Traditionally Empowered Healing LLC

What makes it so difficult for us to do something different?

In order to answer this question, we may need to take a look in the mirror….

How many of us wake up in the morning, and, in their full-blown-morning-galore-look, stare at the mirror and say: “wow!” with the most tenderness and love they can afford? (not the other “wow!!!!” that you may think of…)

I am sure few of us would. But why not most of us? Why not all of us?

My belief is that when we are staring into the mirror, we are looking to find the “perfect” image that we saw yesterday in the magazine or TV show and obviously it cannot be seen in our mirror. We want to see the image that suits the “beautiful cover” definition according to our own view. No matter what it is hiding underneath.

Therefore, when we don’t see it – we become disappointed, and cannot express any tenderness or love towards the reflection that lets us down.

Slowly we clean up, becoming a bit more like the image we would like to see, and making the decision that it is time to try to manage our health condition more naturally. So we visit a naturopath. The naturopath has some mind-blowing ideas how to create healing and how to adjust it to our lifestyle, and we go back home to sleep on what we heard.

We wake up the next morning. Staring again at the mirror. Now, what are the chances that we tenderly & lovingly would say: “wow! Look at me! Today I am starting to walk my new path – changing all my lifestyle habits and healing all my ailments!”?

IMGP3026 (2).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

Chances are probably pretty slim…

We are more likely to stand in front of the mirror and again be disappointed from what we see. But now we also become angry. Since that body that is reflected in the mirror has requests – he/she needs us to make changes for him/her – letting go of stuff that we like and starting to do stuff that we have never done before. No matter if we like it or not .

All these requests! And for whom? For the stranger who reflects in our mirror? We never saw him/her before, because the “perfect” image was always blocking the way. We don’t know this body that reflects in the mirror. We don’t know what he/she wants. We don’t know what he/she needs. We have no communication with him/her.

IMGP2790 (3).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

I can sit here for hours and explain you about foods and acts that may affect our body in different ways for better or worse, but if I do not emphasize how important it is to create this dialogue between you and your own body – I will be talking in vain.

This dialogue, or this communication system, can be created only when body reaches a very deep state of relaxation – shifting to the parasympathetic state of the autonomic nervous system. Nothing good comes out when we are constantly in sympathetic / fight-or-flight mode. Unless a bear is chasing us. And even then, I really hope he chases us in the first hour we are in sympathetic state and not on our 10^th year…
Shifting to parasympathetic state allows us to be present and open our eyes to appreciate what this amazing body is doing for us. There are many ways to reach parasympathetic state, but I will share here the way that works best for me – the way I use in all my sessions & in my life and it never fails – castor oil packs. The preparation that works for me is by applying the castor oil on the belly, covering with a towel and topping with a hot water bottle, then resting for an hour or the whole night. I have witnessed many people shifting on my table just from this simple castor application, and cannot talk enough about the real reason I love castor so much!!

When applying the castor oil pack on the belly, the oil lubricates and stimulates all the tissues, organs and systems in this region. Along with that, the heat draws the blood vessels up closer to the skin as they dilate, allowing oil to be absorbed into the blood circulation as well, thus distributed through the whole body. Lubricating and stimulating organs as the small intestine, bladder, colon, liver, uterus, which are part of systems that are inhibited when body is under stress (when the autonomic nervous system functions at its sympathetic / fight-or-flight state), signals the nervous system to shift to the relaxed state (parasympathetic state).

When we are deeply relaxed, we can straighten our look into the mirror and see who we really are. See how amazing we are without the need to be compared to anyone else. See how beautiful our body is, no matter what is shown in the magazines. And only when we are able to open our eyes and see, we are able to open our hearts to make an effort for the awesome person reflecting back from our mirror.

Changes will always come from within and not from without. When we allow our inner self to shine, we will be able to do something different. And this will not be difficult at all…

The Healing Power of Relaxation

January 25, 2019September 13, 2024 Anat Shlagman Traditional Naturopath

Sharing here my article, as it was published by Dr. Veronica Anderson, MD and on LinkedIn:

As a Traditional Naturopath, I specialize in relaxation. This statement may sound simple, but it took me few years to grow into it and recite it with confidence. Living in a fast-pacing era, we tend to take relaxation for granted, as if it is always available to us when we choose to relax, and do not value an effort to create it. Therefore, I have always hesitated to talk about relaxation, but never hesitated to employ this concept in my sessions. The more I performed my sessions and witnessed the benefits, the more I realized how important relaxation is in the healing process.
In my work, I utilize a specific combination of castor oil pack, reflexology, abdominal massage and energy work (Trad-em@ session) which all together bring the body to such a deep state of relaxation that allows a complete shift in all states – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
I am fascinated to watch how patients, who arrive to the initial session when they are angry, shift while still on the table. They are angry at the universe, but especially at their family members or friends who “forced” them to try another therapy that probably will not work. As session progresses, their anger dissolves into sadness and fear, and they are much more open to face the real issue causing them to suffer.
Our society became one that does not touch, does not care, does not listen, and does not want to see the truth. Therefore, we learn to lie: First, lie to our own selves – hiding our real emotions and our real desires to the point it becomes a norm. Then, we lie to the world – showing only grand acts that present us as special. But since these acts capture only one moment of our lives, all other moments are left hidden and covered. The best cover for our real feelings is anger – it is so easy to become angry and blame the whole world for our misery instead of turning in, looking for the real problem.
But, once we enter a safe nourishing environment, which allows us to experience deep relaxation, we may feel warm enough to take off this “blanket” of anger and let our real-us unveil. It may not be an easy element to digest, but it is certainly one that we are able to metabolize when deeply relaxed.
Crying or experiencing sad emotions may not necessary mean we need medications. Sadness or feeling depressed could be the most important step towards our healing. Only when body is deeply relaxed, we can realize that our deep wishes are not being accomplished by our acts. And only when this realization makes us distressed to the point of being paralyzed with sadness, we are ready to transform.
Since we are so used to hide our real feelings, we may be left confused and overwhelmed by their appearance, and do not know how to process this gloomy melancholia that landed on us. Learning how to bring our body to a very deep state of relaxation, where it is ok to surface our true believes, will enable us to accept and understand what we really want, and modify our actions accordingly. Everything will start opening and our view of the world will change. We will be able to have a deeper understanding of the events surrounding us and recognize who the real-people around us are.
I am a huge believer in castor oil packs, and wrote about my real reason for loving it so much and using it in every single session. In short, when applying this thick oil on the abdomen it manifests a whole shift in the nervous system. This shift can help lowering pain anywhere in the body, can help reduce anxieties, can allow the body to work properly while not in fight-or-flight mode anymore. And along with these wonders, it lubricates the local area being applied and is absorbed into the blood stream (due to the applied heat) and carried through the whole body. Every tissue gains from this lubrication. Adhesion, inflammation, stagnation, pain – can all be relived to various degrees.
Adding nourishing touch to the session increases the accessibility of cells to open. Each cell stores memories, which we spend a lot of energy hiding. With touch that resembles parental gentle contact, our body gets permission to release what is not necessary. Sometimes we may need support to process the memories and allow them to be accepted rather than being hidden.
As we become more relaxed, our view of life becomes wider and we are able to make the necessary corrections to promote our health. I am fortunate to work with patients, who rarely experienced this parental touch in their lives, and witness the huge impact of this simple act: pain decreases, blood pressure lowers, blood sugar level lowers, skin issues relax, inflammation decreases and so much more. When a patient feels cared for, it changes their perception about their body and healing state. Also, their compliance increases as they recognize that they are an important component of their health.

Yes, I specialize in relaxation. Saying it loud and clear with full confidence and appreciation to the process. I love how relaxation is manifesting transformation with everyone who seeks deeper level of healing, and I truly believe that relaxation may be the most important step in our healing process.

Blog, Self Heal

Mushlemet / perfect; splendid; wonderful; excellent; complete; total

November 2, 2018January 18, 2019 Anat Shlagman Traditional Naturopath

The first time hearing this song happened exactly at the moment I needed it.

I am sharing this song here as I am sure that we all have those days, where our perception does not reflect the reality. This perception can be expressed by feeling hurt from words (spoken or unspoken) or actions (performed or not performed) that may never mean to hurt us, and still, in our minds, they get a completely different meaning.

Mushlemet – one powerful word in Hebrew that is a combination of so many words in English: perfect/ splendid/ wonderful/ excellent/ complete/ total.

And even though the Hebrew word refers to women, I know we all can relate to the message sent in this song:

You are perfect (mushlemet), just as you are.
It’s just the world, you see,
That may sometimes be a little messed up …..

It’s in Hebrew, but beautiful and worth listening – just click on the song’s name. The words are translated here:

Mushlemet / Rami Kleinstsin & Keren Peles

(Music and Lyrics: Rami Kleinstein and Keren Peles)

You want to hear that same tune

To go back to your protected space

Thunders are frightening

And it is dangerous to be afraid

So, you are adding numbers in your head

Like the rain-men who count drops

Only your eyes never get wet

And while everyone are swimming with the stream

You are not swimming at all

How can they not see how radiant you are –

Shining like all the stars above

you are perfect (mushlemet)

you are perfect (mushlemet)

Just as you are

It’s just the world, you see

That may sometimes be a little messed up

Sometimes you’re obviously angry

And it is not clear at all about what

I want to rescue you

Explain to you that you are not the one to be blamed

You sing the same tune again

Repeating the exact same melody again and again

It sounds afresh to me

every time you sing it again

And while everyone is dancing together

You are dancing in the corner by yourself

How do they not see that this is what’s good for you –

That you don’t need anyone around

you are perfect (mushlemet)

you are perfect (mushlemet)

Just as you are

It’s just the world, you see

That may sometimes be a little messed up

You’re perfect (mushlemet), you’re perfect (mushlemet)

Just as you are – with your mysterious look

You’re perfect (mushlemet), perfect (mushlemet)

With these two laughing dimples

And this mouth which does not answer

but I

I hear you all the time

Even when you are there

I am always here

We are all whole. We are all complete. We are all perfect.
Exactly as we are.

Blog, Reflexology

My Vision of Feet Reflexology

October 24, 2018October 23, 2019 Anat Shlagman Traditional Naturopath

As a Traditional Naturopath, I specialize in relaxation, since I believe that when body is deeply relaxed, it can start healing itself. My main tool (along with castor oil packs, of course..) is reflexology. For me, exploring a person’s feet is like reading the book of their life. There is so much information hidden in feet, which contain these reflexes, that are connected to internal organs, and actually express their story: physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.

Before delving deeper in reflexology, I would like to take a short detour, talking about our body, since I meet so many people living in fear, that a horrible disease will fall on them. And it keeps amazing me how most of them truly believe that it will be a sudden thing. Really? Are there no signs?

Truth is that signs do not start at the moment we drop on the floor. Signs start many many years before that: With our first acid reflux. With our first head ache. With our first pain or discomfort any where in the body. Because our body doesn’t speak English (or any other language learned at home or taught at school). Our body speaks to what we Feel. If I feel pain, I must have done something that my body doesn’t like. But what do we do when we feel pain? We take a pill.
So, not only we insult our body with chemicals, we insult our body by not listening. Basically, sending our body a message like: “Hey, you better be quiet there, since I have million and one other things to do, that are much more important than listening to you whining!”

IMGP2874 (3).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

And we forget that our body is our buddy. Our room-mate. We reside together in the same building. For life. No exchange. No return (yes, even in America!).

The first thing we need to have as room-mates is respect. Respect starts with Listening. When our body talks – we need to listen.

In my eyes, one of the best ways to listen is reflexology, because it is making the connection between what I do and how I feel. Foot reflexology is described as the study of the areas in the feet, corresponding to all parts of the body, and when being touched they manipulate the corresponding part. Either through our nervous system, meridians, energy pathways, combination of all, or possibly other means.

I believe that reflexology works in two ways, which, at first, may look opposing to each other, but when we understand them better, we can see how they compliment each other perfectly:
First and for most, reflexology deeply relaxes the whole body. With that, it stimulates every cell, every tissue and every organ that are being touched. Nature has a very sophisticated way to teach us how deep relaxation and stimulation work beautifully hand in hand.

When body is deeply relaxed, it can tap into wisdom that resides in our genes. Knowledge that exists in our body and has been descended from generation to generation for thousands of years. Body has the knowledge to deal and heal itself, but we cannot tap into this knowledge when we are busy surviving. We cannot reach this information while our nervous system is in a fight-or-flight mode. We have to bring our nervous system to a very deep state of relaxation in order to utilize this wisdom.

And then we stimulate. This wisdom resides in every cell, every tissue, every organ and is being stimulated with reflexology. This is how our body can start healing itself.

While a reflexology session can be amazingly relaxing, we cannot underestimate the power of self reflexology. As I have witnessed time after time in my workshops, when asking the participants at the beginning of the workshop to work for 2 minutes on one foot, and then place both feet next to each other and compare. It never failed to reveal the liveliness of the foot which was touched versos the dullness of the untouched foot. Only 2 minutes of care can make a remarkable difference. Will all the healing mentioned above happen in one session of self reflexology? Probably not. It is a practice. Like yoga, like meditation, the best is to make it a routine, even for few minutes a day. Then body learns to trust our intentions and opens up to deeper relaxation.

Healing our bodies starts inwards. The more we connect with our body – the more we understand its messages and the more we can be proactive in helping it to create the perfect environment for healing. It is a process. And may be a long one. But truly the most rewarding for each one of us.

“When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”

Alexander Den Heijer

Further resources:

The complete guide to foot reflexology – Kevin & Barbara Kunz

The family guide to reflexology – Ann Gillanders

The parent’s guide to reflexology – Kevin & Barbara Kunz

Blog, Self Heal, Self Love

Nourishing with Touch

October 4, 2018July 28, 2020 Anat Shlagman Traditional Naturopath

“Healing Resides At The Roots of Nature & Touch,
and Is Drawn Up By The Eternal Flames of Our Traditions”

~Traditionally Empowered Healing~

As living beings, nourishment is a fundamental need. However, as living beings in our era, we may all be deficient of it. Either deficient of nourishing foods or deficient of nourishing touch.

Nourishing foods are rich in materials that feed our cells and help them function efficiently. But what is nourishing touch? How would it benefit our body?

IMGP1573 (2).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

Exactly like foods, touch comes in many varieties and not every touch is nourishing. Nourishing touch is most naturally associated with parental (=unconditional loving) touch, as we tend to refer to our parents as nourishing entities. If you want to create such a touch, simply imagine the person you are touching to be your kid, and touch them exactly as you would like your child to be touched.

This kind of touch is not only physical. It is mostly emotional and mental, as we allow our cells to open. Everything we kept closed inside, suddenly has the permission to come to light: Every feeling that we buried, every thought that we concealed, and even memories that we dismissed without processing. Once these memories / thoughts / feelings start to flood us, we have the choice to hide them again or to accept them into our lives.

Any issue we are dealing with requires lots of energy from us. But hiding that issue (mainly from ourselves) requires much more energy, which eventually can deplete our vitality. The wiser (aka older) we grow, the more energy our body requires for daily functions and we have less energy to spare for other purposes.
As we grow wiser, we may feel more exhausted and sense that our body is not servicing us as before. Physical check would be a great venue to take to see what is happening, but along with that, it is imperative to take a deeper look and watch for hidden burdens. Since we are so accustomed to keep moving through our routines, it is not very obvious to us that we may disregard our feelings. When we learn to use our energy in the most efficient way for our body, healing can rise.

IMGP3436 (2).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

This is a process. A whole new world of inner discoveries. Nourishing touch should be regarded as a practice, like yoga or meditation, in order for our body to start trusting and letting go. The more we nourish, the healthier we get. The closer we are to real things – real food, real touch, real outdoor activities, real relationships, real emotional expression, real/honest reactions – the faster we can approach real healing.

Nourishing our Emotional, Mental and Spiritual aspects is essential. Simply because Physical nourishment is not enough. And Touch will probably cover them all…