Top Natural Muscle Relaxants

During a recent Tui Na (Chinese)Massage, my therapist commented on how tight my muscles are. I thought about what the causes are and I'm sure none are unique to me: tensing up when stressed, high impact cardio exercise, bad posture to name a few. So here are some natural options to relax those muscles when you are feeling the tension.

•Take Magnesium Supplements. A well known muscle relaxant which most of us don’t get enough of in our diets. Highly effective for avoiding aches and pains after exercise. Take before you go to bed to help you sleep.

• Have Hot & Cold Showers. Not something that would immediately come to mind as relaxing but it really does work, especially after exercise. A hot shower will relax the muscle but will also increase inflammation, so follow it immediately by a cold shower that will increase circulation and decrease inflammation. A bit of a shock at first but you get used to it and it’s very exhilarating!

• Try Yin Yoga. Deeply restorative, you hold postures for a long time, stretching and opening your muscles in a very gentle way. A fantastic wind down before bed time. (You will need a bolster) Highly recommend Simon Low’s yin and yang yoga dvd which has a dedicated section.

• Good old Massage. All different types are relaxing and will help your muscles soften. Try sports or tui na for a more vigorous massage that will concentrate on specific muscles or Thai Yoga Massage for a nice big stretch!

• Correct your posture. Bad posture is very common caused by muscle inbalance. Certain muscles will have to work harder than others resulting in tension or pain. A good personal trainer will be able to analyse your posture and put you on a regime to help strengthen the weak muscles. Alternatively try the Alexander technique or Pilates.

• Rest. So many of us feel the need to keep going, setting ourselves more goals to achieve. Be gentle on yourself and when you feel tense, sore or tight, get plenty of “me time” to rest and restore your body.

Stella

Study shows holidays can help people live longer

When I read this in the press a few weeks ago I thought that it must have been a bad news day given they are stating the obvious. The Australian study said that taking holidays increase happiness, better health and could be prescribed in the future by doctors for depression . Oh yeah, I hear you ask, who will pay for that...the taxpayer, especially when we are reducing a record deficit! But what we don’t factor in is how much of tax payers money is used to prescribe drugs for depression.

The study triggered a thought process on what people are looking for from their holidays and how this has changed over the years. The old style fly and flop holidays have gone out of fashion, particularly for professional people, who are now demanding more from their valuable time off. They have been replaced with experiences where you can learn, heal and grow in a beautiful environment. It’s about getting results and coming back with a return on your holiday investment.

We have seen this over and over again with our clients . For many of them sitting on a beach with a bit of pampering every now and then is not enough. They want to achieve something and come back with knowledge, tools and feeling rejuvenated so they can deal with the additional stress everyone is encountering at work nowadays. That is why we are extremely stringent with our quality checks for our wellbeing packages and all details are thought of, from the quality of the treatments, to the food and other activities to name a few.

So its all moved on to be about R O I - think about how your next holiday can give you a return on your investment and hopefully help you live longer.

Stella

Stress Vaccine is Bad...or is it?

I read a report last weekend about scientists from California developing a vaccine that will reduce ongoing stress. On a simple level, this is how it works. When we are in a stressful situation our fight or flight instinct produces a hormone that helps us deal with the situation. Unlike animals, this hormone will not disappear once the situation has been resolved but will linger to produce toxic chemicals that go straight to the brain and undermine our immune system, contributing to the onset of disease. So, the scientists are working on a vaccine that will neutralise the bad hormones before they can damage the brain. Apparently this is years away but trials have been very effective on rats.

I have a bit of an internal conflict going on about whether this is a good development or not. There are so many “natural” tools to help to reduce stress that I consistently advocate. Yoga, meditation, exercise, having fun with friends, holidays (especially wellbeing escapes)....the list is endless so why can’t people adopt techniques that are proven to enhance wellbeing and reduce illness?...the answer is many people can and do and many people are open to finding out more.

BUT there is still a big chunk of the population who thinks its all a bit mumbo jumbo and prefers to pop a pill or have an injection for instant results. Can we convince those people otherwise?...probably not, so the vaccine can actually have a positive effect on those who wouldn’t use any natural means anyway. I also have a vision of lots of calm, happy people with less aggressive behaviour and more positive vibes. Am I dreaming?...possibly not.
Stella

Pre Holiday Tips

Every year I get super stressed before I take my spa holiday. The run up to the date of travel is horrendous with self imposed personal deadlines adding to the obligatory work deadlines. This year I decided to do it differently and force myself not to get into a frenzy .
For those who haven’t yet gone away here are some tips to take away the stress of travel and burnout before you go:

• Do NOT try and leave your home spotless before you go (many of us have inherited this from our mothers). Yes it’s nice to come back to a clean place but it doesn’t need to look like a show home!

• Ditto with the laundry – just launder all the clothes you want to take on holiday

• The day before you travel try and eat your evening meal by 7pm and make it low in carbs. This allows your digestive system to work before bedtime giving you a better night’s sleep. There is nothing worse than feeling exhausted before you get on the plane.

• Cut down on stimulants and drink plenty of water a few days before travelling. This helps with jet lag and also reduces water retention. Even on some short flights you can feel sluggish and look puffy and bloated when you arrive (not a great beach look!)
  

• If your flight is not too early, try and do some stretching before you go to the airport so your body doesn’t feel knotted and tight during the flight

• I always travel with my holistic silk massaging slippers and lavender eye mask (even for short haul flights). The slippers are great for flights as they have magnetic insoles that help with circulation and massage your feet. www.holisticsilk.com

For more advice before you take your luxury spa holiday visit our website!

Happy travelling!
Stella

MEDITATION Comes Out of the Closet

Excuse the pun, but I have had meditation on my mind for quite a while now. As someone who used to meditate at least once a day over 10 years ago, I don’t need convincing about the benefits. So why did I stop? You know how it goes...I convinced myself that I was so busy that I couldn’t find 15 minutes a day to practice something that would help me stay healthy, calm and focused and actually be more productive!

I tried to convince the sceptics around me of the proven benefits, flattening the 60’s image of bearded Indian gurus, mung beans and middle aged hippies sitting cross legged in circles chanting and smoking joints. What a difference 10 years can make in perception and image! It seems that the media machine is working hard as journalists cover the topic in broadsheets and glossy magazines to push meditation into today’s sober baby boomer consciousness. You know why? There are more and more stories being shared by high-powered, top of the power chain execs that meditate as part of their success regimen. Even the medical profession has reached a state of consciousness as the NHS now prescribe meditation to help treat depression, high blood pressure and even diabetes. Scientific research conducted at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts is routinely quoted to prove that this is not some far out practice only for disciples of the Beatles sojourn to India a few decades ago.

So I feel like the universe is telling me to pick up where I left off. I recently discovered www.getsomeheadspace.com which is a good introduction to meditation that you can do online. If like me, you want to a face to face session to start or kick start, check out www.londonmeditationcentre.co.uk.

Here at Wellbeing Escapes are working on a range of meditation holidays, so focus and watch this space.

Stella

Austrian Remedy for Stubborn Coughs

One of the many advantages of working in the travel industry is that you get to meet lots of people from different cultures and countries. Add a wellbeing twist and you learn about indigenous remedies that people have followed for generations and are open and generous about sharing their pearls of wisdom with you.

I recently had a stubborn cough that was keeping me awake at night and the usual gargling with sea salt, lozenges and even cough medicine was not helping. I resisted going to the doctor to be dished out the obligatory antibiotics but I had to do something as I was exhausted and cranky during the day! I then received an email from an Austrian business associate with a great tip that has tried and tested results:

Hollow out half an onion, fill with liquid honey and leave overnight. Eat the honey with a spoon the following day.

As you can imagine, not the nicest taste in the world but after doing this for 2 days, my cough gradually got better and I had a solid nights sleep. Must be something to do with the antibacterial properties of onions and honey.

I am now on a quest to collect more of these remedies from my international colleagues!

Stella

Conde Naste Traveller Spa Awards

I attended the Conde Naste Traveller Spa Awards last night at the Mandarin Oriental in London and apart from enjoying the champagne and very tasty but healthy hors d'ouvres I was pleasantly suprised with the results. I am always quite sceptical about how these awards are dished out by publications (are they truly based on readers voting or more biased towards the hotels that support them through big advertising budgets?). However Conde Naste proved to be at least somewhat true to their word that the readers choose who wins in the various categories. Our friends at SHA Wellness Clinic picked up the best medical spa award and I know for a fact that they have not been advertising! Susan Harmsworth, founder of Espa gave a short but powerful speech about how the industry should not jump onto the bandwagon on the current buzzword "Wellness" without being able to deliver true wellness to the customer - this is the real mind, body and soul stuff!

Which leads me on nicely to our biggest mantra at Wellbeing Escapes which is authenticity! We pride ourselves on only featuring hotels and spas that provide exactly what they promise. The newest and sexiest doesn't necessarily mean the best and these places are not cheap - so you want to make sure your expectations are delivered on. I was therefore delighted to see that some of our closest partners were shortlisted and picked up awards based on the quality of what is delivered.

SHA Wellness Clinic, Spain - Voted number 1 in best Medical, Thermal & Natural Spas category

Como Shambhala Retreat Cocoa Island, Maldives - Voted number 1 in best Hotel Spas category in Africa, Middle East & Indian Ocean

Six Senses Spa, Kempinski Hotel, Barbaros Bay,Turkey - Voted number 2 in best hotel spas category in Europe & Asia Minor

The Retreat Spa, Aphrodite Hills, Cyprus - Voted number 3 in best Hotel Spas category in Europe & Asia Minor

Como Shambhala Estate, Bali - Voted number 3 in best overseas Spa Retreats category

Chiva Som, Thailand - Voted number 4 in best overseas Spa Retreats category

Ananda in the Himalaya, India - Voted number 5 in best overseas Spa Retreats category

Six Senses Spa, Porto Elounda, Crete - Voted number 5 in best Hotel Spas category in Europe & Asia Minor

To read more about our luxury spa holidays visit our website