Wellness Posts by Angela

Your Body Remembers

2010-11-08T10:51:28Z

Wellness.com - Your Body Remembers by Angela

When your massage therapist sees you for the first time, it is likely that he or she may take a medical history. Over time, as you become more familiar with your massage therapist, there may be issues affecting your body that are not covered by the medical history or cannot be identified until your therapist has worked with your tissues. You may even have completely forgotten about some physical or emotional trauma that occurred long ago.

Almost everyone has suffered childhood injuries they do not remember and emotional issues can sometimes drive tension deep into a person's tissues. You may remember that injury or emotionally traumatic event only when the area is sensitively touched during a session. When this happens, a common client comment is, "I can't believe I forgot that happened to me!".

Your therapist appreciates knowing about body issues from your past, because this awareness can help him or her fine-tune your massage session and notice subtle changes in specific areas. Sometimes a complex postural issue (such as a chronic twist in a hip) or recurring muscular pain is the result of more than one injury or traumatic event.

Here are some simple ways to explore whether you have any body issues from your childhood.

Ask your parents about any problems during your delivery or when you were a newborn. Children can be born with subtle postural problems such as a turned-in foot or twisted neck.
Did your parents or any health professional notice any early postural issues such as being knock-kneed or having one hip higher than the other?
Review additional injuries you may have had as a child. For example, when your therapist asked you about a history of broken bones, sprains, or tendonitis, he or she may not have asked about that time you fell out of that tree when you were 8 years old or cut your hand on a window as a teen.
Tell your therapist about any episodes of severe pain, since children normally contract their muscles around such pain and can develop a lifelong pattern of holding tension there
Finally, try to identify any episodes of severe emotional stress that could still be affecting your body. During childhood, tension stomachaches, headaches, and back pain are common ways to express stress. One adult woman had developed a pattern of severe tension stomachaches that dated back to when her parents were getting divorced and her grandmother died suddenly.

Be sure to communicate with your therapist about any issues that you discover, and together you can deepen the effectiveness of the massage you receive.

Thanks to Marybetts S. for this important information.

How to Live a Longer and a Happier Life

2009-10-03T11:08:53Z

Wellness.com - How to Live a Longer and a Happier Life by Angela

Happiness lies, first of all, in health. Without health, there is no point,to anything.It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Living healthier will help you to live longer and to live happier. Here are 10 tips for a happy longevity:

1.Sleep.Getting adequate sleep and rest is an essential aspect of healthy living.

2.Stress-free. 99% of all illnesses are related to stress. Enough said!

3.Eating right. Keep an eye on your fat intake and be sure that the foods you eat are generally high in fiber and overall nutrition. Select foods containing antioxidants, which fight the free radicals that promote the ageing of your body.

4.Exercise regularly. Exercising right help to achieve and maintain your ideal body weight, which is a very important factor for long life.

5.Drink more water. Think about it. Blood is 84% water, muscles are 75% water, the brain is 74% water and bone is 22% water. Water is essential for your body to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients. It aids in detox and carries away waste. You need it to survive. Period.

6.Meditate. Personal reflection has a profound effect on your body and mind.

7.Avoid toxins. Like tobacco, alcohol, overuse of over-the-counter drugs and even processed foods.

8.Preventative health. Have regular health checks to help maintain good health.

9.Have a positive attitude. Your thoughts and emotions affect all aspects of your life. So be positive!

10.Love. Loving others and being love add years to the body, make you look and feel younger. So give a hug to someone you love today!

Remember: Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.

How to prolong the good effects of Massage

2009-09-14T00:01:53Z

Wellness.com - How to prolong the good effects of Massage by Angela

There is a Chinese proverb that says: "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are". Do you remember that good feeling after you received a good massage? Don't you wish that good feeling could linger just a little bit longer? Well, is really easy to prolong that good feeling, you just need to take a look at these tips:

1.Body awareness. Pay attention to your body's signals and get a massage when your body reminds you that it needs it. Don't wait for too long without getting a massage. Your body and mind deserve regular breaks to recharge and keep going.

2.Drink water!. Water is the most essential, next to air, to our survival. Water is important to the mechanics of the human body. The body cannot work without it, just as a car cannot run without gas and oil. If you want to have flexibility on your muscles and have a good range of motion, drinking water is a must. This help you to prevent getting fatigued and tired.

3.Stretch! Another helpful habit is stretching between massages to maintain joint mobility, prevent muscles from tightening up again, and keeping the life energy flowing.

4.Exercise! Exercise can decrease 'stress hormones' like cortisol, and increase endorphins, your body's 'feel-good' chemicals, giving your mood a natural boost.

5.Check out your posture. If you have a bad posture, this will lead to muscle tension and therefore to pain and tiredness. Correcting your posture by changing your daily habits will prevent for future muscle tension, numbness, pain and feeling fatigued.

6.Hydrotherapy. Hot baths soothes your muscles, calm your nerves and help to detoxify your body. A healing bath is a great way to turn down the world's volume.

7.Diet. Since you've just rid the body of toxins, support the body's renewed state by adhering to a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, which will continue the detoxification process. Lay off the espresso and all adrenaline-challenges for a time - which would short-circuit relaxation anyway - and enjoy the calm.

8.Finally, be positive! Thoughts are things. They can heal or harm. Beliefs mold your brain. How each of us responds to our life -to our perceptions-has enormous implications for how we feel, how we age, and the health of our brain.The most powerful pharmacy in the world is right between your ears!

When massage is contraindicated?

2009-09-13T21:55:40Z

Wellness.com - When massage is contraindicated? by Angela

Massage therapy has a lot of benefits to your health: relieves stress, pain, muscle tension relief, etc. But massage therapy can be detrimental to your health too. As being a massage therapist myself, I always have to ask my clients any medical conditions I should be aware of before performing a massage on them. There are many people that don't know all the contraindications for massage therapy. I know that some spas they just push the clients to sign up a consent without taking really care of the client's health. So its very important people know these contraindications before getting a massage. Contraindications for massage therapy could be general or local as follows:

General: These general contraindications can be permanent or temporary. A person suffering for the following medical conditions CAN NOT receive a massage (unless previous approval by a doctor): Hives, High Blood Pressure (unless controlled by medication, diet or exercise),cardiovascular conditions like phlebitis, thrombosis, angina and those with pacemakers, fever, inflammatory conditions, hepatitis, tonsillitis,edema, psoriasis or eczema, recent operations or acute injuries, skin diseases, under influence of alcohol or drugs, first trimester of pregnancy, osteoporosis, cancer, scabies, chickenpox, cumps, cneumonia, ringworm, contact dermatitis (if wide spread), diarrhea (if due to infection), kidney failure, lymphangitis, myocarditis, pericarditis, pulmonary embolism, severe acute respiratory syndrome, tuberculosis, epilepsy, diabetes, acute rheumatism and hemophilia.

Local: Is when the therapist can massage but not over any areas affected by: varicose veins, undiagnose bumps or lumps, pregnancy, bruising, cuts, abrasions, sunburn,open wounds, undiagnosed pain and inflammation (including arthritis), acne vulgaris, athlete's foot, blisters, Shingles, swollen lymph glands, ulcers.

The following conditions will require a medical doctors approval: Congestive Heart failure, Coronary Artery Disease, Myasthenia Gravis, Nephrosis, Peritonitis, Polycystic Kidney,Acromegaly, Aneurysm, Atherosclerosis, Burns, Cancer, Cerebrovascular accident, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Hemophelia, Hodgkin's Disease, Kidney Stones, Leukemia, Disease, and Uremia.

If you have a condition that has not been listed here, or you are unclear about whether you can receive massage, talk to your massage therapist or your doctor. In case you are turned down for a massage because of a condition you have, it is because the massage therapist really care about your health.

5 Reasons to go Organic

2009-07-25T10:50:35Z

Wellness.com - 5 Reasons to go Organic by Angela

1.Eat Organic, eat less toxins .
Toxic pesticides are a major reason you should consider going organic!
Buying organic simply means you'll be consuming less toxins from the food you eat. Pesticide use on fruit and vegetables is a huge cause of disease and can have huge health implications. You'll feel better, and you'll be doing your little piece to better the environment by preventing these toxins from being used in the first place. Now doesn't that feel good?

2.Buy Organic for the Environment
Care about the environment by supporting organic food!
Organic food has a number of benefits for the environment. Pesticides are one of the biggest reasons organic farming is less harmful to the environment, but it also uses less energy. Less energy used means less emissions and harmful gases expelled into the atmosphere. Cleaner air means more of a chance for wildlife to flourish. Less pesticides mean less pesticide runoff into the land. Pesticide use can cause low birth rates in wildlife, so the absence is always a benefit for them!

3. Help out the Little Guy and Buy Organic
Buy organic and help out the small number of organic farmers!
Organic farming has for sure grown over the past decade, but compared to the large number of non-organic farms, there's still a long way to go! By buying organic, you're helping organic farming flourish. Wouldn't it be nice if someday there were only organic produce to choose from?

4.Protect Future Generations
Before a mother first nurses her newborn, the toxic risk from pesticides has already begun. Studies show that infants are exposed to hundreds of harmful chemicals in utero. In fact, our nation is now reaping the results of four generations of exposure to agricultural and industrial chemicals, whose safety was deemed on adult tolerance levels, not on children's. According to the National Academy of Science, "neurologic and behavioral effects may result from low-level exposure to pesticides." Numerous studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.

5.Taste Better and Truer Flavor
Scientists now know what we eaters have known all along: organic food often tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved this as fact in lab taste trials where the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter. Plus, new research verifies that some organic produce is often lower in nitrates and higher in antioxidants than conventional food. Let the organic feasting begin!

Angela Lind. LMT
www.therapeutic-hands.com

Traveling for business or pleasure?

2009-06-08T21:26:20Z

Wellness.com - Traveling for business or pleasure? by Angela

Traveling can really take a toll on your body", says Lara Bracciante, online properties director for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP). "Cramped airplane seating, extensive driving, lumpy hotel beds, and varying time zones can leave you feeling fatigued, stressed, and sore. In addition, your immune system can become depleted, leaving you susceptible to illness. Fortunately, massage in an excellent tool for restoring and reenergizing the body when traveling and getting you back to your normal, vital self."

Too much time spending in the same position on an airplane or car, can put more stress and tightness on your body. Your muscles need to continuously stretch in order to be soft and receive good source of oxygen through your blood.

Massage Therapy combined with passive stretching (thai-yoga) is the best choice to improve your circulation, move your muscles and prevent on getting future knots, cramps, numbness and tingling on your extremities, especially your legs.

Take care of your body and don't let traveling on an airplane or car affect your health and wellness.

Angela Lind. LMT
http://www.therapeutic-hands.com

Ambiance vs Health

2009-06-08T00:19:40Z

Wellness.com - Ambiance vs Health by Angela

I have worked at 5 stars spas and resorts. They have nice resting areas, nice hallways, great customer service, nice massage rooms, nice music, a large etcetera that converges in two words: great ambiance. I have seen how lots of people spends lot of money wanting to get relaxed, and they decide going to this kind of spas. They get relaxed for an hour or so with the massage, and then, have to step out the room,step out the spa, take the car and drive. Their relaxation state is almost completely gone, because have to be very alert to drive back again. The reflexes after the massage are not good because the body it`s been laying down on the table with the increasing of blood circulation. That`s why is highly recommended to drink plenty of water for not fainting or feeling dizzy. Are kind of the same symptoms when someone is under alcohol`s influence or when the person is very sleepy. Very dangerous for a person when is driving, but in this case, the person just drink water, and break the relaxation state voluntarily, and easily get alert and ready to drive back. So, why the people spend so much money for ambiance and to get relaxed just for a short time?

What I think, it`s much better receiving a massage at home. After the massage, I don`t have to worry about driving. After the massage, I jump to my shower, then jump to my bed, go to sleep, or just watch tv. But the relaxation state remains longer. I think that the best place to get relaxed is in my own house, my own shower, my own bed. This is how the money spent for massage has more value.It`s wonderful going to nice resorts with great ambiances and luxurious atmospheres, but that not happens all the time. People don't live at these resorts the 365 days of the year. Health, is an every day matter.

Receiving a massage in a regular basis is part of your good health.Stress unfortunately is part of our lives, gravity that pull bones and muscles in a constant force that causes misalignments and therefore stiffness, pain and discomfort. Massage reduce stress, stiffness and pain.

If having good health is a necessity, then getting a massage is not a luxury, it`s a necessity.If you want to participate more on your own care rather than paying exorbitant amounts for ambiance and luxury, look for an independent massage therapist that can come over to your place. Don't struggle driving and save time for yourself.Driving to get a massage its not worth it!

Remember: "There's no place like home". Take care of yourself,love yourself, reward yourself.Get a massage in regular basis for your body, mind and spirit.

Best wishes,

Angela Lind.LMT.
http://www.therapeutic-hands.com