What a time indeed

 The last several months have been incredibly stressful, a sadness and trauma that no-one can ever really prepare for.  India battled such unbelievably difficult conditions and situations during the second wave and as things begin to open, the trauma from the last few months really begins to come out.

Be gentle to yourself, don't be surprised if you experience a wide range of emotions or feel exhausted now that living on the stress hormone is reducing.  Make time to meditate, journal and sit with your thoughts, to chat with friends and to find a way of releasing some of the emotional stress from recent events.

You can find some wonderfully relaxing music online, or a small journal to write in.  It may not feel like it is necessary but when we take five minutes each day for ourselves it can help us start the day right and allow feelings to process.

Anterior pelvic tilt - remedial therapy jaipur

 As a deep tissue remedial massage therapist, many times i have clients coming in with an anterior pelvic tilt.

So what is an anterior pelvic tilt and how do i know i have this?

An anterior pelvic tilt is where the arch in your back is more pronounced, your hip flexors at the front are tight and tend to be shortened, causing the pelvis to tilt anteriorly/forward. 

You tend to be able to spot if you have an anterior pelvic tilt, as the curve in your back is more pronounced and your abdomen tends to bulge out, regardless of the level of body fat.  It's almost like your pelvis is pointing downwards and your bottom muscles sticking out.

Not everyone who has an anterior pelvic tilt has an issue.  Genetics can have created this or people can function normally with an anterior pelvic tilt and not experience any pains or problems with their body mechanics.....however when people are coming to see me and complaining of pain in their thighs and lower back and have this pelvic tilt, then it's a good tell tale sign that it's something for me to work on. 

What could have caused this?

As already mentioned, it can be simply genetics that you're having to work with but it can also be from

-lots of sitting, shortening the hip flexors, using the back muscles (erector spinae) for greater support rather than core muscles.

-Pregnancy where the hips are rotated forward to make space for baby and post birth with the lifting and holding.

Massage is especially helpful for loosening up the tight muscles and working on fatigued muscles that are having to overcompensate for the week muscles.  They can loosen up the tight fascia and remove restrictions so you can work on strengthening the area which is a big help for getting that pelvis back into neutral alignment.

There's many great YouTube videos out there and you can search for them and read up more on the subject on anterior pelvic tilt.  You can pop in for a treatment so we can assess and see what's going on and if it's likely to be an anterior pelvic tilt or something else such as S.I joint dysfunction, piriformis syndrome, or even posterior pelvic tilt.  But exercise and reconditioning your thought process are big steps in correcting this issue.  Here's some exercises to get you started.  In particular the pelvic tilt is very helpful in getting you to recognise what a neutral and posterior pelvic tilt feels like so you can work on shifting out of that anterior pelvic tilt.

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/anterior-pelvic-tilt-exercises#pelvic-tilt

Happy 2021 and changes at Jaipur Remedial Therapies

 Goodbye 2020 and hello to 2021😄.  It's been a strange year for us all and I'm glad we have all made it to the end, a little battle weary perhaps but we start a new year with the potential for new possibilities.

As we go into this New Year, I'd both like to inform people of some new changes and developments and also a reminder of the terms and agreements.

• A reminder that J.R.T is closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays. My hands need a little rest too and I also work on my other projects.

• A reminder that due to numerous last minute cancellations or no shows and the disruption they cause, there is a 12 hour cancellation policy otherwise a fee of 500Rs will be charged.

• Same day appointments need to be booked in by 1pm, after this time it will not be possible to schedule for the same day, as by then I am usually working on my other projects.  Please don't be offended if I'm unable to reply to your last minute request as i may be caught up with something.

Now we have the terms of service out the way, other updates for J.R.T is that I am currently training in scar tissue work and will be able to offer this in the future to clients within the session. I know some of you already have scars and we will be working together as part of my case studies.

Scar tissue work has seen many benefits, both on reducing the scar tissue, redness and inflammation around the area, bringing sensation back to numb scar tissue and easing muscular restrictions due to build up of collagen.

I have also been training in kinesio taping and once i have completed my case studies and increased my knowledge in this area, i will also be offering this in particular sessions as and when the need arises.  Kinesio taping is especially helpful for acute conditions and great to add at the end of the session to extend the benefit of the treatment and keep the area supported.

Let's see what else 2021 brings for all of us!

Some helpful exercises to benefit you best

 As i have discussed with many of you before, massage works best and sees longer standing results when teamed with exercise, as it's through strengthening muscles and being active that we see lasting results.  Massage works well in conjunction with exercise and can help to reduce the tightness and restrictions, allowing us to exercise better, get better stretches in and increase range of motion so we can work on strengthening.

One of the key areas that often needs loosening up is the piriformis muscle.  A tight piriformis along with other key muscles and weak muscles can be the source of lower back pain.  This video has some key common and useful piriformis exercises in that you can make a part of your regular exercise routine.

Another key area of tension and common issue and goes hand in hand with piriformis pain, is sacroiliac joint pain and this joint can be found at the base of the spine.  Again working on loosening this area up, both by performing the piriformis stretches above and these exercises to help strengthen the surrounding muscles around the SI joint, can be beneficial in reducing lower back pain.

This is another one of Michelle Kenway's videos, as she is very good at explaining how to do it correctly to get the maximum benefit.  This time a video on strengthening the core, as once again, it all goes hand in hand and is all connected.  By strengthening the core, it takes the pressure off the lower back that has had to compensate for weak core muscles and is likely to have in turn caused issues in the glutes, piriformis and SI joint.  Strengthening the core is very important to overall body health.

Hopefully these videos give you a good starting point and a reminder that you are an active participant in your own health and well-being.

Impacts of cold weather on the body

It's definitely starting to get a little cold out there and one of the first places we feel it is in our muscles and joints. In the cold weather our muscles and connective tissue (ligaments and tendons) are less supple and don't benefit from being warmed up from the heat. This can leave us feeling stiff and achy.

We can spend a lot of time hunched to try and stay warm which ends up holding muscles in a tight and tense position....adding further to the aches and pains you already have.

So what can we do to combat this....

• Keep warm! Layer up and make sure you have a good base layer so you don't feel the need to hunch.

• You can use things like electric blankets, especially helpful if you use this on a morning five minutes before getting up as it will warm up those back muscles so you don't feel so stiff and achy.

• You can also apply heat in different forms such as a hot water bottle, a warm towel, anything that gets heat to those areas that are particularly tight or painful. Heat is wonderful at warming and loosening things up.

• You can also apply things like the natural pain balm we have for sale here at the studio as it helps to warm up the muscles. Or purchase wheat bags and heat packs from the pharmacy and apply to the area.

• When getting up on a morning, try to start with a five minute stretching programme, simply to waken up the body and warm up the muscles ready for what you require of them throughout the day. People are a lot like a car, we don't expect that to start too well on a cold day and nor should we expect ourselves!

• There's many simple stretching programmes you can start with to waken you up on the morning. I'm attaching a nice basic one here to get you started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4waoBbIZA

• However stretching is not enough and during these cold periods, once our muscles are feeling warm, another good way to get the body going and keep that tension at bay is to do some movement. Something cardio based that gets us all warmed up and the whole system going. You can think skipping, running on the spot, doing big arm circles, dancing. Anything with lots of movement! I actually enjoy hula hooping and have found it so beneficial for my back.

So hopefully some good pointers to keep you going through these winter months! As many of you know, I am not good with the cold and in seasons like this I wonder if the sunshine will ever return....but before we know it summer will be here.😁

P,s. Not forgetting we have hot stone massage available at the studio, another option for a wonderful warming blast of heat.

We made it! The year that challenged us all!

 It's been an incredibly challenging year and as this year draws to a close, it's a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon what we have learnt, what we can take away from this situation, where we need further growth and development, what challenged us, what broke up, what gave us strength, what made us smile and what made us realise we are stronger than we think!

I don't think many people will be sad to see the back of 2020, it was certainly a strange year!

A reminder of our Indi-ssentials product range

 Just a little reminder to you all that we have our Indi-ssentials aromatherapeutic product range available.  

Ranging from our skin softening and nourishing body oils great for this dry weather, to our hair oils and mask designed at providing your hair with what it needs.  

We even have beard oils for the men.

  

If you're not wanting anything for the skin, we have our ever popular candle range, which sold out whilst i was in the UK and our fragrance burner oils.  

We have a new face oil available, designed for mature skin and we have our firm favourites such as the pain balm or body scrubs.  Lots to enjoy and great as a gift for a loved one😊