18 inch foam roller

Ever experience sore and tight muscles? If so, you should consider purchasing a foam roller. A foam roller is simply a cylindrical piece of hard-celled foam that can be used for self-massage (myofascial release). They come in different lengths and diameters. It’s best to start out using a softer foam roller. Over time you can progress to using a stiffer roller with will work deeper into the muscle tissue.

How it works? By using your own bodyweight you can apply pressure to sore spots along different muscle groups. When you find a tender area or a knot in the muscle, just stop and hold the pressure for 20 to 30 seconds and then move to a different area.

You can purchase them at a variety of retail stores. We purchased ours at Target for around $20. Some foam rollers even include an instructional DVD to show you how to effectively work on different muscle groups of the body.

To your health! Happy Rolling :)

ACUPUNCTURE HAPPY HOUR!

Restore, relax, and de-stress at our Acupuncture Happy Hour group session and experience acupuncture in the serene environment of YogaFresh’s beautiful studio. Each Acupuncture Happy Hour treatment will offer an opportunity to experience the relaxing and rejuvenating benefits of acupuncture that may include: more peaceful sleep, greater mental clarity, reduced anxiety, lower stress responses, and overall greater well-being.

Calming points on the ears and body will be selected to smooth energy flow, calm the nervous system and enhance general well-being in the inviting atmosphere of YogaFresh with their comfortable blankets, bolsters and music to complement the energetic effects of the acupuncture points and to synchronize with the season.

**The event will take place at: YogaFresh 1125 Woodbury Drive Woodbury, MN 55125

Register soon as space is limited for maximum individual attention. Cost: $20.

REGISTER ONLINE at www.yoga-fresh.com You will find the Acupuncture Happy Hour listed among the Yoga Events & Workshops. Scroll down and click on the appropriate date and time of the event.

Please arrive 10 minutes early on the day of the event to fill out the appropriate paperwork. Dress comfortably and bring your mat if you have one. Eating lightly before the session is recommended. No prior experience with Acupuncture is necessary.

Later that night you walk into a movie theater and are met by the overwhelming smell of fresh popped corn.  After some time in the theater, the smell of the corn becomes virtually unnoticeable.

So what changed in the examples above?  Did the light stop buzzing?  Did the aroma coming from the popcorn machine diminish?  Or did your body simply adapt to the situation?

The answer, of course, is that you adapted to the external stimuli.  The body is designed to do so in order to avoid sensory overload.

Adaptation is a good thing when you are dealing with a trivial nuisance that should not garner an inordinate amount of your focus, but what about when you are dealing with more important stimuli pertaining to your health?  More specifically, is it a good thing or a bad thing when you adapt to a stimulus if that trigger happens to be a bodily symptom?

That depends in part on the nature of the symptom, but in general it is not a good thing to simply ignore your body’s signals until they eventually fade into the background.

Headaches that are initially unbearable, or at least a persistent annoyance, can eventually go virtually unnoticed as you learn to adapt to the pain. It is not uncommon to hear people say that daily headaches are just a part of life.  You can see that the line between adapting to the headache and adapting to a horrible quality of life quickly begins to blur.

Understand that when you are simply addressing a symptom, whether through your own ability to adapt, or by masking the pain with a medication, you are doing nothing to improve your situation.

Symptoms are your body’s warning system and are there to alert you to an underlying problem.  Trying to adapt to (ignore) a continuous symptom is like mentally blocking out the fire alarm while your house burns down around you.

Remember that the symptom is not the problem, but a result of the problem.  The only effective way to bolster your health and your quality of life is to correct the underlying cause.  Getting regular acupuncture treatments can help you achieve the quality of life you want!

Carotenoids – A family of plant pigments that include beta-carotene. A lack of carotenoids in the diet is thought to promote inflammation. Good sources of carotenoids include apricots, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, spinach, kale, butternut squash, and collard greens.

Fiber – A healthy and active colon can decrease food sensitivity, which, in turn, can lighten the burden on your immune system. For maximum autoimmune health, increase the fiber in your diet.

Flavenoids – Found in green and black teas both catechins and theaflavins are beneficial in autoimmune disease.

Ginger – Recent studies show that ginger reduces inflammation by inhibiting prostaglandin and suppresses the immune system’s production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, reducing disease severity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Omega-3 – These essential fatty acids found in cold water fish such as salmon or mackerel and flaxseed oil can counter the formation of chemicals that cause inflammation.

Quercetin – Found naturally in certain foods quercetin can reduce allergic reactions and decrease inflammation. Foods rich in quercetin include apples (skin on), berries, red grapes, red onions, capers, and black tea.