Self Massage for Tension Headaches

These days with so many people spending 8+ hours a day at a desk staring at a computer, it's no wonder we never seem to be more than an arm's length from some form of pain reliever. Instead of treating only the symptoms, it would be worthwhile to address and treat the muscles involved with the tension of your everyday work routine. First, let's take a look at what is anatomically happening in the neck.

The muscles that you see at the base of the skull are known as the "suboccipitals". The suboccipitals  work overtime everyday to keep your head balanced on top of your spine-which is no easy task with some of our heads weighing up to 10 pounds! Unless you are constantly checking in with your body mechanics and correcting poor posture throughout the day, chances are you spend the majority of your day with your neck out of proper alignment. This can certainly contribute to the notorious tension headache.

If you can just take a couple minutes throughout the day to stretch out and do some self massage, your headache and neck tension can be treated and (hopefully) relieved. One easy stretch you can do at your desk is neck mobilization. You can start by stretching your neck in half circles and then eventually working into full circles stopping along any "sweet spots" along the way. When you find a sweet spot, I like to take my hand and gently pull my head into a deeper stretch and holding for a few seconds.

Eye strain from staring at a computer screen can also aid in the tension headache. Applying some gentle trigger point massage around the eye sockets can help relieve the strain. Begin by pressing the area at the corner of your eyes underneath the eyebrow, holding, then continuing along the brow bone to the outer corner of the eyes, and then along the bottom of the eye socket back to the inner corner. After the massage, take your eyes through their range of motion (without moving your head) looking up as far as you can, circling to the right, looking down as far as you can, then to the left and back up again. Repeat in the opposite direction.

This is probably my favorite self massage discovery: the rolling pin! It can be used to massage your calves, quads, and hamstrings but I absolutely LOVE the neck and shoulder massage it gives. If you're too shy to bring one to work with you, wait until you're home on the couch watching television. Grip the pin with both hands and just roll up and down one side of your neck and then the other. Stop at any trigger points you feel and make micro movements.

If you have good flexibility in your pectorals you can even self massage the tops of your shoulders. (If this doesn't work for your body, have someone else do it for you!) Anchor the bottom of the rolling pin with your bottom hand and make small movement with the top of of the rolling pin with the other hand, again stopping on the trigger points.

(Fun tip: try the rolling pin massage on your dog. Mine can't get enough!)

I know it is difficult to stop and think about stretching but if you get in the habit of doing a little bit throughout the day everyday, you WILL feel a difference in your body.

Searching for the Fountain of Youth

There are several spokes in feeling young and being healthy: diet, exercise, social life, even laughter. But there is one very critical facet that we don't seem to address and that is maintaining spinal flexibility. Think about it. We sit at a desk for 8+ hours a day or work on our feet and how many of us hold perfect posture throughout the day? I know I don't and my back is the first thing to suffer. The back is the most requested area for focused work that I get in my practice. 

Spinal work is one of the many things that I absolutely love about yoga. Now I'm not suggesting everyone should go and start a yoga practice but keep in mind that if you don't lengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia to their full length at least a few times a week, they will gradually shorten and limit the nearby joint's mobility. I'd like to suggest a couple very easy stretches that you can incorporate throughout your day to help keep the spine supple. 

First thing in the morning is when my body feels the stiffest; I'm talking ZERO flexibility. My favorite stretch to do to get some circulation going in my back is called Marjariasana or Cat-Cow pose. It involves just a slight backbend and followed by a rounding of the back. Breathe in when you backbend and breathe out when you round your back.

Spinal twists are one of my all time favorite things (and also my favorite part of Thai Massage). There are so many benefits for spinal twists such as a detoxifying, cleansing, and refreshing effect on the torso organs and associated glands as well as stimulating circulation. The organs are compressed during twists, pushing out metabolic wastes and toxins. When the twist is released, fresh blood flows in which carries oxygen and the building blocks for tissue healing. Note: if you're pregnant or have any sort of spinal injury, consult with your doctor before trying any spinal twists.

The first seated spinal twist (which can also be done in your office chair) is called Ardha Matsyendrasana or Half Lord of the Flies pose. That already sounds like an adventure to me! This pose is good for improved digestion. To begin you want to feel rooted down to the ground (or chair) and simultaneously feel like there's a string attached to your head and someone is pulling up. So lengthen on the inhale and twist on the exhale. Allow your head and neck to be the last to twist-we're focusing more on the thoracic (middle) area of spine.

My favorite of the twists is called Supta Matsyendrasana or Reclined Lord of the Flies pose. For me, I feel a more intense stretch doing spinal twists while laying on the floor. Again you want to take a deep breath before doing the twist and then exhale and slowly twist to one side. The goal is to get your knee to the floor while also keeping that opposite shoulder on the ground. It's not important if your knee ever reaches the ground (mine doesn't always) it's just something to visualize while you stretch.

I hope you enjoy these stretches as much as I do and I promise you will feel a difference if you do them regularly. Now if I could just find a yoga pose to decrease wrinkles...

Plantar Fasciitis or "Flip Flop Syndrome"?

We've all heard at least a million times about the benefits of wearing sensible shoes and, conversely, the negative side effects of wearing ill fitting/supporting shoes. I don't know about you but once summer arrives, all that goes out the door for me and you won't catch me without my flip flops. Living in the city, I pretty much walk everywhere and am now feeling the backlash of doing so in said flip flops.  I've developed a pain in the center of my right heel and was convinced I had plantar fasciitis. 

Plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue that originates on the bottom surface of the heel and extends along the sole of the foot to the toes. Long periods of weight bearing (a job where you're standing all day), exercising (especially running), and tight calves are all associated with plantar fasciitis. I'm not quite ready to throw out my flip flops so I decided to find some different stretches to help out my condition. 

Adho Mukha Svanasana (or downward facing dog) has proven to be the best stretch for my calves and I think it's a perfect one for those who are pretty limber. When you first get into the posture, try peddling out your feet SLOWLY-first bend your left leg and hold, the straighten that leg while bending the right leg. Once you feel a little loosened up aim to get your heels on the ground-it's not important that they reach the ground just aim for it. Simultaneously, you also want to rotate your sit bones toward the sky and that'll help deepen the stretch in both your hamstrings and calves.

Another good stretch is to find a set of stairs, position yourself so about half of your feet is on the stairs and and the other half is hanging off. You'll slowly play with lowering your heels little by little until you feel the stretch and just hang out there for a few seconds. I don't find this one to be as intense as down dog, but it's a helpful one to incorporate in the middle of the day.

After all the stretching, I like to massage my feet a little bit-even five minutes can make a big difference. An easy, do-it-yourself foot massage is rolling your foot on a tennis ball. Because you're standing, you can control how much (or little) pressure you want. For those who, like me, require a lot of pressure, swap out the tennis ball for a golf ball.

If you're stubborn like me and refuse to throw out your flip flops, be sure to do something good for your feet at the end of the day-your whole body will thank you for it!