We've been asked what the Chi machine is, mentioned in some of our colonic packages, so here's the lowdown:
The Chi machine is a very low impact form of exercise, suitable for people of any age and those with physical limitations preventing traditional exercise (no stress is put on the spine, joints, heart or lungs). It is generally thought that 15 minutes of the Chi machine is the equivalent of 90 minutes of gentle walking. Of course, the Chi machine can't replace a healthy diet and exercise, but can certainly help as part of a balanced lifestyle!
Reported benefits include:
More energy; better sense of wellbeing
More supple joints and better posture
Firming and toning of hips, thighs and buttocks
Improved sleep, breathing and immune system leading to alleviation of stress-related conditions
Improved circulation
Improved function of internal organs e.g. large intestine
It is also thought to help with jet lag, swollen limbs, sports injuries, congested lungs, asthma, cold sensitivity, impaired immune function, arthritis, insomnia, period pains, osteoporosis and many more conditions.
It works by moving your legs from side to side in a wave-like motion, which improves blood and lymph circulation which in turn removes toxins from cells and allows the same cells to absorb vital nutrients. This movement also increases the suppleness of joints and improves muscle tone.
Our foot health specialist Sally has put together some advice for getting your feet ready for summer - just follow her few simple 'steps':
Use a pumice or foot file to rub off hard skin 3-4 times a week.
Moisturise your feet daily with a foot cream or a good quality moisturiser - a facial one won't work, you'll need something quite thick as the skin on your feet is tougher than the skin on your face.
Exfoliate legs and feet weekly.
Keep your nails trimmed, but not too short, and shaped.
See a Foot Health Professional or chiropodist if you have corns, calluses, verrucas or fungal infections!
Or why not take take advantage of Sally's "Summer Feet" Package - two foot health treatments (nails trimmed and shaped, hard skin removed, corns, callus and fungal infections etc... treated) PLUS two lower leg and foot aromatherapy massage treatments PLUS a goodie bag to help you keep your feet beautiful. Just take the treatments within 4 weeks to maximise their effect.
All this for £55, a saving of over £25 on the normal price, so book in now and get your feet looking beautiful.
There was a huge amount of interest in deep abdominal massage after it was seen on several different television shows recently.
Although we don't take measurements (after all, everyone is different, and not everyone will want to have a bowel movement partway through the treatment), this massage relieves trapped matter and gas, and will make passing motions easier, though you won't necessarily 'get the urge' straight away.
There are many benefits to the treatment - not just relieving bloating and constipation. By working on the connective tissue between your different organs, your breathing will improve, your posture may be better, fluid retention will be reduced, your digestion improves and you help your body to detox.
According to "Alternative Therapies" on BBC television recently, reflexology cannot possibly work. But how accurate is this?
The findings that reflexology increases a sense of wellbeing and fulfilment, and this allows us to cope better with incidents in life are certainly true. However, looking from a strictly scientific viewpoint, there was no satisfying explanation as to how reflexology could anecdotally provide so much benefit to so many people.
Kathy Sykes looked at reflexology from various angles - she spoke to an anatomist who told her that there is no part of the nervous system that connects the soles of the feet with various organs of the body. Fair enough.
She spoke to a gout specialist who told her that breaking down of crystalline deposits was not possible. Okay.
And she spoke to a leading scientist who told her that science cannot account for reflexology - it can't possibly work. Here's where the problem lies in science. This eminent scientist should have said "science cannot currently account for reflexology". I'm going to skip to plate tectonic theory in geology for a second (yes, bear with me!) to explain myself more fully.
Plate tectonic theory basically states that Earth's surface is made of large sliding plates which move in relation to each other and at the boundaries of these plates earthquakes, volcanic and mountain-building occur. This theory supersedes previous ideas of continental drift and sea-floor spreading and is based on our most current knowledge. As short a time ago as 1988, some very prominent scientists in positions of influence and authority ridiculed the whole plate tectonic theory, yet it is now commonly accepted. Scientific knowledge changes - there are trends in science just as there are trends in fashion. And new discoveries are being made all the time.
The programme didn't investigate energy meridians any further, which seemed an omission - particularly as the previous series looked at the effects of acupuncture, another therapy involving energy meridians. The conclusion from this programme was that acupuncture was a powerful healing therapy.
So, to bring back to my thoughts on reflexology, just because science cannot currently account for a particular idea, doesn't invalidate it entirely.
The beneficial effects of acupuncture on treating asthma are long known, but a new clinical study has backed this up.
The University Hospital of Vienna carried out a study of long-standing asthma patients, by giving them acupuncture treatment over a period of ten weeks. After this time, over 70 percent of the patients agreed that they felt "significant improvement in their symptoms."
Sarah Ray, a qualified acupuncturist is the newest member to join the Aqua Viva team and will be starting mid-March. She offers acupuncture as well as acupressure massage and other non-invasive acupuncture related therapies for those with a fear of needles.
This video was shown on Channel 4's "Supersize Vs Superskinny" on 29th January (Episode 2), and shows the effects of a deep abdominal massage after just one session.
The part on deep abdominal massage starts at 5 minutes and 35 seconds into the video, so press pause, wait for the bar to the right of the play button to more than half fill, then pull the slider across until it reaches 5:35 and press play.
There's two ways that a colonic can be done - either mechanised or by gravity and as far as colon hydrotherapists go, it really comes down to cost and preference. As far as the receiver of the colonic is concerned, they might have something different to say!
Therapists using either system should use a full disposable kit, and filter the water supply (UV, particle and carbon three-stage filtering) to ensure your safety.
At Aqua Viva Health, we don't charge extra for the disposable kit and we use a machine-led therapy - ask to see testimonials from happy clients!
The gravity-fed system is a far older method than any mechanised system - indeed colonics have been traced back thousands of years when only much more primitive systems were possible. The equipment setup costs involved with a gravity-fed system are much lower than with a mechanised counterpart.
How does a gravity-fed colonic work? The basic mechanism of the gravity-fed system are as it sounds - it uses gravity to introduce water at a pressure of about 2 PSI (pounds per square inch) to clear out the bowel. A tank of water at a set height on the wall is heated to a pre-set temperature. Water flows from this into the water inlet pipe, which in turn allows the water into your body. The colon hydrotherapist controls fills and the rate of elimination of water and wastes by manually applying pressure to the waste outlet pipe.
The mechanised colon hydrotherapy system is obviously a far newer technology and incurs much higher setup costs. This cost reflects the extra safety mechanisms and safe plumbing into the waste and water supply to meet legal requirements. Therapists that perform colonics with the mechanised system feel there is much greater control over temperature and pressure.
How does a machine-led colonic work? Water is heated to a defined temperature and flows from the machine into the water inlet pipe, which in turn allows the water into your body. The colon hydrotherapist controls fills and the rate of elimination of water and wastes by turning the pressure gauge up and down (normally between 0.8 to 1.5 PSI) according to client needs.
Conclusion? In the hands of an experienced therapist, both systems (gravity and machine) will produce a good result for the client, and in any colonic, the entire process should be client-led not therapist-dictated. Generally speaking however, gentler treatments can be obtained from a machine-based colonic.
Did you know..? ...A normal bowel movement can build pressure of up to about 1.5 PSI just by itself? ...A standard hospital enema starts at about 2PSI?
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