Michelle Wald

How I Love Massage, Let Me Count The Ways!

michelle — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:41:19 +0000

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a good massage. Massages are relaxing, pampering, and rejuvenating. Massage can also help specifically address a number of health issues. It goes deep to relieve stress, pain, and improve connectivity in the body. Over the next months I will be exploring the range of benefits from bodywork.

Bodywork can:

low-back pain and improve range of motion.
Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
Ease medication dependence.
Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system.
Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
Help athletes of any level perform better, prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts
Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.
Increase joint flexibility.
Lessen depression and anxiety.
Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
Improve surgical outcomes by lessening adhesions pre surgery
Reduce postsurgery adhesions and swelling.
Reduce spasms and cramping.
Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.
Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
Relieve migraine pain

How has massage helped you? Comment on this post or on my facebook, and tell us your story.

Often people lose hope over their struggle with a nagging pain or problem. Aston-Kinetics can help you move forward on your journey to wellness. You only need to take the first step to getting
help. There is always some place to go on your journey. If you have a need relief for any of these things, give me a call for a free phone consultation. Let me help you.

The World’s Not Flat

michelle — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:54:13 +0000

We often make assumptions about the way things are. Whether we think the world’s flat or margarine is the same as butter, we hold tightly to our beliefs until someone comes along with the proof to challenge us.
In PT school I learned how to break down complex movements into simple 2D components. It was taught, and so I believed, that all movement could be measured in 2 dimensions. Shoulder movements were and still are measured by forward and back, right to left, or internal and external rotations. While I practiced this measurement system myself, I have always had an innate conflict with this idea-because we are 3 dimensional creatures! 2D directional movements contain useful data and are still the quickest way to assess progress, but they are fragmented components of all of the shoulder’s natural 3D movement.
The true range and full motion of our joints can’t be captured by looking at 2D fragments, even if we add them all together. Even if you brought in integrals and calculus, the computation would be too hard. Our movements are NOT geometrically consistent or symmetrical. The movements of the body spiral, curve, and have asymmetrical strengths.
The measurement techniques I used in PT school, are useful. But it’s important to remember that we are more than our measurements. It’s my goal that Physical Therapists and their clients move their understanding of the body beyond the 2D plane. Until we gain awareness about the body’s function, integration, and patterning we will always be limiting our horizons.

My dear client Sandy Blackard spoke about this journey from 2D to 3D in her blog post:
There is infinite movement possibilities in the body, I wonder if our workouts matched our 3D ness, it would also be infinitely more interesting to do. Even if we added just a little of the asymmetry to our movements we would have more 3D freedom available to explore our possibilities. 3D is not just for the movies, it is for your best body!

When you ache don’t focus on one area of tightness. When you work out don’t just isolate one muscle group. Use functional motions to strengthen your body. When you stretch move your whole body, every length, width, and depth. Much like a cat stretches, with intuition and expansion. Be more aware of your 3D-ness!

Easy Tips and Healthy Treats for the Holidays

michelle — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:28:32 +0000

Most people gain 5-10 pounds over the holidays, and the fear of that fact is enough to make most people go into an all or nothing mentality around this time of year — either it’s a personal war against holiday sweets or an calorie blind open-arms welcome to feasting. The important thing is to Enjoy yourself, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be choosy. Select only the most delectable treats and indulge in moderation. You don’t need to try each cookie, there will be plenty around. Savor every bite and make it worth those calories.

Tip 1: Welcome the abundance of food around you, but plan to pace yourself rather than deprive yourself. The truth is one or two meals are not going to add on the pounds, it is the consistent overindulgence that gets you on the sugar roller coaster.

Tip 2: Regular exercise, of course. Never underestimate a walk around the neighborhood. Walks are a great way to clear your mind and find some alone time during the holiday time. A brisk 30 min walk on a daily basis will keep your metabolism going. Or try something fun and different like Rollerskating or Zumba to get you excited and moving.

Tip 3: Everyone else is bringing the OooyGooy. Bring the food you want to eat. I love Elizabeth Rider’s new E-cookbook Whole Eating . Check her out on Amazon or her blog. Here are some of her great recipe ideas to keep from being swept away by holiday sugar and carb cravings. Bring these to your next party or keep them in the fridge to satisfy cravings.

Endive with artichoke dip and pine nuts head endive leaves, washed and separated

1 large clove garlic, peeled
1 15 ounce can organic artichoke hearts packed in water, drained well
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach leaves
½ cup grated parmesan cheese (pecorino cheese works well here, too)
¼ pine nuts, lightly toasted
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Recipe: Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Reserve on a plate to let cool. Pulse the garlic clove alone in the food processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses. Add the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil and pulse until chopped, about 10 more pulses. Turn the food processor on and stream in the olive oil. Blend until well combine but still a little chunky, about 30 second total.

Arrange the endive leaves on a large platter and scoop 1 generous teaspoon into the end of each leaf, leaving one end of the leaf up for easy grabbing. Sliced cucumber rounds also work great here if you can’t find endive leaves. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 15 minutes before guests arrive.

Herbed Goat Cheese Cherry Tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes, washed 7 cut in half lengthwise
4 ounces herbed goat cheese, room temperature
Sea salt
Coarse black pepper

Recipe: Using a small spoon, carefully scoop out the inside of each tomato half and discard the pulp. If each half won’t stand up on it’s own, use a small paring knife to slice off the very bottom of the tomato to make it flat, being careful not to slice through to the middle. Arrange the tomatoes on a serving platter, open side up. Scoop about ½ teaspoon goat cheese into each tomato half, using your clean fingers if you need to. The amount of cheese used will depend on how big the tomatoes are – let the cheese create a mound on top of the tomato. Sprinkle the entire platter with a few pinches of sea salt and black pepper for both flavor and decoration. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 15 minutes before guests arrive.

Check out my previous post of The Sugar Roller Coaster.

Want an extra boost of help against sugar cravings? Try my Sugar Buster Reset program.

Holiday Sugar Reset

michelle — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:33:32 +0000

HOLIDAY SUGAR RESET
Find yourself tired and guilty after all those holiday parties? Find it hard to deny your sugar addict once it’s been unleashed? Give yourself a RESET button! This 5 Day Holiday Sugar Reset is a great way to get your body back on track through balanced nutrition. Maintain your sanity through this sugar coated season and start your New Years resolution early! You aren’t in it alone. Dr. Deb Kern and Dr. Karen Wolfe – a.k.a. the Sugar Busters- will guide you with personalized audio inspiration for the 5 days of the sugar cleanse, as well as tips and literature to stay strong during and after you have reset. Start at time that works best for you. Schedule your Reset before or after the Holiday of your choice, just give me a week notice to order your Reset Kit.Contact me to get started! info@michellewald.com 512-633-7471 Top Reasons to do the Sugar Buster Reset: 1. Don’t gain those extra 4-5lbs* . Lose them! 2. It will be much easier to pass by those sweets laying around, if you can take control of your cravings. 3. Sleep like a baby while your body healthfully detoxes. 4. Don’t wait to get healthy – do it now! Look GREAT for the holidays and after. 5. Increase energy/immune system 5. Save money on your grocery/food bills with our healthy and inexpensive Meal Replacement Shakes and Snack Bars. 6. Receive phone and email coaching from Wellness and Fitness Experts Dr’s Karen Wolfe and Deborah Kern, and Michelle Wald- everything from nutrition to fitness, stress reduction to overcoming emotional eating and making your health a priority, a lifestyle and FUN! Reserve your spot today! For Details, Contact Me 512-633-7471 Info@michellewald.com

Follow Your Gut- Benefits of Visceral Massage

michelle — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:49:17 +0000

Would you put down Irritable Bowl Syndrome on a massage intake form? How about a hysterectomy? Many people would ignore these things, separating in their mind a connection between our organs and muscles. In my practice, I integrate visceral massage (organ massage) with myofascial work to tackel deeply rooted tensions in the body. This topic is at the front of my mind, because I recently I re-took the Aston-Patterning Artho class. This was my fourth time taking the class, and I’m in awe of how much I learn each time. The more I work with visceral massage the more attuned I become to the special movements and timing of these subtle systems.

It’s common to think of our organs as floating bowls of jelly inside us, but each organ is actually held within a sack and then double or evn trippled bagged by facia. These sacks are then connected to our deepest tissue layers lining the neck, back, groin, and abdomen. They act as another nervous system which stores our deepest feelings and hurts, and are usually treated with the least attention. As embryos we develop from our stomachs out. From this perspective, it seems intuitive that muscle tensions in our limbs could have root in our deep core.

Working with clients who have chronic problems. I find using visceral massage to be quite useful. Paying attention to the organs offers detox, deep relief, mobility, and relaxation. By balancing the viscera, the improvements gained during the rest of the session seem to last longer. Visceral work may leave you feeling a bit bloated at first, but then the detox benefits will kick in. You will need to void more often (this may be a blessing for some) and due to the nature of detox you may feel a little tired for the day. Drinking lots of water and or green tea will help this process along.

In balancing the organ system my clients enjoy more integration through their bodies as they progress through physical therapy. My advice is, follow your gut!

The Sugar Roller Coaster

michelle — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:41:43 +0000

I am a foodie, I have loved to eat since l was born. I have always had a big appetite. After having children I noticed a change in my weight and it wasn’t less. I tried a shake type diet and lost weight and I promptly gained it back and more. I was working out 4-5 days a week but it didn’t make the dent that I wanted. I blame kid food! I don’t have to tell you what that is; basically it is what I call SAD food. High carb foods basically designed to be gobbled down fast, so fast that you sometimes don’t realize how much sugar you are really eating!

SAD = Standard American Diet = Highly processed high glycemic meals are abundantly all around to feed our sugar cravings.

It wasn’t until I went on a Low Sugar Cleanse followed by a transition to a low glycemic lifestyle; I became free from my sugar cravings.

Anyone have Cravings, anyone?
The rise and fall of your Blood sugar and how it effects your body

There has been a lot of information about how to best lose weight over the last 30-40 years, the diet industry is booming, but as a culture we are still gaining weight out of control! What is going on?

In Physical Therapy school I learned that burning more calories than you take-in is how you lose weight (i.e. Calories IN < Calories OUT). While that simple equation is true, the details behind how your body processes calories makes the situation not so simple.

Now I am reading all this information on keeping our blood sugar under control — in a narrow range- can actually help us be healthier and release fat! Low glycemic eating is about more than just weight loss. It has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and decrease need for medication in type II diabetes. And best of all, Low Glycemic eating is about new, yummy, and better food choices and combinations

Let me give you a little Physiology lesson to give you some background on why low glycemic eating is so healthy.

There are 2 important hormones in the regulation of our blood sugar levels.

1. Insulin is released when blood sugar rises to lower the blood sugar- allowing the cells to take in sugar to be used as fuel (in your muscles) or stored as fat in your fat cells.

2. Glucagon is released when insulin is low. It raises blood sugar by releasing sugar from the liver and fat from your fat cells through lypolosis.

Insulin lowers blood sugar, and Glucagon raises it. Your blood sugar range should be narrow, between 70-120mg/dL a 50 point range.

Where it all goes wrong is in our SAD Standard American Diet. So what is on the menu for the upcoming Holiday? The 4th of July….. anyone? Corn on the cob, potato salad, macaroni salad, pizza, fried chicken…. And for dessert there is some gooey, sticky something or a light and fluffy something. This menu is sure to spike your blood sugar and drop it just as fast to leave you in a semi coma before the end of the afternoon.

This is a SAD state of affairs. We spike our sugar first thing in the morning, cereal and milk, our blood sugar spikes, insulin is released and by mid morning it is diving, we feel sluggish, and need a little pick me up, and reach for the first thing we come across. Or perhaps we have the will of steel and make it to lunch and our body is screaming “I am starving!” At this point we can’t make our best choices. We choose the low fat pasta over the salad, spike again, insulin release….. we get these big swings up and down of our blood sugar and our body keeps thinking we need more and more insulin. Over time our bodies become resistant to our own insulin as our bodies make more. Insulin resistance progresses to what is known as syndrome X or metabolic syndrome, which includes other risk factors such as high blood pressure and triglycerides LDL, low HDL, and potentially type 2 Diabetes.

Our metabolic regulation system is now spinning out of control. This causes inflammation and swelling of our capillaries further reducing our metabolism at the cellular level.

Insulin which is spiking because of the SAD diet. And remember Glucagon, the fat releasing hormone which raises blood sugar? Its being suppressed because there is too much insulin. This unhealthy struggle stores sugar as fat particularly around the midline. This is why there is so much buzz about waist circumference. Increased waist circumference is an early indicator of this pre-diabetic state. Dr Strand has researched links between this state of increased glycemic stress which is oxidative stress as a causative factor in most of the degenerative diseases that plague us today. Dr Strand did Clinical Trials with people not going hungry, improved health parameters, all slowly gradually = released fat

So the choices you make ahead of time are most important. Set yourself up for success. For me a low sugar high fiber cleanse was essential to address the sugar addiction. Especially at the beginning of my lifestyle change, because I felt powerless over it. I feel a cleanse is a great tool, and I revisit it from time to time to reset my system when I get off track.

Basically it takes 5 days to reset your sugars but 12 weeks to retrain habits. I did a great sugar busters boot camp with the support of Dr Deb and Dr Karen Wolfe. I used a low glycemic shake 3 x daily with 2 low glycemic snack bars in between. For lunch and dinner I added some veggies or a salad with a vinaigrette dressing (healthy fat) followed by the shake for dessert. I really felt great and it totally curbed my sugar cravings. I gradually added in low glycemic meals but I still supplement with shakes when my schedule gets busy. I noticed I my belly fat gradually releasing. My clothes felt better and I did not feel deprived. That was the key for me. I ate a variety of delicious food without feeling deprived in any way. The other important thing that Dr Strand recommends is high quality vitamins to improve insulin sensitivity and decrease combat oxidative stress. Moderate exercise such as a Brisk walk 30 min per day which also improves insulin resistance.

Ready to get started yourself?

I’ll be hosting a 4 WEEK SUGAR BUSTING CHALLENGE starting October 7. Registration ends September 26. Contact me at info@michellewald.com for details.

Here are some of my favorite books on Sugar Busting:

Dr Deb Kern and Dr Karen Wolfe “Create the body your Soul Desires.”

Lucy Beale and Joan Clark-Warner “The Complete Idiot’s Guide Glycemic Index Cookbook”

Dr Ray Strand:

“Healthy for Life”

“What your Doctor doesn’t know about Nutritional Medicine (may be killing you).”

“Bionutrition”

Helpful Websites:

http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/breakfastgi.html low glycemic food listing low to high sorted by category

www.glycemicindex.com

http://drdebkern.com/category/food Free health podcasts for 5 weeks to Reset your sugar cravings and learn more about the low glycemic lifestyle.( it is embedded in her blog)

www.Drkarenwolfe.usana.com More health info and Usana Associate

http://www.owningpink.com/ Cool website by another supercool doctor thinking outside the box about getting our mojo going.

www.raystrand.com Nutritional Medicine Specialist

http://www.livewellintl.com/ Dr Ray Strand talks about Reset and low glycemic eating.

Brushing Your Teeth For Those With Back Pain

michelle — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:37:59 +0000

I know you know how to brush your teeth, twice a day plus flossing right? Sounds so simple, but brushing your teeth comfortably may be a different thing all together for those with back pain.

The movement of bending over the sink for someone who has back pain may be a difficult endeavor. So I would like to take you through a movement sequence that may make brushing your teeth strain-free.

The Aston concept of sequencing your movement can change the feel of actions by breaking them down into their steps. Making the bigger action more manageable.

The next time you go to brush your teeth, rather than just hunching over the sink in one motion, try this:

Step close to the sink with one foot and push off your back foot to come forward, hinge at your hips, and place your free hand on the sink. Use your hand for support and bend over the sink. Hinging at your hips first and then rounding your back, provides better support as you sip water or rinse your mouth. Use the hand already on the sink to push off and come back standing.

Another simple tip is to use a glass to get the water closer to your mouth, this allows you to hardly bend at all.

Breaking down the simple everyday task of brushing your teeth is a great example of how Aston-Kinetics ® can make a functional difference in your life.

Gill Headly and “The Fuzz”

michelle — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:02:25 +0000

For the last 4 months I have been watching Gil Hedley’s Anatomy of the Fascia DVD’s with my Aston-Patterning group. This is no ordinary perspective of the human body, this is a complete and honest look at the body from the very surface to the deepest fascial connections.

One of the things Gil observes in the body is that the body creates “Fuzz” or adhesions while we are sleeping or inactive. If we wake up and stretch our bodies like every cat does when they wake, we break up that fuzz. If we don’t move and stretch it out, it can accumulate. Injury is one way fuzz can accumulate, we are afraid to move our injured area and it can become more restricted. If fuzz continues to accumulate we may need help to break it up. Gil says this is a great reason to get regular body work. “The Fuzz” give an intuitive explanation into the Aston concepts of Functional Holding Patterns (tensions that can be stretched out on your own) and Structural holding patterns (tensions which need help to release).

Need some help with your fuzz? Contact me at info@michellewald.com or 512-633-7471.

If the video doesn’t display below click this link: The Fuzz Speech
This video contains clips of actual human dissection, so view at your own discretion.

Just for Fun… the Bike Dancing Video

michelle — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:49:43 +0000

When I heard Judith Aston was bike dancing as method for toning, I stood with my mouth hanging open in disbelief. Dancing on a spin bike? How on earth could that be done?

Spin Classes were gaining popularity in the 90’s. I thought of them as a great cardio workout, but I also found them kind of boring. The way Judith plays with the functions of the spin bike is anything but monotonous. A couple of years ago she announced she would teach her creative fitness magic; I signed up as soon as I heard. The Aston-Fitness class was fantastic. Without further adieu here is a clip of Judith and her bike dancing!

Click on the following link if video doesn’t display below: Judith Aston Bike Dancing

Judith Aston In the Massage Hall of Fame

michelle — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:29:58 +0000

Judith Aston will be inducted into the 2011 Massage Therapy Hall of Fame this July. I am so proud of and grateful for her contribution to the world of body work. The World Massage Festival will be held July 14-18, 2011 in Cullowhee, NC.

I want to send out a huge hooray for Judith! Join me in celebrating her pioneer work and 40+ years of massage service. Judith will be giving a keynote speech and teaching classes over the weekend. I’ll be there. Save your spot now. Click HERE to register.