This article is released to coincide with Stress Awareness Month. I have given multiple talks in workplaces and in the community to explain what stress is and how it affects our health and well-being. And more importantly, what we can do to mitigate and overcome the damaging effects of long-term or chronic stress.

A New Look at Stress

Stress is a physiological response in our body to a challenge, threat or danger. It activates the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

The ANS system works automatically to control 99.99% of everything going on in the body at any given moment. For example, we have 5 trillion bits of information coming to the brain every second, but we are only aware of about 10,000 bits.

There are 2 parts to the ANS: the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). Both have to be in balance for the body to work efficiently and effectively. Just like the accelerator and brakes on a car: the accelerator is the SNS (revving us up to get out of a tight spot or a difficult situation) and the brakes are the PNS (slowing us down and alleviating the strain and heat from the engine, aka our body). Essentially the SNS response is supposed to save our life from a critical threat. It’s like a fire alarm system, that’s only supposed to go off in an emergency. The PNS, on the other hand, helps our cells and tissues to repair, heal and grow.

Stress is a manifestation of an imbalance in the ANS – the SNS is revved up too much relative to the PNS. And we’ll discover shortly what is actually fuelling this imbalance or stress. But first let’s discover more about what happens in the body when we’re in the fight or flight response (SNS) and how it impacts our physical health and well-being.

Whilst in the SNS response, the blood flow changes and no longer moves to the stomach to support digestion, it no longer goes to the frontal lobes of the brain to stimulate creative thought and it no longer goes to the liver to clear toxins or to the kidneys to balance electrolytes. PNS activity is curtailed. Most of the blood gets diverted to the muscles of your limbs to allow you to escape danger or contend with threats. It also narrows your focus (you get tunnel vision, i.e. you lose peripheral vision and only see what’s directly in front of you).

The other very important impact of stress is that the immune system is put on hold whilst we’re in fight or flight (SNS mode). That’s fine if our immune system doesn’t have to fight bacteria or fungi for 5 minutes, but the issue today is that we’re either in prolonged phases or in continuous states of fight or flight.

Stress is an energy problem – we deplete the battery of our cells – the mitochondria. Where there is an energy shortage in the cells, there will be cellular damage and eventually disease. That’s why we so often hear that stress is the biggest killer. It can lead to greater toxicity and inflammation in the body and it compromises our body’s ability to fight off viruses and harmful bacteria. And the tricky thing is that stress is not always easy to recognise – it shows up in many guises – nor is it simple to “turn off” in our modern times.

Guises of Stress

Stress or energy depletion in the body can occur when…

1. We over-medicate

Antibiotics will frequently kill mitochondria along with bacteria. Too often we use antibiotics for respiratory tract infections, which are viral. But we know that antibiotics have no effect on viruses, yet they are frequently prescribed. And a study was published that show women who received eight or more doses of antibiotics before their 18th birthday had a dramatic increase in breast cancer.

So it’s important to refuse antibiotics for the common cold and ear infections or when we know it’s not going to have any major effect. And what’s important to note is that all medication or pharmaceutical drugs only really treat the symptoms and not really address the cause of illness (an imbalance in our nervous system and the breakdown of our endocrine and immune system).

2. We are over-active

We subject ourselves to physical or mental over-activity. We’re often rushing around, trying to be all things to everybody as well as over-exert the body. Plus we’re mentally overstimulated by electronic gadgets (TVs, cell phones, computers) or with content overload, setting tasks or goals. The problem arises from “DOING” – which is an SNS function. We’ve forgotten about the “BEING” element of “human being” and the vital role of PNS, which is a BEING function.

3. We submit to a broken program of limitation & not enough

We are part of a societal or cultural program and conditioning that creates fear of insufficiency and inadequacy (aka limiting beliefs): we’re not good enough unless we achieve certain goals or certificates and then we set ourselves new goals and standards to chase. We think we’re not happy enough unless we have material riches. We’re not valued enough unless we’re recognised and validated by others. We’re always on a quest for “more”: to do more and have more. All this momentum and fear of “not enough” creates an energy drain and puts huge stress on the body.

4. We focus on the negative

We are mostly focused on the negative: it’s a tendency of the mind to ruminate on the past (be angry, sorrowful, regretful) or be anxious about tomorrow (FEAR – false evidence appearing real). What we now understand is that thoughts and feelings are creative energy. When we focus on negative thoughts and feelings, we have a negative or low vibration in the body. This is a contracting or depletion energy, which obviously has a direct impact on our mitachondria. And in the quantum field like energy attracts like energy. We get more negativity happening to us when we’re in this low vibration state.

When it comes to health conditions, overly focusing on symptoms, creates more fear, more tension and stress in the body and therefore generates more symptoms to be worried about. Google can therefore be your worst enemy if you feel that something is wrong with you. Information can be helpful to expand the mind and knowledge, but if we’re using it to contract the mind into fear paralysis or psychosis, then we are helping to create more damage in our mind and body.

5. We store trauma in our cells

We now have a better understanding of epigenetics (the energy environment of our cells) and quantum physics (look up Dr Bruce Lipton – The Biology of Belief and Alexander Loyd/Ben Johnson – The Healing Code). These authors articulate very clearly that all cells have a cellular memory (captured as images) and this applies to past trauma. Moreover, trauma experienced by our ancestors can also be passed on energetically in the cells. Dr Lipton even goes as far as saying that all congenital diseases originate from stress further down the ancestral line. What this tells us is that trauma and the energy drain or stress it creates can be insidious and difficult to detect. Just like some of the limiting programs we’re not always conscious of.

5 Effective Ways to Reduce Stress

So what are we to do about stress? Well we know now that anything that activates the PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System) is good to re-balance the Autonomic Nervous System and take us into the healing and growth cycle. It will also boost the immune system and make us less prone to infection or illness.

And we also know that anything that helps to release emotional trauma and energetic resistance generated by limiting beliefs in our cellular memory will help raise the energy in our cells. We will find that our energetic frequency changes and moves from a low vibration to higher vibration: which underpins manifestation and the Law of Attraction.

So the following are my top 5 recommendations for combating stress:

1. Activating the Vagus Nerve through Vagus Nerve breathing.

The Vagus Nerve (10th cranial nerve) is a key component of the Parasympathetic Nervous System. It helps to transmit signals from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain. When we undertake Vagus Nerve breathing we help the Vagus Nerve send signals to the brain that indicate that we are calm and relaxed. We do this by breathing in through the nose for a count of 4, holding in for a count of 7 and breathing out through the mouth for a count of 8. And as you breathe out make a shhh sound (like that of the ocean waves). It’s a white noise that induces calm and relaxation. You repeat the breathing sequence at least 6 times.

2. Self-love and self-empowerment mirror affirmations

Put the following affirmations on a sticky note and apply it to your preferred mirror (bathroom/bedroom). Stand in front of this mirror, look deeply into your own eyes and read and repeat out loud (try and memorise in time so you don’t have to read it from the post-it note):

“I am an amazing human being, I am truly blessed, I am God’s living enterprise and God cannot fail [you can switch out God for Spirit, Source or Universe]. I love myself just as I am. I am good enough and capable enough. I am right where I need to be right now. I am powerful beyond measure if I simply let be and allow the Universe/God to guide me in every moment of every day.”

This affirmation is meant to be said regularly, preferably 2-3 times a day. The words may feel awkward and alien at first, but in time your subconscious mind will adjust to them as will your conscious mind. This affirmation will help combat many self-sabotage and self-limiting belief patterns. It will help create a sense of ease, and invite a powerful surrender to flow energy (which is creative or source energy). What’s important is that you feel the energy and power of the words and let them become your mantra, your “go-to”, whenever you’re feeling less than worthy, disappointed, upset or frazzled.

3. Mindfulness in Nature

Sit in your garden or go for a gentle walk in a park, along a country lane or in a woodland, and begin to notice small details. This is when you activate all your senses. So start by listening to whatever sounds are out there: birds calling or tweeting, a stream or water running, the rustling of leaves by the breeze, the sound of the wind, the pitter-patter sound of raindrops, the call or movement of an animal, the drone of a bee. Then notice what smells you can pick up: pungent earth, newly cut grass, salty tang of the sea, far-off smells of cooking perhaps. Then activate the sense of sight: notice the different hues of green on different types of grass, see how many shades of colour you can see in a flower, dragonfly or butterfly, see the different tones and textures of the tree trunks and branches, notice the colour and texture of the sky and the clouds. Then move to the sense of touch: thread some grass through your fingers, pick up and scrunch some leaves, touch the bark of a tree or even pick up some earth or a stone and roll it between your fingers. Then finally move on to taste. This is a more difficult one, but perhaps find a herb or grass that has a pleasant taste and suck on it.

When we activate the senses in this way and begin to notice our environment (nature provides a calming, soothing environment), we become more present in the moment. We being to release the thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow and anchor ourselves to the present moment (breathing facilitates this too). In the present moment, there is no stress, there is no fear, there is no “not good enough”. Deep diaphragmatic breathing and a gratitude practice in nature amplifies mindfulness and peace. All this helps move you into PNS (anti-stress response).

4. Gratitude Practice

Gratitude as a practice is so often underestimated in its efficacy to reduce stress. That’s because we don’t always understand that stress has different origins, including the origin of fear of insufficiency and limitation.

Gratitude is about becoming aware and expressing thanks for what we have, no matter how minor. We can start to notice that we have access to running water in our homes, we can be grateful for our pet or our child, we can be grateful for the clothes on our body and so on. We can be grateful for the many people that make up the food chain: putting food in our supermarkets and offering us so much choice. Even if our health is not 100%, we can always be grateful for something in our bodies. We are breathing, we are able to read, we are able to listen to music and so forth. Start a gratitude journal or start a mental and emotional gratitude practice in nature (nature is a great reminder of abundance from the plethora of flora and fauna).

Gratitude creates an instant shift in consciousness and in emotional frequency. We move from a lack consciousness to an abundance consciousness. And we move from a low vibration frequency of feeling inadequate, feeling poor, deprived and anxious to a high vibration of having and being enough right in this very moment. Gratitude showers us with many blessings. We attract more things to be grateful for. Being grateful is a great antidote to low mood, stress and anxiety.

5. Energy Healing

There are many forms of energy healing to deal with stress and trauma. In my capacity as therapist and energy coach, I offer 2 main services:

Reflexology

I believe reflexology (foot or facial) to be the most efficacious touch therapy to reduce stress in the body. It instantly activates the PNS and allows the body to enter a deeply relaxed and meditative state. This creates the optimal environment for the body and mind to rest, heal and regenerate. All my clients, without exception, feel lighter after a treatment (their energy vibration has been raised) and they feel more rested and at ease. Better quality sleep also ensues, which is another sure way to raise energy levels. The Federation of Holistic Therapists undertook a survey of its members and their clients to determine the most effective therapy to reduce doctor visits. It turns out that reflexology topped the bill and was also the most efficacious in dealing with stress and anxiety. Check out the following blog post: Reduced Doctor Visits After Complementary Therapy.

Energy Alignment Method & Healing Code Therapy

The Energy Alignment Method (EAM) is a form of energy kinesiology – using the body sway to tap into and diagnose energy blocks in the body (whether limiting beliefs, heavy emotions or trauma). I help my clients to uncover what is creating resistance in their energy (conscious or unconscious), release it and align to higher vibration / emotional energy.

Then to cement the effect further I apply the Healing Code created by Alexander Loyd & Ben Johnson. It’s a 6-minute practice that releases all stress from the body on a conscious and unconscious level. I help you to apply this practice, but in a way that is uniquely mine. I call it the joy activation method of the Healing Code (where I use joyful music to enhance the effect of healing the heart of any stress issues).

Conclusion

If you are interested in having a reflexology treatment, you can book here or save on a package – check this out on the Packages-Offers page.

And if you are intrigued or interested in energy healing using EAM/The Healing Code, please book a taster session at a special price of just £65.

​In our relentless pursuit of progress, we often overlook the art of simply being. Our modern culture glorifies constant activity, leaving us trapped in a cycle of perpetual motion. Yet, within the deliberate act of non-doing lies a profound gift – a respite for our minds and bodies amidst the chaos.

The Science Unveiled

Beyond Relaxation

A Pathway to Wellness

Health – Our Greatest Wealth

The Preventative Power of Holistic Therapies

• Stress Reduction – Chronic stress is a major contributor to various health issues. Holistic therapies, including massage, reflexology, and holistic facials, are known for their stress-reducing benefits, which can prevent stress-related illnesses.
• Pain Management – Managing chronic pain conditions through holistic therapies can prevent the progression of such ailments and reduce the need for medications that may have side effects.
• Enhanced Immunity – A strong immune system is a cornerstone of good health. Regular holistic therapy sessions have been shown to boost immunity, making the body more resilient to illnesses.
• Optimised Sleep – Sleep is crucial for the body’s recovery and repair mechanisms. Holistic therapies are often associated with improved sleep quality, helping to prevent sleep-related health issues.
• Mental Wellbeing – A calm and relaxed mind is better equipped to handle life’s challenges. Holistic therapies contribute to mental well-being, which can prevent the onset of mental health issues

The Holistic Approach

Some recent testimonials:

2. Reflexology

Reflexology and the Theta Brainwave

Reflexology, in particular, is known for its ability to facilitate the body’s entry into the theta brainwave state, which is deeply meditative. This state has numerous benefits, including:

Some recent testimonials:

3. Holistic Facials

Some testimonials for Zone Face Lift:

I melted into the couch

Bliss (smiley face)!

For me, this is the best facial treatment. I feel so much better afterwards.

Always amazing! Thank you Esther.

Absolutely wonderful treatment, again. So relaxing, yet my facial skin feels and looks revitalised.

Lovely Zone Face Lift facial…deeply relaxing, think I’m definitely going to sleep well tonight 🙂 Will definitely be booking again and looking forward to trying out some of the other services too! Esther was lovely and informative, thank you 🙂

How to Take Advantage of the Cumulative Benefits of Holistic Therapies