Wellness

Back pain is one of the most pervasive ailments of our modern society. When you suffer from back pain, it not only limits what you can achieve physically, but it also impacts your mental and emotional states and overall feeling of happiness and wellbeing. In fact, it affects every waking, and often some sleeping, moments. Pilates is an ideal practice for those with back pain, helping address core weakness, while lengthening and strengthening vital muscles and helping you build body awareness in order to address the negative habits or compensations that are causing it. Donna Gee, registered physiotherapist and clinical Pilates instructor explains.

Has your hectic life got you feeling a bit run down? Have you spotted a few new lines and darker eye circles in the mirror recently? Or is it taking you longer to recover from your workouts these days? If you’re not sick, but you feel like your health, energy and complexion could do with a bit of a boost, now is the perfect time to try a vitamin infusion, aka an IV drip full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and hydrating fluids. Jenny Leung, managing director of REVIV, a global brand that has just opened up in Hong Kong, tells us what makes them such a boon for anyone living in a fast-paced, demanding and busy city like Hong Kong.

Do you have memories of being able to bend over backwards as a kid? I remember it being easy and intuitive back then, but fast forward to today and now they’re a bit creaky, hard work to breathe through and some can be painful too. From cow and locust through up-dog and cobra to camel, wheel and pigeon, backbends are some of the most rejuvenating and recharging moves you can make on a mat – helping reverse crunched postures, hydrating and nourishing the spine, improving lower back pain and lifting the mood. Flex yoga instructor Dr Abhishek Agrawal explains how they work, and how to make them safe and beneficial.

Post birth, the natural instinct of a mother is to focus on their new baby, as well as any older siblings and their husband. Her own needs come at the very bottom of the food chain. However, it is vital for mothers to focus on themselves as a priority at this time. Recovering and restoring through nurturing, optimal nutrition and resting is essential, not only for them, but also for the entire family’s health. However hard it is to prioritize yourself as a new mother, the foundation of post birth recovery is self-care. Sofie Jacobs of Urban Hatch talks you through how to blossom post birth.

The end of the year brings so much fun and celebration, but it also has us feeling at our most challenged. There’s the influx of irresistible food and drink. The focus on friends and family is delightful but somehow takes precedence over fitness. Plus the toll of a long year and the need for a break looms larger than ever, psychologically as well as physically. Here are our top 10 ways to hack the beginning of 2017. Add a few of these to your fresh, new and bright outlook for the new year and you’ll take the edge of that sluggish, tired, run down person you were at the end of 2016.

If forgoing your favorite treats and foods sounds too much like hard work this new year, try this mindset; choosing alkaline foods over acidic. While the body is designed to balance its pH whatever we eat, the foods that fall into the alkaline category are, categorically, healthier for us. You’ll be piling into veggies and fruit, pulses, seeds and herbs and minimizing your intake of sugar and processed foods, meat and dairy, soft drinks, coffee and alcohol. “Focusing on your acid-alkaline balance in the body is an important part of maintaining health,” says Jessica Williams, Flex instructor, co-founder of Body Awakening and a holistic nutritionist.

If you feel the need to overhaul your diet after the holidays but don’t know how to start, look no further than the experts.
Jessica Williams – mother, yoga and Pilates instructor and a holder of a Master’s of Science degree in Holistic Nutrition, as well as co-founder of nutrition supplement brand Body Awakening – changed her life with a diet that suited her needs.

CJ Gurtin was tired. She was run-down, craving sugar and caffeine. There was no denying her body was telling her she needed a change.
Late last year, she decided it was time to try something new and gave a Chakra Flow Yoga class a go. There, she met homeopath and yoga teacher Michelle Ricaille, who runs regular detox programs. Next thing she knew, CJ was taking part in the New Year detox with Michelle.

For those who need scientific proof to truly believe practicing yoga and Pilates is good for your health, one neuroscientist, professor and chair of the department of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute Peter Strick, may have found the answer. Although previously the connections between the brain and the adrenal glands were believed to be limited, new findings suggest highly complex and direct links that have persuaded Professor Strick to take up Pilates.

Urban Hatch founder Sofie Jacobs explains how a mother-to-be can optimize her health and that of the baby’s with a few simple changes to her lifestyle. At such a significant time, it is essential to understand that looking after yourself is looking after your baby. Focusing on diet and supplements, exercise, sleep patterns and mental and emotional balance will all help towards a healthy, happy and harmonious pregnancy.