A growing number of both men and women submit to the Botox needle in a bid to turn back the hands of time: to erase the worry creases above their forehead, to remove the picket lines between their brows or the crow’s feet from around their eyes.

According to an article in the Guardian newspaper (September 2021), approximately 900,000 facial injections of Botox are carried out every year in the UK.

But if you’re one of them, you may want to know a little bit more about what Botox is and does and how there may be a more pleasant and natural way to slow down and even reverse ageing.

 

What is Botox?

 

Botox is actually a brand name of a toxin made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. There are other brands called Dysport and Xeomin, but Botox is mostly used (just like Hoover for a vacuum cleaner), because it was the first injectible botulinum toxin.

So yes, it is a toxin or poison, and in a large enough quantity is extremely hazardous. Some scientists have estimated that 1 gramme of trusted source of a crystalline form of the toxin could kill 1 million people and that a couple of kilogrammes could kill every human on the planet. However, when Botox is applied correctly in a therapeutic context, the dilution is so great that it is safe and has a few side effects only.

It’s interesting to observe that Botox has both cosmetic and medical uses. The cosmetic are well known and the medical applications can be to treat eye spasms or eyes that point in different directions, excessive underarm sweating, an overactive bladder and chronic migraine.

Botox is a neurotoxin so it targets the nervous system. It disrupts the signals of the nerves by inhibiting the release of a chemical messenger called acetylcholine. This chemical stimulates the muscles to contract or shorten. So Botox in effect causes temporary muscle paralysis by preventing this process of contraction. It’s these contractions that lead to wrinkles. So paralysis of the muscles in the face stop the wrinkling effect, but it can also lead to the feeling that you are not totally in control of your facial expressions. You won’t as easily be able to indicate when you’re displeased (by frowning) or when you’re surprised (by arching your eyebrows).

 

Some Interesting Facts About Botox

 

It may surprise or shock you to learn the following:

• Botox is more preventative than restorative. It’s not really the face iron that people expect. It simply freezes the muscles to prevent you from using them in a way that can cause premature ageing. This is a reason why Botox is on the uptake for a growing number of younger people, even as early as their 20s.
• Botox effects are temporary, lasting on average between 3 and 4 months with a shorter cycle for those that exercise more or tend to be expressive.
• Botox injections can be more painful than you expect and certainly more than the equivalent of a mosquito bite. You may expect to feel pain up to 30 minutes afterwards. An ice pack is likely to be applied. Be prepared for the weird sound of the contents being syringed into your face (someone likened it to boots crunching on snow or the crack of bending a glow stick).
• Botox will prevent you from doing certain activities immediately afterwards, such as exercise, lying down or taking blood thinning tablets (ibuprofen or aspirin) within the first 6 hours. All these could increase the risk of bruising to the face at the injection points. The idea is to keep your head level and not bend forward for at least 2 hours.
• Botox is affordable and not just for celebrities – it costs anywhere between £199-£399 in the UK, depending on how many areas on the face you wish to treat and where you get treated.
• About 1 in 6 people who have Botox injected into their face suffer complications such as bruising, headache, nausea and “frozen” features. A study into the anti-ageing treatment has found that of 188 Botox recipients 28% had flu-like symptoms or a chill, while 27% had a headache or migraine. Additionally, one in five reports mentioned skin reactions such as bruising, or muscle stiffness, weakness or pain, or dysesthesia, which is a tingling or burning sensation. More seriously, 1 in 8 detailed cardiovascular symptoms ranging from high blood pressure to an abnormally fast heart rate and heart attacks. Check out this Guardian newspaper article.
• A recent study by Cardiff University actually discovered that Botox could prevent women from orgasm because it stops them from being able to communicate their enjoyment of sex. This is a prediction similar to why not smiling can actually make it difficult to feel happy. According to Dr Michael Lewis, the research lead:

  ‘They [facial expressions] are an integral part of the feeling of pleasure and are important in the process of achieving orgasm. This demonstrates an important role for facial feedback within sexual intercourse and it is potentially a significant negative impact from BTX treatment.’

  Check out the surprising article here.

 

Whatever your view is of Botox, there’s always a bit of controversy.

As far as my opinion is concerned as a therapist, a key issue is around the inhibition of facial expression. The social impact of not being able to communicate effectively has the potential to curb our own sense of self-expression and identity as well as impair the relationships we have with others.

 

 

What is Zone Face Lift?

 

Zone Face Lift was created by Ziggie Bergman, a London-based reflexologist who’s treated A-list celebrities and royalty alike. I trained under her at the London School of Reflexology in 2018/2019.

Zone Face Lift is a non-invasive, truly holistic facial that incorporates the healing, rebalancing and soothing benefits of reflexology and the uplifting, revitalising movements of a stimulating facial massage. A special combination of invigorating finger/hand techniques and various tools, such as Gua Sha, dermaroller and crystals are employed to stimulate blood flow, lymph drainage and the release of elastin and collagen to restore skin elasticity and muscle tone. A special organic oil blend – Zone Face Lift Elixir – of 15 plant-based healing and conditioning essential oils combine to enhance the treatment further and provide extreme nourishment for the skin on every level. Also, the Elixir smells and feels divine.

 

Zone Face Lift at MindBody Oasis can be enjoyed as a one-off treatment or for best results it can be booked as a 12-week intensive course to reverse the signs of ageing, comparable to the effects of Botox, but without the associated risks or the pain/discomfort. At MindBody Oasis the 12-week course also includes the bonus of Chinese facial cupping and a free Gua Sha tool with customised demo to help you target any problem areas and continue to look after your skin’s health in between treatments and once the course is completed.

 

Zone Face Lift is unique because it not only works on the outside in, but also on the inside out. That’s why Ziggie nicknamed it a spirit and face lift. It produces a most calming effect on the psyche and spirit so that you leave the therapy centre more at peace with yourself and feeling more resilient and in control of your life. It is indeed a journey to access a more vibrant and authentic version of yourself (check out the Planet Mindful article).

 

After sinking into a blissful and drifting sense of deepest relaxation with facial reflexology, you transition to the massage and the lighter energy of feeling uplifted, recharged and revitalised, ready to take on the world with a different, life-reinforcing perspective. The combined effect is truly transformational.

 

If you haven’t yet tried Zone Face Lift, then why not give it a shot with our taster session? If you’re already a loyal fan, why not consider the 12-week course and give yourself not just a face lift but a spirit lift. If interested in the latter, simply drop me (Esther) an email at contact@mindbodyoasis.co.uk. Please do check out the testimonials below.

 

What Our Clients Say

 

Recently had a zone lift facial with Esther…..highly recommend treatment to lift skin and to combat ageing, it was also super relaxing. I found it so much more effective after 1 treatment than a course of CACI! 🙂

Alicia W

 

I recently had a zone facial with Esther which included the new ‘cupping’ technique. First of all the facial itself is so calming, I felt like I went on a lovely journey where I was able to leave all my daily worries for a while.
Then the cupping was like cushioned kisses kind of dragging across your face. I’m probably not describing it very well but it’s much better than how I’m making it sound! It’s definitely worth a try.
Overall the treatment is worth it as I felt lovely and relaxed when I left and my skin felt smooth and appeared more radiant somehow.
I’ll be back for more!

Michelle B

 

Relaxing and invigorating. Can see a difference immediately. Quartz stones were lovely. Thank you!

Deb A

 

All thoughts of Coronavirus disappeared when Esther gets to work with her magic hands. Another relaxing session.

Chris G

 

Such a talented therapist Esther is among the best. I’ve enjoyed her massage skills and her reflexology treatments are excellent. I’m pleased to be experiencing the recently introduced Zone Facelift and after just one treatment I can see the difference. Looking forward to completing my package and seeing the results. I can highly recommend Mindbody Oasis.

Cheranne K

This article is released to coincide with Stress Awareness Month. I was invited to talk about how to cope with stress at home and at the office by a group of professional women employed by a leading bank in London. This post is a more detailed account of my understanding of stress and some of my own strategies for handling stress applicable to both the work and home environment.

 

 

What is Stress?

 

Stress, according to an online dictionary, is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.

Stress is our body’s natural response to danger, threat or uncertainty. It causes the body to flood with hormones, specifically cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). These hormones form part of the sympathetic nervous system and are called in to prepare the body to evade or confront danger or challenges. It’s a survival instinct. It’s commonly known as the fight, flight or freeze response mechanism.

The physical impact of stress is that it:

• increases our heart rate and blood pressure
• accelerates our breathing
• activates the sweat glands so that you sweat more
• tenses our muscles (ready for action)
• increases alertness (therefore counters drowsiness and sleep)
• inhibits the rest and digest mechanism (the parasympathetic nervous system).

 

 

Types of Stress

 

There are 2 forms of stress.

Acute stress is short-term stress connected to an isolated incident or event, such as a one-off argument with a colleague or spouse, moving house, changing jobs or even meeting an important deadline.

Chronic stress is more prolonged and serious in nature. Sources of chronic stress can be around lack of time or money, losing a job, persistent family problems, an unhappy marriage or a strained business alliance, divorce, bereavement or some other traumatic experience, such as abortion or pregnancy loss.

 

 

Long-term Effects of Chronic Stress

 

Chronic stress can have devastating effects on our health and well-being.

The physical effects can cause:

• unexpected weight gain or loss
• tension headaches and migraines
• muscular tension, cramps, pins and needles
• tightness in the chest and constricted breathing
• excessive sweating and body odour
• nervous spasms or twitching
• disturbed sleep or insomnia
• tummy upsets, constipation, diarrhoea

And over a sustained period of time, chronic stress can:

• compromise the immune system and make us susceptible to autoimmune diseases and infection
• make us more prone to heart disease and heart attacks
• make us more susceptible to strokes
• increase the risk of diabetes
• cause stomach ulcers, IBS and other digestive tract issues
• lead to adrenal fatigue, which has implications for women going through the menopause (possibly exacerbating symptoms of peri-menopause – check out this earlier blog post).

The mental and emotional fallout of stress include:

• long-term anxiety
• depression
• other mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• lack of focus and mental perspicuity
• poor recall and memory
• lack of motivation
• lack of self-esteem.

 

 

Stress on the Rise

 

Stress is on the increase due to changes in culture and global events.

Women and men are now in interchangeable roles switching between breadwinner and care-giver. Whilst we have more technology at our fingertips to reduce the burden of mundane, repetitive tasks both at work and in the home, we also have the distraction of IT and growing consumerism that puts pressure on us to “have” more, rather than “be” more.

Terrorist attacks (Lockerbie, 9/11, London 7/7, Manchester Arena), Covid-19, the environmental degradation of our planet and even more recently the Ukrainian War are all examples of large-scale stressor events which have affected the global psyche and global stress levels.

Stress, especially for working parents, often arises from:

• multi-tasking in the office/work environment and at home
• conflicting priorities
• feelings of guilt
• overwhelm
• burnout
• perfectionism
• pressure to have and do more
• tight or unrealistic deadlines.

 

 

The 4A Strategy to Cope with and Manage Stress

 

1. Aware

 

• Be aware of your emotions. How are you expressing yourself? Do you feel angry, impatient, worried, overwhelmed? These are all low vibration energy emotions. Start a journal to determine how you are feeling morning, noon and night.
• Be aware of your body’s response to stress: tightness in the upper back or chest cavity, clenching of the stomach or gut area, constriction in the throat or nasal passages, fogginess in the head or tiredness around and dryness in the eyes.
• Be aware of your focus – what is your self-talk? Is it negative? Are you judging yourself and others? Are you focusing on what you haven’t achieved rather than what you have? Are you focusing on lack of time and money, rather than being grateful for what you already have?
• Be aware of how you’re spending your time: are you getting easily distracted by family or colleagues gossiping, are you succumbing to social media pressure and over-exposure. Is being sucked into social media a form of procrastination or self-sabotage? Acknowledge and be truthful with yourself. No judgement, just curiosity and awareness.

 

2. Avoid & Adapt

 

Avoid the following and adapt your perspective and approach accordingly.

• Multi-tasking – do one thing at a time and give it your fullest attention before moving on to the next. Setting clearly defined, manageable goals for the day and week ahead.
• Information and assignment overload – we can get easily overwhelmed and stressed by expecting too much of ourselves and setting ridiculous targets. Be realistic. Take a step back and assign importance and urgency ratings to each task you plan to do each day. Start the task with the highest score and work your way down. This can apply to work-related tasks or jobs at home.

• Compromising your energy by not communicating your wants and needs – this is your need for balance, creativity and self-expression. Communication and leadership when interacting with others are key components to self-regulation.
• Long periods of physical inactivity – leads to lymph stagnation and restricted blood flow (causing all sorts of physical ailments, such as swelling of joints, high blood pressure, headaches). Try switching your mode of transport to involve more walking. Take a lunchtime break that involves walking. Take the stairs, not the lift. Get your 10,000 steps in or go to a workout/fitness class. Dog walk or offer to dog walk. Walk to the shops. Start swimming before work or after work (great to de-stress).
• Insufficient water intake – as with lack of physical activity, this will cause more physical (and therefore more mental and emotional) stress. Our body is mainly made up of water and water is vital for the efficient flow of blood, transport of nutrients to our cells and lymph flow (a vital part of our detoxification and immune system). Have a thermos flask on your desk with some herbal/fruit tea or with some (lemon) water or low calorie squash.
• Poor eating habits – avoid sugary or fatty foods (junk food is often the first port of call when stressed). Processed foods and our guilt around eating less nutritious foods add to the stress spiral. Instead eat complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, fatty acids found in fish, meat, eggs and nuts and more fruit.
• Over-exertion and lack of rest – know your physical, mental and emotional limitations and boundaries. Take regular 10-15 minute breaks throughout your day (2-3 x am and 2-3 x pm), You will benefit in terms of greater productivity when you do come back to your tasks.
• Toxic environments, people and media – move away from negative talk (yourself and other’s dialogues), reduce consumption of sensational media (tabloids, social media and TV in particular). Listen to news in a short, succinct format (radio). Listen to inspirational podcasts or books on audible. Some great podcasts include: Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, Oprah’s Super Soul, Say Yes with Carla Hall, The Marie Forleo Podcast.

 

3. Accept

 

• We are not victims, we are creators of our reality, so be “response-able” (read Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”). If there is a situation that we don’t like and it’s causing us stress, look within to see what’s activating this. The Law of Cause & Effect works to create an external reality that is a reflection of our internal state. If we’re ill at ease, feeling constrained, lacking, stressed and worried, then you will create or rather manifest more of the same on the outside. Also read “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen.
• We are all human and deserve forgiveness, compassion, kindness and validation. We all can deviate and follow the wrong track in life when misguided by ego self or others’ demands and expectations. Offer support, encouragement and give compliments regularly. Not only the person receiving this will benefit, you too will raise your energy vibration in doing this.
• Negative thinking gets you nowhere: it’s a fixed mindset. Embrace positivity and a solutions-focused, not a problem-focused mentality – a growth mindset.
  As an example in relation to money. Instead of thinking, “I am terrible with money, and I will never be able to control my finances or get out of debt,” try this new thought and manifestation mantra:
  “I’ve not made very wise choices in the past with my money, but I’m resilient and I learn fast. I am willing and able to adopt a more healthy mindset around money. Money is a beautiful expression of energy and worth. It flows to me effortlessly when I think grateful, appreciative thoughts about myself and others in my life. Do read The Having: The Secret Art of Feeling and Growing Rich by Suh Yun Lee and Jooyun Hong.
• Your body needs to rest and recover sufficiently to be able to function optimally (mental and physical rest are intertwined). Find yourself a calm setting to just be on your own for a bit during the day. Sit out in the garden if working from home and the weather is clement, or sit on a park bench, or go out to a café in a garden centre or a pub with a beer garden or conservatory. Just absorb the environment, look at and listen to the birds, observe the flora and fauna. Don’t feel the need to do anything. Book yourself in for regular reflexology treatments (foot or face). Reflexology is an incredible, yet extremely underrated, way to de-stress and re-energise.
• You only have 24 hours in a day and a third of that should be allocated to sleep or some form of rest. Being all things to everyone serves neither yourself nor any member of your family or work community.

 

4. Amplify

 

• Your well-being and self-care by doing a yoga and/or breathing practice, booking in a complementary therapy (massage/reflexology). Why not indulge in a scented bath or listen to calming music in a room by yourself. Fragrance the room with a diffuser incorporating essential oils: lavender, geranium and bergamot are great to calm and restore mood.
• Your joy by doing creative things. If your job does not provide a creative outlet and is fairly mundane, adopt a sideline interest or a hobby that draws on and satisfies your creative spirit (we all have this urge to create within us and this is expressed in different ways depending on our talents, abilities, knowledge, insight).
• Your contribution – helping others helps you. We are wired to feel good when we help others. Offer to mentor, to be an accountability partner or just be a considerate, attentive listener to someone else. Alternatively, do volunteer or charity work.
• Community spirit – build or join a community of positive-thinkers and share your experiences and expertise. Look for or create a networking group that supports working women’s self-development and fosters work-life balance.
• Your capacity to self-regulate – start a meditation practice (in particular a body scan meditation which involves progressive muscle relaxation), try out journalling and deep heart-centred breathing.
• Your self-love, by treating yourself to verbal/written compliments (write a self-love and self-appreciation journal daily or several times a week) and give yourself little gifts/rewards for achieving both minor and significant milestones. Listen to this self-love meditation I created.
• Your self-belief by saying positive, self-affirming affirmations: I am capable, I am strong and resilient, I appreciate myself, I am good with money, I manage my time effectively, I look after my health and know it to be an expression of self-love and self-worth. What I focus on, I grow.
• Your ability to manifest positive things in your life – start visualising morning, noon and night (best time is just before sleep or immediately after waking, when your subconscious mind is most receptive to positive manipulation from the conscious mind). But instead of thinking of your ideal life, think from your ideal life. Embody being the person who is in your ideal life scene: feel their feelings, their higher vibration energy of having everything they desire accomplished. Look at the big movie screen and also components of it (enact in your mind individual scenes or scenarios, injecting positive emotion into these). Einstein said imagination is more powerful than knowledge and is the “preview of life’s coming attractions”. I recommend you read Neville Goddard’s Awakened Imagination.

 

If you need more help or support in tackling a stressful situation or environment, do not hesitate to reach out and connect with me one on one. I do not have a medical or psychology degree or a counselling background, but I am trained in holistic therapies and as an Energy Alignment Method mentor (someone who specialises in releasing resistant energy from the head, heart and body and guides you to embrace a more positive, higher vibrational state).