Migraines – Part 2

In the past series on Reiki I discussed whether Reiki was a placebo, and cited a variety of scientific experiments to demonstrate it is not. Now I would like to discuss the mechanisms of healing. Like all other aspects of healing, the mechanism is little understood. So I would like to discuss the range of ideas concerning such mechanisms. At one end of this range, is the belief, held by many healers, that they are channelling a higher spiritual energy that ultimately derives from God. This energy is often referred to as “divine love” or “unconditional love” by healers. At the other end of the range there are many theories which are based on our knowledge of science, particular physics. The possibility that any conventional electromagnetic energy may be a candidate for “healing energy” seems unlikely as healing has been shown, at times to operate outside the dimensions of space & time. For example there are a wide variety of scientific experiments were healing procedures were partly or wholly undertaken at a distance¹. Between these 'spiritual' and 'material' poles there is a middle ground of ideas concerning healing mechanisms based on the concepts of subtle energies, the subtle energy bodies of all living organisms and the universal energy known by names such as prana and chi. . I personally believe that I act as a channel for universal energy that comes from the natural world. References Dossey, L. (1993). Healing Words. The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Harper Collins; New York.

I would like to write a series of blog articles on the scientific evidence for massage.  I think it is important to start by stating the obvious that while massage can be studied, not many scientists are interested in studying it and not many massage therapists have scientific training.  This means that massage is woefully under researched.  In addition it is amazingly difficult to find 100 people with the same problem, who need exactly the same massage treatment, so large scale studies are very rare, which means a weakness of most studies is their size. Finally, while, most scientists are interested in how massage works, we don't have to know how something works to know if it works.  I know most of my clients are interested in scientific evidence but equally important is anecdotal evidence, their own opinion and experience of the treatment. What it crystal clear from scientific data and widely agreed upon by massage therapist researchers is that massage

1. Reduces anxiety
2. Reduces depression
3. Reduces stress
4. Reduces high BP

We have all heard about the target of walking about 10,000 steps per day which roughly equates to walking 5 miles per day.  Well many years ago when I worked long hours in IT some days, and lets be frank even some months, the possibility of me walking 10,000 steps per day was a pipe dream.  I would say this was especially true in the winter when the dark skies, cold, wind and rain didn't exactly entice me to go outside even though I love walking. Researchers in Trondenheim University in Norway have discovered that in heart patients after just 12 weeks of walking 3000 steps every day, the hearts pumping function improved which in turn improved their ability to exercise. They concluded that moderate continuous exercise, such as walking 3,000 steps or 1.5 miles in 30 minutes had as much benefit on the heart as more vigorous, intensive exercising.  Moderate walking decreased the strain on the heart, improved heart muscle function, improved blood vessel dilatation, helped form new blood vessels and lowered blood pressure. On average a sedentary person completes between 1,000 to 3,000 steps per day.  Which is good news for the desk bound as you can now aim for 3,000 continuous steps which is much easier to achieve than 10,000! Reference http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/01/19/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.022924