Hot Yoga

Recently, a co-worker of mine introduced me to Hot Yoga. It is essentially yoga in a room that is heated to about 100 degrees with 60% humidity. Hence the title.

I loved it.

Yoga is fantastic for your body for multiple reasons as with any exercise. Many people immediately think of flexibility. Yes, yoga does help to increase flexibility, even areas you never thought could be stretched. It also increases muscle tone and lubrication of the joints. This makes yoga great for younger generations as well as elderly.

When you Google "yoga" you probably come across pictures such as this one below.

Picture thanks to freedom festival.

Many people would obviously have trouble with this position. As with anything, you do what you can. Yes, push your body, but you also need to listen to your body. If in reaching for your toes you can only get to your knees then so be it. If you want to be able to touch your toes then you practice, gently stretching your body, and eventually you will get there without injuring yourself. This is key. Yoga is a great activity to enable one to tune into his or her body. 

In reality, doing yoga looks more like this for the average person. See below.

Picture thanks to Your Body Center

When I do yoga, I think of it as massaging my body. I "massage" the aches out of my body. I stretch and work the muscles to loosen them up. And breathe! You'd be amazed at how many people don't. 

I'm serious.  

Do a stretch right now. 

.......

Did you breathe out or did you hold your breath? 

If you don't know, do the stretch again and pay attention. Paying attention to your body is something that yoga is also good for. With an increased awareness of your body you will know when you are about to "dork something up", when you start to come down with something, and when stress begins to settle in. Knowing that these things are about to happen is majorly beneficial in preventive care. 

Even if you think yoga is not for you, give it a try. You may discover that it is for you. :)

~The Kneadonator

Rice Therapy Bags

I mentioned rice therapy bags in my last blog post. I have had people ask for more information, so thought I'd blog about them.

When I was first introduced to the idea of rice bags, it was by an older lady who told me to put rice in a sock, tie off the end, microwave it, and then enjoy. Since then, I have discovered people who have crafted multi-use rice bags. And not just grabbed a (clean) sock for therapy.

It's a wonder my family doesn't think I'm strange. :)

You can find rice therapy bags in some stores, but the best place I've found besides making them yourself, is Etsy.

Rice bags on Etsy.

They have ones made for the shoulders. Some for the entire back. Others that wrap around the knees and elbows. Some that wrap around the wrists or for the hands to rest on during computer use. A few for sinus or headache relief and others for kids when they get "boo boos".  Below are some examples (all from Etsy).

Boo Boo Bears

Knee and Elbow Wrap

Lumbar Cozie

Neck wrap, Eye pillow, and Feet warmers

Wrist Support

They are amazing! You can not only microwave them, you can also freeze them. The olden days icy hot packs! Hope you try these for yourself. Don't just take my word.

Back Pain

The majority of my clients come to me because of some kind of pain. Of those, back pain holds the lead. The pain is usually in the low back area and spreads down into the hips and legs, and/or up into the shoulders and neck. When the pain spreads it leads to additional symptoms that we therapists work to relieve in order to reveal the real culprit.

Back pain can be caused by a number of things:

1. Poor posture
2. Heavy lifting or just lifting wrong
3. Sitting for long periods without the proper support or posture
4. Wrong mattress or pillow
5. Standing for long periods of time
6. Lack of exercise or stretching
7. Accident (i.e. fall, trip, car accident, etc)
8. Sports, physical activity (Only if not done properly and not warmed up)

Ways to avoid or relieve back pain:

1. Massage
2. Stretches and exercise
3. Conscious of proper posture, lifting techniques, and warm-up before physical activity and cool down after
4. Drink plenty of water
5. Soak in the tub, use rice therapy bags or heating pads, and ice to prevent injury and relieve soreness

You would be surprised by how many people tell me that they don't stretch. Or how many warm up, but don't cool down after a work out or vice versa. There are reasons that people stress the importance of warming up and cooling down. You need to literally warm up the muscles in your body. They heat up, which increases your energy because heat is a by-product of making ATP, and this increases oxygen flow to your muscles. This also pumps more fluids, nutrients, etc through the joints. Cooling down has a similar affect, but allows the muscles to shake off any excess. This excess is what makes your muscles hurt. It has to go somewhere and if you don't get rid of it then it stays where it shouldn't. Your body is telling you there's a problem.

If you have to work all day standing on your feet there are still ways to help prevent pain. Wearing the right shoes. Investing in a great pair of shoes is absolutely worth every penny in the long run. A nice soak in the tub or a hot tub is a wonderful way to end a work day. However, this is unlikely for the majority of busy people. The next best thing is using a rice therapy bag. Heat it in the microwave for just over a minute, then sit back and enjoy the heat easing your tense, hard worked muscles. Alternating heat and ice is a good way to ease tension, reduce any inflammation, and just basically cover the bases. This is something I do after a long day giving massages. It keeps my arms and hands loose and flexible, keeps carpal tunnel at bay, and prevents aches and pain.

Have more ideas or suggestions? Please feel free to leave your comments in the comment section. I'd love to hear them! :)

~The Kneadonator