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September 2020 Newsletter - YOGA AND SLEEP

YOGA AND SLEEP

The Connection between Sleep and Yoga

Yoga has many benefits: Improving flexibility, increasing strength, managing stress and it can also help improve sleep. The most common sleep disorder that millions of Americans suffer from is called insomnia. 

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, insomnia is defined as “difficulty with sleep initiation, duration, consolidation or quality.” Research shows that when individuals who have insomnia practice yoga regularly, they fall asleep faster, sleep longer and even return to sleep more quickly with waking during the the night. 

With aging, insomnia can become more prominent and may be harder for adults over the age of 60 to stay asleep during the night. Regular yoga practice has been proven to improve sleep quality, which results in feeling better throughout the day for people with insomnia. Therefore, yoga improves quality of life.

Bedtime Yoga

To aid sleep and decrease insomnia, it is important to work yoga into your bedtime routine. It is essential to practice the correct yoga poses or exercises and avoid energizing ones. These three poses are perfect for preparing your body for slumber:

  • Knee to chest: Lie on your back and slowly bring one leg at a time towards your chest. Relax in this position and slowly take 3-5 deep diaphragm or belly breaths.
  • Legs up the Wall: Lie on your back and support the back of your legs with your hands or put the back of your legs up a wall, so that the body is in a “L” shape. Relax in this position and slowly take 3-5 deep diaphragm or belly breaths.
  • Corpse Pose: Lie on your back with legs straight and slightly wider than hips, arm just away from your sides and palms facing upwards. Relax in this position and slowly take 3-5 deep diaphragm or belly breaths.

In this short 10-minute yoga bedtime practice, these 3 poses are demonstrated to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep and improve your sleep quality.

Yoga Nidra

There is actually a “type” of yoga that is specifically intended to induce and be similar to sleep called Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is defined as “the ability to enter the deepest, non-REM delta wave sleep while maintaining awareness both internally and of one’s surroundings”. In classical Yoga Nidra, one is guided through the awareness of the body’s senses (see, feel, hear, taste, and smell) while always being reminded to stay awake. There is even a contemporary adaptation of the ancient Yoga Nidra, called Integrative Restoration (iRest). It shares many basic principles and techniques with other forms of Yoga Nidra, but differs in various way. iRest has even been shown in research to be effective on mindfulness, sleep and pain in health care workers. 

This video is a great way to learn a bit about HOW to improve positions of sleep in conjunction with some yoga poses and ends with a guided Yoga Nidra practice. Please enjoy!
Connect with Others

Connection is very important and one of the pillars to a healthy life! Please join me virtually every Tuesday or Thursday @ 10am for Therapeutic Yoga class. If you do not already receive email invites for these classes, just email healwellnessandtherapy@gmail.com and you will be added to the distribution list. If the time for class does not suit your schedule, feel free to check out the many therapeutic yoga classes located on our YouTube channel or from our website.
Latest Videos

Live Therapeutic Yoga Class for Low Back Arthritis from the September 03, 2020 Stream

Live Therapeutic Yoga Class on what we like to call "Sofa Yoga" from the September 01, 2020
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Namaste,

Trudy Messer

Founder, HEAL Wellness and Therapy, LLC

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Physical "SMELL" Therapy - July 2020 Newsletter

PHYSICAL "SMELL" THERAPY

HOW WE SMELL

The sense of smell is called olfaction. The part of the nose responsible for smell is located at two narrow passages called olfactory clefts, located at the upper part of the nasal cavity. It is here where aroma or odorant molecules stimulate olfactory receptors via sensory nerves and transmit the sense of smell from the olfactory nerve to the brain. The loss of smell, or ANOSMIA, can be total or partial (and temporary or permanent). Common causes for smell loss include head injury and infection. Smell (and taste) gradually declines with the normal aging process. Anosmia is not usually serious, but can impact an individual’s quality of life.

COVID-NOSE

The CDC added anosmia as an official clinical symptom of COVID-19 in April, along with the loss of taste, or hypogeusia. The most common cause of acute or temporary loss of smell is a viral infection, like the common cold or influenza. When this infection occurs, the olfactory cleft in the nose is inflamed and blocks or prevents aroma molecules from reaching the olfactory receptors in the nose. Under normal conditions, once the swelling and mucus in the nose return to a normal level, smell is regained. COVID-nose appears to be different. The sense of smell does not gradually get blocked, but rather, the symptoms with COVID-nose are sudden and takes much longer to return function.  Major inflammation targets only the area of the olfactory cleft causing nerve damage and the return to normal may take weeks to months as the olfactory neurons regenerate.

 

SMELL THERAPY

Treatment for anosmia can include smell therapy, decongestants, antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays, and reducing exposure to nasal irritants like smoking. Smell therapy is a form of physical therapy that can help someone get their sense of smell back faster. It includes using smells to stimulate the olfactory nerves and rehabilitate the sense of smell, just like strength training can increase muscle strength.

 

Smell therapy uses four essential oils for training:

  1. Eucalyptus (eucalyptol)
  2. Lemon (citronellal)
  3. Rose (phenyl ethyl alcohol)
  4. Clove (eugenol)

 

Rehabilitation includes using these intense odors twice daily for a minimum of 12 weeks to return the sense of smell.1 The essential oils are smelled using inhalers or a cotton-soaked pad for 10-20 seconds at a time. The key is to be very mindful of the scents while inhaling and breathing, so that the brain and nervous system can “reconfigure” the pathways of smelling due to the neural plasticity of the olfactory system. The research indicates that individuals who performed smell therapy showed improved sense of smell and were able to identify and discriminate between smells better than people who did not.2
 

Research:

  1. K Pekala, RK CHandra, JH Turner. Efficacy of olfactory training in patients with olfactory loss: a systemic review and meta-analysis. International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology. Volume 6, Issue 3; March 2016; pages 299-307.
  2. T Hummel, K RIssom, J Reden et al. Effects of olfactory training in patients with olfactory loss. The Laryngoscope. Volume 119, Issue 3; February 2009. 
Here is a great video to help direct you in how to make an inhaler for smell therapy or breathing exercises:
A great way to relax and combat symptoms of depression and anxiety is through the use of an essential oil inhaler. By introducing calming smells through inhalation and using a specific breathing technique, it will encourage the cranial nerves that are part of the parasympathetic nervous system to be stimulated and relax both your body and mind. This video will instruct you in how to make an aromatherapy inhaler with therapeutic and evidence-based effective essential oils.

For ideas of breathing exercises to do in conjunction with “sniffing therapy”, watch the below videos:
This breathing practice can be performed anywhere and anytime with no contraindications. The main benefits of the practice of alternate nostril breathing include infusing the body with oxygen, supporting clear and balanced respiratory channels, clearing and releasing toxins (don’t be surprised if your nose is runny after performing this), reducing stress and anxiety, calming and rejuvenating the nervous system, improving mental clarity, enhancing the ability to concentrate, and bringing balance to the left and right hemispheres of the brain
A short video to describe and talk through performing the 4:7:8 breath for relaxation.
Box or Square breath is a breathing technique to help you relieve stress when you are anticipating it. Watch to understand and practice how to do Square breathing.
Connect with Others

Connection is very important and one of the pillars to a healthy life! Please join me virtually every Tuesday or Thursday @ 10am for a Therapeutic Yoga class. If you do not already receive weekly invites for these classes, just email at healwellnessandtherapy@gmail.com and you will be added to the email distribution list. If the time for class does not suit your schedule, feel free to check out the many therapeutic yoga classes located on our YouTube channel or from our website.
Latest Videos

Live Therapeutic Yoga Class for Anxiety from the July 21, 2020 Stream

Live Therapeutic Yoga Class for Incontinence from the July 16, 2020 Stream
Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel!
Click Here To Subscribe

Namaste,

Trudy Messer

Founder, HEAL Wellness and Therapy, LLC
Read More
Newsletters Paul Quilty Newsletters Paul Quilty

April 2020 Newsletter

GARDENING
AS
EXERCISE!

Hi everyone!

Let’s get your mind off of the COVID-19 pandemic just for a quick read.…

Did you know that gardening and yard work is classified as moderately intense exercise? Better yet, did you know that out of every 300,000 gardeners, 4200 of them will sustain a serious injury requiring health care? According to the National Institute of Health, the frequency of gardening-related injuries is approximately 1.4% - which is higher than the rate of injury with walking and outdoor bicycling. During walking and gardening, men and women are equally likely to get injured and age is not a risk factor. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9710864)

However, there is even better news, according to Dr. Mark Hyman of the Ultra-Wellness Center. Starting a garden is considered an immune boosting lifestyle intervention. Yes, it does help fight “the COVID-19”!!! The sunlight increases your Vitamin D levels, which aids sleep quality and quantity and many immune processes to fight illness. The physical exercise reduces adrenaline in your body and decreases inflammation. Finally, working with your hands in soil reduces stress and helps normalize your gut microbiome. Therefore, gardening is prevention of illness, if done correctly with your body.

Get outside and garden but let’s make sure that you do it right! Below are some DO’S & DON’TS of gardening to make sure you do not cause an injury to your body. A quick shout out and thank you to a local physical therapist and master gardener - Steve Konstant - who is my awesome model in the below pictures.
 
SHOVELING

DON'T

⌧ Don't bend over at the waist with legs straight.

⌧ Don't use just your arms as you shovel.

⌧ Don't twist your shoulders and hips in opposite directions as you turn to lift shovel or drop it down

DO

Do hinge at your hips and bend at your knees, while keeping your back straight.

Do keep your feet apart to have a wider base of support. 

Do keep the shovel close to your body as you transport items. Shift your weight from one foot to another if you need to move side to side, staying in the hip hinge position. As you turn, point your feet in the direction you want to go, then step around and turn.
RAKING

DON'T

⌧ Don't bend over at the waist with legs straight.

⌧ Don't use just your arms as you rake.

⌧ Don't twist your shoulders and hips in opposite directions when turning.

DO

Do hinge at your hips and bend at your knees, while keeping your back straight.

Do keep your feet apart to have a wider base of support.

Move your whole body as a unit, not just your arms.

While maintaining the hip hinge position, shift your weight from your front to back foot or from side to side as you rake.
WEEDING/PLANTING

DON'T

⌧ Don't bend over at the waist with legs straight.

⌧ Don’t stay in one position for too long.

⌧ Don’t lift plants or bags of potting soil, etc. with them far away from you.

⌧ Don’t twist as you lift or garden.

DO

Do hinge at your hips and bend at your knees, while keeping your back straight as you reach down to pick up plant or pluck weed or do plant maintenance.

You can also lean forward on one leg while letting the other leg extended back, still hip hinging and keeping your back straight as you reach to pluck weeds, etc.

Use the “shoveling” directions above as you plant.

You can also kneel on a cushioned board or sit on a low bench, still hip hinging as you lean forward to do your gardening.

As you turn, point your feet in the direction you want to go, then step around and turn.
LIFTING FROM TRUNK OF CAR

DON'T

⌧ Don't bend over at the waist with legs straight.

⌧ Don't lift with object far away.

⌧ Don't twist your shoulders and hips opposite directions when turning.

DO

Do lift by hip hinging and bending your knees, not your back or waist-line.

Do lift with your feet apart and have a wider base of support.

Do hold objects close to you as you first lift the object and as you move with it or put it down.
PRUNING and HEDGETRIMMING

DON'T

⌧ Don’t hold the hedge clippers away from your body.

⌧ Don’t reach too far overhead.

⌧ Don’t bend at the waist with the legs straight when pruning.

DO

Do hold hedge clippers close to you and stagger your feet for balance.

Do move your feet instead of twisting your body as you move down the hedge row.

If the hedges are low, hinge at your hips and bend your knees while keeping your back straight.
PULL / PUSH WAGON

DON'T

⌧ Don’t lean your trunk backwards while pulling wagon.

⌧ Don’t bend over at your waist and push your wagon.

⌧ Try not to overload wagon so that it is unbalanced or too heavy for you.

DO

Do brace your trunk and pull wagon with your body as a whole, tightening your abdominals and bottom muscles.

If wagon is full or is a larger cart, do push with your trunk in a braced position (abdominals tight), hinging at hips with knees bent.
Helpful Videos

If you do injure your back, here is a recent therapeutic yoga class that may help your symptoms

If your shoulder is aching from gardening, then watch this video
Connect with Others

Connection is key and one of the pillars to a healthy life! Please join me virtually every Tuesday or Thursday @ 10am for a Therapeutic Yoga class. If you do not already receive weekly invites for these classes, just email me at healwellnessandtherapy@gmail.com to be added to the email distribution list. If the time for class does not suit your self-distancing schedule, feel free to check out the many therapeutic yoga classes located on our YouTube channel.
Subscribe To Our Youtube Channel
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Namaste,

Trudy Messer

Founder, HEAL Wellness and Therapy, LLC
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