The Bodycare Journal: Giving yourself care.

As humans, we are constantly on the go! No matter how fatigued, tense, or tight our muscles are—they still seem to get our bodies through the day. Imagine how fast your muscles would give out if you never gave back to your body. 

From the moment that we wake up to the moment we fall asleep, our bodies are repeatedly using the same motions daily. This is called repetitive motion. You may hear fitness trainers, massage therapists, chiropractors, etc. use this term. As a licensed massage therapist, I use this term a lot when explaining the cause of muscle tension. Although muscle tension is caused by many variables, mostly it’s the same constant day-to-day movements that usually have the most impact. For example, every day, I wake up and walk my dog. This task includes the movements of bending over, pulling, walking, etc. Just this one task, adds to the achy pains that I may feel by the end of the day. At least, until I complete my body care routine. 

Without proper body care routines, muscles will “age” faster. This will leave you feeling older than your actual age. Weak muscles are more tense or tender and they become unbearably painful. I try to incorporate all types of muscle-strengthening routines weekly. I honestly feel like the more you move your body in good ways, the more you are giving back to your muscles. You have to find the one routine that works best for you. The body care treatments that I use most at home are massage and stretching. 

Here’s a quick and easy massage demo for the upper back. I specifically do this when I feel pain near my scapula and trapezius (upper back). All you need is a massage ball and the wall. You can complete this routine in whatever amount of time that works for your schedule. I usually take 10-15mins or until the tension is released. Throughout our journaling together, I will share body care tips to keep you happy, healthy, and relaxed. 

I would like to leave you with this prompt. —“Create a list of activities and pick one that you can do each day for the week.” I hope this video helps you incorporate something new into your morning or night routine! Stay tuned for next week’s entry. We’ll hit more on the topic of health. 

By Jazmine Jamal

Founder of @521wellness

You Start Dying When You Stop Dreaming