Your own business is all about what you want. There are no boundaries. So why don’t you imagine your ideal business? Dreaming is a time well spent. Many studies have suggested that daydreaming puts you in a state where you can relax and rejuvenate. Besides, this will help you to create new ideas for your business and come up with solutions on how to overcome current obstacles.

The idea of having your own business is to have the freedom to do what you like, enjoy life and prosper.
Many clients that come to my Toronto office for massage therapy complain of stress in their lives. They say that it increases their anxiety and affects their health. Indeed, stress is considered to be one of the causes in such conditions as depression, heart diseases, ulcers, and possibly even cancer.
To some, stress is a vicious cycle. I often hear: “Running my own business is so stressful. It drains me. I can’t concentrate on my immediate work tasks. I try harder, but then it causes even more anxiety. I stop only when some sickness like the flu puts me to bed for a few days. Only then I allow myself to relax.”
This doesn’t sound like fun, prosperous or free life at all. Following will be a series of posts describing simple steps you can take to avoid this possible high stress nightmare.

Last week a client came to me saying that their doctor has diagnosed them with a stomach flu.

There was not much that could be done, so the M.D. suggested just ride out the symptoms of constant pain in the lower abdomen, gurgling of the stomach and bloating.

Simple assessment showed very sluggish motility of the bowel with very restricted connections between  esophagus, stomach, large and small intestine. These are very common reactions of the tissues to a flu, and can be very easily treated by a massage therapist who is trained in visceral manipulation.

Little did I know about how effective this approach is.
I was amazed to hear from this client that the symptoms have disappeared within 2 days and digestion went back to normal. So now the client can enjoy tasty food and not just subside on a blend diet.

So next time you come down with indigestion, a massage therapist trained in visceral manipulation can be your treatment of choice.

Many of my patients say: “Oh, my posture is awful”. “If only I could keep myself properly positioned at the desk, my neck would feel so much better”.

So why it is so difficult to keep our bodies perfectly aligned even though we know how our bodies should look like?

Throughout my practice as massage therapist and working with my own body I came to realize that instead of pushing against myself, it is much easier to add something new, and the old inefficient patterns will fall out effortlessly.

The first step to any change is awareness.
Breathing is the primal rhythm of our bodies. Paying attention to it is the key. It will tell you a lot about yourself. Feel the wave raising from your stomach and moving up to the chest as you inhale. Observe the abdomen passively falling and then the chest gently collapsing as the air effortlessly leaves your lungs on exhalation. Did you notice any tensions hindering that smooth flow of air? Try to let go of these tensions. How does it affect your breathing? Do you feel any difference in the tension at your back, neck and shoulders?

Start by adding small breaks to your daily routine to listen to what your body has to tell you. Take a short walk. Add to your life. Let someone with expertise give you a different perspective and help you. Sometimes all that is needed is a little push in the right direction. See your massage therapist to release those tensions, take a yoga class or Tai-Chi.

Keep a positive outlook. Pain should not be your sole focus. But don’t ignore it either by keeping yourself busy or taking pain killers.

Body tissues have memory of their own, and all traumas that you experience tend to accumulate and cause problems. Disappearance of pain and discomfort will follow in due time as your body regains its innate balance.

Many patients tell me stories that start like: “I think I hurt my wrist because I use my mouse too much, do you think I have carpal tunnel?”

What I observed in my practice, is that people tend to hurt themselves not because they moved that body part too much, but because they don’t engage the rest of their whole body enough.

Take that carpal tunnel for example. The wrist is really an extension of the arm which in turn is connected to the ribcage. If you sit at your desk all day without moving and stretching, the ribs become rigid, the breathing laboured and the neck muscles strained.

This will decrease circulation and drainage to the arm and the wrist. Add to that a million mouse clicks you do during the day that inflame your wrist and you have yourself a carpal tunnel problem.

If you are active and exercise every day, you body will take care of that inflammation and clear it up when you sleep during the night. But if your circulation is sluggish, the body needs more time. So it doesn’t recuperate and at the end of the week you can’t even hold a coffee mug. Sounds familiar?

A simple daily exercise routine is an easy solution. It will energize you, improve your mood and help to prevent these nagging problems.

Many people are now suffering from TMJ dysfunction and are seeking massage therapy that offers hands on, drug-free approach of releasing muscle tension to eliminate the pain and improve the quality of life.

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is a broad term referring to problems with the jaws and their functioning. It is commonly referred to as “TMJ”. This system is very complex and problems are caused by a variety of factors. However while many of my patients have suffered from a variety of symptoms, that can easily be related to the imbalances of the muscles, connective tissues and bones forming the jaw.

The temporomandibular system consists of two major components: the temporomandibular joint or TMJ, and the neuromuscular system.

TMJ – This is the term that specifically refers to the joints that connect your lower jaw, or mandible to the temporal bone of your skull.  The temporal bone also houses the ear and many other important structures responsible for the sense of balance. These two joints are found just in front of the ears. Their close proximity to the ear is why some patients experience ear symptoms and can often hear the joints pop or crack.

Neuromuscular – This system is the nerves and muscles which work the temporomandibular system. The muscles that directly move the jaw are spanning from the top of your head to the middle of your neck, but it is important to realize that the muscles that move your jaws are interconnected with structures that are inside your skull, neck, shoulders and the back. That is why TMJ problems are often related to poor postural habits such as slouching at the desk or propping your head on one side with your hand while reading a book.

Temporomandibular disorders rarely have a single cause. Everybody presents with an individual combination of factors that are determined during history taking and clinical exam.

Acute trauma to the jaws such as a car accident, a fall, a punch, etc. can cause damage to the muscles or joint. Sometimes trauma to the joint can cause chronic damage which may eventually contribute to a TMJ problem at a later time.

Bruxism refers to grinding and clenching of the teeth. Some do this while awake but more often it is done while sleeping. This bruxing is done by the jaw muscles and by the morning they can be painful due to fatigue. This constant pressure also can damage the TMJs over time.

Emotional stress often plays an integral role in the development of TMJ. Stress increases both the severity and duration of bruxism while asleep. Also, many will subconsciously clench or grind their teeth more while awake during times of stress. The other way stress contributes to TMJ is that during times of stress your pain sensitivity and susceptibility to inflammation will increase. As a result you are more likely to experience symptoms of TMJ or other pains that already exist. That is why the relaxation and stress management is a major component in the treatment of TMJ.
Read this article for in depth analysis of how emotional stress can cause TMJ dysfunction.

Ergonomic – Your job and how you do it can contribute to TMJ and related problems. If you work at a computer all day, for example, you may be holding your head in such a way that places strain on your jaw. TMJ is the highest joint in the chain that starts at your feet and goes on through the hips, pelvis and up the spine. Any imbalances accumulated along the way may manifest themselves as the TMJ dysfunction. Hence any treatment of TMJ has to include postural check and correction of muscular or connective tissue tensions anywhere in the body.

I offer great massage treatments for TMJ dysfunction. Because of the factors mentioned above we will start with full postural check up and thorough health history taking. All imbalances at the feet, hips, back, neck and shoulders are addressed during the treatments. I use a variety of subtle, non invasive and yet effective techniques so we keep the focus on relaxation. The treatment will include 4 to 6 one hour sessions, however most patients experience significant relief after the first massage.

Click here to read this article

Many of my patients ask me what they should do. Vaccinate or not vaccinate?

While it is not my scope of practise to advise on vaccinations, I do believe that providing information and an opportunity to make informed choices is my direct responsibility.

Unfortunately most of the people I spoke to make their choices based on the overhyped media attention. What I always suggest is to go to the source.

My best source of information regarding swine flu is World Health Organisation.

Their website http://www.who.int/en/ has a variety of proven statistics about any disease, including the H1N1.

Please take a few minutes and browse these stats. This will allow you to have a very clear picture about the spread of the swine flue, and also about chances of dying from complications of this virus.

You can also take a look at the stats for other diseases such as regular flu, tuberculosis or hepatitis.

Any vaccination can potentially have complications. For example the Guillain-Barré syndrome that developed in some people after 1976 swine flu vaccination campaign led to the withdrawal of the vaccine at that time.

http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/H1N1_vac_q_a_16709.pdf

So please take your time and look up all the information you can before you make a decision about your strategy to prevent infection with H1N1.

After all, you are making very important decision about your health.

This dysfunction involves the muscles located on the outer site of the forearm. These are collectively called wrist extensors and their function is to cock the wrist back. Another important role of this muscle group is to counterbalance the muscles that clench the fist and flex the forearm thus making these movements smooth and well coordinated.

There are numbers of reasons for the tennis elbow. It can be inflammation of the wrist extensors tendons around the elbow, or trigger points in the muscle.
My experience treating patients shows that the best way to treat this dysfunction and to prevent it from reoccurring is to gently stretch the involved muscles few times a day for at least a minute at a time, and to ice the outside of the elbow.

So here’s the stretch:

Wrist extensors Stretch

Extend your arm with the palm facing downward and gently pull your wrist down till you feel a nice comfortable tension along the outer side of your forearm. You can fine tune the stretch by slightly rotating your forearm.
Use very gentle force. If it hurts, you are pulling too hard, back off a bit. Breath and feel muscles relax as you exhale. Hold the stretch for at least a minute.
At the end of the stretch put ice pack over the outside of the elbow and keep it there for about 10 minutes.
Here is a good article on tennis elbow that also has a number of strengthening exercises for the involved muscles.