Tag: health

Recovering from COVID? Here’s how massage therapy can help

As we move through the Omicron wave of the pandemic, more and more of us are catching COVID. Thankfully, the symptoms seemingly are less severe than previous strains, but that’s not to say anyone who gets sick with it has it easy! It’s still a nasty flu and costs you 5 to 10 days in isolated quarantine as our immune systems fight to keep the worst of it at bay (i’m writing this first hand, as i’m on my final day of quarantine).

Our days spent sick at home mean lots of down time. We’re riding the couch hard, having restless nights being congested and fighting fevers. Leaving us wiped of energy, feeling achy and run down, with days of not being active in positions that can be straining to our posture. Not to mention, how challenging the cabin fever can be! From lack of getting out, socializing and feeling stressed about missing days of work (and income) to pushing through as you WFH, taking care of kids. It’s a lot. And I sympathize with anyone going through it – hang in there!

It’s very important that anyone dealing with COVID symptoms, takes the time to rest and practice self-care as you move through the process.

As someone who is triple vaxed, as well as my partner. We still went through the ringer with symptoms. I was already dealing with a mild cold that had tested negative, so it came as a BIG surprise to find out I was now fighting COVID on-top of that. Once I had a fever, I knew I was down for the count and had to give in to the process. I got re-tested and began a new quarantine.

Over the past week, i’ve found the greatest comfort in drinking lots of herbal tea, taking warm epsom salt baths, doing gentle stretching in the evenings as well as neck, sinus and face massages, (including gua sha tools if you own them) to help with tension + congestion.

Now, after a full Quarantine and being symptom free, i’ve booked a massage.

I’m advocating that post COVID, it’s important to continue your self-care. We’ve seen many clients return after an episode of COVID, still feeling the effects of post quarantine malaise, soreness, feeling emotionally + physically drained, lung congestion and fatigue. Our immune systems continue to recover after working overtime. A massage can be incredibly helpful at this point, to steer things in the right direction again.

Here’s why…

Massage Therapy helps to strengthen the immune system

When you receive a massage, all the essential fluids in our bodies get flushed. This helps our circulatory and lymphatic system to process out more waste. Increasing our vitality, healthy nutrients and oxygen circulating throughout the body.

Massage helps hit a postural reset button

By letting your RMT know where you have been feeling tension and soreness from postural strains, they can then help open areas of restriction, relieving residual pain and discomfort and help you hit the reset button. Post quarantine is a great time to bring more awareness to correcting posture and switching things up again. A great massage can get you moving in the right direction.

Massage can help get your sleep cycle back on track

Covid can really mess with our restorative sleep. By getting massages after fighting the virus, your nervous system gets better opportunity to recharge, as the body works towards getting stronger again. Getting a massage later in the day and then heading home to relax with the intent of getting some sleep, could lock you into some solid lights out time.

Connecting after Quarantine

Over the past couple of years, we have been experiencing less touch more than ever before.

When we’re sick and home in quarantine with COVID, it can feel uncomfortably isolating. You could be going through the process alone, isolating away from others in your own home, have children to take care of – and people may be uncomfortable coming near you for weeks, even after you have safety quarantined. Not being touched while going through a scary and stressful experience like COVID, comes with its challenges, mentally + physically. Even after we’ve quarantined, there can still be periods where people may be uncomfortable getting close.

By getting a massage, you receive intentional, positive touch, helping you connect back into your body. Massage is an opportunity to re-ground ourselves and move forward from the wild experience of having had COVID. Setting an intention of getting back into the world, healthy and recharged.

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If you would like to book a massage after having dealt with COVID-19, we are here for you!

As per government guidelines, if you have had a bad bought of COVID-19 (residual fever and ongoing symptoms) please wait 10 days before booking your post COVID massage.

Looking forward to having you back!

How Water’s Negative Ions Increase Your Positive Vibes

For people that crave the crashing waves of the ocean, traveling to waterfalls and fast moving rivers, there’s an instinctual motivation behind it that allows us to recharge our natural energy sources.

As our moods constantly shift and our “vibes” give off different projections of how we feel, our bodies give off energy. Our energy is made up of both positive and negative ions. Opposite to what you may think, it’s the positive ions that are the ones that bring us down. When we absorb to many positive ions from our day to day lives such as from the humming of a computer, our phone screens and being confined for too long to our homes and offices, we begin to feel stuck, lethargic and irritable.

When we are close to moving water it creates an abundance of negative ions that we can absorb into our systems by proximity. These natural stimulating environments automatically up your serotonin levels, you absorb more oxygen into the blood  and our bodies can better filter toxins. In turn, you hit a reset button and bonus, the soothing rhythms and natural good vibes from nature make us feel more connected and in a better place.

So if you’re feeling like your positive ion are too high and you need to reset – perhaps it’s time to go for a walk to the beach or take a hike to a river or waterfall. It will do you good and definitely increase your good vibes!

Creating a Self-Care Practice


Self-care is about giving back to yourself, allowing space to be kind and nurturing in a positive way.
It took a while for me to understand how to connect with my true self. It takes awareness and honesty to check in and be gentle when you need it most. Our lives become so complex with pressures, anxieties, expectations and insecurities that it can lead to breaking points, where our triggers rule our reactions and we don’t feel connected or see the bigger picture anymore. Now I know that self-care is essential to keeping me balanced, especially when things get heavy.

Depending on the depth of what your triggers are and how you process, finding a plan for self-care can be as simple as taking a few minutes to decompress, or creating a longer strategy. This may include reaching out at some point for professional help to get a better grasp on the bigger issues and negative cycles. Whatever you are dealing with,  remember that we all struggle with hard times, triggers and complex issues at different points of our lives, and showing compassion to ourselves is how is how we can heal, better understand, process and move forward.

Self-care can be as simple as having a tiny ritual that sends your brain the signal that it’s time to decompress. A tool that works well for me is using different scents to help bring my energy back to neutral, give me a lift, and shift the vibe of the space i’m in. The simple act of lighting a candle, spraying an essential oil blend around the room or using a defuser, can be enough to get the process started. Smudging, which uses the smoke from sage or palo santo wood is a popular and ancient healing and energy cleansing tool. It is more intense due to the smoke and distinct smell, so experiment and play with what you like best. Try thinking about what small ritual could create this intention for you, and start making it a practice. It’s a great first step!

It’s unfortunate that our culture has created impossible standards and pressures that can send anyone into a cycle of low self esteem. Each of us has our own stories about how we came to our belief systems and unfortunately, it can create a shaky self image that is constantly being challenged. By doing something healthy for your body with intention you build your self-worth, and self-worth is a HUGE gift that has many rewards. Some ideas to get you started for body self care can be things like: gentle stretches, cooking a healthy meal, yoga, meditation, exercise that you enjoy, going for massage, acupuncture, a spa treatment, doing affirmations, solo dance parties, taking a bath, going for a walk in nature, riding a bike, sitting in a sauna…something with intention towards giving back to your body, that is for just for – you.

A more challenging self-care practice is to give your system a break from something you feel is becoming a crutch. Obviously, the weight of what that crutch is and provides varies from person to person, but if it’s something you feel is adding to stress or your triggers, think about taking a mini break from it and see how it effects you. From my own experience, being extreme in this practice may create more anxieties then helpfulness, so start small and be mindful of what’s realistic in your situation. Create a break in the cycle and see how this makes you feel, good or bad. It may help you step back from the crutch or even eliminate it altogether, and if nothing else will allow you to feel the underlying reason for it’s purpose.  This practice of self-care can be intense so be prepared to reach out for support and move forward in baby steps if you need to.

Your practice may help someone else start there own process. Keep the topic of self-care out in the open by having discussions about it, you may pass on ideas and inspiration to someone else at the perfect time.  Check in with your friends, family and colleagues, share your practices and how they make you feel when you do them.

What practices and rituals do you utilize in your self-care practices? Share your tools, experiences and stories in the comments section below as to how self-care has been a positive practice in your life.
Be kind to yourself and keep moving forward, thanks for reading!

Carrie

What’s Fascia?

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So what’s fascia?

It is one thing and everything.

I love the way Brooke Thomas (of Liberated Body) defines it:

…a seamless piece of tissue that Saran wraps you just underneath the skin … it is a richly multi-dimensional tissue that forms your internal soft tissue architecture. From the superficial (“body stocking”) fascia, it dives deep and forms the pods (called fascicles) that actually create your musculature like a honeycomb from the inside out. Imagine what it looks like when you bite into a wedge of orange and then look at those individually wrapped pods of juice. We’re like that too!

Besides making me think of honey and oranges together, she clearly lays out why healthy fascia makes us feel good. According to Thomas, these are the top 5 things that matter about fascia:

it’s got to stay hydrated

we’ve got to move it in a variety of ways

it’s all connected (hence, compensations)

it is springy & wants us to bounce it

it is the largest & richest sensory organ of the body

To really get the magnitude of this amazing substance that is not just in us but is us, read her article,The Top 5 Ways Fascia Matters To Athletes, and watch Thomas Myers in “Fascia 101”. He mentions oranges too.

Written by Tracy Dixon SI

Structural Integration Practitioner in Mount Pleasant BC