May 2014 – Wellness Focus

Is Acne Your Fault?

Acne generally isn’t caused by something you did or didn’t do. It’s not caused by dirt or even diet (according to current research). Some people are just prone to it, while others aren’t. Most of the time, tendency toward acne comes from your genes. That’s right, thank your parents.

Of course there are things you can do to lessen this genetic gift. You can keep your skin clean and exfoliate carefully. You can develop a skin care regimen that works and stick to it. You can understand that acne isn’t something you “grow out of”, it’s treatable. If you have severe acne, go see a dermatologist.

For most people, it’s a lack of consistency and care that prolongs acne. Worse, doing things to care for your acne incorrectly can cause more acne, or worse, scarring. Continue reading “Is Acne Your Fault?”

Teens Are More Stressed Than You Think

Being a teen doesn’t prevent someone from experiencing stress. Teens need guidance to help reduce stress and massage can help.

It’s a fast-paced world. Teens are surrounded by an always-connected, competitive, socially charged whirlwind of challenges. Teens are anxious about a lot of things in their lives and, like adults, they need an outlet for stress. On top of that, they are growing, which means aches and pains and lots of hormonal craziness. If we don’t suggest some options to reduce these stressors, teens will likely experiment for themselves, sometimes with unexpected and undesirable consequences.

In a recent study by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, teens cited school, homework, and academic pressures as the #1 causes of stress. Parents/family, social life and relationships, and keeping up with deadlines/managing time and participation in team sports came in next. Continue reading “Teens Are More Stressed Than You Think”

Waiting for Wellness

Every single day, a runner tweaks a muscle, an active adult injures a shoulder, someone shackled to a computer gets a pain in their wrist or finger and someone wakes up from a restless night of sleep with back, neck or shoulder pain. Some attempt to “walk it off”, some race to a doctor or grab an over-the-counter pain reliever. Others just wait, hoping the pain will go away on it’s own.

You Don’t Have to Wait for Wellness

In each of the aforementioned cases, massage can usually make a significant, noticeable difference in your level of pain or discomfort, and often speeds healing of the traumatized area. Add a well-trained massage therapist who listens to your needs, performs exemplary work, and coaches you on home-care activities and you’ve got a wellness program that works. Continue reading “Waiting for Wellness”

Multitasking Moms – More Stressed?

Working moms are notoriously busy, and often find that the unpredictability of parenting, especially parenting small children, leads to additional stress. Stresses from maintaining a relationship with their spouse or partner also put pressure on multitasking moms.

“Researchers found that working mothers spent 10.5 more hours every week on multitasking compared with working fathers — typical chores like preparing dinner, doing laundry, maybe even doing some work brought home from the office, while also talking with their child and helping with homework.” (Michigan State University, 2011)

Continue reading “Multitasking Moms – More Stressed?”

More than a job, less than a life

Silicon Valley offers endless opportunity for bright, motivated people. Whether it’s building the next best thing from an idea written on a napkin, to landing a dream job at a tech giant, the benefits are incredible. Every day you’re immersed in excitement fueled by caffeine and good old nose-to-the grindstone brainwork. It’s 10 hours a day of nonstop adrenalin. The work is exciting, challenging, and occasionally frustrating.

It also slowly turns you into one angry ball of stress.

All that multitasking, deadline-sweating, and de-prioritization of family and leisure time can take a toll. In your high-tech world you’re giving your all for the job and giving up a lot in return. You’re trading hard work for your company for hard work on your health and relationships. Welcome to “more than a job, less than a life.”

You can just deal with it, of course, or you can take control of this one part of your life and do something positive to help reduce the stress associated with your work.

Three Steps to the Good News

Tech companies know that the work environments they’re maintaining are high-stress. They really do care about helping you be successful and helping you manage stress. They offer opportunities to control diet with health-concious corporate café choices, gyms for exercise and volunteer opportunities in community service to help you get out of your cube. But lots of employees are so stressed, they forget to seek out these alternatives. They see themselves as so busy, they don’t see how it’s possible to relax.

Continue reading “More than a job, less than a life”

Can Massage Improve Athletic Performance?

Research suggests that massage has both physiological and emotional benefits both before and after the event which help you have stronger, better, faster athletic performance.

Athletes routinely prepare both physically and mentally prior to an event. Typically they incorporate static and dynamic stretching, warm-up drills and mental imagery. A pre-event massage has been suggested as a strategy to decrease pre-competition anxiety and prepare muscles.

If muscle prep is the goal, pre-event sports massage, performed by qualified massage therapists, works well for many. Sports massage is a more vigorous type of massage that includes a combination of techniques such as joint mobilization, stretching, post isometric relaxation, cross-fiber friction and trigger point massage. The goal of the session is to invigorate muscle tissue and stimulate (not relax) muscles to get ready for fast-twitch response, improve flexibility, and increase strength. This massage typically happens within 72 hours of the event.

Continue reading “Can Massage Improve Athletic Performance?”

Three Glute Stretches That Work

The Gluteus Maximus is the largest muscle in your body, yet it is often overlooked in pre- and post-workout stretching.

The Gluteal muscles work hard. Tightness in the “glutes” often causes pain by altering the position of the leg, causing uneven distribution of forces in the knee. They can also cause back pain and stiffness. Try these three simple stretches to keep your Glutes happy:

1. Pretzel. Lie flat on your back and bend both knees. Cross one leg over the other so your foot is on the opposite knee.Bring both knees towards your chest and gently pull the uncrossed leg towards you until you feel a stretch in your buttock. Hold for 30 secs. Repeat 3 times before and after exercise. Continue reading “Three Glute Stretches That Work”

Why Does Massage Feel So Good?

A healing massage can soothe your body, mind and soul. How? It’s all about science.

Getting a massage feels amazing. You feel better even before your therapist enters the room. You’re in our dimly lit, clean & quiet space enveloped with calming music, a warm massage table and cool, soft linens. You’ll feel relaxation begin to take over almost immediately.

As the massage session begins, you’ll be able to close your eyes and focus on your own breath, leaving behind all the worries of the day. You’ll get a sense of calm called mindfulness. Mindfulness is a state of awareness that helps regulate emotion and boosts body awareness. When you’re in a mindful state, parts of your brain become less active, causing you to be less reactive. You can disconnect from the world.

Continue reading “Why Does Massage Feel So Good?”