The bay area has been a weather buster over the past weeks, approaching summer. In a period of days, the area has experienced drizzle, cold winds, high humidity, overcast and blue skies, and even quite a bit of heat. Though Mark Twain never did write it, he is widely credited for the reminiscent phrase "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." The point being that San Francisco summers require a bit of extra care, and there is a way to be healthy with the flux of weather when traveling between neighborhoods and sides of the bay. Here are some tips from local & renowned health care professionals, encouraging health this summer.
What is the summer season about?
Summer is the time of year when there is a lot of growth in the natural world. With more hours of sunlight before summer solstice, (it may be more accurate to emphasize the longer days, for those in the bay area), plants grow like crazy and the annuals and grasses that distinguish the California rolling hills dry out and “turn brown in the summertime,” as warned folk singer-songwriter Kate Wolf. The longer days of summer encourage more activity and socializing in the world; the time of travel and being out of the house to enjoy the light. Agriculturally, and for all the same reasons, the summer season is the time of harvest. Summer is the “energetic and metabolic peak in the year. Not surprisingly, summer is related to the Fire element, and the Heart channel of the body,” says San Francisco based licensed acupuncturist Jeannie Bianchi. TIP #1: Take notice if you’re inclined to follow your heart. If you’re willing to be on the adventure, do you find you’ve led yourself to exciting and challenging situations that reflect past patterns and behaviors and maybe even inspire growth? Or, has your heart lead you to caring for your body, and maybe even some self-care and bodywork that you’ve been putting off?
What effect does this seasonal change have on your body? Our bodies respond to drastic shifts in weather, sometimes with variance of emotional response, elation for example, and other times with symptoms such as respiratory congestion, or aching joints. Sinus congestion, difficult or effort-ed breathing and a tickle in the throat are a few common allergy signs of our bodies responding to the change in season. The body also expresses the challenges it faces in the transition of seasons by tightening up, and sometimes drying up, likewise the hills turning brown this season. Shifts in outside temperature, moisture, and weather affect our internal system. TIP #2: It is important to stay hydrated, so that the body can respond with fluidity to these shifts. Drinking half your body weight in ounces, according to author and retired chiropractor and nutritionist Shereen Jegtvig, helps your body maintain its daily functions. Hydration regulates how well we accomplish tasks as well as our appetite, and nutrient absorption during digestion.
How can bodywork be of assistance this season? Bodywork influences the tissue of the body to regulate and maintain fluidity through manual manipulation and palpation. TIP #3: Massage keeps your body agile, mobile, flexible and capable. Intensive exercise regimens, including classes and workouts often push exercisers to exhaustion, stimulate endorphin release and feeling good; however, these workouts lack the key component to relaxation, exhalation. Massage encourages all the tissues of the body to relax and release stress that builds-up. A trained therapist may guide a client to generate and develop the release of the breath in areas of the body where stress and tension are being held.
Bodywork will help you loosen and relax your useful body. Softening from all of the contraction stimulated by daily life, including choosing to, or not to follow your heart, stressors and intensive workout sessions. Bodywork is an important aspect of what keeps you healthy inside and out. The effects are visible in appearance, demeanor and movements. The outer layers of our physical form, our skin, expresses body health and will be more elastic, smooth, and soft with the combination of hydration, exercise and bodywork. There are more and more cited benefits, as various modalities of bodywork are studied and considered treatments for various conditions, diseases and diagnoses. Bodies that receive nurturing to explore, ample water and great bodywork experience more flexibility and mobility. Additionally, people notice when friends and family are relaxed, and they comment and compliment!
How's your body going to be doing this summer? The idea is to get the body out of protest, remove obstacles that inhibit the actualization of unique individual human potential. You determine how your body is going to be doing this summer. Explore, hydrate and nourish with these 3 tips this summer. If you aren’t experiment with being consistent and get your body on track to feeling marvelous, fluid and active. Find a bodyworker in a modality that suits you and interests you, and book a session today. You may make a request of your practitioner, that she/he focuses on places where you tend to hold tension. Release these areas so that you feel great and keep feeling better!
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