Self-Care Tools to Assist in Your Awesome Health
- Michelle Montezon Halaska
- Oct 14, 2018
- 5 min read
Fall and New Years have a similar feel of new beginnings, and I can’t think of a better time to step-up our game of self-care. There are so many tools out there to assist us - but I have a few I really lean on and often share with my clients. Take a look and see which of these self-care tools might be needed in your personal tool kit:
Melt method, founded by a massage therapist, Sue Hitzmann, uses a roll similar to a Pilates styrofoam roller but is much softer and uses a specific method to ease achey, tight muscles.
This roller is softer and kinder than a traditional foam roller, and you will want to work with this tool because it feels good! This method of rolling hydrates the fascia that overlays your muscles. Dehydrated fascia can be the cause to achey, stingy muscles. Fascia is a thin network of tissue similar to the shiny film that covers and glides over a chicken breast. If this tissue is dehydrated it sticks to the muscle inhibiting fluid movements and can be the root of achey muscular discomfort. The melt method/technique, in a nut shell, is to find an area of discomfort, let gravity do it’s job and stay there until you feel a degree or so of relief, then “wash” the area with circular movements, then “rinse” with rolling out the muscle. It’s best to YouTube this to actually see the movements. You’ll need to go on the Melt Method website - https://www.meltmethod.com/store/ - or search on Amazon to purchase a Melt Method roller, as they are not sold in stores.
Cupping is an age-old technique of creating a vacuum around tissue to assist in releasing stagnation and works with meridians for improved health. Cupping is used largely by acupuncturist’s using a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) paradigm. Massage therapist use silicone cups to release tight tissue, adhesions, and improve circulation in the affected area. Massage therapists do not use silicone cups as an acupuncturist traditionally would. Silicone cups are very easy to work with and can be a great self-treatment tool. You can put them on your shoulders or neck area to gain some relief of overly tight muscles. Again, YouTube (click link for brief demo video of cupping from Movement Sports Clinic) is a great source to see how to work with this style of cups. A set of 4 silicone nesting cups are typically $35.00-40.00 on Amazon. In my opinion, that's a worthy investment!
Thumper is a vibration tool that literally shakes things up, creating a surge of circulation within the muscle. This is sometimes just what a muscle needs to release tension. The Thumper is a bit of an investment, but one you will have for a life time. It’s a great tool to relieve tension in the quadriceps and/or upper back area.
Thumper created these tools for self-use, so they are very easy to operate and are used by many body-focused professionals as shown in their many testimonials on their website: https://www.thumpermassager.com/. You can also find a few versions of their products for sale on Amazon.com. If you're a Prime member this may be the best option for purchasing the Thumper because you can get free 2-day shipping!
Balls will be balls, but some really stand out! Like the ones people are sitting on...oops, that can be taken all sorts of ways, let me rephrase. Some people use yoga/exercise balls as chairs, which also strengthens balance and moves lymph around your body. The large inflated balls are also a great tool to warm up, stretch and exercise muscles. Some are even weighted (1-2 lb. filling), and can be great for wall-squats and gentle core-strengthening exercises. There are also smaller size balls to address specific muscles. Yamuna, for instance, is a method using mid/smaller size balls to work the entire body. I encourage you to check out this way of working with your aches and pains on their website, or by watching YouTube tutorials.
Rebounder is a mini trampoline that triggers the kid in all of us, it makes cardio work fun! Along with exercising your heart muscle, it also moves the lymphatic system. There are various styles and brands available online - and I recommend the handrail feature (stability bar) if you are new to using a mini trampoline. This self-care and fitness tool helps build balance while providing a fun cardio workout that puts less pressure on the joints! (Read more about mini trampoline's in my blog, "Balancing the January Craze."
Insight Timer is a free, meditation app that offers a variety of ways to meditate. Whether you prefer visual, auditory, or movement meditations - this app has it all. You can customize your duration, bell-sounds, and more. Whether morning or evening, making mediation a healthy, self-care habit is something that I highly recommend to all. Other free meditation apps are also on the market - visit Google Play or Apple App Store and browse for one that fits your needs or interests.
Imperfect Produce is a great way to insure fresh produce in your home! Did you know that "ugly" produce makes up "approximately 20% of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. [that] may never leave the farm it is grown on just because they look a little different." (source: www.imperfectproduce.com) These perfectly edible fruits and veggies might get left in the field, or sent to a landfill and that's where Imperfect Produce comes in! Let your money multi-task with signing up for a delivery of Imperfect Produce that would otherwise go to waste. You can customize your order in every way, and it is easy to skip an order if you’re out of town. We all know the importance to feeling healthy is consuming a variety of plant life, and this produce delivery service is a hassle-free way to keep your fridge and yourself brimming with life.
It is also important to have an A-Team for your health comprising of massage therapists, like myself, a chiropractor (the one I use and recommend is Dr. Katie Ray, DC of New Day Network Wellness Center in Chicago), an acupuncturist (there are so many around to pick from and it always good to get a recommendation), and movement therapies like yoga, Thai Chi, QiGong, and pilates - to incorporate for awesome health. Having your own A-Team of health practitioners is important to have a well-rounded health regimen. One analogy I use is, "you don’t build a house with only nails," meaning there are other components to holding a house together, or in this instance there should be many components to YOUR HEALTH!
Cheers to your health,
Michelle
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