How cranial osteopathy can help soothe away your baby's colicky cries by Liz Neale Get a group of new parents together and it won't take long before they start talking about sleep. Or, more likely, the lack of it. The advice to 'sleep when your baby sleeps' is all well and good. However, if your little one likes to party all night, every night, you are soon functioning like a zombie if you can't catch up during the day. So when one of my friends suggested taking my four-week-old to a cranial osteopath to reduce her stress levels (and hopefully help us both rest), I was intrigued. What is cranial osteopathy? Cranial osteopathy encourages the release of tension and stresses in the body and the head that might have been caused by the birth. Osteopaths hold and observe the baby, carefully manipulating the body to encourage it to function as it should. I wondered if it was some sort of 'baby whispering'. After all, if the osteopath was merely holding m...

It always seems impossible until it is done. Nelson Mandela

In my humble opinion, Marichyasana D (as demonstrated by Sharath Jois in this video) is one of the hardest poses in the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series.

An introduction to Yin yoga with Bernie Clark. I personally need a Yin Yoga practice to balance my Yang one.

How can acupuncture help morning sickness? Morning sickness is a very common ailment during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. Health professionals prefer to call the condition “nausea and vomiting in pregnancy”. This is because it can affect women at any time of the day or night. Whereas some women may feel sick all day long. Traditional remedies include making modifications to diet, resting and even wearing loose-fitting clothes. However, in this post we pose the following question. Can acupuncture help morning sickness? And, if so, how? What is morning sickness? Nausea and vomiting are commonly experienced by women in early pregnancy. The prevalence rates are 50-80% for nausea, and 50% for vomiting and retching. The symptoms are most common in the first trimester, between 6 and 12 weeks. However, it can continue to 20 weeks. In approximately 20% of women, morning sickness may last even longer. If vomiting is persistent, it can lead to weight loss, dehydrati...

Acupuncture during IVF treatment. Recent studies have shown that it can increase chances of a successful pregnancy. Acupuncture During IVF Treatment Western medicine has started to recognise the many benefits of using acupuncture during IVF treatment. There have been a variety of studies that review the implications of acupuncture and fertility. Indeed, recent reports have shown a 65 percent increase in pregnancy success rates when IVF is combined with acupuncture treatments. Those same studies have also shown that rates of live births nearly doubled in cases where acupuncture was used. This is in comparison to IVF patients who received no acupuncture or sham acupuncture. Why Is Acupuncture During IVF Treatment So Effective? At present, the reason why acupuncture can increase IVF pregnancy success rates is not fully understood. However, ultrasounds have shown that acupuncture can improve uterine blood flow. As a result, this may create a more hospitable environment for embr...

Acupuncture, an effective method of treating problems in the menstrual cycle Do you experience bloating, mood swings, headaches, fatigue, or painful cramping before or during your period? These complaints are common during the menstrual cycle, but they are not “normal”. What is a healthy menstrual cycle? A healthy menstrual cycle is one that comes regularly, approximately every 26-30 days. There should be no premenstrual discomfort (both physically or emotionally). Neither should there be any pain. Flow should be moderate, needing to change a pad or tampon every 3-4 hours. There should be no clots or spotting over a consistent period of 4 to 5 days. The colour should be a medium red colour, not too dark. Lastly, your period should also end concisely, with no lingering spotting beyond the fifth or sixth day. How can acupuncture help restore a healthy menstrual cycle? Girls are typically not well educated about their menstrual cycles. Very often, they will gro...