Eat Raw: Raw Beef Salad Recipe

FOOD IS MEDICINE 

Eat Raw: Raw Beef Salad

Why Eat Raw? Well simply because by eating raw, we gain all the nutritional value from the food we consume. This Thai-Style dish, relies on the raw beef to effectively cook in a spicy lemon and fish sauce dressing.

This particular dish focuses on immune health. It needs to be spicy! And chili peppers have amazingly high levels of vitamins and minerals too!







 All you do is toss...

...Ideally, grass-fed beef, thinly sliced into a salad comprising of:

2-3 roughly chopped spring onions
1-2 thinly sliced tomatoes
about half a thinly sliced large onion
2 thinly chopped garlic cloves
1-2 large birds-eye chilies finely chopped
a good handful of whole mint leaves


Then over the top you squeeze the juice of at least 1 whole lemon or lime (I like it sour so maybe 1 and a half) and then season to taste with fish sauce (use sparingly...it's very strong).


Toss again so that all the juices of the tomatoes and the beef blend with the citrus element and fish sauce; coating all the ingredients.

anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting and cancer-busting...to name a few. 

 
Ultimately the quantities of the ingredients are up to you. 'Tis a salad after all!









 

DIY Acupressure | Shoulder blade | Rhomboid pain relief

DIY Acupressure | Shoulder-blade / Rhomboid pain relief

What is acupressure? Well it's simply a method of relieving problems in the body through applying pressure to key points. Many ancient forms of healing especially far eastern practices, employ acupressure work, often using intricate body charts to map energy pathways and locations. The body is teaming with pressure points, so which one to choose?? Well without an advanced knowledge of pressure points, we can begin by simply listening to our body. We all know what feels good and offers relief in terms of touch, therefore this is a good starting point for any DIY massage. What is interesting to note is that often more than one point when pushed, might offer relief to the same area so if you want to take a more holistic approach to your DIY massage, I would sensitively follow any pain signal and apply finger/thumb pressure along any particular nervous or muscular pathway.  For example, pain in your hand might be relieved by squeezing or applying pressure to various points along the lengths of your forearm or even in various crevices in the wrist. Which might actually reveal that you are experiencing "referred pain", i.e. the problem stems from elsewhere. Incidentally finger or thumb pressure is Shiatsu in it's simplest form. In Thai massage the therapist might offer pressure using palms, knees, feet, elbows & forearms!

So how does one sort out hard to reach areas in the shoulder blade/ rhomboid area?...

With the help of this marvelous little invention:

Hand Star Massage Tool

This is a Thai Hand Star Massage Tool. Usually carved from rosewood and is designed for the hand. However, I discovered that this beautifully smooth acupressure tool is a brilliant substitute for deep acupressure relief in the shoulder blade/rhomboid region.

 key knots/trigger points where pressure is warranted

This diagram shows where pain is often referred; the shoulder-tops, neck & base of skull

Method:

First lay flat on the floor. Clothed or topless. Face up.
Place the star on the floor or mat, positioning it in the correct spot between your shoulder blade and spinal column (the fleshy area).

Simply use your own body weight to achieve the desired pressure.

By elevating the hips into the bridge position and shifting your weight,  you can deepen your DIY acupressure treatment. Sometimes lying flat on the star is enough.

It may take a couple of goes to get the star in the right spot but once you hit the right spot, it will become your new friend!

Do this slowly and carefully as you can exert quite a lot of pressure, which is bliss for some people, but can result in injury if you get carried away!!

Alternatives:

If you don't want do a Google search and shop online for one of these toys, you can achieve similar convenient results with any small solid object. Please don't use anything remotely fragile or likely to break. Opt for a misshapen pebble or a jagged stone, bare in mind anything jagged must be  wrapped in cloth to soften the edges to prevent injury or tearing to clothing.

Have a go and feel the relief!

 

www.theoilstudio.co.uk

Pain in my BUTT

BUTT PAIN

Having a pain in your arse is actually quite common. The problem is it's hard to cure and I'm not talking about anything kinky or sci-fi related, unfortunately. 

Art source: www.gibbleguts.com

I'm actually talking about Piriformis Syndrome and/or Sciatica, the latter you may be more familiar with.

Surprisingly I know a lot of people who suffer from "butt pain" and I realised that for those I treat, half the time they don't know they are tight in this area, nor do they know how relax this area. 

Wha...?

The Piriformis, is small muscle deep in glutes (arse): 

• It rotates and stabilises the hip.
• It works with other muscles to turn hips & upper leg outward.
• It's very useful when you need to change direction quickly, while running during sports for example. 

Piriformis Syndrome is thought to arise when the Piriformis compresses the Sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the body which supplies our lower parts. Prolonged external rotation shortens the muscle and can compress the nerve. If the muscle is too tight or cramps it can increase the pain. 

Sciatica is irritation to the Sciatic nerve, leading to to low back pain, leg pain, numbness, tingling and/or electric shock-like sensations in these areas.

It's hard to cure but whether diagnosed or not, relief can be found in a variety of methods:

• Deep massage
• Traditional Thai massage
• Deep massage with heat & herbal compress
• Deep stretching*
• Sitting on a tennis ball

*The Piriformis Stretch

Go deeper! Get a friend or therapist to slowly & gently draw the right knee (see diagram above) away from your body as you draw lefty towards you. If you are clever you can achieve this extra deep stretch on your own by using your right elbow. Obviously swap sides as necessary. 

What's the lesson here? I'd say, having a tight butt isn't necessarily a good thing...

...Hmm maybe not. 

Natural Healing | Massage Therapy | Yoga Massage by Joey George Brighton/London 

 www.theoilstudio.co.uk

Magic for Migraines

Headaches and migraines plagued me as a child. I don't recall ever having to see a doctor because of them but over the years I've discovered ways of banishing them. As a child I would pop an Anadin and sleep them off, however, there are other solutions, especially if you don't respond well to pills for whatever reason.

Firstly we can reduce the chance of getting headaches by staying hydrated and not allowing ourselves to get stressed out. Easier said than done perhaps.

Below are pressure points you can massage and/or apply deep pressure to in order to help with tension. A good extended massage to desired pressure points will seriously help and often it is a matter easing muscular tension.

The area circled in the middle diagram, illustrates my personal favorite area to target. In the left diagram you can see this region behind the skull, houses 3 key pressure points. When I have a headache or migraine, these pressure points can take a considerable amount of thumb/finger  pressure simply because there is so much tension built up there.

The red area on the right is the trapezius and it is an muscle that causes problems for lots of people. Tightness in this area is can be brought about by inactivity, poor posture & stress. It is very hard to tackle this area deeply and fully without a therapist, though you can access the back of neck on your own. see below 

Grab it now, squeeze it with a fair amount of force. If you have trimmed nails dig your finger tips in and rub firmly the muscle. Use your palm and fingers to squeeze, stretch and slightly twist the muscle. For some of you this will take some effort, though you'll probably notice that you do carry a bit of tension in there. You'll know this because it feels nice when you release. Relaxed and  lighter. Swap hands and do the other side. 

Self-massaging or having someone work the muscle groups and pressure points can make such a difference, but you have to be quite firm. A small amount of pain can be quite beneficial. Many of you will be carrying knots or bands of tension in your head, neck and shoulders, sometimes deep below the surface tissue, that will eventually form a headache or migraine.
  
All sorts of things can trigger a migraine. You might stumble into some bad lighting or catch a wiff of something nasty. If you think you know what has set off the migraine, you need to counter balance that. 

 

For example:

-Got tension? ...relax, get a massage. 
-Too much light...go find a dimly lit room to chill in/wear sunglasses.
-Too little light...turn on a lamp.
-Straining to see...get specs (and wear them).
-Contact lenses uncomfortable...take them out. 
-Bad smells, find clear air space or nice aromas.
-Drink less booze.  
-Take fewer painkillers or recreational substances

 ***HERBAL MAGIC***

To Drink

     

Pear essential oil exists but is not accessible. At least not like most. It's valuable and takes tonnes to of pears to produce a tiny drop! Instead boil up some dried pears to enhance apple & pear tea.

http://shop.twinings.co.uk/shop/apple-pear-green.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apples are naturally refreshing, cleansing and distinctly aromatic. Use this aroma and flavour in room scent or in drinks to soothe and refresh.

http://www.scentedcandleshop.com/ 

 

Fresh Mint Tea. Simply shove good quantity for maximum strength into a glass of hot water and drink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Massage

1 table spoon of grape seed oil as your base.
3-5 drops mint oil
3-5 drops eucalyptusoil



Rub a little into hands and fingers and massage into the neck, forehead, temples and shoulders.

   

To Breathe

 

 






Eucalyptus oil. Add a few drops to water in any household burner and diffuse through the air.

 


Angelica root oil blends well in a burner with other warming oils like ginger, coriander...then add  grapefruit oil to ease and clarify the mind and relieve nausea. In it's woody form it can be added to a brew for its spicy/aniseedy notes.



 


Always read the label when using pure essential oils. Some oils cannot be used during pregnancy or neat on skin.

TIGER BALM

Most of us will have this little jar or magic in our cupoards. It's a few centuries old and originates from China. It's petroleum jelly & paraffin base contains these additional oils: menthol, camphor, mint, cajuput, clove and cassia.

The original red is intended for muscular aches and pains whereas the white eases tension and is good for headache. I personally wouldn't use the red balm on my head and face but on the shoulders and neck certainly in massage to help ease headache or migraine stemming from tightness in these areas. 

If you haven't tried Tiger Balm I strongly recommend it. I use Tiger Balms and similar products from Thailand regularly and the exotic aromas alone are incredibly therapeutic for both clients and therapists. Fortunately Tiger Balm is so widely used now, you can by it at your local Boots!

 

Natural Healing | Massage Therapy | Yoga Massage by Joey George Brighton/London 

 @ joeangellus |  www.theoilstudio.co.uk