☾ Cacao Ceremony & Sound Bath- contraindications & considerations.
Ceremonial cacao is generally safe for everyone. That said there are some considerations, so please take read the following, to discover the potential side effects and precautions to keep in mind when enjoying cacao, including interactions with medications, digestive discomfort, and more.
I use circa 25 grams of ceremonial cacao per person (a high ceremonial dose can be up to 40-50 grams) so it won’t be super strong. My cacao recipe is gluten free and vegan.
Ingredients: Ceremonial grade cacao, organic gluten free oat milk and organic maple syrup.
Serious heart conditions - The theobromine in cacao increases heart rate significantly and is a vasodilator, lowering blood pressure. If you have a heart condition, consult your GP or consultant. Going lighter on amounts is advised.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding - Like coffee or tea, it is important to reduce the intake of stimulating foods. The theobromine in cacao contains caffeine although significantly less than coffee. Plus, a slower absorption rate.
Allergic reactions – although rare these can include skin rashes, hives or itching. If you experience any of these discontinue use and discuss with a healthcare provider.
Migraines – the compounds in cacao can trigger migraine headaches in some, which is more likely if you suffer with migraines. As with all triggering substances please keep track of stimulates, including cacao intake, and note any correlations with the onset of headaches.
Interactions with medications:
Certain anti-depressants including MAOI based anti-depressants are contraindicated with the tyramine in chocolate, so a larger dose of cacao is not recommended. Although they are less common these days, it’s worth mentioning.
Additionally, there has been some concern with larger doses of cacao and SSRI type anti-depressants, because of the MAOI’s in cacao.
Blood thinners – The flavonoids in cacao may enhance the effect of these medications (blood thinners) increasing risk of bleeding and bruising.
Stimulants – combining cacao with other stimulants including caffeine, or certain ADHD medications can increase heart rate and blood pressure.
5 HIP (5- Hydroxytryptophan) – This amino acid is used to boost mood and serotonin levels. There is a risk of serotonin syndrome is combing this supplement with cacao.
St John’s Wort – This supplement is often used to treat depression and can increase serotonin levels as does cacao. Combining may elevate risk of serotonin syndrome, especially when multiple supplements/medications and cacao are taken together.
To be on the safe side, for those on SSRI’s (I suggest consulting with your doctor regarding higher doses of cacao and consider starting with low doses)
Sound Bath Contra-indications – reading is essential:
I will be using various instrument including flute, tuning forks and drum during the cacao ceremony, which will account for only a small amount of this 1hour session. However, please read the following:
Sound healing may not be suitable if you have; a pacemaker, metal implants, sound induced epilepsy, Meniere’s disease (or any other inner ear condition), 1st & 3rd trimester of pregnancy or a mental health condition. Please exercise your own judgement, and/or discuss with your doctor prior to attending an event if you have any concerns. Sound baths are not suitable for anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The minimum age to attend this event is 16 years.
Sound Baths & Ceremonial Cacao are not suitable for anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Please sign the attached form. By attending this event you are acknowledging that you have read the contradictions to sound baths and ceremonial cacao, and you take personal responsibility.
Thank you for reading and do reach out to liz@lizkeates.com if you have any questions, comments or if you wish to book a private Cacao Ceremony and/or Sound Bath.
☾ What is Life Coaching?
Life coaching draws upon a number of different disciplines, including personal development, positive psychology, career development and sociology. It’s very much focused on assisting people to change their lives and create a life that excites them and that they want to live. It helps you to discover what you really want from life and then assists you to get there. It moves you from feeling stuck or confused to feeling clear and excited about your life.
Life Coaching is a combination of education, accountability, motivation and support. Essentially, a life coach helps you to set inspiring goals and achieve these goals via setting actions and strategies. Encouraging you along the way. A significant element of Life Coaching is the accountability. With your coach in your corner, inspiring, encouraging and meeting with you every 2 weeks, it’s amazing how supportive and motivating this can be.
As a Life Purpose and Spirituality Coach I’m very much committed to supporting you through this process during the coaching series, including between sessions via email.
☾ What’s the difference between Life Coaching and Counselling?
Coaching does not focus on the past. It does not delve into the “why and wherefore”. It’s very much focused on changing an unhelpful and stuck mindset. It’s often focused on helping people find clarity, explore their spirituality, change careers, find a more creative and playful side and very importantly celebrate the wins!
It’s best suited to people who are ready to take action and want to change some things about their lives. Counselling often looks back into the past of a person’s life experience. Exploring past life events and issues may help the client to understand what happened and why it continues to affect their lives. It can also be enlightening, in terms of illuminating a repeat pattern in life and why the client is in their current situation. It can also give space for people to be heard, witness and grieve, which can be of paramount importance.
☾ How do I know Life Purpose & Spirituality Coaching with Liz Keates is right for me?
You are a midlife women, stuck, unclear and tired of the same old same old. You want to gain clarity so that you can embrace the next phase of your life. You are tired of listening to the negative self-talk that says “I’m too old”, “I’m unhappy at work”, “I’m not good enough” and “the best years of my life are in the past”. You want to break free from limiting beliefs and change your mindset! You want to find more purpose in your life. You may dread Monday mornings because you hate your job. You’ve had a wake-up call or life shock that’s made you realise that life is too short to not be in love with every aspect of your life. You want to take action.
If you could have done it on your own you would have already, right? With support of a Life Purpose and Spirituality Coach you will discover your purpose for the next stage of your beautiful life and be well on your way to achieving it! You are ready and have the time to fully engage in the coaching process, take the necessary action and be responsible for your progress, with my support and encouragement of course. You acknowledge that coaching can get you where you want to be, and feel motivated to take action. You want to connect more deeply with yourself and create more meaning to your life. I’m excited for you! I’m here to inspire you to get there!
☾ Perhaps Life Coaching isn’t right for me at this time?
If you are experiencing unresolved trauma, PTSD or other mental health issues that are still very challenging for you, in such a way that they prevent you from moving forward with your life and/or functioning on a daily basis you might not be ready to start life coaching. You may therefore require psychotherapy or counselling to help you resolve this. You don’t feel ready to do the necessary work to carry out your actions moving you towards your goals. A good coach will be fully committed to helping you to reach your goals and facilitate change, but they can’t do it for you. You expect someone else to do the work for you and are not in a place where you can dedicate your time and effort to take action. You have recently experienced a challenging life event such as a bereavement, significant relationship break up or another significant loss and at present are unable to focus and fully commit to the coaching process.
☾ As a qualified Counsellor, do you still offer counselling sessions?
I am a qualified Psychotherapist and Counsellor. However, I no longer work as a counsellor - my offerings are purely Coaching services. Of course my psychotherapy training informs my work, as do my other trainings and life experiences. I worked as a therapist for 10 years and found this work to be very rewarding. It was truly a privilege to work with my clients.
☾ Why do you use Mindfulness in your coaching?
I have been practicing and teaching mindfulness for almost 10 years and it has been extremely beneficial. It has helped me to appreciate the art of living life in each moment. It’s enhanced my ability to be more acutely aware of my negative thoughts and acknowledge them as just thoughts, rather than facts. And so much more!
It has helped many of my clients, who I’ve taught mindfulness to over the years via workshops, courses and green space mindfulness walks in London. Engaging with nature is without a doubt my favourite way to practice and teach mindfulness - it truly nourishes the soul.
In a world where everything can seem high pressured and fast, mindfulness, stillness and paying attention is of paramount importance. Mindfulness helps us to appreciate the small YET important moments of our life. Moments, after all, are what our lives are made up of.
I believe that the answers to our questions lie within, yet we need to be still and quiet enough to hear them and this is why I feel that practicing mindfulness, or any other type of insight practice, is hugely beneficial when clients are focusing on igniting life purpose – discovering what they truly want. For coaching clients who are interested in working in this way I start my sessions with a brief mindfulness “arriving” practice. I also include mindfulness in my sessions to help clients connect more deeply with themselves. I also help clients to learn how to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives and start and develop a daily practice should they wish.
☾ What is the purpose of a Complimentary Discovery Call?
The Complimentary Discovery Call lasts up to 45 minutes and is arranged at a mutually convenient time, via Zoom. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet and get to know each other. We will discuss your pre-coaching questionnaire and what you want to achieve from the coaching series, including the areas of your life that you want to create change in. We will begin to look at goals you would like to achieve. It’s also an opportunity to get answers to any questions you may have and to see if we click and are a good fit! There is absolutely no obligation at this point to proceed with coaching.
☾ What are your coaching offerings and fees, plus do you offer payment plans?
I currently have an introductory offer on my 21 day 'Heart Ignite' coaching programme. This introductory offer is £125. Discover more about my coaching programs here, or to book this offer please Click Here.
I hope that this information has been is helpful, but if your question isn’t answered here please email me - liz@lizkeates.com