Peace of Wellness

If you’ve ever had a massage you know how relaxing, healing, and calming it is. But do you know why? There is actually a pretty complex communication between your skin and your brain which allows you to experience the many benefits of massage. There are millions of touch receptors in and under our skin that respond to touch, pressure, temperature, vibrations, and pain. These receptors send input to various areas of the brain where it is translated to emotional responses such as pleasure and calm. When your massage therapist stretches, strokes and applies pressure during treatment the skin responds by improving circulation, detoxification, and much more. Next time you are enjoying a massage you can now appreciate your skin as a living, interactive and fully communicative part of your experience.

Manufactured medicines have become paramount in our lives, but do they have to be the only tool we utilize for maintaining health and healing our bodies? There are many hervs and teas that offer harmless ways to improve our health and they can be easily added to food or teas for a simple, yummy boost!

Try these favorites:

GINGKO: Boosts brain health. Some studies show it can treat mild to moderate dementia and slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s and dementia. Great for anxiety, depression, and inflammation.

TURMERIC: Great anti-inflammatory. Can be beneficial for treating pain caused by arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. You can buy this as a spice and sprinkle it on your veggies before roasting, or add it to your rice or soup!

PRIMROSE: Recent research shows the primrose flower improves quality of life for patients with multiple sclerosis, changing hormone sensitivity in POS, and alleviates the symptoms of PMS. Great for teas.

CALENDULA: Also known as pot marigold. Very pretty yellow and orange daisy like flowers that are wonderful for antifungal, antiseptic, and wound healing. Dry the entire flower and add it to tea!

LAVENDER: Most popular for its sweet smell, lavender is also a great antidepressant and benefits your nervous system in multiple ways. Adding a drop of oil or two to your bath can alleviate stress, tension, and insomnia.

S T R E T C H I N G ! !

Massage and stretching are great ways to keep your body relaxed, reduce tension, and keep your muscles properly aligned. Stretching keeps our muscles strong, healthy, and easily moved through a full range of motion decreasing our risk for injury and uncomfortable tension. Muscles shorten with every movement (contraction) and will naturally want to stay this way. Massage helps release those connections while stretching resets the fibers to their optimal length. When you pair both together you get increased ROM, decreased pain, and longer lasting flexibility.

Energy levels can be hard to keep up. Just ask anyone who does anything and they'll tell ya! By changing our habits we can change how our body stores and uses energy. Overtime little changes will amount to more proficient energy use and less time spent drowsy and feeling the blah.

Here are a few of my favorite tips for sustained energy throughout the day:

(1) Hydrate often! Dehydration impacts the flow of oxygen to the brain and causes your heart to work harder to pump to all your organs, leading to fatigue.

(2) Take short naps! Yes I know its easier said than done, but if you find yourself tired in the day staring at a load of laundry that needs folding but the house is *finally* quiet... choose napping! That laundry will be there, trust me! Your body will thank you for it.

(3) Exercise & move! You may remember from your days in school, or perhaps the millions of memes on the subject, "Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell" because it extracts energy for your cells to be able to use. When we move and especially exercise, the body makes more mitochondria to produce more energy to meet your needs.

(4) Eat whole foods! Man-made foods are not only lacking in nutrients but they require your body to have to decipher what to do with the little nutrients that are there. Eating whole food sources rich in nutrients like fiber, vitamins, calcium, protein and essential fatty acids will keep your cells functioning exactly as they were meant to because they recognize whole foods as sources of energy to break down. It doesn't have to work as hard to figure out what to do with the food and its a lot easier to sort it out when it is not bulked up by junk.

(5) Coffee!! My absolute favorite tip :) Coffee is not bad, just remember to use it in moderation (which is different for each person) and enjoy it. Sometimes all we need is a little break. And if you find yourself drinking too much caffeine without the perks, try a cup of decaf! Sometimes all we need is the placebo effect ;)

Being active doesn’t have to be a chore and you don’t have to dedicate long periods of time or invest a fortune in order to improve your health. Walking is free and doesn’t require any special training or equipment. Just 30 minutes every day can boost muscle endurance and balance, increase cardiovascular fitness, and reduce your risk of developing a multitude of conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

Tips for incorporating walking into your lifestyle:
*Pace yourself so that you can still talk, this will keep you walking within your target heart rate, bringing you optimal health benefits.
*Increase your intensity as your endurance improves by walking up hills, walking longer, or walking with hand weights.
*Invest in comfortable, supportive footwear to avoid foot pain and injuries and muscle imbalances.
*Vary where you walk to avoid boredom.
*Join a walking club.
*If you can’t walk for 30 minutes at a time start with shorter 10 minute intervals 3 times a day and work your way up as your health improves.
*Remember to always stretch after any physical activity and of course hydrate!

Surely you have heard all the buzz of CBD oil but did you know we have a system that is designed to com
municate with the cannabinoids in CBD? It's called the Endocannabinoid system (ECS) and it's known as the “Master Regulator” because it's capable of influencing every body system you can think of.

Take a look at these 3 amazing benefits CBD can teach your body to better regulate:

CBD and muscle inflammation:
CBD is a critical component to post-workout recovery because it helps reduce inflammation much more than just ice alone. While ice does the work of constricting blood vessels and preventing fluids as well as nutrients from getting to the muscle fibers, CBD acts on a series of receptors in our Endocannabinoid system (a system designed just for cannabinoids!) to prompt our bodies to inhibit inflammatory molecules, therefore shortening recovery time while training our bodies to care for itself, instead of relying on an outside force. (ICE)

CBD and pain management:
Pain is a clear indicator that something is wrong. Either an overworked muscle, an injury, or just stress manifesting itself in our bodies, most people experience pain frequently and about 50 million adults experience chronic pain. CBD reduces pain through three separate mechanisms. Stopping pain transmission in the brain and nervous system, decreasing the inflammatory activity, and reducing muscle sensitivity. Unlike painkillers and benzodiazepines, it does so by communicating with your body and helping it to regulate itself, therefore eliminating the risk of adverse effects of pharmaceutical drugs

CBD and sleep:
Its well know sleep is absolutely essential to a healthy lifestyle. Your body goes through many processes during sleep, removing cellular waste, restoring damaged proteins, and allowing your muscles and brain to recover from a day of work. CBD works with melatonin (sleep hormone) in your body helping you fall asleep and stay asleep longer. And since it acts on your ECS, it also helps with the many processes that occur during the ‘recharge’

You know that feeling after that final deep exhale that comes at the end of your massage time? The moments when you’re still floating and slowly returning to reality, wishing you had more time for massage or a quick nap before its time to get back to the grind? You massage therapist steps out so you can get up and get dressed. As soon as that door shuts, stress hits.

“I’ve got to hurry! She’s probably waiting for me, the kids need to be picked up, I need to get to that meeting!”

“Wow, I feel so calm and relaxed, now I will go sit in traffic and try not to let other people’s driving stress me out.”

“My neck and shoulders are soooo loose, I hope they don’t get tense from the drive before I even make it home.”

The sudden introduction of stress while at the complete other end of the spectrum shocks the mind and body and does not give your nervous and musculature systems time to get used to and accept the changes brought on by the benefits of your massage. By avoiding this kind of stress after your session, your body has a chance to settle into this new state and recognize it as more functional and optimal.

Everyone benefits from mobile massage...Whether you are a stay at home parent, traveling from out of town, or just want to prolong that ooey gooey feeling for as long as you can.

At Peace of Wellness each massage is uniquely designed to both relax the body and provide you with lasting therapeutic benefits. One of the best ways to heighten your massage is by upgrading to Himalayan hot stones! These stones warm to the perfect temperature, warming and softening your muscles, allowing your massage therapist to work deeper and release more tension.

This refreshing add-on enhances circulation, reduces inflammation, helps with the relieving anxiety, improves sleep, and is highly relaxing. As a bonus the organic salts lightly exfoliate the skin and deposit 87 naturally occurring minerals and elements into your skin 👏

💥 🏆

This client came today with a headache that persisted for 3 days. After her 90 minute session she reported that her headache was completely relieved!

Find your relief @ Peace of Wellness!
(281) 509-2091

Everybody knows that a foot massage can help us relax, especially after a long day of standing up and walking around. It really is one of the most enjoyable ways to feel more relaxed and relieve some pain.

There are several different massage techniques that deliver relaxation and health benefits. Traditional therapeutic massage techniques focus on relaxing muscles and relieving tension on joints; acupressure seeks to improve energy flow by acting on specific pressure points; aromatherapy uses essential oils to act on multiple senses and add an additional element of relaxation; and reflexology seeks to improve the function of internal organs by massage specific areas of the foot.

Ask your therapist to spend a few additional minutes on your feet and see how some extra care on these overworked areas can vastly improve your daily life!

www.peaceofwellness.org
(281) 509-2091

Another happy client.
When will it be your turn?