Conversations with Safe Harbour Therapy

Do you struggle with your child’s challenging behaviour? Wondering about the best methods for discipline? The most effective approaches might be different from the most popular.

When infants come into the world, they are (ideally) met with closeness, soothing, and responsiveness to their needs. If they feel hunger, milk is offered; if they feel frightened, someone holds them. Associating intense sensations with quick care and comfort is the foundation for self-regulation, self-soothing, and independence.

Toddlers and older children also thrive when their intense emotions are met with quick and caring responses from their caregivers. Unfortunately, as children begin experimenting with a wider variety of behaviours and words to get their needs met, parents often struggle to remember that the root of “acting out” is an unmet need. Often, children’s distress is met with “stop it”, “you’re fine”, a threat, a time-out, or physical discipline.

Children then adaptively associate difficult emotions with negative consequences and struggle to cope effectively with their feelings as they grow older. They might begin to isolate themselves during difficult times or ignore their emotional experiences. Alternatively, they might become completely overwhelmed by their feelings and incapable of self-regulation because it was never taught to them.

The next time your child acts out, try responding to the need instead of reacting to the behaviour. Start with connection; offering a hug and a quiet place to talk. Then help your child explore their inner world  and figure out the reason for the behaviour; the painful emotion. Once your child has been seen and heard, processed their emotions, and begun to regulate, they will be  much more open to a discussion about why their behaviour was problematic. 

“Let food be thy medicine” – Hippocrates, Father of Western Medicine. This is one of my favourite quotes to live by, but what if the foods that you eat are contributing to your health problems? Have you ever wondered which foods are truly nourishing your body and why some foods can make you feel worse? […]

“Let food be thy medicine” – Hippocrates, Father of Western Medicine.

This is one of my favourite quotes to live by, but what if the foods that you eat are contributing to your health problems? Have you ever wondered which foods are truly nourishing your body and why some foods can make you feel worse? Do you have symptoms that fluctuate day-to-day? It could have something to do with the foods you eat.

One of the reasons you may be feeling unwell could be related to a delayed immune response to foods that you commonly eat. Research has identified that approximately 12% of people experience a reaction to food, 90% of which fail to find answers in the commonly screened causes such as specific food allergies, celiac disease, or food intolerances.

What is the difference between a food ‘allergy’, a food ‘intolerance’ and food ‘sensitivity’?

Food Allergy: An immediate immunological reaction in the body that occurs due to IgE activity, creating an anaphylactic state. Example – An IgE response in a severe peanut allergy can cause immediate swelling and closure of the airway, which can be life-threatening. Food Intolerance: Unpleasant reactions to particular foods that are related to enzyme deficiencies in our digestive system. Example – Lactase deficiency in the digestive tract reduces your body’s ability to process lactose, this is referred to as a lactose intolerance. Food Sensitivity: A delayed hypersensitivity immune reaction in the body that occurs in relation to elevated IgG molecules, which can contribute to systemic inflammatory symptoms. Example – Consuming large amounts of dairy has been associated with inflammatory skin conditions like acne and eczema, a few hours-days after consumption.

Food sensitivities have be associated with irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis and psychological problems such as clinical depression, ADHD and panic attacks. Food sensitivities can develop at any age and may be related to the strength of your immune system.

So how do food sensitivities come about? Think of your digestive tract like a very tight defence barrier that only accepts what it deems safe, working hard to keep toxins and pathogens out. When there is inflammation in our digestive tract, the permeability of this defence barrier can be compromised and reactions may occur to seemingly harmless stimuli. This hypersensitivity creates an immune response to the foods we consume regularly; allowing the inflammatory complexes to deposit throughout the body.

Food Sensitivity Testing is one of the tools I use in my practice to help patients identify which foods may be contributing to their health complaints. It provides an in-depth look at how our body is reacting to particular foods and provides an individualized plan for elimination and healing. We use the results to direct the elimination process for 30 to 60 days while working on gut healing and reducing inflammation. After the elimination phase, we slowly reintroduce foods to better understand how specific foods are affecting you. The good news is that just because you have sensitivities to a handful of your favourite foods does not mean you can never eat those foods again. After we’ve worked to reduce inflammation and heal the digestive tract, we develop a dietary strategy to help expand your food options, while giving you the freedom to enjoy food as it should be enjoyed.

If you’d like to challenge yourself and learn a little bit more about how your body is reacting to some of the most commonly known inflammatory foods – gluten, dairy, and sugar – try eliminating them for 30 days! Once the elimination trial is over you can slowly reintroduce one food type at a time over a period of several days to evaluate how your body reacts. I also recommend keeping a symptom journal throughout the elimination phase to help assess your progress.

If you are inte

Do you suffer with Chronic Headaches? How do you treat your Headaches? Do you take the “Band-Aid” approach and pop a pain pill? The yearly sales of Ibuprofen in North America is a 1.1 billion dollar business. In other words there are many people who are treating a symptom as opposed to looking at the […]

Do you suffer with Chronic Headaches?

How do you treat your Headaches? Do you take the “Band-Aid” approach and pop a pain pill? The yearly sales of Ibuprofen in North America is a 1.1 billion dollar business. In other words there are many people who are treating a symptom as opposed to looking at the root cause. While taking a pain medication might give you temporary relief, these medications can have significant negative side effects long term.

Wouldn’t it be great to say goodbye to these energy suckers? So let’s talk about the Root Cause of your headache. An individual can experience headaches for any number of reasons, including stress, stationary positioning in front of a computer, and muscle tightness causing decreased range of motion in the neck and head. Other contributing factors could include improper alignment of the jaw (including grinding, clenching and TMJ issues), lower back problems, hormonal factors, a car accident, a change in vision, dehydration, nutritional deficiencies or some other disease process.

Craniosacral therapy – is a very effective option for headaches & the contributing factors. It is a gentle light-touch therapy that supports the body’s own healing resources. The craniosacral system, which extends from the cranium to the sacrum and coccyx(tail bone), houses the central nervous system (CNS). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is formed in the brain and flows within the dural membrane (one of the 3 protective layers of the CNS), covering our bones, joints, and the sutures that interconnect those bones, in a rhythmic rise-and-fall of fluid volume and pressure. Acting as a “shock absorber,” the CSF delivers nutrients and washes away waste products from the metabolic processes. Our bodies have many different rhythms and are constantly in motion. In the same way that we refer to a “resting heart rate” or our “resting respiratory rate,” our cranial rhythmic impulse (flow of the cerebrospinal fluid) usually manifests between 6-12 cycles per minute. Through gentle palpation, a trained craniosacral therapist can use this rhythm as both an evaluative and therapeutic tool.

Tension in the membranes can disrupt the cranial rhythm. Therapists are trained to feel and monitor changes in the body by placing their hands in the areas that are the source of dysfunction, and following the body’s cues as it works to release the tensions that are causing pain. Nerve endings in our skin send messages to the brain that stimulate a response either to pain or pleasure. A therapist’s gentle, non-invasive touch in a painful area allows the body to respond and relax, whereas firm touch activates neuromuscular tension and stress patterns, preventing the ability to affect this very deep core system. Using the gentle method, therapists are therefore able to feel changes in different anatomical structures in the body, bones, soft tissue, membranes, and fluids. If you suffer from recurring headaches or migraine, craniosacral therapy can be a safe and effective alternative to prescription medication. Its gentle touch can help release the emotional and physical imbalances that have been stored in the body’s membranes and connective tissue, enabling the central nervous system to perform optimally.

The Picture below is a great representation to demonstrate that a headache’s starting point is not necessarily initiated in the head/neck but can be coming from a dysfunction in the Sacral/Pelvic area. The cranium and the pelvis are ‘bowls’ in the body that reflect distortions in one another and down the spine, affecting the whole system. In CST we can affect the whole body by working with the bones in the skull. Even misalignments in the jaw discovered during dental work can be reflected in the pelvis and vice versa.

Do you ever wonder what makes some relationships relaxed and stimulating while others are difficult and drain your energy? From the time we are born we begin connecting to and forming relationships with important people in our lives. These relationships become an important part of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth and development. Life […]

Do you ever wonder what makes some relationships relaxed and stimulating while others are difficult and drain your energy?

From the time we are born we begin connecting to and forming relationships with important people in our lives. These relationships become an important part of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth and development. Life then, becomes a journey to finding out who “I” am in the midst of all these relationships to family, friends and others some of whom may have their own ideas about who I “should” be. The relational dynamics that we experience with others in our lives are vitally important and challenging as they can influence our happiness, as well as personal and spiritual health.

Energetic connections form between chakras (energy centres in the body) in the individuals involved in a relationship and reflect the quality of the relationship, whether vital and alive or toxic and depressing. As the energy can travel both ways, these cords form the wiring underneath our connection to others and help to make the relationship clearer and let us know how our needs are or are not being met. We grow as individuals through our relationships and as we bring that energy back into us, we create our own reality by giving meaning and value to who and what we are in this world we live in. By clearing, cleaning and repairing these energetic cord connections we can enhance our ability to have healthier relationships and to make choices that are appropriate for us.

This can be accomplished through healing work either in person or at a distance. Through the healing, space is created for something new to come into one’s life. The clearing and balancing may open the individual to new ways of understanding the importance of a particular relationship and to developing different ways of responding to others.

This therapy is oriented toward following the lead of the client’s own process rather than having something imposed by the therapist. This work is subtle rather than dramatic and takes time to realize results. Relational work is not for everyone, however, as there needs to be a time commitment on the part of the client and a willingness to deeply examine themselves and their relationships. When that commitment is made I have found, in my healing practice, that this becomes a powerful addition to one’s own personal process and the healing power within one’s own body. This work does not interfere with any other treatment the individual may be receiving, traditional or alternative.

If you are ready to create space in your life for healthier relationships, please reach out to me at:

Phone: 204-489-8635Email: [email protected]

Luella Sinha

Understanding massage from a physical, scientific and emotional perspective “Ahhh, I feel so relaxed”, “okay… focus on your breathing, let’s get through this nasty trigger point!” Do these phrases sound familiar? Everyone’s needs are different when it comes to experiencing a massage. Some people want to purely feel relaxed the entire session…taking deep breaths. Others […]

Understanding massage from a physical, scientific and emotional perspective

“Ahhh, I feel so relaxed”, “okay… focus on your breathing, let’s get through this nasty trigger point!” Do these phrases sound familiar?

Everyone’s needs are different when it comes to experiencing a massage. Some people want to purely feel relaxed the entire session…taking deep breaths. Others want help working on specific trigger points, injuries or help improving range of motion around a joint.

What is truly better than the feeling that the person who is helping you, really cares about meeting your needs? When you come in to see an RMT you will feel heard. We pay attention to the areas you are concerned about, while at the same time use our assessment tools to see what the body is telling us. Your body is a puzzle that we are putting together piece by piece. Massage therapists are here for you to help your body heal itself more efficiently. Your body is your number one helper, if there is a problem, it sends all that it can to that area to help. This is your immune response, stress response and inflammatory response. But, sometimes these capabilities are compromised with prolonged, chronic pain, disease or stress, and the bodies’ natural ability to heal becomes compromised. Massage therapy helps to reverse the stress response, increase circulation of your lymphatic fluid to help your immune system, and manage inflammation.

So what exactly are massage therapists doing that enables your body to heal itself more efficiently? When we find muscles that are tight, congested, hypertonic, littered with adhesions and/or trigger points, we use techniques to pump fresh blood, decrease congestion, generate heat to break down areas of calcification, and break apart adhesions. We can use stretching and strengthening techniques to help give your particular joint a larger and more efficient range of motion. The goal is to help your muscles relax, and contract only when called upon by the brain for certain tasks.

While all these mechanical processes are going on, your brain is also working away during your massage. These mechanical processes are sending messages to your neurotransmitters in you brain. This is where the benefit of decreasing stress, anxiety, depression and overall improving your mood comes into play. Serotonin is found in your brain, but also in your gut. Massage will help increase your levels of serotonin hormone to improve your mood, regulate your sleep, body temperature, blood pressure and improve efficiency of digestion. At the same time, that massage helps reduce your levels of cortisol, a hormone released during the stress response. Stress is inevitable, and some stress is good for us, but it is chronic (long term), stress and chronic release of cortisol that becomes the problem. This is where we start to become chronically fatigued, or potentially sick. Our body is trying to conserve all that it has to help you, and it’s looking for a rest…and regular massage can be that rest to give your body a renewed ability to relax and fight for you.

If you already go for regular massage, what do you love about it? If you haven’t been for a massage yet, what questions do you have? What are you looking for in a massage therapist? The way massage works for our body is complex, but in the end, we as RMT’s are here to help your body and mind heal.

If you would like more information, please email [email protected] or follow me on Instagram @dynamicwellnesswpg_rmt

Acupuncture is a treatment approach in Traditional Chinese Medicine that has been practiced for centuries by inserting thin needles to stimulate specific points in the body. The theory is based on the idea that energy, also known as qi, flows through your body along pathways called meridians. Acupuncture is one of my favourite tools to […]