SAD help using accupressure

Seasonal Affective Disorder season is here again. Here is some effective help.

Fall is a great season, but it brings many health challenges. Flu, SAD, Tight Muscles, and aggravation of many existing health problems as the body copes with changing light, temperature, and barometric patterns. Here is a fast helpful technique.

Gary Craig has dedicated his life to helping get the word out about this acupressure technique called EFT ( click here to see it). The main problem with it is that it is so quick and effective that many people can't believe that it actually works. Weird eh? Here is something that is easy and fast, but perhaps too fast.

This technique is easy to learn. It is effective the first time you try it. And it can be refined to enhance your life on many levels.

One other problem with EFT is the name. Perhaps this is why there has been a movement to change the name to MTT. "Emotional Freedom Technique" seems to intimate that there is something psychologically wrong with us. And that the reason for our pain and illnesses is the result of some neurosis. So naturally people avoid even experimenting with it. Because if it works, then they feel that they have been labeled as weak willed neurotics!

This is NOT what EFT is about!

I feel that much of the excellent training has failed in this one point of distinction. If you read the excellent free training manual which is available at Gary's Website , you will see that emotional responses are just somatic keyholes, used to uncover imbalances in the body's meridian system. Our society teaches us to bury traumas which cause disturbances in the flow of energy. EFT merely works on uncovering these imbalances and resetting the body's natural harmonious state. It actually takes more courage to allow ourselves to feel distress than it does to suppress it. Not that there is any great traumatic gestalt activity involved in EFT. All this acupressure technique needs is an awareness of discomfort. Then the acupressure can reset that area of the body and move on to the next.

S.A.D. ( seasonal affective disorder) is a complex issue. Sure there is a connection with light deprivation and melatonin/ serotonin levels. But also there is the inability of the body to handle these changes in a peaceful way. Also, the hormonal disruption unleashes many suppressed issues which we can usually keep under control. Add an onslaught of viral & fungal activity and it is no wonder so many are barely making it through the day!

EFT sorts and handles all of these problems in less time than it takes a pain killer to start working.

This is what amazes me. I can do a simple 3 minute acupressure technique, or I can pop a pill and wait an agonizing 20 minutes for relief. And for some reason I often go pop that pill!!!

I've just learned ( once again) the power of habit. And so I'm starting a 30 day program of using EFT. I'm going to just commit to using it on whatever comes up each day ( sore muscles, stuffy nose, frustration, appetite control, tired eyes, etc etc). Remember, it works on anything, not just deep set problems. As Gary says, " try it on everything". My goal is to make this a habit. After all EFT is safe, and doesn't cost anything to use.

How about you? Click here for more information and training on EFT acupressure training.

Why go through another season of imprisonment?

More Winter Survival Tips

I have had a large response to my post on Winter survival tips. Right now I am living in a west coast rain forest, and forgot what the rest of the continent is going through. Sorry. I mean it. I have lived in the arctic and in the most inhospitable regions of the north. I know what you are going through.

Here are some things you have to remember to survive:

• Circulation and skin exposure are everything. When you are out in the cold, make sure to constantly touch your exposed skin. As soon as you feel any numbness, make sure you cover up that area.
• Keep the blood flowing in your feet and hands. Clench and relax your hands continuously. Curl and relax your toes. Wear loose boots. Keep moving.
• Yup, the old "survive naked under the cariboo skin" routine is true. But it is hard to find a good cariboo skin these days. The cariboo hairs have little air pockets which give excellent insulation. But if you are stranded, it is still good to share body warmth. So peel off, and put all your insulated clothing around you.
  
• Snow caves are good, but remember two things: make sure there is ventilation and make sure you create an inner ice wall. This means that you will ahve to have some support at first, unless you have the right kind of snow, and have excellent igloo building techniques. The easy way is to have a small dome tent in your emergency gear. ( you can get a hiker's version that is small and light). Use this as your support and then heap snow over it. Keep an opening for fresh air. Light a small flame and the ice will build up. Don't let things get too hot or you will be swimming! Snuggle in and enjoy the winter!

Winter Travel Car Survival Pack

Boy a lot has been happening around here. I have been meaning to get some posts out with some helpful hints. But then Mother Nature prempted all those posts.

Winter is here in the west. Even in the Rain Forest of Canada, Vancouver, we are covered in snow. Now for us it is just a pretty inconvenience, but on the prairies of North America it is a deadly menace.

This week, several people have died from exposure when they left their cars in search of help. This news prompted me to pass on some old tips. This stuff may sound elementary, but I challenge you to check your car and see if you are ready.

1. Make sure your antifreeze levels are ready for winter. Remember that the air that rushes through your radiator makes it seem MUCH colder than the outside temperature. Get a mechanic to check the freezing level of your coolant. If your radiator freezes up, your car will break down in a steaming mess. It is as simple as that.
2. Carry Winter Clothes and Boots. You don't have to wear them, just have them in the trunk of your car. Many people go from a warm garage toanother warm garage. But if an accident happens you are stuck out in the cold. Better to have something available to get into fast. Hypothermia and frostbite can happen in minutes.
3. Carry a heating source. In the old days ( am I really getting old?) we would carry a roll of toilet paper in a tobacco tin and a bottle of alcohol. The idea whas that you could make an alcohol heater by pouring the alcohol in the tin over the toilet paper. The toilet paper also comes in handy for runny noses and ummm other things ( you'll know when you are stranded!). Nowadays a sterno pot for heating and a few candles, & lighter will work fine. ( remember to leave a crack in your window open for ventilation) The toilet paper is still a good idea for the other things.
4. Carry essential tools for survival. A shovel and a tarp and a few energy bars are easy to have ready. A reflective vest makes it easy for people to see you and makes a good flag if your car is snowed under.

These things are easy to put together and will not take up a lot of room in the car. But Most important of all:

DO NOT LEAVE THE CAR.

Everyone who died this week left their car. The highways are patrolled regularly and crews will check stranded vehicles. A frozen body is harder to find. Think about it.

Colin