Wellness With a Smile / Pilates Janica

  A headache that just doesn't go away, a feeling of heaviness throughout your shoulders and neck. You feel a constant chill like you are getting the flu.  A feeling that you can’t breathe.  This is your body trying to tell you to stop .  A medical article about Swedish massage concluded that “ 5 weeks of weekly Swedish massage stimulated a sustained pattern of increased circulating phenotypic lymphocyte (white blood cells that defend the body from disease)markers and decreased mitogen-stimulated cytokine production, similar to what was previously reported for a single massage session (Rapaport et al. 2012)”.  These effects can last from one day to several weeks depending on how many sessions a person has.  So what does this all mean?Your body needs a little assistance to be able to cope with the changes in the weather, your stress levels and just life in general. Going towards fall and winter it is vital to get a boost in your immune system to reduce the risk of getting a cold o

 Kinesiology taping is a fascinating way to reduce swelling, decrease pain and help the joints to stay mobile.    It is a  latex-free hypoallergenic cotton fibre tape  that stretches, thus it helps to lift the skin and help blood flow and decrease pressure in the taped area. A Dr Kenzo Kase researched the possibility of having a tape that would help heal muscle tissue. Conventional sports tape was beneficial for strapping the joint and or muscle as well as decreasing movement for the area to heal, but it also reduced range of motion, which could lead to the joint or muscle not healing properly.  After studying and redesigning the tape Dr Kase invented the Kinesio Tex   ®  Tape.  Since then variations of this tape have been designed with the same effects as the original. The benefits of Kinesiology tape (Kinesio tape is a trademark) are: ➡ Breathability ➡  Material stretches ➡  Can be used multiple days in a row and is waterproof ➡  Increases muscle recovery from trauma or D.O.M.S. ➡  A