Women’s Health
A simple way to jumpstart your health and fitness journey
If you google “women’s health and fitness” we are willing to bet your search would turn up millions (and millions) of results. Some are legit health articles with real research to back up their claims, while others are trying to sell fitness garments, sports bras, and gear.
If you’re new to the health and fitness world it’s overwhelming. Where does a newbie start? Is it the gear? Is it the food? Or is it the exercise? September 24th is National Women’s Health and Fitness Day and we are going to walk you through some easy tips for getting started on your wellness journey.
Move some.
First and foremost, it’s important to move. Stretch, walk, run, or hike – it doesn’t matter, just get out of the normal groove of work and couch surfing. Start with five minutes a day and stay consistent. Do this for about a week. When five minutes feels so easy it’s ridiculous to not do more, bump up your time or go a small distance further. The aim here is stirring up the boring routine and get that body moving.
Get the right gear.
Most people start with the gear. They go out and buy fancy trackers, hats, clothes, gloves, etc. Sure, it’s fun to buy stuff, but some people are dropping a small fortune on new digs and falling off the wagon a few days in. Why is that? Gear shouldn’t be the motivator. Sport/smart watches are merely tools to help you in your new chapter. The motivation needs to come from within. Get moving, see what you enjoy and then get the gear to match your new activity.
Eat well.
Once movement becomes a routine, you’ll find a natural progression into healthy eating. Fitness habits support good health habits and visa versa. It’s important to start small. Remove junk foods from your home (workplace, purse, vehicle, etc) that aren’t your favorites to avoid mindless eating. Swap out an unhealthy choice for a healthy one every time you grocery shop. Reduce your portions if you feel you’re eating too much and increase the amount of (small) meals if you feel you’re not eating enough throughout the day. Plan and prep your meals around your schedule one day a week and try to curb those impulse take-out orders.
Sleep well.
Sleep is essential to a healthy lifestyle. When you sleep your body goes into repair and restore mode. It aids digestion, stress levels, moods, and often times our patience with basic daily tasks. Oh and your memory! (Almost forgot that.) If you’re having trouble getting to sleep, find a time that you can start winding down every night. For example, have a cup of tea at 8PM each night to jumpstart your “getting ready for bed” process. Over time your body will recognize that tea as a trigger and start winding down as soon as you smell that cup of chamomile.
Have fun.
This is huge. No one wants to do things that make them unhappy. Don’t force yourself to run if you hate running. Walk or cycle instead. Or try yoga. Or massage at Oakwood Therapeutic Massage . Find activities that you love and it’ll be that much easier to keep up with.
You know what’s best for you.
Do what feels right. Take care of yourself. Seek guidance from a medical professional if you need it. Speak to a nutritionist, a personal trainer or your own doctor. Educate yourself on what it takes to achieve the goals and results you are after. No one can do this for you. It’s your journey, so take that step – one little bit at a time.
Lacrosse Balls for Everyone!
As a massage therapist, I want my clients to feel better. I often suggest self-care techniques to relieve tension and pain.
Exercise With Your Child Challenge
Physical activity is good for our bodies. There is no question about that. The benefits of a good workout are countless. When we break a good sweat, we reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease. Our bones and muscles get stronger. We gain mental clarity and relieve stress. But I’m curious, how much are we setting an example for our children?
Whether you exercise or not, your children witness your actions daily. This leaves an impression on them that could impact how they live their lives down the road. Seeing you leave for the gym or take to the streets for a good run is great but what happens when you include them?
August 6-12th, we are celebrating “Exercise with Your Child Week” and we want to challenge you to one full week of exercise with your kiddo. Don’t worry if you don’t have a child, you could always reach out to borrow a friend’s, neighbor’s or take someone who needs a break from “the norm.”
Physical activity is awesome. Here’s why:
Combat health issues.
Conditions and diseases are drastically reduced with frequent workouts. Couple that with weight loss or preventing excess gain, and it’s all around a good idea. Starting your child on the right foot can lead to healthy lifelong habits.
You just feel better.
Exercise is a natural mood elevator. It boosts your mood – not only from the happy chemicals that have been stirred up, but the feeling of accomplishment that comes with a good burn. (Bonus: Going for a run or walk also makes an awesome attitude reset. When a child is in a funk, going for a run is a fantastic way to shake it off. And if that doesn’t seem to work, you could always loop the block one more time. That usually inspires a better mood!)
Sleep more soundly.
Right up there with therapeutic massage ( Book Now ) physical activity can be you (and your child’s) ticket to a quality good night’s sleep.
Relationship building.
Truthfully, working out together is a bonding experience. It opens the door to curious conversation, heart to heart chats, and the opportunity to grow as an athlete together.
By committing to working out with your child for one week, you are making a commitment to your health and your child’s health. Don’t worry if you haven’t worked out before. When your child sees your ability to try something new, learn, adapt and push through, you become a role model. It doesn’t have to be pretty and you don’t have to have a degree in health or physical education. You just need a desire to learn and want to spend time with a loved one. So go out there and try something new and bring along your child. We hope your new routine sticks for longer than a week.
Neck and Shoulder Pain
5 Tips for Neck and Shoulder Care Between Massage Appointments
People with neck and shoulder issues often have their pain return before their next massage appointment. Work, play and children all make demands on the body. A dull ache can quickly turn into a burning pain especially while folding laundry, doing yard work, playing on the computer or any of the other million things you do.
What can you do between professional massage appointments to take the edge off neck and shoulder pain? Here are some ideas.
Take a Break
Take short breaks as often as you can if you sit at a computer all day. Move your shoulders around and s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Ideally you can get up and move around a bit. But even if you’re chained to the desk, you can rock out a little Deskercise to stay loose.
Get the kids into it
Have a short yoga break together! There are plenty of videos made especially for kids, and the moves are just as beneficial for adults. Bonus: got a little one averse to naptime? Try the lying-down postures here and maybe you’ll get a short break.
Heat it
Just 10-15 minutes of moist heat on your shoulders can make a huge difference in how your tissue moves and feels. You don’t need a fancy heating pad, you can DIY that. And if you aren’t already among those I’ve mentioned this to: throw that heating pad away, please.
Choose the right pillow
You spend about a third of your time in bed, be sure it’s supportive for your neck. Side-sleepers have different needs than belly-sleepers. The right pillow at night can help you all day.
A few minutes of self care every day, little changes, can make a huge difference in how you feel. See you at your next appointment!
Massage Safe Zone For LGBTQ+
LGBTQ+ and Massage Therapy
I recently had a conversation with a friend that made me realize something. I’ve always assumed that my clients understood that my radical acceptance of their body, their pain, and their trauma extended to everything about their identity. I have come to realize that that was a foolish thing to assume.
A human who is marginalized will often assume non-acceptance until they are shown evidence to the contrary.
You are safe here. Oakwood Therapeutic Massage is a place of acceptance and non judgement. You are welcome.
Multiple Sclerosis and Therapeutic Massage
Massage Helps with Pain and Fatigue in MS Patients
A pilot study published in the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork measured the effects of massage therapy (MT) on fatigue, pain, spasticity, perception of health, and quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The 24 patients who completed six weeks of regular massage treatment showed significant improvement in pain, fatigue, and spasticity symptoms.
The study authors concluded: “MT as delivered in this study is a safe and beneficial intervention for management of fatigue and pain in people with MS. Decreasing fatigue and pain appears to correlate with improvement in quality of life, which is meaningful for people with MS who have a chronic disease resulting in long-term health care needs.”
Read the abstract at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27974947.
Call today to schedule your appointment at Oakwood Therapeutic Massage 937-668-9454
Massage as Reboot
The Reboot for your Mind and Body at Oakwood Massage
Do you feel stretched in a hundred different directions?
Obligations, deadlines, appointments, meetings, work, housework, sports, everything. More often than not, it seems there aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the week for all that needs to be done. We’re on constant high alert. We’re always moving.
All this chaos can be hard on your body and mind.
When this happens, we tend to be less mindful of our eating. Or chasing sleep like it’s a lively kitten. Or we get snippy with loved ones and coworkers.
The effects of this day to day stress are cumulative for most of us. Stiff joints get stiffer. Cranky shoulders get crankier, then one rogue golf swing or one heavy laundry basket makes it worse.
Massage therapy is a reboot. It’s the control-alt-delete for your body and mind.
A massage resets your thoughts, slows your pulse, regulates your breathing, and recharges your mind.
Spend some time on my massage table, taking care of you. You can schedule online right here, Book Now
Or you can call or text 937-668-9454 to make your appointment.
Body Image and Massage
Body Image Risk and Reward in Massage
Body image. Almost everybody has something about their body that they don’t like. For many people it’s a minor issue, no big deal. But some people have a major issue with their body image. It affects how they live.
When I tell some people that I’m a massage therapist it can cause a strong reaction. They tell me, whether verbally or through their reaction and body language, that massage is not for them. Their body image is such an issue that they don’t think anybody else can accept them.
The paradox here is that massage can really help with body image issues. In massage school we were all nervous about taking off our clothes and letting somebody else touch us. It didn’t take long for us to discover that bodies are just bodies and become much more comfortable with our own. We also experienced how good receiving a massage made us feel. Something unexpected happened – when our bodies felt better we felt better about our bodies.
I think there are three options to consider. Let’s look at the risk versus reward for them.
1. Don’t get a massage.
This is the easiest because it involves doing nothing. The risk is low since you are not letting another person see or touch you at all.
The reward is zero. You didn’t get a massage so your body doesn’t feel any better, and you still have the stress you had before.
2. You get a massage, but the massage therapist either makes note of how you look, as if it matters.
If this has happened to you, I’m sorry. You got a crappy massage therapist. That’s a bummer, and I’m really sorry. You took a risk, and even if the rest of the massage was decent, got very little reward.
This is not going to happen if you come to me. Never. No way. I can’t say this strongly enough. It goes against the very nature of who I am, how I treat people, and what I believe.
3. You get a massage. A great massage. And the therapist does nothing to make you feel uncomfortable about your body. In fact, you feel pretty good about your body after the massage.
In this option your risk is low. I don’t care how your body looks. That’s none of my business. I just want to help it feel better. Your reward is high. Again your body will feel better from the massage and you can start feeling better about it.
I have no idea how your body got to be in the condition that it’s in. You may be dealing with something that you can’t control, such as a medical condition or an injury or accident. You may be in a lot of pain or are limited in what you can do physically. Since I don’t know what caused your body to be like it is now I can’t make any judgments about you.
I’ve worked on hundreds – maybe thousands – of people. Each body is interesting and I’ve yet to come across one that I could not help.
If you have been avoiding massage because you feel uncomfortable about your body, let’s find an option that works for you. You don’t even have to explain anything to me. Leave your clothes on. Stay sitting up or face down or lying on your side or however you want. It’s up to you.
It’s my job to help you feel better. That’s it. Together let’s find a way to help you relieve your pain and stress. Don’t let your body image keep you from feeling good.
Happy Memorial Day from us to you!
