Interesting…

Interesting…

Energy of Food Blog

I was recently posted this question here which I thought was interesting as to when to and when not to …….

Hi really enjoy your site.I think I may have symptoms of a DVT. What can I take to prevent it?

Hi there!

Deep Vein Thrombosis can be very serious. Symptoms can include:
1. Pain, swelling and tenderness in one of your legs (usually your calf)
2. A heavy ache in the affected area.
3. Warm skin in the area of the clot.
4. Redness of your skin, particularly at the back of your leg below the knee

If you have any of these symptoms I advise seeing a medical practitioner as soon as possible.

There are many reasons as to why DVT occurs and without seeing you I cannot say exactly how you would prevent it but I would suggest in increasing the health of your cardiovascular system so eat foods which contain high levels of vitamin c for cardio repair, plenty of omega 3 and 6 found in fish and seeds to help the liver detox the blood so that it isn’t so sticky.

Fresh green vegetables also help liver function, they also contain plenty of calcium and magnesium which helps maintain flexibility of the cardiovascular system.

I recently watched an interview of a doctor who works extensively with Shiatsu practitioners in a hospital in Germany – he said if you need a hip replacement see a surgeon, if you want to prevent a hip replacement see a shiatsu practitioner. So if you already feel you have a DVT I strongly advise that you seek immediate medical assistance after which look at the dietary changes that can help maintain a heathly body.
I hope this helps – happy holidays.

Join Us and Try a Free Class


We offer a free class at the end of the month so you can try Chi Flow before you join.
 Membership is only €39 per month, with over 20 classes included each month.
 After three months, your subscription halves to €20, making it the most affordable Parkinson’s-friendly Qi Gong programme available online.

You are warmly welcome to practise with us and discover your own flow.


đź’— Ready to Join?

Click here to become a member of Chi Flow with Jo → CLICK HERE

Or drop in for a class and feel it for yourself (sign up below). Join the Chi Flow with Jo community for live sessions, practice, and support.

You don’t need to have it all worked out.
You just need something gentle to lean into, one day at a time.

Self-administered acupressure or Chinese Medicine is not a substitute for visits to qualified healthcare practitioners.

Knowing how to treat yourself and your loved ones with complimentary therapies like acupressure can be greatly beneficial and convenient. However, for serious and chronic conditions, you’ll want to visit an Shiatsu therapist / Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare practitioner who can develop a treatment plan based on your unique medical history and combination of symptoms.

The information provided should not be considered medical advice.

For it is in Giving we Receive – St Francis of Assissi

Powerful Points and Meridian Flows

So we are really into the yang and busy season of giving but with the preparation of the new gift voucher, I have been also drawn to focus on the yin aspect of receiving. Both are related to the Stomach & Spleen meridian which if overworked by a busy mind, worried by organizing for Santa and planning the Christmas Day meal can become drained and frazzled like an overworked mother. Many of the strong Spleen points are on the feet so make sure you take time to stand on the earth and receive its blessing.

Breathe in the trees we bring into our homes, give thanks and make sure you receive the joy and energy of Christmas with all it’s lights and twinkle. It may not work out exactly as planned but it will be perfect. With warm wishes and lots of love I wish you happy holidays xx………..Talking of giving and receiving

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Visit https://www.joannefaulkner.ie to order or call me on 086 607 0432 to book your session

Are your knees at you?

Energy of Food Blog

I received an email the other day from a woman suffering from knee pain which came on after childbirth and she asked for some dietry recommendations. At the same time I’m head swimmingly deep into the kidney/ bladder chapter in the new book “Sex & the Art of Conscious Cooking” so I thought I’d take a break and write a quick note on something not unrelated to the chapter and answer the email at the same time.

Any pain in the knees or the lower back is usually associated with Kidney energy which in turn relates to our essence. This essence is the energy we are born with, in the west we might see it as our genetic inheritance, the constitution our mother, father and ancestors gave us. As we move through life we use this energy naturally. It’s not possible to build on or add to this essence energy although it is possible to squander the treasure by struggling on when we are exhausted, enduring energy draining situations or by using sheer will power, drugs, or caffine to succeed in completing projects. Sexual activity can also deplete this essence, for a man when he ejaculates and for a woman she bears children. So if any of the above relate to you or if like the character Janice from “love/hate” your knees are at you, try not to overdo it. Use this winter, bladder/kidney time to hibernate and restore your essence. Keep warm and keep calm. Foods that will help you nourish essence are

  • Chestnuts/ walnuts/ Almonds
  • Black sesame seeds
  • Spiriulina/ Chlorella
  • Wheatgrass
  • Seaweeds
  • Barley & Millet
  • Placenta is the only meat protein to come from life rather than death and in that way is considered a very powerful essence tonic. I’m afraid I don’t have a recipe for placenta but it can be bought in dried powdered form from Chinese Pharmacies.

Because the Kidney and Bladder energy are governed by the water energy, make sure you get plenty. Eat a diet that is wide in variety so that you get all the vital minerals to keep your bones and marrow, your very essence, strong and vital.

Will I, Won’t I?

Will I, Won’t I?

Energy of Food Blog

Before going to Sardinia I bumped into a guy I’d had coffee with once. There was a spark, a giggle and definite chemistry so I smiled to receive an email the next day that began . “What I had a date with her and I didn’t make love or get to know her what a fuckin idiot”… it made me chuckle but I declined the offer of another meet up because at the moment I’m looking to fall madly, passionately and completely in love and I think he’s a dangerous man to fall in love with.

I felt good though. So feeling sexy, vibrant and attractive, I flew for a week in the sun. Having time to lie by the pool gave me time to think, to chew and to ponder …. Had I made the right decision, perhaps this was the love of my life passing me by? Perhaps I was actually being fearful of falling in love, of losing control and of getting what I actually wanted. Backwards and forwards my mind went, which way shall I go, what’s the right decision? As I baked under the Sardinian sun my head was melting. It was only when the chill of an Irish morning enveloped me as I stepped off the plane, I knew what to do. Stop drinking!

In Sardinia my friends and I had shared a bottle of wine over dinner, finished the evening with Limoncello, begun the evening with a cocktail and often had a glass of red at lunch just to aid the flavours of crumbly parmesan and melting prosciutto ham. TOO MUCH my liver was screaming. The Liver/ Gall bladder meridians are in charge of clear vision and of deciding which way to turn. The Gall bladder meridian runs down either side of the body helping the body make flexible choices, will I go this way or will I go that way. A week of rich food washed down by plenty of alcohol was impairing my judgement. I was in the problem and it was swirling around me. I needed distance and space to see things clearly. So I stopped drinking alcohol for a month and stimulated the Gall bladder by eating plenty of fresh spinach, watercress and rocket salad.

Now I can see clearly it didn’t really matter about making the right decision. I can see there is no right and wrong. I made a choice and the journey continues. I can’t mess it up, I can’t get it wrong. My heart is open to love, I love and I am loved.

I have found that relationships are as much about timing as attraction. So they are equal parts of a perfect universe conspiring and our own efforts at manifesting and creation. Phew, what a relief. When I acknowledge that my being loved doesn’t completely rely on the choices I make, I let go of the exhausting need to be in control and to make it happen.

Sometimes this space of allowing isn’t always comfortable for me, it can be mundanely dull and I find it depressingly boring so I fill my life with high excitement of trying to do too many things at once, cooking, writing books, writing blogs, teaching, sorting washing, organising, kids, homework, dancing, dating, puppies etc.

I see clearly now these will not fill the insatiable need for love in my life, for that I need to be still and quiet; to have faith and allow space.

However like an unruly child, I can feel that pesky yin yang balance bubbling up, hoping the universe places Lorcan in my path again and that this time he will be dangerous.

But at least if I keep my liver healthy with plenty of green foods, I will be able to see clearly, what I’m getting myself into

Join Us and Try a Free Class


We offer a free class at the end of the month so you can try Chi Flow before you join.
 Membership is only €39 per month, with over 20 classes included each month.
 After three months, your subscription halves to €20, making it the most affordable Parkinson’s-friendly Qi Gong programme available online.

You are warmly welcome to practise with us and discover your own flow.


đź’— Ready to Join?

Click here to become a member of Chi Flow with Jo → CLICK HERE

Or drop in for a class and feel it for yourself (sign up below). Join the Chi Flow with Jo community for live sessions, practice, and support.

You don’t need to have it all worked out.
You just need something gentle to lean into, one day at a time.

Self-administered acupressure or Chinese Medicine is not a substitute for visits to qualified healthcare practitioners.

Knowing how to treat yourself and your loved ones with complimentary therapies like acupressure can be greatly beneficial and convenient. However, for serious and chronic conditions, you’ll want to visit an Shiatsu therapist / Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare practitioner who can develop a treatment plan based on your unique medical history and combination of symptoms.

The information provided should not be considered medical advice.

How Much!?

How Much!?

Energy of Food Blog

Let’s see if I can remember the courses. First there were tapas plates of fried fish in sweet leeks, monkifish in a rich caper and tomato sauce, octopus in balsamic vinaigrette and a delicious pickled fish with peaches.

Then artichoke and courgette ravioli in a cream sauce followed by prawns over thick spaghetti a light chilli and tomato sauce. Close on the tail came traditional Sardinian pasta with a squid ink sauce, peas and parmasean.

Then a whole plate of huge, coral pink, garlic prawns in their shells. Finally a whole Dorado fish, perfectly steamed with waxy lemon /parsley potatoes with a side of lightly fried calamari.

All of this was a surprise. We had booked the table* solely on the recommendation of Yotam Ottolenghi, the food writer for the Guardian. There was no menu and no price. All we knew was that there were no chips. On that basis and it took little persuasion we decided it was best the kids didn’t go. So it was just me and my friend Paula who sat being served plate after plate of exquisite food.

The dishes just kept coming, each one unique and delightful. I was in heaven and savouring every mouthful. At the end of the meal, sipping limonchello’s we took guesses at how much this gastronomic feast would cost, between €60 and €100 per person perhaps? The bill? €40 each.

I hadn’t had a dessert and we had ordered a second earthenware jug of wine but it didn’t matter what we had or didn’t have, there was a set price.

I like this, it’s clear, straightforward yet absolutely abundant but without the gluttony, greed and waste I’ve witnessed at all you can eat buffets.

Boy oh boy, were we full though, even thinking of it makes my stomach hurt. The stomach/ spleen are responsible for the thinking mind. The mind that replays the past or imagines future scenarios, over and over again.

It can worry and whir, stirring things up so our body becomes stressed and sleep becomes difficult.

That night my stomach had to work double time to digest all the food and flavour combinations.

So to match this I had frantic and fraught dreams of loosing the kids, stealing cherry covered velvet cushions, not finding my hotel room and always an underlying tension of being on the run.

I’m sure they all have different psychological explanations but by the morning my stomach and I were exhausted.

I needed a day of simple and small dishes to rest my stomach and my exhausted mind, beaten senseless by the neurotic thoughts.

So I recommend, if like me your sleep is broken or restless, change up your diet to simple grains like brown rice and millet.

Eat sweet root vegetables and drink plenty of hot water or fennel tea to calm the stomach.

Don’t eat before you go to bed and of course try to eat less.

For me, here in the sun it will be a morning of hot water, figs and fruit, freshly picked from the trees I’m sitting under.

Would I eat it all again …… absolutely, but just not tonight.

*Mabrouk, Alghero, Sardinia

Join Us and Try a Free Class


We offer a free class at the end of the month so you can try Chi Flow before you join.
 Membership is only €39 per month, with over 20 classes included each month.
 After three months, your subscription halves to €20, making it the most affordable Parkinson’s-friendly Qi Gong programme available online.

You are warmly welcome to practise with us and discover your own flow.


đź’— Ready to Join?

Click here to become a member of Chi Flow with Jo → CLICK HERE

Or drop in for a class and feel it for yourself (sign up below). Join the Chi Flow with Jo community for live sessions, practice, and support.

You don’t need to have it all worked out.
You just need something gentle to lean into, one day at a time.

Self-administered acupressure or Chinese Medicine is not a substitute for visits to qualified healthcare practitioners.

Knowing how to treat yourself and your loved ones with complimentary therapies like acupressure can be greatly beneficial and convenient. However, for serious and chronic conditions, you’ll want to visit an Shiatsu therapist / Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare practitioner who can develop a treatment plan based on your unique medical history and combination of symptoms.

The information provided should not be considered medical advice.

Hello Hayfever

Hello Hayfever

Energy of Food Blog

Here we are just days after the solstice, at the height of the summer. Everything is at its zenith, it’s most expanded and it’s most open. In Chinese medicine, this is the time of the heart and the matching emotion of Joy. However, for some people this is the time of suffering, itching and weeping. I am talking about hayfever.

On the evening of the solstice I was in a hayfield having a great time eating an overripe, squishy punnet of strawberries and not drinking enough water, so an hour later had a massive attack full of red eyes, incessant sneezing and shortness of breath.

Oh dear physician know thyself… Hayfever is a very yang condition. All the energy rises upwards and even outwards if you are sneezing a lot. Eyes, nose and mouth become itchy and the skin can become red and hot. The best counterbalance for this Yang is Yin.

Cold dark rooms work best but who wants to shut themselves away from the joy of summer. Sunglasses desensitize but I have found that there’s no instant cure for an attack except anti-histamine. I find these cure the attack in the short term, but they leave me exhausted and less resilient to allergens in the long term.

So now I manage my body and its reactions by finding balance with food. I no longer pop the pills rather I look for yin and cooling foods that will soothe an overheated sensitive body.

For more recipes to heal the body with 5 elements use the cookbooks or join me online and we can learn together.

Yogurt with pineapple, plums, apple and honey:
ÂĽ pineapple
1 apple
3 small plums
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
Drizzle of local honey
Handful of fresh mint leaves

Mint is fantastic for the body in the summer. It cools and relaxes muscle spasms. Tests has been shown to inhibit the release of histamine within the body.

Fruit especially in its fresh, crisp, raw state tends to be yin and will soothe, cool and bring moisture to the body.

 

Fluids can be burnt off not only by the heat of a sunny day but by the internal heat the hayfever brings so drink plenty of water. The fruits, full of vitamin C will also reduce any internal inflammation of the arteries and mucus membranes so reducing blood pressure and shortness of breath.

Pineapple contains bromine which is excellent for reducing swelling and inflammation and natural histamine which won’t affect hayfever sufferers but can affect some people with food allergies.

Take note of your own reactions, know what works for your own body. It’s the same for yogurt which is very cooling especially for the mucus membranes and the lungs.

However if you eat too much it can create excess phlegm and cause congestion. So be a sensitive soul, know you are

Now is the time to make the change to your diet and health
I can teach you how to understand your body and take control of all areas of your health.

Courses include: 2 Online Consultations PLUS Copy of Conscious Cookbook sent straight to your door
PLUS 30 Days / 30 Videos – bitesize cookery programs and self-shiatsu in your own home.

Choose from:

  1. Stopping Sweet Cravings
  2. Sexy Savvy Menopause
  3. Reduce Pain in Fibromyalgia  and Chronic Fatigue
  4. Good Food: Better Health

Watch the video to find out more at https://courses.joannefaulkner.ie/

Join Us and Try a Free Class


We offer a free class at the end of the month so you can try Chi Flow before you join.
 Membership is only €39 per month, with over 20 classes included each month.
 After three months, your subscription halves to €20, making it the most affordable Parkinson’s-friendly Qi Gong programme available online.

You are warmly welcome to practise with us and discover your own flow.


đź’— Ready to Join?

Click here to become a member of Chi Flow with Jo → CLICK HERE

Or drop in for a class and feel it for yourself (sign up below). Join the Chi Flow with Jo community for live sessions, practice, and support.

You don’t need to have it all worked out.
You just need something gentle to lean into, one day at a time.

Self-administered acupressure or Chinese Medicine is not a substitute for visits to qualified healthcare practitioners.

Knowing how to treat yourself and your loved ones with complimentary therapies like acupressure can be greatly beneficial and convenient. However, for serious and chronic conditions, you’ll want to visit an Shiatsu therapist / Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare practitioner who can develop a treatment plan based on your unique medical history and combination of symptoms.

The information provided should not be considered medical advice.

Anyone for detox?

Anyone for detox?

Powerful Points and Meridian Flows

Following on from the last post where my body was stiff but became soft, supple and full of joy through some creativity – I decided to further support that by doing a little detox. Usually at easter I get almost a week to myself as the kids are with their dads so this seemed like a perfect time to start. Its too difficult to stay on track when you are making pesto pasta, ham and cheese toasties or roast chicken for the kids.

My aim was simple, only fruit, vegetables and whole grains for a week. The main ingredients to cut out where caffeine, meat, wheat, sugar and everything else.

On the whole it went really well. For the first few days I had an ache on my right side around the Gall bladder 30 and 31 spots. I massaged stretched and pressed these which helped to take away some of the soreness.

On the third day of the detox I had the strangest sensation down the outside of my leg, gall bladder meridian. It was almost like a bubbling gurgling stream moving down toward my ankle. I took this as a good sign as the soreness dissipated.

On the last day of the detox I was preparing to cook for a group for the weekend. All the food would be vegetarian but there would be cake which was not on the detox menu. The Friday was buzzing about preparing ingredient bags and picking up supplies. Ive cooked for many weekend groups and theres almost a ritual in the preparation that I enjoy.

Part of it is to stop into Malahide for a coffee from one of my favourite coffee shops.

I was really torn – should I have the coffee and completely break the detox – ahh why not so off I pottered for coffee – the people in front of me in the queue were taking ages so I thought ”I’ll go to the bathroom” but instead of rejoining the line when I came back I simply left the shop, without coffee and went back to the car – wow who was this girl who could be in Malahide and not drink coffee.

It could be a whole new me.

Then for some leftfield reason old friends popped into my mind, friends that I used to share coffee with in Malahide but that had drifted away and I began to feel irritated mixed with a sprinkling of “poor me”.

It occurred to me if I could let go of the girl who drank coffee I could also let go of the girl abandoned by friends.

I could be anyone I wanted to be if I were willing to let go. So detox seems to not just be about losing pounds, toxins, fat and fogginess it seems to be about shedding parts of myself that no longer serve.

If I could make a commitment, stick to a detox, let go habitual eating patterns and who I think I am, then the universe is my oyster – I can be my own heart’s desire.

Join Us and Try a Free Class


We offer a free class at the end of the month so you can try Chi Flow before you join.
 Membership is only €39 per month, with over 20 classes included each month.
 After three months, your subscription halves to €20, making it the most affordable Parkinson’s-friendly Qi Gong programme available online.

You are warmly welcome to practise with us and discover your own flow.


đź’— Ready to Join?

Click here to become a member of Chi Flow with Jo → CLICK HERE

Or drop in for a class and feel it for yourself (sign up below). Join the Chi Flow with Jo community for live sessions, practice, and support.

You don’t need to have it all worked out.
You just need something gentle to lean into, one day at a time.

Self-administered acupressure or Chinese Medicine is not a substitute for visits to qualified healthcare practitioners.

Knowing how to treat yourself and your loved ones with complimentary therapies like acupressure can be greatly beneficial and convenient. However, for serious and chronic conditions, you’ll want to visit an Shiatsu therapist / Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare practitioner who can develop a treatment plan based on your unique medical history and combination of symptoms.

The information provided should not be considered medical advice.

Competition Time

Home

People are always asking me what they should eat, by clicking on the free app it will give you the answer. Also when you click could be in with a chance of winning a copy of my new book Shiatsu & the Art of Conscious Cooking.  Simply click on the icon above right or go to shiatsu-consciouscooking.com/app  and follow the prompts to a recipe from the book that suits you today.  Email your answers to joannefaulkner@live.ie and I will draw the winners at the book launch.  Don’t worry if you can’t make the launch I will post out your copy out.

Good luck and good food