Products That Support Healthy Habits

Habits that support our health and well being can be really beneficial for the results they produce. A good night’s sleep can give us an energized body; a routine hug exchanged between friends builds connection, trust and relaxation. And of course, most of us here in the US take a daily shower or bath, which despite drying the skin and likely draining a lot of our clean water supply unnecessarily (wink wink), leaves us feeling fresh and clean.

I like to include as many wonderful details into my daily rituals as I can. By this I mean linking positive associations to my experience like gratitude, wonder and curiosity.  Products designed to enhance daily experience can also have a huge impact on our overall health and happiness.

Although I love my iPhone and recall with fondness our first few weeks together (never would’ve thought technology could bring me so much joy!) I’m particularly fond of products that delight the senses. One of my favorite products that serves this purpose in my home is the vetiver bath mat sold by Gaiam. According to Mountain Rose Herbs, Vetiver root has been utilized for its fragrance for many years. It has been used to scent fabric, and woven into baskets, mats, and window coverings. It’s aroma is sweet, heavy, earthy and woody.

It’s simply a joy set my clean feet on this bath mat post shower, which is typically post exercise for me too, so there are plenty of endorphins and norepinephrine present in my experience as well. I love it so much that I would sell it at Maggie SPA if I could but for now, you can click here to purchase directly through Gaiam.

Imagining Fascial Fluidity

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One of the first metaphors that made an immediate impression on me when I started practicing massage was the term “Cement Back”. You don’t have to be a bodyworker to understand the difficulty one might encounter when working with tissue that’s analogous to the consistency of cement. Where do you even begin? Plus, how must that person feel living inside a body whose soft, flexible tissue seems to have hardened into place.

There are lots of ways people refer to these layers of tension that build up between and within the neuromatrix of our bodies. “I have lots of knots in my back… I carry all my tension in my neck and shoulders… I’m not very flexible…. I really need to stretch more…” are just a few of the common phrases I hear from folks looking to get some relief.

“Fascia is a form of dense connective tissue. It is a continuous sheet of fibrous membrane located beneath the skin and around the muscles and organs. The fascial system forms a 3D matrix of connective tissue extending throughout the body from head to toe.” (Trail Guide to the Body, p. 24)

I believe that imagining this ubiquitous tissue that connects the entire body as fluid and flexible – like it feels after exercise, after conscious relaxation, after massage – can help create that physical state of being. Even more than thinking about how any one or synergistic group of muscles function, focusing your mind’s eye on what I call “fascial fluidity” throughout the entire body during exercise (and stillness for the matter) can produce more positive outcomes than just the activity alone.

Visualizing your ever-changing body as more than the sum of it’s parts opens a pathway for increased range of motion, self-awareness, and vitality. I encourage everyone to develop an open-minded curiosity about the relationships between different areas of the body; a relaxed yet attentive approach to areas that may not be functioning optimally and gratitude for the all of the incredible things our bodies do automatically.

After all, beyond good and bad, it’s amazing to be alive.