Victor Kuri

Archive for the ‘Body Care’ Category

It is said that lemon is a good body cleanser, helpful in purging one’s system of toxic chemicals and waste that can illness and disease. It was discovered by Stanley Burroughs, a pioneer in alternative health care. The lemon colon cleanse is a safe and effective way to clean out your digestive tract and getting yourself on the road to better health. This fact was discovered accidentally when Burroughs was researching ulcer treatments. Instead of finding a simple ulcer treatment, he found a malt-disease treatment.

The diet is a liquid one of fresh lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water that is drunk six to twelve times a day. No other food is to be eaten during the course of the diet and users should also drink an herbal laxative tea in conjunction to the lemon drink twice a day. This diet cleanses the body and helps promote healthy tissue growth. Depending on the person’s physical health before starting the diet, it can used anywhere from ten to forty days.

The human body accumulates toxins, waste, and poison causing symptomatic illnesses that are common in the population today. Our digestive tract and eliminative system can get overwhelmed and stop functioning as well as it should. When this happens, waste builds up to the level where it winds up getting recirculated through the body. By cleansing our bodies of this waste a few times a year, we help rejuvenate the healing functions of our body.

Lemon juice is high in vitamins, cationic, and anionic minerals. It helps break up the mucous in the body that has been overproduced to combat the toxins and poisons. Practitioners of colour therapy are familiar with the way the colour yellow helps stimulate the body. The addition of cayenne pepper is to aid in the mucous break-up and to cleanse not only the digestive system, but also the respiratory and circulatory system. The maple syrup provides the needed sugar to produce energy. The herbal tea helps the colon contract and relax and the same effect can be had by taking fibre pills or eating high-fibre foods.

By taking you time and following this diet carefully, you can cleanse your system. You’ll probably find yourself feeling better in a short period of time. While this lemon colon cleanse can be used for an extended length of time, it is advisable to start adding healthy foods back into your diet somewhere between day five and ten.

When it comes to types of body piercings it can be a simple task to pick what piercings you want or it can be harder depending on your job. Certain jobs will require you not to have any piercings visible. Other jobs might not be so hard or care about visible piercings. You should always check first so, you don’t go out and get it only to hear that you need to remove it.

There are so many options when it comes to getting a body piercing – everything from your ears, nose, lip, eyebrow, monroe, labret, navel, nipple, etc… When choosing your first piercing think about what you really want and if it will be in a place that will work for you. Having so many types of body piercings to choose from is helpful in this instance.

When debating on any types of body piercings, certain areas such as an eyebrow piercing have a higher rate of rejecting. Ears are a simple piercing that many of us have had from our younger days in life. Oral piercings can swell a bit in the early days.

The cost of the types of body piercings will range depending on what you get and what the shop prices are set to. The aftercare if different also depending on what you get. You will normally have a choice of if you want a CBR or a barbell. I would start out with a CBR because it makes cleaning it easier to do during the healing period.

Some people ask if it’s okay to use rubbing alcohol to keep a fresh piercing clean. The simple answer to that is NO. You must use an antibacterial soap that doesn’t contain any fragrance to keep the area clean. If you think you may have an infection starting you can always do a simple sea salt soak to also help with keeping it clean. If it doesn’t seem to be getting better you can always drop by and see the person who did it for you to check it out.

When you get an oral piercing you should avoid beer because of the yeast, breads, and spicy things until it has had time to heal. Navels & Nipples should be taken care of by not wearing too tight clothing over them while it’s in the healing stages.

Remember to always look into the place you plan on visiting for your future piercing to make sure that they follow health & safety rules. Also, never get pierced with any needle that has not been opened and taken out of the new package right in front of you. Better safe than sorry – who wants to deal with an infection, or worse, on top of any new types of body piercings?

Have you ever been afflicted with dermatitis? Those who have can attest to the overwhelming discomfort that it brings. So, what is dermatitis and what problems does it bring?

Dermatitis can be considered as one of the worst enemies of healthy skin. The onset of this condition can jeopardize all the efforts you have exerted in following a healthy skin care regimen.

In the medical field, the term dermatitis is often used to refer to any inflammation or swelling of the skin and is sometimes used interchangeably with the term “eczema”. This skin condition is usually characterized by unbearable itching. For those afflicted with dermatitis, scratching serves as the main and perhaps the only, source of relief. It is said that the itching only gets much worse as the condition progresses that you cannot help but scratch the affected areas even more.

However, scratching only tends to worsen the condition. While it may bring temporary relief, it may also irritate your skin and lead to the formation of tiny oozing bumps. And it does not end there. As long as you are afflicted with the condition, your skin will continue to itch and you may also continue to resort to scratching. This invariably leads to infection.

To treat this kind of skin problem, you need to know what is causing it. Most of the time however, a person afflicted with dermatitis doesn’t even know what is setting it off! But no matter what might be triggering the condition, there are some general strategies that can bring you the much-needed relief from all the itching. Follow these suggestions to save your skin and your sanity, as well!

1. Cool it down! Cold compresses offer great relief from the itch and actually help in drying up the rash. To make a good compress, fold a handkerchief or a piece of bed linen up to eight layers thick and dip it in cool water or in Burrow’s solution. Put the cloth on the rash for 10-15 minutes every hour. Another great alternative is to use whole milk compresses. It is medically proven that the protein in milk does wonders in relieving the itch.

2. Calamine lotion, anyone? While applying calamine lotion is not very elegant (it shows on the skin!), this time-tested remedy can effectively fend off the itch. For best results, apply it thinly on affected areas 2-3 times a day.

3. Try hydrocortisone cream. Using hydrocortisone cream may be effective in treating allergic dermatitis than in irritant dermatitis.

4. Take an oral antihistamine. While over-the-counter antihistamines may cause some drowsiness, they can definitely provide you some relief from the itching. Just be cautious when you take antihistamines during the day if they make you drowsy.

5. Seek relief with oatmeal. The next time you take a bath, try adding a little oatmeal to your bath water. For best results, use colloidal oatmeal since it dissolves better. Or you can also try adding baking soda (dissolved in 1 cup warm water) to your bath for a more soothing bath experience.

Take care of your dermatitis and save your skin in the process. Just follow these simple suggestions and you can be sure that you are on your way to recovery. Now, you can say goodbye to itchy skin forever!

Depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems are issues that many people struggle with. Often, these problems interfere with everyday life and general well-being. I have read a statistic saying that 80% of the population in North America will suffer from some degree of depression at some point in their lives.

There are self-care strategies that you can learn to help you get through your days with a bit more ease if you find you are struggling with managing your emotions or find yourself on a bit of a roller-coaster of emotion at times. Even during bouts of low-self-esteem, self-care and emotional management techniques can help.

In this article, I am going to share some information that I teach to my clients in counselling sessions as well as to members of self-care workshops. If you have any questions about something I have included here, please do not hesitate to contact me and ask.

Good grounding tools are very helpful for better daily living. By grounding, I mean the tool(s) used to help calm yourself in an emotionally upset time. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe it is important to process and feel your emotions at times as this is the body’s way of healing emotional upset to be able to set it aside. Sometimes this can be done at home using some of the tools listed here and sometimes people need the help of a professional to heal some deeper wounds or to help you get over a hurdle. However, there will be times when it is not appropriate to feel upsetting or disturbing emotions, and it is then useful to know way to ‘ground’ or set the emotion aside and come back to it later at a more appropriate time.

Fundamentally, all of these strategies are about you being in control of your emotions instead of your emotions being in control of you. It can be helpful to know that our bodies have processes already designed into our nervous systems to take care of emotions. Emotions have a lifespan of about 45 to 50 minutes. They do not last forever.

Please note that not every technique will work for everyone. Every person will have some that work for them and some that don’t. Once you have found techniques that work for you, it can be helpful to write them up, or type them and print them out, and keep them handy to ensure you’ll use them when you need them.

The main concept to understand is that when you are feeling a lot of emotion, you are functioning from the right side of your brain where your negative emotional centre lies. It is commonly noted in psychology that when you are trapped, in a way, on the right side of your brain, your left side is functioning at a lower capacity. The left side of your brain is thought to be the rational or logical side of the brain. It is therefore helpful to get your left side more activated, but sometimes it needs some help during emotionally charged times. There are many ways to do this, but again, find the strategies that work for you. Strategies:

Strategies:

Shifting your focus away from the emotion and back to your body can be very useful. This can be done by tapping your feet back and forth and really feeling how your feet connect with the floor.

Another way to shift the focus back to the body is to notice how your body feels on the chair you are sitting in. Notice your back on the back of the chair, your arms on the arm of the chair, your legs, and how your hands are placed.

Next, notice your breath. Long deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth if you can. Really feel the breath going into the body. Breath is very life sustaining and supportive – it is a very good thing to connect with at times of feeling emotionally upset. This can help ground and soothe the body and shift your focus away from an upsetting emotion.

Now, the counseling modality I use most of in my practice is something called EMDR (which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). You can read some information about EMDR if you click on the tap in the menu bar of the website. Some of the grounding strategies I am including here are the tools I use to end sessions with clients so that things are not left open and my clients can get home safely, go back to work, or whatever it that they need to do that day.

The most important of these tools sounds very simple but it is very effective. All you have to do is move your eyes up and down in a vertical line. No need to move your head, just your eyes. Turning your body to face a doorframe or the corner of a room can help. You can think of a metaphorical door in your mind closing your emotional self and centering the body.

Becoming more aware of your physical surroundings can help shift your awareness and activate the left side of the brain. This can be done through naming objects you see in the room around you, naming colours that you see, as well and sounds that you hear.

Another way to get both sides of your brain working if you are feeling a strong emotion is to access them both at the same time. This an be done by looking at a piece of art such as a painting or a sculpture – not a photograph though – and count at the same time. You do not need to analyze the art. Just by looking at it, the right side of your brain is accessed. By counting (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 – as far up as you need to go), you activate the left side of the brain. If you are aware of a feeling and do these two things together, the feeling should dissipate.

Going for a walk, or other physical activity, can help the body feel better and help release the emotion. I strongly believe in the term “walk it off”.

Reading is something that many people do to take their minds off their worries. Some sort of distraction can help shift your focus away from the emotion.

Cooking can be another good, healthy distraction. By the way, eating healthily and getting some exercise are two of the best things you can do for depression.

Journalling, or writing, is very helpful for some to help you handle an emotionally charged situation. It helps give clarity to thoughts and allows for some distance from them by looking at them. Some people find writing very therapeutic. If it is not the right thing for you, that is okay. Keep in mind, you do not always have to go back and read what you wrote. Sometimes its just nice to have a place to get it out in the moment.

Other creative outlets are very helpful as well. Doing some art – which does not have to look like anything – helps get emotion out. This is a similar idea to journalling. What colour would anger be? What would it look like?

If you are able to do some art and give your thoughts or feelings some creative expression, follow-up with some good self-care like a nice bath, a walk, or a warm drink.

The ‘Container’ is a very common therapeutic tool. To some, the concept of the container might not sound very useful, but when practiced and developed, it does wonders for helping set emotions, upsetting thoughts, or memories aside when it is not a good time to be aware of them.

The container is about using imagery, or the power of you imagination (your mind) to help you when you need it. Our minds are pretty powerful so I encourage you to give this one a shot and see how it goes. When I first heard of this exercise, I also did not think it would be helpful. Was I ever wrong. Even last week on the street I had a member of a group I had run come up to me and tell me how helpful the container is and expressed, “Its just great.”

The container is about imagining some sort of container that is big enough, and strong enough, to hold whatever you might ever need to put in it. One stipulation is that it shouldn’t be something that you see all the time in your day as you may be getting a constant reminder of what you are trying to forget (for the time-being). It can be made of any material and can be any colour. It needs some sort of door or lid to keep what ever you put in there safe inside. It may need a lock of some sort. Examples could be a warehouse, a safe or vault, a big box, or plastic container.

To use, or access, your container when you need it, it is helpful to have a really clear picture of it first (drawing it can help). You might picture the items you would like to go into your container individually being placed inside. You might just get a felt sense of it being set aside and placed into the container. Some people like to have some sort of animation to help take the items into the container such as a pack man motion or some sort of suction.

Now, an important idea pertaining to the Container is that you are not trying to make the things you place into it disappear or say that they are not important. It is about setting things aside and coming back to them at a later time when you can better deal with them such as in counselling, talking to a friend, or journalling about it at home.

Sometimes it is helpful to have some sort of nozzle or valve on the container so that you can more easily be in control of what comes out when it is time to take something out.

The Safe Place is another very common therapeutic strategy and is a very useful tool for many. I originally learned of the ‘safe place’ in relation to working with sexual abuse survivors. However, as the years have progressed, I have found that this tool is very useful for anyone. Again, this strategy utilizes our minds by using imagery to help calm the body and the mind. The safe place works by closing your eyes and imagining yourself in a place (which can be real or imaginary). It can be any place at all that you find soothing and comforting. Some people call this place a relaxation place or a happy place. It is helpful if there are not people who are currently a part of your life in your safe place because if that relationship were to ever go sour for a time, it would affect your safe place.

The safe place can be somewhere you have been, a place that you liked when you were a kid, a place you have always dreamed of going, or an imaginary place such as somewhere in outer space. It is helpful to notice all the colours that are there, the sounds, the objects. The clearer the image is for you, it will easier it will be for you to access it and to use it when you need it.

Imagine yourself in this place and notice how it makes you feel. Do you feel calm, more relaxed, at peace? Whatever the feeling is, notice also where you can feel it in your body. Allow yourself to stay there as long as you need to calm yourself.

Anther strategy to help alleviate emotional distress is the Spiral Technique. For this exercise, allow yourself to feel the emotion and close your eyes. Which direction would the spiral be turning? Ok, now change the direction – this will decrease the intensity of the emotion. Try practicing it and see if you can have work for you.

Practicing something referred to as ‘Dual Awareness’ can really help get you through when nothing else seems to be helping. For this concept, it is helpful to note that the emotion is caused from a past experience. However, you are feeling that past experience being triggered in the present. Be aware of these 2 things at the same time: the emotion being connected to a past experience and yourself in your present surroundings. Tell yourself, “I can allow myself to know I am okay right now”. The feeling will eventually pass – your body will take care of it in its own in time. It will not last forever. Sometimes you might feel as if you just need to hang on. Find something to help you connect with your current surroundings.

Design your surroundings so that they reflect calm and relaxation. Your surrounds can greatly affect your mood. Soothing pictures, some spiritual objects, or other calming objects help create an atmosphere of better emotional health.

Spend time talking to friends when you can. Be aware of their boundaries so that you do not go too far with pushing limits. It is important to share with people who will be understanding and supportive.

When dealing with issues of anger, there are healthy ways to process it. Anger has a lot of energy to it and wants to have a physical way to get out of your system. Going to the gym, for a walk, or for a run can help. Screaming into or punching pillows can also help. Stress balls are good as well. Find a healthy way to get the energy out. Anger serves a purpose of letting us know that something needs to be different but, just as it can be done with other emotions, anger too can find a positive outlet.

Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic product that is becoming more and more common as it is helpful to calm your nerves. You might give this a try and carry it around with you if you find it helpful. It can be found at many health food stores.

If spirituality is important to you, you can get in tune with your body at times of feeling emotional upset by visualizing your chakra system and aligning the chakras. Be aware of centering the body along this system. Finding other spiritual beliefs or outlets can help as well.

It is important to remember that practicing these tools will help. Repetition is the best way to learn something new. Also, please keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list. There are many ways to ground and self-soothe during times of emotional upset.

In closing, I would like to mention that something I try to encourage to all of my clients and to others in my life as well, is to always attempt to have good self-care. Taking care of what you eat, how much sleep you are getting, limiting the amount of caffeine is in your diet, and getting some exercise will go a long way to helping your body take care of you and help support you better during times of emotional upset.

I hope some of the things on this list will help you.

A parrot’s body language will give you an indication about how your parrot is feeling and if you intend to do some parrot training it is a good idea to learn to read when the parrot is happy and when it is unhappy.

If you feel that the body language is not right it is best to attempt the training at another time. Body language gives a very strong indication of what the parrot is thinking. If you want to teach a parrot you do need to have it in a good frame of mind and concentrating on what you are teaching it so reading the body language is helpful at this time.

Let’s look at some of the body language signs you will get from your parrot.

Eyes – the parrot does not blink very often and can change the size of its iris independently of its eye lids. When it is not happy, due to being frightened, angry or aggressive, a parrot will change the size of his iris and this is called “flashing” or “pinning.” If during training the parrots starts doing this it is a good idea to stop because it will show that he is getting annoyed and he may bite.

Vocalizing – we all know that a parrot is a born vocalizer. You cannot be anywhere near a parrot without realizing that they like to let their feelings be known vocally. After all, the reason why many people like to have them as pets is because they want to teach them to talk.

Some of the sounds you can expect to hear from a parrot are:

• Chattering – he is happy or beginning to learn to talk

• Singing, whistling, talking – these are signs of a healthy contented parrot.

• Tongue clicking – he may just be entertaining himself or he may be wanting some attention, but he is still in a good frame of mind

• Purring – this could mean that the parrot is content, then again it may not so this sign needs to be observed in conjunction with some other visual signs as well to get a true picture

• Growling – if the parrot is growling it is a sign that all is not right. When he is doing it take notice of his surroundings. Is the cage that he is not happy in, has he been on his own too long and wants some attention, or is he jealous of a new family pet? It is not a good idea to handle him at this stage but try and work out what could be upsetting him.

Wings – the flapping of wings usually means that he is just cooling himself but if he is standing very straight up and squawking it will mean that he is not happy. In this case it is not a good idea to try and handle him.

If a parrot is wing flipping he could just be settling his feathers or if he is nodding his head up and down as well, he is telling you he wants to be fed.

When drooping his wings it indicates that he is not well, especially if it is an older bird, so take note of his eating and ensure that he is eating his meals. If not, a visit to the vet may be necessary. If the bird is younger and drooping his wings it could just be that he hasn’t learn to tuck them up all the time as yet. Another time that a bird may droop its wings is when they are wet after a bath.

Feathers – when a bird is fluffing its feathers (either its crest, wings or tail) and has an aggressive stance then it is not wise to touch him. He is most definitely telling you there is something that is upsetting him.

By observing your parrot you will learn to understand what the different body language signs are so that you will know when you need to be doing something to help out or whether things will right themselves in due course. Always avoid handling or trying to train him unless he is happy and relaxed.

Relaxation is our body’s way to release tension that is caused by stressful daily activities. Most of the time people, especially those who are always busy, tend to forget giving themselves even just a little time to relax. Their time is always occupied with the office and school works that need to be accomplished without knowing that their body is being abused.

Being workaholic is not bad as long as you know how to take good care of your health. If you would notice most cases of heart attack and stroke occur to those who handle stressful jobs. This is because they allot no time to relax that leads to the accumulation of stress that is the leading cause of heart diseases, stroke and even cancer.

For you to be able to give yourself a reward after all the stressful works here are the five helpful relaxation tips:
Read a good book Relaxation of the body goes hand in hand with the relaxation of the mind. It is important to forget all the things that stressed you for the past days to be able to pamper yourself. Reading good books most especially the books of your favorite author will help you get all your worries off your mind. Thinking of all the things that are bothering you will just cause you no good. This will just trigger you body to release chemicals that will cause you stress. Pamper your mind and concentrate on what you are reading. Keeping your mind relaxed will help you have a good thinking towards your everyday activities. Have a warm bath Warm bath contributes to the good blood circulation. Taking a warm bath in your pool or in your bath tub will help your body relax. When the weather is cold, you can use pool heaters to increase the temperature of the pool water. The warm water relaxes your body and loosens tights and stiff muscles which also help you relax mentally. Listen to relaxing music One of the most effective ways to relax is by listening to music. When we feel sad or down, what we usually do is to listen to happy songs. This helps uplift our mood and take away all our negative emotions. When we want to relax, listening to good music conditions our mind and uplifting our mood to combat all the negative emotions. Do your favorite sport Sometimes what make us feel relaxed are the things that we always love to do. You can do biking in the morning and feel the fresh air and sunlight. You can also swim in the cool water and spend time with your family and friends. Just make sure to have it cleaned and put pool chemical to kill all the bacteria that can cause skin infections and diseases. And you can also do hiking or go out-of-town to enjoy your free time. Have a body massage Good blood circulation helps your body function well. Having a body massage will help you relax and pamper your body as well. Once you feel so stressed out, just go to your favorite spa and have the body massage that suits your need.

Relaxation is one of the keys to good health and well-being. Giving yourself a little reward is very important. Relaxation doesn’t need to be expensive because you always have a choice on how you want to pamper yourself. Relax and enjoy the life that is the greatest gift from God.