Reflexology applied to children with behavioral difficulties

I said I would explore some of the newer research. This is a really interesting research study. Gives hope to parents.

Reflexology was applied to children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. The goal was to "calming down the children and young people so that their behaviour becomes less challenging within the classroom and generally, making the mainstream more accessible. The children and young people’s difficulties can vary from bereavement to neglect, sexual, emotional, mental and physical abuse as well as exposure to drugs and alcohol. Some have witnessed and experienced horrific events within their country of origin and are separated from family members." Changing aggressive and anti-social behavior is a key to mainstreaming the children, returning them to a traditional classroom.

"The results from evaluation to date show a reduction in aggression, stress and anxiety and an improvement in focus, concentration, self esteem, listening skills and confidence."

BUD, Therapies for Life, Accessible complementary therapies for vulnerable children and adults to improve quality of life.

Food Partiality

Normally people should take a variety of food in proper proportions in order to ensure a balanced nutrition. Protracted food partiality leads to insufficient intake of certain substances and excessive intake of other substances which will cause imbalance of visceral qi, blood, yin and yang.

There are two different cases in food partiality, partiality to cold or hot food and partiality to the five flavors.

Partiality to Cold or Hot Food

Food is either cold and cool or warm and hot in property. It can be cooked or uncooked. Partiality to cold and cool food or excessive intake of uncooked and cold food will impair yang-qi in the spleen and the stomach, leading to endogenous cold-dampness and causing abdominal pain and diarrhea. Partiality to warm and dry food or excessive intake of hot food accumulates heat in the stomach and the intestines, leading to thirst, abdominal fullness, distension and pain, constipation or hemorrhoids, etc.

Partiality to Flavors

The five flavors are attributed to the five zang-organs respectively：the sour flavor enters the liver, the bitter flavor enters the heart, the sweet flavor enters the spleen, the acrid flavor enters the lung and the salty flavor enters the kidney. If the five flavors are not evenly contained in the food, the relationships among the five zang-organs will be broken. For example, partiality to the sour flavor strengthens liver-qi and weakens spleen-qi because predominant liver-qi will over restrict spleen-qi. Partiality to salty flavor consolidates kidney-qi and inhibits heart-qi because water restricts fire, leading to stagnation of the vessels. 

Partiality to the sweet flavor invigorates spleen-qi and restricts kidney-qi, making it difficult for the essence to produce marrow and transform blood, resuiting in osteodynia, loss of hair and early senility. Partiality to bitter flavor makes heart-qi hyperactive and lung-qi hypoactive, leading to retention of food nutrients in the middle energizer and malnutrition of the skin and hair. Partiality to the acrid flavor makes lung-qi hyperactive and liver-qi hypoactive, leading to spasm or flaccidity of the tendons and vessels due to failure of the blood to nourish the tendons.

Sea cucumber is regarded to be beneficial for kidneys

Sea cucumber is a type of seafood. In China, it is considered a delicacy and is often eaten at important family celebrations or for older weakened people, as it is very expensive. In Chinese diet therapy culture sea cucumber is regarded to be especially beneficial for the kidneys as it nourishes them. Kidney health is known as the basis of human life and well being.

1. Why are kidneys important (what is kidney deficiency?)
Kidneys store the original essence, or Qi, from our parents. This Qi, or essence, can have a strong impact on our whole life. Kidneys dominate growth and reproduction and are the origin of energy of all other organs. If kidney Qi (or functioning) is impaired, it may cause the following symptoms, such as lack of energy, decreased libido, impotence, menopause lower back and knee pain, frequent urination day and night, poor memory, early onset of dementia and ankle puffiness may occur. Women can experience irregular periods, early menopause, infertility and frequent miscarriage.  They may also find the development of ovaries or uterus affected and this may decrease both the size and function of these organs. Men may experience impotence, reduced sperm quality and affects infertility.

2. Health effects of sea cucumber
1) Strengthens the kidneys and improves sexual function
Sea cucumbers have warming characteristics and taste a little salty and work primarily on the kidney channels. The ancient Chinese medicine book "Ben Cao Cong Xin" states that they strengthen kidney essence, yang and improves sexual function. If you have the symptoms associated with kidney deficiency such as lowered libido and impotence you can eat sea cucumber regularly.

2) Balance period, prevent miscarriage and maintain early stage pregnancy
A traditional diet therapy book "Sui Xi Ju Yin Shi Pu" advises that sea cucumbers can balance periods, reduce the occurrence of miscarriages and are good for reducing tiredness and lower back pain during the earlier stages of pregnancy.

Herbal Tea for Graves' Disease, Colic, Hysteria, Lemon Balm Tea

Lemon balm, or "Melissa officinalis," is an herb belonging to the mint family that’s been used for centuries to treat anxiety, sleep disorders, indigestion and wounds. You can make lemon balm tea by steeping 1/4 to 1 tsp. of dried herb in hot water. You can drink the tea up to four times daily. You can also make topical applications of the tea for treating certain skin problems by steeping 2 to 4 tsp. of crushed lemon balm leaves in one cup of boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, apply the t

ea to your skin using cotton balls.

Lemon balm is used for digestive problems, including upset stomach, bloating, intestinal gas (flatulence), vomiting, and colic; for pain, including menstrual cramps, Headache, and toothache; and for mental disorders, including hysteria and melancholia.

Many people believe lemon balm has calming effects so they take it for anxiety, sleep problems, and restlessness. Lemon balm is also used for Alzheimer's disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), an autoimmune disease involving the thyroid (Graves' disease), swollen airways, rapid heartbeat due to nervousness, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), sores, tumors, and insect bites.

Lemon balm is inhaled as aromatherapy for Alzheimer's disease.

Some people apply lemon balm to their skin to treat cold sores (herpes labialis).

In foods and beverages, the extract and oil of lemon balm are used for flavoring.

How does it work?
Lemon balm contains chemicals that seem to have a sedative, calming effect. It might also reduce the growth of some viruses.

How can Chinese herbal remedies help fertility

If you and your partner are have difficulty conceiving, than you may be interested in looking into possible fertility treatments. There are a number of fertility treatments, including IUI and IVF that are highly effective when it comes to increasing your chances of conception. However, these treatments are very expensive and are often associated with a number of physical and emotional side effects. For this reason, more and more couples are turning to herbal remedies to help improve their fertility. Herbal remedies can work wonders for both male and female infertility, and appear to help improve your chances of conception considerably.

What are Herbal Remedies?
An herbal remedy is a type of alternative medicine that originates from plants and plant extracts. Used to heal illnesses and disease and to address psychological concerns, herbal remedies have been around for centuries, and were the precursor to modern medicine. Herbal remedies are obtained from a wide variety of natural resources including plant leaves, bark, berries, flowers, and roots. Herbal medicine remains a popular alternative throughout China and the Far East, and is growing in popularity throughout the United States.

How Can Herbal Remedies Help Fertility?
Herbal remedies have long been used to address problems with fertility. In fact, evidence of the use of herbal remedies for female and male fertility dates all the way back to 200 A.D. These fertility herbal remedies are made out of special plants and plant extracts believed to have a positive effect on the reproductive organs, hormonal system, and sex drive. They are taken by men and women who wish to increase their chances of conception, as well as by couples that are facing fertility difficulties. Herbal remedies for fertility can help to address such fertility problems as:
hormonal imbalance
irregular menstruation
erectile dysfunction
sperm motility problems

Popular Herbal Remedies for Fertility
If you are considering taking herbal remedies for your fertility issues, here are a few popular choices to begin with:

Female Fertility Remedies:
There are a variety of different herbal remedies available to help increase female fertility levels. Common herbs for female fertility include:

Red Clover: Red clover is one of the most popular fertility remedies. High in vitamins, calcium, and magnesium, red clover helps to nourish the uterus and relax the nervous system, enabling conception. It is taken as a tea, daily.

Raspberry Leaf: Raspberry leaf is high in calcium and therefore works to restore hormonal balance. It is excellent when taken alongside red clover.

Lady's Mantle: This herb assists in building up the uterine lining and regulating menstruation. It is meant to be drunk as a tincture, once a day.

False Unicorn Root: False unicorn root not only restores hormonal balance in women, but it also helps to stimulate the ovaries and encourage ovulation.

Stinging Nettle: Stinging nettle contains high levels of chlorophyll and minerals, which helps to regulate the body's hormones as well as ovulation and menstruation. It is taken as a tea once daily.

What to Do If You Have Dry Skin, Standpoint From Chinese Medicine

Skin and Lung

Chinese medicine considers the Lung to dominate the skin and help the pores to open and close. If the Lung function becomes disordered it will affect the skin health and will cause the following conditions: 1). When the body is attacked by the external Wind and Heat (virus) it will affect Lung function. The body will then develop sneezing or sore throat and the skin can be itchy or have a rash or shingles. 2) If you smoke for a long time, you not only have a cough and phlegm or disorder of the Lung but also Dry Skin.

Skin, Heart and Liver

The Heart and Liver dominate the body's circulation and emotions.  Any circulation and emotions can affect the skin. This means that if the body has a Heart and Liver function disorder it will cause heat and toxins in the blood, flaring up on the skin causing certain skin problems or making them worse, such as pimples, Eczema or rashes.

Skin and the Large Intestine

The skin and the Large Intestine are strongly related. If the body over eats (including hot and spicy foods) and drinks it may cause a lot of toxins to build up in the intestines, which will show on the skin.  The following skin problems are common: boils, pimples, rash, itchiness. The body may also have the following symptoms: constipation, pungent flatulence, bloating.

What to do if you have dry skin

1) Help from other Chinese Medicine & other therapies. If you are unsuccessful in treating your dry skin, find another way of treating it. It is important to find the cause of the dry skin as mentioned above. Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of the natural therapies you can choose to help resolve this condition.

2) Lifestyle & Diet

a. Relax – arrange your lifestyle and work so that it is not a very stressful environment; avoid becoming emotional – these will affect the Liver and cause Liver Heat.

b. Avoid drinking alcohol and eating hot, spicy or deep-fried food; avoid onion, ginger, garlic, chives, shellfish and lamb – these can create Heat in the Liver, Lung or digestive system and flare up the skin.

c. Be sure to eat a certain amount of greens and cooling foods, such as celery, cucumber, green leafy vegetables, carrots, spinach,green tea, peppermint tea, mung beans, eggplant, lemon and pear.  

d. Exercise in nice and comfortable conditions, avoiding strong sunshine – exercise that is too fast or strong can flare up Heat.  

e. Sleep – make sure you have enough sleep; avoid going to sleep to late (best time is before 11pm)

Recover body sensations and some pressure after Reflexology

Recently a woman from England posted a question on quadriplegics on our Reflexology Forum.

The question brought back a lot of memories of Barbara and my work with paralysis. It first started years a go innocently enough. We were asked by one of our clients to work on Jimmy who had been left disabled by a car accident. His family didn't have much money so we worked for "worm money' or the two or three dollars that his mother gave us from her selling worms.

We would swing by after our office closed and worked on him. Barbara started working on his hands since I was working on his feet. We worked in a cramped room that was cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

One day Barbara noticed that his fingers on the hand opposite to the foot I was working on were moving. (We worked this way because of the tight quarters.)

We didn't know much about quadriplegics at this point in time. Barbara asked Jimmy if he was moving his fingers not knowing that he couldn't. Jimmy replied that no, "Kevin is moving them". We thought he was joking. It took us awhile to realize that in fact you could press on one part of the foot and the fingers on the opposite side would move.

It was fascinating and we filmed it. While we were filming it Jimmy complained that I was pressing too hard, another anomaly. It hurt below the break.

Bottom line we had the same effect on two paraplegics only their crossover went from one foot to the other. We worked with paralysis for quite awhile but actually achieved more results with Jimmy. He was able to recover bowel and bladder control, a lot of body sensations like heat/cold and some pressure. He was able to switch to a manual chair from an electric. We were teary eyed when he wrote us a letter unaided by any device.

The two paraplegics never had a bladder infection the whole time we worked on them and maintain a certain amount of muscle tone. They both went on to get married.

We always wondered if we could have helped Christopher Reeves. But it was impossible to reach him.

The key to the effect we observed was the eye/ear area. For some reason it triggered this "crossover effect" and it seemed to have a profound effect on them as well.