Heart Month

You may, or may not, be aware that we are in the “Heart Month” of February 2012.

When you read the word “Heart” what do you think of? 

Do you think about love, or health?

Or do you think about caring, kindness
or generosity?

Or do you think of another heart?

Yes I admit, we once again have Valentine’s Day to look forward to with its rather commercial aspect of recognising valuing and rewarding “the loved ones in our lives”, which I personally feel should anyway be done every day of every year one is together. 

Lots of money is spent buying little “tokens of love” while many out there, falling in the category of “single”, may feel rather left out.

The other aspect of “Heart Month February” covers your physical heart, because that also needs to be looked after and rewarded on a daily basis. The only drawback to this heart is the fact that you have to reward yourself by looking after it a bit more, preferably on a long-term basis – no short-term commercial token buying here I am afraid!

A healthy and strong heart is what lets us enjoy our life, it lets us be healthy and happy, and it lets us be open to new experiences and love. 

There are many things you can do to keep your heart healthy: 

The obvious ones that spring to mind are taking regular exercise; this can take the form of a daily brisk walk or going to the gym regularly. Eating a healthy and balanced diet is of course vital for heart health. 

I always cringe when I pass the local Fish & Chip and Burger shops on my way back from the gym, only to see it packed out with school-kids, each carrying a chip-box in their hands. 

Sadly it seems, future heart disease can be bought in corner shops for just a quid…

Other important factors are of course abstaining from smoking and drinking too much alcohol amongst others, which can all affect blood pressure and therefore your heart. 

Stress is a big factor affecting heart health, but putting up with daily stress in all its forms, both internal and external, seems to have become an accepted part of our lives, even though the effects on our health are detrimental. 

A healthy strong heart is what lets us to enjoy our life, by allowing us to be healthy and happy. Our heart is what makes us alive in the physical and spiritual sense, and it is the indicator of how much balance you have in your life, because your lifestyle has the biggest impact on your heart.

Health Kinesiology and Reiki can help with finding the answers to creating balance within and ultimately in your life.  

With my help you can find out which exercise routine would benefit you, which foods would benefit you (or which are best avoided), or how you can create the ideal Life Balance suited for you. 

Reiki can help you to relax and de-stress, the energy going where it is most needed.

Have a look at my website and call me to discuss what you want to achieve in your life and for yourself.

By Walter Black


Walter offers HealthKinesiology and Integrated Touch for Health, as well as Reiki at Waterloo Therapy Room on a Thursday 3pm-9pm. He still needs to still complete his EFT case studies in case anyone is interested. Please visit www.walter-black.com for more information.

Psychotherapy & Counselling at WTR!

Hello!

My name is Lucy Corbally, I am a professional counsellor and psychotherapist and I have a practice here at the wonderful Waterloo Therapy Rooms.  I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce myself and what I do, and hopefully answer any questions you might have about therapy.

I’ll be blogging on various subjects that I know touch my life – and perhaps yours too.  I hope you find it a useful starting point; if you have any questions, you can always visit and contact me via my website, I’d love to hear from you!

I MUST BE CRAZY!

For a long time, therapy has held a stigma.  Thankfully those times are changing and more and more of us are open to the idea of exploring our own minds and what leads us to being the ‘us’ we are today.  We can all identify with times in our lives when we’ve felt stuck – not knowing what to do next for the best, not knowing which way to turn.  We feel lost in the dark and no one is coming to our rescue.  Sometimes, things become clear and sort themselves out.  But sometimes, as is the way when certain patterns present themselves time and time again, or when the issues at hand feels just too big or foggy to see clearly, speaking with someone who is professionally dedicated to listening to your story, your worries and issues, can help you to find your direction again.

People come to therapy because they want to find new, positive, more effective ways to live their lives in a fulfilling way, because they don’t want to feel lost and stuck any more, or because they are curious and open to exploring the complexity of life and all it has to offer.  Does that sound crazy to you?  I wouldn’t say so!

COUNSELLING OR PSYCHOTHERAPY? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Generally speaking, the terms are fairly interchangeable.  But you could say that counselling tends to focus on one specific issue, such as with grief or particular habits, and generally lasts for a set number of sessions – this would be discussed in your first meeting with your counsellor.  Psychotherapy can refer to longer, more in depth work which may look to address the causes and effects of a number of issues that might be affecting you.

INTEGRATIVE THERAPY? HUH?!

I use an integrative approach in my practice, which means that I draw from many therapeutic theories as and when appropriate so that we can best focus on you as an individual and the issues you bring with you.  This is not a one size fits all approach – this is about you as the unique individual that you are.

BUT I’M SO EMBARASSED ABOUT WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!

Don’t worry about that!  The most wonderful thing therapy offers is a safe, confidential, non-judgemental space for you to be you.   Empathy is one of the key attributes of good therapy – not sympathy, not critical – empathy describes a position whereby the therapist goes with you on your journey of self-discovery; it is accepting, understanding, respectful and as far as is possible, experiencing alongside you what you are going through.  I’ve never known of a good therapist being shocked yet!

SO WHAT CAN I ACTUALLY EXPECT?

The first thing is to email me – I’ll then get in touch with you and we can have a chat on the phone or over email about you and what you think therapy can help you with.  We can then arrange a time to meet for an initial consultation session where we can discuss in more depth the areas of your life you’d like to look at.  After that, if we both decide it’s the right thing for you, we set up a regular time to meet, usually one 50 minute session per week, and take it from there.  We will usually review our progress every few weeks.

You can expect a confidential, comfortable space; a friendly welcome and professional guidance.  Therapy is about learning, accepting and growing.  It can be painful, but also deeply rewarding.  It is about positive lasting change, and all you need to bring with you is willing.   It is a space for you to be honest, to express yourself, to speak as freely as you wish to, to feel things that perhaps everyday life doesn’t afford you the time or place to do so.....a truly freeing and liberating experience in itself!  Therapy is all about you – making time to understand who you are, be curious and explore your potential.  Life is the greatest adventure of all – I believe that everyone has a right to, and is capable of living a happy and fulfilling life.  I hope that we can work together to explore and discover what that means to you.

By Lucy Corbally (Adv dip psych; dip hyp; MCS Acc)

Lucy is a professional counsellor and psychotherapist and runs a practice at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Tuesday evenings - please contact Lucy for more information.  She is accredited by the National Counselling Society.  In her spare time, she loves spending time with her chocolate Labradors and makes a mean Spaghetti Bolognese.

 

Website: www.one2onetherapy.co.uk

Happy Valentine’s Day

Tomorrow is Valentine ’s Day and whilst for a lot of people it is a day to stop and tell their loved ones just how much they mean to them for many of us it can also be a time of sadness; a reminder that we don’t have that special someone in our lives.

Valentine’s Day, whilst it has its place, is a man-made holiday. We don’t need this one day to tell our loved ones how special they are, it should be part of our day or week to stop and tell them just how wonderful they are. Rather than seeing it as only a day for people to stop and shower their loved ones with gifts it can be the day that you just stop and say thank you for your life. Maybe you don’t have that special someone to go out for dinner with but I am sure that you have a lot of wonderful things in your life. Take this moment to stop and appreciate the wonderful world that you have created.

It is far too easy to focus on the small percentage of our lives that isn’t right. But it is far more beneficial and rewarding if you can learn to focus on the larger percentage that is right and see the remainder that isn’t quite there yet as an exciting challenge. We need these challenges in life to help us grow. Admittedly sometimes they can feel like they are all coming at once or that life “has it in for us”, but if you work with the positive and focus on the positive you will be surprised at just how much lighter life can feel.

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to learn the techniques to focus on the positive, to turn around the negative cogs and realise that we can put the energy where we want to and if we put it toward working with the positive we will feel so much happier even though nothing may have physically changed. Whether you are sitting at a candle-lit dinner tomorrow or just enjoying your own company, have a wonderful day, stop and take in the world that you have created. Smile and allow the happiness of love for yourself and your life to flow.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.    

© EKTherapies

What is Health Kinesiology all about?

When I started my Health Kinesiology (HK) therapy studies I did not quite understand what Health Kinesiology was all about, or how it worked. All I knew was it originated from principles developed from Acupuncture and Applied Kinesiology (used by chiropractors, osteopaths etc.). What an experience this has been for me!

Health Kinesiology is a bit like Acupuncture, but without needles. I must be honest that even this description does not get to the “core” of what HK is all about. HK is a lot more. Being a holistic therapy, it covers all aspects of a person: Body–Mind-Spirit. Acupuncture seems quite dull in comparison….

The body has 14 main meridians, each linked to a muscle as well as an organ. If any of these become blocked through stress, emotions or other factors, they do not function optimally, which in turn affects the related organs and/or muscles. This then causes imbalances in the body, which can ultimately result in symptoms.

Health Kinesiology is a combination of the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the modern technique of muscle testing. The goal of a Health Kinesiology session is about accessing your body’s inner wisdom to establish what you need to restore balance in your BioEnergy system. The muscle testing indicates which meridians are affected (blocked or out of balance), and various procedures and corrections are then used to achieve this re-balancing, which then allows the body to heal itself. 

The procedures and corrections can involve thoughts, feelings, magnets, vials, essences or anything else for that matter. Everything is checked and confirmed through muscle testing, due to the fact that I cannot continue until the correction is completed.

This is why I love working with HK. As my tutor always said: There is always a way with HK: Seeing we are re-balancing the body I don’t think there is anything for which one cannot use HK.

My clients always seem amazed by what comes up for them, and how “I can be so accurate, and know that?” It is not me “knowing that”. It is their body giving me that information. I have had a few tears, and a few unusual reactions on my couch, but I always say: “That is a good sign.” If they don’t feel anything, also ok. It does not mean nothing is happening.

I do also combine various therapies, depending on what comes up for clients, and seeing everybody is different, that results in individual "tailor-made" sessions. People come to me with all sorts of things be it goals they wish to achieve, emotional issues they want to get to grips with, or physical symptoms they are struggling with - you have nothing to lose by giving it a go...

Well, that is a brief summary of what HK is all about. Have a look at my website, and if you are feeling brave to try something new and different, give me a call.

By Walter Black

Walter offers Health Kinesiology and Integrated Touch for Health, as well as Reiki at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Thursday between 3pm - 9pm. He still needs to still complete his EFT case studies in case anyone is interested. Please visit www.walter-black.com for more information.

New Job, New You

It is that time of year when many of us get restless and we start to look around for our next job. Just as important as ensuring you have edited and polished your CV before applying for the job you’re after, is making sure you are full of confidence and energy and ready to sell yourself to prospective employers.

Many of us have mixed emotions when it comes to the idea of starting a new job. Even if it is something that we have been dreaming of or a career stepping stone that we know is the right one, it is perfectly natural to feel nervous or anxious about the process of applying for a job and being interviewed. We feel the excitement as we begin to imagine what it would be like to be in our new role, but we also feel fear as we begin to think about the possibility of rejection. We begin to consider whether or not we have what it takes to be successful. The fear of failure begins to creep in and we worry about not succeeding, so our confidence can get knocked before we have even started.

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to overcome any anxieties you have. It can help you with public speaking fears, confidence and anything else you feel you need to build on. You can learn how to walk into the interview room feeling calm and confident, ready to “sell” yourself to the company without being overly confident or arrogant. We all need to build on our skills, even if we are good at our current job, we need to learn how to adapt to a new company.

During a session of Hypnotherapy with CBT & NLP we can look at dealing with the weight of expectation you may be carrying and help you to challenge any negative beliefs, building on your strengths and understanding your weaknesses. We will then aim to turn any weaknesses into positives, putting you in a place to grow and develop from.

Even if the job you are going for is an internal promotion, you may still need help to combat old beliefs. We tend to feel that we need to know everything; to admit we have weaknesses can be seen as a negative but that’s not always the case. Often it is actually the opposite – the greatest things can be achieved if we let go of the fear of failure and accept that with a bit of help we can continue to grow.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.   

© EKTherapies