IMPORTANT NOTICE

The views expressed; instructions or advice given in these Articles and News Items are not necessarily those of the ARCHTI National Executive, individual ARCHTI Members or others associated with ARCHTI
and this Association takes no responsibility, whatsoever, for them.

The Association of Registered Complementary Health Therapists of Ireland (ARCHTI) advises to always seek qualified professional medical advice before using complementary therapies.

Please feel free to read our Legal Notice.

Why Detox and how to go about it

You know our bodies are constantly detoxing, through the skin, bowel, lungs, kidney and liver.  It normally does a good job of it too but sometimes – like say at Christmas - we can tip the balance!   Excess toxins can be created through poor diet, eating too much processed food or just eating and drinking alcohol to excess.   The use of cigarettes and drugs will compound the problem.

If you are not able to digest and process your food through your body properly then you will not get the nutritional benefit from your food.  With incorrect eating patterns or over eating, food stays too long in the digestive system were it basically putrefies.  So your colon could be full of rotting waste, producing lots of bad bacteria and foul smelling gas.  In short you will be overly acidic and toxic.  Symptoms associated with over acidity are headaches, irritability, joint pain, cellulite, sensitive skin and many more.

Toxicity can also by created by an excess of negative thoughts and emotions.  For example, constipation can be influenced by a need to ‘hold on’ to or not ‘let go’ of something that has been bothering you.  Long term constipation or some ’irritable bowel’ type symptoms can have more in common with your thoughts and emotions than you might think!  This programe might be an opportunity to detox emotionally as well.

The key to detoxing is to help the body do what it is already very good at doing.  It’s best not to do a severe purging of your body in 24 or 48 hours.  It takes time for your body to get into this state so it makes sense that it should take you a while to repair the damage.  I have given a very simple detoxing diet below for you to follow.  Ideally you should drink at least 6 – 8 glasses of mineral or filtered water daily.  Exercise is also a really important part of detoxing so aim to take a 30 minute brisk walk daily.

With this detox programe I have suggested alternatives to the foods and drink you will be excluding.  Try not to fall into the trap of buying and eating substitutes of the food you are excluding.  For example don’t buy dairy free, wheat free and zero fat vacuum packed bread!  Try to eat food as close to its original form as possible.  Try to find alternative foods to eat.   Take this as an opportunity to sample foods you haven’t eaten before.  Although you will reintroduce some of the foods you excluded I would hope that you would try to eat them in moderation and continue with healthy eating throughout the year.

Detox Diet

This is a very simple and gentle detox for your body.  It works by removing acid foods from your diet.  If you find the above easy to do you could take out meat in week two. A ‘Green Superfood’ oral supplement is recommended to get your digestive system back into optimum condition.  

Drink a glass of cooled boiled water each morning with the juice of half a lemon.   This will get the liver working and is a gently stimulant for the bowel.

Week 1

Remove alcohol and caffeine from the diet.

 You can have herbal teas and/or dandelion coffee instead.  Nettle tea is a great cleanser. Hibiscus helps to balance blood sugar so can help with sugar cravings, peppermint and chamomile are relaxing and if you want a pick me up try fruit teas or something with lemon balm or lemongrass in it.

Week 2

Remove dairy from the diet.

You can have rice, soya or oat milk instead.  If you can’t get on with these goats milk would be acceptable.

Week 3

Remove wheat from the diet.

I’m afraid so – no bread, biscuits, pasta…! 

You can have brown or basmati rice, spelt or rye bread or oat crackers. 

Week 4

Remove sugar from the diet.

You can have natural sugars from fruit or a little raw honey if you really need to.

To get maximum results from your detox, a course of three colonic irrigation treatments over the four week period is recommended.  For those who are not ready for a colonic treatment just yet The Wellbeing Clinic’s ‘Detox Kit’ includes a bowel cleanse, a parasite cleanse and probiotic supplements. 

For further details contact Edel at the Wellbeing Clinic, Geraldine Court, Longford. 
www.thewellbeingclinic.ie or telephone 087 051 8444 or 043 40438

 “BEWARE”…The Importance of Researching Healing

 The time has come for me to ‘speak out’ about what I have noticed over the last year or two in the field of healing. I was reluctant to be the one to bring this subject up as I am a healer myself and did not want anyone to think that my views were coming from a place other than my concerns for others. I am extremely concerned about the high numbers of people who are out in the public arena teaching healing courses and workshops without having the correct training or foundations to do so.

I am speaking in particular about Reiki Healing as most of what I see and hear is in relation to this form of healing. I do not have anything against Reiki whatsoever; it is a wonderful form of healing. However I do have a problem with the way in which some people are practicing and teaching this across the country. I have met countless people who have been badly affected by attending Reiki Courses or by having Reiki treatments with people who are under-qualified healers and tutors. I know of some people who have trained in Reiki just to become tutors and ‘make money’ out of teaching their own courses. One lady in particular boasts that she earns €1,200 per month teaching Reiki classes and she is NOT even a Reiki Master as yet herself. When she had just completed Reiki 1 she began advertising her own classes, the same when she had finished Reiki 2 and no doubt it shall be the same for her Reiki Masters level. This lady is not part of any affiliated organisation and when questioned as to why she was not, she replied very angrily “I don’t have to be a member of any organisation to teach Reiki” . Sadly this is true and I shudder to think how many others are out there with the same attitude, outlook and beliefs in becoming a healer in the first place. Why hasn’t she been reported you might ask? Well the reason is ….there is no one to report her to!

The regulations are not in place to prevent her from practicing and it looks as if it will be a few years yet before the Government in this country will do anything to prevent unqualified and under-qualified practitioners from advertising their work.

Reiki Healing is not the only form of healing which is being abused in this way, there are many other complementary therapies and ‘spiritual’ practices being run in order to ‘cash in’ on those willing to sign up for them. There are too many people willing to take these courses and workshops at face value and without asking any questions about the training or experience of the tutors involved.

There are also some who will sign up for workshops and courses on the recommendations of friends and colleagues who have attended these workshops beforehand and were ‘wowed’ by them. It is only later they discover for themselves that these workshops were not quite what they expected; or that the courses/workshops did not turn out to be the way they were described to them…..by the friend or colleague who recommended it in the first place.

What people don’t seem to realise is the importance of their own reasons for attending that healer, therapist, course, workshop etc.
It may very well suit some people you know but that is not to say it will suit YOU!

What surprises me most is that people continue to go along to workshops courses etc without giving any thought as to their own needs or what they shall gain for themselves in attending them. More importantly than this is the fact that very few people ‘check out’ the healers, therapists or tutors beforehand and are prepared to take the word of others about the ‘experience’ and ‘training’ of the person they are willing to place their trust in. If you think about it, it is not uncommon for employers to do a background check on potential workers. Nor is it foolish to interview a surgeon before deciding on having them operate on you. So…why would anyone wish to visit a healer or attend these workshops without having previously researched the training and background of that person beforehand?

As long as people continue to allow these ‘charlatans’ to abuse them, take their money and ‘get rich’ on the vulnerability of others, then we will continue to see more and more of them set up business in this country.

I myself have worked in field of complementary medicine for over fifteen years. Every diploma I hold is fully recognised and has come from a recognised body or organisation. I trained for many years to gain these diplomas and I put a lot of pride in the amount of wear and tear it took me to gain them. I keep my memberships and insurance up to date and follow every code of conduct necessary to provide a ‘safe’ space for all who come to see me. I am sure that I am not alone in feeling the way I do about being placed under the same umbrella as those who are out to ‘make money’ rather than spread the value of having good healers in our society. Too many times I hear of people ‘cashing in’ on those who are vulnerable by starting their own business in healing….because they can!

Because there is no one to regulate them….because there is no one to stop them!

I personally can do nothing about these people but I certainly can share the knowledge and guidelines which EVERYONE can and should use before placing their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being in the hands of others.

Any Reputable healer, therapist, counsellor, tutor etc should be happy to provide you with the answers to the following questions.
If they are not happy to do so or are reluctant to share this information with you, that all I can say is BEWARE!!

Guideline questions for attending a healer, therapist, counsellor etc.

• How long have you been working/practicing as a …………………..?

• Do you belong to an affiliated body or organisation?

• What is their name? How can I contact them i.e. website/email details?

• Do you have a membership number? If so….May I have this please?

• How long have you been a member of this organisation?

• Do you have insurance?

• How much do you charge?

• How long is my appointment?

• What may I expect on my first visit to you? Or What happens during ….?

Information you should have before attending ANY workshops/Course:-

• Is the course/workshop for the purpose of training or introduction to the subject matter involved?

• Is this course or workshop facilitated by a fully qualified and experienced tutor? How long have they been teaching? What qualifications do they have? Who was their own tutor before they qualified?

• Is this course/workshop part of a recognised body or organisation?

• Will the certificate or diploma given at completion be recognised and allow you to practice or teach the subject in which you have trained?

• Will you be able to gain insurance with your certificate or diploma?

• What can you expect to learn or experience during the time of this study?

• What may you expect to gain by attending this workshop or course?

All of the above suggested questions will help you to gain information and allow you to research the ‘therapy’ you wish to try out. It will also allow you to understand more about the organisation your therapist is affiliated to and if there is a code of conduct which members need to abide by. If in the event you are not happy or feel the therapist is not following their codes of conduct …..You then have their membership number to make a complaint to the organisation. Hopefully you will not need to but all of the above information safeguards you from attending someone who has not been correctly trained or qualified in their field of healing.

I genuinely hope this article helps all who read it.

I leave you all in Love and Light.

Mary Meade
Tullywood Lodge, Cavan.