Tag: stress relief

Father’s Day Reflexology & Forest Bath

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Reflexology

My apologies, it’s been a while since I have made a blog post. I had the intention of doing at least one or two since the last but I have been focused on other projects while the pandemic had me at a stand still.

Today being Father’s Day, was the perfect opportunity to treat my husband and plant father, Markus, to a reflexology session, and long over due. Today he choose a Scottish landscape YouTube video depicting huge sharp natural rock formations, to accompany his session. Interestingly he randomly selected a card from the Sacred Forest Oracle depicting the scene from Celtic sacred stones with the message that a sacred journey lie ahead. Normally I would see this as a lovely synchronicity however I believe it could be something more. I say this because my husband recently uncovered his ancestry including Celtic (Scottish) and Indigenous (Miami Tribe) from the fur trade era. Since then, we have been focusing on an interdisciplinary project exploring his ancestors. Markus has always been pulled to Druid and Native themes and has since felt a sense of relief in understanding why. While I am working on a larger project about this, it’s no accident that today this came together during his healing session; it is his ancestors at work.

He chose the Adrenal (healing) Water Crystal card (water infuser) to also accompany his session today. The adrenal is an endocrine gland that is tied to our fright and flight system and can be overtaxed from stress. The card represents ‘release’ and with that we work the stress out by putting the body into a state of homeostasis where it can move into a recovery stage.

During the session, other than dryness, a healing blister (due to thick socks) and calluses from his job, the feet appear to be doing well. I always double check the texture, colour and odour for clues of oncoming fungus problems but so far things appear to be OK. As always, he expresses how amazing he and his feet feel after a reflexology session. After today’s session, we took a bike ride to the forest and soaked our feet in the stream while taking a forest bath. Forest bathing and reflexology make a perfect combination.

Markus passed his one year post surgery examination of his skin cancer however he still requires attention for another precancerous spot that emerged in the newly healed skin area. And so with that we are back in the waiting game. It has been suggested to me by a friend mid island to look into CBD oil for topical use (made up island) and will be learning more about that. I am taking my facial reflexology studies on a deeper dive and have signed up with a course at Pacific Rim College in Chinese Medicine called Applied Facial Diagnostics. With this new knowledge, I will use my Dien Chan facial reflex tools to work with the face addressing imbalances in the body. We have been using Dien Chan for aesthetics of the face but now it’s time to work with the therapeutic side. I start the course this coming week.

On the topic of stress, I will leave you with this blog post that I put together with a hand chart you can try on yourself. Here’s the video he chose, mind the ads.

Disclaimer: Reflexology does not diagnose, prescribe or treat for specific conditions. Always seek proper medical attention should you suspect you have a medical problem. Reflexology is not a replacement for medical treatment.

Reflexology & Solar Plexus

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Reflexology, Stress
@lunarainforest

Doing a #pendulum #sweep for #chakra balancing. #reiki #healing #calm #relax #homeostasis #recovery

♬ Caribbean Blue (2009 Remaster) – Enya

Here are some images I took from a foot session I did with Markus over the weekend. As always, his work load as a letter carrier is extremely heavy throughout the pandemic and his feet could definitely use some loving. After the treatment, I did a chakra sweep with the pendulum and found his solar plexus chakra to be active. The solar plexus is an area of the body that is tied to our sympathetic nervous system and we accentuate the reflex to reduce stress and induce relaxation. I placed a citrine crystal on his solar plexus for a short time. I don’t have personal experience with crystals for healing but I feel they make a nice ritual inciting meditation and calmness while allowing focus on an area of our healing. Some people believe that citrine releases negative traits, depression, fears and phobias; perhaps it’s what we make of it.

Markus commented how much better he felt after his treatment and that his feet felt amazing. Prior to his session he was commenting on how unbalanced he felt from a long stressful work week. Reflexology is a wonderful way to reverse fatigued feet and overall stress.

We always pull cards to accompany the session and for this we used the Hierophant (symbolic of learning from a teacher) from the Mushroom Tarot and the Love & Thanks Water Crystal Card. One of the benefits of the sessions in our new place is the never ending hummingbird views. They are always dancing in the windows. Luckily for the client, they get a front row seat of lots of bird activity.

Disclaimer: Reflexology does not diagnose, prescribe or treat for specific conditions. Always seek proper medical attention should you suspect you have a medical problem. Reflexology is not a replacement for medical treatment.

Reflexology & Resonance

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Case Study, Markus, Reflexology, Relaxation

This past weekend I gave Markus a reflexology treatment, the first since his skin cancer surgery on June 9. Before then, he spent three weeks recovering at home and has since gone back to working indoors over the past two weeks. The incision is healing very well but is going through typical bothersome stages of healing which involves irritations, pain and discomfort to the skin and face overall. Until mid August, he is to wear gauze taped overtop of the scar doubled with a personal mask to help keep environmental toxins off of his face. The pandemic is helping him to fit right in, although there is definitely a strange mask tension in the air.

As he’s been back on his feet, his body is getting accustomed to working and walking often although he is not permitted to engage in any excess exercise or heavy lifting. However the labour is still felt, the stress of the work still endured and so his feet very much craved a treatment after a month off. I refrained working on his feet while he was healing from surgery.

Very soon after starting the treatment, Markus very quickly went into a deep sleep. I completed a full foot routine followed by accentuating the stress-relieving reflexes (solar plexus, pituitary) with the tuning fork and finished with a basalt stone to ground his feet. Markus didn’t wake up; his body was put into a beautiful state of homeostasis. He says it is unusual for him, not to wake up and had no recollection of most of the treatment but did report feeling energized and light on his feet upon waking up. He described how much tension was lifted from his body and felt completely rejuvenated afterwards.

We picked two cards; the Basil card from Herbal Tarot – mainly because we have been eating so much of it lately. The divinatory meaning describes appreciating one’s own manifestation powers and capacities, a good recovery incentive. Markus blindly selected the Resonance card from the Water Crystal deck which was used to intentionally inspire his water for after the session.

This weekend we took a walk through a forest near us, enjoying the benefits of forest bathing. We are engaging little by little outdoors now that he is feeling better. But he still cannot allow his affected areas to be exposed to the sun (for 18 months), so he’s been laying low during the critical healing stage. By the time fall comes around, he’ll be in a safer zone.

I’ve been coming across ‘ghost flowers‘ over the past few weeks. They are a rather rare fungi flower hybrid that presents medicinal properties for anxiety – good for me. I decided to use a photo of them in the feature image. I have also come across rosehips; the oils from the bud are used for healing skin. Rosehips can been harvested in the fall, so maybe I’ll try to make a small batch of homemade oil for us to use. Apparently it’s very helpful for scar recovery and is paired very well with facial therapy and reflexology.

Disclaimer: Reflexology does not diagnose, prescribe or treat for specific conditions. Always seek proper medical attention should you suspect you have a medical problem. Reflexology is not a replacement for medical treatment.

From Feet to Face

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Cancer, Dien Chan, Markus, Reflexology

Now that the surgery has passed, there is much therapeutic work to be done, at least 18 months worth. At the end of June, I will be taking an introductory crash course in facial massage therapy and reflexology through a Danish school in order to help with rehabilitating my husbands face since having skin cancer surgery on June 9. Our sessions with the feet will continue however I will be focusing more of my attention on his face and you will get to see how that process unfolds over time through the blog.

Starting July 1, we will begin massage techniques as prescribed by the surgeon and later I will be integrating multi reflexology tools into the routines. These tools and routines are specialized in helping to restore the face while addressing facial imbalances, dampen scars and discolouration. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed to say the least however I am receiving guidance from experienced reflexologists in approaching this task and am also seeing this traumatic experience as an opportunity to learn to help someone else. Because the scar is large and irregularly shaped, I will need to work with a variety of approaches over time. For instance, the stitching near the eye intercepts softer more delicate skin than lower down on the face and will require different tools and techniques. In addition to the scar, there is also face rejuvenation occurring where part of the cheek was removed. Currently, there is no feeling in this area however it is supposed to return within weeks or months.

I am not currently working on Markus’s feet as I don’t want to move energy around the body while he is in the earlier recovery stages. However I am working with his hands, arms and legs by tapping the skin with a small reflexology hammer. This feels good and helps to bring some circulation into the body while not over energizing. This is important because too much movement and exercise can disrupt the scar healing process and so he has remained mostly indoors and very low activity. It is the first time in a long time where his body has received an abundance of rest. On his job as a postie, he can walk up to 30 km a day, is very physically active and during the pandemic, the work load skyrocketed causing high stress and burn out. We suspect this contributed to the cancers growth. Once back to work, we are hoping that he will work indoors to shelter from the summer sun. He is not to be exposed to UV rays for a year and this is especially critical during the first three months. When the season changes in the fall, there will be less UV rays to worry about but until then, he must gaiter up when outdoors.

Overall, Markus is said to be healing remarkably well according to the surgeon who has seen recent photos. We attribute this to his lifestyle and diet change that he started at the beginning of May where inflammatory foods were removed from his digestion. None the less, he will forever bare a large scar on his face, always reminding him and everyone else around him of the tough lesson he’s come to face. This time cancer spared his life and so we work to ensure his health and safety to the fullest degree as he is now predisposed to getting cancer again. While he rests, I study and prepare to work on his face.

Due to the expansion of this work, a new domain has been added to this website: feet2face.com as I will be focusing on both ends of the body.

I’ve selected two cards for inspiration; one being the DaVinci Strength card (symbolically a woman working on a face) and the other being the Masaru Emoto Water Crystal card of Hope.

Reflexology Presurgery

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Cancer, Case Study, Dien Chan, Markus

This weekend, I carried out a reflexology case study session for my husband, Markus, this one being the last before his Mohs (skin cancer) surgery on Tuesday. A miracle happened two days ago; he got the call on Friday to go in for Tuesday as there was a cancellation. His original surgery was scheduled for the end of October and we have been putting pressure on the medical system to see if there was a way to get him in sooner, but we were loosing hope. We are quite relieved and very grateful as the wait has been a long one (a year now). We leave to Vancouver on Monday and return home on Wednesday.

Markus is tired from his job (letter carrier) during the pandemic and since we didn’t do a session last weekend, it was overdue. He has noticed however an increase in energy on the job due to his new (gluten free) diet. I noticed something interesting during today’s session; the large bunion on his left foot is significantly smaller! His feet have been surprising us lately! There have been many changes over the past weeks and months from new shoes to diet changes so I am guessing the combination of footwear correction and inflammation reduction have helped the bunion to shrink. The lifestyle and diet changes implemented in May continue to make significant changes in Markus’s well-being and have given us hope. I have started to adopt some of these changes into my own life as well. We are now both gluten-free.

After a full foot reflexology routine, I accentuated the stress-relief reflexes (solar plexus and pituitary) on the foot with the tuning fork. Then, we spent time working on facial reflexology. I have introduced myself to Dien Chan, a unique facial reflexology system founded in Vietnam by acupuncturist and professor Bùi Quôc Châu and further adopted and developed in Spain and Italy. These techniques are used to release tension in the face, for beauty and also health benefits. Oh and it also feels good! I have acquired a few additional tools and have been exploring some new techniques. Since I have been experimenting on my own face, I have noticed a change in my skin and a few of the deeper character lines have receded a bit. Today Markus explored using some of the tools on his own face. After his surgery and once he is healed, he will also be engaging in Dien Chan regularly. Dien Chan is also said to be helpful for healing surgical scars. It will be interesting to see how his face responds since having dealt with skin cancer. In the future, I hope to get certified and offer this modality along side of the foot reflexology. But in the meantime, we will experiment as we are the perfect guinea pigs. Stay tuned for those updates.

Markus appeared very sleepy during the session and expressed some excitement and nervousness around the surgery, but an hour later felt energized. He commented as usual about how amazing his feet felt after the session. Reflexology is effective for reducing the stress of surgery. I will approach carefully afterwards. You can find peer reviewed articles on Google Scholar about this.

Although his (Basal Carcinoma) cancer isn’t fatal (at this stage or that we know of), once we saw it starting to spread back in April – we knew we were in trouble as we realized this wasn’t an isolated incident. Thankfully with the abrupt diet and lifestyle changes, things have helped to calm some inflammation. None the less it has been incredibly scary as we felt so out of control – this in combination with the pandemic have made it a very trying time. I do feel optimistic that we are now in the home stretch.

Markus picked the Wolf (reminds me of the wolf who visited our village in the mountains of Italy last year) card and I added in the Healing Archetype card from the Wild Unknown card series (Kim Krans). Finally we used the Healing card from the Water Crystal (Masaru Emoto) deck for intentionally inspiring his cup of water. This is a special session, so I decided to combine an additional card (Healing) for guidance and good luck.

Markus selected the Italian Dolomite mountain footage for his ambience.

I will close with this new music video from Depeche Mode : Fragile Tension

Disclaimer: Reflexology does not diagnose, prescribe or treat for specific conditions. Always seek proper medical attention should you suspect you have a medical problem. Reflexology is not a replacement for medical treatment.

Reflexology for Vertigo

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Reflexology, Self-Help

I can’t say that I use reflexology for vertigo because I use a physiotherapy technique for mine when it acts up (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) called the Epley maneuver and is effective within 20 minutes. There are several kinds of vertigo, caused by different things therefor there are more reflexes involved than this. However, these are the key reflexes that reflexologists associate with vertigo in general.

I work with the foot but during the pandemic I decided to explore the hand as it is easier to convey the key reflex points on an image, and closely mirror the foot. The hand is easier to manipulate when self-treating. But that shouldn’t stop you from exploring your own feet. I won’t promise anything but if you are feeling explorative and are dealing with some unbalances, why not press on these reflexes and see if anything comes out of it. Nothing to loose right?

There are many studies found on Google Scholar that indicate that reflexology is most effective for managing stress and pain (what I use it for) however if one of these factors is causing an imbalance of the equilibrium, then it might be a good thing to try for calming things down. This chart is very similar to the reflexology for stress except that it swaps the eyes for the ears.

Reflexology & Inflammation

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Cancer, Case Study, Markus, Reflexology

This week is bringing some good news for Markus! It’s been two weeks since we started the “oil change” (removal of offending omega 6 and increased omega 3) and his skin is changing for the better! First we noticed how soft and plush his feet were during his reflexology session this past weekend. His feet still bare some hard calluses but the sandpaper heels are changing. He also noticed how much softer his hands are and the lines on his face are softening. The course I am taking on inflammation indicated that by day 10 there would be some noticeable differences in the skin and that by day 40, an entire oil change in the body would be complete. We are so thrilled by these changes and is giving us hope. Not only this but the suspicious spot on his left cheek has retreated from a few weeks back when it started to emerge similarly as the cancer on his right cheek. We have continued to feed Markus a cancer fighting diet in combination with directed herbal teas. Markus also had his blood work done and is quoted to be in top physical condition. The doctor said to keep doing what he is doing as it’s working. His knee pains have also resolved now that he has introduced a better supporting shoe.

We did a reflexology session on Saturday afternoon to help bring his body into homeostasis or parasympathetic mode (stress-relief) after a heavy work week as a letter carrier with Canada Post. After a full foot routine, I used the tuning fork to accentuate key stress relieving reflexes connected to the endocrine and nervous system (solar plexus, pituitary, thymus). I also used my multi-reflex tool to relieve tension in the face – specifically the jaw line where we clench due to stress. Reflexology is used to combat stress and pain and Markus swears by it; he receives one treatment a week on weekends. I selected two cards for this weeks session; the Thymus Water Crystal card (a powerful immune defence gland in the endocrine system) in combination with the Chamomile Herbal Tarot card (a powerful immune defence herb). It’s a bit ironic that this card also illustrates a crown (head) impaled by a sword (upcoming surgical removal of cancer on face) symbolically suggesting the herbs role in his immune defence. My Herbal Tarot card deck is proving now to be a very helpful learning tool as it outlines the medicinal uses of many popular herbs. The Water Crystal card is placed against a cup of filtered water for Markus to drink post session. The creator of the cards, Masaru Emoto, believed that the card’s intention will infuse into the water molecular structure as it’s conscious. It’s a nice ritual to include in the session and people seem to appreciate it. The other card is used for intention setting and is read at the end of the session. I pair the session with a relaxing nature video and Markus loves to watch the Italian Dolomites.

Markus wearing his new personal Covid / skin cancer mask by Finawear – locally made Indigenous clothing designer

This week in my course with Pacific Rim College, I learned about different herbs, in particular about Chamomile and it’s significance in fighting inflammation. We are now focusing on reducing Markus’s digestive inflammation (has been dealing with excessive bloating for a long period of time) and are introducing an elimination diet in combination with specific herbal teas into his diet (green tea, chamomile, nettle etc). This week also marks his first week of six, of going gluten free. Markus’s appointment with the dermatologist is on June first and we will have a phone conference about how to proceed with the cancer on his cheek. Markus continues to completely cover up on the job with the exception of a 20 min vitamin D exposure window – this is needed to help fight digestive inflammation in the body. Markus’s nutritional changes have been set in motion for hopeful future cancer prevention. When I started out on this journey, I never could have guessed that my husband would become my biggest case study and challenge. And all this on top of a pandemic.

As for me, I am slowly getting my sleep back now that my stress levels are coming under control. What a roller coaster ride the month of May has been. Soon, we are commencing our case studies again and I cannot wait to get reflexology treatments through one of my colleagues! Bring it on! So far 2020 has brought on unprecedented stress due to too many factors crashing down all at once. Our lives are forever changed.

Cards: Chamomile of Herbal Tarot and Thymus of Water Crystal

Note: I am not a nutritional expert. I am coming at this from a learning perspective to help my husband through a critical time.

Disclaimer: Reflexology does not diagnose, prescribe or treat for specific conditions. Always seek proper medical attention should you suspect you have a medical problem. Reflexology is not a replacement for medical treatment.

Reflexology & Winter

Posted on by Maria Bo Peronino in Cancer, Case Study, Markus, Reflexology

This past weekend I continued to practice reflexology for Markus. I always carry through a full foot routine while after accentuating stress relieving reflexes (solar plexus) with the new tuning fork. The session allows the Markus the opportunity to rest the mind while the body experiencing homeostasis (rest and recovery) through pleasurable pressure to the reflexes. Markus felt relaxed and later he noted how exhilarating his feet felt, giving his body a rejuvenating boost after visiting the parasympathetic mode.

Markus has Basal Carcinoma (cancer) on his left cheek and it has been very quiet over winter however he has experienced some awakening sensations and observant cues that the area is no longer dormant. We are concerned about these new changes. It was a very dark and rainy winter here on Vancouver Island with very little sun exposure. I suppose this played a role in its dormant state. As we head into springtime, we are watching to see what happens.

Cards selected for todays session includes the Great Bear from the Wildwood Tarot representing the dark winter months we are now transiting out of in combination with the Winter Water Crystal card.

Disclaimer: Reflexology does not diagnose, prescribe or treat for specific conditions. Always seek proper medical attention should you suspect you have a medical problem. Reflexology is not a replacement for medical treatment.