MAKING IT COUNT - HEALTH & WELLNESS SMART!

Holding Headaches at Bay Bodywork Eases Migraines and Tension Headaches by Cathy Ulrich "Do you get headaches?" I asked Cindy. She had come to see me for massage to address her neck and shoulder pain but hadn't mentioned headaches. "Well, yes," she said. "I've always had headaches and, now that you mention it, they seem to be worse when my neck hurts." Cindy went on to say she suffered from them as often as 2-3 times a week and typically treated them with ibuprofen. Like many Americans, Cindy suffers from chronic, frequent headaches. Her neck pain finally prompted her to seek help, but she was so used to the headaches, she thought they were something she simply had to live with. What Cindy didn't understand was that frequent headaches are not normal and, with a little proactive planning, there is something that can be done to manage and even prevent them. Types of Headaches Headaches come in many varieties. Following is a ...

The Importance of Proper Posture Correct Alignment Leads to Better Health Hope Bentley Talk of good posture often generates images of women walking in a circle with books balanced on their heads or soldiers standing at attention. But good posture does not have to be rigid or ridiculous. In fact, far from ridiculous, it may be the key to good health. According to Patrick Wroblewski, a Boulder, Colorado-based structural integration practitioner, "Good posture is a dynamic, working awareness of how gravity is coming down through the body." In other words, just as the body moves and changes throughout the day, so should posture.  Wroblewski explains that many people come in to his practice with complaints of lower back pain, and stiff necks and shoulders, most of which have a direct correlation to poor posture. If a person sits hunched in front of a computer screen all day, it's likely the head hovers towards the screen, the lower back has collapsed and the tail bo...

Back Pain and Massage How Bodywork Can Help Karrie Osborn Whether it's a pulled muscle from yoga class or an afternoon basketball game, or a long-term pain caused by injury, most of us will come to know the beast that is called back pain. In fact, when it comes to low-back pain specifically, researchers say that 70-85 percent of the population will experience it at some point in their lives.  Causes of Pain Experts say the cause of back pain can be the result of several factors. High on the list is stress. When our body is stressed, we literally begin to pull inward: the shoulders roll forward and move up to the ears, the neck disappears, and the back tightens in the new posture. "It's an armoring effect," says Angie Parris-Raney, a Denver-based massage therapist who specializes in deep-tissue massage and sports therapy. "That protective mode, with the muscles in flex, can even result in visceral problems," she says, where the pain also affects in...

Bodywork & Exercise Increase Body Awareness While Increasing Your Activity Ruth Werner You have to give us credit: as a culture, Americans are incredibly interested in getting fit. We invest every year in new diets, exercise programs, and supplements for weight loss and improved energy. Low-range estimates suggest that Americans spend about $2.6 billion each year on gym memberships alone.  We also tend to pitch full speed into any given commitment. If we're going to get fit, by golly, we're going to do it now, regardless of how long it took us to get into our current state. We don't do things by half measures, and moderation is not in our nature. So how do we keep ourselves injury-free while honoring our commitment to exercise and get healthy? Does It Have to Be All or Nothing?  We all know that starting an exercise program doesn't actually mean we'll finish it. When we throw ourselves into an ambitious new routine, we are likely to overdo it and ge...

"...There is nothing new about this subject, in 1200 BC natural preparations were used in China as fungicides and for treating seeds, farmers all over the world were dependant on natural means to help preserve their crops from predators and disease. During the agricultural revolution in Europe, between 1750 and 1880, international commerce triggered the expansive use of the natural insecticide ‘ Pyrethrum ’, made from the dried flower heads of  Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium  and of course farmers and small holders worldwide all had their own local recipes and techniques for looking after their precious crops..." Read more Click Here

'Secrets of Sleep' by Jed Henberry: We've all heard it before: get your eight hours of sleep and watch your life improve. But the reason we've all heard it is because it's true, and research keeps showing the importance of sleep and its variety of health benefits. The National Sleep Foundation says there is no "magic number" of hours for optimum sleep benefits, but that different age groups, and even different individuals, need different amounts of sleep. General recommendations are 7-8 hours per night for adu lts, while children often need 10-11 hours. Getting less than what you need has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, heart problems, psychiatric conditions, and more. Here's a quick look at some new findings that reveal the secrets of sleep, and also how to get more of it. - Sleep Suppresses Appetite: Just one night of sleep loss can increase brain activity in the region that contains appetite sensation in response to food im...

'Let Food By Thy Medicine and Medicine By Thy Food' -Hippocrates:    The pH level, the acid-alkaline measurement of our bodies, affects every cell in our body. A constantly imbalanced pH level may result in obesity, allergies, fatigue and many other unhealthy conditions. Lets find out why and how to keep your pH level within the safe level.   by Barbara O'Neil YouTube Video:   "Acid Alkaline Balance" by Barbara O'Neill Barbar O'Neil Articles:   Barb Health