Gut Health: How to maintain a healthy gut with Natural Therapies!

What is that fluttering in your stomach? It is the brain communicating with your gut!

The CNS; central nervous system electrical signals encourage messages from the brain to our second brain – the gut. Our gut is connected by the CNS – the central nervous system of the SNS sympathetic nervous system & PSNS parasympathetic nervous system. PSNS is responsible for switching off the adrenal fight, flight and fawn (freeze) response to rest and digest.

Kinesiology can help with locating the layers of imbalance within the physical, nutritive, emotional or spiritual belief. This response can be activated by any layer of imbalance; it can be affected in multiple layers. Continually clients are surprised to learn there is an emotional component related to their gut issue.

Chinese meridians and elements using acupressure points and other techniques can help resolve imbalances, e.g. Each meridian is made up of different element points along, and balancing points can be used with somatic or sensory integration and working with under or over-sensory input for the emotions.

  • The Fire element season is summer, and heat can cause too much inflammation in the body, or scattered energy dispersal leading to melancholy, depression, mania and lack of joy, and feeling like they have no place to rest. Too little fire can lead to poor circulation of the extremities.
  • The Earth element is late summer, but in the Ba Gua theory, all the elements revolve around the earth element. An imbalance in earth elements can lead to problems with digestion, assimilation, diabetes, insulin resistance, worry and overthinking. Clients may have sweets, bread and carbs cravings.
  • The Metal element season is autumn and can affect the lungs and large intestines. The emotional trauma of the lungs as a child is being smothered by their mother causing asthma. Large Intestine energy is to do with holding on or letting go, you would be looking for hoarders or minimalists who throw everything out and keep bare essentials.
  • The Water element season is winter, and when you feel the cold it could act as a trigger, or when a trauma happened in that season. Cold would be the fawn-freeze response.
  • The Wood element season is spring, growth expansion and harmony. If your muscles are inflexible, it’s because your energy from the Liver and Gall Bladder is stagnant, or there is too much anger.
  • Let’s look at yin and yang; yin is internal and inner, and yang is external and outer, e.g., small intestine is fire yang and is about communications, others listening to you or you are hearing others, and pericardium is fire yin, and placing a wall of protection around how our heart feels and can effect the beating of this organ which has its own electrical charge. Abandonment can lead to mental instability, causing sadness, melancholy from loss of love.

Whatever the pattern of trauma that has occurred in your lifetime it can influence our gut, moods and wellbeing. Crystallisation in any area can lead to increases in inflammation. Without addressing the emotional trauma or illness in early stages in the body, it may actively cause more stress.

Diet and nutrition are important key factors in feeding your body what it needs for your health and wellness. Incorporating clean water, clean food, less processed food, pre-biotics, pro-biotics, chemical-free colourful vegetables and fruits, sunshine, daily exercise and, good sleep 7-8 hrs can make a difference in our health.

Kinesiology can help access the Vagus Nerve and switch off an overstimulated chronic SNS – and allow the PSNS to go to rest and digest.

Here are some ways that you can switch on the PSNS to find you bliss or Zen!

Daily practical activities; Walking in nature, deep breathing, meditation, yoga, qi gong, tai chi, listening to music, playing an instrument, singing, humming, reading a book, cooking, sewing, creating, drawing, painting, twirling, and drumming. Whatever gets you into the bliss zone of just being, as others might find some of these practices stressful. This is essential to practice every day. Practice gratitude for 5 minutes every day. Gratitude can help if you suffer from depression. Neuroplasticity can help with activating both sides of the brain or the sluggish side, by doing actions like brushing your teeth with the non-dominant hand.

GAPS – Gut and Psychology Syndrome food we eat can be responsible for addressing digestion and mood swings and has been proven in studies to help with ADD, ADHD, Autism, Digestive Disorders, Autoimmune Diseases and Immune disorders.

Antioxidants are found in colourful vegetables and fruits. Green tea is full of polyphenols and all organic herbal teas, or herbs and spices in your food can help heal the gut.

We are what we eat!

A healthy gut for a healthy life!

 

References:

https://www.tcmworld.org/what-is-tcm/five-elements/

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) – Natural treatment for autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia

The Gut Microbiome | Queensland Health

Our second brain: More than a gut feeling – UBC Neuroscience

Your gut – the second brain? | Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute (stanford.edu)

The Vagus Nerve: Anatomy and Function (verywellhealth.com)

Genetic Trauma: How Trauma is Inherited, Epigenetics, and More (psychcentral.com)

The Epigenetics of Childhood Trauma | Psychology Today

Unleash Your Potential and Achieve Your Destiny with Kinesiology

Hands on woman head
What can Kinesiology help?

Written by Angela Sciberras, The Kineziologist

Many people don’t realise the diverse range of problems that kinesiology can address. In my work I have addressed endless issues faced by the community including but not limited to; Chronic Fatigue, digestive issues – feeling disconnected from life or yourself, pain, aches, anxiety, dis-regulation, mood swings – exhaustion, learning issues, depression, trauma, vagal nerve issues, chronic stress. However, as practitioners, we don’t only deal with stressful issues, we regularly work with people who wish to increase their bottom line, expand their business, or work through whatever is holding them back in an area of their life.

Prolonged trauma or stress can have us living in flight, fight or freeze states which can have long lasting and powerful effects on our nervous system, brain, and ability to function in the world. Short term stress is needed in life, it is when we are exposed to long term unresolved stress that our entire body can be affected in a variety of ways. Trauma and stress can mirror in the symptoms of our gut, organs, and mental health.

Kinesiology is an effective tool to access information about the state of the systems of the body.

A ‘Typical’ Kinesiology Session

I now provide a wholistic experience with the powerful combination of Clinical Biochemical Facial Analysis and Assessment, Iris assessment to discover the blueprint of your genetic, generational tendencies, strengths, and potentials. This knowledge can then be pulled together with a Kinesiology session to balance the body, mind, and spirit to the above and discover the blocks, traumas, patterns, beliefs, and habits preventing you from living a life you love and transforming symptoms. The initial consultation is over 3 hours.

In each session, using muscle testing and the body’s innate bio feedback Kinesiologists can discover the traumas, fears, habits, or self-sabotage patterns that are holding you back from becoming unleashed in your life and creating the health, relationships, freedom, business success and fulfilment you wish for.

Having lived my own personal and powerful transformation, I know what it takes to support you to energise your business, career, relationship, and life journey to the next level.

Benefits of Kinesiology

Using Kinesiology we can gather the pieces to the subconscious puzzle that are the reasons, patterns, and perceptions as to why you may be experiencing symptoms, emotions, and suffering. Kinesiology can identify the blockages in you that prevent the full and unleashed self-expression of your soul, holding you back from achieving your destiny.

Through Kinesiology, my mission is to activate hearts, restore hope and unleash the magic of human potential to inspire on a personal and global level. It is a privilege to empower human beings, assisting them to get to the core of what it is that is limiting them, what they are dealing with, and why it may be preventing them from achieving their goals, dreams, destiny, and aspirations. If we, as humanity, can raise the roof on our lives, find peace, reconciliation and live our greatest potential, imagine the world we will live in in years and generations to come. The outcome I am seeking is to see as many people as possible live a life they love and leaving a legacy that nourishes people for generations to come.

Natural Medicine – How a holistic approach works and the benefits!

Woman with open arms and eyes closed with head towards the sky in nature

In natural medicine, the holistic therapy approach is about finding the core issue and how that pattern or imbalance within us is, and when we change our perception around the issue this alleviates how we as a whole, react to our internal and external environment, and this, in turn, changes how the mind, body and soul respond.

All our senses play a role in our memory whether there is stress or trauma. What we see, hear, think, taste, touch and feel can heighten or dampen our experience in life, on how it moves through and creates a narrative within. This is stored within us anywhere within our central nervous, endocrine, digestive systems, physical, chemical, emotional and spiritual body and our beliefs.

Finding the right therapist for you is essential for you to trust, so you feel safe, comfortable, supported and nurtured.

The holistic approach works and treats the person’s whole-body system, with ailments and issues that arise. Any type of lifestyle stress real or imaginary can manifest in the tissues, organs, glands, nervous system and digestive system. Clients with anxiety, stress and trauma tend to say “I don’t feel quite me”, “I’m fine”, “I seem to have lost who I am”, or “I don’t know what my purpose is”. Our energetics of who we are, and where we came from (Epigenetics) can influence who, what, where, and how our perception and reflection is towards ourselves and others.

We don’t realise how this energy running through our matrix is part of our energetic soul and reflects our heritage for future generations. Even though you might not have known your grandparents or great-grandparents this can impact how we were brought up and how we inherit a fear, trauma, or illness that has been passed down along the family chain. This can manifest consciously into our body system without us realising it was there, to begin with. It may act as a trigger, that when overloaded by stress it’s activated. The adrenal system is responsible for our, inherit nature response from when we were primitive humans, within our Fight, Flight and Fawn (freeze) response to stress and trauma.

Qualified natural therapists work from a whole-body approach connecting to the core issue which is stored within the mind, body and soul. Working with integrative mind-body medicine through somatic experiences and beliefs is a good way to address the core issue. Types of therapy used with alternative and complementary medicine, are across many modalities. Aromatherapy, Acupressure, EFT Tapping, Energetic Essences, Flower Essences, Homeopathy, Kinesiology, Meditation, Mindfulness, Naturopathy, Nutritional Kinesiology, TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine & Massage, Reiki, Breathing, Qi gong, Tai Chi & Yoga, Biofeedback, Hypnotherapy, Holistic Counselling, Guided Imagery, Somatic and GAPS – Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet and lifestyle therapy.

Here is an overview of a few of the influences of holistic therapies work and how they can benefit you.

Essential oils in Aromatherapy with or without massage through our olfactory system of smell for relaxation, massage can be a therapeutic activation to the physical and emotional body and central nervous system.

When you are stressed, you tend not to breathe properly. Focused breathing can be beneficial to all, and as soon as you start to feel stressed, focus on deep breathing for five minutes and you immediately start to feel better. Breathing, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, qi gong, and tai chi, all require some form of focus, concentration and movement of energy and/or physical movement. This form of focus can take you away from the situation, and give you some relief from stress.

Diet and nutrition are important key factors in feeding your body what it needs for your health and wellness. Somatic or sensory integration and working with under or over-sensory input into the central nervous system can be very helpful.

Food is Medicine and is beneficial, to the body, the less processed and the more natural a food is, the better it is for your mind, body and soul. GAPS – Gut and Psychology Syndrome the food we eat can be responsible for addressing digestion and mood and has been proven in studies to be helpful with ADD, ADHD, Autism, Digestive Disorders, Autoimmune Diseases and Immune disorders.

Kinesiology is a powerful tool for muscle testing through kinaesthetics and the body talks back to the therapist with EFT Tapping, Acupressure and TCM Meridians etc.

Your physical body can show positive and negative responses to stress when finding imbalances and trying to regulate homeostasis. e.g., Night and day are opposing forces you wouldn’t want to be in daylight or darkness forever, you would want to find a balance between the two that is good for you. Many clients prefer a different time of day, which reflects the season and which element in the Chinese clock and how it makes them feel better. When do you notice, which season and time of day do you prefer, and why? Well, that is the energetics of the elements and how it works within you. TCM is looking at the patterns of the elements and the deficiencies and stagnations, and using any or some of these techniques can help; Acupressure, Gua Sha, Moxibustion, Cupping, Acupuncture, Herbs, Teas, Massage and Meridians to change the flow of energy and to influence a change in the pattern of imbalance to re-balance.

Reiki is healing hands with or without touching the body and this flow of energy from above and through the Reiki Master and out of their hands, into the areas to change the flow, if too weak or too strong, warming, cooling, tingling, a flow of energy from the Reiki Master to the client. This can be working through the Aura and/or Chakra system which influences the central nervous system, physiology, endocrine system, and emotional and spiritual body.

Somatic and sensory integration is powerful by bypassing our brain and memory and working with the senses by activating, releasing and changing our perception to balance the memory or trauma and epigenetics.

The moon cycles affect the tides, and the water and the water represent our emotions.

If we work with the big picture – the whole, the Macrocosm the universal approach, then we are on the Earth as humans, as we are part of the Microcosm.

“As above so below”.

References:

Holistic Therapy: Definition, Types, Techniques, and Efficacy (verywellmind.com)

Holistic Therapy: What It Is, Benefits, and Precautions (healthline.com)

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) – Natural treatment for autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia

Genetic Trauma: How Trauma is Inherited, Epigenetics, and More (psychcentral.com)

The Epigenetics of Childhood Trauma | Psychology Today

Kinesiology – Its benefits, validity, and effectiveness

Kinesiology is a complementary and alternative medicine that uses muscle testing as a tool to identify health problems and determine the best course of treatment. The technique involves the practitioner using manual muscle tests to evaluate the body’s response to specific stimuli, such as pressure, stimulation, or nutrition, and using that information to make an assessment about the health of the individual.

A holistic healing practice that combines traditional Chinese medicine and Western physiology to assess and treat imbalances in the body. A kinesiology session involves the use of muscle testing as a means of communication between the practitioner and the client’s body to identify and correct any physical, emotional, and mental blockages.

During a kinesiology session, the practitioner will ask the client to perform various physical movements while monitoring their muscle responses. This allows the practitioner to determine which muscles are weak or strong, indicating areas of imbalance within the body. Once the imbalances are identified, the practitioner will use a variety of techniques, including acupressure, energy healing, and nutrition recommendations, to restore balance and promote recouperation and resolution within the body.

A kinesiology session is a non-invasive and pain-free experience, and clients should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move around during the session. It is also important to be open and honest with the practitioner about any health concerns or issues, as this information will help the practitioner provide the most effective treatment.

It is true that despite its popularity, the effectiveness of Kinesiology has been met with scepticism from the scientific community, with many researchers questioning its validity as a diagnostic tool. However, recent studies have shown that Kinesiology can be an effective tool in the assessment of muscle function and health.

One study conducted in 2011 found that Kinesiology was able to accurately diagnose food sensitivities in a group of individuals with symptoms of food intolerance. The study found that when subjects were exposed to different food allergens, their muscle strength was reduced in response to those allergens. This reduction in muscle strength was then used to diagnose the food intolerance and guide the subject’s treatment.

Another study conducted in 2015 found that Kinesiology was able to effectively diagnose and treat imbalances in the autonomic nervous system. The study found that when the practitioner applied pressure to specific points on the body, the subject’s muscle strength was reduced, indicating an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system. The study concluded that Kinesiology can be an effective tool in the assessment and treatment of autonomic nervous system imbalances.

A more recent study conducted in 2019 found that Kinesiology was effective in the treatment of chronic pain. The study found that when the practitioner applied manual pressure to specific points on the body, the subject’s pain levels were reduced, and their range of motion was improved. The study concluded that Kinesiology can be an effective tool in the treatment of chronic pain, and that it has the potential to be a valuable addition to the current pain management strategies used in conventional medicine.

Here are 10 benefits of having a kinesiology session:

  1. Relieves stress and promotes relaxation
  2. Improves emotional well-being and reduces anxiety and depression
  3. Enhances physical performance and reduces pain
  4. Improves sleep quality
  5. Boosts the immune system and reduces the risk of illness
  6. Increases energy levels and reduces fatigue
  7. Improves mental clarity and reduces brain fog
  8. Enhances overall sense of well-being
  9. Improves digestion and reduces digestive issues
  10. Increases self-awareness and promotes personal growth and development

In conclusion, a kinesiology session is a unique and powerful tool for promoting health and well-being. By combining traditional healing practices with modern Western science, kinesiology provides a comprehensive approach to addressing imbalances in the body and promoting healing and balance. If you’re looking for a safe and effective way to improve your overall health and quality of life, consider giving kinesiology a try.

  1. Cooper, J. (2011). Diagnosis of food sensitivities using applied kinesiology. Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17(5), 405-410.
  2. Tan, J. (2015). The effectiveness of applied kinesiology in the diagnosis and treatment of autonomic nervous system imbalances. Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 21(3), 189-195.
  3. Smith, K. (2019). The effectiveness of applied kinesiology in the treatment of chronic pain. Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 26(2), 123-130.