Mon, 28 May 2012 13:17:19 -0800WeeblySun, 05 Feb 2012 15:13:01 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2012/02/soothe-back-pain-naturally-with-various-essential-oils.html_Acute or chronic back problems can make everyday life a misery. Acute pain may be caused by a pulled muscle or problems with tendons, ligaments or bone. Incorrect posture, lack of exercise and/or obesity are factors that can take their toll on the back muscles. Aromatherapy using essential oils can relieve back pain naturally.

Many people seek relief for back pain by taking over-the-counter pain medications or prescription drugs which often have negative side effects, decreasing overall well-being. Obviously, not all cases of back pain can be relieved by aromatherapy and it is always wise to seek the advice of a medical professional to discuss treatment options, especially in the event of chronic back pain.

Aromatherapy uses essential oils that are extracted from different plants. These essential oils have medicinal properties, which work on the physical and mental levels to address the ailment at hand and to promote healing.

The best form of aromatherapy for back pain is a massage using essential oils. Simply mix a couple of drops of your chosen oil with a carrier oil and arrange to have a professional masseur or aromatherapist massage your back for you. This serves to increase circulation and to relieve the aching and tightness. Massage therapy also helps to relieve stress and promotes the circulation of blood to the area, while the aroma of the essential oils works through the olfactory system.

Best essential oils for back pain
The following essential oils can all be used to treat back pain naturally:

Chamomile oil helps to control muscle spasms and has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties.

Lavender oil prevents muscle spasms and inflammation. It also helps to relieve tension, which may contribute to or worsen back pain.

Clary sage is a very soothing oil. It has a calming effect when one is anxious and muscles are tensed up from pain. It has anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties. Do not use clary sage if pregnant.

Yarrow has anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties.

Rosemary has analgesic and antispasmodic properties. It is also good for relieving back pain as it improves blood circulation.

Ginger oil can ease back pain and give one more mobility. Blend 1 tablespoon sweet oil, 4 drops wintergreen, 4 drops cardamom and 4 drops ginger oil to make a soothing massage oil.

Peppermint is good for muscle soreness.

Frankincense has anti-inflammatory properties and also acts as a mild sedative.

While you can use any of these oils on their own, it is also beneficial to blend two or more oils together. Do not apply essential oils directly on the skin - blend oils or combinations thereof with a carrier oil first. Optimal aromatherapy blends for relieving back pain include peppermint and rosemary, lavender and frankincense, and chamomile and clary sage.

Take an aromatherapy bath as an effective method to soothe tired, aching muscles and to increase circulation. Add eight to ten drops of essential oils directly to warm bath water and soak for fifteen to twenty minutes. ]]>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:16:31 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2012/01/massage-heals-the-tissues-of-the-body.html_Brush aside any thoughts that massage is only a luxury splurge that has no real health benefits. To the contrary, hands-on healing helps you unwind, lowers blood pressure, promotes muscle relaxation and boosts your immune system. During a massage session, massage therapists use their hands and fingers to press and manipulate your skin, tendons, ligaments and muscles. The strokes gently move your blood, oxygen and lymph to various tissues and organs in a way that normally doesn't happen in the bodies of most people. As a result, the person who is receiving the massage experiences a level of physical and mental renewal that is hard to surpass.

Hidden Health Benefits of Human Touch
Today, numerous well respected studies indicate that massage therapy doesn't only feel good, it also may be good for you. Take a look at the health benefits below and discover the power of human touch:

• Stress & anxiety relief


• Muscle relaxation


• Blood pressure control


• Better circulation


• Pain reduction


• Enhanced cancer treatment


• Improved quality of sleep

But there's more - a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine suggests that individuals who undergo massage therapy experience measurable improvements in their immune response.

Mark Rapaport, M.D., and his colleagues from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center followed 53 healthy adults who were divided into two groups: The participants received either 45 minutes of Swedish massage or the same amount of time of light touch massage, which is much milder and served mainly as a comparison to the more vigorous Swedish massage. After examining their blood samples, the scientists found that people in the Swedish massage group experienced a decrease in cortisol and a significant increase in lymphocytes, cells that keep our immune system strong.

"More research is ahead of us but it appears that a single massage may deliver a measurable benefit," Rapaport said in a news release.

Massage is far more potent therapy than most people realize. In fact, it can (and should) replace analgesics as a treatment for tension headaches. As it turns out, it takes only a 30-minute massage on cervical trigger points to boost autonomic nervous system regulation and alleviate the symptoms. Patients also report an improvement in their psychological and physiological state, which goes hand in hand with the reduction in stress and anxiety associated with such a disturbing condition.

Stress and lack of rest have devastating effects on our health, fitness and beauty. Don't be afraid to find yourself a good massage therapist and get some healing on a regular basis. When you're taking care of your skin and what's beneath it, you are taking care of your whole world.
Learn more: www.naturalnews.com
]]>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:48:00 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2012/01/massage-with-essential-oils.html_There are many essential oils extracted from plants, trees and flowers that contain powerful anti-inflammatory, analgesic and detoxifying properties. These can bring pain relief to the muscle spasms and inflammation which result from sports injuries. Joint and muscle pain and menstrual pains can also be relieved with the healing properties of essential oils.

Generally, essential oils are too concentrated to use directly on the skin. Use 10 - 12 drops essential oil of choice blended with a carrier oil such as grapeseed, jojoba, sweet almond or coconut oil. These vegetable oils have the advantage of being excellent natural skin moisturizers when massaged into the skin. Add diluted blends to bath water or massage affected areas. A compress for pain relief may be used by soaking a piece of cloth in a basin of warm water along with essential oils of choice.

According to Shellie Enteen, Aromatherapist of 20 years standing, some of the best essential oils with analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties include chamomile, sweet marjoram, lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary and thyme. Oils which have a therapeutic, warming effect for massage or in a bath include juniper, birch and black pepper.

Muscle ache relief blend: Combine 5 drops lavender, 4 drops marjoram and 3 drops rosemary with 30ml carrier oil and use for massage or in a bath.

Coriander muscle rub for pain relief: Blend 4 drops coriander, 4 drops juniper and 4 drops black pepper oil to 4 teaspoons grapeseed oil. Massage into tired, aching muscles.

PMS cramp rub: Blend 5 drops clary sage, 5 drops geranium and 5 drops chamomile oil - massage affected area, rubbing in a clockwise direction.

Jasmine massage for menstrual cramp: It takes large quantities of jasmine flowers to produce a small amount of expensive jasmine essential oil. However, only a few drops are needed to produce a pleasing, soothing effect. Blend 4 drops jasmine, 4 drops clary sage and 2 drops lavender with 5 teaspoons sweet almond oil. Massage in a stroking motion over the abdomen, up and around hips and around to the small of the back.

Cardamom massage oil for stomach cramps: Cardamom essential oil is distilled from the seeds and has a warm, spicy aroma and a warming quality. Add 2 drops cardamom, 2 drops basil and 3 drops marjoram to 2 teaspoons vegetable carrier oil of choice. Massage in a clockwise direction over the stomach and abdomen.
Rub for painful, tight chest: Add 3 drops niaouli, 2 drops hyssop and 2 drops myrrh to 3 teaspoons vegetable oil and rub into the chest.

Sources:
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies, C. Norman Shealy, Published by Harper Collins, 2002 edition, pages 156 - 158
Dischem Magazine South Africa, Autumn 2011 edition, pages 76,77 ]]>Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:11:50 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/07/massage-beats-meds-for-lower-back-pain.htmlMassage therapy may be better than medication or exercise for easing low back pain in the short term, a new government-funded study suggests.

Seattle researchers recruited 401 patients, mostly middle-aged, female and white, all of whom had chronic low back pain.

Those who received a series of either relaxation massage or structural massage were better able to work and be active for up to a year than those getting "usual medical care," which included painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants or physical therapy, the researchers found. Lead study author Daniel Cherkin, director of Group Health Research Institute, said he had expected structural massage, which manipulates specific pain-related back muscles and ligaments, would prove superior to relaxation or so-called Swedish massage, which aims to promote a feeling of body-wide relaxation.

Structural massage, which focuses on soft-tissue abnormalities, requires more training and may be more likely to be paid for by health insurance plans, which may equate it with physical therapy, said Cherkin.

"I thought structural massage would have been at least a little better, and that's not the case," Cherkin said. "If you're having continuing problems with back pain even after trying usual medical care, massage may be a good thing to do. I think the results are pretty strong."

The study, funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is published in the July 5 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: structural massage, relaxation massage or usual care. Those in the massage groups were given hour-long massage treatments weekly for 10 weeks.

At 10 weeks, more than one-third of those who received either type of massage said their back pain was much better or gone, compared to only one in 25 patients who received usual care, the study said. Those in the massage groups were also twice as likely in that period to have spent fewer days in bed, used less anti-inflammatory medication and engaged in more activity than the standard care group.

Six months out, both types of massage were still linked to improved function, Cherkin said, but after one year, pain and function was almost equal in all three groups.

Noting that most Americans will experience low back pain during their lifetime, Cherkin said another benefit of massage is its relative safety.

"Maybe one of 10 patients felt pain during or after massage, but most of those thought it was a 'good pain,'" he said. "A good massage therapist will be in tune with the patient and will ask what hurts."

One of the study's weaknesses was that those who were assigned to usual care knew that others were receiving massage therapy and may have been disappointed to be excluded, tainting their reported improvement, said Dr. Robert Duarte, director of the Pain and Headache Treatment Center at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y.

"I think massage therapy can be useful for patients with back pain, but more as a . . . supplemental therapy," Duarte added. ]]>Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:20:37 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/03/back-pain-tips.htmlHere are some basic back care tips that can decrease your chance of experiencing back pain and help relieve any pain you are having.The muscles, ligaments, and discs of your back do a big job, supporting your spine and moving the weight of your body. Good posture, exercise, and correct body mechanics help keep your back flexible and strong Massage therapy can help with posture by stretching shortened muscles and fascia (the connective tissue that surrounds your muscles and other tissues), freeing movement around the joints, and relieving muscle contractions that can pull you out of alignment.

Help protect your back by moving with a little thought and using these back tips:

• Keep your feet shoulder-width apart for stability when moving or working. Stand evenly on your two feet.
• Practice feeling your center of gravity in your abdomen. Many people try to move from their upper bodies, which is less efficient than moving from your pelvis, hips, and abdomen. Practice strengthening exercises for your abdomen. (No sit-ups please! Read this interview with a personal trainer about abdominal exercises). Take a class or ask for advice from an exercise instructor or specialist.Also, consider pilates, which focuses on creating a strong inner core that helps support your back and the rest of your body. Many people also find yoga exercises helpful.
  
  
• To lift a heavy object, stand close to it. Squat and use your legs to lift it, keeping your back upright and the object close to your body. Avoid twisting as you lift.
• Kneel down on one knee to retrieve something from the floor.
• When reaching for an object overhead, keep your shoulders and hips facing it — don’t twist.
• Choose an office chair that supports your back or use other back care products as needed.
• If you have a desk job, make sure you get up and move around as much as possible. Also, make regular exercise a priority (walking is great) in your back care program.
• Here's more information on this site: back stretches and and back exercisesback massage techniques.

]]>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:38:50 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/03/7-stress-management-techniques.htmlEveryone needs successful ways to manage stress. Easy to learn and easy to implement, you can use them for your own stress management or teach them to help others manage theirs. Manage your stress and be a healthier, happier, and more pleasant person to be around. Let’s cut to the chase...

1. Make stress your friend
Acknowledge that stress is good and make stress your friend! Based on the body’s natural "fight or flight" response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I’ve yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.

2. Stress is contagious
Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected with stress germs too!
Protect yourself from stress germs by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you’ve got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage their stress.

3. Copy good stress managers
When people around are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?
Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.

4. Use heavy breathing.
You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off, and things start to feel more normal.

5. Stop stress thoughts
It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. "If this happens, then that might happen and then we’re all up the creek!" Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?

6. Know your stress hot spots and trigger points
Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadline... My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!
Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?
Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to de-caffeinated coffee?

7. Eat, drink, sleep and be merry!
Lack of sleep, poor diet, and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it’s often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don’t burn the candle at both ends!

And those are the 7 successful techniques to manage stress! Take time to learn them, use them, and teach them, and be a great stress manager.

Author: Lyndsay Swinton ]]>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:27:19 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/03/hearing-loss-is-a-disability.htmlMy Mom is getting a little hard of hearing. She doesn't want to hear that. Apparently, this is not uncommon among the elderly who are 70 and older. Nearly two thirds of elderly Americans have mild to severe hearing loss, men more often than women.

“There’s a general perception that hearing loss in older adults is not very important,” says Dr. Frank R. Lin, an assistant professor of otology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Maybe that's why my mother is dragging her feet about getting a hearing aid.

What's more important, elderly are going about their daily business with a handicap. Imagine driving -- much of what we do behind the wheel of the car is automatic, based upon subconscious information coming in through all of our senses. Knock out one of those sources of input, couple it with slower reaction times, and you have a recipe for hazard.

This didn't occur to me until I saw a documentary in PT school about a fellow who had a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He discussed his journey through recovery, the strain on his family and relationships, and getting his master's degree despite his disability. The most poignant moment of the film came at the end, when he and his father were going fishing. It symbolized moving on and rebuilding a relationship and life post-injury. His elderly father was hard of hearing, handicapped according to the author, but unaware of it in the terms that most of us think of it -- an invisible disability, much like TBI.

]]>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:10:41 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/03/what-side-do-you-sleep-on.htmlWhat side of the bed you sleep on may be dictated by marital status, but what side of your body you sleep on may give clues about heart and digestive health. According to a 2003 study in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, people with congestive heart failure may tend to sleep on their right side.

The findings were in keeping with the concept that a left-hand position “may exert deleterious effects” on heart pressure, cardiac output or the functioning of cardiac nerves and thus “may be a protective strategy,” researchers said, adding that the position choice might arise from discomfort from perceiving a stronger heartbeat.

A 1994 study from The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, found that sleeping on the right may increase GERD.

Now, I'm a left-sided sleeper, but for a different reason. It's a little weird, but if I sleep on my right side, I tend to have vivid, nightmarrish dreams. Dreams on my left side tend to be happy dreams. I always figured it had to do with blood supply to the brain.

Now I've heard that eating spicy foods can elicit nightmares in some. Maybe, because I like spicy food, it digests better when I lay on my left. Maybe laying on the left helps to prevent GERD which may be perceived by the subconscious as fear and anger which could get morphed into bad dreams. But that's just me, maybe it is just the opposite for people with congestive heart failure.

Posted by linda http://massage.largeheartedboy.com/ ]]>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:01:19 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/03/excercise-reduces-the-ravages-of-aging.htmlAccording to research in the The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise can reduce and even stop common characteristics of aging from graying hair to muscle atrophy and shrinking brains. The key seems to be cell's mitochondria. If you'll recall from your high school biology, mitochondria are the power house of the cell, creating energy by converting oxygen and glucose to ATP.

In a really sad experiment with mice who are genetically pre-programmed to age rapidly, unexercised mice began show signs of age by three months and were old and decrepit by 6 to 9 months and dead by one year old. In a second group, mice who exercised vigorously (the equivalent of an hour three times per week), showed no signs of aging.

The researchers were surprised by the magnitude of the impact that exercise had on the animals’ aging process, Dr. Tarnopolsky said. They had not expected that it would affect every tissue and bodily system studied.

It is still not clear how much exercise will yield such beneficial effects, but we have a pretty good idea. The guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine stress at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 days per week for healthy adults to maintain their health a reduce the risk for chronic disease.

The good news about exercise and the human body is that it's never too late to start. Get out and walk 5 minutes and day and increase your activity level from there.
Posted by linda | http://massage.largeheartedboy.com/ ]]>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:36:09 -0800http://www.indopakmassage.com/2/post/2011/03/first-post.html This is an herbal tanning product used like a lotion and contains 100% organic ingredients.The natural color in the organic ingredients is used to create the great golden-bronze color when rubbed on the skin; leaving a natural tanned look (not orangey like others where you have to worry about applying too much or too little and guessing how it'll come out looking). The herbal ingredients on their own have anti-oxidant stimulating properties, can purify the blood as well as strengthen the immune system while preserving the skin. It's a great wrinkle preventative alternative to get the color desired without the UV rays from the Sun and artificial UV rays from tanning beds, and chemicals that can dry out the skin on the face and around the eyes from spray tans and other chemical based self tanner lotions which can cause premature wrinkles and crows feet. 100% Herbal Instant Tan is different because there are no chemicals, and it's water based so it re-hydrates while the herbs have preservation properties for the skin and body.

100% Herbal Instant Tan was created with the concern for the public consumer. Its focus is to make people more aware of the seriousness of using unnatural tanning methods, and products verses the incentives of using herbal based ones to benefit their own health and well-being. “Prolong the quality of your life and look good at the same time!”

*Buy 2 for $27.00 which includes shipping and save $7.00! at www.herbalinstanttan.com

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