Work Hard, Play Harder: The Work Out Issue
September is a busy time with the end of summer and transition back to school and full time work. The hustle and bustle of every day life can be overwhelming. We forget that the transition to autumn is a time of reflection and preparation. We move from the abundance of spring and summer to a time of cold and rest. Fall is a time of transition. Fall is a time to gather our resources, slow down and hunker down for the winter. Remember that as humans, this is innate to our DNA and our human-ness. Remember to give yourself frequent breaks during this time of transition. Remember to stop often, stretch, breath, and hydrate.
The tendency for most people as the pace of life picks up is to either overdo things or not do things at all. This goes for your exercise routine as well. Remember not to over-exercise with excessive weight-lifting and cardio. Over-exercising causes an excessive amount of inflammation and does not allow the body to heal and recover properly. Proper recovery is the whole point of working out- to allow new muscle tissue to lay down. If you interrupt this cycle, you interrupt strength building. Sometimes your body just needs to rest. Slower paced Yoga with its ancient system of fascial line stretching is very beneficial and a great tool during recovery days.
If your tendency is to overwork and neglect your body, remember to take breaks and just walk. It is never all or nothing. Take breaks to get some movement in.
While you pause, you can utilize the UB2 acupuncture point to relieve stress. In the Fascial Manipulation method, this acupuncture point lines up with retro motion line of the sagittal plane. This plane becomes affected when there is too much upper crossed postural patterning that happens at work, driving, and in times of stress. Accessing the UB2 point can help relieve some of this pressure and restriction building up in your fascia.
UB2- Drilling Bamboo used for stress reduction, nausea, and headaches. Using the middle or pointer finger, press your fingertip into the brow bone or massage for a couple of minutes.