#healthybody – The Fascial Effect

Don’t Just Sit There!

Sitting is something we all do without thinking about it, we sit relaxing on the sofa, we sit at our desks, we sit in cafes and restaurants, we sit on public transport or in our cars, but sitting can be bad for our bodies if we don’t sit in the right position.

Hunched over a keyboard, slumped on the sofa, bent over a mobile phone or e-reader, driving on a long journey, even watching TV, we twist and bend into positions our bodies weren’t designed to maintain for any length of time. These activities involve:

Holding your neck in an awkward position for long periods of time
Hunching your shoulders forward
Leaning more into one side of your body

When your head is positioned in a forward posture for hours at a time it puts extra pressure on the discs in the neck and spine, which causes increased compression and can lead to chronic neck and shoulder pain and severe headaches. So, stress headaches may not be about too much going on in your head, but how you’re holding it.

The average human head weighs around 10 to 12lbs and all that is balanced on just 7 vertebrae in your neck and supported by around 20 muscles that are responsible for moving your head around and keeping that weight in place.

The relationship between the head, neck and torso affects the whole body. When the head sits properly on the neck and both are properly aligned with the back, the whole body follows with natural posture. However getting our heavy head to sit in correct alignment after the back, neck and spine is a difficult task.

The partial solution to this is getting the neck and shoulders as right as possible at first and the head alignment will follow. Also, these pains can usually be treated with a course of gentle myofascial release therapy, which identifies the points or triggers where things have tightened up and got stuck, loosens the muscles of neck, releases trapped nerves and increases your range of movement.

That will work to release some of the tension, but if you just go back to your old habits, all that good work can be reversed. However, you can practise good self-care after treatment and prevent this happening again.

My Neck and Shoulder Fascia Release workshop is designed to get you started with basic movement therapy to do that – and it’s online, so it doesn’t matter where you are you can participate. The results are often life-changing and patients find they not only have more mobility, less (or no) pain, but also sleep better and feel generally better in themselves.

To book a Neck and Shoulder Fascia Release Workshop click here

If your current symptoms are very uncomfortable an initial assessment is advisable. It may be necessary to have a manual treatment to release some of the tension first to get the most out of the workshop.

Body

Release your tension and destress your back

It’s that time of year when we seem to have so much to do and so little time to do it in. Our busy lives generate stress – and stress creates tension. This often means tight shoulders, stiff neck and pain in either your upper or lower back. Most of us just soldier on – and, surprise, surprise, it doesn’t just go away!

A treatment with heated stones is an excellent way to de-stress, relax tight muscles and release tension around the shoulders and lower back. The result for most people is ‘Ahhhhhh – that’s better!’

But that’s not all hot stones can do for you.

It’s also a great way to boost your immune system – naturally. The moist heat alongside the Fascial Effect™ massage techniques can reach deep into soft tissue creating the kind of warmth you can only get from a holiday in the sun.

What else does a hot stone massage do?

Feeling warm to the core can make you mentally and physically stronger to fight against infections this time of year.

Focused movements with hot stones around the neck, chest and ribcage can also release congestion lingering from a cold and so speed up recovery.

People often think the only way to detox is following a strict detox diet and drinking lots and lots of water. However, a treatment with heated stones warms the body to the core and boosts the circulation, encouraging the release of toxins via the lymphatic system and gentle perspiration. This can be energising if you are feeling tired and lethargic.

If stress and overwhelm are affecting the quality of your sleep then hot stone therapy will almost guarantee you a good night’s rest.

There are many good reasons to book yourself in for hot stones therapy regularly, just tell your therapist which one you’re suffering from and know that your body will thank you.

To book an appointment call Jas on 07775 633 798.

Nutrition

You are what you eat

Your nutritional status plays a pivotal role in strength and healing. So, what do you know about yours?

You know that you need a nutritious diet for your well-being and good health. When your body receives all the nutrients in appropriate amounts to meet its needs, you are in the state of good nutrition. However, when the nutrients provided in the diet are inadequate, either too little or too much of what is required, it results in a state of imbalance in the body. This means you are suffering from malnutrition!

If you become seriously ill or need an operation, the odds are against you if you are malnourished. If your nutritional status is good, you are likely to recover quickly.

There are times when you need more of a certain nutrient. Vitamin C and zinc strengthen our immunity and protect against respiratory infections. Vitamin D gives our bones support in the winter months when there’s not much sunshine. And sometimes you need to take additional protein to help your body to be strong.

The word protein literally means ‘of primary importance’. This could not be truer if you need surgery because one of the primary roles of protein is to repair and renew body tissues and muscles.

Protein helps your body growth and development, particularly for children, and in the fitness industry taking additional protein for muscle building is common.

Before an operation, nutritional intake may be limited simply because when you’re unwell you feel less like eating. Then on the day of the operation and several days thereafter normal eating habits are often interrupted partly because of the pre-operative ‘Nil by Mouth’ requirement and several post-operative days of feeling unwell with loss of appetite, it’s not surprising that deficiencies in protein often occur. This is serious, especially in older patients because although some post-surgical muscle loss is inevitable, inadequate protein intake can lead to slow wound healing and significant muscle wastage. In serious cases, this can lead to a loss of independence.

The goal of pre-operative nutrition is to prepare yourself for a procedure that creates some stress on your body. Consider pre-surgery nutrition as the equivalent of preparing for a marathon or a big game. This is where supplements are essential to give your body the support it needs and choosing the right ones for you can be challenging, there are so many options.

I’ve looked into many different types of supplement and I found these seed-based natural supplements a few years ago. I use them myself and can totally recommend them.

Soul is an excellent source of all round nutrition with naturally anti-inflammatory and antioxidant fuel to help you prepare your body for surgery.

An adequate amount of protein is particularly essential because it helps to:

According to the NCBI website a good nutritional status is a strong predictor of post-operative recovery time without complications. Form is good quality vegan protein supplementation which is low in sugar, with added vitamin C, Calcium and Magnesium.

Reduce the stress and inflammation caused by the surgery
Repair, renew and regenerate the tissues in and around the wound
Lessen muscle wastage and maintain muscle strength
Repair fractures and any damage to organs

Although your body may not be quite the same again, maintaining a good nutritional status before and after surgery with supplements if necessary is essential for a speedy recovery and helps you return to doing the things you love as soon as possible.

To shop for healthy seed oil supplements Click here or if you have any questions on any of these issues – please drop me an email at jas@thefascialeffect.co.uk.

Nutrition

Tune up your body

Most patients are a product of the lifestyle they lead – or sometimes even a lifestyle they led in the past, which comes back to haunt them!

The body is a highly sophisticated machine that depends on all the systems working together in harmony. For this to happen there needs to be balance.

Your internal systems all affect each other, your temperature, blood pressure, hormones, digestive system all have an impact. And don’t leave out your emotional wellbeing; it’s a proven fact that your state of mind can affect you physically. If you’re stressed or under pressure it can manifest physically in headaches, raised blood pressure, aches and pains, etc.

Exercise and nutrition also play a part. It’s a bit like a car – a high performance machine needs the right fuel – and an occasional ‘thrash’ to keep it top nick! That applies as much to your body as to a F1 racing car.

Balance is the key

We talk about work-life balance, about nutritional balance, about the importance of exercise and mental wellbeing. The challenge for most of us is that we live such busy lives. We’re running from home to work to the school pick up, then to the gym and when do we have time to pay close attention to everything? Just trying to manage it all will throw your mental wellbeing out of balance.

Even if you think that you eat healthily you’re almost certainly missing some essential nutrients. But who has the time to work out exactly what every carrot or piece of fruit contributes in nutritional value?

Back to basics

In the world of personal development there is a model, developed by Abraham Maslow, known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This is based on the theory that we need to have our basic needs met – air, water, food – first, before we can move to the next most important needs. In other words you start at the bottom of this diagram and work upwards.

There is an ironic addition to the model in today’s world, where some of the younger generation claim that Wi-Fi and a fully-charged battery are more important than air and water!

Basically, it means that you need to tick all the boxes to arrive at the top.

So we have plenty of food, but not enough time to ensure we’re getting the right nutrition – I’m not sure Maslow was looking at that, he was more focused on the essentials to survive. But if your body isn’t getting the nutrition it needs, that can manifest as a whole range of symptoms:

Headaches
Aches and pains
Tiredness
Lethargy
Brain fog

Sound familiar?

Everything starts with a seed

Life exists from seeds. So that means that seeds contain everything you need. That’s why a seed-based supplement makes perfect sense.

I tried this myself and was surprised at the results – and the changes are subtle, for instance, I noticed I walked up the steep hill into town without puffing and blowing, my energy levels are enhanced and I just feel better.

Other benefits include:

Reduction in inflammation
Less water retention
Ridding the body of toxins
Fewer general aches and pains
Hormonal balance as a result of the Omega fats

And best of all

Slows down the ageing process

That’s because the combination of seeds fights free radical damage; renews and rejuvenates cells and energises at a cellular level.

If you’re one of those busy women who packs 26 hours into every 24, give your body a boost. Find out more here or give me a call on 07775 633798 and lets find out what your body needs.

Nutrition

How often should you detox?

Do you think detoxing is a once-in-a-while dieting aid, or an important tool used to reset after a long string of poor eating choices and excessive alcohol consumption? While this sort of detoxing works for some, many I’ve spoken to consider it necessary but a struggle. Almost constant cravings, low energy, insomnia, mood fluctuations and anxiety being a few of the symptoms experienced during the detoxification program.

If you’re exposed to thousands of chemicals daily it makes sense to do something to combat their effects. Detoxing helps your body to clear out the stuff that does more harm than good. Your body is performing a constant balancing act, trying to combat environmental threats while helping you function. Excessive amounts of toxins in the body puts it into a fight/flight response. If this continues over a long period of time you get something called chronic inflammation.

Look at it like this; you go out and buy food to consume for a week. Some of it, peelings etc. you put in the food recycling bin. You repeat this again and again, but you never put the bin out for collection. The waste pile builds up and rots and becomes an environmental health hazard over time. To put the bins out for collection and disposal on a regular basis would have been much easier, but now it has become a huge and messy task.

Compare that to our body. The periodic detox program has most likely worked. but what your body has been storing away because it can’t be used as fuel or nutrition is now released and floating around in your blood stream. The liver and kidneys are overwhelmed and not able to get rid of these toxins quickly enough. This impacts on heart health and brain health and the hormone balance is completely off the scale!

If you struggle with blood sugar imbalances, mood swings, anxiety, oestrogen dominance, histamine intolerance, unpleasant menopause symptoms or any hormonal health condition, reducing your toxic load is going to be extremely helpful for you.

There is an alternative. Take it one day at a time and assist your body to detox daily.

While other organs participate, ground zero for detoxification is your liver. While you’re detoxifying, you want to show this organ some major love. To give your liver love:

Focus on reducing anything that potentially stresses it out – exposure to or incoming chemicals, toxicants and other environmental compounds.
Take control of your vices – alcohol, sugar, caffeine, take-away meals, smoking – if it’s too much to give them all up for a day, plan your day without at least one of them.
Give it the right nutrients to work efficiently. Take a sachet of Core – a nutritiously rich seed supplement, which acts as a detoxifier, cleaning and improving organ function. See attached PDF for more information.

To sum up, your body is a miracle! Give it what it needs to function at its best.

For more information contact me at jas@thefascialeffect.co.uk or visit my website.

Ageing

How soundly do you sleep?

How often do you wake feeling you could have had a few more hours of sleep? Feeling tired and groggy in the morning is not always due to lack of sleep, but often because of the poor quality of sleep.

Sufficient sleep is necessary for the body to repair the damage it’s suffered during the day. While you rest your body will flush out all the toxins that naturally accumulate and re-charge for another day of living.

If you don’t sleep well your body is unable to do this properly. If this continues over a long period of time it can cause all sorts of health problems.

The problem is that it’s difficult to solve the problem of poor quality sleep – and the effects reach every aspect of your life. Being tired or lacking in energy doesn’t make you a great companion or the employee of the year. You feel every one of your years – and if you’ve had this problem a while, you probably feel older than the calendar says!

So how can you fix this problem?

People will tell you to reduce stress as that’s probably causing a disturbed night’s sleep. Easy to say, but almost impossible to do.

Asking your doctor to prescribe sleeping pills may make you sleep better, but often results in a groggy awakening and a chemically induced sleep isn’t great for your long-term health.

Some people resort to buying new beds or mattresses. Some try spraying lavender oil on their pillows. But what if there was a simpler and more natural solution.

It is important to give the body the right nutrition to cleanse, repair and recharge itself. This wards off morning grogginess and helps you wake up feeling refreshed and able to live your life to the full, instead of struggling to exist.

Soul Red can help. It is a blend of 3 seed oils + ribose, which together are high in antioxidants and excellent for anti-ageing. If you take a sachet of Soul Red last thing at night, the anti-inflammatory effects of the black cumin, chardonnay grape and red raspberry seed oils soothe your body and the antioxidant effects counteract free radical damage in the body while you sleep. Ribose energises the cells which is the equivalent to charging a flat battery in your mobile phone. And the body is ready to go again for another 16 hours or so. As an added bonus it also has an anti-ageing effect on your cells.

To shop click here or if you would like to talk to me, just call 07775 633798.