The great outdoors...

Stretches for the Littlest Clients

Don't forget that little ones need to stretch too and this is a healthy habit to build with them that will give them lifelong benefits. It really is the little things that over time make the largest impacts on our lives. As a bonus, do this with them! Everyone wins!

Client Stretches

For the desk bound client, we have these fabulous stretches and every little bit counts! I can't tell you the times that just a few sun salutations have eased back pain and stiffness for me but in an office setting, busting out yogi skills isn't usually an option. This however is something that can be easily taped to a cubicle for a visual reminder to take care of yourself! Stretch it out!

New year, healthier you...

 

The benefits of massage are incredibly well documented. More and more, people are becoming aware of the health benefits of bodywork rather than thinking of it only in terms of a luxury. With that in mind, this is the ideal time of year to set about creating time for you; an hour of massage once a week or even once a month will get you noticeable results. That hour will come to be one that you look forward to and massage can be a life-changer. Among it's many benefits is increased immunity, stress relief, and building a strong body image.

We live in a world that keeps many of us saturated in stress and that encourages all of us to be critical of our physical selves. Over time, just those two elements take a toll and that is excluding a lot of other existing factors. The wear and tear on our minds translates to wear and tear on the body and sickness soon ensues and then it becomes a bit of a vicious cycle until such time that we manage to break away from it. I know because I have been there myself and seen it over and over with others. Stress is a killer.

Begin this year with a resolve to self-care and to receiving regular massage. Settle your mind that the time on the table is a priority for you and see what it can do for you. If you don't care for massage where you had a session then see another therapist because massage therapists are not the same and all have different techniques. Explore and invite healing into your life!

Eucalyptus Soap

I have a product I would like to recommend. Late in September, I bought a bottle of Dr. Bronners eucalyptus soap and I got the biggest bottle I could find. This was mainly because I love aromatherapy (as you may have gathered) and I wanted to help keep my family as healthy as possible so this seemed like an excellent addition. We are a family of five and have used it every day since it was bought and we still haven't even gotten to the halfway point yet! A little of it goes a very long way and because it has olive oil in it, it also keeps us way more moisturized than any store bought soap we have ever used before. I recommend this to everyone and it really does help with the airways. We have all been kept breathing and healthy, thanks to aromatherapy and this soap is part of that. There are other varieties to choose from and I would fully encourage you to do so. Cheers!

Anxiety & Depression...

Yoga for Wellness

 

I recommend yoga to virtually everybody, clients included when I give homework. Yoga is the most effective way I know to gain a sense of overall wellness and to ease overwrought muscles. It is healing to the entire body, internal organs included and that is something that I have experienced first-hand. This form of mind-body wellness gives you a chance to "reset" your body gently and on your own terms.

I am not a yoga instructor. I am, however, a very enthusiastic student. When I am not at class, I keep up my home practice and sometimes devote whole practices to the asanas (poses) that I find the most difficult. Not to clobber myself, mind you. Just to gently approach what I find difficult and strengthen my body, my peace of mind, and my health.

Yoga absolutely relieves stress which is going to boost your immune system but only if you can drop the need to compete.  This is not easy to do at first because we are all taught to compete, even if it is against ourselves but once that initial resistance has been overcome, it becomes a simple and relieving thing to step on the mat and be in a place that is just about connecting with yourself. It is a beautiful thing.

If you are chronically stressed, my guess is that you are also chronically sick and chronically in pain. This, invariably, creates a vicious cycle that lets in disease. This is a pattern that can be disrupted through yoga (and, ahem, massage too). For people who are inclined to taking responsibility for their own health and healing, this is one of those tools that is readily available. Anyone can do yoga because it is so adaptable to personal needs and current physical limitations. It adapts to any age, size or physical needs such as those who have sever arthritis, cerebral palsy, are wheel-chair bound, etc.

Yoga, among it's many gifts, will give you clarity of thought. It will give you positive body awareness and if you approach it as a way to bring growth into your life, it will give you gratitude. Because of this it is ideal for people struggling with depression.  Depression seems to be off the charts these days and we can't go on pretending that mental health and physical health are not connected.  Healing is about finding tools that connect the two and address them both. Yoga will do that.

For all those who have a desire to grab hold of their own health, yoga is too available to ignore. Websites, magazines, books, videos, and classes abound. So do styles of yoga and if you don't care for one, you will be bound to find a type that suits you. Taking more control of your own health is not a grim thing at all. It is joyful, exciting, and liberating. Be willing to explore and to try new methods for the results that you want to accomplish. Above all, be kind to yourself. That is the first place that healing begins.