Benefits of Cupping for Office Workers

Chances are, you’ve seen a bodybuilder at your local gym (or one of your favorite Olympic athletes) sporting what look like large, symmetrical, and very round bruises. These are actually cupping marks. Cupping is popular in the fitness scene as a muscle recovery tool. But for the average joe like you and I who just wants to stay healthy and look and feel good, is there any benefit to cupping?

YES! Especially as an office worker.

This study showed that cupping therapy was effective at reducing chronic neck and shoulder pain in individuals who self-reported it. The best part is, the study was exclusive to people who worked at least 40 hours a week and had work-related neck and shoulder pain. After all, it isn’t just athletes who get tight and stiff muscles. Any repeated stress on a muscle will cause this, such as...sitting for hours with poor posture!

This study showed less pain and greater flexibility after cupping therapy in people with chronic back pain. Additionally, this meta-analysis (basically a study of studies) also presented promising results for cupping as a treatment for back pain.

So...the evidence is in. While research does not currently support cupping as an effective treatment for more serious musculoskeletal, digestive, or other conditions (it’s been touted as a magical cure for anything from acne to lung cancer), there is strong evidence for it as a pain relief tool that aids in muscle tightness and pain.

Unfortunately for office workers, the duties of our job may leave us in less than ideal ergonomic conditions. However, we are here to help! Book an appointment today to experience a unique blend of cupping combined with deep tissue massage for an incredible release of tight or sore muscles as part of our deep tissue options.

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #servicespotlight, #healthylifestyle, #cupping

Four Ways to Promote a Positive Work Environment

Studies show that a positive work environment can influence innovation. In today’s modern workplace, innovation is a HUGE priority; job satisfaction and a positive work environment go hand and hand. So how can you do your part to promote positivity in the workplace?

Show appreciation and gratitude: Everyone likes to feel appreciated! Next time a coworker brings you a cup of coffee or helps you out on a difficult project, make sure to not only thank them, but tell them you appreciate them. It seems like such a simple thing, but it can make a big difference in someone’s day.

Random acts of kindness: These are those things you don’t have to do, and you expect nothing in return for, but they still feel darn good. Things like complimenting a coworker on her new haircut, or offering to pick up a meal for someone working through their lunch break will make you and the people around you feel good.

Encourage fun: There are a million ways to make the workplace fun! Whether you plan a Friday happy hour, host a holiday luncheon, or organize your company’s participation in one of our corporate Zumba classes, the possibilities are endless.

Encourage connection: It’s easy to get caught up in our work and make our interactions with our coworkers purely work-related. However, encouraging genuine connection will make the very work you’re worried about easier and more enjoyable. Next time you need a coworker’s input on a project, first take the time to ask them about their weekend. You might even make a new work friend!

By the way, our corporate wellness services are an excellent way to spread positivity!

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #positivity, #healthylifestyle, #zumba

Your Step by Step Guide to Creating Healthy Habits at Work

Previously we published the Ultimate Guide to a Healthy Workday, parts 1 and 2. While these are all great tips, they are based on habits.  

So how do we go about creating new healthy habits at work? The answer is in a theory by James Clear. You can read in depth about it here, but we’ll save you some time and summarize the key lessons in a context that applies to you!

Basically, habits are formed based on a four-step process. So, if you want to form a new habit, what you have to do is follow this four-step process as it applies to the habit you’re trying to build! Let’s use the example of someone trying to make practicing mindfulness at work a habit:

1.    Cue: make it obvious – to form a habit, you want a reminder that is attached to it; a “cue” to set the habit in motion. Examples for cues to perform mindfulness could be when you’re feeling stressed, a specific time of day, a reminder on your phone every couple of hours, or even time at the end of your lunch hour. 

2.    Craving: make it attractive – obviously, if you dislike something, you’re much less likely to do it! Because of this, you have to make the habit attractive. This is where finding a form of mindfulness you enjoy comes into play. Whatever the habit, find a way to make it enjoyable.

3.    Response: make it easy – the goal is to remove as many barriers as possible between you and the habit you’re trying to form. For mindfulness at work, an example of a barrier could be interruptions from your coworkers. If you want to make this a habit, the key is to find a space where you can take five minutes to yourself and be uninterrupted. That way, you won’t have the excuse to not do it! 

4.    Reward: make it satisfying – the principles of punishments and rewards in order to reinforce habits is a well-known one. Our suggestion is to keep a log of the times you’ve performed the habit. Once you start to stack small wins (maybe you performed mindfulness every day at work this week?) you won’t want to stop!

Now, if you want a little help forming a healthy habit at work – like mindfulness – let us kickstart the process with one of our corporate wellness services, like our mindfulness classes!  

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #healthyworkday, #healthylifestyle, #goodhabits, #healthyhabits

Simple Stretches You Can Do At Your Desk

As we all know, desk jobs can be HARD on your body. Many hours of sitting, coupled with uncomfortable chairs and awkward desk setups can make for some very tight muscles at the end of the week…which is why we recommend stretching every day. Don’t worry though, if one of our Stretch Therapists is not on-site when you’re feeling tense, you don’t need to go do the splits in the breakroom! There are plenty of simple stretches you can do from the comfort of your desk/cubicle.

You’ll want to focus on areas that commonly get tight throughout the workday, as well as any of the areas that tend to be tight for you personally. The most common of these being: hamstrings, lower back, glutes, wrist flexors/extensors, and neck!

Hamstrings: There are two ways to do this one: either sit on the edge of a chair and extend your leg (with only the heel touching the ground and toes pointing up) and lean forward until you feel a stretch, or you may do it standing by propping your leg up on your chair. We suggest the standing stretch like this.

Glutes/Lower Back: While seated, place one ankle over the opposing knee (creating a figure 4), and place your hands behind your head. Slowly lean forward while keeping a straight spine until you feel a stretch in your back and glutes. Repeat on the other side. For an added bonus, cross your legs and perform rotations, like so!

Wrist Flexors/Extensors: Extend your arm in front of you and bend your wrist so your palm is facing up and bend your wrist towards the floor, use your other hand to pull your wrist back further until you feel a stretch. Then, perform the same movement only this time palms facing down, so you feel a stretch in your forearms.

Neck: Aim to bring your ear towards your shoulder, and use your hand to softly push your head further until you feel a stretch. Repeat on both sides!

These are all stretches you’re able to do from the comfort of your desk. However, if you want to truly give your body the best care possible and release all your tight areas, check out our yoga classes and stretch therapy sessions via our corporate wellness program.

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #stretches, #healthylifestyle, #yoga, #stretchtherapy

Sneaky Ways to Relax and Clear Your Mind At Work

Work can be stressful…stress is bad for you…what’s a gal (or gent) to do? The key is…relax. “But I’m at work!” you say. “I don’t think my employer wants me sitting around…relaxing.”  

True, for the record. Probably not.

However, here are some sneaky ways to relax and clear your mind at work – and each one takes only five minutes. That’s time for just enough relaxation to allow you to gain renewed focus for your next task!

1.    Drink a cup of tea: this one doesn’t take any time away from your work. You can easily sip on a cup of tea while you work.  But not just any tea; here are some options that are all known to work well against stress and anxiety.

2.    Take a quick walk around the office (or even up the stairs!): as awesome as you are, you won’t be missed if you take five minutes to clear your head. This is also a great way to get some extra movement in your day.

3.    “Forget” something in your car: similar to #2, this necessitates a brief walk. However, this has the added bonus of getting you some fresh air, which will help clear your head even more.

4.    Take a mindfulness break: alternatively, if you don’t want to go anywhere, just take five minutes to be fully with yourself and practice mindfulness. This can be as basic as some simple breath work! Hopefully no one will interrupt.

5.    Keep a pocket journal: bring a journal with you to work. It can be a small notebook that fits in your coat pocket, handbag, binder, etc. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, take five minutes and write.

You’d be surprised how much just five minutes of relaxing will benefit your stress levels, productivity, and overall wellbeing at work!

If you’re looking for a less sneaky and more relaxing way to practice mindfulness and destress at work, check out our corporate wellness classes.

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #stress, #healthylifestyle, #mindfulness

3 Ways to Motivate Employees and Employers

We’re probably all familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. A lesser known theory of motivation (the ERG theory) offers a much more condensed version of basic human needs. The importance of human needs as it relates to an employee or employer is that people will not be motivated to work if their needs are not met. This is the basic theory behind pay; offer a reward to meet the need of an employee.

That said, we’ve created a guide to meeting your needs and therefore creating motivation at work:  

1.    Meeting existence needs: This means all the physiological and material needs a person may have including food, water, shelter, and safety. You can help meet these needs at work by focusing on an ergonomically friendly work environment. Check out this article for super detailed suggestions. As an employee, you can take breaks to walk around, stretch, and make sure to stay hydrated and eat healthy foods. As an employer, you can invest in standing desks, ergonomic chairs, and even healthy food to stock the company fridge.

2.    Meeting relatedness needs: Human beings have a need for connection and inclusion. As an employee, you can focus on making connections with your coworkers by taking your lunch break together, or even partaking in some healthy group activities (like our mindfulness classes). As an employer, you can encourage employees to connect and work with each other (our group exercise classes meet both existence and relatedness needs!). 

3.    Meeting growth needs: Basically, we want to do things that matter, and we want to be better. That really sums up the need for growth. As an employee, if your workplace can make you feel like you’re becoming a better you, then you’ll probably love your job. As an employer, this is the need you can most help with. By providing opportunities and recognition for growth, you will motivate your employees more than any paycheck can. This is why our corporate wellness program is so crucial. Our job is to make your job better. We offer several services that will not only allow employees to connect with each other but connect with their better selves as well.

So, whether you’re an employer or an employee, talk to us today about how we can help meet your needs!

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #servicespotlight, #healthylifestyle, #workplacewellness, #motivate

The Ultimate Guide to A Healthy Workday: Part 2

The Ultimate Guide to A Healthy Workday: Part 2

Last week, we published Part 1 to this post.  So if you missed that, make sure to go check it out.  In it, we discussed the beginning steps to being healthier at work.  Today, we’re giving you the rest of our BEST (and easiest) tips, so that you can conquer that workday and feel good about yourself in the process:

4.   Drink enough water – This equates to around 9-13 cups (depending on gender and other factors), plus more depending on activity levels.  Overall, just make sure to trust your thirst.  It’s there for a reason.  Plus, since more water = more trips to the bathroom, use that time to work on the next tip below…

5.   Take the stairs – The odds are that you’re pretty sedentary for most of your workday.  Counteract this by doing things like taking the stairs, parking far away from your door, walking around on your lunch breaks, taking phone calls while standing/walking, etc.  Every little bit of movement contributes to our general health, and can even help with weight loss!  Look into a concept called NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) to see how even small energy expenditures add up.

6.   Maintain good posture – We know sitting for long periods of time is bad for you.  However, sitting for at least some long periods of time is downright inevitable in today’s workplace.  Making sure you’re sitting correctly when you have to do so can make a big difference to how you feel day to day.  Check out this article for an in-depth guide to posture at work.

7.   Limit Caffeine – When work gets boring and you need a break or a boost, it’s easy to see the endless supply of caffeine available at most offices as a blessing.  However, caffeine can interrupt your sleep and increase your stress hormones, neither of which you need more of!  Instead, try drinking cold water to give yourself a boost, and limit your caffeine to 1-2 cups a day.

8.   Take frequent short breaks – Taking short quick breaks from work will keep you more productive in the long run and is a great way to accomplish all the other tips!  On your 10-15 minute breaks, take a quick walk around the building, drink some water to stay hydrated, or even practice a few minutes of mindfulness.

All the tips we’ve provided you with will set you up for a MUCH healthier day at work.  The one thing that’s missing is stretching and with that, we’ve got you covered with our corporate yoga classes!  This is one of the components of our corporate wellness programs that include several ways to exercise at work and leave you with a well-rounded healthy lifestyle.

If your office does not have such a program in place, please contact us.  We will be happy to provide information regarding pricing and the many benefits of workplace yoga.  Namaste!

#healingshandsmiami, #therapeuticmassage, #corporatewellness, #massage, #wellness, #servicespotlight, #healthylifestyle, #workplacewellness, #yoga