Consider some of these alternative treatments to feel your best at any age
Ageing: some of us find the thought unnerving while others try to embrace it. Being comfortable in our skin is something that many of us find easier as we get older, but what if there was a way that we could help our body feel it’s best too? Complementary therapies can act as a buffer against some of the parts of getting older that are less glamorous.
1. Acupressure
“Acupressure is a traditional Chinese therapy that involves applying pressure, normally with the fingertips, to points around your body to stimulate sluggish ‘qi’ energy flow,” explains David James Lees, traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and therapist (wuweiwisdom.com ). “Stimulating your kidney energy is vital for overall health as you age. This is because there is a powerful acupressure point in the centre of your lower back known as ‘ming men’ or ‘gate of vitality’, which is positioned directly over your kidneys. Pressing this will help boost your energy levels. There is also a range of anti-ageing acupressure points around your face, head and neck that can be used to revitalise the facial muscles, plus improve general complexion and skin tone. The third eye point – located in the middle of your forehead, between your eyebrows. Pressing this point may stimulate the pituitary gland to enhance skin health and relieve fatigue. To try acupressure for yourself, apply firm (but not painful) pressure on each point with your index finger, or you can use a pencil with a soft rubber at the end. Do this for one minute and repeat if you wish.
2. Acupuncture
Acupuncture; the therapy of inserting needles into the body as a means of stimulating its own healing chemicals, can be helpful in treating health issues that are typically associated with ageing. “To help support your hormone balance, brain functioning, bone strength, hearing, eyesight and teeth as they age, it’s important to tonify the kidney energy,” says David. “A powerful acupuncture point is ‘kidney 3’, also known as ‘supreme stream’, which is at the source point of the kidney energy channel, located close to the inner ankle. Many people suffer from tightness as they age and by rebalancing the kidney and liver energy, this can be effective in helping ease aches and pains.
3. Reflexology
“This ancient art is immensely powerful and targets the feet and the hands,” explains Michelle. “Most of your nerve endings can be located in your feet. By stimulating a series of points, you can influence your body’s internal balance. Your feet are like a map, with the spinal column running up the arch of each foot, and the head and neck at the big toe, and continues to reflect the layout of your body with the hips and pelvis at the heels. A practitioner will work systematically across this map, focusing on areas that feel blocked or have ‘grittiness’. An aromatherapy body oil can be used to enhance this treatment, as your feet are one of the quickest body parts to absorb essential oils. Reflexology can help to clear deep physical blockages, influence hormonal balance and detoxify. Collectively, it will boost body health, relaxation and vitality, and profoundly enhance repair and rejuvenation.”
4. Aromatherapy
“Essential oils have many anti-ageing benefits due to each of them having nuanced functions that work actively on physical and emotional problems,” says Michelle Roques-O’Neil, founder of Therapie Roques O’Neil (roquesoneil.com ). “Often people don’t fully understand what these oils offer. The physical imbalance is a result of emotional stress which can impact your hormones, which, in turn, can affect your vitality. Many essential oils are phytoestrogens (substances found in certain plants which can produce effects similar to that of the hormone oestrogen) and are easily absorbed through your skin. Due to this, they help to reduce dryness, as well as enhance tone, particularly in mature skin. The key oils that promote skin rejuvenation and health include patchouli, as it’s moisturising; geranium, as it heals and improves circulation, and rose, which is anti-inflammatory and refining.”
5. Osteopathy
“Ageing often means a loss of fluid,” explains osteopath Avini Trivedi (avini-touch.com ). “As we age, this figure drops to less than 60 percent. Osteopathic treatment, which is the process of detecting, treating and preventing health problems by moving, stretching and massaging muscles and joints, can help. It maintains fluid circulation around the body, including blood, lymphatics (which get rid of waste and transport infection-fighting white blood cells) and ceprosbinal fluid that nourishes the nervous system, as well as keeping cells plump and healthy. Having regular osteopathy will help keep your spine and other joints moving.
6. Massage therapy
“Massage therapy has more than simply for it’s pampering benefits,” says Tom Austin, founder of Tom Austin Massage and Sports Therapy (tomaustin.org ). “A good massage will not only improve physical and mental health, but the various techniques that a massage therapist uses will also help to stimulate circulation. This encourages collagen cell growth, which keeps your skin rejuvenated and healthy. Most therapists are told to work towards the different lymph nodes, which are responsible for flushing all waste products that accumulate in your system. By reducing the toxic waste build-up under your skin, this maintains a look of youth.
