Business Card Design

one of the things that really bugs me is how many practitioners do not what it takes to have a successful business. They concentrate on their therapy and often leave the marketing side to take care of itself.

No wonder many practitioners aren't very successful. On My Therapy Practice I have a look of articles in the running a successful practice section designed to encourage practitioners to be more business-like.

I've just added a great one from Sean D'Souza on business card design - he writes in a humourous way but makes clear points about what is and is not good business card design.

Take a read - what he says doesn't just apply to therapists but is relevant for anyone who is thinking of having business cards made.

Core strength and your abs

I've never had a flat tum, but I'm now beginning to think I can get one that is a lot more toned which considering I'm 59 feels like a great way to be going. I have been using the Global Health & Fitness program I talked about in an earlier blog and already I can see and feel the results. My tummy is definitely more toned and I can feel the increased strength in my core muscles.

I've just posted an article on Sport & Me on the latest thinking about getting a toned tummy and in it Ainsley Laing talks about the importance of strengthening core muscles and the pelvic floor muscles in order to get a flat tummy or a six pack as the fellas like to call it.

Core muscle strength is really important for all of us, and not just from a vanity perspective. It helps to protect our backs and make every day activities easier and safer.

HRT & Hearing Problems

I recently posted an article on My Therapy Practice about HRT affecting hearing. Shortly afterwards I received this email:

Hi Jane, thanks for the article - HRT could damage hearing - at last someone has acknowledged this! I took HRT for 2 months 6 years ago when I was suffering badly with hot flushes and night sweats, it was so bad my whole life was affected, so reluctantly I tried HRT. Within 6 weeks I had lost 50% of my hearing, it was very very frightening and I felt very isolated because suddently I couldn't hear people talking in the same room. I knew it had to be something to do with HRT because nothing else had changed, but I have never been able to get anyone to admit it, and in fact my doctor more or less told me I was imagining it !! I have never regained my hearing and it has made a huge difference to my life because I have lost a great deal of my self confidence because I can't hear properly and join in conversations. Be warned other menopausal women!.Julie Smitherman

I have found the best support for the menopause isn't HRT but is Neways Wild Yam & Chaste Berry Cream. Plus, of course, it's important to have a healthy diet,take exercise and find lots of things to get engrossed in and feel enthusiastic about.

getting fit

For the last 10 or so years I've been a keen cyclist, but recently I've lost enthusiasm and I have also been losing fitness, so i decided to try the Global Health & Fitness program. The program is personalised so it doesn't matter if you are just starting out or are an experienced fitness fan.

I was amazed how cheap it was - about 20 US dollars a month, and they have a very very cheap one month trial program. Cheap it is, but the information and personal support is vast. I constantly found myself saying - how can they give me all this for so little?

I have access to a personal trainer - mine is Dani Myers and she's great :-) She always answers my emails quickly. I've asked her about protein intake for vegetarians and about how to do crunches without hurting my neck, and she's sent me detailed advice which is great. She also gives me lots of motivational support too.

I went to visit my mum recently so she told me about the part of the program for people who are travelling, and that was simple and straightforward to use.

I like the fact that all the strength and felxibility exercises come with litle onscreen videos as well as a list of do's and don'ts, so you can really check if you are doing the exercise correctly- I also fantasise about looking like the woman in the video!

There are recipes, motivational quotes, fit tip of the day and much more. It has been money totally well spent for me. Why don't you give it a try?

Frequent coughs and colds

I used to dread the winter because I would get one cold after another, with an occasional bout of flu thrown in to compound my misery. Now I hardly ever get one. What's changed? My health has changed.

I've put together an article on how to keep those dreaded coughs and colds at bay and what to do if you get one.

safety of eating meat

I am a long term vegetarian. Becoming a vegetarian for the first time over 45 years ago when I was about 12 years old. My family thought I was crazy and that I would get ill, so eventually I started eating meat again. I became a vegetarian again in my 2o's and feel that is the way we should go. I do not believe we need to eat animals to be healthy.

So I was pleased to come across the web site of the Physicians Committee For Responsible Diet. It is a nont-for-profit organisation working for preventive medicine and high ethical standards.

I have included one of their articles on the safety of eating meat on my web site Health & Goodness.

I am a vegetarian for ethical reasons - I don't think we should or need to kill animals, but this article also gives detailed selfish reasons why meat eating is a bad thing.

I hope you'll read it - particularly if you eat meat.

If you want alternatives, our vegetarian and vegan recipe section is expanding.

Strength training and weight loss

You may know that muscle weighs more than fat and that the body uses more calories to support muscle than it does fat, so increasing your muscle tone means that you need more calories to sustain you, and you will look and feel much beter. Life become easier when you are strong - carrying shopping, running up stairs are easier; loking at yourself in a mirror may become a whole lot easier too!

Here's a great article on strength training for weight management.

Read it and do it :-)

Golf in the off-season

For many golfers in the northern hemisphere their chances of playing golf are diminishing - shorter days and difficult weather conditions may make it impossible to have a game, but they don't make it impossible to improve your game of golf, so that next season you get off to a great start. Read this article that I've just publsihed on Sport & Me for suggestions on golf and the winter months.

Abundance

Some time ago I posted an article on living abundantly that I wrote myself. I've now posted another article on abundance - this time written by Michael Lee. It covers some of the same ground but offers other insights and strategies too. Abundance is easy - the difficult thing is believing t's this easy.

Snowboarding tricks for beginners

Snowboarding seems to be getting more and more popular so I've been adding articles to that section of Sport & Me. The latest tells the beginner how to do 4 basic tricks - the jump, the roast beef (strange name!!), the backside 180 and the Indy Grab. Intrigued check out this snowboarding for beginners article.

Basketball Tips

I've never watched a live basketball gamebut occsioally I come across it on the TV - it looks fast paced and exciting.

I've just added a new article to Sport & Me on how to be a better basketball player. Hope you people who love the game enjoy this basketball article!

EFT Emotional Freedom Technique

We have lots of therapists registered on our free internatonal therapist listing -over 3000 last time I looked. If you're looking for a therapist that's a good place to start, and if your a therapist it's a good place to register.

A lot of therapists use EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique so I've just posted an article on our web site that will give you some idea of what EFT is all about.

Golf and nerves

golf and nerves? they go together for a lot of people who feel very conspicuous being watched by other people. Here's some good tips for coping with nerves when playing golf - could be adapted for other sports too.

Allergy Questions & Answers

When I was a full time therapist I saw literally thousands of allergy clients. I've put together in this allergy article some of the common questions they asked me and my replies. I hope you enjoy it.

HRT & Hearing Loss

there have ben concerns about the safety of hormone replacement therapy for some time. It has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer, for example.

I'm now 58 but haven't used HRT at all. The newest research linking the use of HRT to hearing loss makes me glad I made this decision.

People ask me what I've done instead. The answer is very straight forward: I have a life that is full of projects and interests, I exercise regularly and I use Neways Wild Yam & Chaste Berry Cream (Subvene).

HRT is for people who want a pill or poion to fix their lives, rather than realising that menopause symptoms are a sign of an inbalance, not just in your hormones but in your lfe.

Are allergies on the increase?

Some sceptical people say that there isn't a real increase in allergies - it's just down to an increase in diagnosis. I am sure that to some extent this is true, but when I was young I don't remember anyone having eczema (apart from me). The situation has changed. I've posted an article on our health and happiness web site about the increase in allergy symptoms.

While you're there take a look at a self-help allergy treatment technique.

Organic Food

An article in today's UK Guardian makes depressing and interesting reading. It says that the market for organic food in the UK is growing at 30% a year (hurray) but that the big supermarkets are pressing for more realistic (!!) UK standards for organic food.

Tesco, the biggest supermarket chain in the UK, says it is having to source some of its organic fod from abroad because the UK standards are too high. So if you buy your organic food from UK supermarkets, be aware that if it is imported from abroad the standard may not be what we expect. In the article it says:

"The Soil Association [that sets standards for UK organic farming] confirmed yesterday there was intensive lobbying from supermarkets to drop standards."

Read the full article.

Stress & Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a nasty complaint so I'm delighted topost this well-written articleon my web site. It's not suggetsing that people with fibromyalgia should just "pull themselves together", but it does suggest some good (and sensitive) strategies:

http://healthandgoodness.com/health/fibromyalgia_stress.html