Every so often the internet buzzes with a new “cure all”, right now oil pulling is the thing. So what is it? And should you be doing it?

Did you know that massaging your feet before going to bed can help you sleep? Rubbing sesame oil into the soles of your feet is extremely relaxing and brings all that busy head energy down your body, leaving your head calm and trouble free and ready for the good quality rest it deserves.

Start by rubbing a little oil between the palms of your hands then rub it over the top of your foot. Work your thumbs in the groove between the bones on the top of your foot to relieve tension in the chest, and then work up and down the instep of your foot to relax your back and let accumulated tension in your spine melt away. Next pinch and squeeze your way down the outside of your foot from the base of your little toe to your heel area to relax tension in your shoulders and arms.

Now turn your attention to the soles of your feet, rubbing and working your way from your heels up to your toes, pressing into the middle of the sole of your feet activates the kidney meridian and is very grounding and good for relieving anxiety.

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Autumn is the perfect time to learn the simple art of self-massage. Ayurveda recommends massaging oils into the body at any time of the year, but Autumn is particularly important as it’s the season where chills can easily enter the body. Rubbing a thin protective film of oil over your body nourishes your skin, muscles and nervous system.

Ayurvedic massage is good for:
- improving circulation
- lubricating the joints
- calming the nerves
- improving sleep

It also helps keep you supple as you simultaneously relax your muscles by massaging them and stretch yourself by reaching your own back and shoulders etc.

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Goal setting is all well and good if you have a resolve of steel and self-discipline to match. But many of us don't. The trouble with trying to give up this or achieve that, is that we set the bar too high and then when we can't reach an unfair expectation, we feel disappointed, lacking in resolve, useless etc

Ayurveda presents a far healthier and happier way to make positive life changes, and that is to cultivate new supportive habits before you go trying to stop dead with things you’ve been doing for years. I'll use the habit of smoking as an example, but this principle of cultivating positive habits that add up and out number the "bad" ones could be applied to anything...

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Do chocolate and cheese really cause or aggravate migraines? And if so, why? According to Ayurveda (India's 5,00 year old system of natural medicine). All migraines occur due to an imbalance in the doshas, the 3 key body/mind types labelled in Ayurveda as vata, pitta, and kapha.

While migraines can be a manifestation of disturbance in any of the three doshas, they are most commonly due to aggravation of pitta, the hotter energy of the three.

Migraines often occur when the disturbed pitta energy moves through the circulatory system and makes its presence felt by affecting the blood vessels around the brain. These fine blood vessels are caused to dilate by the sharp and penetrating force of aggravated pitta, and this dilation causes pressure on the nerves which leads to the intense pain of a migraine headache.

Chocolate and cheese are both aggravating to pitta dosha, and that is why some migraine sufferers consistently notice a connection with eating these two foods and suffering migraine headaches.

Other foods that aggravate pitta and may increase incidence of migraine headaches are spicy foods, fermented foods, alcohol, sour foods and citrus fruits, and also sugar as it increases acidity in the body.

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