Ayurveda Digestion Tips

Top 10 Ayurvedic Digestion Tips                      

Katie White RMT, HTP, CYT

According to the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation, more than 20 million Canadians suffer from digestive disorders every year.  Millions of dollars are spent each year on laxatives, heart burn pills, antacids and probiotics.  We are bombarded with an overwhelming amount of dietary information and often misinformation through media, books and internet. 

It is difficult to navigate through the array of diet plans: vegetarian, vegan, raw food, Paleolithic diet, Mediterranean diet and many more.  There is no one eating plan that fits every single person as we are unique in our constitutions.   We spend so much time focusing on what we eat but not how we are eating it. 

This is where Ayurvedic principles can help each and every one of us.  Ayurvedic medicine -- also known as Ayurveda -- is one of the world's oldest holistic (whole-body) healing systems. It was developed thousands of years ago in India and is still practiced today.

It is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. The primary focus of Ayurvedic medicine is to promote and maintain good health.  This is done through diet, herbs, massage, exercise and relaxation techniques.

Ayurveda suggests for optimal digestion and assimilation of our food, we must become more mindful of how we are eating.  Changing the way we approach our food can really affect gas, bloating and indigestion.

Practice these mindful guidelines to strengthen your digestive fire: 

·         Eat three meals per day at the same time each day.  This will train the body to expect food at the same time each day and will be more prepared to digest it.  It is also advisable to eat enough food at each meal to discourage snacking between meals.

·         Eat without distractions! Turn off computers, televisions and avoid reading and driving.  When we focus on our food and experience it fully, we will eat less food and feel full longer.  By following this one guideline, it is possible to lose weight easily.

·         Chew eat mouthful thoroughly and eat at a moderate pace. This enables the digestive process by making the food particles smaller and allowing digestive enzymes to be released with salvia.

·         Sit down to eat in a clean and beautiful environment.  Be thankful for your food and experience a feeling of gratitude.

·         Only eat when hungry and never when upset or angry.

·         Avoid drinking cold beverages with meals as this dampens the digestive fire.

·         Stimulate digestion 15 minutes before meals by eating ginger slices with lemon squeezed on top. The salivary glands will begin producing enzymes before you begin your meal.

·         Make lunch your biggest meal between 12:00-2:00 pm. This is when the digestive fire is the strongest. 

·         Eat a light dinner, no later than 8:00 pm.  Our bodies are designed to detoxify while sleeping and undigested food will interfere with this process.  The results are inflammation, joint soreness and difficulty waking up in the morning.

·         * Reduce or eliminate processed foods.  Experiment with seasonal foods and include all six tastes with every meal.  This will ensure a variety of vitamins and minerals are included daily to optimize health.

·          

“Without proper diet, medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need"- ancient Ayurvedic proverb

Katie is the owner of Courtenay Massage Therapy and can be reached at (250) 897 0069. She is a Registered Massage Therapist, Healing Touch Practitioner, Chartered Herbalist, Soma Yoga Instructor and currently pursuing designation as an Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist. Katie has been practicing the healing arts for over 15 years, helping people reduce pain and stress. Using bodywork, movement therapy, energy medicine, aromatherapy and routines of daily living, she educates people on mind/body/spirit connection. www.courtenaymassagetherapy.com

Learn to Breathe

Helpful Technique to Combat Stress & Tension

You can use your breath to help you release tension. When under stress, your breathing typically becomes fast and shallow. You breathe from your chest instead of taking deep relaxed breaths from your abdomen. 

This heightens your stress and causes unwanted tension through your neck and shoulders. You can break this pattern by using deep breathing, or “diaphragmatic breathing” as it is sometimes called. 

As you do this diaphragmatic breathing you will feel the tension releasing from your back, neck, shoulders and chest. As your breathing becomes more relaxed your mind will relax and you’ll feel less stress and anxiety.

To learn how to do this, place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen and follow the instructions. You can do this either sitting or lying. Focus on the sensations you are feeling in your body as you breathe. 

Repeat this sequence six to eight times. If you start to feel light headed stop immediately. Practice this several times a day. 

If you do this exercise when you are relaxed, it will be much easier to perform when you are feeling stressed.

1. Start by exhaling to completely empty

the air from your lungs. Feel your chest

drop first and then your belly.

2. Now inhale slowly directing the air into

your abdomen. You should feel your

belly start to rise.

3. As you continue to breathe in your

chest will also rise. When your lungs

are full, hold your breath for several

seconds and then slowly exhale. 

Manage Tension to Improve Health

Manage Your Tension To Improve Health!

Muscle tension is like a car that's idling too fast. The car is revved up and working hard putting wear and tear on the motor.   With muscle tension your muscles are working hard, but are not doing anything that's useful. The tension doesn't help you move and it certainly doesn't make your muscles stronger.  It does, however, cause a lot of wear and tear on your body. It strains the tendons that hold your muscles to your bones. It pulls the joints tighter together which not only causes horrible grinding and crunching sounds, but also causes the cartilage in your joints to wear out.  The tension limits your movement, interferes with your co-ordination and may make you more accident-prone. The tense muscles burn up the fuel in your muscles, making you feel tired.  They also create the equivalent of car exhaust - toxic waste products (called metabolites) that fatigue your muscles and make them feel sore and achy.  It's important that you get your tension under control. Not only will you feel more comfortable, but you'll also prevent a lot of problems from occurring, from kinks in your neck to early arthritis.  To manage your tension, it helps to know what causes it. Stress is one of the major sources of muscle tension. When under stress, you become like a turtle trying to pull its head into its shell. Your shoulders round forward and lift up as your head pulls back.  If your stress level is high, you may actually notice your shoulders around your ears. More often than not, the stress isn't quite so significant and the shoulder muscles simply tighten up.  Just sitting or staying still for periods of time will also cause your muscles to tighten up. By remaining static, you are in a sense training your muscles to lock your back or neck in a certain posture.  When you begin to move, your muscles remain tense in an effort to maintain your position. It takes some time for the muscles to realize that they can let go and relax.  The longer you sit without moving, the more you train your muscles to lock into position and the longer it takes to release them.  In looking at the way that tension is created, you can see that the areas that are most vulnerable to tension are your neck, shoulders and back.  Ways to Manage Tension! Massage plays an important role in helping you deal with your tension. Your massage therapist, like a mechanic, can adjust how fast your "muscle motors" are idling. Massage has a twofold action. First, it helps induce a relaxation response in your body. This reduces the common defensive reactions in your body, including that turtle-in-the-shell action of your neck muscles.  Relaxation causes your brain and nervous system to slow down and this in turn lowers the tension level of all the muscles in your body.  Secondly, with massage your muscles are pulled and stretched. This physically releases the muscle.  In addition, the sensations that your muscles feel, both conscious and subconscious, give your brain information about the level of tension that exists in your muscles. This helps your nervous system to adjust your muscles to a normal level of tone.  The wonderful thing about massage is that its effect on tension is almost instantaneous. You feel the tension leaving your body immediately. You don't have to wait days or weeks to see results.  Soma Yoga is an effective form of mind-body training that involves movement and re-education. Somatics goes directly to the root cause of most chronic muscular pain: the brain and the way in which it senses and organizes the muscles and movement. By learning to regain awareness and motor control of muscles, the brain can remember how to relax and move the muscles properly. This process of sensory motor training creates more body awareness, increased flexibility and range of motion, and an overall sense of well being. Soma Yoga particularly helps relieve pain and disability associated with common health complaints such as: headaches, stiff or painful joints and muscles, fatigue, poor posture, breathing problems, impaired movement, accident trauma and whiplash effects, back pain, repetitive use/stress injuries. Learn More About Soma Yoga 20/20 Rule: For every twenty minutes that you are inactive, spend twenty seconds moving. This helps ensure that your muscles don't have the opportunity to lock into any particular position. Shoulder Rolls to release tension in your neck and shoulders. Lift your shoulders up toward your ears. Then slowly roll your shoulders in a big circle moving them back in large circles. Repeat several times in both directions. Neck Rolls:. Drop your head straight forward toward the floor and let it hang for a moment. Be sure to keep your back upright. You may feel a slight stretch in your neck or upper back. Then slowly roll your head to the right. Continue until you feel comfortable stretch on left neck. Let your head roll back down and continue the movement around to the left. Repeat several times in both directions.

Sitting on the Job

Sitting on the Job

Our bodies were not designed to sit for long periods of time. We were made to move. Almost everyone who sits for long periods of time will develop back pain. It’s not uncommon to develop other problems as well. Surveys of office workers indicate that about half of all employees have frequent pain or stiffness in their necks and shoulders.  Repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome are becoming more common and about 10% of keyboard users experience wrist pain or discomfort.  Your body needs movement to operate effectively. If you have a sedentary lifestyle or sit for most of the day, your body is going to start complaining.  When you sit for long periods of time certain postural muscles, like your shoulder muscles, become overworked. These will tend to become short and tight from overuse whereas other muscles like your gluteals, abdominal and mid-back muscles, will become weak and atrophy. Micro breaking to ease pain Lean back in your chair and stretch your arms up and your legs out. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Then do circles with your ankles and wrists. Close your eyes, smile, breathe in deeply and out slowly several times. Help for the desk bound If you are stuck behind a desk all day, there are a number of things you can do to keep your body healthy. Make sure you’re using the chair to support your body. Most people never use the backrest properly to support their low back. As they sit down they aim their bottom at the middle of the seat. Then to reach the backrest they slouch backwards. Are you guilty of this? If you are, start aiming your sitting bones toward the back edge of the chair as you sit down. It’s very important to take frequent breaks. Consider this study: Researchers had subjects sit in chairs as they measured tension in their back muscles. After about twenty minutes of sitting, their back muscles started spontaneously tensing up even though the chairs were adjusted to completely support their backs Taking breaks will keep your muscles from tightening up. Use the 20/20 rule: Take a twenty second break at least every twenty minutes. Use these “micro-breaks” to stand up, stretch out and take a couple of deep breaths. If possible vary the tasks you do throughout the day so that you don’t work at one single activity for too long. For example, if your job involves typing and filing, alternate the tasks every half-hour. Get a regular massage to help you get rid of accumulated tension, stretch out overworked and tight muscles to get your circulation going. Choose from two RMT's at Courtenay Massage Therapy to keep you healthy! Katie White and Sacha Moore look forward to seeing you and helping you with your health concerns. Lastly, be sure to exercise regularly. It is vitally important that you balance your inactivity with activity.  Soma Yoga is another excellent opportunity to combat the stress of sitting all day long. Soma Yoga can help combat pain, stress, tension headaches and postural imbalances.  Learn how to breathe correctly, improve posture and experience relaxation techniques. Learn More About Soma Yoga Neck checklist Do you get headaches, shoulder pain, or neck pain at work? If you do, here’s a short checklist that might help you uncover some of the causes. Have you had your eyes checked lately?If your eyesight is not 100% you may be straining not only your eyes, but your neck and shoulders. Problems are not always obvious, so make an appointment for a thorough eye examination. Do you slouch? When you slouch, your head tilts back to see your work properly. This shortens your neck muscles, wears down the joints in your neck and may even compress the nerves that go to your arms. Do you have adequate support for your arms and wrists? Armrests will take the stress off your shoulder muscles which normally carry the weight of your shoulder girdle and arms.  Do you hold the phone between your ear and shoulder?One client who spent a whole day on the phone developed a trigger point in his neck that sent pain into his chest. He thought he was having a heart attack! If you spend a lot of time on the telephone, invest in a headset. Is your work in front of you? If you spend most of your day looking at a computer screen, make sure it’s in front of you and not positioned to the side so that you have to turn your head to see it. Do you use a document holder? Document holders keep your papers next to your computer screen so that you don’t have to twist your neck around trying to look at printed material that’s lying flat on the desk. Do you take frequent breaks? Take frequent short breaks. It’s the best thing you can do to prevent your muscles from tightening up. Do you carry a heavy briefcase or purse? Change sides frequently. Better yet, center the weight over both shoulders by using a knapsack. Is it time for a stress check? If you feel stressed often, you may need to take a serious look at your lifestyle and explore ideas for reducing your stress level. Do you breathe?If you don’t breathe properly your shoulders and neck muscles will tense up. Make a point to take deep breaths at various times during your workday.

Are You Carrying the Weight of the World?

Healthy Shoulders are Important!

Stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Your shoulders are incredibly flexible joints that allow your arms to move through a large range of motion. They are used in almost every activity and they take a lot of punishment on a daily basis.  As a result, they are prone to a wide range of injuries. It's important to take good care of your shoulders because even small problems can quickly become debilitating if not taken care of immediately. shoulder problems  The shoulder is prone to a variety of problems that can give you pain and limit your range of motion. Many of these are simply caused by wear and tear.  For example, a common injury is tendinitis of one of the rotator cuff muscles called the supraspinatus. Through poor posture or overuse, the tendon becomes inflamed and painful.  When the bursa becomes inflamed you develop what is known as bursitis. This can be extremely painful.  Trigger points, small knots in the muscles, are very common around the shoulder and can refer pain and tenderness into the muscles or joints. The referred pain can mimic other shoulder problems like tendinitis and frozen shoulder.  Sprains and dislocations typically result from falls. It's natural to reach your arm out to catch yourself when falling, but the impact can strain or tear the shoulder ligaments. If the impact is severe enough, the humerus may be knocked right out of the socket and the shoulder becomes dislocated.  With a severe trauma, the bones may actually fracture or break. The collarbone is most likely to break although the humerus can sometimes break as well. When this happens the arm needs to be immobilized. Fractures can take up to three months to heal.  Whenever you have a shoulder problem, you tend to limit your movement to minimize the pain. This can lead to frozen shoulder. Your shoulder becomes stiff and you quickly lose mobility. It can soon become extremely painful to lift your arm.  If you develop a frozen shoulder, it will take a long time and lots of therapy to regain your normal movement. Sometimes the only option is surgery.  The best medicine in this case is prevention.  Join Katie White RMT, HTP, CYT for an informative and practical workshop "Reversing Shoulder Pain". In this 2 hour workshop you will learn: *What muscles are tight, causing pain and how to release them yourself * What is the Pain Causing Dynamic and how to reverse it & reduce inflammation * A Healthy Shoulder Protocol to reverse pain and maintain health This class can help you if you have pain in the front, side or back of your shoulder. If your shoulder is a chronic source of pain & worry or if your shoulder pain is new. If you can`t lift anything or move your arm around with out pain, this class is for you. Date: Sunday March 15, 2015 Time: 3-5:00 pm Cost: $60 per person Location: 536 5th St. Courtenay, BC Early Bird Pricing- $50 Must pre registar by March 5th Register for Reversing Shoulder Pain Workshop All you need to bring are your hands and a towel. You will receive class handouts with descriptions and illustrations of each technique for future reference. No special equipment or massage oil needed. Please wear a shirt that you can access your shoulder to massage it. Class size is limited. Register early, pre payment is required. Shoulder care checklist:  To prevent shoulder problems from occurring, always practice healthy shoulder habits.   * Maintain good posture   * Avoid excessive and repetitive use of your shoulders   * If you sit at work, take frequent breaks   * Don’t put undue stress on the shoulders with heavy knapsacks or bags   * Warm up your arms before exercising  * Consult your massage therapist or doctor if you injure or develop pain in your shoulder, even if it seems minor   * Do any maintenance exercises prescribed by your massage therapist Massage therapists can help when shoulder problems occur. More importantly, they can help prevent these kinds of problems from happening in the first place.  Massage therapists will evaluate your shoulder through range of motion tests and other assessment procedures. They can then give you recommendations on the best course of treatment.  Their first priority is to make you feel more comfortable by getting rid of your pain.  They can do this with specialized massage techniques. They may also use heat or hydrotherapy.  To help the process along and to help prevent further problems your massage therapist can also give you exercises to help strengthen your shoulder and help maintain your mobility.  Massage therapists are trained to treat trigger points. As mentioned previously, these knots mimic other common shoulder conditions and are often an overlooked source of pain. Did You Know... The shoulder is made up of three bones.  The humerus is the big bone in your upper arm.  The clavicle (collar bone) attaches to your rib cage at one end and helps keep your shoulder out to the side of your body.  The scapula (shoulder blade) is the third bone.  Part of the scapula, the acromion, juts out and forms a roof over the top of the joint.  Another part of the scapula forms a socket into which the round head of the humerus fits.

Find Your Bliss with Ayurveda

Katie White RMT is offering  Ayurvedic Bliss Therapy Treatments! 

Our natural state is a state of health. Ayruvedic therapies offered are designed to bring you back into this natural state of health. A variety of Ayurvedic treatments and massage therapies facilitate healing in the energy body, re-establishing health in the physical body and the mind.

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurvedic medicine -- also known as Ayurveda -- is one of the world's oldest holistic (whole-body) healing systems. It developed thousands of years ago in India.

It is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. The primary focus of Ayurvedic medicine is to promote good health, rather than fight disease.

What is Bliss Therapy?

Bliss Therapy begins with Abhyanga, a balancing warm oil massage with specialized strokes designed to move the oil deep into your tissues, loosening stored toxicity. Next Cristalmind Shirodhara is applied. During Shirodhara, a steady stream of warm rose water is poured over the forehead and scalp, calming the central nervous system. Bliss therapy is completed with a facial steam and herbal spritz. For those seeking the most healing, balancing, and transformative experience, this massage treatment is the ultimate in Self care.

Benefits of Abyhanga- full body warm oil massage

- Improvements to quality of sleep

- Balances the nervous system

- Eliminates toxins

- Increases energy

- Boosts the immune system

- Tones skin and lowers blood pressure

- Slows down the aging process by regenerating tissue  

- Reduces joint pain and increases flexibility

- Relaxes muscles

- Cleansing for the lymphatic system

- Reduces fatty tissues

- Enhances fertility

- Nourishes the mind

- Builds strength and promotes creativity

- Eases stress-related problems

- A wonderful way to heal after birth and helps to increase the mother’s milk supply

Contraindications to Abhyanga

Not recommend for: infected or broken skin, high toxicity, great physical discomfort, acute illness such as fever, chills or flu, acute indigestion, during the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy.

Benefits of Shirodhara- rose water flow to head

- Improves Sleep

- Improves Memory

- Calms the Nervous System                      

- Enhances blood circulation to the brain

- Nourishes hair and scalp

- Helps relieve fatigue, tension, anxiety, anger, chronic headaces, rheumatism, hypertention, asthma

- ADD/ADHD

- Activates the pituitary gland

- Regulates mood and depression disorders

- Increases intuition

- Improves concentration

Contraindications to Shirodhara Therapy

Not recommended for those who are; pregnant, have severe neck pain, very low blood pressure, epileptic, undergoing treatment for brain tumors, have a scalp rash, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.