Juice Plus+

Juice Plus+ is whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 25 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Juice Plus+ helps bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day. Not a multivitamin, medicine, treatment or cure for any disease, Juice Plus+ is made from quality ingredients carefully monitored from farm to capsule to provide natural nutrients your body needs to be at its best.

Find out how Juice Plus+ can help you and your family!

Infant Massage Techniques

Little ones need massage, too

Infant massage promotes the bond between parent and helps your baby relax. Because massage is so beneficial to both baby and parent, it’s become a part of the bedtime routine for a lot of families, but it can be done at any time of day to ease a tummy ache, increase circulation, or soothe a tired, cranky baby. Here are a few massages to try incorporating into your routine with baby every day.

Stomach

Infants sometimes wake in the middle of the night with horrible gas pains. Making a gentle tummy massage routine, along with a leg lift to the chest can help your baby expel gas to reduce stomach ache.

To massage the stomach, place your hands above baby’s belly button, then lightly begin to massage around the belly button to create a circle. Repeat as needed and adjust pressure based on your child and the amount of gas pain she’s experiencing.

Legs and Feet

After massaging your baby’s stomach, begin to rub her feet and legs using a circular motion to the feet. If she has painful gas, you may need to alternate between a leg massage and stomach massage to release some of the gas. Simply hold your baby’s legs at her feet and press down toward her stomach, then release.

A great foot massage can calm baby’s nerves. Even if you don’t have massage oil, rubbing baby’s feet while you hold her can be very beneficial to her sense of comfort. While holding your baby’s foot in your hand, place your thumbs next to each other at baby’s heel. Rub with light pressure in an upward and circular motion with both thumbs until you reach baby’s toes. Continue to massage and lightly lift each toe, then move on to the next foot.

Chest

Some parents begin their massage session at the chest. Start under your child’s chin and gently massage in a heart shape, moving up to the shoulders then down to the lower chest. Some babies don’t like this massage, while others do — you’ll learn this about your little one soon enough.

Arms and Hands

After massaging your baby’s chest, make your way down the side of her left shoulder and rub her arm using your thumbs. Once you reach her hand, move your thumbs in a circular and upward motion in the palms of baby’s hand toward her fingers. Then massage and each finger. Repeat massage on the right side.

Though massaging baby’s arm may not always be necessary, massaging your baby’s hand either by rubbing her palm with your thumb or simply holding her hand can promote bonding and security.

Back

To massage baby’s back, start at her shoulders and move your hands away from one another then down to create a heart shape. Continue in a straight line down the rest of her back. Depending on your baby, you can continue to massage her back in a circular motion with your hands or using just your thumbs.

When rubbing your baby’s back, be careful of her head and neck, and be sure that her head is either turned to the side for breathing, or that she’s old enough to hold her head up for the minute or so you rub her back

Head

There are several different massages you can try for your baby’s head. Which massage you choose to use depends on the age/development of your baby and what she prefers. Always be careful around the soft spot on baby’s head.

Using the tips of your fingers, gently massage baby’s face starting from between her eyebrows. Move your fingers up above her brows and down along the sides of her head. Feel her earlobes and massage the ends.

Other massages to try on the head and face are an eye massage where you use your middle finger to lightly trace the circle around baby’s eyes, and rubbing your palm down over baby’s forehead to her eyelids to encourage rest.

Stress and the Immune System

System overload?

Have you found yourself under stress then the onset of illness? According to study, research shows that stress and the immune system work hand-in-hand.

How to reduce the wear, tear, and misery that the upcoming holiday stress can inflict? Finding ways to reduce your anxiety may reduce your risk of:

-Heart disease, including heart attacks

-Skin conditions, including psoriasis and shingles

-Digestive disorder flare-ups, such as symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease

-Immune disorders, including flare-ups of multiple sclerosis and lupus

-Anxiety, depression, and insomnia

-Worsening pain, if you already have a pain disorder such as arthritis, back pain, and muscle spasms

Finding ways to help reduce stress are essential. Tapping into your senses can help in many ways.

The power of massage is proven to help eliminate stress. Call Body-N-Balance to schedule your therapeutic massage today!
Omni Hotel, Corpus Christi: 361-887-1600
Omni, Hotel, San Antonio: 210-699-5969

Prenatal Massage Benefits

Benefits of Massage

Pregnancy is a time of overwhelming emotions and can put stress on your body. Today many are turning to massage as part of their prenatal care due to the many benefits. Woman can begin massage at any time during pregnancy, however, some facilities may deny massage during the first 12 weeks due to the possibility of miscarriage.

Prenatal Massage Benefits:

* Reduce anxiety
* Decrease symptoms of depression
* Relieve muscle aches/joint pain
* Mood regulation
* Improve cardiovascular health
* Improve outcomes in delivery and newborn health
* Reduction of swelling
* Improve nerve pain in lower back
* Improve sleep
* Reduce headaches

Discuss massage with your health care provider to discuss the risk of prenatal massage. Call Body-N-Balance to schedule your prenatal massage today!

Omni Hotel Corpus Christi, TX 361-887-1600 or x3180
Omni Hotel San Antonio, TX 210-699-5969 or x5969

The Key to Happiness

Ever wonder, “What is the key to happiness?” many have tapped into the daily emailed quotes, read blogs, seen posts and pictures on facebook newsfeeds and read books assigned in the workplace all suggesting the key to enlightenment. While nobody knows for sure, there are hundreds of tips out there claiming the answer. While searching for the key, I noticed many tips kept appearing in the literature.

Here are a few:

Vitamin D increases serotonin, boost immunity, and protects against cancer.

Cut caffeine-coffee increases anxiety levels, which equals irritability. Instead, try Green Tea (and it’s good for weight loss).

Express Gratitude-show thanks with written expression, tweet, text, sticky notes, dry erase marker on the bathroom mirror, etc.

Practice random acts of kindness-treat others the way you want to be treated. Try going out of your way to do something nice for someone-without expecting something in return. Open the door for someone. I just read in my neighborhood Facebook thread of a girl buying the person behind her a Starbucks coffee. Remember the movie ‘Pay It Forward’?

Smile-it’s free! Smiling sends signals to the brain, “I’m happy!” When you smile, you are more approachable.

Set goals-setting long and short term goals gives one something to look forward to-success. Who doesn’t want to know they accomplished something? Start with short term goals-something within reach to ensure success.

Surround yourself with positive people-Jon Gordon, in his book ‘The Energy Bus’, suggested staying away from Energy Vampires. Look on the bright side of life’s lessons and weed out the negativity. You have a choice everyday to embrace what comes your way or become bitter, which can ruin other’s day.

Do something nice for yourself-how many of us get so busy with kids, work, chores and never stop to do something for us? Stop and get your hair done, pedicure, massage, get a new ebook! My favorite thing right now is getting a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee (I am not giving up the caffine-it makes me happy!)

Maintain your health-being overweight or not eating healthy is a recipe for a negative mood. Exercise releases endorphins that give you a feeling of happiness. Try bike riding with the kids, take a short walk before or after work, or go to the gym on your lunch break.

PLAY-we often get so wrapped up in the daily routine of making dinner, dishes, laundry and don’t stop to enjoy the now. Make a point to just let things sit-go visit a long lost friend, enjoy a book, play games with the kids.

and…

Get enough sleep-adults need the average 7-9 hours of sleep.

Life is full of daily challenges. Remember, it is up to you to decide to embrace what comes your way or let it get the best of you. Challenge yourself to one new key-hopefully it leads to a happier day!

Below is great short and quick read on ways to become a happier person-even if you already are.

http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B0030MV7MU&source_code=FBIGB909MSH062613

The Power of Massage

The power of massage has derived from techniques rooted from ancient history. Natural healing and massage was used to heal injuries, prevent and cure illness, and relieve pain.

Today massage therapy is a highly respected holistic healing approach and is practiced across the world.

Prevent and Heal Injuries

Massage therapy melts away stress and tension, relieving associated headaches and muscular aches/pains. Massage reduces injury healing time by encouraging the body’s own healing process to act. Massage is recommended for:

• asthma
• arthritis
• back pain
• cancer
• depression
• diabetes
• knee injury
• multiple sclerosis
• pregnancy
• pre/post surgical procedures
• relaxation
• stress
• whiplash

* For more information on other injuries massage therapy can help prevent, visit http://massage.ca

Prevent and Cure Illness

In addition to treatment provided by a physician, massage therapy may prevent and speed recovery in:

• mental health
• cancer
• pain control
• chronic lung disease
• digestive tract
• injuries

Relieve Pain

• Massage confuses the body’s pain signals with the power of rub, sending other impulses along the same nerve.
• Massage provides deep relaxation by improving blood circulation and oxygen.
• Massage relieves mental stress and anxiety with the power of touch.
• Massage also calls up the body’s natural painkillers by stimulating the release of endorphins.

Suffer from any of the above? Try the power of massage-could be what the doctor ordered!