Nick Mutt asked:


Massage therapy is no doubt an effective natural therapy that has tremendous healing properties. To get maximum benefit from this therapy you should know the principles of massage therapy and do’s and don’t while doing massage. Touch is both healing and comforting and what’s more you can enjoy the pleasure of it – both giving and receiving. Massage improves blood circulation; calms the nervous system; stimulates skin function; improves muscle tone and eases aches and pains in muscles and joints.

The basic principles of massage

Massage is a way of stroking the body, with variations in the length and depth of strokes. However, you should always direct firm strokes towards the heart, as this will be beneficial to the circulation.

Long flowing massage strokes with little pressure on the body are the most soothing and relaxing. This type of movement is called gentle, even pressure and is often used to start and finish a massage.

Patting or tapping the skin with your fingers quickly and slowly is stimulating and helps to increase blood flow. This is called tapotement. It is usually done on small areas such as the forehead, cheeks and neck.

Petrissage involves squeezing and releasing a muscle or part of a muscle group. A good example of this kind of movement is kneading dough. It is mostly done with both hands, particularly on the thighs and buttocks. Petrissage helps strengthen muscle fiber, remove waste products and ease fatigue.

There’s another type of massage movement called friction which creates just that. It involves rubbing the hands backwards and forwards across an area and is very warming and stimulating to the tissues.

Do’s and don’ts

Massage is a gentle healing art suitable for everyone from babies to the very elderly. Note the below points while doing massage -

Do not massage

• Any infected area

• A person who is feverish or has a raised temperature

• Over an area where varicose veins are present

• Over any unusual swelling or inflammation

• Bruised or broken skin

Before massaging do

• Check with the person about to be massaged whether any of the above apply

• Make sure the room is warm enough

• Warm your hands before massaging

Hope this article will help you to know the basic information about massaging in the right way!

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

Read more about aromatherapy, ayurveda, yoga and massage therapy at Natural cures website. Read the benefits of herbal brain tonic, Brahmi to increase memory and concentration. Also know the benefits of anti-aging herb Amla.

Ann Marier asked:


Finding good relationship problems advice can be very difficult. It is not that there isn’t enough information. Almost everyone and their mother have relationship advice. If you tell someone, even a stranger on the street, that you are having trouble with a relationship, they will probably have something to say. Nevertheless, most advice for relationship problems is based on biases alone. Anyone you ask will most likely try to apply the lessons from their own relationship problems to yours. These lessons may be appropriate, but then again they may not be. Whether you are worried about breaking up relationship ties, or dealing with relationship problems for an ongoing relationship, it is always a headache if you can’t figure out what to do.

There is no point in getting relationship problem advice from a physician either. Even psychiatrists give lousy love advice most of the time. They say that they are qualified to give relationship problems advice, but in my experience they are often not good at this particular area. Don’t get me wrong – if your relationship is massively flawed and there is something psychotic about your partner, a psychiatrist will give you the right relationship problems advice – get out of it! Nevertheless, psychiatrists make terrible romantic partners. As such, how can you consider them fit to give relationship problems advice?

It has always seemed to me that the only way to get dependable relationship problems advice is to find a best friend who knows all about those things. Find someone with words of wisdom for dating help, go out for a few drinks with him whenever you are having relationship troubles, and trust his word implicitly. Friends like this are hard to find, and their skills at giving relationship problems advice should be fully exploited.

I get most of my relationship problem advice from my best friend. It is pretty odd because he has never been in a relationship himself. He’s actually not really been interested in dating at all, spending most of his time in more intellectual pursuits. Nevertheless, he gives the best relationship problems advice that you have ever heard. Maybe it is because he is looking at it from an outsiders perspective, but I swear that his advice is better than any advice column you could ever read! Getting romance advice from someone who has never been in, nor even desired, a romance is a little bit weird, but it has begun to feel totally natural to me.

James Brown asked:


Since there are so many nutritional supplements on store shelves around the country, many consumers are turning to pharmacy technicians for advice on which nutritional supplements will provide the best benefits for the active lifestyle that most people lead. A store pharmacy has access to all the pertinent data for nutritional supplements and a pharmacy technician can explain the benefits of every ingredient in a pill, powder, or liquid nutritional supplement solution.

This information will be very beneficial to consumers who take nutritional supplements to enhance their quality of life. Some heart patients use nutritional supplements to improve blood circulation, and to clean the circulatory system of all impurities. The health advice of a local pharmacist will prove crucial because the information could keep the heart patient alive because they take these supplements along with heart medications that are designed to sustain life.

Some people want to ensure that they are getting enough nutrients into their bodies while they are dieting. Some nutritional supplements offered in powder form are designed to replace meals. Some dieters will use these nutritional supplement powders to reduce the number of calories in a diet plan and will know from the label on the nutritional supplement container exactly which vitamins and minerals they are getting for the money they spend.

Athletes might find nutritional benefits from a nutrition regimen that uses energy bars and drinks to sustain energy levels during all types of physical activity. A professional athlete must be careful about the nutritional supplements that are consumed because some additives could disqualify the athlete from competing in meets. Again, the product label will serve as a point of reference for every vitamin and mineral that is introduced into the body and the mixing agents that are used.

Bodybuilders use a variety of nutritional supplements during the year to achieve various goals. The health and wellness goals that are maintained through the use of nutritional supplements will be very important to bodybuilding champions. They know that judges will scrutinize every muscle in the body many times during the year and unhealthy eating habits will be very evident under the bright lights on the exhibition stage.

Some bodybuilding competitors might score fewer points than normal because their muscle tone will be under-defined and less impressive as those competitors who ate a diet low in fat and supplemented that diet with vitamins and fiber. The ability to hold a pose might decrease because the energy levels in the body would have been depleted by the abstinence of eating a week before a week. If that same athlete had followed a good nutritional program, then energy levels would not have been affected.

People that lead busy lives can still find time to eat healthy and maintain wellness throughout the year. Nutritional supplements come in many forms and people can store nutritional meals in the form of a candy bar in the glove box of the car and eat when they are hungry and not just because they passed a fast food restaurant on the way to see a client. People that use nutritional supplements each day will find that they accomplish more each day. This is because the therapeutic qualities from the vitamins and minerals in one simple pill have improved the quality of life and have increased the amount of energy they have to draw on each day.

Tracie Johanson asked:

Considering that about 65% of our population is either overweight or obese, it should come as no surprise that most Americans are actively seeking sound advice on how to choose a diet plan that’s right for them. Unfortunately, the sheer number of weight loss tips and diet tips available have made finding the right weight loss program confusing at best.

The Problem Is Too Many Choices:

There is a staggering number of diet products on the market today, from the Atkins Diet to the Zone Diet. Compounding the confusion is the vast array of weight loss pills, patches and creams available.

With so many diet and nutrition weight loss products on the market, consumers looking for health advice find themselves overwhelmed by too much information.

Sometimes, Expert Advice Poses An Even Bigger Problem:

In February 2006 a news story muddied the waters even more. The Women’s Health Initiative reported that low fat diets may not offer the health benefits we had previously thought. They researched the connection between a low-fat diet and a woman’s risk of heart disease and cancer.

Limited in the space and time they have to report on health tips and news, the media failed to report the full story. Unfortunately, the result was that most major media outlets reported the ‘Death Of The Low Fat Diet’. The average person, perhaps thinking they were getting a tip on losing weight or maintaining a healthy diet, was misled.

Reading the full study, however, revealed that the researchers did not intend to steer the public away from low fat foods or low fat recipes. Indeed, entire volumes have been written about the benefits of a low fat diet, and one narrowly focused study will not change that fact. “Despite the virtues of this study — particularly its size and its design — it is a single study, and leaves some unanswered questions. Therefore, it does not constitute the final word on the subject of nutrition in older women” (Source: Harvard Health Publications; Harvard Medical School).

Sometimes even the free medical advice from our government only serves to confuse the public. For example, consider the recent news about trans fat and saturated fat regarding food labeling requirements. For the first time in our nation’s history, food labels will now have to disclose how much trans fat is contained in the product. Added to the aforementioned research on low fat diets, these two facts bewilder and baffle the average consumer who may not understand the different types of fat in foods.

Another fine example of expert advice perplexing the public can be seen by the fact that our government has periodically changed the ideal weight chart and the recommended body fat percentage for both men and women.

So How Do Choose The Best Diet Product For You?

The first step in selecting the best diet plan for you is to find free diet information and free advice about weight control. Many reputable and reliable resources are available, one of the best being health clubs. Gyms that are focused on truly helping people achieve weight loss success will feature informative and free articles on their website. The federal government also sponsors and hosts some excellent sites that are packed with free diet information.

When seeking the best diet product for you, keep in mind that every person is unique, with separate and distinct tastes and preferences. In other words, the weight loss plan that works for you may not work for me. Some people claim that the Maker’s Diet is the best weight loss diet on the market today. Others favor the diet foods offered by the South Beach Diet. Even the best weight loss program in the world is worthless if it’s not a good match for you personally. For easy weight loss to be realized, then, it’s critical to examine many different diet products to find one that fits your individual personality.

Personalize Your Diet Plan For Optimum Results:

If you absolutely love bread, then the Atkins diet recipes will not work for you. In the same way, Weight Watcher recipes won’t help you much if you’re not an active participant in the Weight Watcher Point program. Attempting to force yourself into diet program that doesn’t fit your personality or tastes will inevitably lead to failure.

A much better approach is to find a diet system that parallels your individual preferences. Whichever diet program you select, it is important that it be a diet you can stick with for life. Forcing yourself into a diet plan that’s not right for you will only make you disappointed and discouraged.

To Lose Weight Fast, Don’t Forget Weight Loss Exercise!

As we’ve seen, the experts argue about which diet is best. It seems that every weight control system has doctors and research to back up their claims. However, it cannot be disputed that the path to healthy weight loss will always include a combination of diet and exercise. It is only when you exercise to lose weight, combined with a healthy diet and sound nutritional practices, that you can achieve true fat loss and solve your weight issue once and for all. It’s not an exaggeration to say that attempting weight management without exercise is like trying to build a house without a hammer – when you’re trying to lose fat, why leave out the most effective tool?

That being said, our sound advice on how to choose a quick weight loss diet is to remember these diet tips from Pick Up The Pace: 1) If a diet has gained national exposure, it has probably worked for someone. 2) Just because a diet has worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you. 3) Any given diet program can probably help somebody, but no diet program will help everybody. 4) Any fast weight loss diet must include regular exercise to be effective.