Men's Wallets: Source of Your Hip Problem?

Most men stick their wallets in their back pockets.  They just put it back there and don't give it a second thought till then need to get something out of it.  Some of these wallets can be quite thick with credit cards, money, pictures, receipts and more.  I've seen some that are probably about 2 inches thick!  However, like the post I wrote about women and their purses, these wallets can cause problems to men without their even knowing what's going on.  And you men probably thought you were getting off easy since you don't carry a heavy purse around. :)

Let me use the example of the 2" thick wallet.  A man places this wallet in his back pocket.  Then he sits down, he gets in and out of his car, he sits back down at his desk and through out the day this process is done multiple, multiple times.  Each time you sit down you are sitting on this extra 2".  Now visualize how this displaces your hips...it will bring one hip up higher then the other every single time you sit down.  This obviously wrecks havoc on your body.  You may not feel it directly in your hip, it could be radiating up through your back without knowing a direct cause.  So now you know what might be causing you some pain.

For you men you have two easy solutions.  One being put your wallet in your front pocket.  The other being to make sure you take your wallet out of your back pocket each time you sit down.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Is Your Purse the Source of Your Pain?

I had a conversation recently with a client who realized how heavy her purse is and how much it is adding pain in her arm and shoulder.  It's a conversation I've had with many women, as well as men with their wallets.  So let me explain more in detail as this simple thing us females do everyday that gets so overlooked and could be the major source of your pain.

For many women, they carry large over-sized or overstuffed purses.  Most of them will carry this on one arm or shoulder without ever changing to the opposite side.  What seems to be an almost mindless daily activity can wreck havoc on your body without you knowing it.  If you think about it, a purse with all it's contents can weight as much as 25 lbs.  So everyday you are picking up a 25 lb weight with the same arm, same shoulder.  Then you might complain every day about that particular arm/shoulder and don't know what you are doing to make it hurt so much.  The thing is, it's we usually look for the *big* issues of what happened?  Did we fall? You can't remember what you did to cause this pain and it doesn't have to be a big thing such as a fall to have your body in pain.  Pain tells us something is wrong.

So a few solutions would be to make sure you switch your purse back and forth between the left and right sides.  Vary the sides every time you pick up your purse and switch back and forth when you are out for long periods of time.  Go through your purse and purge out contents that you really don't need...get rid of the excess weight.  Lastly, use a 'backpack' type purse, a purse that has straps to go over both shoulders for even disbursement.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Reflexology Basics

Reflexology is a method of massaging specific areas of the feet, hands and even ears to relieve nervous tension, promote healing and relieve stress in other parts of the body.  The understanding is that certain areas in these appendages corresponds to every part in the body.  What this means is that areas of the feet, hands and ears reflect other known areas of the rest of your body.  For instance the ends of your toes and fingers are a reflection of your brain and head, the low back is towards your heel.  And each side of the foot, hands and ears corresponds to that side of the body, i.e. right hand, right side.  Reflexology is a form of bodywork that can be very specific in having only the hands/feet (and sometimes ears) worked on and/or included in other various types of massage.

One of the nice things about reflexology is this is something that you can do yourself to help you have an immediate relief in whatever might ail you until you can see either your massage therapist or reflexologist.  The basics are pretty easy.  To stimulate healing in your body through your feet, hands and/or ears find the points that are sore or painful and put pressure there by massaging it.  You can use your hands for the feet and ears or use other things for your feet such as a ball or wooden foot roller.  Use for a few minutes every day.  There is a great interactive reflexology chart for your feet and hands at Dorling Kindersley books website.  Of course for the ears, check out the chart above.


For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Reduce Your Inflammation

Diet is the foundation to reducing inflammation in our body.  We know the things that are unhealthy and contribute to further our bodies aggravation.  Its a choice that we make.  Its just as easy to choose good as it is bad.  And yes, I agree the bad foods can taste oh so good.  Yet eating towards a healthy, anti-inflammatory lifestyle can prolong our life as well as live a life that is enjoyable and without disease.  Most inflammatory diseases build up over time and sometimes without symptoms, or we simply ignore the symptoms.  So before we find out that its too late and we have certain diseases, make better choices.  Its pretty simple, we need to eat less inflammatory foods for less inflammation.  Some of the anti-inflammatory foods are:

• Fruits and Vegetables
• Red and Sweet Potatoes
• Fresh Fish
• Grass-Fed Meat, Chicken and Eggs
• Nuts such as Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, Pistachios, and Macadamia Nuts
• Spices such as Ginger, Garlic, Dill, Oregano, Red Chili Pepper, Basil and Rosemary
• Organic Butter, Coconut Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Water, Green Tea
• Red Wine and Stout Beer
  

Sometimes when faced with an 'overhaul' of the thought of a complete diet change can be overwhelming, so try a simple change.  If you're not ready to fully commit, try simple changes.  Change one or two food items a week such as instead of the Snickers bar, have a handful of walnuts or even a piece of dark chocolate for your 'fix.'  Then again do something different the next week and so on.  Then before you know it you have made the changes that you wanted.  Good luck!

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Did You Inflame Your Body Today?

We all seem to suffer from some type of degree of body inflammation issues.  Yet, did you know that certain foods can attribute to inflaming our body?  Some of the diseases and conditions associated with inflammation are : chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, fibromyalgia, sinusitis, allergies, asthma, hypertension, depression, and diabietes.  With everything we eat we can either increase or reduce inflammation.

Some foods we eat, we just know they are not good for us.  However, we probably don't think that they could be attributing the above conditions and that they can affect us that severely.  A few of the pro-inflammatory foods are:

• Soda and Sugar
• Dairy
• Partially Hydrogenated Oils (trans fats) such as deep fried foods and margarine
  
• Corn, Safflower, Sunflower, Peanut, and Soybean Oils
• White Bread, Pasta, Cereal, Pretzels and Crackers

We need to be careful about the things we eat and drink.  I know it's easy to grab the afternoon soda and pretzels.  Replace it with Green Tea (not loaded with sugar) and an apple.  They both have great 'pick-me up' nutrients to give you an afternoon boost.  Replace cow's milk with goats milk, soy milk, or almond milk.  All great alternatives, just a matter of changing your taste buds to help you in the long road to health.  Even a few simple and small changes in what you eat can make a difference to your body. 

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Post-Op Massage Rx

According to the Archives of Surgery, they have concluded that "Massage is an effective and safe adjuvant therapy for the relief of acute and postoperative pain in patients undergoing major operations."   The controlled study showed that patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity.  They also found that massage therapy improves postoperative anxiety and pain management.  After surgery a patients muscles become very tight and sore for a variety of reasons.  The main reason, of course, being the surgery itself.  Rather graphically, the body is cut into and things are spread out and moved in ways most of us don't want to think about.  This puts a lot of pressure on the whole body, not just the area that is having the surgery.  There is also the recovery of laying around being dormant in a hospital bed that can play havoc on your body.  The muscles can start becoming atrophied, even in small ways that will make you sore.

So the next time you know someone getting ready, or who has had recent surgery, consider getting them a massage instead of the get-well cards, balloons and flowers.  

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Relax, It's Just Another Day

Finding it hard to find a moment to relax in your daily life?  Our very fast paced lives seem to put us to where we go, go, go.  We get up, get the kids, drop them off at school, go to a meeting or two or three, return phone calls, emails, do reports, deadlines, deal with employees, more meetings, paperwork and the list goes on and on.  And every day you end up exhausted at the end of the evening.  Have you ever thought of taking a daily break during your day?  Most people would say no way to that question.  There's always too much to do.

Just like anything that you have scheduled through your day, you need to schedule a break.  Taking a break during your busy day can actually make you more productive. When we get overwhelmed and stressed with too much to do, we can actually become very counterproductive and do even less when trying to do more.  We can get unfocused and unproductive which puts us even further behind, which stresses us out more and the cycle continues.  So stop the cycle and take a break.  Even a five-minute break can decompress your mind and help you refocus.  Here's five easy break ideas:

1)  Talk a walk outside.  Step away from the desk/computer and enjoy the sunlight.

2)  Watch a meditation video.  Soothing Meditation by Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage
3)  Close your door and dance to your most favorite song and release that pent up energy.

4)  Do a few Yoga poses  OfficeBreakYoga.com
5)  Laugh!  Find something that makes you laugh outloud.  Evolution of Dance

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

What Size Are You? It doesn't matter!

We all have our own body issues, things that we don't like about ourselves that we see differently then everyone else sees.  And when it comes to massage and having to expose those areas that we don't like to our massage therapist can be very hard for some people.

As a massage therapist, I look at and treat the body differently then you do.  I do not notice that you might be overweight or that you have cellulite in various areas or that you think your legs or butt are to big.  All complaints I've heard from clients who don't like their various parts.  For me, I look at the body and how I can help heal it.  I really don't notice cellulite if I'm working on your legs, or if you have cankles, or if you think you're too thin or too heavy.  These are all things we criticize enough about ourselves.  My focus is your whole body!  What can I do to make you feel wonderful and comfortable and help you relieve any pains that you might be having!  Though this might sound a bit weird, I visualize the muscles under the skin and whether I can 'get rid of' the knots that you have or how your body is reacting to the massage and the pressure I am doing.  Again, I do not care what body issues you have or what size you are.  I care about you the person, your body and how I can help heal it and make you feel that your body is perfect just the way it is.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.