John Aaron Wellness

Headaches… the perfect way to ruin a romantic rendezvous. No? With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I would talk about headaches and suggest ways to prevent this trouble maker from ruining not only your love life, but your daily life, too. According to Web MD, 30 to 80% of the adult Americans suffer from occasional tension headaches. Some of these may have hereditary causes, while others can be caused by lifestyle or environment, such as poor posture, unhealthy eating habits, a high stress job, or a demanding home life. Any combination of stress-inducing factors could become the trigger, really. That said, massage therapy may be your best secret weapon to keep headaches at bay. At the very least, massage therapy can help you deal with the pain while you determine the best approach to maneuvering through the mitigating factors that might be causing your headaches. But don’t just take my word for it… According to The American Journal of Manipulative Physiologic...

When you have back pain, sleeping can be hard. Not only can pain make for a miserable bedtime, but not getting enough sleep can actually make chronic pain hurt more the next day. It can be a vicious cycle. Aside from a good therapeutic massage, finding a proper sleep position can also help reduce back pain. So if you are a side sleeper, try placing a pillow between your knees to keep your spine in a neutral position and relieve strain on your back. If you need to sleep on your back, sliding a pillow under your knees should help, too. And always be sure to sleep on a comfortably firm mattress. If pain persists and is still making it hard to sleep after a few days, be sure to talk to your doctor. Oh, and getting into good bedtime habits -- including keeping a regular bedtime and wake time schedule -- can help too.

As I've gotten older I've realized that takes more than an apple a day to keep the doctor off your back. If you've got high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, the good doc is going to pester you about it—apple or not (and he should!). But don’t blame him - he’s trying to save your life. According to the American Heart Association, 105.2 million adults have borderline to high risk blood cholesterol levels. In addition, nearly one in three adults suffers from high blood pressure and these numbers grow every year. Even more frightening; 82% of those at high risk are unaware of their condition. Could you be one of them? Whether you've had your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked lately or not, these conditions are deadly and sneaky—many people are unaware of the danger lurking in their own arteries. In fact, many firmly believe that what you don’t know can’t hurt you… They’re dead wrong. What’s so bad about high blood pressure and cholesterol levels...

This is a question I get often… Let’s face it, if it were up to massage therapists we’d say that you should get a massage every day, but in reality – very few people ever have the means or time to make this scenario play out in their lives. So technically speaking, your frequency should depend on how much you like massage, how often you experience chronic pain, and your budget. If you’re able to afford it, getting a monthly or weekly massage works best at helping prevent injuries by catching tight areas before they become problematic. With my more athletic clients (runners, weightlifters, gymnasts), I usually recommend timing their massage to coincide with the times they are training their hardest. For example, runners can develop tight hamstrings and hips, gymnasts and weight-lifters can get tight shoulders. These tight muscle groups can elicit injuries over time if they aren't treated by massage. If you are physically active, I recommend getting a massage within 24 hours ...

Alright! The holidays are officially over… and Public schools officially resumed classes today. Yeah!!! (For those of you with kids, you know what I’m talking about…) Anyway, two weeks of vacation – holidays, family, food-food-food, flus and lots of late nights all came to an end this past weekend. Whew! Now I’ll bet I’m not the only one left to deal with the aftermath of all that less-than-healthy eating… Is your body puffy and bloated? Your joints are achy? Your clothes feel tight? Me, too… ;-) So to help us both through this “recovery” plan, I've outlined the 5 awesomely easy steps you’ll need to quickly and seamlessly get back on the fitness fast track. Step One: Get Focused. The holidays happened. You ate things from your “never eat these” list, you drank more that you should have, but now the party is over. Draw a line in the sand. The bad eating stops now. Today. Don’t beat yourself up for falling off the fitness wagon particularly if it was shared in the...

Remember the ridiculous mantra of “No pain. No gain” from Schwarzenegger wanna-be, gym-rats in the 90’s? It was always funny to me but I’ sure that you would agree there’s sometimes a ‘feel good hurt’ that we can get when a massage therapist works on just the right spot. My massage teacher would call it the point of “exquisite pain.” And what’s wrong with that? Considering the price of good body work these days, you should expect to feel results, right? Unfortunately many people misconstrue pain as evidence that they are getting a “good” (if not great) deep tissue massage. Well – I think the whole thing is hogwash, and let me tell you why… It’s my contention that holding your breath and gritting your teeth under the pressure of a too-rigorous kneading simply defeats the purpose of massage. And asking your masseuse to “go deeper cause I’m tough [guy/girl] and can take the pain” only adds to your body’s tension levels, making those muscles that desperately need to soften do the exa...

It’s holiday fat gain season! After all, they don’t call it the “festive fifteen” for nothing! It’s a time when nearly everyone packs on a few pounds. But what if, instead of loosening your belt another notch this year, you use these 5 Holiday-Proof Fat Loss Hacks to avoid putting on a single pound? Believe it or not, these hacks just might result in a few pounds lost before New Year’s… Holiday-Proof Fat Loss Hack #1: Eat a sensible meal before the party. It goes without saying that you should never arrive at parties in a ravenous hunger. I realize that this goes against the popular trend of starving yourself before a party, but that’s exactly why most people gain weight. With your hunger in check, you’ll have the clarity to pick and choose the treats that you really want, rather than stuffing yourself with everything in sight. Holiday-Proof Fat Loss Hack #2: Bring a healthy dish to share. Even if the party that you’re going to isn’t a potluck—hostess gifts are thoughtful, ...