Insomnia affects 1 in 4 people during their life time.  It can be short term or long term – usually related to the cause, like a stressful situation that causes you to stay awake worrying at night, or a long term painful condition that stops you being able to get comfortable in bed at night.  Insomnia can present as difficulty getting off to sleep, waking up too frequently, waking and not being able to go back to sleep, or just not feeling refreshed in the morning.

How can Massage Help?

Massage helps to rebalance the body in many ways  It helps blood and lymph flow and relaxes muscles which can in turn help to treat painful conditions such as arthritis and tension headaches, or back spasms.  Where your usual experience of your body is being in pain, massage can help you remember what it feels like to enjoy your body again and really relax.

How can Aromatherapy Help?

Aromatherapy is especially helpful for insomnia, many studies have shown the beneficial affects of oils such as Lavender and Roman chamomile on anxiety and depression which both affect sleep.  The chemistry of essential oils is well understood nowadays and there have been direct associations made between pain relief and some of their chemical components. Think of Clove, traditionally used for tooth ache, this essential oil can also be used on back pain.

Making your Own Massage Blends

Blending essential oils for your own situation is a serious business – you need to know the correct dosage for each oil, the correct oils for your type of insomnia or related complaint.  If you are trying ‘at-home-a-therapy’ try oils with a safer reputation like Lavender and Chamomile to start with.  As some oils have side effects – Clary Sage for example can make you feel very drunk if you use it and then drink just a little alcohol.  For more ideas on blending see my blog ‘How To Make Your Own Aromatherapy Products’

Do You Need Professional Help?

Professional treatments are always going to be the best way forward if you can find the time and think you are worth the expense.  A good Aromatherapist will be happy to blend you an essential oil mix to use at home – saving you money on oils which can cost quite a bit when bought individually.  Rose for example costs about £30 for a very small 5ml bottle.  So sometimes it actually makes more financial sense to get a professional to give you a great massage and a blended oil perfect for you as part of your treatment.

Finding A Therapist

Finding the right therapist for you is important, you want someone qualified, professional and someone who can really help you get some sleep!  I advise people to use the IFPA therapists, they are some of the most highly qualified in the UK, and have high standards for ongoing training meaning they are always up to date with the latest in aromatherapy as a science and a medicine.  Of course if you live in London I work in Hoxton, Lewisham and Acton, so check out my profile to see if I may look like a good therapist for you.

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Complementary Medicine for Anxiety and Depression

2 Herbs for Hot Flushes

Ingredients

60g dried apricots

4 bottles of red wine

20g Nettles

50g Yellow dock root

15g Liquiorice

A Handful of orange peel

Method

simply mix all the ingredients together in a large enough container with a lid and leave to macerate for 2-3 weeks.

Strain the mix through a muslin, to remove the herbs and squeeze the package so it releases any excess fluid soaked up by the herbs.

You can use a wine press for this if you have one, but squeezing by hand is also fine.

Store the mixture back in their original red wine bottles, but label as the Liquid Iron Formula.

DOSE

10ml per day in water.

I’ve started making my first iron formula today, and its looking very interesting.

Are you brave enough to try it?  If you do, let me know how you get on.

Menopausal hot flushes and night sweats can be varied in their extremes from uncomfortable to down right exhausting.  But whatever the cause, they are possible to remedy and it may be worth looking at these 2 herbs for help.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine there are two main types of night sweats, ones which leave you feeling too hot or ones which leave you too cold.  You could have a bit of both – but to choose the best herb to try think about which you suffer from the most often.

SAGE LEAF – Herb for a hot person

If you generally feel like a hot person try sage tea 3 times a day to cool the heat from the body.  Use 1 teaspoon of the fresh herb or 1/2 a teaspoon of the dry herb per cup of boiling water, brew for 15 minutes before straining and drinking either warm or cold.  My Mum swears by this herb – she took it immediately on onset of hot flushes at menopause and she only needed it for 3 days before they had cleared up completely.  It can also be useful for feverish hot sweats associated with infections of the respiratory system – sore throats, colds and flus, or tummy bugs.

SCHIZANDRA BERRY – Herb for a cold person

If you wake up at night shivering from the night sweats this will be the better herb for you.  This herb can be drunk as a tea just like sage.  Use 1-2 teaspoons of the berries per cup of boiling water, brew for 15 mins and drink 3 cups a day for a good medicinal dose.  This herb can also be used for low energy, reduced libido, vaginal dryness and anxiety/depression which often come associated with menopause too.  It has a traditional reputation for making your skin more beautiful, probably due to its moistening action on the tissues of the body, leaving the skin looking more supple and fresh.

FURTHER HERBAL HELP

Taking just one herb at a time can be very effective.  If however you have tried this and it didn’t work, or have a more complex condition, consider seeking professional help from a Medical Herbalist who can provide you with a specific prescription for your body.  I recommend using the NIMH website to find a local herbalist to you, or you can contact me for a consultation via email or phone: 07814 430 690 or skype: sorrell.robbins

I am happy to talk to you about any condition you may be suffering and will always refer you if you need a different therapy or practitioner for a successful outcome.

OTHER RELATED POSTS

 A Herbal and Aromatherapy Approach to Period Pain

Four kitchen herbs to keep colds, flu, arthritis and SAD at bay this Winter

Complementary Medicine and Self-help for Anxiety and Depression

The idea of ‘brain training’ has become popularised through the latest generation of techno-gadgets which, helpfully, remind us that buying more computer games is actually educational and therefore good for you… I have to admit that jumping about with the Wii and playing Trivial Pursuit with the family on New Year’s Eve was actually quite fun – but in moderation!  Brain training works on the assumption that the brain is like any other organ in the body: it can be damaged through abuse and strengthened through a good work out. All of us who are seeking to develop and transform our lives and our environments for the better know that physical addictions damage the brain and moderation is key to a balanced and healthy mind and body. On the ‘mental’ level the theory goes that the more we challenge our brains to use different types of thought process, the stronger and smarter our brains become.

When I was at university I was a member of the ‘Thinking Society’ and we used to do tests looking at our individual strengths and weaknesses in lateral thinking, analytical thinking, creative thinking etc. There were about five of us and the tests we were doing were largely photocopied out of old Psychology manuals. Today ‘brain training’ is big business with any number of self-help guides, on-line tests, brain training gurus and games; there is huge competition in the technology industry for the brain training pound.

The way we think about the brain has changed massively over the last ten to fifteen years and today it is recognised that physical, emotional and spiritual activity are just as important to brain training as performing great intellectual and analytical feats. A quick search on brain training brought me to My super-charged life which identifies meditation, sex, nutrition, singing from memory, and walking around blind-folded as just some of the ’20 ways to train your brain’.  In our super adult, super charged, super fast world we are being reminded that play is the single most effective method of keeping ourselves smart, effective and happy.  Apart from the sex of course, the adventures of the Secret Seven, Famous Five and the Swallows and Amazons are perhaps the nearest I could get to ‘brain training camp’.  Get some good tuck, run about a lot, play games, use your keen observational skills, do a bit of problem solving, help each other out of scrapes, have a good old group bonding session and then home for a well earned rest.  The problem is that, to most of us, the activities of the Secret Seven would leave us knackered for days: we simply don’t have the resources to solve crime before supper.  The Western world seems designed specifically to drain us of our mental and physical resources; we no longer recognise our overall being as a self sustaining organism that is meant to be in balance.  For me ‘brain training’ does not go far enough, we need to recognise that we are more than a brain, indeed, we are more than just a body. 

As adults we tend to see play as something which is usurped by responsibility.  Anything that is worthwhile will require seriousness, effort, self-discipline, hard work, time, and probably money (all the stuff that drains our physical and mental resources).  Play is relegated to the luxury of ‘leisure time’ which, at most, gets a couple of hours a week lip-service if we’re lucky.  Of course, our brains and bodies still crave play, which is why alcohol, television, watching other people playing sport, and web-surfing all eat away at our lives: they are sanctioned, sterile and largely inactive past times which con our brains into thinking they are training when really they are being filled with crap.

From a shamanic perspective the brain is simply one part of our consciousness, indeed, the entire body is really one part of our overall ‘self’.  For me there is really no limit to the self.  We are not self contained little beings wandering round with a body and perhaps some form of spirit or energy body attached to it like a balloon.  We are part of a web of being which includes the physical world that manifests us, the mental world that stimulates us to growth, and the spiritual/ imaginative/ dream world that is us.  All of these different bits of us consume and produce ’energy’ which I’ll describe for now as ‘movement that effects change’.  Energy changes form all the time:  food turns into fuel that turns into physical movement or mental process.  Anyone who works with energy healing or magic will also tell you that, after a session they are famished; after all, they’ve been working hard channelling energy.  A person who has received an energy healing may feel full of energy, or perhaps lighter if stagnant energy has been shifted to allow new energy to flow once more.

Shamanic practice is about working with energy.  All shamanic practitioners work on themselves and some will also work on others.  The most commonly recognised shamanic practice is called ‘journeying’ where the consciousness of the practitioner is either said to leave their body and travel elsewhere or to expand outwards so that they are able to access other realms; in any case, the purpose of journeying is to seek wisdom and to retrieve power, soul essence, or energy that has been lost.  In a world that drains us this is obviously a key skill to learn and develop and, luckily, the majority of us now seem to be born with an innate ability to journey once we are shown how.  Perhaps this gift comes from the universe seeking to restore balance, or perhaps the sheer power we now have to change our world is opening our eyes and minds to the consequences.

Some people are just naturally able to journey, but most of us need some guidance to get us started.  However, just because you can journey doesn’t mean you have the clarity to see truth when it’s in front of you, or the wisdom to act on that truth.  I doubt that any shamanic practitioner out there can say with hand on heart that they have always immediately understood messages from spirit and acted upon them.  This is where brain training comes in: learn to still your mind and find clarity; learn to support your process through self care; learn to differentiate between ‘I should’ and ‘I am’; learn that obstacles are largely illusions; learn that play is work and work is play.

Sadly, a spiritual experience, even the most intense, is seldom enough to do more than give us the initial impotus for change.  Our ability to then bring change into our lives is determined by the overall state of our consciousness.  How much energy is available to you?  What perspective do you have on your ability to make change?  What support networks have you created for yourself?  Does the thought of changing your life make you feel knackered already or are you bursting to grab some tuck, track down the baddies, save the day and be home in time for supper?  If the answer is ‘knackered’ then perhaps some brain training is in order before you start to tackle any serious life change and so deplete your already exhausted resources.

You can book a mentoring session with me in-person or via Skype to develop a personalised programme using techniques that promote clarity, boost your energy levels, identify blockages and get you on track.  Mindfulness, meditation, stress management techniques and journeying form some of the methods we can work ontogether and your journey can also be supported by in-person or distance energy and shamanic healing.

To book or for further information visit my page, email magin@starfirealchemy.co.uk or telephone 07958 742 497.

Phobias are common, our natural protective fear mechanism out of control. They are sometimes based on something which seems sensible, a fear of heights is really a fear of falling and dying. But most phobias seem quite crazy to the people who aren’t suffering them, common examples are fear of cats, buttons, cotton-wool. Some phobias can be very debilitating preventing us from living the life we want to have.

Phobias are always created in the subconscious as a means to survival. They are created at a time of heightened emotion where the brain connects inappropriately a thing to an emotion. Let me share with you a typical case study.

A Typical Case Study

A man came to my clinic suffering from a phobia that had arisen age 22. He had been studying hard for his final exams at university, he was in his first serious relationship, with a loving positive woman, he seemed to be in a great place all be it a bit stressed. One day he took his girlfriend to out for a pizza, ordered the usual but this time something different happened. The pizza turned up and as he saw the toppings he suddenly experienced a panic attack ran outside and vomited in the street. A bit of an extreme reaction. This happened again a few times until he realised the trigger was seeing mushrooms.

This late development of a phobia is not uncommon, sometimes new phobias seem to develop out of nowhere, but there is usually a deeper link to the past as we will see shortly…

Perhaps because he had not suffered this fear before and hadn’t grown used to it since childhood, he wisely decided not to put up with this. He knew hypnotherapy was able to work on phobias so he booked an appointment.

During his treatment we discovered the cause of his phobia. His subconscious guided us to do a regression back to a a very young age as a baby. Far too young for any conscious memory. He recalled being in a playpen in the garden. His mum and dad were arguing loudly standing by the back door to the house. He remembered being very scared, thinking his mum and dad were so angry they might hurt each other. At the same time he saw a large clump of mushrooms growing out of the ground next to the door. His brain associated the fear he felt seeing his mum and dad so angry and fighting with the image of the mushrooms.

Luckily most of his life this association did not bother him. But as a young adult about to take his finals at university, and in his first really serious relationship it all became too much and his brain took him to the same feeling of fear again, releasing the phobia instantly on seeing those mushrooms on his pizza.

We were able to talk to the part of his memory that felt the original fear and linked it to the mushrooms, release the association, relieving him of his phobia.

Phobias can be Simple to Treat

Does this sound simple? Well that is because it is, most of the time anyway! Phobias are fairly easy to treat compared to other problems like weight loss or smoking, which are multilayered and take more work on both the part of the client and the therapist.

So please don’t suffer your fears if they are stopping you living your life the way you want to. Give me a call today on 07814 430 690, or email me and we can begin your healing if you like the idea of living without unnecessary fears.

If I am not your local hypnotherapist please follow this link to the most advanced hypnotherapists in the UK.

Wishing you well, Sorrell

Reasons for Failure

These are many reasons for failure.  But the most important reason you will fail will be utterly beyond your conscious control.  It can feel like we are climbing a mountain and the peak just keeps getting further away with every step.  We all know we want to change, so why don’t we just do it?

It is all down to our subconscious programming, which is controlling our behaviour patterns, especially the ones we find hard, sometimes impossible, to change.

Different Methods

There have been many tried and tested methods to help people to change their negative behaviour patterns. Neuro-linguistic programming, cognitive behavioural therapy, emotional freedom technique, positive psychology are a few of the more popular methods and I’ve tried them all.  To this day my favourite is still Hypnotherapy.

Hypnosis in its simplest form is a relaxation method, and anyone can do it.  It is the feeling you have just as you are dropping of to sleep, or waking up in the morning, when you are all cosy and warm in bed, dreaming about the day just gone, or the day ahead.  You are totally conscious but very, very relaxed.

Hypnotherapy is using therapeutic techniques whilst in hypnosis, and you can do this by yourself, but some techniques do require a hypnotherapist to help out – especially where there are changes you wish to make in your brain’s behavioural programming.

Why we are Programmed to Fail

So before you get really annoyed and upset with yourself for failing those new years resolutions, give yourself a break.  Your brain is only doing these things because it thinks they are a good idea, for example, it eats sugar because it gives you energy, it drinks alcohol because it relaxes you.   All your ‘bad’ behaviours are just programmes that went a bit too far beyond their safe and sensible remit.

These ‘bad’ behaviours can be changed, and using hypnotherapy can give you the best chance possible of making that change happen.  The additional side effects of using hypnosis are feeling fantastically relaxed, in control, and happy with how you are in control of your life.  Perhaps after several years of trying to make a conscious change, by using hypnotherapy you can access the subconscious programming and change it into a programme which works better for you.

This is why hypnotherapy is so popular as a technique for weight loss and quitting smoking; its easy to do, it takes away the stress of trying to give something up, because you are not having to fight some subconscious urge which is trying to sabotage your efforts.

What we can Work on using Hypnotherapy

Other than weight loss and quitting smoking, I have used hypnotherapy successfully with clients to treat a huge range of behaviours or negative thoughts they needed to shift, from giving up Dr Pepper, to being able to control the amount they drink at parties (not an alcoholic but perhaps deemed a binge drinker) to giving up a damaging relationship they were having trouble leaving.  We all have the potential to set up bad behaviour patterns but luckily we all have the ability to change these patterns too!

Don’t Struggle Alone

If you are struggling to make a change, tired of climbing the mountain to perfection all by yourself.  Perhaps you feel something is holding you back that is beyond your will or conscious control, give me a call on 07814430690 or email me at the chamomile clinic, I’d be very happy to help you make those changes quickly and easily with hypnotherapy.  I am also based at the Shoreditch Spa, nearest tube Old Street for easy access from all parts of London and beyond.

The sage in your stuffing for example, is full of antioxidants, these help to clear up free radicals which cause damage to the cells of the body, essentially they have the potential to help you live a longer and healthier life – so eat up your stuffing.

There is always plenty of alcohol being served at Christmas, so when it is on offer choose to partake in some healthy Mulled wine. You have probably already heard reports of research demonstrating the benefits of a moderate amount of red wine protecting the heart. Suggesting it could help you live longer and stay healthy longer. The spices we use to make mulled wine also have medicinal properties, added to the wine to warm the body they stimulate circulation and digestion.

Cinnamon has been used traditionally for treating type 2 diabetes for thousands of years and now science has proved it works, by lowering insulin levels.

Ginger has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor properties.

When we add orange juice to the mix it adds its own anti-oxidant properties, full of vitamin C.

But if you’re driving, had too much the night before, or pregnant, breastfeeding or simply t-total choose the non-alcoholic version made with  grape juice and know that your not missing out on the red wine as your heart will also be protected by the flavonoid content.

And after a few glasses of the merry stuff, you may be lucky enough to get a kiss under the Mistletoe. While your kissing, spare a thought for this very clever plant, traditionally thought to be a hormonal herb with birth control properties – don’t try it please – there is no research behind this claim!  But it does have a more current and scientifically validated use with life preserving powers in treating many types of cancer.

Wishing you a Happy Herbal Christmas x

ps. still searching for the ideal christmas gift – our gift certificates may be just the thing, we can post direct, or even email you a printed version if you are in a hurry!

If you want to make your own aromatherapy products for Christmas here is a quick guide to get you started.

Aromatherapy Massage Oils

Aromatherapy oil blends are made from a natural base oil such as almond or sunflower, plus one or more essential oils to create an aromatic mix that nourishes the skin through to the soul.

A good basic method is to add 1 drop of essential oil for each 5ml of base oil. So in a 100ml bottle you can add 20 drops of essential oil.

You can use just 1 essential oil, say lavender, or use a blend of essential oils such as clary sage, roman chamomile, and lavender. The total number of drops should add up to the correct dose, e.g.

A relaxing blend would be Lavender – 4 drops, roman chamomile 4 drops, clary sage – 4 drop.

A stimulating and warming blend might be Rosemary 4 drops, Ginger 4 drops, Juniper – 4 drops.

You can substitute the oil for a base lotion or cream if you prefer, just be careful if you intend the product to be used on the face. Halve the dose of essential oils added as the skin on the face can be more prone to sensitivities.

Aromatherapy bath oils or bubble bath

You can buy base bath oil or base bubble bath products and use this to add your own blends of essential oils to suit. I have suggested a few suppliers at the end of this article. The ratio for ingredients is the same as for massage oils. In 100 mls add 20 drops of essential oil.

A great blend for gardeners to ease an aching body might be 5 drops juniper berry, 5 drops ginger, 10 drops frankincense.

Or a romantic blend to seduce that special someone might be 5 drops jasmine, 5 drops mandarin, 5 drops roman chamomile, 5 drops geranium.

By adding these hand made gifts to a box filled with other little treats such as a hand made soap or some rose water (you can buy this part if you don’t fancy learning this art as well) and some loose pink rose petals, or blue cornflowers you can make it look really special.

Bespoke Gifts made by the Chamomile Clinic

If you don’t want to make your own oils but like the idea of a hand made product especially for you, get in touch with me at the chamomile clinic. You can buy blended products from me following a short free consultation to discuss your needs. The benefit of buying a product direct from a therapist is that it can be created just for you with your personal health in mind. These can be a lot stronger than shop bought preparations, as it is a prescription product and it will be a lot fresher too!

For more how to make your own ideas see my book, or perhaps you are interested in our Aromatherapy Massage Gift Certificates, another great Christmas gift!

Useful suppliers

Essential oils and base products: www.materiaaromatica.com

Rose petals and other herbs: www.woodlandherbs.co.uk