Category: Self-care

Self-care, Somatic therapy

Fascia Fascination

Emily

The bodywork I do pays a lot of attention to the lines of fascia through the body. I had a really great result this morning working on some of my own pains. My left outside hip, hip flexors, and big toe have been giving me grief lately. I know that “where it hurts is where it ain’t,” but I hadn’t been able to unlock the key to these hotspots. So I dug out my Anatomy Trains book and looked up the various lines, and wouldn’t you know, all of my pain points were along one line – in this case, the Spiral Line.

So, instead of stretching the bits that hurt, I used massage balls to stretch and release some points along that line that didn’t hurt. I spent about 10-15 minutes rolling and massaging between my shoulder blades and along my neck, and a few minutes relaxing and breathing while draped over a bolster along my ribcage.

The first things I noticed when I got up was how easy it was to take a huge breath and how tall I felt! Then I moved all the ways that have been bugging me, and I’m almost pain-free. And my flexibility has increased dramatically. Like…I did a forward fold from cobbler pose and touched my forehead to my heels. And I got about 3″ of additional reach in a standing forward fold, with no hamstring stretches. This is not typical for me!!

I guess this is a case of “physician, heal thyself.” I know this stuff works; I help people with it all the time. I just also need to take the time (and a little ingenuity) to do the same work on myself. 🙂

Courses, Giveaway, Recovery, Relaxation, Sale, Self-care, Yoga

Free Online Yoga Class Jan 1, 2024

Emily
Emily doing a seated sidebend
You can do this session from the floor or in a chair!

I’m hosting a free, SUPER GENTLE yoga class 2pm US Eastern Time (UTC-5) New Year’s Day! Suitable for any body that can sit in a chair for 30 mins without feeling dizzy. Come join me for half an hour of seated stretches and expansive breathing to start of the year with a few minutes of calm and flexibility. 2024 is going to need it…

Click to Join Zoom Meeting – event is in the past

I’ll try to record it if Zoom behaves. (Recording available here!)

Herbal Tea, Herbalism, Self-care

Ease Back on Alcohol with Herbal Teas

Emily
assorted herbs on bowls
Herbal teas have a wide variety of flavors and effects, and, unlike alcohol, are generally strengthening instead of stressful to the body.

I’ve had four separate conversations with people in the last few weeks who are looking to cut back their alcohol consumption. One of the common themes is that part of the reason they drink alcohol is for the “rituals” around the alcohol, not the alcohol itself. For example:

  • One person liked to “unwind at wine o’clock“
  • One person loved the sense of luxury of a well-poured drink in a beautiful glass
  • One person had days where they felt like they “needed a drink” after dealing with obnoxious people and difficult situations
  • One loved the creativity of mixology and the flavor combinations they could concoct

In these cases, teas and other herbal products can help “fill the gap” left when you cut back on alcohol. “Wine o’clock” becomes “Tea thirty” as you prepare yourself something tasty and mentally unwind. A gorgeous tea pot and favorite cup can elevate a simple tea to a delicacy. Herbal syrups and infusions can be blended with non-alcoholic mixers into a creative array of zero-proof cocktails.

If you’d like to try subbing tea for some of your alcohol, here are some I’d suggest:

glass of refreshing drink with grapefruit and rosemary
Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels.com
Health, Self-care

Air Purifiers for Coping with Smoke

Emily
Smoke from Canadian wildfires

I’ve been having a rough time with the wildfire smoke the last couple weeks. Not full-on asthma attack bad, but definitely feeling tight in my chest, like I can’t get a full breath.

Indoor air purifiers help a lot. My criteria for a filter include:

  • Needs to work well against smoke. Key words to look for: Filters particles smaller than 2.5 microns; MERV 13 (for furnace filters); and a high CADR rating for smoke. (Conveniently, this will also filter for viruses, as well.)
  • It should not produce ozone – so no ionizers, no “electronic air cleaners.”
  • It has to be QUIET, and it has to filter well when it’s on its quietest setting. When you see performance data, that assumes it’s on high. I have bat-like hearing, so the absolute loudness (decibels) and the pitch of the noise are very important to me. I’ve found 17 decibels is great; 23 is OK; and anything 40+ is hard to listen to for long. YMMV.
  • I prefer things with fewer electronics, bells, and whistles that draw as little as electricity as possible.
  • Filters should be affordable.

Here’s what I’ve found works for me (and no, I don’t profit from these links and I wasn’t bribed to say nice things about these):

  • Blueair Pure Series
    • Model 411 (discontinued) and 511, for small rooms like bedrooms and home office. On low, I can barely tell it’s on. On high, it will reduce the PM2.5 in my office from 25 to 10 in about 15 minutes. Consumer Reports said these are one of the only filters that do anything meaningful at low speed.
    • Model 211+ (discontinued, but available on eBay – be sure it’s the 211+ or 211+Auto and not the plain 211). This is essentially the same as the 411, but for bigger rooms. It’s kind of large, but it can reduce the PM2.5 from 80 (unhealthy) to 20 (moderate) in a 12×15 room in about 15 minutes.
    • Model 211i Max (new) – I’ve ordered this one, but haven’t received it yet. Basically, it’s the 211+ with some additional features, like a built-in PM2.5 sensor and phone app support. It’ll turn itself on when the air quality gets low and turn down or off when it gets better.
    • There’s also a 311 auto that’s still in production that is larger than the 411 but smaller than the 211.
  • A standalone air quality monitor is super helpful.
    • Look for one that measures PM2.5 – smoke particles fall into this category.
    • Note that the scale used for PM2.5 is different than the Air Quality Index (AQI) number you see reported on the weather. It’s nice if your monitor has both.
AQI values vs PM2.5 values (in micrograms per cubic meter). They’ve recently adjusted what counts as “unhealthy” levels of PM2.5, so refer to the right-most column.

A couple key points:

  • I’d rather buy a larger purifier and run it on low than buy a smaller purifier and run it on high.
  • Check eBay for used purifiers. Watch the shipping prices, and expect you’ll need to buy a new filter from the manufacturer right away. I wouldn’t buy filters off eBay, though; it’s very little savings and there’s no way to know for sure the filters are unused and not knockoffs.
  • You can’t cheat physics. Buying a purifier that’s too small for your space will help some, but it’s not going to have the power to do the job when the smoke gets into the “unhealthy” range.
  • Focus on really, really cleaning the air in one or two rooms. Keep the door closed and crank it up. If noise is an issue, turn it up when you leave the room and down when you come back.
  • These Blue models draw tiny bits of electricity – the 411 draws 2 watts on low – so just let them run all the time instead of trying to save electricity or filters by turning them off and on multiple times a day.

I’ll post later about some herbs that have also helped me during this time.

Adrenal fatigue, Courses, COVID-19, Health, Long Covid, Recovery, Self-care

Help! I’m a “do-er” and I don’t know how to “do” rest!

Emily

I’m guessing a lot of folks out there are having a hard time recuperating from COVID, chronic stress, burnout, and the accumulated fatigue of years of coping through a pandemic. Maybe you feel like you’ve been resting a lot, but you don’t seem to be able to recover that last bit of your energy from the “before times.” Or maybe you were already burned out then!

I’ve just released my new course Self-Care for Restoration, where I teach concrete techniques for moving from total rest into active recovery without falling into a cycle of overdoing-and-crashing. Here’s a sample video, aimed right at all you go-getters who are at a loss when people tell you to “slow down” and “just rest”!

Launch special – I’m offering the course as a name-your-price offering starting at just $5.

Register for the course
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