Do self hypnosis CD’s really boost resilience?

While taking nutritional supplements suits some women, I know others don’t like taking tablets.  So here are a couple of other ideas to assist you with your period pain. There is scientific evidence that from a trail of women who suffer from period pain that certain yoga poses e.g. cobra, cat and fish reduce both the intensity and duration of period pain.  The cobra pose is where you lie on your front, with your hand underneath your shoulders and gently push yourself up bending your back as you come up.  The cat pose is when you are on all fours and then round your spine like a cat.  The fish pose is when you lie on your back, keep your pelvis and head on the floor and an arch your spine towards the ceiling. As an aromatherapist there are a variety of essential oils that you can use to help reduce the severity of period pain.  Aromatherapists split period pain into two categories:

• Congestive dysmenorrhoea – where the pain starts a few days before the period and can cover the whole abdominal area.
• Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea which comes in spams of pain in the pelvis and/or lower back.

For congestive pain: 10 drops of roman chamomile + 5 drops of clay sage and 15 drops of red thyme in 30 ml of a base massage oil. For spasmodic pain: 5 drops of lavender, 10 drops of peppermint, 10 drops of nutmeg and 5 drops of cypress in 30 ml of a base massage oil. In both cases you massage the whole abdomen and lower back daily throughout your period. References: Yoga poses >> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21514190

This week the daily mail reported that three in four office workers blame desk for sickness: badly set up desks and chairs cost companies 7bn each year. Rather than sitting in silence or popping pain killers to ease headaches or back pain,  here are my top 7 tips for staying healthy while working at your desk.

1. Sit up straight.  As you read this post, if you’re not running to an appointment or standing, how are you sitting? Really take notice of how you are sitting and poised. Are you legs crossed? Is your back hunched over as you read this? Or are you sitting up straight?  If you are sitting ensure that you are sitting up straight, not slouched, with your head directly over your torso and your feet on the ground, using a foot rest if necessary.
2. User a wrist support.  Repeatedly bending your wrists up and down (extension and flexion) compresses structures inside the carpal tunnel in the wrist. This can cause pain and lead to injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome.  Place the heel of your palm on a wrists pad to minimise wrist pain.
3. Use a headset.  If you spend a lot of time on the phone user a head set rather to avoid holding the phone to your ear by raising your shoulder which may cause neck & shoulder pain.
4. Don't bang the keyboard instead use a light touch.  Try to use the minimum amount of force necessary to depress the keys. The tendons from your fingers connect near your elbow, so striking the keys too hard can lead to problems you might not associate with your keyboard-for example, pain and inflammation in your elbows (Epicondylitis).
5. Look straight ahead.  Maintaining proper eye level with your computer monitor is essential. This helps you avoid straining your back, neck, shoulders, and arms. In addition, proper eye level reduces unnecessary eye strain. To accomplish this sit in your office chair and stare straight ahead. You should be looking directly at the center of your monitor. If you are not looking at the center of the screen adjust the monitor until you have the correct measurement and use a monitor riser where necessary.
6. Save your work, save your shoulders.  Working as a massage therapist who specialise in Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage withing an office environment, I know muscular tension in shoulders causing neck and shoulder pain is a common problem.  To minimise the build up of muscular tension in your shoulders, every time your save your work or send an email simply circle your shoulder three times clockwise and then three times anti-clockwise.
7. Book a massage.  If you are feeling the stain and pain for working long hours at your desk then book a massage which are highly effective at relieving neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and tension headaches.

Joanne Mullins of Vitality Therapy offers Vitality Breaks - Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage within a corporate environment allowing individuals to get well and stay well.

I had always assumed that its just tradition that you buy flowers for somebody that is ill.  Speaking as a woman who loves flowers, its always nice to receive flowers but I had underestimated their power. Research completed by the American Society of Horticulture Science discovered that surgical patients exposed to flowers or plants in their recovery rooms have

• lower blood pressure
• lower heart rates
• less pain
• less anxiety
• less fatigue

When compared to patients who whose rooms have no foliage, flowers or plants.   In fact, patients who had plants in their room even reported more positive feelings and satisfaction about their rooms than those without plants. So clearly there is a lot of wisdom in the tradition of buying flowers for people when they are ill. Reference https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/18/4/article-p563.xml