasting, not feasting.
- Because we eat less, meals naturally stretch to day two.

FRUIT:
- Why after meals?
- Yes, fruit is nutritious — but it’s still sugar.
- Eating it after meals helps avoid glucose spikes and post meal crashes.
- Pair with protein (yoghurt or cream) for balance.

A DAILY MUST:
Only the salad and fruit salad need to be freshly prepared every day 🥗🍓

FRIED FOOD LAST:
And yes… my husband wasn’t thrilled when I first said “no fried food at all.”
So now it’s offered last.
By then, most people have no space — or desire — for it 😉

Fasting NOT Feasting

17/02/2026

14/02/2026

“If fasting loses its restraint, what happens to the tradition?”

I’m increasingly concerned that Ramadan is being viewed especially by our younger generation as a time to indulge rather than to fast, to feast rather than to practise restraint.
Fasting once carried real meaning, but like so many areas of modern life, it now competes with consumerism, commercialisation, and the constant pursuit of instant gratification. Even our most ancient traditions are not immune to this shift.

I experience this tension daily during Ramadan within my own family. While it has become easier with each passing year as they’ve grown accustomed to a simpler approach to iftar, there are still the inevitable comparisons and complaints about how others open their fast.

I ask my children the following “Are we really and truly sympathising with the poor and hungry if we still break fasts with dishes we don’t usually eat during the other 11 months?”

Resisting this cultural tide is undeniably tiring. Yet if we don’t challenge it, there is a real risk that the true purpose of Ramadan will one day be reduced to a nostalgic “once upon a time, our ancestors used to…” conversation, rather than a self development and restrained practice.

̇ftar

12/02/2026

🌙 Are you Fasting or Feasting?

Ramadan is a chance to pause and reset our habits.
Fasting isn’t ONLY about NOT eating — it should help us:
🍃 Notice hunger,
🍃 Fullness,
🍃 Cravings,
🍃 The way we usually eat on ‘autopilot.’
🍃 To slow down and be more intentional.
🍃 Release more time for worship and reflection.

🙅🏽‍♀️ But, unfortunately, sometimes there’s a disconnect at ifṭār.

🤤 Big, elaborate meals can pull us back into rushed eating, overloading the body, and spending precious evening energy on food — during a month meant for reflection, presence and self development.

When kept simple, Ramadan can gently support:
💫 Mindful eating,
💫 Better awareness of hunger and satiety,
💫 Giving the digestive system a break,
💫 Detoxification 
💫 Breaking unhelpful food habits &
💫 Eating with calm and gratitude.

💁🏽‍♀️ Ifṭār doesn’t need to impress — it needs to nourish.
It’s not about perfection.

It’s about reconnecting with what ‘eating efficiently enough’ feels like, and letting our eating support the deeper purpose of the fast whilst remembering the poor.

06/02/2026

The beauty is in the journey.
The journey is still rewarded regardless of the destination.
Because it’s the intentions, the prescence & mindfulness that actually count and grows our iman (conviction).

Above is a little snippet of my one to one Health Coaching during Ramadhan.
If this resonates with you please don’t hesitate to contact me.

📲 Book in for a FREE 5-10 mins consultation call to see how my services could improve your health & wellbeing:

✨ Booking / Enquiries:

www.cambridgeholistichealing.com

cambridgehijama@gmail.com ✨

03/02/2026

14/01/2026

What began as a way to heal my chronic back pain after a fall down the stairs while holding our three month old son led me to train in this fascinating ancient therapy.

At first, it was simply a hobby.

Over time, its positive effects rippled out to family and friends, and that hobby naturally grew into a passion that called for more of my attention.

Ten years later, I’m incredibly grateful that this passion is still competing with my husband for first place (lol).

Some clients experience benefits after just one session, others after a few, and some find value in returning every few months. Every body is different, so every consultation is too.

I believe God created each of us uniquely, with our own stories—so your treatment with me will be just as unique as you are.

It would be an honour if I could contribute to your story?

30/12/2025

🎊 In 2026, I will be commemorating 10 years of offering cupping therapy and health coaching services.
🏡 The past few weeks have felt particularly full-circle. Alongside moving house and expanding my services after a decade of practice, in our loft I unexpectedly came across my old Health Psychology Master’s notes, essays, and thesis.
That moment took me straight back to where this journey truly began.

👩🏽‍🎓 Since graduating in 2003, I had finally found my passion: Health Psychology and the mind–body connection. I went on to work in a variety of health research assistant and clinical audit roles, deepening my understanding of how psychological, emotional, and physical health are profoundly interconnected.

🩻 In 2015, following a back injury caused by a fall down the stairs, I decided to train in Cupping Therapy. After years of chronic back pain, cupping was the complementary therapy that made a genuine, lasting difference for me.
I qualified in 2016, and from the very beginning, my Health Psychology background naturally flowed into my work with clients.

🗓️ Fast forward to the end of 2025. After 10 years of service, I am now expanding my practice to include additional therapies—each one chosen because I have personally experienced their physical and emotional benefits.
Every therapy I offer has a personal story behind it and has supported me through significant life experiences, including:
- navigating my mum’s Parkinson’s disease diagnosis,
- living with my own osteopenia diagnosis since 2012,
- healing from childhood trauma, growing up with an almost alcoholic father who lived with bipolar disorder,
- and ultimately coping with his su***de in 2021.

….continued in the comments….

14/11/2025