From our first venture into the school gymnasium as kids, we’ve been taught to stretch. As adults, stretching is as common a morning routine as brushing our teeth or combing our hair.
Mind-body fitness expert Anat Baniel wants us to know how to move and stretch carefully and start our day out right. Baniel, author of
Move Into Life: The Nine Essentials for Lifelong Vitality (Harmony Books, 2009), believes excessive stretching is an activity that is contrary to the health and longevity of our muscles.
“Muscles are meant to contract and relax,” she says. “Stretching them puts stress on them and rips muscle fibers, forcing them to constantly repair themselves after each time you stretch. Your body’s movement shouldn’t cause repeated damage. It should be more harmonious and flow naturally.”
Baniel says her method of stretching actually increases flexibility and motion without damaging muscles. Follow these simple steps:
1. Stand up, spread your feet comfortably, gently bend down, and let your hands move toward your feet. Notice how far you go, without forcing, and come back to standing.
2. Stand, spread your legs comfortably, bend your knees a little, and put your right hand just above your right knee, on your thigh. Put your left hand just above your left knee. Then lean on your legs with the weight of your upper body resting on your hands. Begin to round your back and at the same time pull your belly in; look down at
your belly. Then gently arch your back, push your belly out, lift your head, and look up. Repeat process.
3. Come back to standing, bend forward, and take your hands down toward your feet, as in Step 1. Is there some change already?
4. Now stand with feet apart, and knees bent a little; this time lean with both hands on your left leg, just above the knee as before. Gently and slowly round your back and look down, then arch your back, free the belly muscles (push them out), and
look up. Go back and forth four or five times. Then stand and rest for a moment. Feel how you stand.
5. Repeat Step 4, this time leaning with both hands on your right knee.
6. Stand up with your feet spread comfortably and bend down. Can you can bend more easily and further than before? Are your toes closer to your hands? “They should be,”
Baniel says, “because the variations provided by this exercise supplied your brain the information it needed to figure out how to let go of tight muscles and tendons.”
Baniel’s approach to vital, creative, and energetic life is based not only on the all-important regimens of diet,exercise, and stress management, but upon providing the brain with what it requires for us to grow, evolve, and thrive as individuals.
Karrie Osborn is contributing editor for
Massage & Bodywork magazine.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Massage Means Less Stress, More Math
I do not think there is anyone who would be reading this blog and would not agree that stress is a major problem in modern society, and that massage is a great way to get rid of it. However, if you are one of those people, please let me refer you to some introductory resources from the Web for you to look at:
- Go to Google.com
- Type in “massage” + “Stress”
- Read about how massage has been proven to combat stress (and much more) from sites such as:
o The Mayo Clinic
o WebMD
o The Touch Institute
o And many more credible, trusted organizations
While you are at the last source I mentioned – The Touch Institute – navigate a couple of links into the Web page (click “TRI Research”, then “Adult Massage Studies”) and you’ll see (listed second) a paper from the International Journal of Neuroscience that studied the effects of massage on stress and anxiety.
Not only did this study demonstrate that massage can reduce stress, but it also gave specific examples of the tangible benefits that come to people when they are relieved of the burden of stress.
For the study, one group of participants was given chair massage two times per week over a five-week period. Another group of participants was made to sit down in a massage chair, but was not given massage. Instead they were simply told to “relax” on their own and given an amount of time in which they could relax. Before the study began all participants were given an Electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor their brain patterns.
The EEGs conducted after the five-week period showed that while both groups had increased levels of relaxation, the group that received massage had brain activity that showed enhanced alertness, lower levels of anxiety, and lower levels of job stress. The control group that did not receive the massage either did not experience these benefits, or experienced them on a lower level.
As for actual, tangible manifestations of the massages’ effectiveness: The study had all participants do a series of math computations, both before and after the five-week period; of course, the participants who had received massage all showed improved accuracy and speed on their math problems, while the control group did not.
- Go to Google.com
- Type in “massage” + “Stress”
- Read about how massage has been proven to combat stress (and much more) from sites such as:
o The Mayo Clinic
o WebMD
o The Touch Institute
o And many more credible, trusted organizations
While you are at the last source I mentioned – The Touch Institute – navigate a couple of links into the Web page (click “TRI Research”, then “Adult Massage Studies”) and you’ll see (listed second) a paper from the International Journal of Neuroscience that studied the effects of massage on stress and anxiety.
Not only did this study demonstrate that massage can reduce stress, but it also gave specific examples of the tangible benefits that come to people when they are relieved of the burden of stress.
For the study, one group of participants was given chair massage two times per week over a five-week period. Another group of participants was made to sit down in a massage chair, but was not given massage. Instead they were simply told to “relax” on their own and given an amount of time in which they could relax. Before the study began all participants were given an Electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor their brain patterns.
The EEGs conducted after the five-week period showed that while both groups had increased levels of relaxation, the group that received massage had brain activity that showed enhanced alertness, lower levels of anxiety, and lower levels of job stress. The control group that did not receive the massage either did not experience these benefits, or experienced them on a lower level.
As for actual, tangible manifestations of the massages’ effectiveness: The study had all participants do a series of math computations, both before and after the five-week period; of course, the participants who had received massage all showed improved accuracy and speed on their math problems, while the control group did not.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Art of Self-Massage (Part II)
As promised, I will continue outlining the ways to give self-massage on different parts of the body. Last week, I wrote about giving self-massage to your head, shoulders, and feet. This week I will write about self-massage for your hands and torso. I will end with some general guidelines for self-massage.
For your hands:
- Stroke the back of one hand with the other, gliding up to the wrist and back down toward the fingertips. Use your fingertips (exclude your thumb) and focus on one side (left or right) of the back of your hand going up, another going down.
- Apply pressure circularly to the joints of each finger.
- Then, grab each finger at its base with the fingertips of the other hand, pulling it gently while having your hand slide from the base of the finger off the fingertip.
- Stroke the gaps of the wrist bone and between the tendons of each finger.
- Place the back of your hand against a table and, using your thumb, use circular motions to massage your palm and wrist.
- Finally, placing one hand in your lap, push the palm of one hand with the heel of the other. Gently glide back and forth from the fingers to the wrist.
For your torso (stomach pains)
- Stroke around your abdomen (don’t actually press on it) in a clockwise motion. Have one hand follow the other in a circle around the abdomen.
- Next knead your abdomen lightly with all your fingers (including your thumbs).
- Roll onto your side and do a similar kneading action on your hips and bottom.
Wake yourself up from your massages by standing up and hitting your hips and butt vigorously with loosely clenched fists. Avoid hurting yourself by immediately pulling your fist up after striking.
Repeat these steps for as much, or as little, time you want or can sacrifice. A minute or so for each step should begin to provide relief. If it doesn’t, or if you want more, repeat the process over for another minute or so, then move on to the next step.
Of course, there are also many self-massage products that can do the stoking, gliding and kneading for you, if interested. Use your hands – or a gadget – to wake yourself up, put your self to sleep, or get you through the day. It is that easy to enjoy the benefits of massage.
For your hands:
- Stroke the back of one hand with the other, gliding up to the wrist and back down toward the fingertips. Use your fingertips (exclude your thumb) and focus on one side (left or right) of the back of your hand going up, another going down.
- Apply pressure circularly to the joints of each finger.
- Then, grab each finger at its base with the fingertips of the other hand, pulling it gently while having your hand slide from the base of the finger off the fingertip.
- Stroke the gaps of the wrist bone and between the tendons of each finger.
- Place the back of your hand against a table and, using your thumb, use circular motions to massage your palm and wrist.
- Finally, placing one hand in your lap, push the palm of one hand with the heel of the other. Gently glide back and forth from the fingers to the wrist.
For your torso (stomach pains)
- Stroke around your abdomen (don’t actually press on it) in a clockwise motion. Have one hand follow the other in a circle around the abdomen.
- Next knead your abdomen lightly with all your fingers (including your thumbs).
- Roll onto your side and do a similar kneading action on your hips and bottom.
Wake yourself up from your massages by standing up and hitting your hips and butt vigorously with loosely clenched fists. Avoid hurting yourself by immediately pulling your fist up after striking.
Repeat these steps for as much, or as little, time you want or can sacrifice. A minute or so for each step should begin to provide relief. If it doesn’t, or if you want more, repeat the process over for another minute or so, then move on to the next step.
Of course, there are also many self-massage products that can do the stoking, gliding and kneading for you, if interested. Use your hands – or a gadget – to wake yourself up, put your self to sleep, or get you through the day. It is that easy to enjoy the benefits of massage.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Art of Self-Massage (Part I)
A common lament about massage is the price. And there is also the I-don’t-have-enough-time excuse that many use to justify not getting a massage, even though their feet and head ache, their shoulders are tense, their hands hurt, and their torsos are cramp-ridden. Fortunately, there is a pretty well founded set of guidelines (found on the examiner and livestrong Web sites) for self-massage that will fit your budget, schedule, and needs perfectly. Here they are, pared down to their simplest forms and separated by body part:
For your head:
- Position your fingertips at the point where your eyebrows end and your nose begins.
- Apply gentle pressure and massage with small, circular motions.
- Continue doing this, moving along your eyebrow.
- After you’ve finished massaging the eyebrow area, massage your temples in a similar fashion
- Then massage the areas surrounding the bone at the top of your neck (the occipital bone). Use the same circular motion – gently, but firmly – with your fingertips.
- Finally, massage your scalp, this time using the pads of your fingers. Apply enough pressure to move the scalp up and down.
For your shoulders:
- Start at the base of your skull and stroke down, gliding down to your arm and elbow and back up to your neck. Have your right hand massage the left-side of your neck and arm, and vice-versa for the right-side.
- Next, with your fingertips, apply pressure through circular motion around your spine, all the way to the top of your neck (similar to step 5 in the head massage section).
- If you are feeling tired or in need of more, make a fist with your hand and gently hit your shoulders to wake yourself up and relieve some stress.
For your feet:
- Put your foot on the quadriceps of your opposite leg and place one hand on top of the foot, one hand below it. Starting at the toes, rub in a smooth stroke up to your ankle. Then stroke back down to your toes.
- Next, massage each toe individually, squeezing, stretching, and pulling.
- With your thumbs, apply firm pressure on the bottom of your foot. Use your fingertips to provide pressure in a line to the center of the sole of your foot, as well as the sides of the sole.
- Secure your foot with one hand and, making a fist, use the knuckles of your hand to massage the entire sole of your foot. Use circular motions.
- Using all the fingertips of both hands, stroke up from the ankle to the lower part of the calf. Apply pressure to all sides. Glide back down to the ankle, and repeat the process.
Next week I will write more about how to perform self-massage on your hands and torso.
For your head:
- Position your fingertips at the point where your eyebrows end and your nose begins.
- Apply gentle pressure and massage with small, circular motions.
- Continue doing this, moving along your eyebrow.
- After you’ve finished massaging the eyebrow area, massage your temples in a similar fashion
- Then massage the areas surrounding the bone at the top of your neck (the occipital bone). Use the same circular motion – gently, but firmly – with your fingertips.
- Finally, massage your scalp, this time using the pads of your fingers. Apply enough pressure to move the scalp up and down.
For your shoulders:
- Start at the base of your skull and stroke down, gliding down to your arm and elbow and back up to your neck. Have your right hand massage the left-side of your neck and arm, and vice-versa for the right-side.
- Next, with your fingertips, apply pressure through circular motion around your spine, all the way to the top of your neck (similar to step 5 in the head massage section).
- If you are feeling tired or in need of more, make a fist with your hand and gently hit your shoulders to wake yourself up and relieve some stress.
For your feet:
- Put your foot on the quadriceps of your opposite leg and place one hand on top of the foot, one hand below it. Starting at the toes, rub in a smooth stroke up to your ankle. Then stroke back down to your toes.
- Next, massage each toe individually, squeezing, stretching, and pulling.
- With your thumbs, apply firm pressure on the bottom of your foot. Use your fingertips to provide pressure in a line to the center of the sole of your foot, as well as the sides of the sole.
- Secure your foot with one hand and, making a fist, use the knuckles of your hand to massage the entire sole of your foot. Use circular motions.
- Using all the fingertips of both hands, stroke up from the ankle to the lower part of the calf. Apply pressure to all sides. Glide back down to the ankle, and repeat the process.
Next week I will write more about how to perform self-massage on your hands and torso.
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