Home Massage Tips: Maintaining The Spa Benefits
Posted by Team Bella in
A visit to Bella Santé for one of our award winning massages is sure to leave you feeling positively renewed. Our massage therapists often hear from clients that they want to extend that feeling of well-being and maintain the benefits of their massage. If you are wondering how to care for your newly massaged muscles, here are our best tips and techniques for at home self-care.
Yoga For Stretching And Flexibility
It’s been around in one form or another for thousands of years, and yoga is one of the best ways to maintain your flexibility and increase circulation to muscles. Start by taking a yoga class led by an experienced instructor. Although it looks serene, some types of yoga are demanding, and a qualified yoga instructor can make sure you get a good stretch safely. Traditional hatha yoga is a good choice for general stretching and flexibility. Iyengar yoga's emphasis on symmetry and balance make it another excellent option for maintaining your massage's benefits.
Stretching For Flexibility
Yoga poses are all about flow, but static stretching also improves flexibility and overall muscle tone. During a static stretch, you find a posture and hold it. To stretch your hamstrings and calves, for example, try standing a few feet away from a wall and leaning forward until you can rest your hands against the wall, then lowering your heels to the floor to get a good stretch all along the backs of your legs. Touch your toes, raise your arms over your head and bend side to side to engage your abdominal obliques, then hold these poses. Static stretches are great shortly after a massage to keep muscles limber.
Try A Ballet Warm Up
If you took ballet as a child, you might remember how those plies and barre exercises gave your muscles a luxurious stretch and improved your balance. All forms of dance bring together grace and power, but ballet's rigorous positions and forms give your muscles an outstanding stretch. By the way, you don't have to be a ballerina to enjoy ballet’s benefits. Even NFL football players have taken ballet to gain an edge over their competition.
Take A Mindful Break
Depending on your line of work, you might spend half your day hunched over a keyboard or squinting at a screen. Repetitive motions and poor posture take their toll on your flexibility and muscle tone, so take regular breaks to stretch while at work. Getting up from your desk for just five minutes every half an hour is enough to drain the tension from your muscles and restore the relaxed sense of well-being you get from your massage.
Check with your doctor before you attempt any new form of exercise to make sure that it’s right for you.
