Arura Healing Centre

caring for yourself when times are tough

Of all the people who come through the door of my clinic, at least 90% of them give stress as the main reason for their visit.

This can be stress through actual pain, injury or illness, or stress bought on by mental activity and external situations.

There are many things we can do to help relieve stress: therapies, medicines, meditation, exercise. All useful and helpful. There is also one important thing to do to try and stop stress in its tracks.

Be kind to yourself.

Really.

Often the thing that pushes our stress into turbo drive is how we place more and more expectations on ourselves over the issue at hand and how we are dealing with it.

Stop.

Breathe.

Think about how you can best look after yourself in that very minute and proceed from that place.

In that minute the very next thing might be giving yourself permission to rest for a while, or take a short walk to remove yourself from a stressful place or situation. It might be a long bath, a cup of tea (no coffee please, caffeine adds to the  adrenalin already surging through your body), listen to some beautiful music or have a quick chat with a positive supportive friend.

Such a small simple step can then give you the energy to move on to the next part; making the changes to stop the stress, or reduce its presence in your life. That's when you can perhaps decide to get additional help from the many healing modalities available.

Ku Nye massage is a fantastic stress relieving treatment, releasing stress, tensions, toxins from the body, and rejuvenating and restoring your energy. Take the time to nurture and comfort your body, and the healing of the mind will flow with it.

 

Buckwheat Tea

This was a new one  to me, my husband bought it back from a trip to China.

As you can see from the picture below, it is labelled "bitter buckwheat tea".

This caught my attention because bitter things are good for most of us, stimulating the liver and gallbladder and benefiting our digestion; but they are especially beneficial to those of us who are Badkan or phlegm types with our slow metabolisms.

This tea is very pleasant to drink! It is nutty and smooth, no tannin or caffeine. I do not find it bitter at all, so am curious as to why it is labelled such. If you like bancha tea you will probably enjoy this. It is only really available on-line if you are not traveling in China any time soon, but there are a number of specialty tea sites that carry it. Not super cheap, but each spoonful or sachet can be used a couple of times, so it works out not too expensive.

The one I have is made from Buckwheat hulls, others can include stalks as well.
It is naturally gluten free.

So why is it healthy? Buckwheat contains vitamin B1 and B2, rutin (also regarded as beneficial in green tea and red wine) Rutin is a capillary strengthener and fighter of free radicals. High blood pressure and arteriosclerosis are two things that are believed to be improved by this tea.  High in choline, it is alleged to prevent fat accumulation in the body, in particular the liver, and aids against constipation. Containing more protein that brown rice it provides a good source of amino acids.

If only good health were that simple, a cup or two of a delicious tea and we are good to go! Of course our bodies and lives are more complex than that! But to replace caffeinated and or high tannin drinks is always a good option in our diets, and the buckwheat tea can make a pleasant change from green tea or other herb teas.

I am enjoying it and find I have at least two cups a day (it seems to be very thirst quenching, maybe that's just me!). And I have issued a repeat order for when the husband is China bound again!