Michael’s Blogs
This page is a collection of Michael’s articles, newsletters, sources of inspiration and posts. These are offered to you as educational material and practical tips for health and wellbeing in everyday life.
Tennis Elbow – an acupuncture rescue
Just ask anyone who has experienced this localized affliction; it really knocks you around! Yours truly was recently subjected to this impairment and I can attest to episodes of a quite debilitating degree of pain and major limitations of movement and strength associated with the arm in question. Tennis elbow, lateral epicondylitis, is a painful [...]
Silence is still golden
I have an old friend that has been helpful to me over many, many years. This friend often reminds me not to overdo things and that, paradoxically,very often, ‘less is better’. Allow me to explain. Many people come to counselling to deal with what appear to be impasses in their relationships. These ‘sticking points’ definitely [...]
Transforming Head, Neck and Shoulder pain
Upper Body pain, tension, stiffness and restriction of movement is a very common complaint treated in the clinic. Acute pain can bring your life to a standstill. Chronic pain debilitates, restricts quality of life and dampens one's mood, temperament, enthusiasm and energy levels. Whilst pain killing medications can bring wondrous relief in severe situations, we [...]
Irritability – when we lose our flow
Irritability is an uneasy state that doesn’t sit well with us and is often accompanied by a demeanor of restlessness or dissatisfaction. Irritability can make its presence felt physically and emotionally. Clients experience irritability in different ways: A more physical phenomenon such as ‘Irritable Bowel’ syndrome A manifestation of hormonal build-up, as in premenstrual syndrome [...]
Are we simply ‘what we eat’ or, more accurately, ‘what we assimilate’?
Juice Therapy In recent years a raw food approach to diet has become more and more widely embraced. This shift towards a predominantly raw regime may well be suitable for some but I think that food choices need to be contextualised and assessed on a person-to-person basis. I was into raw foods, and [...]
Energy levels – Whats your measure?
Health and wellbeing are a manifestation of vitality. I evaluate my clients’ vitality, in great part, through their energy levels. It is essential that we all become accustomed to tracking our own energy levels. The calibrations of one’s levels act as a pilot light to the efficiency and functionality of many essential metabolic processes. Think [...]
Stress: Relief and Resolution – combining Acupuncture and Counselling
Stress – a persistent stalker, a measure of our need to adapt to change, to the unfamiliar, the unexpected, the undesirable. It can stem from our relationships, illness, emotional turmoil, accidents, unforeseen events, and can be sponsored by a lack of physical activity and poor dietary choices. Ongoing stress of an emotional or mental nature [...]
Matters of the Heart
Happy Valentines Day, a day of sharing heartfelt sentiments and wishes, through many means: hugs, kisses, words, flowers, champers, chocolates, or balloons! It gave me the idea of devoting this newsletter to the Heart. The Heart Qi is the key to one's overall well-being and disposition. In the words of a 6th century philosopher Liu [...]
Self-Care in The Year of The Sheep
Warm Easter Greetings to You All. I know, I know..........the passage of time....fleeting, inexorable.. Thus we find ourselves plummeting headlong into the Year of the Sheep. But no matter how quickly time passes, we must find ways to care for and preserve ourselves. According to an article I read recently, 2015 involves an energetic movement [...]
Inspirations from Wisdom
‘When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be’ (Lao Tzu – 6th Century BC) ‘The future enters into us………long before it happens’ (Rainier Maria Rilke) ‘The true leap or growth of a person occurs when he is utterly alone. It is in human relationships or in [...]