Most people don't breathe correctly. It seems odd, since it's an automatic function that you don't even think about. But therein lies the problem. Most people don't think about how they breathe, and thus they don't breathe correctly at least part of the time.
Breathing with your diaphragm, or belly breathing, maximizes the exchange of oxygen in the lunges. Oxygen is what makes us clear-headed, alert and energized. Most people assume they need to breathe from their chest. This can lead to the tension people feel in their chest, neck, shoulder and upper back, not to mention foggy-headed.
When I tell a client to take a deep, slow breath, I pay attention to how and where they are doing it. If they inhale quickly and sharply with their chest, I encourage them to try again, but by expanding the belly slowly to breathe in, and to contract the belly to push the air back out.
This article goes into further detail about proper breathing. Please check it out and be mindful of your breath!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Self-care on vacation: Five tips to relieve pain and tension on the go
Below is just one of the articles included in my latest bimonthly newsletter. You can sign up for more healthy living ideas at www.stephaniehaddock.com.
From Las Vegas to the national parks, the best vacations should involve more fun than stress. Consider scheduling a massage before you leave in order to have something in place after you get home. While you are out on the road, in the air or on the trail, here are four ways to work out tension.
For your neck and back
Your neck and back may need attention when you are away. Try these stretches at least 3 times a day for the best benefit. You can even do these on a plane or in the car.
1. Release your neck and shoulders. Sit straight. Inhale and squeeze your shoulders up toward your ears. Hold tightly for several seconds and relax as you exhale. Repeat.
2. Relieve back pain. Sit with your back straight. Pull your right knee toward you. Hold for 10 seconds. Release. Switch legs and repeat. Do this sequence 3 times.
Relieve foot pain
Whether you're walking in the woods or in the city, your feet and legs can take a beating. Here are two ways to revive them with water.
1. Bring along favorite essential oils such as lavender, peppermint and/or lemon. If you can buy Epsom or sea salts, add them plus 2 or 3 drops of essential oil to a basin or bathtub of very warm water. Soak for 20 minutes and dry your feet briskly with a towel.
2. If your feet get hot and achy when you are out hiking, biking or running, stop and plunge your feet in a cold stream or lake for as long as you can take. Afterward, let them dry in the sun and give each of them a quick massage.
From Las Vegas to the national parks, the best vacations should involve more fun than stress. Consider scheduling a massage before you leave in order to have something in place after you get home. While you are out on the road, in the air or on the trail, here are four ways to work out tension.
For your neck and back
Your neck and back may need attention when you are away. Try these stretches at least 3 times a day for the best benefit. You can even do these on a plane or in the car.
1. Release your neck and shoulders. Sit straight. Inhale and squeeze your shoulders up toward your ears. Hold tightly for several seconds and relax as you exhale. Repeat.
2. Relieve back pain. Sit with your back straight. Pull your right knee toward you. Hold for 10 seconds. Release. Switch legs and repeat. Do this sequence 3 times.
Relieve foot pain
Whether you're walking in the woods or in the city, your feet and legs can take a beating. Here are two ways to revive them with water.
1. Bring along favorite essential oils such as lavender, peppermint and/or lemon. If you can buy Epsom or sea salts, add them plus 2 or 3 drops of essential oil to a basin or bathtub of very warm water. Soak for 20 minutes and dry your feet briskly with a towel.
2. If your feet get hot and achy when you are out hiking, biking or running, stop and plunge your feet in a cold stream or lake for as long as you can take. Afterward, let them dry in the sun and give each of them a quick massage.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Epic FAIL: "The View" and Elisabeth Hasselbeck
I saw something today that made my mouth drop and my blood boil. It was a clip from "The View", an unfortunately popular television show that tends to influence its audience.
In it, the hosts and their guests begin to discuss Al Gore's alleged behavior with a Portland, Oregon massage therapist. It quickly turns into a gossip fest about how this one massage led to the break-up of Gore's marriage before quickly turning into a defamation of the massage therapy profession.
Misconceptions like this keep members of the public from trying massage and seeing for themselves just what massage therapy is all about. It also keeps health insurance companies from covering sessions, despite their therapeutic nature that can actually prevent larger insurance payouts.
It also has political ramifications. It leads to things like this:
... the Zoning Committee in Chicago is voting on an ordinance to require that massage establishments only be allowed in areas that are zoned B-3, which means limited to industrial use, heavy commercial use, and taverns.
This amendment was introduced by Alderman Ray Suarez, who feels that by prohibiting massage therapists from operating in retail areas and neighborhoods, that he is somehow fighting prostitution. His heart may be in the right place, but this misguided notion will not accomplish anything except to penalize legitimate massage therapists. (Laura Allen 4/18/2010)
In short, a legitimate massage therapist isn't going to seem so legitimate if his or her practice is in between a warehouse and a bar.
Recently, there was also this guilty-by-association law in New York state and this proposition in California to have the police, and not a board of professional massage therapists and members of the public, regulate MTs.
If you believe in the healing benefits of massage as a preventative and remedial health and wellness profession, whose professionals take seriously the commitment to help those in pain, please sign this petition and get "The View to make a public apology.
In it, the hosts and their guests begin to discuss Al Gore's alleged behavior with a Portland, Oregon massage therapist. It quickly turns into a gossip fest about how this one massage led to the break-up of Gore's marriage before quickly turning into a defamation of the massage therapy profession.
Misconceptions like this keep members of the public from trying massage and seeing for themselves just what massage therapy is all about. It also keeps health insurance companies from covering sessions, despite their therapeutic nature that can actually prevent larger insurance payouts.
It also has political ramifications. It leads to things like this:
... the Zoning Committee in Chicago is voting on an ordinance to require that massage establishments only be allowed in areas that are zoned B-3, which means limited to industrial use, heavy commercial use, and taverns.
This amendment was introduced by Alderman Ray Suarez, who feels that by prohibiting massage therapists from operating in retail areas and neighborhoods, that he is somehow fighting prostitution. His heart may be in the right place, but this misguided notion will not accomplish anything except to penalize legitimate massage therapists. (Laura Allen 4/18/2010)
In short, a legitimate massage therapist isn't going to seem so legitimate if his or her practice is in between a warehouse and a bar.
Recently, there was also this guilty-by-association law in New York state and this proposition in California to have the police, and not a board of professional massage therapists and members of the public, regulate MTs.
If you believe in the healing benefits of massage as a preventative and remedial health and wellness profession, whose professionals take seriously the commitment to help those in pain, please sign this petition and get "The View to make a public apology.
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