Restorative Bodywork May 2005 Newsletter
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Restorative Bodywork Boston Massage Therapy Newsletter
http://www.RestorativeBodywork.com
May 2005 Newsletter
Please forward this to your friends!
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In this issue:
* Health tips
* Referrals
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Health tips
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Remembering to Breathe 101
Life seems to ramp up in the spring - the days get longer, we rush to
get our work done so we can get outside, we start fitness programs, we
graduate, we organize summer schedules and vacations - as our
adrenaline rises to meet our various challenges our breathing becomes
shallow and our muscles tense. A little attention to our breath can
make a huge difference in helping us get through the day - here are a
couple of techniques to try:
Start with an experiment - get in as comfortable position as you can
right now and notice how you feel (energized, tired, grumpy, happy).
Notice how your chest and ribs feel.
Take a breath in and exhale.
Now exhale again - release all your air, count to ten and inhale,
holding that breath for a count of ten.
Exhale that air and count to ten before you inhale; inhale and hold for
another ten count.
Repeat breathing this way for 8 more exhalations and inhalations.
Return to your normal rate of respiration and take a moment and notice
how your chest and ribs feel. Any change?
This next breathing exercise takes a little more coordination. You may
want to take a few minutes to really feel your torso. Get comfortable
and tap lightly on your ribs and breastbone and massage your abdomen
lightly in a clockwise direction (noon is by your sternum). After you
feel like you've gotten to know your torso, take a really, really
deep breath in and hold. Now here's the challenging part: hold your
breath and push your stomach out as far as you can. (hint: don't use
your low back to push your stomach - you can do it with your abdominal
muscles.) Continue to hold your breath, pull in your stomach and push
out your chest (again, do not use your back to push out your chest).
Keep holding that breath and alternate pushing out your stomach and
chest 4 more times. Go ahead and exhale, but don't inhale! Repeat
the chest/abdominal pumping 5 more times without having any air in your
lungs. Now you can inhale & exhale normally - How do you feel? Do you
notice if you are breathing in more, less or the same amount of air as
prior to this exercise? How do your chest and ribs feel? How do you
feel in general (heavy, light, happy, relaxed, etc.) compared to when
you started this exercise?
I find these exercises helpful to work in throughout the day...life is
much easier when we have plenty of oxygen in our system and as an added
bonus if the train or bus is crowded, the ab/chest pumping exercise
usually makes the people crowding me move away.
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Referrals
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I would love to be able to help as many people as I can, and I'm more
than willing to help you if you let others know about Restorative
Bodywork. Refer a friend by filling out the referral form on the web
site, and if your friend engages my services, you will both get a 90
minute treatment for the 60 minute rate.
The referrals page is located at:
http://www.restorativebodywork.com/referrals.php
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The End
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