wellness tips

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Sometimes when life feels like an insane rush, stumbling from one problem to another in a desperate attempt to make it through the day, it may be difficult to remember how very privileged we really are.

I would bet that everyone subscribing to this e-zine has a roof over their heads, more than one outfit to wear, shoes on their feet, and an opportunity to choose what to eat from an abundance of delicious, quality food, not to mention people in their life that care for them. That alone puts us in the top echelon of the world!

We are extremely lucky to have what we have, and when life is slinging its arrows into our hearts, it is helpful to remember that. Write down at least 20 things that you are grateful for. If you are going through a tough spell, notice as you are making your list, how your feelings change from negative to more open, accepting and positive.

Read, think and be grateful about the items on your list upon awakening each morning, and start your day right with wonderful feelings of gratitude for what is your blessed life.

For me, remembering daily what I am grateful for and all that I have in my life has been a boon! Starting the day with such positive thoughts sets the tone for my day and makes it easy to be happy.

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Our lungs sit like an upside-down balloon inside the cage formed by our ribs, and as we breathe in and our upside-down balloon expands, the lower ribs are pushed outward in all directions.

As ribs recoil back to their resting place, the air comes out of lungs with no effort on our part. The ribs attach to the spine in the back, so with every breath, the joints of the thoracic spine are massaged and lubricated, which helps keep our mid to upper back healthy and mobile.

If you tend to feel stiff in your mid back, place your hands around your lower ribcage, thumbs to the back so you can monitor the back of the balloon, and observe your breathing. Feel for the movement in your hands and your thumbs. There should not be much rise at the chest.

If your thumbs are not moving much, try kneeling down on the floor, so that your chest is resting comfortably on your thighs (Child’s Pose for the yoga affectionados) and your head is on the floor. (If this position is hard on your knees, place a pillow between your lower legs and your buttocks.)

With your abdomen squished like that, it becomes much easier to feel the breath going into your back. Become aware of the ribcage movement. If this is an unusual feeling for you, do this frequently until breathing into your back feels normal.

When you come back to standing, try and get the same feeling of the air pushing gently on your lower ribs in the back and sides, not by breathing more air, but by breathing down the back of your throat and placing the air into the lower lobes of your lungs. Let the air come out by itself – don’t help by tightening your abdominals.

In standing, you may find it helpful to lightly wrap a piece of theraband elastic around your lower ribs, so that you can feel the ribs stretch the elastic in the back and sides.

Then, whenever you remember, practice breathing into your lower ribs, so that your brain learns to do this naturally. Breathing correctly can do wonderous things for your health, so taking time for the journey is very worthwhile!

Lee, Diane; Post Partum Health for Moms; An Instructional and Exercise Class for Restoring the Core  Video; Diane G Lee Physiotherapy Corp.; Surrey BC, Canada.

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Our bodies were meant to move, but many of us do not move enough to maintain adequate ranges of motion around our joints. As we lose flexibility we may be more prone to injury from muscle pulls, or if the muscle/fascia imbalance is one-sided, a joint may be pulled out of alignment creating discomfort or pain. Stretching is an easy and relaxing way to maintain your range of motion, and to increase it if needed.

For best results, stretch gently enough to feel a pull, but no pain, and as you hold the stretch over 30 seconds to a minute or two, wait to feel the area loosen. If you feel a tightening sensation as you are holding the stretch, you are probably stretching too hard, and the muscle is contracting in order to prevent injury, which ultimately defeats the purpose. Be certain that you feel the stretch between the joints and not at the joints, as it is important not to stretch the ligaments that hold your bones together, nor the tendons that connect the muscles to the bones. For example, as you stretch your hamstrings on the back of your upper leg, you do not want to feel the stretch behind the knee. Try bending your knee slightly, or adjusting the angle of your leg to move the stretch into the muscle.

You may notice as you stretch, that one side feels tighter than the other. Your stretching goal is to achieve balance, so stretch the tight side twice as long. A few weeks to months later, when both sides seem even, stretch them equally, and congratulate yourself on correcting a muscle imbalance!

Stretching needs to be done a minimum of five days a week to be effective. Once or twice a week will not achieve results. So schedule 15 to 20 minutes daily, and enjoy the luxury of a relaxing stretch. It will feel wonderful, and is a soothing way to let go of some of the day to day stress that infiltrates our being.

If you would like help designing a personalized stretch routine that addresses your muscle imbalances, hire someone who has training in muscle-length testing, such as a CHEK Practitioner. To find one near you, go to www.chekinstitute.com. To create your own program, use the book Golf Biomechanic’s Manual: Whole in One Golf Conditioning by Paul Chek.

Yoga is another fantastic way to increase your flexibility; yoga tends to stretch entire fascial lines (many muscles that are connected together with connective tissue) at once, doing away with stretching individual muscles, and in the process, teaches us how to stretch as our body was meant to be used. If taking classes is not your thing, use the book Yoga; Mind, Body, Spirit by Donna Fahri to learn the poses.

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What kind of water is safest for us to drink? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that the biggest polluter of US rivers and streams is commercial agricultural chemicals that are sprayed onto crops, and then run off into the waterways. It is questionable whether other countries are much better. Is tap water really safe enough?

If possible, install a whole-house water filtration system in order to filter out these agricultural chemicals, as well as chlorine, heavy metals and other contaminants that are frequently found in water supplies, even in cities. If the water turns your tub green, you don’t want to be drinking it, and you don’t want to be bathing in it as your skin absorbs about 70% of those contaminants. If you live in an apartment or condominium, it may be easier to install tap and shower filters. The water tastes better, and makes for softer skin in the bath or shower. Filtering your own water is better than buying bottled, as many of the bottled waters are not contaminant free and are sometimes worse than tap water, AND the plastic bottles cause an enormous amount of garbage.

For more information on water, please read Your Body’s Many Cries For Water by Batmanhelidj. To get information and ratings on water filters, go to www.bestfilters.com. If you would like to get your water tested so you know what contaminants you need to filter out, go to www.aquamd.com.

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