Happy Holi and recent updates

Hi All.  I hope everyone had a good February and made the most of the last of the plesasant weather.  Jaipur has certainly got warm once again.  Summer is almost here and the busiest period coming to an end.

 Holi festivities

Before all that though we have Holi! Happy Holi everyone.  I hope you all have a great time celebrating.  Have a briliant time!

The Indian Wedding

As many of you know, February was a busy month for me and I got married.  I haven't had an opportunity to share photos with everyone till now so am putting some here.  Dhruv and I got married over the 14th & 15th February.  It was a fun and special occassion and lovely to have our friends and loved ones there.  

 We have decided not to take our honeymoon now and will take it in the summer time instead.  It was a busy time getting organised for the wedding though and I took 10 days off which included spending some time with my sister and friends who visited.  I've been back massaging since February 20th.  It's been a busy time catching up with you all.

UK travel dates

The season is coming to an end!  I know many of us are especially busy in these winter months and when summer comes along it's time to take a step back, prepare for the next season and take some time to do things we've been putting on hold.....perfect time to look after our health and fitness.

For me, that time of year will be here once again and i will be heading to the UK for my therapy work, along with time with my Mum to help take care of her.  

I will be away from 3rd April till 21st May, just over six and a half weeks, whilst I attend to my UK clients and help care for my Mum.  We will have a mini celebration in the UK with my Mum who was too unwell to travel.  There's still three weeks to go so there's time to book your sessions in and to enjoy all the different treatments that we offer at the studio.

Dry needling

We've been providing a lot of dry needling within our treatments recently, as we continue to see more people with specific injuries, tightness and areas of restriction.  It's been great to use the needling to get in there further and to enhance the massage therapy especially when working into some complex issues.

Dry needling and massage therapy work well together as the needling allows us to get deeper into a muscle, and to hit trigger points in a way that is different from massage.  We need the massage element to warm up the muscles, break down the specfic tight spots and then the needle to be used after to target the problem area further.

Healthy smoothie receipes

With summer almost here, it's a great opportunity to cool yourself down with a healthy smoothie.  Smoothies are a brilliant way of getting your daily fruit and vegetable requirements met as you can pack lots in to one smoothie, not to mention how filling they are, so can be used as a meal replacement.  Their simply a cup of tasty goodness.

There are some basic and easy recipes in this link and you can move onto trying to make your own or explore some of the more complex smoothies on this second site.  

https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipes/smoothie/

https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/breakfast-smoothie-recipes/

The first link allows you to get a flavour for smoothies and is simple however it's even better if you can pack your smoothie with lots more fruit and veg.  Spinach and cucumber are great to add to smoothies

https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/vegan-healthy-superfood-smoothie/

I know I'm going to be enjoying a lot of smoothies over this warm weather.

Importance of sleep

We all know sleep is good for us but do we know what sleep really does to help us?  

Sleep allows our body to heal and repair and this includes our brain and memory.  It allows our tissues to repair and so sleep is crucial for keeping ourselves healthy both physically and mentally.  Lack of sleep can leave you feeling emotional, unable to concentrate properly, lead to more aches and pains as the body hasn't had enough time to rest and a weakened immune system.  It can lead to elevated levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

The phrase good sleep for good health is so true and with the right amount of sleep, which for most people is 7 - 9 hours, you boost your immune system, allow the body to repair itself which means quicker recovery, improve concentration and reduce stress levels.  Reducing our screentime and setting up healhty night time habits can help to have better sleep which in turn will affect how you physically and mentally feel.

As a reminder, I will be heading to UK on 3rd April and return 6 and a half weeks later on 21st May.  It's a long trip but it's important I spend time with my Mum whose health still continues to be problematic.  

So if you'd like a session before i go then we have several weeks but letting everyone know in advance so you can book in what you need to before my travels.

Have a wonderful Holi, full of light, fun and positivity!

Fit and Fab in Feb

 I'm late with the belated New Year wishes!  Hard to believe already a month of the year is over.  I hope everyones year is off to a good start.  That you've set some nice goals and intentions and are ready for a great year ahead.

It feels like winter is coming to an end and the warmer weather has already begun.  The warmer weather will certainly be benefical for all those aches and pains as the cold tends to make things worse.  

The new year is a great opportunity to start putting the health first.  So why not take up the challenge of getting Fit in Feb and by fit we mean not just phyiscally but mentally too.  It's time to give yourself an overhaul.

Yoga Class

At J.R.T we offer a regular Tuesday morning yoga class.  Several of you have expressed interest in attending, so maybe this is the month to do so.  Anna runs a class at 11.30am every Tuesday and is a very experienced yoga teacher with a real passion for yoga and well being.  She finishes with a lovely little meditation at the end after a thorough yoga workout.

Sound Meditation

Our regular sound meditation session has moved from the Saturday evening to Thursday evening.  It runs every three weeks.  If it's a little too long to wait inbetween sessions, you can also organise your own private group or individual session.

Sound meditation is a wonderful way of soothing the mind and body.  A way to switch off, to let go, to clear the thoughts and find that inner stillness.  Through the range of different instruments being played, it creates a rhythmical and cleansing space.  Sound meditation is ideal for people who struggle to meditate as before you know it, you've drifted off to a floating calmness.  It's ideal for people who've never meditated before or find it hard to switch off.

Benefits of Meditation - How to get started

I think many of us know the benefits of meditation, that it helps to reduce stress levels, provide mental clarity, enhances self awareness, allows you to think better and be less consumed and controlled by emotions.  Clients often ask me about how to meditate, as although they like the idea of it, they find it hard to do.  

To get started with meditation, it can help to have something to focus upon, some people use a candle flame others use an image on the wall.  By looking at the object and staying focused upon it, so that you are in the moment, the mind can begin to clear.  If you're struggling, you can focus on the breathing.  It can help to set an alarm so that you're only meditating for a few minutes to begin with and by having the alarm you can resist the temptation to see how long you have been meditating for.  In the beginning, meditating can feel long when it has only been 2 minutes.  

Setting yourself the intention of meditating for 5 minutes to begin with and three times a week are more realistic plans than trying to meditate everyday and so you're more likely to stick to this.   You can then build it up as time goes on. Music can sometimes help and it's always best to find a quiet place where you're not likely to be interrupted.

Goal Setting

Whilst January is often a key time for setting those goals and intentions, February is the perfect time too.  Pyshologists say that we are more likely to keep up the goals we set in February as opposed to the ones we make at the beginning of the year.  With goal setting, it's always best to set goals that may push you somewhat out of your comfort zone but are also realistic, so no goal setting that you'll go to the moon this year!  

If you set yourself between 5 - 7 goals for the year, it gives you a more achievable time limit to complete them within and doesn't leave you feeling overwhelmed.  You can review the goals on a monthly or regular basis to see how you're progressing towards completing them and if any need changing out as sometimes the things we thought we wanted, we no longer do. It helps to set monthly steps to work towards your goals so that you are making the practical steps to achieving them.  Perhaps there are goals and intentions you've had that you've been putting off and you could make them your target for the year.  Mine will be to work on my strength and flexibility as overall strength is so important for us.

Finishing for the wedding

As many of you know, i am getting married this month.  It's been a busy and hectic time to get here but we are looking forward to the celebrations ahead.  This will be my last full working week before i finish on the 9th Feb.  It will resume work from 21st Feb.  So if you do want a session before the wedding and my 10 days off, then send me a message and will get you booked in.  Sessions are filling fast.

That's all for this month.  Hope everyone has a great February😊

 

Updates & All things new for November

I hope you've all had a wonderful Diwali and a special time celebrating with friends and family and a chance to reflect upon light over coming darkness, especially in the times we live in.  It's important to find beauty in the simplest of things.  

Returning from the UK trip
It's great being back with you all after my trip to the UK where I had the opportunity to pick up some additional pieces for the business including a new instrument for the sound meditation and do some additional training in cupping.

Introducing cupping

I was fortunate to attend a cupping course whilst I was in the UK and am looking forward to adding this modality in to some of the remedial therapy sessions.  Cupping  can be carried out both statically by placing the cups there and leaving for up to 10 minutes.  This allows the blood to be drawn to the surface through the suction created with the cupping.

The cups can also be used with movement and is another way of getting into the tissue, working differently to massage by lifting up the tissue and fibres whereas in massage we apply pressure down.  Ultimately it's another way of trying to get into those problem areas, to remove restrictions and to free up the muscles further.

We will be offering cupping in conjunction with either our dry needling or our deep tissue therapy treatments.  They can be combined to provide the greatest effect for muscles.

A reminder of the different treatments we offer
We often get asked what other treatments we offer, so as a reminder that aside from the deep tissue remedial therapy and swedish therepeautic massage that we offer we have many other treatments.  From winter warming hot stone massage, head and face massages, dry needling, sound meditation or guided meditation.  Our massage and sound meditation combo sessions have proved very popular since we introduced them earlier in the year and we know a lot of you are loving the massage and dry needling modalities together.

A reminder of the policies
As I write about the business here, it's an opportunity to remind people of the policies.  Firstly i want to start by saying a big thank you to everyone for keeping your appointments and for the low number of cancellations.  However we continue to see some very last minute cancellations, often within a few hours before the session.

Therefore it has become necessary to remind people of the cancellation charge which has been in place for some time and that it will be upheld going forward,  regardless of reason.  This charge is 50% of the treatment cost if cancelled within less than 12 hours notice and full session cost for no show.  Often when sessions are cancelled at short notice, there's not enough time to fill the space and others miss out who had been waiting for a session.  This ensures fairness all round.

Sound Meditation Schedule
With the season now in full swing, we're running our regular sound meditation groups again including the sound sessions we do in collaboration with other spaces.  Below is the schedule for November.  You can get in touch to book a space for sessions at the studio and I can give you the contact details for the events at other spaces.

Upcoming workshops
This coming weekend we have our collaboration with FindYourFit.  Three restorative and soothing workshops to help you relax, unwind and reset after the busy Diwali period.  A chance to take care of your health and well being after the Diwali season.

Unwind After the Festive Hustle at Wellness Day Out! 🌿

✨ After the festive rush, take time to reset and recharge with a day just for you. Join us for three soul-soothing wellness workshops designed to bring calm, creativity, and connection.

📆 10th November

🕐 2:00-6:30 PM

📍 Promenade, Hotel Clarks Amer Jaipur

Here’s what’s in store:

1. 🙇‍♀️ The Breathful Escape: Breathwork to reconnect | 2-3 PM

2. 🎵 Soul Sound Bath: Immersive relaxation through sound | 3:15-4:15 PM

3. 🌸 DIY Body Oil: Craft your own custom blend | 5-6:30 PM

Treat yourself to a day of calm and care—let's reset together!

📲 Reserve your spot: https://linktr.ee/FindYourFit.event

📞 For details, call: 7339830274

It's sure to be a brilliant and restorative wellness day, so why not sign up to take part.  Our DIY body oil workshop will provide an opportunity to make your own nourishing and restorative body oil, ideal for the dryness of the winter months.   

Facial massage and cosmetology treatments by Yulia

Talking of health and welbeing, I wanted to mention Yulia and her amazing facials.

It's always important to support and give a shout out to other small businesses, especially other therapists and going forward, each month we will do a shout out to a small business that we admire and think you might want to hear about.

This month is Yulia who is a comsetologist here in Jaipur.  Originally from Russia, she has recently set up her space and is offering face and skin related treatments.  I had a lovely treatment with her recently and really benefited from her expertise and her hydrating ways for my face!  She has an instagram page where she shares comsetology related information and helpful tips.  Here is her price list and whatsapp contact details incase anyone would like to try one of her lovely face treatments.

Monthly charity/NGO
As our sound meditation pracitce continues to grow, we've decided to spread the connection that goes with these kind of events by supporting one NGO a month through donating the proceeds from one of our sound bath sessions.  Each month, we will donate the proceeds from one of our sound meditation sessions to an NGO.

This month the NGO will be Help In Suffering, a long standing and caring NGO helping animals in need.

We are what we eat!
For the new beginnings post Diwali, I've pledged to really start to eat truly nurturing, soulful food.  In next month's blog posts I'll share some recipe suggestions and information regarding what foods are helpful for us to consume including those for inflammation in the body.  Perhaps we can all make a pledge to eat a little bit more mindfully to ensure the right nutrients in the body so we can nurture from the inside outwards.

That wraps things up for November's newsletter.  I hope everyone begins to rest and recharge after the Diwali celebrations and chance to restore the body once more.

Hopefully see some of you either for a therapy session or at the sound meditation groups or workshops!

Monsoon

 Happy Monsoon season!  Jaipur is looking so green.  The humidity is certainly challenging though and temperatures have been high but this last bout of rain might make things a little cooler.

The monsoon also bring it's own problems for the body, what with the excess humidity.  Humidity causes increase in loss of water and salts from the body through sweating more and as a result we can feel more fatigue, muscle aches and cramping.

High humidity also thickens the blood and increases pressure in the blood vessels.  More effort is then required to pump the blood through the body and joint cartilage often doesn't get the necessary amount of fluid required which can result in aches and pain.  Everything just tends to hurt more in this high humidity as muscles and ligaments expand.

Reminder of dry needling
You may have seen on Instagram, one or two posts about the dry needling we offer.  We really love providing dry needling treatments especially in combination with the deep tissue massage and find it brings about great results.  

Dry needling allows us to get into muscular tension in a different way to deep tissue massage so that when their both combined together, their really helping to tackle the problem area from lots of different ways.  Together they seem to provide quicker results.

Massage and Meditation combo treatment 

Despite it being the off season, it's actually been a busy time at the studio, what with our massage therapy sessions, dry needling and meditation sessions.  A little reminder too of the massage and sound meditation combined session we now offer at the studio.  This is proving a popular treatment and a wonderful way to experience two popular treatments.

We begin with the massage to reduce tension and restriction and then flow into the sound meditation for 30 minutes of mind stillness and deep relaxation.  It's a great way to switch off and let go.

A free new guided meditation
We've been providing lots of sound meditation sessions recently both in conjunction with two great spaces - The Art Ghar (Shyam Nagar) and Yalloe Yoga (Civil Lines).  Both are well reputed spaces with big followings.  As always, we have been providing our regular sound meditation group sessions at the studio and both private sound meditation and guided meditation sessions.  In  my free time I also like to create recorded guided meditations.  It's been a while since I made one, but am sharing my latest one with you.  It's a restorative guided meditation that will leave you feeling uplifted and rejuvenated.

Restorative Guided Meditation

Wellness Day Out - Jaipur
Following on from all the meditation talk, we are excited to be collaborating with Find Your Fit.  A brilliant initiative to bring health and well being to the forefront and for us to start making our well being a priority, something we hugely believe in at J.R.T  

In collaboration with Find Your Fit we are running workshops on their Wellness Day Out.  Held on 10th August at Clarks Amer.  For both men and women, it's a brilliant opportunity to take some time for you, to focus on your health and well being and participate in the different workshops available.

We'll be offering our popular sound meditation session at the Wellness Day Out, as well as an opportunity to learn more about aromatherapy with our Aromatherapy Discovery workshop.  We'll look at a variety of oils, how they can be of benefit and you'll also get the opportunity to make your own room spray using a choice of oils, that you can make and take home with you.  Many of you have experienced the sound meditation sessions and find them very relaxing and restorative and so know how beneficial they are.

The whole afternoon is sure to be a brilliant experience.  You can check out Find Your Fit on Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/findyourfit.in/.  There you can also find out how to sign up for the workshops and all the brilliant work they do.

Harmony & Healing: Sound Meditation Workshop for inner peace

https://zoma.to/live-event/46566

 💫 Aromatherapy Awakening: Make your own Pillow spray and experience the power of essential oils

https://zoma.to/live-event/46567

🎨 A Reflective Pause: Discover expression through art, let your emotions out on a canvas.

https://zoma.to/live-event/46568

Have attached the booking links here too.

Essential Oil collection
I know a lot of you have been interested in our essential oil range that we have available to buy at the studio.  We've added some more essential oils to the range so there's a wider choice of essential oils available to purchase.  These come in 15ml sizes and can be used for a wide range of needs.  Happy to advise regarding what oils can be used for which purpose.  Attaching the list of oils available.

Pillow recommendation
A lot of you ask me about the pillow i use during the sessions and ask for the link, so I figured why not share it here.  It is a great pillow as it is ergonomically designed to give the best support for the neck as it has a dip in the pillow so it has the support for the neck and then dips down for the head part, so it's not pushing the head up and is keeping the head in a neutral position.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0C4Q67T7Z/

It's an ideal pillow for those sleeping on their backs or sides, which is really the ways we should be sleeping.  Stomach sleeping is not ideal and is a position you want to get out of as it puts pressure on the lower back and causes the neck to be twisted to one side which shortens the muscles on one side and over extends on the others.

When it comes to body posture, we always want to keep our posture in the most neutral position, so not looking down lots, eyes at eye level, not crossing legs which pulls on the lower back and sleeping on the back so it provides the best support. Work on some postural changes and you might be surprised how that impacts the rest of the body.

That's all for this month but will update you all in August.  Enjoy the monsoon rains, the cooler weather and all the festivals to come in August!

March updates & UK travel dates

It seems the winter is over and the warmer weather has begun.  As someone who loves the heat, I'm happy! Plus it gives our bodies the much needed vitamin D which is important for healthy bones and our immune system.

I hope you're all having a great March and looking forward to this holiday weekend.  I know it's been a busy couple of months what with wedding season and plenty of social events happening in Jaipur, perfect opportunity perhaps to schedule a massage therapy session now that things are beginning to calm a little!  

Here's the latest updates from J.R.T.

News from the studio

It's been a busy time at the studio as Indi-ssentials has been very busy and I've been seeing lots of you for your therapy sessions too.

Thank you to everyone who has been patient whilst the shop renovation work above was going on.  It's finally almost complete and I appreciate everyone putting up with some of the ongoing work.  As a result of the renovation work, the meditation sessions had to be put on hold, however we are able to offer a Sound meditation session this Saturday our last one until i return from my Uk trip in mid May.  

It will be at 6pm on Saturday. So why not think of joining us!

Meditation range of candles 
Talking of meditation.  We're launching our new meditation range of candles.  There's four candles in the meditation range.  All designed for a specific purpose and blending using aromatherapy oils to aid you in these areas.

Serenity Meditation Candle – For calmness & stillness

Intentions Meditation Candle – For manifestation & creation

Intuition Meditation Candle – For clarity & awakening inner voice

Grounded Meditation Candle – For deep roots & earthing

They come in beautiful glass jars, with a subtle scent to enhance your meditation practice rather than overpowering.  You can use the candle flame to guide you into your meditational state.  You can drop me a message to purchase your candle or set.  These are available at an exclusive price to J.R.T clients at 800Rs. 170ml glass jar with wooden lid.  Ideal for gifting too.

3 month health goals

As we are coming to the end of the first three months of 2024, I personally like to set myself health goals every 3 - 4 months to keep my health and well being on track.  Do you set any monthly or 3 monthly health goals? I find setting time periods gives us goals within which to work and be accountable.  Perhaps this is the month to get on board with this.  To give you some ideas of the kinds of goals you can set, I have compiled some options.

** Drinking minimum 2 liters of water - Making sure to carry a water bottle everywhere so you actively drink from it (This is one of my goals for the next 3 months)
** Starting the day with warm water and a dash of lemon - To help kick start the digestive system.
** Importance of sleep -   Sleep allows our brain and our bodies to repair.  A lack of sleep affects our ability to function at our normal levels, can reduce our stress levels, affects our immune system and ability to bounce back post illness.  Sleep gives our bodies the crucial time to restore itself ready for the next day.
** Create 20 minutes of quiet time 3 x a week - This means finding somewhere quiet, alone where you can be still.  You don't have to meditate, perhaps simply sitting and enjoying a chai and simply being present.  No phone, no music, no distractions, just a chance to sit, observe, watch the world outside or to be still without any outside noises.
**Work on keeping stress levels under control - Stress truly is a silent danger and we can only push our bodies and minds so long, so perhaps commit to better balance in your life and finding ways to keep calms and not overdo it.
** Make time to get outside everyday -  To help you feel grounded and connected, whether it's going for a walk to help with fitness, or listening to the birds on an evening or a chance to enjoy some early morning sunshine in order to top up your vitamin D level.
**Harness the power of some of the superfoods - Such as mushrooms which are beneficial for vitamin B and D levels, reducing cholesterol levels and much more.  Or other super foods such as pumpkin, broccoli, berries and sweet potatoes.

Perhaps it's given you some inspiration for your goals for the next few months or you have some of your own to begin working on.

Upcoming UK trip - J.R.T closed for 6 weeks

You're still welcome to contact me whilst i am away if you are in need of any health and wellbeing related advice or any exercises sending through, am happy to help where i can.  I will remind everyone a week before i am due to return.
Lastly J.R.T will be closed from Friday 29th March till 15th May as I head to the UK once again to work with my UK clients for 6 weeks.  There's still time to book in over the next 9 days although there are very limited spaces left this week but several spaces for next week excluding Monday when the studio will be closed for Holi.

Have a great rest of March!

New Year, new beginnings

 Happy New Year! We welcome in another year and say hello to 2024.  I'm going to be back to writing a regular monthly blog post, with the latest round up of news at the studio including health & well being related tips in general.

Keeping warm in this cold weather
It's especially cold at the moment and in the winter months we all do have a habit of hunching our shoulders and tensing up to keep warm, however as you can imagine, this does not help our body or our muscles and tends to tighten things further.  So It's really important to stay warm and avoid hunching which tightens up the neck.

You can wear a scarf to keep the neck area warm, thermals and lots of layers so the trunk of the body is kept warm and stops excessive hunching.  

Muscles and joints tend to ache more in the cold weather (due to us contracting our muscles) and you can use heat patches on any areas that get especially tight or painful.  

Hot stone massage treatments available at the studio
With this ongoing cold weather, a little reminder that we have our hot stone massage treatments available at the studio.

This is always such a wonderful treatment in winter and gives a real blast of heat which goes deep into the muscles.  It helps to break down tension quicker and provides an overall super relaxing treatment.  The stones are used both to massage with and placed on the body.

You can find out more on our website - www.massagejaipur.com

Movement is medicine
One of the big phrases in the therapy world is 'Movement is Medicine' and it really is what it says.  It's so important for us to get up and move.  If you tend to spend a lot of time sitting, try to factor in breaks or set your alarm so you can get up and walk around, even if it means taking calls whilst walking, so that you have a break from sitting. 

 Excessive sitting causes weak glutes, tightness and restrictions in the lower back, weakening of the hamstring and tightness in the hip flexors.  In general our bodies always feel better with some movement.  So whether it's 10 minutes stretching in the morning, some walking during the day, joining a fitness or yoga class, make movement a part of your everyday life and simply move.  Make 2024 the year that you get up, get moving and get your health in its best possible shape!

Yoga with Georgia
We're very excited and pleased to have Georgia taking yoga classes in the studio.  She has even managed to convert me, someone who isn't naturally the biggest fan of yoga, to get on board and attend some classes.  I really notice the difference in my muscles post the class and it's rewarding to see the strength and flexibility coming into the body.  Her classes usually run on a Tuesday and Saturday morning - she is traveling after the 18th but will be back in a few weeks.  Classes run on Tuesdays at 9am and Saturdays at 10am.  She's putting on a class this Wednesday at 9.30am (so that people can have one more session before her travels!) so why not sign up for this Wednesday or make a plan to attend when she is back.

Indi-ssentials new products launched
It's been a busy start to the year at the studio with our Indi-ssentials product range.    We still have all your firm favourites but have listened to your requests and have added two additional room sprays in some of our most popular scents.  One is Winter Warmer room spray which is ideal for this time of year to create a warm, cozy yet winter scent within the home, containing orange, ginger, cinnamon & star anise it has a real warming January feel to it.  The other is the 'Grounding' scent that so many of you love.  It has an earthy, soothing yet subtle scent to it.

Alongside this we have added a range of body sprays that can be sprayed directly onto skin or as your everyday perfume/body scent.  We've added two new candles into the mix and will have a new candle range coming soon too.  It's lovely to see the growth and development of Indi-ssentials and so nice to see many of you being repeat buyers.

You can request a copy of the product brochure via Whatsapp.  I will also share it once again soon with everyone.

New Year, new possibilities, new mindset
The new year is a wonderful time to set new goals and intentions and you can definitely do this at any time of the year but there is something about the freshness of new year that makes you want to start all over again.

So perhaps take a little time to sit in meditation, to reflect on the year that has gone, without judgement and through quietening the mind in meditation.  Ask yourself the question, what do you want this year to look like.  Whilst sitting in reflection or meditation, try not to think too hard but continue to repeat the question almost like a mantra and observe what answers come up.  Receive what comes and observe it without engaging but watching to see how it unfolds in your mind. You can write this down after and reflect further on it or if something resonates with you, you can meditate further on this or put it into action what feels right.

Have a wonderful start to 2024.  Look forward to exploring more of the year with you.  Wishing you all a prosperous, happy and successful 2024.

End of the Year round up.

 Hello All! Well what a busy November and December it's been for everyone.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Diwali, celebrated this auspicious occasion and perhaps took a moment to reflect on the meaning of light overcoming darkness.

It was further busy with the elections going on and now we are approaching the end of the year! I know there's a lot of travel and plans occurring.

After the hecticness and indulgence of Diwali and a new year soon beginning, it's a nice opportunity to put your health first and focus on finding that balance once again.

Getting your vitamin D intake
With winter here and all the colds and numerous bugs going around it's now more important that ever to ensure we get our daily dose of vitamin D.  Living in India we have the option to receive it direct from the sun but the next best alternative would be a supplement.  Vitamin D is not naturally present in many foods so it's hard to get from the diet.

Vitamin D is important for our system and especially in winter as it helps support and boost the immune system which we definitely need to keep those colds and other germs at bay.

It aids the absorption of calcium.  Without healthy levels of vitamin D the body absorbs only 10 - 15% of dietary calcium.  Calcium is crucial for healthy bones and teeth.  A lack of vitamin D can affect our bone density which can increase the risk of arthritic conditions.

Vitamin D could also help to boost our mood.  Some studies show that it helps uplift peoples moods and some time spent outdoors is always a little uplifting.

So make sure this winter to continue getting your dose of vitamin D, get outside for some sunshine, take a supplement or consume more dairy and fish based products to obtain it in your diet.

Christmas closure
As many of you may remember, this year I am going to the UK for Christmas to spend it with my family.  It's the first Christmas back in the UK for 7 years.  I'm looking forward to seeing the family and taking part in the festive celebrations but am not looking forward to the cold!

So Jaipur Remedial Therapies will be closed from 21st December to 30th December inclusive.  Appointments will start again from 31st December. So a little advance notice that i will be away for those 10 days.  I'm very busy with therapy sessions before I go but there are some spaces available.

New website finally launched
It's taken me some time to get it set up but the new Jaipur Remedial Therapies website is now ready to share.  There's one additional page to come and a few corrections here and there but I wanted to get it shared with you as I know several of you have been wanting to see the website for some time.

So here it is! 
https://massagejaipur.com/

You can find out about all the different treatments we actually offer at JRT and the various classes that we have running on a regular basis and everything there is to know about the studio.  Well worth checking it out and familiarising yourself with things.

Our Group Classes section
We now have a page on the website detailing what classes we offer, the booking link and what the class schedule is, so you get a clearer idea of what's on offer each week.

https://massagejaipur.com/classes

Well worth checking out the range of options and different classes being held.  As we stress time and time again, stretching, strengthening and remedial massage combine together to provide  the best holistic approach for your body physically.  A dash of meditation in there is great for the mind too.

Our strength coach Shivangi is exceptional and her knowledge and training extensive.  A class that keeps you wanting to come back every time.

Each class at J.R.T has its own Whatsapp group including our meditation classes.  If you want to be added to a specific Whatsapp group then just drop me a message.  It allows you to be kept up to date with that specific class and you can then sign up to a session as and when you want to.  We also share motivational tips and tricks in there so it's well worth joining one of the groups even if you're not quite ready to attend a classes yet.

Private individual & group sound or guided meditation sessions
Additionally on the website you can find out more about the sound and guided meditation sessions.  Quite a few of you have been asking about private sessions for this and the good news is that these are always available.  You can organise either your own individual or private group session at the studio at a time that is convenient for you rather than having to wait for the public group sessions.  A private individual session is taken in the smaller room where the sounds really immerse you.  Guided meditation sessions can be tailored to your specific needs.

You can find out more about the guided meditation and sound meditation sessions here.

https://massagejaipur.com/guidedmeditation

Cancellation Policy
Firstly a big thank you to all those clients who cancel rarely or with plenty of notice, it's always appreciated. Very few people do cancel last minute, so I appreciate this doesn't apply to many of you.

 In line with the new website and the additional services we are now offering at Jaipur Remedial Therapies, the cancellation will be rolled out for all sessions and classes.  Cancellations which happen within a 12 hour period of the session time will incur a charge of 50% of the cost of the treatment. This is because someone else could have used the time and with short notice we may be unable to fill the session.


Did you know?.....
These days i am hearing through nutritionist friends about the benefits of mushrooms and fungi.  I recently watched a documentary that was highly recommended to me (there's also a book), called Fantastic Fungi.  Certainly interesting and worth a watch.

What makes mushrooms a super food?  Well their packed with antioxidants, full of vitamin A, B and C, with the ability to reverse the negative effects of free radical - things which can harm our cells.  Several are adaptogens and so help the body cope with stress better.

It's definitely worth increasing your intake of mushrooms, reishi in particular is said to have a lot of health benefits and you can even take it in tea form.

That's all for this month.  I'll be back to posting my regular month blog posts with latest info, helpful information and insights and all things health and well being related.

Enjoy the last few weeks of 2023.  I hope you all have some wonderful plans for the New Year celebrations and have some ideas for how you would like 2024 to look.