Headaches in particular are a sign that the brain needs more oxygen.  Taking painkillers is like pushing a snooze button on the pain alarm. In order to decrease the intensity and frequency of headaches, blood flow to the brain needs to be increased. The way we do it is to release the tension of chronically contracted muscles that constrict the blood vessels that feed the brain, most of which lie in the neck. Enter massage.

The Importance of Regular Massage

As a matter of bodily maintenance, visits to the dentist are scheduled once or twice a year.  As such, your muscles need to be taken care of similarly, and massage therapy specializes in soft tissue and muscle relaxation. However, since muscles are more complex, used longer, more frequently and intensely, it is recommended you visit a massage therapist more often than the dentist.

Self-Massage for Headaches

Self-massage is also a great complement to regular massage therapy from a professional practitioner. Growing up, I suffered from headaches often, but luckily for me, my father has been practicing massage since 1970.  My dad taught me how to decrease the pain during an acute headache attack, as well as how to maintain my body to prevent them in the first place. Using massage and stretching on a daily basis helps keep the neck loose and open which increases blood flow to the brain thereby preventing headaches.

Click Here To See David’s Quick Video Tip On Headache Self-Massage

For Best Results:

• Use your fingertips or knuckles to rub your temples in a circular motion.

• Continue down the side of your head just in front of your ears and down along your jawline.

• Similarly, using your fingertips, rub your forehead in circles moving up your scalp and around the entire surface of your head, paying special attention to any sore spots or tender bumps or cords, rubbing back and forth over them.

• Next, focus on your eyebrows by starting on the side of your nose, and pressing on your eyebrow along the line to the ridge of your eye socket.

• Work your way outward, placing pressure on any tender points, then pinch and pull the skin and muscle away from the bone, again starting near your midline and working outward.

• Next, put pressure on either side of your nose near where the apexes of your eyes meet.

• Work your way down, rubbing and pressing on tender points down the sides of your nose and sweep outward underneath your eye, to the bulge of your cheeks and down the sides of your jaw.

• When you are done, stretch your mouth as far as you can.

Using Heat

Heat is also key. The neck is the pathway to the head and everything that comes or goes to the head passes through it. Applying heat to the neck dilates the arteries that supply the brain, as well as the muscles that constrict them.  Heating muscles helps bring necessary nutrients and energy that helps them relax and loosen, making them more flexible and pliable.  A great way to apply moist heat to your neck is with a microwavable rice or flax seed pack. While muscles are hot, they are more receptive to change.

Combining moist heat with stretching and massage will help the tension melt away and the pressure the neck muscles place on the blood vessels going to the brain will lessen.  You can find some stretches that help with headaches on the Psoas Stretching Guide:

• Lateral Neck (#1)

• Upper Trapezius (#2)

• Scalenes (#4)

• Sternocleidomastoid (#5)

• Suboccipitals (#7)

• Erectors (#19)

• Jaw (#48)

Depending on how you use your body, and how often and consistently you complete a self-care routine, professional massage once or twice a month would be a great way to maintain a headache-free and pain-free body.   Massage is now covered by many health care and insurance plans, and qualifies for health flex spending account (FSA) use.

David Onne is on the Faculty of VIHW.  He is currently a massage therapist at Psoas Massage + Bodywork in San Francisco.

This was originally posted on Diakadi blog: www.blog.diakadibody.com

CINNAMON

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known in history and was mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible and in ancient Chinese texts dating back to 2700 BC.  Today, researchers have been putting cinnamon to the test, and the findings are very exciting, and tasty!

Bye-bye Bacteria!

Having anti-viral and anti-microbial properties, cinnamon can act as a food preservative by inhibiting bacterial and fungal growth, helping food to stay fresh longer without adding chemical preservatives.  The effects of cinnamon on the bacteria and fungi in the body arestill being studied, but it has historically been used to treat ulcers caused by bacterial overgrowth in the stomach, and may help reduce yeast infections caused by the common strain, Candida albicans.

Super Cinnamon

Much of the current research centers on cinnamon’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as this may have an impact on many chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.  Cinnamon is high in fiber and manganese with a good source of calcium, and very low in calories, fat, and simple sugars.  The naturally occurring chemicals in cinnamon and its nutrient content have many positive impacts on the body’s inflammatory response, blood sugar metabolism, cholesterol levels, and digestion.  A study conducted on Type II diabetics showed that even just small daily doses (½ tsp) of cinnamon reduced blood sugar levels, and decreased blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which reversed back once the cinnamon was discontinued.  Cinnamon is also a powerful antioxidant, helping to reduce free radicals in the body which can lead to cancer and cardiovascular difficulties.  Most notably, cinnamon has been linked with a reduction in colon cancer.

Smell Yourself Smart

Other research has explored the fragrance of cinnamon and its effects on cognition and brain activity.  Specifically, it showed to have an positive impact on attention, memory, and visual-motor skills in participants.  This is an exciting finding, leading to further research especially for people with declining cognition, such as the elderly.

Sprinkle Here, Sprinkle There

With all these powerful, positive, properties of cinnamon in addition to its “yum” factor, why wouldn’t we want to eat more of it!?  There are plenty of ways to get it into our mouths each and every day.  Add some to your morning breakfast cereal, fruit, oatmeal, toast, or mix it into the cream cheese on your bagel.  Sprinkle onto some apple slices, top off a latte or a scoop of ice cream with a dash, spice up some plain yogurt, or put it in a banana smoothie.  You could even add it into curry, or combine with black beans for a different tasty taco. There are so many ways to celebrate cinnamon and a healthy you and yummy diet!

Dani Bois is on the faculty at VIHW

(info and facts found at http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68 )

It seems like a long time ago now, but I can remember it like yesterday, a golden pocket in my memory…

My experience with the students and staff of Vermont Institute on Heath and Wellness was educational, cleansing, and rejuvenating. All of the staff were very encouraging and supportive, they all came from different backgrounds and with their various expertise, they taught us all the practical things to do to stay healthy. However the biggest thing that I learned about health was not taught by any one counselor or camp member but by the entire camp community as a whole.

This started on the first day of camp when we all sat together in a circle and talked about the kind of “culture” we wanted to create for the camp environment. We discussed and agreed upon what we thought should be allowed and not allowed at camp. We talked about acceptance, confidentiality, trust and respect for the week.

I have done similar activities in school but no one had really taken this seriously. At VIHW we collectively set a powerful intention to make the week a special experience. Because of this, we were able to be ourselves without having to worry about what other kids might think or judge. Within this safe culture, I made close friends very fast, it was special to connect with so many people in this way. I think that the most important thing that I learned while at VIHW is that being yourself is essential to being happy and healthy.

When the week had ended and it was time to go back to my hometown I was sad to leave but I took what I learned with me back to my house. Back in the chaos of school and life, I was able to be clear with myself as to what I wanted and what was best for me. I actually made some pretty big decisions for myself and have been more conscious as to how I treat other people, my body, and myself.

My whole experience at VIHW was memorable but if I had to pick one memorable moment, it would have to be the night where we all fed each other ice cream! It was fun and casual and it felt like a big family. Feeling like you belong is a good feeling.

By Austen Erickson

Tweet

I believe that there are an infinite number of activities, practices, perspectives, and experiences that can bring wellness to everyone. – Gabe, VIHW Counselor

The sun is setting over Ninja Hill in the small town of Starksboro, the crickets are chirping their summertime symphony and the fireflies are dancing on top of the fresh Vermont grass.  Eighteen anxious students scramble from their eco-friendly cabins with flash lights and journals in hand and march down the dusty rock path to the Hay Barn for the first official meeting of camp. The students enter the barn to find a blank white dry erase board surrounded by an inviting circle of purple yoga mats. The staff is huddled-up arm in arm, giggling on the side of the room with their matching mesh t-shirts. Anxiously the students situate themselves on the mats and wait for the meeting to begin. Silent questions such as “What are we going to do here?” “ Should I have brought an extra toothbrush?” “What if people don’t like me?” fill the room with a rigidity and stiffness.

Gently, the staff joins the students in the circle while one walks over to the dry erase board with a black marker and writes the question:

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

This is the essence of The Vermont Institute on Health and Wellness (VIHW), a unique two week camp that aims to help teenagers, from Vermont and beyond, to discover their authentic interests and support them in finding healthy ways to express themselves in the world. VIHW was founded in 2007, with its first summer program taking place in 2008 with a group of twelve students, and it has been growing steadily ever since.  Participants learn about wellness, healing modalities, and self-health through workshops, experiential learning, group discussions, reflective journaling, and play. Student demand has not only led to the growth of the summer camp, but also to the creation of an autumn reunion for staff and students. A VIHW winter program is also in the works.

During the summer weeks spent at VIHW, campers contribute to the creation of a community – a space that fosters students’ transformation into their true, unique, and celebrated selves. Austen Erickson, one of VIHW’s graduates, writes of his experience as a member of the camp community:

Within this safe culture, I made close friends very fast, it was very special to connect with so many people in this way. I think that the most important thing that I learned while at VIHW is that being yourself is essential to being happy and healthy.

But how is this kind of transformational community created?

It begins with the staff. The staff is comprised of a diverse group of compassionate and committed individuals with training in fields such as yoga, conflict resolution and mediation, leadership, nutrition, life-coaching, massage therapy, theatre, and alternative medicine. This variety means students have all the more chances to step outside their comfort zones as they try new foods, new exercises, unfamiliar healing modalities, and novel activities for creative expression.

The staff creates a space, but the students are what shape it. The students practice breathing exercises, go on an herb-walk with a clinical herbalist, and learn how to find cooking ingredients in their own backyards. They practice Kripalu yoga, Acro-Yoga and Laughter Yoga –  and they take dance and theatrical improvisation classes. They take a workshop on effective communication and conflict resolution and meditate with a Buddhist monk. They are pushed to their physical limit by a “Fit Rebel,” and then they take a workshop about healthy communities and community organizing! They share their unique gifts in a group talent show, and finish with a dance party.

Sound esoteric and weird? This incredibly diverse group of experiences create a fertile learning ground for the students to discover what they are truly interested and passionate about in the world. It opens the doors for the students to open their minds and hearts to create a life for themselves that aligns with their authentic passions and dreams.

Back in the chaos of school and life, I was able to be clear with myself as to what I wanted and what was best for me. I actually made some pretty big decisions for myself and have been more conscious as to how I treat other people, my body, and myself.

–Erickson, after returning home from VIHW.

Daniel Gilbert, Harvard professor and author of Stumbling on Happiness, sums it up nicely through his observation:

Once we have an experience, we are therefore unable to see the world as we did before.

The opportunity for this kind of experience is available for students at VIHW.

Authors: Dani Bois, Katie Sereika, Jen Taylor
Edited by Jeff Mandell, Director of the Vermont Institute on Health and Wellness