Pain Science

Here's a fun five minute video put together by Australian researchers that does a wonderful job of explaining the latest research on pain science. I thought you might find it interesting to learn!

Understanding Pain and What to do About it in Less Than Five Minutes

Research has shown that if you can understand your pain, the pain will actually lessen! This doesn't mean that you can tell yourself that you don't feel pain; you can't control your brain. However, you can control your thoughts about fear that comes with anticipating and experiencing pain. And you can teach yourself to move in a pain free way, or in a way that is less painful.

Anxiety also tends to make us feel more pain, massage is a healthy and natural way to help our bodies and minds to relax. The greatest contribution of massage is that it can help relieve pain by reducing anxiety and stress. A recent study showed that it didn't matter which form of massage was used to reduce back pain in test subjects. Both the deep tissue and Swedish were equally as effective in reducing back pain. You can find that study, as well as other articles about massage research on my Facebook page. Other ways to help manage pain are participating in meditation, yoga or Feldenkrais movement therapy. 

Make Your Own Aromatherapy Room Spray

Many of you have asked about the wonderful scents in my office. I make my own aromatherapy spray to spritz the air between clients. Since I am unable to open my window, the spray really helps to keep the room from getting too stuffy. It is very easy to do, so I will share it here and you can make your own spray to use at your office or home!

You will need:

glass spray bottle (1 oz or 4 oz) 

essential oil/s

witch hazel

distilled water 

Step 1- Gathering your ingredients:

* If you are unsure of where to purchase a glass spray bottle, you can find one by clicking HERE.

* Any health food store carries a selection of essential oils. It's really up to you and what you enjoy to smell! If you are at the store and want to combine oils, but aren't sure-- you can hold the open bottles together to determine if you'll like the combined scent.

* Witch hazel can be purchased in any grocery store  

Step 2- Making your blend

* If you are creating a blend of different scents, you will want to add the drops of essential oils FIRST before adding the water and witch hazel. This makes it easier to add more or less of a scent to adjust the blend to your liking. Most all essential oils bottles in the store come with a dropper stop. If your glass bottle is 4 oz, you will want to use around 40 drops of oil. If your glass spray bottle is only 1 oz, then 20 drops will be fine.   

* Once you've added the drops to the bottle and are happy with the scent, you will add 5-10 drops of witch hazel. The witch hazel will help keep the essential oils from clogging the spritzer.

* Then, fill the rest of the bottle with the distilled water, but don't fill all the way to the top. You want to leave enough room to shake the mixture.

* Shake, shake, shake!

Now you have your own aromatherapy spray you can use anywhere! You may find you need to shake it a bit each time before use. Don't leave your bottle in a hot car as it will affect the quality of the scent. Be careful about spraying clothes, drapery or furniture as some oils may cause stains. 

If you would like to try a blend, but unsure of where to start, here are a few recipes.   

20 drops Rosemary

15 drops Lemon

5 drops Peppermint

20 drops Lavender

10 drops Peppermint

6 drops Rose

6 drops Orange

18 drops Sandalwood