Moving forward with Holos' Beauty from Nature

It has been ages but I have not been sitting back taking it easy. I have been working away creating Holos' Beauty from Nature a line of gorgeous natural beauty products. We are really excited about this move forward for Holos and we foresee ourselves as being a leading name in Irish handmade beauty products with an emphasis on health, nature and the environment. We know that this is no easy feat as there are some lovely Irish brands out there already but we are willing to take on the challenge. We have a range of gorgeous body oils that can be used directly on the body after a bath or shower, can be used in the bath or for massage. We also have face moisturisers and a delicious hand cream. We will be adding a cleanser, 2 face washes and an exfoliator to the line in the coming weeks. It has been a busy and exciting time for us and we are learning lots of new things along the way, isn't that what life is all about. At present you can purchase our products on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/holoshealth

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Holistic Therapy, the elderly and the ill.

One of the most rewarding areas of my work is the work I do with the Elderly and with those who are ill. I have met such great characters who I wouldn't perhaps have ever had the chance to meet had I not chosen this career path for myself.
The work I do with the elderly extends from exercise classes designed specifically for them, to one to one Therapy visits either in clinic, in their homes or perhaps in a Nursing Home. Many elderly are well and healthy and are capable of gentle exercise. These classes are always accompanied by fun and laughter as the participants laugh at themselves and sometimes awe themselves with how much they are actually capable of. Depending on the age and fitness level of the participants the classes combine gentle muscle toning work, flexibility and joint mobility exercises. I have worked with many Active Retirement groups whose ages usually range from the 60's to the 90's. While the exercise is an important part of the class more often than not it is the giggles and the wonderful sense of achievement felt by the participants at the end of the class that is the most important part. Work is always rewarded by a wonderful relaxation session at the end of each class, this is always very popular with everyone and again most people are in awe at the silence and the sense of peace that can be created among what are usually a loud and chatty bunch.
Working with those who are ill is hugely rewarding, of course it can bring with it sadness as sometimes there is loss but I can only hope that my work brings a little bit of peace to those who are close to the end of their life here on Earth. I feel that I get as much from those that are ill as they get from me. It humbles me to see the positivity, the strength, the smiles. It empowers me to do the same, to live life, to see the good things in life, to smile! Depending on how ill a person is, the Therapies I provide to those who are ill are Massage, Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Gentle Acupressure and Energy Healing. These Therapies may not cure the illness but they certainly help to bring about an inner healing. They serve to bring a sense of peace to those who have them preformed on them. Working closely with someone who is ill has taught me to never take things for granted, to be appreciative of my life and my health. I feel privileged as these people allow me into their lives and trust me like a friend. In these people I find a friend. Sometimes that friend must leave us and that is the sad part of this work but I can at least have the comfort of knowing my life has been enriched greatly upon having met that person.

This Blogpost is dedicated to Margaret, 1941-2011
A friend I will never forget

xx Niamh

Do you know when you are stressed?

One thing I find often in my practice is that people don't connect the feelings they are experiencing with "stress". They don't connect their state of health with "stress". They don't connect their eating habits with "stress". They don't connect physical pain with "stress". What I am saying is that often people don't actually know that they are stressed. People can tick along ignoring the signs of stress, masking the problem even from themselves. It can sometimes take a huge event, perhaps of ill health to make a person sit back and take stock, to reflect on their lives and to finally see the stress they are experiencing. Sometimes they never see it and this can have catastrophic effects. Stress has been proven to contribute to major illnesses and health conditions such as Cancers, High Blood Pressure & Heart Disease to name but a few. All of these can lead to death.

It is important therefore to tackle stress when it first arises or even better to use preventive measures to avoid stress in the first place. Prolonged stress will lead to bad health and can effect Physical or Mental health or both.

So... How do you know you are stressed? It's important to know so that you can take action now if you discover that you are.

We divide the symptoms/effects of stress into 4 categories. You may experience some from only one category or some from several. If you experience any of the symptoms listed here, it is worth your while investigating further and looking at the issue of "Stress" in your life.

Physical - We feel it physically (in the body)

• Muscle tension
• Backache
• Headache
• High blood pressure
• Breathlessness
• Indigestion
• Loss of appetite
• Clenched teeth
• Shakes (hands/head)

Mental - We feel it mentally (in the mind)

• Indecisiveness
• Poor concentration
• Confused Thinking
• Rash decisions
• Forgetfulness

Behavioural - It will show in your behaviour

• Social withdrawal
• Non-stop talk
• Accident prone
• Aggressive behaviour
• Nail-biting
• Insomnia
• Chain-smoking
• Nervous laughter
• Excessive drinking

Emotional - It will effect the emotions

• Anxiety
• Impatience
• Irritability
• Guilt feelings
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Overreaction of anger
• Cynicism
• Negative thoughts

Good health and happiness to you

Niamh Hogan

Holos Health and Wellbeing

Therapist Association Member ship and insurance

As a practising Holistic Therapist I am a member of a Therapist Association that I need to reapply for each year and fulfill certain criteria to maintain member ship. I need to show that I am practising and continuing to learn throughout my career keeping me up to date on all things in my field. I am due to renew my membership with my chosen Therapist association this month and something new has come up that hasn't really before. Ireland is in the midst of a, dare I say the "R word"? recession and people are on the look out for value for money. More and more people are coming to me and asking if my Therapies are covered by their Health Insurers. In the past I have written receipts for the few who ask and some have reported back that they managed to get their health insurer to cover. I thought this is great. However, the insurance companies seem to have stopped this and are only covering those who receive therapies from members of associations on their specific list. This maybe because more and more people are claiming and limiting the covered associations may limit the amount of claims they may actually have to pay out, I dont know! I have discovered that my particular Association does not make their lists even though it is one of the largest in the UK and Ireland. I have approached my particular association about this and asked them to look into it and see if they can form some sort of an alliance with the Health Insurance Companies of Ireland so that their members will be able to advertise their Therapies as being covered by clients Health Insurance.

I felt I needed to write this down in the hope that it reaches someone and helps someone. When I was in college, they recommended the Association I am a member of to us. There was never any issue of whether our clients could claim back for our Therapies on their Health Insurance as perhaps it wasn't even possible at all then. It is possible now and so I recommend that when looking for an Association to become a member of take this into consideration. You want to give the client the best service you can and if they receive excellent Therapy and then hear that they can in fact claim back some/all of the cost on their Health Insurance they will be even happier and there is more chance of you seeing them again.

Meditation for Relaxation and Stress Relief

Meditation is fast becoming a popular practice in the Western world with people from all walks of life meeting up to engage in group Meditation, buying Meditation CD's and playing quiet music as they lull themselves to sleep. In our crazy busy hustle bustle lives our desire for some peace and quiet is an ongoing quest. Funnily as we crave this peace and quiet, we simultaneously push it away by filling our lives with more and more to do. We fill our lives with jobs, with study, places we want to go to, must go to, and don't want to go to. Even our spare time is filled, the time we don't need to be engaging in anything we are so busy that we don't have time to relax, don't have time to just STOP.

This is why Meditation is becoming popular. People are beginning to realise that if they want time to relax, they need to pencil this time into their busy schedule. They need to schedule this time in just as work, study, travel and sports activities are pencilled in. If we have forgotten how to relax and are naturally drawn to constant activity we need to retrain ourselves to relax and Meditation is a wonderful way of doing this. Relaxation is the most common reason for people to join a Meditation class. It is time dedicated to pure and utter relaxation, deeper than any relaxation you will achieve from reading a book or watching TV.

Stress plays an enormous part in our lives today contributing to many unhealthy conditions and disease. Meditation trains you to clear the mind and let go of the thoughts that can clog it up. Because of the speed of our lives, the strains, the worries, the issues we face on a daily basis, our minds are constantly turning over how to deal with these things or how to make them go away These things are called stressors and can cause a reaction. This reaction we call Stress. Stress relief is another popular reason for Meditation. We are realising that if we don't consciously take time away from this stress, we will eventually wind up ill. This leads us to the Meditation class.

Meditation is used for many other reasons such as Self Awareness and Intuition, Physical and Emotional Healing, Spiritual Development, Focus & Concentration, and Positivity but in my experience, in our Western world, we are drawn to it primarily for Relaxation and Stress relief. Our world is filled with things that steal from our relaxation time and produce stress reactions so.... sign yourself up today for a class, buy a guided relaxation CD, lie down and play the quiet tunes. Go in, you have the power.

Do things that make you happy

After being away from this for rather a long time, too long infact, I am now back and back with a vengence. I will blog about all things health and wellbeing, taking a look at the health of the mind the body and spirit to maintain ultimate harmony within. On this exploration of mind body and spirit, I will look at how our bodies work and how our physical health affects not just our bodies but also our minds, our thoughts and our emotions. I will look at how the health of our minds can affect our bodies and our emotions. I will look at how our health affects our over all spirit. My blog will be an extension of myself reflecting what aspect of health or indeed life is on my mind on that given day. I see health and life as almost one and the same. I think they are closely linked and one always affects the other, to be alive you need to be healthy, to be healthy you need to be alive. A huge aspect of my work is to promote and help people to achieve a positive lifestyle, a lifestyle that ultimately leads to good health. While one may not see how drawing a picture can affect your health at first or how making a piece of jewellery or creating something with your children can have a positive effect on your health, just do it. Try it... see how you feel after you have done it. Being creative is GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH. If you could capture the feeling you experience during and once you have created something, you would always be happy, always feel good, always feel healthy. So how do you feel that way all of the time? Do things that make you happy of course. Fill your life with things that make you happy and things that make you feel good because when you feel good you are good. You are strong, your are healthy, you are alive!

I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you.

xx Niamh

I don't have to work that hard? Really?

Someone pointed out to me a couple of years ago that I believe I have to work really really hard to get what I want... I had a think about it and realised they were right. I have worked so hard at things in the past that I have made myself physically sick, my lungs always let me know when I am overdoing it! I am realising that you don't have to work yourself into a crumpled mess on the floor to get what you want (the Universe usually plays a trick on you anyway, you never get what you want but you do indeed get what you need or at least I do). I am not shy of work, in fact I am a little like a car battery, as my engines turn and my wheels fly along life's highway, I charge that battery and am pumped with the energy to keep that engine whizzing round and round. However, I am getting tired of working so hard and not reaping the benefits I forsaw being bestowed upon myself, I have decided I am going to give myself a break. I have done a lot of work, now I need to chill out and let it happen. What is the point of giving more than what you have to give and getting less back. Your energy gets sucked from you leaving you drained, tired and more than a little emotional. So let part of your plan for success be to spend some time "just sitting back and waiting for it to happen" because you know it will!

Good Luck

xx Niamh