Massage and Pregnancy: Benefits of prenatal massage

Hormone regulation

Reduction of swelling

Improvement of nerve pain

• Reduced back pain
• Reduced joint pain
• Improved circulation
• Reduced edema
• Reduced muscle tension and headaches
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved oxygenation of soft tissues and muscles
• Better sleep

Massage and Pregnancy: Precautions for prenatal massage?

Body position during prenatal massage

Seek an appropriate massage therapist

Be aware of sensitive pressure points

• High risk pregnancy
• Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH)
• Preeclampsia
• Previous pre-term labor
• Experiencing severe swelling, high blood pressure, or sudden, severe headaches
• Recently gave birth

Pregnancy and Massage: Is prenatal massage safe throughout the entire pregnancy?

Pregnancy and Massage: Prenatal Massage as part of Prenatal Care

The post Prenatal Massage – How It Helps appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

We are proud to announce that we are now offering a fantastic new service, Thai Yoga Massage Therapy! TAB Massage and Fitness is one of very few providers of this great modality in the Southeast Michigan. Maria Reisner is our certified therapist that will be performing the Thai Yoga Massage Therapy service. Thai Yoga Massage Therapy is a series of gentle rocking poses, deep stretches and light compressions performed on the floor with a yoga mat. This untraditional hybrid modality creates an invigorating yet relaxing experience aimed at individuals looking to gain similar benefits as yoga would deliver.

Clients embarking on this new experience will improve flexibility and core stability. All participants should wear comfortable clothing, similar to what one would wear during a traditional yoga class. With our effort to provide industry leading services, we must also provide some words of caution for individuals currently experiencing the conditions listed below. We advise clients that experience the conditions listed below should refrain from receiving Thai Yoga Massage Therapy as this type of service can further complicate your condition or potentially jeopardize your well being.

• Pregnancy
• Cancer
• Osteoporosis
• Circulatory Complications
• Advanced Varicose Veins
• Advanced Heart Conditions
• Joint Replacements
• Advance High Blood Pressure

Call (810) 844-1283 or email info@tabmassage.com today to learn more about how Thai Yoga Massage Therapy can benefit you!

The post Thai Yoga Massage Therapy – Available Now!!! appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

Countdown to Sweetest Day - T-minus 20 days

• Signature package: 30 min massage and a dozen long stem roses $99
• Enhanced package: 60 min massage and a dozen long stem roses $127
• Deluxe package: 90 min massage and a dozen long stem roses $157

Introducing Ladies Night Out - No Boys Allowed

• $10 Manicures
• $1/min Head, Neck and Shoulder Massages
• Half Price ‘It Works’ Body Wraps

• 6:30 pm: Check in receive information on services and flow of the evening, Hors d'oeuvres and wine served.
• 7:00 pm: Sign Up for your Services: Massage, Manicures or ‘It Works’ Wrap
• 8:00 pm: Prizes & Raffles: 50/50 Raffle $1.00 for one ticket or $5.00 seven tickets (local charity of choice) Certificate to an upcoming Ladies Night Other Prizes that are donated monthly

The post Countdown To Sweetest Day appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

Our mornings tend to set the tone for the rest of the day. If we’re frazzled and running behind, that can start a domino effect that continues to throw us off until we hit the pillow at night. On the other hand, starting off with an intention and a plan can lead to smooth sailing and an improved mood the rest of the day.

Here are a few ways you can start your workday on the right foot.

Wake up earlier.

When you leave just enough time to squeeze in a quick shower before you have to rush out the door, the chances of you being late or forgetting something important are pretty high.

Instead, try waking up so you have more than enough time to get ready, eat breakfast and mentally prepare yourself for the day. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, try switching an afternoon workout for an early morning workout.

Studies show that those who exercise before breakfast tend have more energy, eat better, and have a better mood throughout the day.

If exercise isn’t your thing, try devoting at least 15 minutes in the morning to a meditation practice. Most people find that their mind is most quiet at this time and the simple act of sitting in stillness can activate a meditative mindset for the rest of the day.

Use your commute effectively.

Sitting in traffic can be seen one of two ways — as an annoyance that only ups the frustration factor in your day or as a gift of rest and relaxation before tackling your tasks for the day. I’d go with number two.

I’m not huge on listening to the radio, but when it comes to my morning commute, I choose the radio show that will get me laughing all the way to work. It’s amazing how that can jump start my day.

If that’s not your thing, try a book on tape. Or, if you’re really starved for silence, just take the time to reconnect to your breathing and set your intention for the day.

Intentions can be simple: “I intend on having a productive day that flows easily from one task to the next.”

It’s about getting clear on what you want, and setting the stage for that to happen.

Have a plan of attack.

Productivity is often preceded by a plan. It doesn’t have to include every last detail of your day, but outlining what you need to do and the best order for it to be done in can be extremely helpful.

Start with your most important (or most-dreaded) task first. That way, if you were to get absolutely nothing else done in the day, you know that the most important task has already been completed.

Give yourself an allotted amount of time for work and for breaks.

FYI: Studies show that the less time you give yourself to complete a task, the more effective you are at getting it done — it takes less time and your work tends to actually be of a higher quality. Strange, right?

Eat well.

Being productive and staying on task for a full workday takes energy and energy is fueled by food — thus, being mindful of what you eat is essential if you want to make it to 5 o’clock.

So what does this entail? A breakfast that will keep you satisfied and full while offering the much needed morning energy boost.

Include whole grains, protein, dairy, and fruits and veggies if possible and avoid artificial sugars that will cause your energy to plummet before lunchtime.

Still not convinced you’ll have enough time to eat breakfast before bolting out the door? Then find alternatives that you can carry with you — make a smoothie the night before, or bake breakfast bars on the weekend that you can bring with you throughout the week.

Fake it until you make it.

If, despite your best intentions, your workday starts off in the dumps, fake it until you make it.

Give yourself five minutes to create a gratitude list. Smile at yourself in the mirror for a solid minute. Allow yourself two minutes to gripe to a friend.

Then, clear the slate and start fresh. Don’t continue to rehash the events of the day to anyone that will listen — that will only keep you stuck in a place of frustration and upset.

What do you to start your day off on the right foot?

The post How to Start Your Workday On the Right Foot appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

From late spring to early autumn, hot weather is the norm across many parts of the U.S. This is also the competition period for many endurance athletes, and the combination of heat and greater training and racing intensities requires special strategies to combat dehydration and overheating.

During exercise in a hot environment, evaporation of sweat is the primary means the body uses to cool itself. The body also increases blood flow to the skin for greater heat loss, although this diminishes the blood supply that provides oxygen to working muscles. Consequently, record-breaking endurance performances are usually set in cooler conditions.

During intense exercise in very hot and humid conditions, evaporative cooling through sweating may become insufficient, particularly in longer events or if hydration is inadequate. This scenario can lead to a number of problems due to dehydration, hyperthermia, or the combined effects of the two. Strategies for dealing with the heat become more than just a performance issue under these conditions - they become a health issue.

Acclimatization

Acclimatization is the physiologic and psychological adjustment to a new environment. In terms of heat acclimatization, this can be something as dramatic as moving from a cool, dry climate to a hot, humid one, or simply adjusting from spring to summer.

Some of the physiologic adaptations during heat acclimatization include: reduced heart rate, core temperature, and utilization of muscle glycogen, as well as increased blood flow to the skin, plasma volume, and work time until exhaustion. Well-conditioned athletes have a higher heat tolerance than sedentary people, as regular exercise creates "internal heat stress" and thus pre-acclimatizes athletes to some degree.

Heat acclimatization usually takes 10 to 14 days, although 75% of the adaptations are believed to occur within the first five days. Exercise sessions during the acclimatization process should be shorter and less intense, gradually building up to normal by the end of the two week period.

Maintaining Hydration

Dehydration is an ever present threat in hot environments. Maintaining hydration levels during exercise in the heat reduces dehydration, core temperature, and cardiovascular strain and increases exercise performance. Unfortunately, science cannot provide a hard and fast rule for optimal fluid intake in hot weather, due to individual differences in sweat rates. What is known is that 0.8 to 1.0 liters per hour seems to be the upper limit for fluid absorption, while sweat loss of greater than 3 liters per hour has been observed in the laboratory. Thus there may be times when some degree of dehydration is unavoidable.

It is also known that carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drinks are well tolerated during exercise in the heat and improve endurance. One recent study found that high water intake during one hour cycling in the heat improved performance by 6.5% compared with lower intake. Adding 79 g of carbohydrate to the high-volume regimen improved performance another 6.3%. However, hypertonic solutions (greater than 12% carbohydrate) such as fruit juices and soft drinks may cause gastrointestinal distress and impair exercise performance in the heat.

Hyperhydration Before Exercise

Drinking excess water or preferably a fluid replacement drink containing electrolytes, before hot-weather exercise is another recommended strategy. Current guidelines indicate you should drink 500 ml (17 oz.) of fluid 2 hours before competition, the rationale being that gastric emptying is enhanced when the stomach is relatively full. As chronic mild dehydration is not uncommon in some athletes, hyperdration ensures you don't begin a competition already dehydrated.

Postexercise Rehydration

Several studies have shown that sodium replacement maximizes rehydration. In fact, sodium is more important for fluid restoration after exercise than during exercise. In a recent study, subjects achieved greater postexercise fluid retention with a high electrolyte fluid replacement drink than with water or a more dilute sports drink. Optimal postexercise rehydration requires high fluid volume replacement (more than 150% of water weight lost) and high fluid sodium content. Plain water is a poor choice for postexercise fluid replacement as it reduces thirst drive and has little or no sodium.

Summary of Hot Weather Training and Racing Strategies:

1. Acclimatize to the heat.
2. Maintain proper hydration during training and racing with a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink.
3. Hyperhydrate before exercise.
4. Drink a postexercise recovery drink that contains more sodium than your "during" energy drink.

The post Hydration for Endurance Athletes During Hot Weather appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

According to musculoskeletal pain specialists, tension headaches are usually due to small areas of hyperirritability that develop in the muscles, referred to as trigger points. Trigger points refer pain; that is, they can cause pain to travel to various areas of the body. Trigger points in the shoulder can send pain down your arm while trigger points at the top of your neck can send pain into an eye.

The reason they are called trigger points lies in the fact that they can remain dormant in your muscles for a long time without causing pain until fatigue, stress, poor posture, repetitive movements or other conditions ‘trigger’ them to become active.

Massage therapy has proven to be an effective way of treating trigger points for long-term headache relief. In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health researchers Christopher Quinn, DC, Clint Chandler, BS, and Albert Moraska, PhD found that chronic headache sufferers had dramatic relief after ten massages that specifically focused only on treatment of trigger points. Patients who were experiencing headaches 5-7 times a week began to see the frequency of their headaches decrease to 2- 3 times a week. The duration of the patients' headaches, which had averaged 8 hours before massages were administered, fell to 4 hours. And while one patient experienced an increase in headache intensity in the period after massages were given, the other participants in the study saw the intensity of their headaches decrease, some nearly 50 percent. Please note that headaches can sometimes be symptomatic of a more serious condition. Those over the age of 35 who experience severe headaches for the first time should consult with their doctors.

The post Trigger Points and Headaches appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

Chronic stress can cause or contribute to many ailments, including stomach problems, constipation, diarrhea, increased occurrence of colds and respiratory infections, just to name a few. High levels of cortisol can worsen inflammatory conditions such as colitis, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis, plus many other conditions. Almost everyone experiences some anxiety. Stress is a normal part of the life process.

Maintaining energy is the key. The body relies upon energy in order to heal, and when energy is diverted to cope with anxiety, illness fills the void. Massage therapy helps relieve stress and thus frees up energy that the body needs to stay healthy or heal itself. The best stress-relievers are eating a proper diet, getting plenty of rest, and participating in regular exercise. Take time out for the things you enjoy, and follow this simple rule: if it isn’t going to matter a month from now, don't stress over it!

Tackling stress

If you feel that you are suffering from stress, try to identify the aspects of your life that are causing it. Sometimes you may not be able to change or avoid them, but at other times simple lifestyle changes can make all the difference.

There are several strategies that can help you deal with stress:

1. delegating or sharing your responsibilities at work
2. avoiding confrontation with difficult colleagues
3. learning to be more assertive
4. taking regular exercise
5. not using drink or drugs to cope
6. eating a healthy, balanced diet, rich in fruit and vegetables
7. finding humour or absurdity in stressful situations
8. never taking on more than you know you can cope with
9. organising your time better to get as much done as possible
10. talking to friends or family, and sharing your thoughts and fears
11. talking up an interesting hobby
12. listening to music or relaxation tapes
13. having pets
14. Tensing and then relaxing your muscles, starting at the toes and working up to the head and neck.

If you think that you would benefit from help, either in identifying the things that are causing your stress, or in learning techniques to help you relax, talk to your doctor about this. They can give you professional help in these areas.

The post Stress & Illness Partners In Crime appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

Do antioxidants play an important role in overall health? Antioxidants are natural compounds found in some foods that help neutralize the free radicals that occur naturally in our bodies. Free radicals attack the fats, protein and our DNA, to cause different types of diseases. They also accelerate the aging process. Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources for antioxidants.

You can put blueberries, raspberries, apples, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, eggplant, and legumes like red kidney beans or black beans on the list, as well as green tea, black tea, red wine and dark chocolate. Usually, the presence of color indicates there is a specific antioxidant in that food. The keyword here is variety. Try to include as many colorful fruits and vegetables as you can when you plan your meals. An array of color in your diet will give you the widest range of beneficial antioxidants. There are no hard and fast rules regarding a set recommended daily allowance (RDA) for antioxidants, but the new 'MyPlate' tool based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that you make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

The post Antioxidants and Your Health appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

Hypermobility my pose long term health risks

If a client is hypermobile, it means he or she has a greater-than-normal range of joint movement, thought to be due to lax connective tissue. While flexibility is usually deemed a positive physical attribute enjoyed by a lucky few, many Pilates instructors don’t realize that hypermobility is more common than one might think and can be a root cause of chronic pain and postural issues. In fact, hypermobility can actually create symptoms of stiffness and tension and make sufferers vulnerable to a wide variety of physical issues and injuries, from tendonitis to damaged ligaments, pelvic floor problems and sacroiliac joint instability (particularly during pregnancy).

Being hypermobile—in one or more joints—does not necessarily lead to negative symptoms. When it does cause physical problems, however, it may be diagnosed as joint hypermobility syndrome (or, in extreme cases, identified as a rare, genetic connective-tissue disorder such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome).

While formal data is lacking, experts believe hypermobility is far more prevalent in the general population than people realize and is under-recognized and misdiagnosed. The condition occurs in females much more often than males and tends to diminish with age. Signs to look for include hyperextended knees and/or elbows, extreme hip rotation, extreme plantar flexion of the feet, winged shoulder blades, supinated or pronated feet and a hyperflexible lumbar spine.

Ironically, some hypermobile clients may not present as particularly flexible and may complain of stiffness and tightness, says Rebekah Rotstein, a New York City–based Pilates instructor who has struggled with her own hypermobility issues. That's because their muscles have to work overtime to stabilize and support the joints, and not in an efficient way, so they may go into a hypertonic state. “The key is to release the muscles that are gripping, while training others to kick in for support,” Rotstein explains.

Here are some tips on training the hypermobile client:

• Lay off the stretching. A hypermobile student may constantly feel the need to stretch, but years of overstretching already-lax ligaments may mean muscles are actually lengthened to the max, like a stretched rubber band, says Marcy Schafler of Mind Over Movement, a Madison, New Jersey–based Pilates studio and teacher-training facility.
• Do an initial assessment. Assessing a client's posture and movement can offer telltale signs of hypermobility, says Lesley Powell, owner of Movements Afoot, a New York City-based Pilates and wellness studio. “Standing on one leg highlights compensations,” she explains. “[Hypermobile clients] may have trouble balancing, or their hips will move, or they'll tuck.” Other signs of hypermobility include difficulty holding neutral pelvis and lack of pelvic-floor control, according to Schafler. “You'll see a lot of bearing down with no oppositional force of the abdominals.”
• Stick with closed-chain exercises. Foundational work on the Pilates cadillac and reformer gives “tremendous feedback” thanks to the closed-chain elements involved, says Powell. This is important for hypermobile clients, who typically lack good proprioception. Quadruped exercises are similarly beneficial, adds Rotstein. “These get the transverse abdominals to work against gravity and the shoulder to work synergistically with the core, so hypermobile clients feel the connection,” she says.
• Encourage breathing work. Hypermobile clients may generally have challenges with pelvic stabilization and deep core support. Both issues are greatly assisted by better breathing, says Schafler. “A proper diaphragmatic breath [keeps these clients] from bearing down and helps the diaphragm, abdominals and pelvic floor begin to work together.”
• Help clients stay positive. Emotional frustration is common with hypermobile clients, who may have a hard time staying stable or even feeling that muscle work is happening, says Rotstein. “It's important to help hypermobile clients have a positive movement experience, so they don't leave feeling like they can't do anything right,” she explains.

The post Are You Hypermobile? You May Be At Risk appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.

Need to let your hair down or a night? Looking to get out and enjoy little pampering and gossip? Your're in luck, TAB Massage and Fitness is holding their first ever Massage, Manicures and Martinis event where women can let loose for a night of relxation and fun! Indulge yourself in the luxuries of a massage, facials and manicures to kick your Mothers Day weekend off right! So, we are cordially inviting you to reserve your spot at the first ever Massage, Manicures and Martinis event. For only $40, your reservation provides 2 martini vouchers and 4 service vouchers to be used on:

• 2 Delicious Martinis
• 20 Minute Relaxing Massage
• Gorgeous Manicure
• Spectacular Anti-aging mini Facial
• Rejuvinating ItWorks Bodywrap
• Scrumptious catering provided by Paisano's Pizzaria

Details:

• Who: Calling all moms!
• When: Friday, May 11th, 2012 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
• Where: TAB Massage and Fitness - 4336 E. Grand River, Howell, MI
• Why: We figured moms deserved a night of relxation

Don't miss your chance to be part of something special. Space is limited and reservations are filling up fast! Please submit your RSVP to reserve your spot today or call us at (810) 844-1283. Space is limited to 20 attendees in order to ensure exceptional client experiences.

The post Massage, Manicures and Martinis for Moms appeared first on TAB Massage and Fitness.