Holistic Healing Options: BodyTalk to Heal the Heart

HOLISTIC HEALING OPTIONS:
BODYTALK TO HEAL THE HEART

Article by Lyn Delmastro  
Photo Credit: Spell Designs
Magazine: Issue #13

Holistic Healing Options

Single was my state for many years no matter what I did. Networking, online dating, speed dating, and even working with a matchmaker.  I was convinced “It just isn’t easy to find the right guy”. Life appeared destined for dating despair until February 2013 when I started receiving BodyTalk sessions. 

BodyTalk is a powerful, gentle, and effective healing modality that is based on the idea that our bodies have the ability to heal themselves. Through neuromuscular feedback, a BodyTalk practitioner uncovers what areas in the body, mind, and spirit are not in balance. Then it uses gentle tapping over the head and heart to help the bodymind self-heal. After my first session in February, I began receiving regular BodyTalk sessions. Gradually I released old belief systems and energetic patterns that blocked me from finding love. I wasn’t consciously aware of many of these beliefs that impeded my ability to attract love.

How did BodyTalk help me do this? 

From a very early age, we all are conditioned to believe certain things. These belief systems come from our families, our friends, religious institutions, and popular culture. When we hear our parents say things like “You have to work hard to get what you want” or we watch them go through challenges in their relationship, we come to believe certain things about how the world operates. Some of these beliefs are conscious and we aren’t even aware of some others.

BodyTalk helps to surface these belief systems and any active memory traumas associated with them. An active memory simply means one that has an emotional charge to it. BodyTalk works to actually release these active memories from the body, particularly the connective tissue. 

To clear these beliefs and traumas, a simple hand position on the face is used to connect three energy areas. The practitioner guides the client to move her eyes in circles to stretch the eye muscles and activate the brain centers involved. Concurrently, the practitioner gently taps over their head and sternum which stimulates the brain to disassociate this active memory. Many times all that is necessary to release the charge of these memories is to simply trigger the subconscious mind into clearing the emotion without having to surface it as a painful memory. Many times only one session is needed to achieve this.

In my case, beliefs about it being unsafe to be loved, thinking my single status was permanent, and active memory traumas of past romantic rejection in relationships surfaced and were released in a year’s worth of sessions. Once they were gone, finding the right partner happened with ease.

SPF: What Is It and Does It REALLY Protect Me?

What Is SPF?

SPF: WHAT IS IT AND DOES IT REALLY PROTECT ME?

Article by Heather Jadus  
Photo Credit: Halley Elefante

Before I learned about sunscreen, the ingredients in it and how it works I did this...  I used it every day and every night on my face.  It was in my moisturizer and guess what?  If I took a shower at night, I still put it on.  And if I took a shower at night after I was at the beach all day, I would put it on my face and my skin would burn and my thought was.... wow, I got some good sun today. Yay!  

Oh man, I had no idea.

I will not pretend that I have all the answers but I will tell you some points I have seen from a well-respected entity called The Environmental Working Group (EWG). (www.ewg.org). 

 EWG is a non-profit group trying to help sort through the enormous levels of toxicity in many of our foods and products.  

I'm going to take their points and turn them into terms I understand.  I hope you will understand them too as they are extremely important!

Here's some things I have learned:

1| SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor

And higher SPF may not actually be better for you or "more protection".  You have to reapply the stuff every two hours no matter what the SPF is for it to protect you from the sun (waterproof or not).

2| Rates of Melanoma

The most deadly form of skin cancer, have tripled over the past 35 years. Most scientists and public health agencies, including the FDA itself, have found very little evidence that sunscreen prevents most types of skin cancer.

3| The Common Sunscreen Additive, Vitamin A

May actually speed the development of skin cancer. The sunscreen industry adds a form of vitamin A to nearly one-quarter of all sunscreens. Retinyl palmitate is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging. But federal studies indicate that it may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to skin in the presence of sunlight. EWG recommends that consumers avoid sunscreens, lip products and skin lotions containing vitamin A, often labeled “retinyl palmitate” or “retinol.” And yes..that is the same stuff you might be putting on your face for wrinkles so take heed my friends!

4|  Sunscreen does not protect skin from all types of sun damage.

The sun’s ultraviolet radiation generates free radicals that damage DNA and skin cells, accelerate skin aging and may cause skin cancer. Sunscreens can reduce these damages, but not as effectively as they prevent sunburn. Consumers can run into problems if they pick a sunscreen with poor UVA protection, apply too little or reapply it infrequently.

5| Some sunscreen ingredients disrupt hormones and cause skin allergies.

The ideal sunscreen would completely block UV rays that cause sunburn, immune suppression and damaging free radicals. It would remain effective on the skin for several hours. It would not form harmful ingredients when degraded by sunlight. It would smell and feel pleasant so that people would use more of it.  No sunscreen meets these goals. Americans must choose between “chemical” sunscreens, which have inferior stability, penetrate the skin and may disrupt the body’s hormone system, and “mineral” sunscreens, made with zinc and titanium, often “micronized” or containing nano-particles. (I'm still learning about the nano-particles thing.....but it seems to be bad)

6|  If you avoid sun, check your vitamin D levels.

Sunshine serves a critical function in the body that sunscreen appears to inhibit — producing vitamin D. The hormone is enormously important. It strengthens bones and the immune system and reduces the risk of breast, colon, kidney and ovarian cancers, and perhaps other disorders.  About one-fourth of Americans have borderline low levels of vitamin D, and 8 percent have a serious deficiency. Breast-fed infants, people with darker skin and people who have limited sun exposure are at greatest risk. Many people can’t or shouldn’t rely on the sun for vitamin D. Check with your doctor to see if you should get a vitamin D test or take seasonal or year-round supplements.

Isn't that amazing information?  I'm not going to say that I did full research and answered all the questions or solved all the problems but the key here is some knowledge to get you to ask questions about what you are putting on your skin to protect yourself from the sun.

I now only use spf or sunscreen products if I am going to truly be "in the sun" for a lengthy period of time.  And there are some safe choices out there!  Check out EWG’s 2014 Guide to Sunscreens.  It was just released this past Wednesday.  Hope it helps! 

What did you learn?

Be Informed.  Be Safe.  Be Healthy.

Holistic Fashionista Recommended!

Beautycounter introduces its two newest products just in time for the summer! Protect Broad Spectrum SPF 30 All Over and Protect Broad Spectrum SPF Face are now available for purchase.  Both products are rated by the Environmental Working Group as one of the safest on the market. Please message Heather if you have any questions.

Buy it now >>