7 Simple Ways To Treat Stiff Muscles

7 Simples Ways To Treat Stiff Muscles

Obviously, there are many factors and reasons for muscle tightness that ultimately leads to reduced joint range of motion.

Muscle “tightness” results from an increase in tension from active or passive mechanisms. Passively, muscles can become shortened through postural adaptation or scarring; actively, muscles can become shorter due to spasm or contraction. Regardless of the cause, tightness limits range of motion and may create a muscle imbalance, ultimately leading to more stiffness in our muscles and overall body.

There are top 3 reasons why in the first place our muscles get stiff.

1. Muscles Spasms
Muscles require Magnesium & Potassium for them to relax, and calcium for them to contract. When the two are imbalanced, it can lead to muscle spasms and contractions.

Muscle spasms are also caused due to muscle weakness and imbalance in muscle length and tension ratio. When the muscles cramp they create knots in the muscle fibers which in time makes the muscles stiff as the muscles lose their ability to fully relax or stretch.

2. Dehydration
Dehydration is also a contributing factor to stiff muscles. This is because muscles are active tissues and require lots of water. The water contains electrolytes that help transfer orders from your nervous system to your muscles and back. Without enough water, muscles lose their ability to communicate with the brain.

3. Inactivity
Inactivity is another culprit. Leaving your muscles in one state for a prolonged period (sleep or sitting in a chair for an extended period, for instance) can cause them to stiffen.

Another indirect cause of muscle stiffness is stress. When we’re stressed, our bodies tighten up in preparation for a “fight or flight” situation. Prolonged stress can lead to tightness in the muscles, resulting in strain.

7 Simple Ways To Treat Stiff Muscles

1. Proper Posture & Exercises
Exercising for 30 minutes each day or every other day can prevent most cases of muscle stiffness. Exercise keeps your muscles relaxed, and can even improve your mental state. Just don’t overdo it, because that’s when your muscles get stiff.

2. Salt Bath
Add 2-4 heaped tablespoons of baking soda to a hot bath and climb in for rapid muscular pain relief. You can even try replacing the baking soda with ¾ cup of Epsom salt if you wish to.

3. Supplements
Balance your magnesium and calcium levels by taking supplements, and consider making dietary changes like eating foods higher in magnesium such as spinach, artichokes, and dates. Taking additional magnesium (particularly at night) can help to reduce muscle cramps and spasms. It is also very helpful in reducing overall muscle soreness and aiding in a better night’s rest.

4. Apply Heat
Simply applying heat to muscles causes the tissue to expand and increase blood flow to the heated area. You can do this by taking a hot shower or massaging the stiff area with a heating pad.

5. Relax & Meditate
Calm yourself down. By reducing the level of stress in your life, your body will relax as well, reducing the likelihood of tight and stiff muscles. Getting a good massage can work wonders for stiff muscles. A licensed masseuse will be able to relieve stiff muscles in a single session, sending you home pain-free and much more relaxed.

6. Hydrate
Drink water or Isotonic drinks to keep your hydration and electrolytes at an adequate level. Men require 13 cups (3 liters) of water per day, while women need nine (2.2 liters).

7. Stretch & Tone
Stretching your muscles when you wake up can prevent muscles from stiffening. It increases blood flow throughout your body and prepares the muscles for the daily movements ahead.

The physical practices of yoga kеерs the muѕсlеѕ rеlаxеd іn movements so that muѕсlе fіbеr elongate. Thіѕ results іn іnсrеаѕеd flexibility and a ѕеnѕе of well-being.

Our yoga classes and teachers systematically encourage уоgа practitioner’s to engages the body in a stretch, extending and elongating into a pose as much as comfortable, not as much as possible. Thе breath is crucial in this work because it both focuses and calms the mind, while the spine is integral for physical balance, self-awareness is developed through the practices of yoga, is integral for emotional balance.

A unique benefit of pilates reformer is eccentric muscle control. The reformer is a set-up for eccentric contraction, this is when a muscle lengthens as it resists a force. That is one of the keys to achieving the long, strong muscles and ultimately the Toned Body without bulk that Pilates is known for.

9 Principles of Health and Longevity

Tips on How to Stay Healthy in Phuket

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in its 1948 constitution as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

You want to live a long and healthy life, full of beauty, love, and contentment, long enough to achieve your purpose in the world, to see your kids grow up and be happy, and to enjoy all the great experiences that life has to offer.

Get a Lot of Fresh Air

1. Get a lot of fresh AIR

The air we breathe plays an essential part in our health and functioning.

People often tend to forget about the importance of spending time outside and underestimate the health benefits of spending time outdoors.

Here is a list of important health benefits of fresh air:

  • Fresh air is good for digestion.
  • It improves your blood pressure and heart rate.
  • It makes you happier.
  • Strengthens your immune system.
  • Fresh air cleans your lungs.
  • You will have more energy and a sharper mind.

Enjoy time outdoors and get the maximum out of the health benefits of fresh air.
If you are spending most of your time inside the air-conditioned office or home, you are forcing your body to use stale air. By doing so you are making it harder for your body to stay healthy and fresh.

Long-term exposure to toxic or polluted air can compromise the health and functioning of the cells and organs of our body leading to increased susceptibility to infections and various forms of the disease.

Some long-term effects of polluted air include Lung cancer, heart disease, chronic respiratory disease, and even damage to parts of the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys, etc.”

Drink Ample Amounts of Water

2. Drink ample amounts of WATER

Our body is made up of about 75% water. Every single cell is made up of water including the cells in our own body. Water is critical for the life and functioning of cells, tissues, and organs in our body. Water carries elements of life and has the ability to transmit and maintain them.

Consequently, thought processes, movements, nerve function, blood circulation, digestion, elimination of waste, etc., depend on water for their normal and effective functioning.

Did you know drinking water at different times of the day and before and after certain activities have a tremendous benefit to our Health.
Drinking plenty of water helps to:

  1.  Maximize Physical Performance
  2.  Positively affects Energy Levels and Brain Function
  3.  Prevent and Treat Headaches
  4.  Relieve Constipation
  5.  Treat Kidney Stones
  6.  Prevent Hangovers
  7.  Reduce Body Fat

Get Adequate Amounts of Sunlight

3. Get adequate amounts of SUNLIGHT

The Sun provides the basis for all life on earth. The body manufactures vitamin D after being exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is critical for the body because it helps the body absorb calcium and also helps it keep the right amount of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.

Without a sufficient amount of vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or even misshapen.

Eat Whole Food that Have Strong Nutrious Values

4. Eat WHOLE FOOD that has strong NUTRITIOUS values

Real food consists of fresh vegetables and fruits, unprocessed meats and seafood, and naturally-occurring starches and fats. What we eat plays a significant role in the functioning of our body, health, and well-being. Emphasize vegetables, and eat local or organic whenever possible. Eating food with little or no nutritious value can, over time, lower the effectiveness of the body’s defense system and compromise your physical and mental health.

Besides choosing healthier, whole foods it’s essential to learn how to consume less at each meal. Keep this in mind:

  1. Don’t serve meals family-style, with heaping plates and bowls of food on the dining table for everyone to help themselves. You’ll all consume about 14 percent less if you dish out everything at the counter and put the rest away.
  2. You can trick your mind and stomach by making food look bigger than it is; for example, cut back on the cheese and meat in a sandwich and load it up with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and other veggies.
  3. Find smaller plates and bowls to serve food in; the bigger the dish, the more we fill it (and then think we have to eat it all).
  4. Focus on your food, not the TV. Eat more slowly to give your body time to recognize the signs that you’re no longer feeling hungry.
  5. Avoid sugar, processed and packaged foods, which tend to lead to weight gain, cardio-metabolic issues, disposition toward diabetes, and declines in brain health and function.
  6. Eat vegetables daily, aiming for four to six servings (2 to 6 cups).
  7. Limit meat portions to no larger than the size of a deck of cards.
  8. Eat nuts, but watch the portion size; a 1-ounce serving can be 150–200 calories.

Get Adequate Amount of Sleep

5. Get an adequate amount of SLEEP

Sleep plays a critical role in people’s physical as well as their mental health and functioning. Lack of sleep can compromise immune system effectiveness, which can lead to various forms of health problems. Some experts believe that lack of sleep can make the body become resistant to insulin, a hormone that helps carry glucose from the bloodstream to cells. Other problems resulting from lack of sleep include lack of mental clarity, memory problems, moody disposition, and higher stress level.

Be Active and Regularly Perform Physical Movements

6. Be active and regularly perform physical MOVEMENTS

Staying active doesn’t necessarily mean just going to the gym a few times per week. It means making low-intensity physical activity a daily part of life, and little changes make a big difference.

Physical movement is fundamental to the human experience. Throughout history, humans have walked, run, lifted things, carried them over distances, and crafted natural resources to their own use (building shelters, making tools).

Some benefits of moving multiple times a day include reduced risk of developing diabetes, control of type II diabetes, reduce risk for high blood pressure, reduce level of current high blood pressure, control weight gain, build healthy and strong bones, muscles and joints, improve blood flow throughout the body, improves the body’s capacity to use calories, and reduces both mental and physical stress.

Be active without having to think about it.

Here is what you can do to be active:

  1. Get rid of handy helpers like the TV remote, the snowblower, the power lawnmower.
  2. Hand washes your car without a pressure washer.
  3. Plant a garden, it reduces stress and produces fresh, healthy vegetables.
  4. Walk to a colleague’s office rather than emailing or calling them.
  5. Conduct the meetings during walks.

Here is what you can do for better movements:

  1. Walk, maybe jog or sprint a little every day.
  2. Pick up the kids or groceries and lift them over your head.
  3. Dance, do whatever movement feels natural for you.
  4. The Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi are the most effective mindful movements to keep all organ systems especially endocrine, nervous and lymphatic system responsive.
  5. Regular AEROBIC EXERCISE is beneficial in making your heart stronger and works more efficiently by reducing the amount of fat that can build up which can interfere with electrical impulses necessary for the proper functioning of the heart.

Stay Connected with a Community Around You

7. Stay connected with a COMMUNITY around you

Get together with friends, family, and people with shared interests face-to-face; stop hiding behind the internet. Humans need connection and social support and you are no different. Tribes and close-knit communities are what helped us survive. Make spending quality time with family and friends a priority. Those with regular positive social interaction, tend to live longer and happier across all cultures.

Remember to Play & Laugh

8. PLAY & LAUGH

Play not only helps us stay connected and relieves stress, but it also sparks learning, imagination, creativity, and problem-solving (source), so perhaps more play just might be the creative in-sight need to discover the fountain of youth.

Perhaps if you let yourself laugh, joke, roll, jump, hide and seek, you’d all be a little happier, a little less worried, and have more energy to live a little longer. Plus, the fun of play can oftentimes lead to laughter and laughter is the best medicine.

Try to see the humor in life, be able to roll with the punches, and flow with life ups and downs and you’re sure to live a long life. Too much or too frequent stress causes the body to age more quickly; it negatively impacts the endocrine system, the adrenals, and even the heart.

Experience Gratitude Peace & Contentment

9. Experience GRATITUDE, PEACE, & CONTENTMENT

Whenever possible, feel gratitude in your body, let that be the foundation of contentment and you will be at peace. This is the counterpoint to striving too hard, being continually dissatisfied with your life, and looking outward for happiness because all of this creates added stress and lowers mood, which impacts the quality of life, the willingness to live, and since the mind influences the body, physical health is also compromised.

One quote that comes to mind is, “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health” by A. J. Reb Materi.
Fortunately, to experience gratitude, peace, contentment, and the health and longevity it brings, you don’t have to spend money or time searching for it. These positive sentiments will see you through a happy life and their effects will ensure your body wants to live a long time in radiant health.

Observing these principles will have you eat right, maintain the community that nourishes your spirit, lift your mood, keep your brain sharp, and ensure your body is healthy to sustain yours for a long and vital life.

Leave a comment below and let us know what do you see as fundamental to a long and healthy life.
“Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax. If you relax, it comes. If you relax, it is there. If you relax, you start vibrating with it.” – Osho

6 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Do Large Group Pilates Classes

6 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Do Large Pilates Classes

Let’s say that you get a common cold. So you then call your doctor and you make an appointment in order to get a custom treatment. You meet with the doctor, he looks at you and asks you questions, and then prescribes a treatment. It’s the same for when you break your arm…you go to an orthopedic doctor and you get it fixed. When your child is sick you go to a pediatrician, and so on.

What do all of these situations have in common? Well, they are all specialists in their field and they are all offering individual consultations. In none of these cases, you don’t go to a group class.

So if you have back issues or a poor posture and you decide to try Pilates, why would you go to a class with 20 other people? Each one of them has their own health issues and limitations, so doing a generic Pilates program will definitely not help.

What should you do instead? 

Now let’s look in more detail at some of the reasons why group classes are not so effective when it comes to Pilates:

1. Safety – Pilates is not a dangerous activity, but there is a slight risk involved. Most people that begin doing it are out of shape and have a bad posture or various back issues, so even when doing very simple poses they can get injured.

This especially applies to Reformer Pilates classes, where those big devices can be overwhelming for some people. Those machines have lots of benefits, but only if they are used correctly.

When teaching to a large group of 20 or more people, the Pilates instructor will simply not have the time to show the movements to each and every person and to assist and correct everyone. Each person has its own issues and limitations, and there are certain exercises that work great and others that should be avoided. So the training program should be customized based on each person’s individual needs.

2. Getting Results – people don’t go to Pilates just for the fun of it, and they usually want to achieve a certain goal. And this can only be achieved by performing the movements with the correct form. Not knowing how to do each exercise correctly will not activate the right muscles and will not give the needed results.

3. Personalized Instructions – even if someone knows how to correctly perform all the movements, this still does not guarantee results. And this is because each person is unique, and each person has certain muscle imbalances or tightness. So the movements should be adjusted according to each participant’s needs.

4. Quantity Over Quality – personal trainers and group trainers need to make a living too, and sometimes they take shortcuts. They focus on training as many people as possible in order to earn as much money as possible and neglect the quality of each class.

This explains why individual classes are more expensive than group classes. But instead of wasting your money on group classes that don’t produce any results, it’s better to invest a bit more on individual classes that actually work.

5. Lack of Commitment – there are some exceptions here, but most classes do not follow a path toward an end-goal. You simply go there and perform just about the same movements every week. It’s better to show up and do something than to do nothing, but with the time you will get bored. This is why all the classes are full in January, and slowly decrease with each passing week.

Sure, some of the group classes have a certain path and they evolve over time. But this has a drawback as well: if some people miss a class or two, then they are left behind and it’s very hard to pick up when they come back.

So individual classes are much better, as you can do things at your own pace, and be able to keep up even when you missed a class or two.

6. Lack of Flexibility – group classes always takes place at the same hour and at the same day of the week. So if anything comes up and you can’t make it at that exact hour, then you missed your workout. This then leads to what we talked about at the previous point, and you end up quitting the class altogether. However, the private classes can be scheduled whenever you are available and can be postponed or moved according to your needs.

There were 6 important reasons why Pilates group classes are not effective. So what’s the solution? 1 on 1 class or at least classes with up to 3 people max. The Abbysan center offers both private classes and 3rio classes that have a maximum of 3 attendees. Our classes are highly personalized and adapted to your own needs and limitations. Find out more by visiting this link.