by Cheryl Kiraly |
As the holidays draw to a close, we can look back over the past three months at what is probably the most unhealthy quarter of the year. Halloween: candy. Thanksgiving: food gorging (Guess on which day the largest number of Americans die of heart attack?). Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year: office parties, dinners, meat and cakes and alcohol. The average American gains five to eight pounds in the fourth quarter of every year. Because of all the social obligations and visiting relatives, many also suspend whatever exercise regimen they may have been following. Net result? We’re heavier and more out of shape at the start of every new year.
It’s unknown who invented the New Year’s Resolution, but the practice clearly reflects a widespread understanding that we end the year badly in terms of our health and need a fresh start. Now comes the time we promise to lose weight, to join a health club, or get to the gym more if we have a membership. People try to reverse three months of decline in three hours. Whatever exercise they choose to do, most will overdo. Result? Pain, stiffness, and a willingness to give up. If you have not exercised in weeks or months, the key is to start slowly. Do something easy like walking for twenty minutes every other day. Build up your cardio slowly. Then go to the gym or start a home exercise program for toning or strength training.
Perhaps the most important component of keeping exercise pain to a minimum is massage therapy. Many people exercise, few get massage therapy. Did you know that US Olympic teams have full-time massage therapists on staff for the run-up to the Olympics and during the Olympics? Before a competition, massage loosens muscles so that they perform better, and afterward, massage squeezes toxins out of muscles, reducing much of the stiffness and pain that might otherwise result. Massage therapy will reduce the negative effects that might deter you from continuing with your exercise program. Experts say, if people make a regular commitment to massage therapy, they well experience an amazing sense of wellness and health.
Another way that frequent massage can improve our health and quality of life is by alleviating stress. More than 90% of disease is stress-related and nothing ages us faster, inside or outside, than stress. Stress-related diseases claim more lives every year. The deadly role that stress plays in modern-day life is clear. If you are able to receive stress-relieving bodywork with consistency, not only does your body benefit by releasing its aches and pains, your mind will have time to wash away the stresses of life and you learn to relax. Both are critical pieces for living long and well. You will emerge in better spirits and able to embrace whatever life presents.
References:
- Beck, Mark F., Milady’s Theory and Practice of Therapeutic Massage, 3rd edition, Milady Publishing, Albany, NY.
- www.wikapedia.org/wiki/massage
- Braun, Mary Beth and Simonson, Stephanie., Introduction to Massage Therapy, Lippencot Williams & Wilkins, 2007
For more info, contact Cheryl Kiraly at (775) 772-9101.
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