Well, these healing modalities are actually anything but new. Some date back thousands of years, but they are just gaining popularity in western medicine much more recently. I have been lucky enough to experience each of these 5 powerful healing modalities, so here’s a breakdown of exactly why you need to experience these in 2016.
Dry skin brushing not only removes the dead skin cells on your body, but it helps to regenerate new skin. It is one of the few actually successful ways to improve the appearance of cellulite and, when done regularly, results in improved radiance in your skin. It also increases circulation and enhances your body’s ability to detoxify.
The skin is our largest organ and a huge player in eliminating toxins. Dry skin brushing is an easy way to increase circulation and enhance this detoxification process.
Is this ↑↑↑ the image you have in your head when you think of the holidays? The stress and panic of shopping and racing around trying to complete 25 hours of tasks in a 24 hour day? Where is the holiday cheer people?!?
When you think of the holiday season as a kid, you think of yummy food, bright lights, gifts, family and fun! When you think of the holiday season as an adult you think of travel, family conflicts, cooking and cleaning and buying gifts. The holidays tend to lose their excitement as we grow up and become more a time of stress than a time of joy.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some tips on how to handle holiday stress and how to get back to that excited feeling you had when you were a kid when someone mentioned the holiday season.
You’re following the guidelines of your nutritionist and you’re working out 3 times a week with your personal trainer and you’re still not losing any weight- or worse- you’re still gaining weight. This is an all too common scenario for many adults. After shelling out hundreds of dollars and doing what you thought were all the right things, you inevitably chalk your failure up to getting old or to poor genetics.
While diet and exercise are key factors to maintaining a healthy weight, they are not the only factors. Stress has a tremendous impact on our body, effecting everything from sleep and heart rate to digestion and weight gain. The body releases the hormone cortisol in response to stress. These stress hormones cause us to store fat, especially in the belly. Now, most of us are walking around with some level of stress basically all day, which makes losing fat an uphill battle. To make things worse, elevated cortisol is also linked to depression, food addiction and sugar cravings. So, now your body is primed to store fat and you are craving all the wrong foods.
During times of stress, many physiological changes take place. We become distracted from our bodies and many functions become irregular. One of those functions is our breathing. Stress causes our bodies to become very tense and our breathing becomes constricted and shallow. This significantly decreases the amount of oxygen our body is receiving with each breath.
Over time, chronic shallow breathing can have detrimental effects on your health, impacting everything from your mental state and digestion to your skin’s youthful complexion and glow.
Practicing yoga can help lower stress levels, reduce inflammation and promote relaxation. For moms-to-be, the benefits go even further. Pregnancy is meant to be a time of celebration and excitement. But between all of the physical and emotional changes taking place, the joys of pregnancy can get lost in the stress of preparation, the worries of uncomfortable weight gain or the aches and pains that come along with expecting.
Prenatal yoga is a wonderfully gentle way to move your body in a compassionate way, reaping the rewards of exercise along with better preparing yourself and the new addition to the family for the journey of delivery that lies ahead.
During pregnancy, many physical and emotional changes take place. The surge of the hormones progesterone and estrogen often leave women feeling emotionally drained while the added weight and growing belly can cause lower back aches and tightened hips. A mindful prenatal yoga practice can help with all this- and more.
I take my shirt off when I run. I am not my ideal body type nor am I even in the best shape I’ve ever been in personally. I am not confident and not hoping that heads turn as I run by (unless they’re turning in the opposite direction, not noticing me!).
But these are the exact reasons that I do it. I muster up the courage, take my shirt off and start running. And I survive. I don’t die of embarrassment or get scowls for my less than perfect mid-section. Then, I go home and shower and life goes on.
There are countless pills and drinks and supplements on the market that claim to suppress appetite, but did you know that all you really need is a little more sleep? When we sleep, our body releases the hormone called leptin, which helps create the feeling of satiation. Conversely, when you don’t get enough sleep, this drives your leptin levels down, making it more difficult to feel full.
If this wasn’t enough, a lack of sleep also increases the body’s production of another hormone called ghrelin. This hormone is responsible for making us feel hungry. So, when we deprive our body of sleep, we have an increased appetite and a more difficult time feeling full.You will be eating more and feeling less full. That, my friends, is a recipe for disaster!
Right around the age of 40, doctors start really pushing for a yearly mammogram. No big deal, right? It’s just part of being a woman. So, you schedule your appointment, go to your specialist, squish yourself up against an ice cold slab of metal and get your mammogram. Not the most pleasant experience, but you have now done your due diligence to prevent breast cancer.
But have you? Why did you choose a mammogram over a thermogram? Did you even choose or was there only one option? Mammograms are a wonderful tool for early breast cancer detection. A thermogram is used for breast cancer prevention. Oh, and your thermogram won’t expose you to as much radiation as 1,000 chest x-rays like your mammogram just did.
It’s time to go deep here. I want you to think hard about the image that is driving you when you make food and fitness choices every day. What does that person look like? Better yet, who is that person?
Let’s be honest. Most of us have an image of what we want to look like. Usually it is either someone we admire at the gym, someone we saw in a magazine, or even an actor or actress on T.V. But why are we putting so much time and energy into looking like someone other than ourselves?