Why Salon Work Makes Your Body Ache & What You Can Do to Feel Better
We learn some simple moves and strategies to keep the blood pumping through the muscles and limit posture problems from The Balanced Beauty Pro
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Reflexology Self-Help to Fight Stress!
Reflexologist Mary Tsouris offers reflexology techniques you can use on yourself to combat common hairdresser ailments.
March 10, 2014
2 min to read
“Most often, hairdressers are happy campers,” says cosmetologist and reflexologist Mary Tsouris. But we all recognize that body stresses are a part of life in this profession. Tsouris has developed specific techniques based on reflexology that you can do on yourself to relieve the physical stress that builds up from the work you do.
Complaint: Sore back.
Reflexology technique: Place one hand in the other, palms up with the bottom hand grasping the top one. Using the thumb of your bottom hand, press the heel of your top hand with as much pressure as you can tolerate, with the thumb spanning the entire width of the heel. Press, hold for a few seconds and repeat three times. Switch hands and repeat.
Explanation: In addition to the lower back, referral points on the heel of the palm include your systems of digestion, elimination and reproduction.
Tsouris says: “Standing for long periods of time, especially in ill-fitting shoes, may cause musculoskeletal pain syndrome leading to permanent damage of the nerve pathways, according to Beryl Crane, author and leading educator of reflexology. More people lose time at work from back problems than from any other pain condition.”
Complaint: Sinusitis or a cold.
Reflexology technique: With your left palm up, place four fingers of your right hand onto the webs of your left hand where the fingers connect. Press on the muscle mounds for a few seconds, releasing pressure gradually. Repeat. Next, move the four pressing fingers to the top of the palm under each finger. Turning your left hand so that the palm faces down, move the four fingers of your right hand upward in a gentle, gliding motion to reach the webs, where the epidermal layers thin out. Switch hands and repeat.
Explanation: On the palm side, you’re reaching referral points for the shoulders, head, nose, teeth and ears. On the back of your hands, you access referrals for lungs, chest, breast, eyes, ears and the lumphatic system.
Complaint: Feeling achy all over.
Reflexology technique: With your left palm down, use your right thumb and index finger to pinch the the muscle mound between the left hand’s thumb and index finger. Hold the pinch for a few seconds.
Explanation: This area of the hand is a major referral point for bodily pain.
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