Massage

Thanksgiving is over and so is Black Friday. Do you feel tired, stressed out and a couple of pounds heavier? If you want to feel better, you have to take care of your stress overload. And the first step to reducing stress is having a better sleep. A better sleep will help you to reduce stress which will boost your energy and immune system to stay healthy during cold and flu season, and even to loose some extra pounds.

Here are some tips on how to get a better sleep:

1. Have physical activity.

Sleep is not just for your mind- sleep is nature’s way of resting your body, too. If your muscles are not tired because you are getting no exercise during the day, there is less physiological reason for sleep. Once you feel the fatigue in your muscles, you’ll know you are almost certain to sleep better. Even a 30-minute walk might surprise you with the results.

2. Stretch and yawn.

Studies show that simple stretch and yawn help ready the body for sleep. Try it every day and you might be surprised.

3. Eat more food rich in Magnesium.

Magnesium helps the body make serotonin, which helps in producing melatonin (the hormone that helps us to relax and sleep). A spoon of walnuts with a little bit of honey around 8:00pm-9:00pm might help. Foods rich in Magnesium are almonds, apples, apricots, brown rice, garlic, leafy vegetables, spinach, salmon, etc. More on stress and sleep

4. Go to bed around 10:00 pm.

There are two reasons. First, according to Ayurveda,(from Sanskrit literally means “science of life” or “practices of longevity”) there are cycles that are the most beneficial for certain activities. Sleep from 10:00 p.m. till 6:00 a.m. allows the body to rest the most. It also helps with metabolism, so if you want to loose some weight try to sleep more by getting to bed earlier.

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Second, studies show that nighttime exposure to light may elevate breast cancer risk by suppressing production of melatonin, a brain hormone that is made during darkness and that normally peaks at night.

5. Have fresh air in the room.

A lot of people underestimate the importance of fresh air in the room during your sleep time. Study shows that indoors air is one of the most toxic air around. The fresh air will help promote sound sleep while stale air and toxins escape from your window.

6. Get a foot massage.

Ask your partner, or you can do it yourself and it will help you relax as well as improve circulation. More on massage

7. Have a home-made facial.

Home-made facial is one of the best relaxation techniques, because you kill two birds with one stone: you not only nourish, cleanse or rejuvenate your face but also have to lie down for at least ten minutes – I call it facial meditation.

Try an uplifting mask made of kiwi and honey (mash one kiwi and add 1/2 tsp of honey, mix and put on your face for 15 minutes) – it is delicious. While lying, don’t forget to think about something very pleasant. More home-made facials.

8. Have a cup of bedtime tea.

You can always treat yourself to a cup of bedtime tea with Lemon balm or Chamomile flower.

Pampering / taking care of ourselves we do our bodies a big favor: we reduce stress which is priority number one if we want to feel and look fabulous, especially during a cold and flu as well as holiday season.

Never forget to breathe, smile and be happy.

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Expert

NaturalCounselor.com

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Tags: Ayurveda, Breast Cancer, Cold and Flu, health, Holistic Health, Immune System, Massage, Meditation, nutrition, Physical Activity, Relaxation, Sleep, stress, Toxins, Weight Loss Tips and Recipes, Whole Foods, women's health

Do it yourself Massage Tips

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

More than 75% of health problems can be related to stress. We know that one of the best tress-relief tools and techniques is a body massage. I would like to share with you the article “Massage-You can Do It Yourself” by Michael Tasker where he explains how easily you can self-massage your body. These are very helpful tips for us to use, especially nowadays, with our economy situation:

“Qi Gong Tapping is a form of self-massage is commonly used by many Qi Gong and Tai Chi practitioners while warming up before their meditative practices. This can be adopted as a method to energize yourself first thing in the morning or perhaps before a physical workout. Start by forming your hands into a loose fist so that you can firmly tap your body from head to toe along the meridian pathways. The first step is to tap along your arms both inside and outside. Then tap your torso down the front of your chest, continuing down to the front of your thighs. Repeat the tapping on the inside, outside, and back of your legs to cover the entire lower body. Finally, tap along your neck and behind your back to cover the remaining areas. This practice can be repeated several times, until your feel your body warm up from the increased blood flow. Remember, one of the benefits of massage is to facilitate the increase in blood flow.

Abdominal self-massage is best used after meals to improve digestion or by women during their menstrual cycle. To perform abdominal massage, place one hand over the other as they lay above your naval. Breathe deeply as your move your hands together in a circular-motion around your belly in a clock-wise direction. The clock-wise direction is synchronous with the digestive pathway of your colon. Repeat this motion for several minutes focusing your mind on your hands and breathe to warm your abdomen and improve circulation.

Reflexology is a system of treatment where specific points on the hands and feet are used to improve the health and functioning of the entire body. You can benefit from this practice even without a through understanding of reflexology charts. Use some basic massage oil or hand lotion to gently rub all of your fingers and toes. Continue to rub your palms and the soles of your feet, including the back of your hand and tops of your feet. Pay attention to any tender spots you find so that you can focus more on these areas. You will soon discover which places feel the best and which ones need more attention. By adopting a massage session each day, the tension that is accumulated in these areas through the day can be relieved.

An overall ear massage can greatly benefit our health. With the use of your thumb and index finger you need to rub the outer edge of the ear, which is also called the helix. Follow the helix down the ear until you reach your earlobe. Pull gently on your earlobe several times. Move above your ear lobe and begin to massage each of the remaining areas of your ear. The tragus, which is located just above your earlobe, is very helpful to activate the mind and relieve headaches.”