Simple Movements to Support Your Best Summer Life

Summer is here, which means many of us are on the move. We could all use a few simple exercises that are easy ways to support, mobilize and stretch our bodies when we’re on the go (and don’t want to lie on a hotel floor). You can do these literally everywhere! And they feel good!

1. “Pilates style” breathing can support deeper breathing, gentle abdominal engagement and help you be in your body. Breathe in through your noise and encourage your breathe into the front, back and sides of your ribs as well as relaxing gently into your belly. On your exhale, gently engage your abdominal muscles, like you are zipping up a zipper and pulling your muscles tighter around your trunk. Repeat several times. This breath engages your deep core muscles and offers support for your trunk.
   *Note: I don’t recommend breathing like this all the time, but it is helpful to feel your core muscles and bring awareness into your body.

2. Rotation mobility: Stand with your arms above your head. Slowly turn your head, neck and torso while lowering your arms down toward your hips. Twist back to your starting position as you bring your arms back up. Repeat a few times to each side. This exercise is a nice one to bring movement into your neck, arms and spine. Move slowly and evenly, being aware of your spine moving one joint at a time.

3. Standing hip flexor stretch: Stand with one leg forward and one back in a lunge position with both knees bent. Lift abs up and tuck tail under, keep this position while you slowly straighten the back knee. Hold for a few breaths and repeat on the other side. You should feel this stretch in the thigh and hip flexor of the leg that is back.

Add in these movements for a short and sweet way to find more ease in your body with summer travel and activities.

Check out the video for these exercises below.

A Treasure Trove of Actionable Tips for Dizziness

For those who suffer from chronic or recurrent dizziness, allergy season always seems to kick up symptoms. Here are some actionable tools you can try right now to calm symptoms from Dr. Stephanie House, a mind-body physical therapist and wellness coach in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Keep moving:

For people with chronic or recurrent dizziness, the story generally goes:

Even on your most dizzy days, some form of movement can help lessen symptoms and, in the right dosages, send signals of safety to your brain. Some ideas include:

• Gentle movement

• Tai Chi

• Qi Gong

• Certain types of yoga and Pilates

• Graded exercise

Build in time for rest, recovery and optimization:

Our brains need periods of rest and safety to help us rewire and minimize symptoms.

• Prioritize your to-do list for what needs to be done versus what you want to get done. Do the most important things first and leave optional and easy tasks for the end of the day.

• Plan out time throughout the day for rest. “Rest” will look different for everyone and will change for you day to day and as you heal. It may mean preventatively laying down in bed with the lights off for 30 minutes. It could also look like longer rest breaks when doing a strenuous workout. The more you learn about what your body needs, the faster you can break the dizzy cycle and start to recover.

Manage allergy and migraine symptoms, which may be exacerbating dizziness:

I always get an influx of dizzy people in my clinic during allergy season. Read about the interaction here. Many people find that their dizziness subsides with frequent nasal rinses after exposure to pollen and other irritants.

If you have a migraine disorder, tracking food, weather, stress levels and sleep over five days can give you insight into your triggers so that you can better manage symptoms. For both allergies and migraines, adequate hydration, electrolyte and mineral levels are important. Your physician or holistic practitioner may also be able to help symptoms through gut work, supplements and medications.

Have your tools ready:

There are countless products on the market to improve dizziness, including:

• Blue light blocking glasses (helping for daily screen exposure)

• Green glasses (great for vestibular migraine attacks)

• Vagus nerve stimulators (such as Truvaga or Cefaly)

Reflect on your thoughts surrounding dizziness:

When dizziness comes on, do you go into panic mode and catastrophization? Reflect on the thoughts that come through and see if you can approach these sensations more with curiosity than fear.

Get grounded:

Guided grounding meditations can be found through a simple google search. If you are having a dizzy day, you can try this simple but powerful practice:

Begin by lying on your back, close your eyes if comfortable. Begin with deep, slower breathing. Move toward sensing every body part that’s touching the ground (shoulders, back of head, etc). On each exhale, soften and sink those points of contact deeper into the floor, allowing it to support you fully. Feel how stable and safe you are despite symptoms. Feel free to then move through a body scan from head to toe — approaching the sensations with curiosity, not fear. Stay here for 5-10 minutes continuing with any combination of the above.

About Dr. Stephanie House

Dr. Stephanie House has over 17 years of experience in the health and wellness field and currently owns her own practice as a mind-body physical therapist and wellness coach in Charlottesville, VA. Many of her clients with dizziness and chronic pain seek out her holistic healing model after they have exhausted other traditional avenues such as medications and “big box” PT. Stephanie holds certifications in vestibular therapy, dry needling, yoga therapy, and pregnancy and postpartum.

House of Balance’s mission is two-fold: Healing and Empowerment. We create a healing and supportive space to eliminate symptoms through addressing root causes of movement dysfunction and pain. Along the healing journey, you are given tools, resources, and accountability to empower you to become the CEO of your own heath – learning to manage new or recurring symptoms and designing the life you desire.

Learn more about dizziness and balance exercises here. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Dr. House directly: info@houseofbalancept.com or visit her website: www.houseofbalancept.com

Be Aware of Lyme Disease: Learn the Symptoms and Effects

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, a spirochete that is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick. There are different types of ticks, and the most common types of ticks to be infected are black-legged (deer) ticks and western black-legged ticks. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says more than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed each year. Ticks also carry other infections and people who have Lyme may also have other tick infections, called co-infections. These can carry their own set of symptoms and treatment needs.

Lyme disease can be very serious and can affect many systems of the body, including joints, the heart and the nervous system. If Lyme is caught early and treated, it is usually effective. However, there are also many who live with persistent and ongoing debilitating symptoms. For those in this category there can also be challenges with controversies around the differing views: Are the symptoms the result of post-Lyme disease treatment or an ongoing infection?

Just this year, the CDC has said, “Infections can sometimes leave people with symptoms that last for weeks to months or longer, even after appropriate treatment.” Navigating a medical system that often dismisses the patient’s experience is challenging to say the least, and I’m hopeful that this shift in recognizing ongoing symptoms will help the medical system to provide better care and solutions for those who have ongoing symptoms.

Testing

Testing for Lyme disease is challenging as the tests available are poor. They rely on observing the immune system response of the individual. If the test is done too early or late in the infection process, the individual may or may not have a negative test, despite having Lyme.

This high rate of false negative tests is problematic. The International Lyme and Associated Disease Society says: “Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis based on the history and physical findings, and supported by appropriate laboratory tests when they are indicated. These elements must be considered in the context of the individual patient’s full story and with consideration of other diagnoses that may explain or confound the patient’s diagnosis. No single element of the diagnostic process outweighs the full and complete evaluation.” Finding a doctor familiar with and skilled with Lyme disease is necessary for getting a diagnosis in the case of chronic symptoms.

Prevention

When you are outside, especially in long grass, it is recommended to wear pants and tuck your pants into your socks. You can spray your shoes and body with tick repellant/bug spray. You can use deet or a stronger spray on shoes and a more natural spray on skin to limit exposure to chemicals. After being outside, check yourself! Ticks are often found in armpits, groins or in the scalp, although they can attach anywhere. If you do find a tick, learn how to remove it here.

While most medical doctors are only concerned if a tick has been attached for at least 36 hours, there are some studies that have shown some risk of Lyme disease being transmitted in less than 24 hours, so I encourage being proactive if you find a tick that has been attached for any period of time.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of early Lyme disease include:

• Rash (80% are solid-colored, and less than 20% have a bull’s eye appearance)

• Fever

• Headache

• Fatigue

• Muscle and joint pain

Once the infection extends beyond the skin, it can affect any system of the body and symptoms can vary between individuals but can include:

• Debilitating fatigue

• Headaches

• Muscle pain

• Arthritis

• Numbness

• Tingling

• Nerve pain and weakness

• Heart problems

• Psychiatric symptoms

• Difficulty with thinking, memory, language and math skills

• Problems with vision and hearing

If you’ve been exposed to a tick and develop any of these symptoms, you should reach out to your doctor right away!

My personal experience with having Lyme disease has hugely impacted my life and my health in the last decade in numerous ways. I share all of this not to scare you, but to educate you. We live in a high tick area and chances are you know someone who has, or who had, Lyme disease. I hope that education about this disease empowers you to feel confident in what to do if you are bitten by a tick.

Enjoy the beautiful area that we live in. Play outside, hike, run in the woods. Then check yourself for ticks and prepare to take action if necessary. The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) has a lot of information on their website: www.ilads.org.

How to Build a Healthy Foundation for Spring

What are the foundational things you do to care for yourself? These are things that offer support, consistency and a solid foundation for the rest of your life.

Sleep and Rest

Sleep is so necessary and so many people don’t get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep is one of the first things I’m curious about for anyone who’s having pain, fatigue or feeling especially overwhelmed. If you’re a night owl, you may consider going to bed a bit earlier as we get our more restorative sleep earlier in the evening. Spending less time on screens in the evening or following a relaxing evening routine can also be helpful with sleep quality. Try a warm bath or stretching as part of your evening routine. Short rest breaks during the day can also be really helpful, especially if you have chronic health challenges or feel like your nervous system needs a midday reset. We aren’t designed to constantly be on the go. Taking time to rest can help your energy and your capacity to do all the things you want and need to do. I think it’s really nice to let our bodies find a horizontal position for midday rest, but getting outside also can be a nice way to rest, especially if you’re on screens a lot.

Movement

Movement is another foundation that is so important to have in place for good health. As the seasons change, you might find that what you want to do for your exercise changes. It’s a beautiful time to walk outside, and it makes sense to shift these habits with the seasons. You might also notice you have a burst of extra energy and want to push yourself a bit more. This is a great time of year to focus on goals and use that energy to build some new habits around your exercise routine.

Nutrition

Of course, good nutrition plays a large role in helping us feel our best. General eating tips that I think are useful for almost everyone:

• Eat a rainbow of vegetables.

• Eat plenty of healthy fats and proteins.

• Limit processed sugar.

• Pay close attention to how your body feels eating gluten and dairy, as many people feel best limiting or avoiding these foods.

• Eat when you’re hungry.

What we eat can be influenced by the time of year. If you were craving warm and heavier foods in the winter, you might notice the shift now to wanting more vegetables and lighter foods as we move into spring. Spring is also a nice time to add in bitter greens, such as arugula, radicchio and endive. Bitter greens support liver health, which is especially helpful in the springtime. Noticing how your nutrition cravings change with the seasons can be a way to focus more on what your body needs right now.

On the liquids side of nutrition, be sure to drink enough water! Many people aren’t drinking enough. If you are feeling tired and sluggish during the day, see if drinking more water helps you have more energy.

Mind Your Internal State

Our nervous system states shift all the time. Tuning in to notice this allows us to be in tune with what’s happening and what sort of support we might need in the moment. This simple check in can be as simple as noticing areas in the body that feel soft and expansive. Or noticing tightness or tension. Notice your feet on the ground, or notice your breath in and breath out. You can notice things from a felt sense and also from an emotional perspective: I’m feeling happy today or I’m feeling sad. Sometimes just noticing and naming this can help our bodies feel supported.

All of these areas give a strong foundation for health. They are the things you can circle back to again and again when you need a little more support and self care.

Ginger-Dill Salmon Salad

This recipe is from The New York Times, and it’s simple, fresh and perfect for spring!

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs salmon filet

Salt and pepper

6 Tablespoons finely chopped dill

1 (2 inch) piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

1 grapefruit

2 oranges

6 radishes cut into thin slices

1 avocado

Salad greens

Flaky sea salt for finishing (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pat the salmon dry and place on the tray skin side down and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, stir together the dill, ginger and olive oil until combined and season with salt and pepper. Spread half the mixture on top of the salmon. Reserve the remaining dill-ginger mixture. Bake until the salmon is cooked through, 15-20 minutes. The salmon is done when the fish flakes or a meat thermometer is 120 degrees.

While the salmon cooks, cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruit and set the grapefruit down on one of the cut sides, and then carefully cut away the peel and pith. Squeeze the peels into the remaining dill-ginger mixture to get out any juice. Cut the grapefruit in half from top to bottom, then slice into ¼ inch thick half moons and remove the seeds. Transfer the fruit and any juice to the bowl. Repeat with the oranges. Add the sliced radishes and season generously with salt, stir gently to combine.

Break the salmon into large pieces and mix with the salad greens, citrus and radishes. Pit, peel and cut the avocado into chunks and top with the juices from the bowl, black pepper, another drizzle of olive oil and flaky salt if desired.

Enjoy!

*This recipe says it serves four, but in our household, it only serves two, potentially with some leftovers.