THE SECRET OASIS  in dumfries and galloway

Are we slowly killing ourselves with stress?
There is no doubt that the frantic scedules, pressures and stresses of our daily lives take a massive toll on our health.

How can we relax fully and completely and allow our bodies and minds to regenerate?

Meditation is an effective way of slowing down the thought processes and, as a result, the body's stress responses. But many of us find it hard to quell our thoughts, and we also worry that our bodies are becoming less flexible, more clogged with chemicals and pollutants every day.

Mind and Body Meditation combines gentle, qigong-style movements which begin to balance the chakras, calm the body's systems and can actually promote healing and regeneration when used regularly.

Because we want you to relax completely and experience something quite magical, we hold the Mind and Body Meditation sessions at The Secret Oasis, near Dumfries.

Very few of us can claim to be free of stress at work. The pressures of time and workload weigh on us all and often result in stress-related symptoms such as:

• Headaches
• Neck and shoulder stiffness
• Back pain and RSI
• Difficulty sleeping
• Anxiety or depression

and quite a lot more.

What Can We Do For These Problems?
There are several options open to you:

1. We can come to your workplace during the lunch hour or before/after work to give individual 15-minute mini-sessions. These can be paid for by the employer or by individual staff. A free voucher is given to individual clients after 4 sessions (i.e. Buy 4, Get One Free).
   
2. We can offer half-day 'Coping with Workplace Stress' sessions for up to 12 people. Part of this session involves teaching your staff simple techniques for giving neck massages to each other, showing how to spot and pre-empt repetitive strain injury and sharing a range of useful mind/body exercises to relax and calm.
   
3. We can do an after-work 'Twilight Special', similar to the above but lasting 1 or 2 hours, for up to 6 people.

A warm, quiet space is recmmended: this can be a corner of the office or a separate room. All treatments take place clothed, seated on a low backed chair. The use of oils and creams is avoided for these sessions, although a dry oil is available on request.

Deep Relaxation: Sheer Bliss!

The great advantage of having an Indian Head Massage at home is that you can just relax afterwards, which really maximises the beneficial effect.

The therapy takes place seated upright and fully clothed (we advise the wearing of a vest top or camisole with a towel to keep the shoulders warm when not being massaged). It normally lasts 40 minutes, then there is a 10 minute relaxation session to follow.

What is Indian Head Massage beneficial for?

• Sore neck or shoulders
• Headaches and tension
• Calming anxieties
• Insomnia and disturbed sleep
• Low moods, SAD and depression
• The feeling that life is getting on top of you
• General aches and pains

Are there any contra-indications?
Many of the conditions below can benefit from Indian Head Massage, but to avoid any problems, if you have any of the following, we ask you to seek medical advice beforehand:

• Angina or heart disease. Thrombosis or stroke
  
• Ankylosing spondylitis; severe arthritis of neck
• Asthma and bronchitis
  
• Bell's Palsy. Any neurological disease not listed
• Epilepsy, MS, ME
  
• Fibromyalgia, Kyphosis, Scoliosis, Lordosis
  
• Cancer. Lumps, swellings, inflammation
  
• Chronic headaches and migraines
• Whiplash or other neck injuries
• Diabetes
• Blood Pressure (high or low) conditions
• Aneurosa
  

Before your first treatment with us we carry out an Initial Consultation at which your medical history will be taken. (We guarantee full confidentiality and will never share your details with anyone else: they are kept under lock and key.) As part of our 'Welcome to New Clients' this initial consultation time is NOT charged for.
We can then decide together whether to launch into your first treatment right away or whether we need to wait and see what your doctor says.

These are friendly, relaxing sessions held at The Secret Oasis, near Dumfries. £5 per session or 10 for the price of 9. Please call 07889 078594 for more details or use the Contact form here.

_Our childhoods and personal histories, even though we don't recal any specific traumas, often contain the key to healing ill health or depression. This is because we tend to 'bury' unpleasant memories, but it is just those sorts of experience that can threaten our long term health and happiness.

Whether we recall these 'trigger' incidents or not, there is now reliable brain research to show that the area around the amigdala in our brains is where events with a strong emotional impact can become trapped.

The cause of this might be as apparently simple as a teacher labelling a child as 'slow' or 'stupid' on one single occasion, or as extreme as a personal tragedy or violent accident.

One interesting fact that has become more and more apparent in the past decade is that talking about it and analysing it doesn't help us to clear the psychological repercussions of a past experience. In fact, it may deepen or entrench the trauma more.

So how do you clear past trauma without talking and analysing it?
An amazingly effective method that has been developed here in Scotland is Circle Healing.

Circle Healing is a gentle but powerful therapy that works with the principle that our bodies hold the memories of past traumas. I discovered many years ago that I could pick up these locations by using Reiki: I get a slight tingling feeling when I hold my hands two to three inches away. It's then possible to release the blocked energy through a specially focused form of Reiki therapy combined with a form of guided visualisation.

The great thing about Circle Healing is that it allows people who feel stuck or depressed to move on in their lives without having to undergo the reliving of unpleasant memories.

For more information on whether Circle Healing could be right for you, please feel free to contact me.