Tag: Healthy body mind and spirity

Mindfulness meditation day for therapists

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

Some of the benefits of mindfulness documented in research, with the Heart-Math meditation and healing and cleansing meditation are that you are more present in your body and life, as well as more relaxed, in life decisions and more.

This is a day though for therapists, and hence we will do more than being present and relax, we get to a place of stillness, centering at out heart for more peace and calmness, as well as cleansing your cup of dirty water, and replenish it with clean full nourishing water for yourself and others.

What do I mean with that?

As therapists we do hold to some things or another, even if we try not to, and sometimes the residue of other people issues, might still linger within you, so have a day all for yourself, to be present, grounded and filled with more light to give!

The principles of mindfulness meditation are the following for the day, and the Heart-Math meditation from the heart will be included during the day, as well as grounding meditations and clearing meditations:

The day will follow the following principles:

Non-Judgment: impartial witnessing, observing your evaluations and categorizations. Noticing the automatic habit of labelling our experience as good, bad or neutral. Habit of judging locks us into an automatic reaction without being aware of them, where they do not have any objective basis. Once we are aware of out judging, then we can choose actions and behaviours more consciously, rather than automatically reacting to the situations in our environment. This principle is useful as we start to engage in a new mindfulness practice that our mind may judge as boring or a waste of time.

2) Patience: allowing things to unfold in their time, bringing patience to ourselves and others.  This is an understanding that sometimes things must unfold in their own time. This principle reminds us to be patient with ourselves as our mind is stretched in new ways. Patience is a helpful quality to invoke when the mind is agitated. To be patient, is to be open to each moment as it unfolds knowing that like the butterfly, that some things can only unfold in their own time. So, when starting out your mindfulness practice or anything else please stick through whatever takes place trusting that some things will make more sense after you have practiced them for a while.

3) Beginner’s Mind: Willing to see things as if for the first time.  We let our beliefs about a situation prevent us from seeing things as they really are. No moment is the same as any other. Beginner’s mind allows us to be receptive to new possibilities and prevents us from getting stuck in our mind, which often thinks it knows more than it actually does. Try to cultivate your own beginner’s mind as an experiment. The next time you see someone familiar, notice if you are seeing the person with fresh eyes or through the lens of your beliefs about that person. When you are out walking, see if you are noticing things, you might have overlooked before. Developing beginner’s mind opens you to possibilities in life you may be missing out on, because you are viewing everything through the lens shaped by past experiences, that is not aware of what else there is to learn and explore.

4) Trust: Developing trust in your feelings and yourself is an integral part of the mindfulness practice. The act of trusting yourself and your basic wisdom, is an important aspect of the mindfulness training.  If you are feeling strongly about something, it is important to attend to that, rather than ignore it because an outside authority is telling you to do so. Mindfulness is an objective process of inquiry and accepting what people of ‘authority’ tell you without questioning the validity of it for yourself is against the basic premise of mindfulness. It is important to stay open and learn from other sources but ultimately you have to live your life and make your choices that feel right to you. It is almost easier to trust external authorities to tell us how to live our lives. Mindfulness involves practicing trusting your own feelings and that doesn’t mean you react based upon all your feelings but that you explore any feelings that show up fully to see what they are telling you about a situation and then you trust yourself to come up with the right action.

5) Non-striving: non-goal oriented, remaining unattached to outcome or achievement. Even though everyone undertaking mindfulness practice has some goals intentions while they are taking their training, at the time of mindfulness practice itself, simply do the practice without any expectations. When you set expectations, such as feeling more relaxed, you are introducing conditions that don’t allow you to be fully present with what is, because you are trying to change the present to be something else. If you are trying to change the present then you are not being with what is, which is what the mindfulness training is. Remember to allow anything and everything that you experience from moment to moment to be there, because it already is. If you are tensed, just pay attention to the tension. If you are criticizing yourself, just observe the activity of the judging mind. Non-striving may be the most difficult of all the principles because in our culture we are taught to be goal-oriented and to be constantly doing something in order to reach our goals. In mindfulness you will reach your goals by not trying to change the present but by being present to whatever arises, and in that way, you will find that the goals are ultimately reached. This is perhaps something you will need to experience for yourself to really understand.

6) Acceptance: open to seeing and acknowledging things as they are. It does not mean approval or resignation. Acceptance is the willingness to see things as they really are. Acceptance does not mean that you have to be satisfied with the way things are or that you don’t do anything to change what you don’t like. When you have the ability to see things as they are you free up energy to take the appropriate actions, instead of working with a mind that is clouded by denial, prejudices, fears, and self-judgments.

7. Letting go: non-attachment and the ability to put aside the tendency to elevate some aspects of our experience and to reject others. Letting go is a way of letting things be, of accepting things as they are. When you observe your mind grasping or pushing away, you can remind yourself to let go of the impulse to grasp or push away and see what happens.

8. Gratitude: being thankful for the little things in life, can be very rewarding. Not taking our body for granted is also very rewarding for ourselves. Being thankful for what works in our body and mind is rewarding. Give thanks to our own body, inside and outside, e.g., gives thanks to our legs, our heart, our liver, our spleen, etc. Being thankful for the people who we have in our lives, that supports us, being thankful for our food, the earth that supply our food, and more.

9. Generosity: give to others, your time, or things that they need. Give attention to others, not for a reward but for the only reason that you would like to help others, that you would like to give to others, to make them feel better.

Contact Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) on esposito_m@yahoo.co.uk or call her on 07956662954

Reduces anxiety and panic attack are two of the many benefits:

● Stress reduction

● Clarity and focus

● Greater resilience

● Enhanced creativity

● Improved relationships

● Improved concentration

● Rapport and communication

● Improved health and wellbeing

● Greater confidence and self-esteem

● Ability to have better quality sleep

● Reduced anxiety and depression

● Improved work-life balance

● Greater work satisfaction

● Memory enhancement

● Intuitive ability

● Pain reduction

Resilience of the heart – productivity and creativity – emotional
intelligence – stress reduction and wellbeing.

Online workshop for therapists is £ 80 pounds to be paid via bank transfer on booking, your place is booked when paid.

Bank transfer to Maria Esposito TSB  code 308472 account 24603860 

Calcium during pregnancy and breastfeeding

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

During pregnancy, calcium is an important minerals for mothers and babies, and the amount required goes up quite a bit, and without uploading the intake, the mother is the one that will suffer from the consequences, and if really low, the baby will too. For type of dietary intake and preference the amount is 1200 mg a day. Here is the list of how you can get it. Download it on your phone in pdf so that you have it with you at all time:

click here to download pdf file

If you need more information about nutrition in pregnancy and craniosacral therapy in pregnancy, contact me on my phone or email me click here

How to hold a baby while working with them, plus questions workshop!

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

Tips on how to hold a baby while working through CST workshop online click here to read more

This will be a workshop of showing practical tips to work with babies when holding them, calming them down, before or during small adjustments, latching problems, sleeping problems and resistance to sleeping, mild torticollis tips, when they have reflux and colic and holding them and calming them, positions and more. Showing on a baby doll.

Questions on working with babies, what to do and not to do plus.

Zoom Link for the workshop will be given near the time and only if booked.

Recording link will also be given afterwards with 1 hour and half CPD.

Payment of £ 30.00

http://www.nutritionhealth.net

Function of the left and right Amygdala from birth

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

The importance of self-regulation, emotions and attachments since birth

  • The central nucleus of the amygdala has direct correlations to the hypothalamus and brainstem – areas directly related to fear and anxiety.
  • Many projection areas of the amygdala are critically involved in specific signs that are used to measure fear and anxiety.
  • There is a direct relationship between the activation of the amygdala and the level of anxiety the subject feels.
  • Feelings of anxiety start with a catalyst – an environmental stimulus that provokes stress. This can include various smells, sights, and internal feelings that result in anxiety.
  • Fear responses can include dizziness, faint, giving up, pleasing others, freeze, startle, high heart rate, etc. (stress cascade response). This can be felt through craniosacral treatment all over their system.
  • Moderate fear level causes a startle reflex, while a bigger fear does not. The amygdala is thought to be involved in enhancing the startle reflex in the moderate fear reaction (Walker).
  • Facial expression of fear or acknowledged fear is connected with the right amygdala. 
  • The right amygdala seems to be more connected and activated with the conditional fear, while the left is more connected with the non-conditional fears.
  • The amygdala in males, is bigger than the female one as the amygdala has got more androgen receptors and therefore testosterone stimulates the amygdala to grow more.
  • There is also difference in the left and right amygdala for both female and male.
  • The left full growth is about 1.5 to 2 years before the right full growth.
  • Right amygdala is connected to the face recognition. 
  • It is thought that the early left amygdala development, is due to giving infants the ability to detect danger (possible connection to primitive brain, the occipital brain). 
  • In childhood, the amygdala is found to react differently to same-sex versus opposite-sex individuals.
  • This reactivity decreases until a person enters adolescence, where it increases dramatically at puberty.
  • So, the amygdala is very important during the most difficult times in teenagers! If you have some now, brace yourself and blame it on the amygdala!
  • Difference in emotional stimulation in men and women have also been found.
  • A recollection of a horror film in women, would activate more the left amygdala, while same thing for men would activate more the right amygdala.
  • The right amygdala has been linked to taking action and to negative emotions. This is one of the reasons that men might fight when scared.
  • This is why men and women also respond differently to stressful stimuli, as the left amygdala allows for the recall of details, but it also results in more thought rather than action.
  • Amygdala can be affected by meditation, possibly resulting in more compassion and connection towards others, according to a study with Buddha Monks.
  • Left amygdala has been connected to anxiety in children.
  • Low activity of the gland in general though, results in more anxiety and depression.
  • The use of serotonin drugs increases the size of the amygdala (as we have mentioned above because of the receptors 5HT for serotonin).
  • Some studies also have connected autism to small left amygdala.
  • It seems that artistic or creative activity would increase the size and activity of the amygdala.
  • Amygdala also deals with positive emotions, (it could be because of more 5HT receptors in the right amygdala).
  • Amygdala size is also connected to the social interaction and network. The bigger the activity and size the more social the people were.
  • Emotional fear as we mentioned above is very much connected to the gland, as damage to both of them leads to having no fears at all, which can be dangerous for the person and people surrounding that person. 

The amygdala is an essential part of the connection and social activity and behaviour for later on in life. In babies, any birth trauma, in utero and post-birth can lead to possible unstable social behaviour from the start, they might either sleep too much and not connect or engage with the environment around them or scream their head off. Some babies will need more attention than others, and 1 to 3 or more, sessions of craniosacral therapy might help with balancing up their autonomic nervous system.

For adults it might take 10 or more sessions, but it is worth every single session, it will change their way of perceive life, by balancing the vagal nerve.

Written by Maria Esposito BSc (Hons), therapists, teacher and author.

The Journey to Self-healing, becoming fearless, articles by Maria Esposito BSc Hons

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

This article was written in 2021. Still very valid for the situation that is now around us, and not only for therapists, it is essential for each and everyone of us.

The Fulcrum, Issue 84 September 2021 by Maria Esposito

“When I first started working with a heart-centred connection, my practice was transformed. I found that working from the heart enabled me to connect with my higher self and strengthen my intuition. Clients commented on the treatment experience and the more I nurtured my heart connection, the more effective my work became.

Yet, developing heart connection was not easy or straightforward. There were times when the connection was open and grounded, spacious and flowing. Other times I resonated with painful emotions and experiences. Questioning why this could be so led me to recognise my own emotional pain and unconscious fears and accept my need to heal.

The self-healing journey takes many forms and different paths. Each one of us will need to find the best way to acknowledge, recognise and heal from our emotional pain and fear. Here, I will share my own journey, experiences and observations before recommending useful tools and techniques that may support self-healing.

A Healing Dynamic

From personal experience and from talking with others, I believe that quite often therapists attract clients who have experienced similar pain. It seems a case of ‘like attracts like’ and the resulting dynamic seeks resolution for both client and therapist.

Around ten years ago, clients began coming to me with symptoms and experiences rooted in childhood pain and trauma. I found that I often resonated with their emotional pain and, as I began to explore this, I realised that I carried similar experiences. My acknowledgement and awareness of this allowed space for my own early trauma and, as the memories returned, I accepted that I too needed healing.

Acknowledgement was the beginning of my own healing journey and as it unfolded I recognised and accepted the fear that had been part of my life since early childhood.

Freedom From Fear

During the past ten years of treating clients, including babies and parents, and myself, I have become aware that fear is one of the most prevalent emotions, often hiding behind others. Fear can stem from emotional or physical pain that we have suffered in the past. It can be unconscious, buried so deeply that it influences our thoughts, feelings and actions without us really being aware of it.

The more I healed the more my true self emerged

Feelings of anger, deep anxiety, depression and overwhelm, and behaviours like lashing out, withdrawing, addiction and self-harm, can all stem from fear. They can stem from childhood experiences, our early relationships, our upbringing, our education, our society, from the way we were taught to deal or not to deal with emotions, and be triggered by the things we watch, books that we read, from family, friends, colleagues or people we admire.

Expressions of fear are seen now more than ever. For the past year and half of the Covid-19 pandemic, global fear of the unknown and the stress of uncertainty has impacted many lives, including our own. Throughout, fear and worry about the mental and physical health of loved ones and friends, about jobs and finances, have been pervasive. In some, isolation from and/or loss of loved ones have left deep emotional trauma. In others, fear and worry converted into anger and frustration with devastating impact for partners and families. These experiences may impact not just the people directly affected but also future generations.

The Question is How Do We Move Forward, Individually and Collectively?

I grew up with parents who were born at the time of the second world war and fear was a constant factor in their lives; fear of not getting enough food, fear of getting hurt, fear of not having enough money to support the family.

In myself, I believe that this legacy of fear manifested primarily as self-reliance. I became a ‘doer’, generally resilient and solutions oriented when dealing with my worries, and proactive about controlling my life and pursuing my interests in health and healing without dependence on others. However, as I shared in my previous article “Transformation’ (Issue 82), it wasn’t until I started my CST training that I realised how ungrounded I was, and how easily fears and worries unbalanced me.

So, part of my healing journey has been to free myself of inherited and acquired fears, unconscious and conscious. The more I healed the more my true self emerged – a more grounded and positive individual, searching for ways to deal with life and emotions. I supported this new self-awareness with personal craniosacral sessions, energy healing, and meditation, ultimately leading to a different level of being that has enabled me to move forward with a greater sense of energy, direction and focus.

As I continued to develop my craniosacral and intuitive practice, and practised grounding and heart-connection, I appreciated how much better and happier I felt without anxiety. I noticed that the more I healed, the less drama, in the form of books, films or news, appealed to me and I decided to stop drawing fears from outside sources to myself.

Now, after fearful or worrying situations arise, it takes less time to get back to feeling balanced and centred. Read the entire article on the Fulcrum here

The Therapist Within, workshop for complementary therapists

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

This is an online workshop starting on 2nd of November 2025

6 to 7 hours of CPD personal development

Starts at 9.30am finishes about 4.30pm

We are humans, before being therapists, and as human, we have our own internal battle, or little conflict for something or another. We also need some inner resources, at times, at home or with our clients, during whatever therapy we do.

I know that I found myself at times, with small internal conflict, and even though I have the answer, sometimes I need the help from the another person perspective. And sometimes, it does not have anything to do with therapy at all.

I am a Nutritionist, Craniosacral Therapist NLP health coach and practitioner, and I love going to the NLP top ups, as a reminder that we all have an inner wisdom within us, we just need a bit of guidance to find it! And we are our best guide, if we listen carefully to our inner Therapist.

Hence, after another long day of practising few simple tools with the NLP group, I decided to pass on some of the wisdom for other therapist, who need at times, reconnect to their inner wisdom, for themselves and for their client.

Specifically, I work with craniosacral therapists, but this particular workshop, can be expanded to other therapists. And as you may know, the more internal peace we have within ourselves, the better listener we will be for our clients, including babies and children if you work with them with craniosacral therapy!

In this workshop, we will use few NLP tools for particular issues, and other NLP tools might be used as well if appropriate.

  • 1st one, will be the internal conflict tool (any internal conflict, small or big). This is an amazing discovery of how the internal conflict can create a little internal war within ourselves, if not addressed. Even for small decision, such as choosing to do something or not do it, or choosing a pair of shoes, over another.
  • 2nd tool, will be looking at goals/dreams that we have, and how our unconscious things we deal with them. Few NLP questioning of tools to trick our mind into our real thoughts and bloackages.
  • 3rd tool will be anchoring good positive feelings and state of mind, that we can recall at any time.
  • 4th is to get motivated for something that we want to do
  • Grounding meditations and others from mindfulness tool meditation
  • Clearing our aura and space meditation
  • Possible other NLP tools will be added to the list

Price for the workshop is 85 pounds, paid at booking via bank transfer. The receipt will be emailed to you after.

Maria Esposito TSB code 308472 account 24603860. Email me if you make this payment to gandgmariaesp@yahoo.c.uk

Being present, aligned and grounded

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

There are a lot of ways to be presents, through mindfulness meditation, through breathwork, through normal breathing, through exercise of any kind, including walking. All of them, do not align you into who you are and what your purpose in life is. I found that in the past 14 years, thanks to craniosacral therapy/healing, that I have been doing and having it myself, that I found that alignment and healing your inner self, and get back to yourself, is more than just being present.

Being present is the first step of many. I found that with craniosacral therapy/healing, for myself and the many hundreds of people I have had the honour to support through their journey of getting to connect to their inner self and healing themselves through the craniosacral therapy, is doing a lot of hundreds steps!

Being aligned with yourself, is getting rid of other people expectation of yourself, as well as the social expectation and what other people think you need to be and do, and get to your own way of wanted to be and do. This is a journey, starting from getting rid of the past pain, possible trauma, and much more. Understanding who you are and change yourself towards what your potential is! Start your journey now, taking 1 step at the time towards your inner self!

I work with a combination of NLP to find your way of support that you have in you to deal with different emotions and feelings!

Understanding your mind flexibility and more!

Dysautonomia, or part of your autonomic nervous system not working well. What is it?

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

Now I am not sure if anyone has heard of the term Dysautonomia. This is not a medical term, but the problems do exist. Now when withing a year a term comes up from two different people, than I think is something. So, I researched it a bit and the following are what I found out. Now, some of the symptoms can be related to many things, so do not take this as the bible, but if you have some of the symptoms, and the doctors cannot find anything at all, it is worth to see a neurologist and see what they say. Also, there might be a solution, of having high B vitamins, and particularly the B1 of the fat-soluble form, which is synthetic but has worked for a colleague. I would also try the high dosage of water soluble one to see if it helps. The Vagal nerve is part of the ANS and it is connected to the major organs, such as the heart, lungs, digestive system and more. The vagal nerve when is working well, allows the person to breathe, properly, the heart rate is at a normal relaxing rate, the digestive system works well and the person can sleep well as well. When the Vagal Nerve which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is in turn part of the ANS, is turned off, due to his counter part the Sympathetic Nervous System, which is the one that makes you run from your danger, or in this case Stress of everyday life, than you might have a constant high heart rate, sleep poorly, have many problems of the digestive system, either constipation as the stools dry up more, or diarrhoea as the body is trying to empty itself before running.

Dysautonomia seems to have connections with the some of the Vagal Nerve malfunctions. It seems that can also occur after a virus, and it seems to be connected to COVID or any other major viruses.

If the person immune system has been down, due to possible deficiency of B vitamins or other nutrients, than everything else will not work well. If you do not know B vitamins are the water-soluble vitamins that are essential for making the energy in your body to make everything, including compounds and proteins for the immune system, proteins to create enzymes for digestions and repair of the body, organs, muscles and nerves. B vitamins are not the only essential nutrient needed, our body also need minerals fat and amino acid.

Now in a time that is a trend to do some two days fasting, with 12 fasting or more every day.

With a time that our soil has less minerals, our food contains even less of the nutrients that we need, with a time that there is more crap available to buy with the click of the button and so on, well no wonder that our body is shutting down.

I hear teenagers that skip their breakfast as they are too tired to eat in the morning, they skip their lunch, as they do not have time for that at school, and they sometimes skip dinner, as they do not feel well enough to eat. So, sugar for the energy, fizzy drinks, coca cola, red bull, chips for quick fix of the body requesting some food for the organs and the brain.

For some kids and people, they take vitamins and minerals to help them cope, their parents cook well and are conscious of good healthy foods. For many that is not the case, so they are tired at school, they are tired at home, they are tired when they wake up in the morning after a 10-hour sleep!

Coming back to dysautonomia, where part of the ANS shuts down, without having any prior genetic disorder, what are the symptoms?

Just bear in mind that the following symptoms could be caused by other reasons:

  • Drop in blood pressure, causing dizziness or fainting
  • Fast or slow heart rate or both at the times in the same day
  • Heat like you are having a menopausal flush, and then cold all of the sudden without being in menopause or being a woman!
  • Nausea or gastrointestinal problems
  • Trouble breathing or swallowing
  • Urinary dysfunction
  • Vision problems
  • General weakness

The breathing problems seems to be on movement, rather than standing still, even when moving in bed when laying down.

How do you get to Dysautonomia without being genetic?

  • Drinking too much
  • Undiagnosed celiac disease
  • Diabetes or pre diabetes
  • Mast cell activation Disorder (I stand to correct the prior statement, I have now seen 4 people with dysautonomia since the pandemic)
  • Mitochondrial diseases
  • Toxicity from chemotherapy or heavy metal poisoning

to name some of the possible lead to dysautonomia.

Well, the conventional scientific method has no cure or treatment for non-genetic dysautonomia, apart for physical exercise recommendation, which at times it is not possible, especially if you cannot breathe when you move even an inch, increase in sodium intake, which might or might not help. Obviously, you do need to see a neurologist in severe cases or symptoms.

The non-conventional way but most natural way is a High dosage of B vitamins with other minerals and vitamins essential to nourish the neurones on your nervous system. Craniosacral therapy to rebalance the vagal nerve if it is the one that is causing the problem. Mindfulness meditation or any kind of meditation and rests with, when possible, a gentle movement of the body, even if it is on the spot.

It is essential and important that you get a diagnosis of dysautonomia, or have checked all the possible genetic problems and causes of your symptoms before you read and more of what you can do with dysautonomia. And a possible collaboration of medical and non-medical or looking for both sides of the health practitioner the medical and non-medical even without holding hands with each other!

This is not a medical diagnoses and any suggestions are only suggestions, anything that you take or do needs to be checked by a professional practitioner for your own issues!

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapists – NAET – R-Craniosacral therapist – NLP practitioner – PCI NLP Health coaching – Certified Angel Guide – Mindfulness Meditation teacher – The resilient Heart (Heart-Math) meditation and 12.5 hours CPD in Trauma for professionals – M-Bant – M-CSTA – CHNC registered

Preparing for pregnancy: Nutrition and connections for having a human being!

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

Making a human being, needs to be thought and prepare the vessel, or a woman body, as well as the man sperm, to make sure that the human being that you are making, is healthy, and stays healthy in their adult life.

And it is true that sometimes, the grandmothers health is as important as the parents themselves. That is because the eggs of the women are already there since birth. So the health of the father or the mother, has been determined in some way already by the health of their mothers.

The second stage of your baby health is the parents body health. For the man, if they want a healthy sperm, they need to prepare at least 3 months before to even started to have a baby, as the cycle of the sperm take almost 3 months to complete. So for the sperm to be healthy the man needs to start giving up alcohol, and increase their exercise and healthy eating at least 3 months before.

For the mother, again if they smoke (or both parents smoke, ideally start reducing or giving up, without the vape either, as that is pure nicotine, 6 months or a year before hand).

The mother vitamin A needs to be there stored in the liver. Vitamin A is essential for fertility for both parents, cell division and replication, when there an insemination and then for implantation of the embryo, as well as for the eyes health.

For the vegetarian form, beta-carotene during pregnancy does not convert well to Retinol, so might be important that a supplement of vitamin A, or retinol, before falling pregnant is essential for vegetarian and vegan mothers.

Iron status also needs to be at optimum level for mothers, so that they do not fall too low during pregnancy. Iron is essential for many functions and growth during pregnancy for the mother and the baby.

Vitamin D is also essential to be at optimum level for mothers prior to pregnancy, as well as vitamin E. Vitamin D for calcium uptake for mothers and babies, and vitamin E a anti-oxidant for both.

Vitamin B12, is also essential to be at optimum level prior to pregnancy as essential for many function during pregnancy, especially for vegetarian, vegans and any one that had eating disorders, or disorder eating in the past.

Zinc also essential in many function during pregnancy.

Other essential vitamins for everyday health and fertility are the water soluble vitamin Bs, all of them, and in particular B3 and B6. Water soluble vitamins like the B vitamins and vitamin C and iodine, do get eliminated everyday, so you need to eat food that has them every day.

Also your thyroid is essential for you to get pregnant, so make sure that your thyroid is in good health. You might need to take kelp or iodine if you are low, to fall pregnant. The thyroid is essential to maintain the metabolism and your energy during pregnancy and after, and it is the one that is quite tired at the end of pregnancy and during breastfeeding.

There are lots more vitamins and minerals, as well as carbohydrates, fat essentials and non essential, and proteins, that are in need to be in a balanced way, before, during and after pregnancy. If you had multiple pregnancy before, than you might need to top up on some of the nutrients before you have your next one!

and ALSO

Connecting to your baby when you are pregnant will make so much difference to that baby landing to the outside world. There are more and more studies now, (if you are want proof), that baby do feel if the mother touches their belly, or talk to the belly, even at an early stage, and if you explain to your baby in your belly, that one day you were upset or stressed or overwhelmed, and that way of being had nothing to do with the baby, that whatever they are feeling or sensing, is something that you as a mother were going through, the baby will come out in this world understanding that what he/she felt was not his/hers and hence they do not hold on to it through their lives!.

Talk and communicate with your baby, before they are born or certainly when they are born. Communications is the way a baby will understand you, and when they cry is the way they communicate with you that something is not right with them.

Most of all when they are born, do cuddle them, hold them, go to them when they cry, kiss them and tell them that they are so precious and important. Sing and laugh with them, from conception to birth and beyond! Enjoy the little ones!

You can book an appointment with me by email me or call me to make sure that you are preparing nutritionally and mentally for your first baby or multiple babies.

Craniosacral therapy is a perfect combination of a healthy body and mind and connecting to your beautiful baby or babies, during pregnancy. North London clinic

Understanding Hypoglycemia: Causes and Effects

by Craniosacral Therapy/Paediatric craniosacral therapy/Nutrition/NAET/ NLP Health Coach/Mindfulness meditation, posted in Blog

Hypoglycemia, is quite common or more common than you think. Some times is due to genetic but most of the time, and especially in the modern diet, is due to what we eat and drink. Especially for young children and teenagers, the modern diet now is full of fizzy drinks, coca cola, red bull (full of caffeine which increases the blood sugar), juices, even the fresh made ones, as there is no fiber, that includes carrots juice.

How would you fill with hypoglycemia, either as an adult or child/teenager?:

  • Tired
  • dizziness
  • lightheaded
  • irritate
  • fainting spells
  • depressed
  • anxious
  • craving for sweet or a quick fix
  • confusion
  • night sweats
  • legs weakness
  • swollen feet (for older adults)
  • tight chest feeling
  • hungry all the time
  • insomnia (especially if eating sugary food before bedtime) (blood sugar goes down quickly and person or child or even babies wake up hungry)

Hypoglycemia can lead to aggressive behaviours and quick change of temper. This can happen shortly after eating sweets or sugary drinks. This is not just when you eat sugary foods or drinks, if you eat white simple carbohydrates such as white pasta and rice/bread, alcohol, lots of caffeine, lots of chocolate, and eat only vegetables as well, without any protein, fat or whole carbohydrate.

The whole carbohydrate, is whole bread, pasta and brown rice, quinoa, barley and whole grains and foods, including potatoes with the skin on.

To have a slow release of sugar, and hence reduce the chance of your child, yourself or your teenager to have bounces of low blood sugar levels, and hence irritability, burst of anger and screaming for no reasons, or sleeping problems, is important that each meal has some carbohydrate, protein and fat.

A lunch or dinner or both, you can have portions of grains, or potatoes or greens for adults that are worried about their weight, with a portion of either fish, or meat, or beans, lentils, chickpeas (cooked with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to soften the shells, so that do not cause much gas).

Fruits are best eaten either with breakfast with porridge of whatever grains is suitable for you, with plain yogurt, a bit of pure honey, some nuts or seeds (if not allergic to).

Snacks in between are apples, pears, with skin on, or mandarins or blueberries with a bit of yogurts, or humus, avocado with rice cakes or whole bread. There are lots of alternative foods out there, but the best way to get all the nutrients you need and more is to get as fresh and without packed food as possible.

To balance blood sugar, you need a good amount of B vitamins, chromium, good fats, fiber and a slow releasing food intake, with avoidance of sugary foods and drinks. As sometimes it is hard to have a good intake of B vitamins, especially now days, where the trend is eat what you want for 5 days and fast for two days in a week. Or avoid food for 16 hours, plus go to sleep and avoid foods for another 12 hours, have a coffee to get you some sugar and wake you up, than have another one later with a sweet pastry or worse. Have red bull (someone in a casual chat while hiking said to me, it is quite good for the heart, it has got taurine!), for the afternoon and evening, well get some chips only and have alcohol for some more energy!

and yes

I would still take and give some multivitamins as well, as if you live in London, is very hard to get a really fresh food that gives you everything, as well as to fight the toxins from the big city, and as vegetables and fruits lose their nutrients by the day, it will be hard for us to get the amount of vitamins and minerals from the food alone. Unless you are lucky enough to live near a farm or have an allotment and a garden, where you can just pick up your vegetables from there before eating it, than forget the vitamins. You must have also a fruit garden and free range animals and chickens for the eggs and …….

My parents moved to the countryside from a town and that was a blessing, as they still grow seasonal vegetables in big vases. I cannot do it in London, I know that some people can, and that is amazing!

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapists – NAET – R-Craniosacral therapist –NLP health coach practitioner – Certified Angel Guide – Mindfulness Meditation teacher – The resilient Heart (HeartMath) meditation and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) – MBant – M-CSTA – CHNC registered