Yoshi the Stonecutter

Yoshi the Stonecutter by Meg Hunt

My son recently bought home a reading book called Yoshi the Stonecutter. We snuggled in bed one evening and read together and discovered it was quite a thought provoking story. Yoshi is a poor, old stonecutter. One day he is delivering stone to a rich man and wishes he were rich too. A cool wind blows and a mountain spirit whispers "your wish is granted". He then sees a prince and wishes he were a prince too. Again, the spirit appears and grants his wish. The sun is beating down on the prince as his servant protects him with a golden umbrella and gives him water from a jewelled cup. Yoshi realises the sun is very powerful and wishes he were powerful like the sun. The spirit grants his wish. Yoshi feels himself rise up into the sky and soon he is beating down on the land below. He shines really hard and burns the people below and dries out the land and the crops. Soon some clouds appear and he is unable to shine through them. He wishes he were as powerful as a cloud, his wish is granted by the spirit. Yoshi the cloud cools the land with rain and fills up the rivers and streams and the crops start to grow again. He rains even harder, but soon the rivers overflow and the land floods. Yoshi notices the rocks stand tall and firm and unaffected by the flood water. Rocks are clearly more powerful then the clouds and he wishes he was one too. His wish is granted. Soon a man arrives and, using his tools, begins chipping away at Yoshi the rock. He realises a stonecutter is stronger and wishes to be a man again. The spirit grants his wish one final time, Yoshi picks up his tools and begins to work. He is old and poor, his back is bent, but he is happy.

Piriformis Syndrome

The piriformis muscle is located in the pelvic area. It is attached to the sacrum and the head of the femur bone (thigh bone) and runs very close to the sciatic nerve. If this muscle is tight or spasms, it can impinge the nerve causing pain in that region, often radiating down the leg. Constant spasms in the muscle result in piriformis syndrome and this could be exacerbated by injury or a sedentary lifestyle. It is important to stretch and exercise this muscle.

A client recently presented with 'piriformis syndrome' and has been suffering for a long time with pain in this area. The muscle is close to the gluteus medius, some of the fibres of the posterior border end on its tendon, so when massaging we cover this whole area, aiming slightly deeper to get to the piriformis. It's vital that this area is warmed sufficiently with lots of effleurage. If a client is in considerable discomfort, it may be best to apply only the basic techniques to begin with and refrain from any deeper maneuvers. In the case of my current client, I used some heat lotion and, for just ten minutes, a vibrational massager to assist in sending some signals to the blood vessels and nerve endings. I then used lots of stretching moves with the palms of my hands and thumb rotations around the affected area.

The Power of Now - June

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"To become conscious of Being, you need to reclaim consciousness from the mind. This is one of the most essential tasks on your spiritual journey. A very effective way of doing this is simply to take the focus of your attention away from thinking and direct it into the body, where Being can be felt as the invisible energy field that gives life to the physical body".

Eckhart Tolle

Herts Holistic Hero - Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine is well known as a Hollywood actress and the older sister of Warren Beatty. Her vast movie career includes Sweet Charity, Terms of Endearment (for which she won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Actress), Steel Magnolias and Postcards from the Edge.

However, Shirley has a deep life long interest in New Age spirituality and metaphysics and has also encountered alien experiences and UFO incidents. I am currently reading her book 'The Camino - A Pilgrimage of Courage'. Shirley received two anonymous letters while working in Brazil prompting her to take the annual pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a difficult 500 mile trek that she not only completed in thirty days, but while in her mid-sixties and with only a 7lbs backpack.

Dante, Chaucer, St Francis of Assisi and many, many formidable figures have taken the trail throughout history. It is traced back to Celtic times and it is written that the "Camino" follows ley lines directly under the Milky Way. The ley lines reflect the star systems above and the energy from them enhances human consciousness and the vibrational rate of the ethereal body. It begins in France, crosses the Pyrenees from east to west and across Northern Spain ending at the cathedral, Santiago de Compostela where the remains of the apostle Saint James are believed to be buried.

As explained in her book:

"On my journey westward along the Camino, I felt I was travelling backward in time to a place that began the experiences that made me and the human race what we have become today. Yes, I could say it was a mythological and imaginative experience, but then what is myth and what is imagination? All fancies of the consciousness are based on some kind of memory, or why would they be there?"

ROBIN GIBB 1949-2012

Crystals: Azurite

We are in the month of May and we've already had a very wet and rainy spring season. The weather can have a very adverse affect on some and a continuous run of dull, dreary days can make you feel sad and cause you to retreat. The intention in my household was to get my son out and about learning to ride his bike, alas, due to the weather, we've opted instead to stay indoors, snuggle, comfort eat and watch movies. Nothing wrong with that, but we spent much of winter doing the same and my son is a lively six year old who needs exercise and fresh air. There has been the odd day when we've said 'boo hiss boo' to the rain and ventured out anyway, just yesterday, my son cast aside his coat and umbrella and insisted he walk home from school without them. He loved the rain on his skin and giggled at his drenched clothing and he loved even more, the big fluffly towel that I threw over him when we arrived home. We defied the rain!

If you find yourself effected by the weather and suffer from ever changing mood swings, you will find Azurite the perfect stone for you. It is a powerful healing stone and brings about a clear understanding and a new outlook. It expands and stimulates the mind and clears stress, worry and sadness, opening up the mind to light and bringing a sense of calm with it. It is known to treat throat problems, joint problems and works at a cellular level to  restore any disturbance or blockage in the brain. It is often found in combination with malachite and the two together can open up the third eye, hence clarity and focus. It is a deep blue colour and is sourced in South America, US, Australia, Russia and Egypt.

I would suggest this crystal to push you forward into the coming months as it challenges your belief systems and your grasp on reality, helping you progress into the unknown without fears.

Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe Vera Gel is one of, if not THE best health drink you can give your body.
It contains 19 of the 20 amino acids needed by the body along with B group vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin E. It contains calcium, sodium, potassiumm, iron, magnesium, copper and zinc and all of these come from the pure gel of the Aloe Barbadensis plant. Your body is not always able to store these vitamins and minerals, so by drinking aloe vera gel every day you'll be taking care of your immune system, your digestive tract and your musculoskeletal system. It is extremely beneficial to the skin by providing nutrition to the basal cells and increasing the activity of fibroblasts, the special cells in the skin that provide collagen and elsatin.

I have been taking aloe gel for nearly two years and I no longer suffer from IBS which marred my every day lifestyle for a long, long time. I also feel more vitalised and awake, previously I felt sluggish and lethargic. My skin has improved, my hair and nails grow like never before and I can honestly say, I cannot live without it. Huge statement I know, but its a huge treat your body deserves!

Herts Holistic Hero - Aron Ralston

Aron Ralston

Aron Ralston is an engineer and motivational speaker. He is a keen hiker and outdoor man and it's his love for this that got him into a little bit of trouble in 2003 when he became trapped in a canyon in Wayne County, Utah. A boulder became dislodged and trapped him by the arm for over five days. Dehydrated and delirious, Aron realised the only way to escape was to cut through his trapped arm, breaking the radius and ulna and using only a small, dull knife on a multi functioning tool. Once free from the boulder, Aron still had to get back to his car eight miles away and had to climb out of the canyon, one-handed, drop down a sheer rock face of 20m and then hike in the hot sun. During his ordeal he had lost 40lbs in weight and was now bleeding profusely. Very fortunately, as he tackled the eight mile journey, he encountered a family out hiking who gave him water and rushed to raise emergency services. By sheer luck, search crews were already out looking for him after his family, who originally knew nothing of his hiking plans, became concerned. The search had been narrowed down to the Canyonlands where Aron had been trapped and a helicopter flew in to rescue him, six hours after his amputation.

Nine years on, Aron Ralston continues to climb and has completed several expeditions including 'Colorado's Fourteeners', 53 peaks that exceed 14,000 feet. This was a project he initially started in 1997 and he resumed after his accident, completing it solo and during winter. He is a motivational speaker and has made numerous media appearances in America, recounting his experience in Blue John Canyon, which is documented in his autobiography, 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place'. His story was also made into a film, '127 Hours' by director Danny Boyle.

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