You could hardly pay me enough to visit the mall this time of the year, but unfortunately holiday stress visits me in a different form. Travel. My husband and I do not have family nearby, so we are always going somewhere, and by the end of a long trip my limbs are shot.
Traveling smart can keep you relaxed during the holidays. That means stopping for breaks, stretching, drinking water and if at all possible, getting a massage.
Just a few weeks ago when my shoulders and back were feeling the stress of carrying my growing infant daughter around, I decided to visit my friend Taryn Stone at Taryn’s Therapeutic Touch in Lexington Athletic Club.
I knew she would work some magic on my seemingly alien post-pregnancy muscles and also offer some advice for keeping muscles feeling fresh over the holidays. Whether you have to battle the mall parking lot, cook a feast for 20, travel a long distance or deal with that one crazy uncle who likes to kiss you on the lips, Stone and my other massage therapist friend, Kelly Cramer, offered their advice.
When packing your bag, Stone said to include an inflatable exercise ball. After a long December day, roll backwards over the ball, letting your arms and legs drape toward the floor to relieve all of the tension. If you aren’t that flexible or don’t have a ball, Stone suggests grabbing a foam roller (a stiff foam dowel used for stretching and massaging muscles), lay on it on the floor and massage your spine while squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Cramer, who works with MassageFIT at Crossfit Maximus, offered some practical things to do while traveling. Starting with the upper body, relieve shoulder and neck stiffness by rolling your neck from left to right in a circle followed by a slight stretch by bending your neck from side to side. “Do shoulder rolls to increase blood circulation by hunching your shoulders forward, upward and backward in a circular motion,” she said. “And bend your head forward. Repeat 10 to 20 times.”
Onto the back and core. Stretching the back relieves pressure and muscle stiffness formed during immobility, Cramer said. Desk warriors, take note. “Bring your upper body down until your chest touches your thighs,” she said. “Hold for a few seconds and slowly return up. Repeat 20 to 30 times. To work your abdominal muscles, do suctions by exhaling all air out from your lungs, then instead of inhaling, pull your stomach to your rib cage and hold for a few seconds before relaxing and inhaling. Repeat 10 to 20 times.”
Leg and feet circulation also suffer on long trips. “Lift both feet from the floor and draw circles with your toes, going clockwise with one foot and counterclockwise with the other,” Cramer said. “After 15 seconds, reverse directions for another 15 seconds. Repeat as often as you like. Do a lower leg stretch by placing your toes to the floor and thrusting your heels upward as high as possible until you feel the stretch. Hold for a few seconds and then release. Repeat 20 times; do this as often as you can.”
If it fits your budget (ask Santa?), consider a massage over the holidays. “It allows your mind to rest for a while,” Stone said. “You don’t have to do anything but just relax, quite the opposite from what is required of you at your job or at home.”
Resting the mind automatically reduces stress in the body.
“Stress and tension, when left unattended, can cause much muscle pain and toxin buildup,” Stone said. “Once toxins start to form in the tissue, the area becomes unhealthy and is unable to receive the proper amount of nutrients it needs to stay pliable and loose.
“It’s important to avoid stress and toxin buildup in the body, and one of the ways to combat it is a healthy lifestyle,” she said. “Massage, in my opinion, is another way you can take care of yourself. Just remember to drink lots of water after receiving a massage in order to flush out all of the toxins that your therapist just released.”