The Magazine of the Society of Holistic Practitioners s1

t h e n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e s o c i e t y o f h o l i s t i c p r a c t i t i o n e r s

Issue 7 Autumn 2003

Inside this Issue CONTENTS

Regular Items Summer’s over and the nights are drawing in, so what better than to curl up in front of the fire with the new copy of NewsSpace!!! This issue our  Contents feature “Building Your Business” takes a break, to be replaced by a special  SHP News feature by Ron Rieck on “Aspects of Awareness”, so we hope you enjoy it. Also, you will see that the Society AGM is VERY SOON, so please come  CHM News along and get involved – the Agenda is included.  Massage Corner  Counselling Corner  SHP News Annual General Meeting Society Subscriptions Special Features Group Insurance Scheme Page ...... 2  Aspects of Awareness  Building Your Business  Special Feature – Aspects of Awareness Editorial Team Page ...... 3

Editor Jill Maden  Muscle Map – Muscles of the Trunk Page ...... 5 Contributors Ronald Rieck

 Counselling Corner Contacting Us Life Coaching Course Grant Awards Please address all letters, enquiries Group Training Modules and ideas for contribution to: Page ...... 8

NewsSpace  College News The Society of Holistic Practitioners Congratulations and Welcome 4 Craigpark College Improvements Glasgow Page ...... 8 G31 2NA Oh, and Christmas is nearly here again. So I hope you all have a wonderful time. T: 0141 554 5808 F: 0141 554 9036 Jill E: [email protected] W: www.societyofholisticpractitioners.com

SHP NEWS

Annual General Meeting Membership Subscriptions

The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held Remember, in December it is subscription renewal at: time for all Society Members. Therefore, you will be receiving your Membership Renewal Form soon. 7.30 pm on Monday 3 November 2003 Please complete and return this, together with your 4 Craigpark subscription fee, as soon as possible. The sooner we Dennistoun get all the membership details in, the sooner we can Glasgow start compiling the next Register of Members (the G31 2NA delay in distributing this year’s Register was partly down to a delay in receiving these details). All full members are entitled to attend. Group Scheme Insurance Renewal A G E N D A You will be pleased to hear that H & L Balen have 1. Review of Minutes of Last Meeting (5 March 2003) informed us that our underwriters “have agreed to proceed with your policy on the same terms as last  Review of Committees year.” This means that the premiums will remain the - Main Committee (inc Student Membership) same at £86.29 (unfortunately the premiums for Eire - Ethics Subcommittee members have risen to £172.58). - Projects Subcommittee  Standards of Competence The Group policy has a common renewal date of the - Skills Training 16th December, so any members joining part-way - Supervision through the insurance year are subject to short-period  Code of Ethics rates:  Any Other Business - Links with other Professional Bodies Short Period Rates Table DATES All Members All Members All Members 2. Benefits of Membership – how best can we serve UK UK EIRE £1 million £2 million our members? 16 Dec – 15 Mar £86.29 £112.29 Add 100% 16 Mar – 15 Jun £69.00 £90.00 Add 100% 3. Election of Members 16 Jun – 15 Sep £49.00 £63.00 Add 100% - Massage Full Member 16 Sep – 15 Dec £30.00 £37.00 Add 100% - Massage Student Member - Counselling Full Member H & L Balen will be contacting all Society members - Counselling Student Member who are currently members of the Group Scheme - Ethics Subcommittee directly with renewal details. However, if you are not - Projects Subcommittee yet a member of the Group Scheme and wish to become one, please contact the Registrar of the 4. Review of Accounts Society at the usual address who will provide details.

5. Membership Fee & Budget

ASPECTS OF AWARENESS By Ronald Reick

Conceptual Awareness Helen showed him the labels. Not only did it make the point but it made Bill consider whether his self- First of all it would be good to break down some types importance or good ideas ran his life. of awareness that people need in order to increase their sense of empowerment. One aspect/level of It is often found that people who constantly awareness is conceptual awareness. Put simply this is conceptualise, intellectualise and idealise their awareness of ideas, concepts, intellectual experiences are often attempting to exert control over understanding of something. what is perceived as threatening processes.

Cognitive awareness can give a superficial or in-depth On the other hand, conceptual awareness (when it is conceptual understanding of a situation, idea or not used to block or control feelings, external sensorial person. It gives us a framework for analysing, messages, etc) plays a significant part along with non- deducing and keeping a perspective on emotional conceptual awareness to come to real conclusions that impact. However, it needs to be recognised that ‘hold water’. concepts by definition doesn’t mean it is accurate, nor does it mean that we have experiential awareness or Non-Conceptual Awareness that we can respond to the living experience of any given situation, person or idea. The compliment to conceptual awareness is experiential awareness. The three obvious areas for This is all too clear to many MBA graduates who find this type of awareness are physical feelings, and the themselves in a real life company fire-fighting and in senses such as sight, smell, taste and hearing. the red sales ledger with a de-motivated sales team However, sight and hearing (especially sight) tends to and people in admin who feel unappreciated. activate conceptual interpretation and labelling.

Another consideration about conceptual awareness is The reality of direct, non-intellectual awareness of an that it is highly influenced by assumptions, emotion, physical sensation or sense is not as obvious expectations and ulterior motives. In other words we as it might appear. Most people, on a moment-to- relate to the label and not the product. moment level flip between the conceptual and experiential particularly when confronted with strong A true story: There was a well-known and highly experiences. successful therapist named Bill who also, by chance, had the predilection and the disappointment of a bad Even in minor experiences we tend to conceptualise as marriage and was a heavy drinker. Vodka was his an extension of our habit to feel we are in control. Try drink and he was constantly lecturing on two things. this as an example. Take your dominant hand and One, how people go by labels and concepts and never rest it on your thigh with the palm up. Make your develop insight into the nature of things because they primary point of awareness the sensations that occur are out of touch with their senses; and two, the on the palm of that hand. There is nothing specific to differences between quality vodka and the cheap stuff. look for. You may feel the air touching the palm or The main difference was that the expensive stuff was some heat build up. Whatever you feel is not the 70% alcohol and the cheap stuff considerably lower. point. The point is to maintain a constant, micro- His point being that he couldn’t get drunk on the moment to micro-moment continuity of the awareness cheap stuff. of the feeling. In other words – just feel.

Having heard the lectures too often and feeling he Many people will first look with their eyes or be aware needed to be taught a lesson, Helen, his girlfriend, of the fact that their hand is there. Some people need bought the cheapest vodka on the market and to be coached to actually go down the arm with their changed the label to his favourite (and most expensive sensorial awareness and connect to the hand. Even on the market). He drank the vodka and gave his then it is amazing how often we pull away to usual comments on its superiority. After just 5 drinks conceptualise or assess our action of focused he was staggering and staying how the cheap stuff experiential awareness. would never get him drunk this quickly.

It often takes a series of subtle adjustments to keep Integrated Awareness our attention focused on the experience ‘in hand’. It usually requires a relation of trying to achieve Integrated awareness is simply the integral use of something and shift to the process of receiving the conceptual and non-conceptual awareness. It has information that is coming to us. The act of non- several manifestations such as a speaker paying conceptual feeling usually activates a mood of attention and being emotionally open to his/her receptivity and vice a versa. audience throughout the process of speaking. Another example is a person being able to conceptually The funny thing is, once we have a primary connection recognise as they ‘eye witness’ how their speech and to non-conceptual awareness it can remain relaxed behaviour is impacting on the external situation and and intact while we also engage in conceptual process. equally how an external situation impacts on them in In other words, once I get the connection with my their feelings, behaviour and perception. hand (or a steady and direct encounter with a particular emotional feeling) I can also think, talk and As Mary came off the plane towards the reception whatever. However, the flip side of this is different. If lounge she could see her husband and two kids before I am concentrating on thinking (or focused on they could see her. Her husband Mark had his usual achieving an immediate task) and have not already look of aggravation and frustration written all over his turned on my non-conceptual awareness processes face and body posture and the kids looked both then I most likely will not consciously receive many excited at seeing their mum while having a familiar messages, particularly emotional messages that could sense of apprehension of another argument between make the difference to my efforts to achieve a task or mum and dad about her going away on business so goal. much.

A simple activity version of this is when I have the Mary, having been in this type of scenario so many thought to hurry through the room to receive a long times, recognised her own body stiffening and awaited phone call, I knock my shins on the coffee resentment rising. She knew where this would lead as table and wonder how I didn’t see it. The fact is, my she had studied the cause and effect that it had on identification with the thought process didn’t allow me herself, her kids and her husband. She could sense to subliminally ‘ground’ myself to the physical realities. that if she relaxed her body and resentment she would have to feel the hurt that kept poking at her heart. If tuning into one’s hand can be all that difficult due to She could also sense that would be a necessary step if the process of constant mentalising just consider how she were to respond to the impending reunion and easy it is to avoid receiving relevant words, sights or start the process of changing the causes and effects. emotions that are uncomfortable or go against our version of things. Integrated awareness implies an expansion of awareness has taken place gradually or in leaps. It The process of learning to develop non-conceptual implies that the person has made more and more awareness that is equal in importance to conceptual connections in the interrelationship of their own awareness will be important when we discuss the thoughts, behaviours and feelings as well as observing process of developing real emotional intelligence. the patterns of their relationship with others.

A key issue in empowerment / self actualising / goal As we will see, the building of integrated awareness achieving is our ability to receive accurate verbal, will usually mean the exposure of assumptions, subtle visual and behavioural messages from our behaviours and motives (some healthy, some not) and environment and to receive equally accurate emotional the gradual realisation that I am responsible for my messages from our gut. With this much information at own life. hand we have a cohesive sense of what is happening and what is possible. Integrated awareness facilitates and is facilitated by the growth of becoming a witness to our own acts of A couple of other points before we move on. living, feeling and making choices. This process will Emotional and sensorial awareness are key elements require the person to negotiate their comfort zone to in our capacity to empathise with our self and others. some degree and feel more. This aspect of awareness, as we will see later on, is also important in the processes of becoming responsible, gaining real ‘confidence’ and sustaining motivation. Cont on page 8

MASSAGE CORNER

The Muscle Map By Jill Maden

ANATOMY AND FUNCTION OF THE TRUNK Long Back Muscles The Spinal Column and Vertebrae There are 3 main groups of long back muscles: The vertebral column is made up of 33 vertebrae, as follows:  Iliocostalis – these lie outermost and run from the hip bone (ilium) to the ribs (costals). Their names  7 cervial are derived from the area they cover, i.e.:  12 thoracic - Iliocostalis lumborum (lumbar)  5 lumbar - Iliocostalis thoracis (thoracic)  5 sacral - Iliocostalis cervicis (neck)  4 coccyx  Longissimus – these are next in and run from the Between the vertebrae there are intervertebral discs spinous processes to the transverse processes and made up of an outer layer of fibrocartilage and a soft, ribs. Again they get their individual names from pulpy centre. This allows them to act as a shock the areas they cover, i.e.: absorbers. - Longissium thoracic (thoracic) - Longissimus cervicis (neck) We are prevented from leaning too far back by the - Longissimus capitis (head) spinous processes and the tension of the long ligament (anterior longitudinal ligament) that runs down the front of the spinal column. Forward bending is restricted partly by the back muscles, partly by the elastic ligament which runs between the posterior Lognissimus parts of the neural arches (ligamentum flavum), and Capitis partly by the ligament that runs down the back of the Lognissimus Iliocostalis vertebral bodies (posterior longitudinal ligament). In Cervicis Cervicis addition, movements of the trunk are controlled by several groups of muscles:

 Muscles of the back  Muscles of the abdomen Iliocostalis Thoracic  Respiratory muscles

Muscles of the Back Lognissimus These comprise of 2 main muscle groups – the erector Thoracic Iliocostalis spinae which extend the back, and the quadratus Lumborum lumborum which provides side flexion. The abdominals are responsible for forward flexion.

Erector Spinae

The erector spinae are actually made up of several different groups of muscles which can be classified according to their length: Figure 1: Iliocostalis & Longissmus Muscle Groups

 Long back muscles (pass at least 7 vertebrae)  Spinalis – these are located right on the spine as  Back muscles of average length (pass 2-6 these run between spinous processes, i.e.: vertebrae) - Spinalis capitis (head)  Short back muscles (go to the nearest vertebra) - Spinalis cervicis (neck)

Spinalis thoracis (thoracic)

Average Length Back Muscles

There are 2 muscle groups which fall into this Rib Cage category:

 Semispinalis – these pass 4-7 vertebrae Quadratus  Multifidis – these pass 2-3 vertebrae Lumborum

Short Back Muscles Pelvis These muscles pass from vertebra to vertebra and are categorised as follows:

 Intertransversarii (between transverse processes)  Interspinales (between spinous processes) Figure 3: Quadratus Lumborum  Rotatores (between spinous and transverse processes) Muscles of the Abdomen

The abdominal muscles are responsible for forward flexion/bending of the trunk. There are 4 different kinds of abdominal muscle:

Semispinalis Interspinalis  Straight abdominal muscle capitus cervicis  External oblique abdominal muscle  Internal oblique abdominal muscle Semispinalis Multifidis  Transverse abdominal muscle cervicis/thoracic Straight Abdominal Muscle (Rectus Abdominis) Rotator longus This muscle originates from the inferior apex of the sternum and inserts into the superior part of the pubic Rotator brevis bone of the pelvis. When it contracts, it bends the body forward. Spinalis thoracic External Oblique Abdominal Muscle Multifidis This originates from the lower ribs and becomes a tendinous expansion that covers the rectus abdominis above, and below it is inserted into the crest of the hip bone and groin ligament.

Fig 2: Spinalis, Average Length & Short Back Muscles

Quadratus Lumborum

The quadratus lumborum originates at the iliac crest and inserts onto lumbar vertebrae L1 – L4/5 and the 12th rib. As such it allows the trunk to unilaterally bend sideways, bilaterally extend and also acts as a major stabiliser of the lower back.

Rectus Abdominis

Rectus Abdominis External Oblique

Transverse Abdominal

Figure 4: Straight & External Oblique Abdominal Muscles

Internal Oblique Abdominal Muscle

This originates from the hip bone and the groin Figure 6: Transverse Abdominal Muscle ligament, becomes a tendinous expansion passing Respiratory Muscles under the straight abdominal muscle, and is inserted into the fibrous band that runs down between the pair There are 2 main respiratory muscles: of straight abdominal muscles.  The diaphragm The oblique muscles assist the rectus abdominis and  The intercostals muscles they also turn the trunk. The Diaphragm

The diaphragm originates from the lumbar vertebrae, the lower ribs and from the xiphoid process at the bottom of the sternum. It arches up like a dome into the chest cavity. When the muscle fibres contract, they become less arched, causing the central part of the dome to descend. This increases the volume of Internal Oblique the chest cavity and decreases the volume of the abdominal cavity (inspiration). When is relaxes, the dome rises back up, decreasing the volume of the chest cavity and increasing the volume of the abdominal cavity, forcing air out (expiration).

As well as assisting with breathing, the diaphragm assists the abdominal muscles in increasing intra- Figure 5: Internal Oblique Muscle abdominal pressure. This is important when it comes to lifting heavy objects. Transverse Abdominal Muscle The Intercostal Muscles The transverse abdominis is not connected with any movements. It only affects the figure by pulling the These muscles are located between the rib bones and abdomen in. It is also activated when the abdominal further help to expand the chest cavity. pressure is increased by abdominal presses. All the abdominal muscles can, upon contraction, increase abdominal pressure (which widens the abdominal cavity, thus unloading the discs while lifting).

 Training Groups in Stress Management  How to Use Cognitive Skills to Address a Large Number of Areas with Groups  Training Groups in Emotional Intelligence

These qualifications will be accredited with the Scottish Association for Life Coaching.

If you would like any further information, please contact the College of Holistic Medicine on:

0141 554 5808

COUNSELLING CORNER ASPECTS OF AWARENESS (cont) By Ronald Reick Life Coaching Course Final Comments on Awareness

The first Life Coaching Course to be run by the What is most significant about awareness is that it can Scottish Institute of Life Coaching at the College of be put to any purpose. It isn’t an end unto itself; it is Holistic Medicine has commenced and a huge amount a tool in the hands of what we have become of interest has been generated for the second course. habituated to or what we want to achieve. It can be used to create sustainable excuses to avoid reasonable Grant Awards risks and commitment or to wake up to our habitualness so we have choice to see / feel where we The project to provide a life coaching service to really are at, what we really want and what it will socially excluded individuals in the north Glasgow area really take to get it. is also now underway. Graduates of the Counselling course have been hired to teach it. Mary could have used her perceptions to see how best to appear as the victim to the kids while making Mark Group Training Modules look guilty. Bill the drinking therapist could use his new-found awareness of his self inflation to take his The College, in collaboration with Joe Ferguson (a own teachings to heart. group trainer) is in the process of designing a series of Group Training Modules. These will focus on teaching CHM NEWS people how to train and facilitate groups and will be available to anyone wishing to improve their group facilitation skills. Congratulation and Welcome

They will be run on a modular basis, each module The Society would like to send its congratulations to all leading to a more advanced qualification: recent graduates of both the Massage and Counselling courses at the College and to welcome the resultant  Foundation Module in Group Training and new members on board. We wish you all the best Facilitation Skills – leads to a Primary Certificate with getting your practices up and running.  One more module – leads to a Certificate  Another module – leads to an Advanced Certificate College Improvements  Another module – leads to a Diploma The current series of structural improvements The additional modules can be selected from the continues at the college with the additional of a small following areas: Japanese Garden. This will enhance the area between

the main building and the annex and provide a more pleasant area to sit and enjoy the fresh air.

It is anticipated work will commence within the next couple of months and be completed early in the New Year.