THE JOY OF PLAY

It’s good to catch up with old friends, so I was delighted this week to share a few emails with my old flame and confidant, the author Teresa Moorey. It seems an age ago since we both attended an astrology course run by the late Charles Harvey, a field in which Teresa received much acclaim in later years.

The emails were prompted by a poem that I had posted on my website. It was one that had been written whilst at university with her and I was surprised and quite honoured that she remembered it. However, the communication brought with it some sad news that her mother had recently died and that her sister for whom I felt a great fondness, had died last year. With the news, Teresa shared a beautiful moment with me. She wrote of ‘being’ with her sister shortly after her death saying, “She was in a wonderful landscape where the colours seemed to shine out of the grass and trees, and there was a succession of bridges behind her.  She stood in the meadow, younger looking and happy, and I said ‘What are you going to do now, Annie?’  ‘Play’ she replied.”

I was very moved by the vision. It was a reminder not only of the greater reality that lies beyond this world but of the joy that play can bring into our very essence. Perhaps it was something that had been missing for Annie as it seems to be for so many people. As we get older and become ‘grown ups’ we often loose the ability to play with the freedom of a child. We become concerned that we have to display and preserve an image befitting our age, profession or perceived status in the world. In short, we can become if not boring, then too serious. Sometimes it’s good just to let go and remember the innocence of childhood.

Whilst contemplating these matters, I thought of the many different attitudes towards ‘appropriate’ adult behaviour and recalled an interesting conversation that I had earlier in the year. I had been fortunate enough to attend a Mennonite wedding in Missouri. My great niece, a member of the faith, was getting married and there was a large gathering of the clan. During a lengthy discussion with a rather fierce looking but thoroughly charming individual with a long dark beard, black waistcoat and straw hat, I asked about the Mennonite attitude towards sport. The young people at the pre-wedding   banquet were all playing volley ball but no adults joined in the fun. I was told that people in his church believed that games and sport in general were child like and that when one became an adult, it was frowned upon to take part.

I found that hard to understand but in varying degrees, it is an attitude that is not restricted to the gracious and hospitable Mennonite people. Sometimes in the business world, one wonders what happened to a sense of humour and a youthful spirit. I feel that one should remember that to play with the enthusiasm of a child does not in itself make one ‘childish’ and, indeed, that play is something we all need in our lives along with a generous dose of laughter.

TALES OF PAUL NEWMAN - NO NOT THAT ONE!

I was talking to Gavin Sutherland (Sailing, Arms of Mary etc.) a while back about some of the experiences that we both had ‘on the road’ in our gigging days. He commented that people should stop talking about bringing back National Service but everyone should be made to spend some time as a ‘Roadie’ for a band. I can see where he was coming from – hard work, a disciplined approach, tight schedules and they would certainly see a different side of life!

Unlike Gavin who, as part of the Sutherland Brothers, was quite a big name back in the day, I rarely had the luxury of a roadie and had to do my own lifting, carrying and setting up before and after performing. It certainly added to all the experiences I had during thirty odd years as a professional. Indeed, people often tell me to write about some of those experiences so I thought I might reminisce in some blogs so here goes with the first.

It’s about a lead guitarist who was part of the band. A lovely guy called Paul Newman. He came from a musical family and I recall once doing a gig with his Dad who was no mean piano player. Anyway, Paul was a brilliant guitarist if managed correctly. You see, Paul had one slight flaw in that he liked a pint or two. Nothing unusual in that but stone cold sober, Paul was rubbish and with too much drink inside him, he was rubbish as well. In between, he was fantastic.

I remember a particular recording session when we had to have a few cans of lager on hand. Paul arrived and said “Shall I start recording my part?” “No Paul”, we replied, “Relax and have a tipple first” feeding him the first can. The session continued with us rationing Paul as best we could to keep him ‘in the zone’

Often, at the end of a gig, Paul would rush off stage to get a pint before the bar closed and I have one memorable image of him standing at the public bar alongside some burly workman still wearing his orange silk stage trousers with a scarf around his neck.

That scarf came in hand at a service station on the way home from a gig late one night. The restaurant was full of Hells Angels and as Paul walked past one very big, hairy biker, he knocked his arm making him spill his drink over the table. “Sorry Mate” the five foot four Paul said and duly mopped it up with his scarf. I thought all hell was going to break out but the biker was so bewildered that the incident passed without a problem.

It could have been even worse and another service station in South Wales at the time of the Miners Strikes in the Thatcher era. Bus loads of police were ferried around the country at that time to deal with the strikers and, as we walked into service station restaurant in the early hours, the place went silent as about three hundred pairs of police eyes looked up at us. You could have heard a pin drop but it wasn’t a pin that Paul dropped it was a small package that looked suspiciously like a spliff (not that I would really know what that looked like never having indulged myself!) Quick as a flash Paul picked it up and said loudly, “Oh, that’s where my plectrum went”. Well done Paul, I was in fear of us all being arrested and strip searched. As it was, the noise level resumed and we enjoyed our late night snack. The force was with us – happy days! 

Picture of Dion Charles & Pine Bluff (From Left; Roger Ellis, Paul Newman, Dave 'Boot' Jeens & Dion Charles)

REFLEXOLOGY AND TRAUMA

In recent months I have been talking and writing about trauma and the place that reflexology has in the treatment of trauma. I have talked about the various types of everyday trauma like bereavement, divorce, accidents and redundancy but, of course, most people relate trauma to war time situations and their aftermath and are familiar with the condition referred to as post traumatic stress.

With this in mind, I recalled an instance from my pre reflexology days as a musician playing mainly in social clubs up and down the country. One day my agent called and told me that a club in Swindon wanted me back and he had accepted a date. I groaned because I remembered the elderly gentleman on the club committee who had ‘welcomed’ us on the previous occasion and he was a real misery to say the least. “Just talk to him about the war” my agent advised.

I took his advice and discovered a remarkable story. He had been a rear gunner in bomber command in World War II and had cheated the statistics that gave him virtually no chance by surviving 48 missions including one where the badly shot up plane just made it home to crash land on the cliffs of Blighty. His experiences had left deep emotional scars on him and the rest of his crew. Indeed, two of them had committed suicide after the war had ended.

These days, he would have been offered specialist counselling. However, it’s a pity that he could not only have received counselling but perhaps had reflexology treatments available to him because it is strange that reflexology, for reasons not altogether clear, can have a very positive effective in treating trauma cases. Reflexology helps release negative emotions that are buried in the subconscious and can help heal the soul as well as the body. Indeed, in my own practice, I have always marvelled at the release reflexology can bring about in trauma cases.

After leaving, I felt compassion as I understood his miserable demeanour. Also, I wish I had known about reflexology back then.

REFLEXOLOGY - ART OF SCIENCE?

I am often faced with a great deal of scepticism where reflexology is concerned. For example, an old school friend once said scathingly, “If I have a headache, why on earth would I ask you to rub my feet?” A convincing response to such dismissive attitudes is difficult. I can tell him that there seems to be a correlation between points on the feet and other parts of the body based on observations made by both practitioners and recipients, but I can’t offer what can be regarded as a scientific explanation. Indeed, anatomists would claim with justification that there is no demonstrable link. I can retort that there are well over 7000 nerve endings in each foot and this may give rise to some correlation that is not yet understood. I can suggest that stimulation of the cardio vascular and lymphatic vessels in the feet and ankles may lead to some, as yet unexplained, connection. I can refer to Chinese Medicine and the meridians through which chi (energy) is said to flow through the body and how releasing blockages in one area can have beneficial effects on another area but what I can’t do is prove the connection in terms accepted by the scientific community.

The case for reflexology being a science is not helped by the variations in published foot charts displaying the map of the foot used by reflexologists. In truth, although always similar, I don’t think I have seen two that are the same. Add to this the reports of different reflexologists finding correlations in different areas of the foot and reflexology starts to look nothing like a science. For example, where there is a problem with the sinuses, some practitioners work on the base of the toes and others on the top both with reported success. The thyroid seems to respond to slightly different areas around the pad of the big toe and so on. Where then is the science?

Science requires demonstrability and repeatability topped with an understanding of the reason that certain results follow. It is said to be objective, a system for acquiring knowledge that helps to form a framework of our overall understanding of the universe.

To defend reflexology to those of a scientific bent, I can refer to the growing body of research that confirm some of the effects and associations claimed by reflexologists and I can take heart from the fact that many in the medical profession are now ceasing to worry about the scientific explanation, being happy to accept the beneficial results. I can refer, also, to the methodology used by practitioners during a reflexology treatment and claim a scientific approach to clinical reflexology in general but, alas, I am a long way from being able to claim that it is a science. More of a pseudo-science some would say!

So does that make reflexology an art? Again, I have something of a dilemma. An art can be seen as a way of expressing or conveying subjective ‘knowledge’ or emotions in order to influence the world around us. It is a method of invoking a similar or sometimes very different or personal emotive response in the recipient. I suppose that can be said of reflexology. Also, when working on a client I sometimes wonder if the area of the foot which theoretically relates to, say the kidneys simply provides a focus for my powers of perception. Does the area relate to the kidneys merely because I make it so by focussing my energy on the kidneys? After all, good reflexologists are energy healers. Without that power, just going through the motions of a treatment will be far less effective. Again, this starts to sound more like an art than a science.

In conclusion, I cannot deny that there is a strong element of the subjective in Reflexology suggesting it is an art, but this should not detract from the observable results that it achieves. I believe there is a science involved albeit that the scientific understanding of this is still in its infancy. One should also remember the element of the subjective or art in all good scientists. A good doctor, for example, is someone who displays more than just the theoretical knowledge of his profession.

STRESS - BRING IT ON!

It’s funny how people tend to switch off when I talk about stress. Perhaps they pretend that it relates to other, weaker people and is not relevant to them. Business people are the worst culprits. They can handle stress; they thrive on it. They love the buzz, the pressure, the adrenaline fix. They feel that anyone who can’t take it should ‘man up’.

During my 20 years in recruitment and, indeed, drawing from my experience of my own job interviews when I was younger, I was dismayed by the common question posed by recruiters. “How do you handle pressure?” It seems to me that what they were actually admitting to was that their work place was a stressful environment and it would be fair to respond that one coped well with pressurised or stressful situations but what steps were they taking to reduce stress in the workplace because nobody can work on fast burn indefinitely. Of course, that response would not get you the job and the obvious response to the question, the one they wanted to hear was in effect, “Stress, bring it on!”

Actually, a certain amount of stress can be a good thing. It helps drive us to achieve goals, to meet deadlines, to be innovative. The danger is that we stay in overdrive and become unable to ‘switch off’, to relax. Our stress levels build and it starts to have an effect on our health and our personality. We become irritable, snappy, unsympathetic. We start to get more colds and minor ailments as our immune system weakens. If the situation is allowed to continue, more serious illnesses can follow.

What we need to do is to learn to relax but there are two main problems. Firstly, the people who need to relax the most are the ones who always tell me they don’t have time to relax. I tell them that if they took ten minutes a day to relax properly, then they would find that they seemed to have more time but this usually falls on deaf ears as, in truth, saying they don’t have time really means that they fail to recognise the problem or don’t see it as a priority. Secondly, many people don’t know how to relax. Sitting watching the television or going to the pub for a drink is not necessarily relaxing!

Perhaps a lesson can be learnt from one of my clients. He was a workaholic and his stress levels can build to the point where his wife or daughters notice his increased tetchiness and say to him, “Time to go and see Charles”.

REFLEXOLOGY - A POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO COUNSELLING?

As a qualified counsellor I suppose that I should feel indignant about some research results I noted recently suggesting that in 75% of cases, counselling was ineffective. However, that merely backs up my own beliefs and makes it difficult if not impossible to promote that branch of my work as a complementary therapist with any great enthusiasm or integrity.

I have pondered long and hard about the reasons for the overall disappointing results of counselling therapy and have reached some conclusions or perhaps I should say, some opinions on the matter.

Firstly, one has to look at the quality and attitudes of the counsellors themselves. Whilst there are many excellent professionals in the field, there are many who are in my humble opinion, totally inept. No matter what theory based qualifications you possess, it does not always translate into practical skill and this is no different in other professions or trades. Moving on from that, the work load of many counsellors can be mentally and emotionally draining to the point where they tend to switch off. I remember speaking to someone in the United States who had retired as a Hospital Administrator but was persuaded to return to work part time as a Counsellor which was part of his original skill set. A few months later I asked him how it was going and discovered that he had given up the role saying, “I just got tired of listening to all that shit”. Totally understandable but not a prelude to successful therapy.

Before being in danger of ruffling any feathers, let me move on to the patients/clients themselves who I think are the main reason for the high failure rate. Many are pushed into counselling without wanting to or feeling the need to be there. If you don’t go with an open mind, life is difficult for the counsellor and if you go with a totally negative attitude it is virtually impossible.

However, I think that the major reason for failure is that often clients do not understand the nature of the service on offer. People tend to consult counsellors looking for advice and to give advice is not the function of counselling. Its function is to help the client move forward, to resolve their own issues and to reach their own conclusions. The counsellor is a facilitator of change and not the font of all wisdom.

So, I hear you asking, “what has that all to do with reflexology?” Well a few years ago a client recommended a friend who was keen to try a reflexology treatment. After the treatment, she reported to her friend that she had told me things that she had never mentioned to anybody else and was a little stunned that she had not only divulged such hidden feelings but had done so on her first meeting. “There” said my client, “you not only had reflexology but a free counselling session”.

This remark was thought provoking and made me realise that many of my clients used reflexology partly as a counselling session without realising it. Whilst half of my clients will close their eyes and relax, many will want to talk and this is usually about things on their mind, often everyday worries and concerns. However, deeper feelings can surface and be released. I have found reflexology can help release deep seated feelings of grief, guilt and low esteem along with numerous other incidents from the past including in a couple of instances abuse suffered as a child. In one case, a client seemed to be releasing problems from a past life but that is merely an observation made without wishing to enter into a reincarnation debate within this blog.

In conclusion, I can honestly say that I have found reflexology to be an interesting and useful alternative to counselling even though people do not come to me with that in mind, it just happens to be a ‘spin off’ benefit of regular sessions.

BACK PAIN IN THE FOREST OF DEAN

Estimates have suggested that up to 80% of the world’s population will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives with the most common location of the back pain being the lower back.

It is sad that the general public has a perception that their local GP surgery is not sympathetic to the problem. Clients tell me that doctors are dismissive and even rude. One lady reported that her doctor had said, “It’s not surprising you have back pain – you’re too fat”.

What is required is a sympathetic approach combined with effective treatment. There are many alternative medical treatments that can help and some of these are listed below.

Chiropractic Treatment and Back Pain

Chiropractic treatment involves a hands-on approach to examining, diagnosing, and treating a patient who is experiencing back pain with spinal manipulation is the most common form of therapeutic chiropractic treatment. The practitioner restores the mobility of the joints by applying controlled force and the biggest advantage is that treatments are non-invasive, drug free and incredibly effective.

Acupuncture and Back Pain

Acupuncture has for centuries been used to treat a wide variety of conditions and the treatment is becoming increasingly common in the relief of back pain. Needles are inserted at specific points relating to the condition being treated and the results can be remarkable. Whilst many people have a fear of needles, the procedure is generally painless and most people find it very relaxing.

Massage and Back Pain

Massage has several benefits for back pain sufferers. It sooths the muscles, improves blood flow to the affected areas, stimulates the lymphatic system, encourages the release of endorphins and generally relaxes the whole body. Treatments can vary in intensity from extremely gentle to more robust and include the use of aromatherapy oils which have their own healing properties.

Reflexology and Back Pain

Many people find it strange that reflexology can relieve neck and back pain but it does this in several ways. It encourages the release of endorphins which are the body’s natural pain killer. It improves circulation, increasing the blood supply to back muscles, helps the body to release toxins which in turn reduces inflammation, stimulates specific reflexes in the body relating to the spine, sciatic nerve, knees and hips, and not least it relaxes mind, body and spirit.