Be Your Best YOU
CHI’s goal for you
We all have different reasons for getting massages. It can be for alleviating pain, increasing your range of motion, or simply for maintenance. At CHI Massage Therapy, the goal is to get your pain levels to a minimum by seeing you at least once a week. However, the ultimate goal is to get to a maintenance massage. For everyone, the frequency is different and only you can know what that is. For some it is once every 3 weeks, for others it can be as far as once every couple of months.
Massage is a fantastic way to feel better, looser, and more flexible. However, it is not the answer to all of your physical problems. You may need physical therapy, chiropractic, or energy work as well. Which ones do you need? Again, everyone is different. The only way to find your best combinations of therapies is to give them all a try. Your best therapy combinations may very well change as time passes, so don’t think that the combination you find best will be your best forever. Keep an open mind, you never know what will work for you until you try.
The most important thing, however, is the work you put in yourself. It can be as simple as drawing yourself a nice hot bath every so often. After a long and hard working week or after your massage. Using ice and heating pads can help as well. Generally, if you have inflammation, science says to use ice, but I have met some who feel better after using heating pads.What feels good to you? Meditate, take a bath, enjoy aroma therapy, or whatever! Do what feels good to you.
One thing a lot of us like to ignore are physical activities. There is no way around it, we must strengthen ourselves. Notice I changed it from you to we…. I fully admit that I struggle in this area, too. I may fall off here and there, but I always dust myself off and get myself back up on to that fitness wagon.
Why is it so important? There are many angles to explore. One top aspect is that it can help prevent injuries. Sure, things still happen, but it will be less likely for you to lose balance. Which means you won’t hurt yourself by simply walking up or down a curb on the street, for example.
By strengthening your muscles, it is easier for your body to hold itself up. This also prevents serious wear and tear on the joints. Which means less arthritic damage and pain.
Types of strengthening exercises also depend on what you feel good with. Circuit training, yoga, cycling, swimming, etc. let’s keep an open mind in this area as well. You may have trained hard as a runner all your life, but there will be a time when your body will not take it as well as it used to. Dial it down or find something else you and your body can feel good about.
In anything you decide to do, whether it is finding the right combination of therapies or finding the right gym, the most important part is not the modality, but the therapist or instructor. For example, I tried doing different things when it came to working out. I went from yoga, to Jiu Jitsu, to the UFC gym. Knowing it takes time, I would continue for a month or two. One day, I stopped going all together. I was tired of looking. One day I met Cedar, who owns CedarFit. I decided, why not give this a try! I liked her style, so what did I have to lose, but have a longer list of crap gyms. So I went. As most of you know, I fell in LOVE with her gym. I realized that if I start choosing the people I work with, as opposed to choosing the modality, the better quality work I got! So don’t be afraid to talk to people and ask questions. Call and ask for a free consult to get a good feel of the owners, the reps, and the facility.
These are all very time consuming things, but when you get there, you will be glad you took the journey. If you start plateauing, that is probably when you can either kick it up a notch by talking to your therapist or instructor. They may have good suggestions. Or you can find another modality to add to what you are already doing or swap a modality for another. The possibilities are endless! Remember, patience will come in very handy! Take your time and trust your gut feelings and your body’s reactions.
One last thing, before I let you go. My goal here is to tell you everything I know to be true on how you can take care of you through physical healing and physical activities. At this point, I have to mention your diet. It can be the cause of your muscle and joint pain, it can be what is keeping you plateaued in your activities, or cause you any sort of mental and physical health. When you think about diet, don't think about the traditional thinking of not eating. "Changing" your diet, changing what you eat, changing your routine of eating, etc. can do wonders. This can also involve vitamins, herbs, and protein smoothies. BUT, this is a whole other beast, which will be talked about in another blog.
