Month: August 2015

How Stretching can Help Prevent Injuries and Enhance Mobility

Posted on by Martin

Have you ever noticed how we stretch ourselves when we have been motionless for a long time? For example how we intuitively stretch when we wake up or when we have been staring at our computers for too long. When we are inactive for some time, our muscles start getting stiff and blood flow slows down. Stretching helps loosen these muscles and increases the blood circulation, basically waking up both our mind and body. This is why we stretch as an instinct.

The same logic applies to our lives in general. Stretching helps us in remaining flexible as we age. It also helps in preventing injuries. Once stretched, our muscles relax and therefore, are less prone to injuries caused by shocks and jerks which happen during physical events like exercise, sports, or even during less active activities.

Advantages of stretching:

  1. It reduces tension in stiff muscles. Stretching relaxes the taut muscles and loosens them up. This eliminates the muscle tension- helping you avoid injuries and tiredness.
  2. Stretching increases blood circulation in the stretched area. Proper blood circulation keeps our muscles nourished and waste free. It also hastens recovery in muscle tissues.
  3. Increased blood circulation also makes people feel more energetic and happy. Stretching gives you a quick dose of energy.
  4. Stretching increases the range of movement in our joints and muscles. It keeps us flexible and mobile. If you stretch regularly, you will have no problems in bending over, running or lifting things. There will be no painful muscle pulls as your muscles will be habitual to flexing.
  5. It corrects our posture. If you stretch your body parts regularly and maintain symmetry, your posture will improve gradually. Correct posture solves a lot of pain problems like neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain etc.
  6. Stretching improves our flexibility and mobility and this in turn, improves our balance. This leads to less falls and stumbles as we age.
  7. It acts as a stress relief. When we are stressed, our muscles become taut and tense. Stretching relaxes and loosens up these muscles, helping us let go of the stress in process.

 

How to stretch:

  • Neck:

NeckStand straight and keep your feet flat. Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Now turn your head, slowly, to the right until you feel a slight stretch in your neck. It should be slightly uncomfortable but not painful. Remember- no tilting. Maintain the same position for 30-40 seconds. Repeat the process above for the left side too. Do this exercise for 4-5 times.

  • Shoulder and Upper Arms:

Shoulder and Upper ArmTake a towel in your left hand and throw it behind your back. Take your right hand behind your back and hold the other end of the towel. Keep your right hand loose. Now from your left hand, slowly pull your towel up. This will help you stretch the muscles in your shoulder and upper arms. Repeat the same by changing the position of left and right hands. Repeat it for 4 to 5 times.

  • Shoulder and Chest:

Shoulders and ChestStand straight and keep your feet flat, at shoulder width distance. Raise your arms at shoulder length and keep them straight. Now move your arms back slowly. It will feel like you are pushing your shoulder blades together or pushing your chest out. Do it till you feel a slight discomfort. Maintain the same position for at least 30 seconds. Repeat it 4-5 times.

  • Back:

BackSit up straight on a chair with an armrest. Keep your feet flat on ground. Now slowly turn your torso and head to the left, without moving your hips. Now hold the armrest with your left hand and your right hand on your left thigh. Do it till you feel a slight discomfort. Maintain the same position for at least 30 seconds. Now slowly turn to your right, hold the armrest with your right hand and keep your left hand on the right thigh. Repeat this 4-5 times.

  • Hips:

HipsGet on your knees. You can hold on a sturdy chair or bed to do this. Now place your left foot in front. Then place your right hand on your right hip and lean forward from your hips till you feel a slight discomfort. Don’t lean your torso forward. Keep your chest straight. Maintain the position for 30 seconds. Now go back to original position of being on your knees and bring the right foot forward. Repeat the process above with focus on your left side.

  • Calf:

CalfStand straight in front of a wall. Keep your feet flat and at shoulder width distance. Place your palms on the wall, at shoulder length and shoulder width apart. Now put your right foot forward and bend slowly at the knee. Keep bending till you feel a slight discomfort. Hold the position for at least 30 seconds. Repeat the process with other leg.

Precautions:

  1. Stretching is not a warm up. In fact, you need to warm up by doing a little jogging or power walking before you stretch.
  2. Slight discomfort is acceptable, sharp pain is not. If you feel regular pain in doing any of the stretches, talk with your physiotherapist or doctor.
  3. Don’t bounce. It causes injuries. Instead just maintain the position for at least 30 seconds.
  4. Don’t hold your breath.
  5. Maintain symmetry while stretching. This means that stretch both left and right sides of your body.

National Simplify Your Life Week: Seven Tips to Help You Simplify, Cut Stress, Make Better Decisions and Be Happier

Posted on by Martin

We all know the feeling. You wake up to a to-do list that feels about five miles long. You’ve got fifteen minutes until you need to be out the door and on your way to work but you can’t find your car keys because they’re buried under a pile of last week’s junk mail. You feel stressed, hurried, like there isn’t enough time in the day.

You’re worried about burning out and it seems like the vicious cycle just won’t stop.

Fortunately, there is a way out.

Simplifying your life is often a sure-fire way to get rid of excess stress and create an environment that allows for enhanced relaxation, more time and greater happiness. In celebration of National Simplify Your Life Week, we’ve gathered a selection of the greatest tips for simplifying and starting fresh this month. Keep reading to learn more.

1) Get Rid of Clutter

Get rid of clutterUnneeded clutter is a great way to find yourself feeling stressed out, overwhelmed, frustrated and short on time.  Fortunately, getting rid of stuff is easy and it only takes a few minutes to banish undue clutter. To start with, take two bags to your car and fill one with garbage and the other with junk that doesn’t belong in the car.

Spend five minutes in your closet and pull out the items you don’t often wear to donate to charity. Box up duplicate or unused kitchen items and either donate them or store them. Getting rid of clutter leaves you with only the most needed items and, in turn, allows your days to function smoother and with less frustration.

2) Unplug

UnplugIn today’s society, we are ever connected. People expect to be able to get ahold of us at all hours and under any circumstances, but this isn’t exactly healthy. Being perpetually available or feeling the need to check your email five times during dinner produces stress and anxiety and indicates that it might be time for a social media detox.

To counteract this and take another step toward simplifying your life, unplug completely for at least one hour a day. Take a walk in the woods without your cell phone or enjoy a yoga class or a run.  No matter how you choose to unplug, giving yourself some time each day to disconnect from the virtual world can work wonders for stress levels.

3) Evaluate Your Relationships

Evaluate your relationshipsAs humans, we have limited resources. It is impossible to give all of our love, patience, enthusiasm, energy and attention to everyone all the time without feeling exhausted and drained. This is especially true when we find ourselves putting our energy into life-sucking sources such as bad friendships, abusive work environments or poor relationships.

In order to simplify your life and make more room for the things that matter, take some time to think about your relationships. Identify which relationships are uplifting you and contributing to your overall wellbeing and which ones are stressing you out and making you feel bad. Begin to detach from the latter and pay more attention to the former. In addition to making you feel better, this simple practice will free up space in your life for new hobbies and better scenarios to spring up.

4) Automate as Much as Possible

AutomateThere is nothing quite so stressful as realizing that you’ve forgotten to pay a bill and it’s now a week overdue. To avoid this, consider automating as many details of your life as you can. Place bills on auto-pay and paychecks on auto-deposit. Input appointments, obligations and important dates into a digital calendar for convenient reminders. When you spend less time worrying about the minutia of your daily life, you have more time to spend living.

5) Make Time for Fun

Make time for funIn Italy, there is a great practice called “La Dolce Far Niente” or “the art of doing nothing”.  We could stand to learn a thing or two from this. A large part of simplifying daily life and making more space for enjoyment entails learning to slow down, have fun and create openings for hobbies, recreational activities and aimless happiness.

While you certainly don’t have to “do nothing” in the literal sense, it is important to make space for fun. This is especially important for those in the busy and often stressful home care field. In order to be a better person, partner, employee and support system, it is important to make time for yourself and what you need. After all, you can’t give when the well is empty.

6) Breathe

BreatheThere is nothing simpler and automatic in the world than breathing but, some days, we forget to do even that. If you work in the home care field, there’s a good chance that you often have days where you hardly sit down because you are so busy. Unfortunately, being so busy you cannot take a moment to simply sit and breathe is not beneficial for you or your clients and often leads to negative emotions like stress, anger, frustration or feelings of burnout.

Learning to take a moment to breathe during your day will go a long way toward making you a more patient caregiver as well as a happier person. The great news about breathing is that it’s easy to sneak it in anywhere in your day. If you’re rushing between clients, take five minutes to sit down (outdoors, if possible) and simply take in the world around you. These “sit and breathe” sessions are like psychic power-naps and have the power to help you recharge, prioritize, improve your mood and simplify your day.

7) Exercise

ExerciseThere are plenty of studies that clearly observe the correlation between exercise and happiness, better decision making, less stress and better sleep. In order to simplify your life and cut out the excess static of the everyday, make it a priority to slip some exercise into your schedule.

“Exercise” is a fluid term and it can take whatever form you want it to. If you don’t enjoy the gym, take a walk outside, play a game of soccer with friends or swim some laps at the local pool. Regardless of how you choose to exercise, including some predictable physical activity in your everyday life will help you decrease stress, cut to the chase and simplify your schedule.

The Case for Simplification

Simplifying your life goes a long way toward reducing stress and increasing enjoyment and the best part is – it is easy! You can apply these simplification tactics to any aspect of your life at any time and it is likely that people in the home care field will find these tips helpful. Whether you’re seeking to get rid of clutter or making prioritizing important, simplification techniques can help you feel better, serve your clients better and reduce everyday stress levels.

Happy National Simplify Your Life Week