mood – Wellness Focus

Achieving Homeostasis

Human homeostasis is the process that maintains the stability of the human body’s internal environment in response to changes in external conditions. Your body has built-in sensors that constantly monitor body activities and attempt to correct imbalances when they occur. Getting out of balance can lead to serious consequences, including disease and a shorter lifespan. Your lifestyle and attitude has a great deal to do with maintaining balance in your body.

Here’s a short list of some of the main homeostatic processes in humans:

body temperature: Human body temperature is optimum at 98.6° F (37°C) for most people although variations of 1 degree up or down are normal. When it’s out of balance we shiver (too cold) or sweat (too hot) Continue reading “Achieving Homeostasis”

The Effects of Rose Oil on Women and Men

Put a couple drops of rose oil in a diffuser and you get the attention of every woman within smelling distance. The wonderfully intense smell of a rose is sweet and floral and generally effects women by calming them. Other benefits can include balancing hormones, easing menstrual cramps, PMS symptoms and leveling mood. The effect of the scent of a rose is usually instantaneous and most women will report it’s one of their favorite scents. That’s why it’s used in thousands of facial creams and costly perfumes. And, rose oil is a very well known natural aphrodisiac.

While rose oil is also an aphrodisiac for men, the most often reported effects usually center around relief from stress, mental fatigue, and adding to memory and alertness. It’s also effective in treating insomnia. For many men, sweet and tasty scents, like vanilla and almond and more fruity scents, are preferred to florals like rose oil.

Continue reading “The Effects of Rose Oil on Women and Men”

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.

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Five Ways to “Ground”

Are you grounded? “Grounding” is an individual process. For some it means taking a moment to breathe, to others it is a more active process. Staying grounded helps you control your emotions, mellow your mood and brings focus and purpose to the task at hand. In massage, therapists use grounding to help them shut out and protect themselves from the negative energy and noise around them so that they can focus on the bodywork.

Here are a few ways we ground. Continue reading “Five Ways to “Ground””