Massage Therapy by Nicole Davis LMT, NCTMB

Whether you’re training for a 100 mile race or whether you’re running around the office trying to meet the next deadline, your body needs a break! You can only demand so much from the body before it begins to become sore, hurt, and fatigue. You’ll eventually be in pain, and nobody wants that! Pain can interfere with your sleep, your work, and your activities. Depending on what you do that could keep you from finishing that 100 mile race in the time you’d hoped for, or keep you from making the deadline in time. What is a simple solution to giving your body the break it needs? What if you’re required to make long trips in the car? What if you just don’t have time to go get a massage or take a long soak in the tub? Well, do you have at least 10 minutes a day? I’m sure you could find 10 minutes when you are home getting ready for bed to stretch. Stretching your muscles regularly will save you a lot of pain later when you’re lying in bed and can no longer ignore the aches and pains your body has endured through out the day. We as human beings can ignore our bodies pains to get through the day but at the end of the night when all is quiet, you can only hear yourself. So instead of taking a sleeping pill get up and do 10 minutes of stretching before bed.
1.Pull out that dusty yoga mat and start with the traditional yoga position downward dog. This is when you get on all fours and lift your bottom to the air while bringing your hips back. You can feel your hamstrings and calves stretching as well as your shoulders and back. Hold for 15-30 seconds.

2.Now go into child’s pose. In child’s pose you begin on your knees, sit on your heels, then bring your arms out in front of you for a low back and shoulder stretch. Hold for 15-30 seconds.

3.Next, lay on your back and bring your knees to your chest. You will feel this stretch in your low back and glutes. I like to do gentle rocking on my spine in this stretch.

4. While you’re lying on the ground on your back extend your legs out and then bring one leg across your body while stretching the opposite arm out for a nice spinal twist. Do this stretch on both sides and hold for at least 15-30 seconds.

5. Still lying on the floor stretch your whole spine by pointing both legs down and away from the body, and stretching both arms over your head and holding for at least 15-30 seconds.

6.Next, sit up and curl one foot under your bottom and lean your torso back to stretch your Quad, Psoas, and other hip flexing muscles. Repeat on the other leg and hold each for at least 15-30 seconds.

6.Sit cross legged and take your arm across the body while holding it with the opposite hand, while turning your head toward the shoulder being stretched. This stretch is great for the Deltoid, Teres Minor, and neck muscles. Repeat on opposite side and hold each for at least 15-30 seconds.

7.Next take both arms and put them behind your back, interlock the fingers, and pull them away from your back. Imagine your shoulder blades falling onto your ribcage. This stretch is wonderful for opening your chest and therefore, your heart. This stretch is one that should be done multiple times through out the day, since so many of us hunch over during our daily activities, such as computer usage and writing documents.

8.Next, stretch one leg in front of you. Bend your torso over the leg and try to reach the foot with your hand. If you can not reach, simply place your hand on your leg where it feels comfortable. Repeat on opposite leg and hold for 15-30 seconds.

9.Next, bend your arm over your head and hold the opposite elbow with opposite hand to stretch the Triceps. Repeat on both arms and hold for at least 15-30 seconds.

10.Now, butterfly pose. Sit on your bottom with your feet together and let your knees fall out to the side. Hold your feet and feel the stretch in the hips and inner thighs, or for a deeper stretch walk your hands out in front of you and hold for at least 15-30 seconds.

Lastly, take some deep breaths and get up from the sitting position slowly and let your trunk and head hang while coming to a standing position. From there stretch your arms over your head and repeat this 3 times.

You should feel relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to get the proper rest your body needs, or if you do this session in the morning, ready to take on the day. These are just a few stretches I know that work great for me. If you have trouble with any of these stretches, i.e pain, limited range of motion, you may want to schedule a Massage with Therapeutic Stretching. I am located on Old South Pearl Street in Denver, Colorado and I specialize in helping athletes, injured people, chronic pain sufferers, and the average joe achieve better range of motion so that they can live their lives with less pain and more productivity. Please call 303-881-5533 or e-mail me at NicoleL_M_T@hotmail.com to schedule your appointment today!

You can also visit my website at http://www.nicoledavislmt.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 9:17 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.