Break Workplace habits which trigger Pain

In today’s blog we are going to consider a common environment for back pain, the workplace.

Over the years, in our careers we encounter an element of habituation. This could be sitting at a desk all day, maybe working in a trade as a plumber, electrician or builder. These activities require people to distort their bodies into different position to deal with a task. Often in the early days of our career, we may suffer with intermittent pain. As the years progress, the usual ‘go to’ pain relief tablet just doesn’t hit the spot anymore. Your muscles have gradually become tighter and changed their length. The range of movement and muscle efficiency you once had disappears. Can we reverse what we have created through habituation?

Habit, Behaviour, Mindset and Lifestyle Changes

If you are a regular reader of my blogs you will know that the amazing capacity and capabilities of the human brain can influence habituation to the detriment of our health. If your brain is receiving information from your muscles to adjust and shorten their length on a very regular basis due to a poor posture, your muscle fibres will shorten.  Without motor and sensory nerves, your muscles are basically lumps of meat! They will not move, lengthen or shorten without input from the nervous system (sensory and motor nerves). When we create thought and intention followed by action, the muscles follow commands from ‘head office’ or the brain. So if you are stressed, the level of tension, stress and anxiety within your central nervous system will have a direct influence on the behaviour of your muscles. Your muscles will mirror the level of stress and tension you feel, leading to tight, tense muscles.

Likewise if you continue to hold a poor posture, the sensors within your muscles will detect a change in tone and length. It will relay this information to the brain which sends an updated ‘memo’ to your muscles to tell them to adjust their length. The brain helps the body adapt and deal with the environment. However amazing and helpful your brain is, if you continue to live in this posture or way of moving, your brain creates a ‘new normal’ and these actions become subconscious. We no longer realise how distorted our posture or movements have become.

This is where Total Somatics creates a whole new level of education and empowerment to back pain sufferers around the world. With a 3 step process known as pandiculation, you can ‘rewire’ your brain to work more efficiently. Total Somatics will teach you movement, mindfulness and mindset skills. In order to live more consciously and break old habits, a lifestyle and mindset shift must happen. This may sound daunting.  However, once you realise that living on ‘autopilot’ for years will cause you to be held captive in a stiff, painful body.  By changing poor habits for healthy habits, you feel how rewarding it is have less pain, improved posture, greater range of movement and you're able to enjoy life to the full.


    Allow Total Somatics to improve the quality of your life 

Somatic Workplace Advice

It is interesting to see so many companies around the world encouraging people to start taking control of their life by assessing their behavioural and movement patterns. Consider the following tips from www.HoganInjury.com. They have adopted a somatic viewpoint to finding ways to reduce back pain within the work environment. Consider the following three points:

1. Posture. – Whether you’re at work or anywhere else, it’s best to maintain proper posture to relieve some pressure on your back. When you’re standing, distribute your body weight evenly on your feet. Avoid slouching. While sitting down, adjust your chair. Make sure that your feet rest flat on the floor, and your thighs are parallel to them. Remove objects from your back pocket to make sure that your buttocks are on the same level as your back.

2. Lift the right way. – When lifting heavy objects make sure that you put the weight on your legs and not on your back. Use your core muscles and hold the object close to your body. Keep the natural curve of your back and do not twist your spine. If you cannot carry the item properly by yourself, ask a co-worker for assistance.

3. Give repetitive tasks a twist. – You should take a break whenever you’re doing repetitive tasks for the whole day. Set a time limit for each work and take a break whenever you finish a set; even if your job requires you to sit for the whole day, take a few minutes to walk around or change your sitting position every once in a while. Alternate between tasks to make sure that your back does not suffer too much strain.
To read their full article click HERE

Adopting a Somatic Mindset

Somatics is a mindful movement practise which helps you reduce pain, improve posture and increase mobility. Using the techniques within The Total Somatics Online program (www.TotalSomatics.com), you are actively involved in changing the wiring in your brain so you can behave, think, process, move and sit differently. I often tell my clients that I am not a ‘fixer’ rather a ‘facilitator’ in their approach to health. I cannot practise Somatics for you on a daily basis to change the wiring in your brain. The impetus has to come from you. If you want to live a life with greater range of movement, less pain, improved posture, have a calmer mindset, feel empowered and educated with a skill set to self monitor and self regulate, then Somatics is for you. If you want to constantly rely on being ‘patched up’ and not find out the root cause of your recurring injury or pain, then Somatics is not for you. Somatics works for ones who are determined to step outside of their comfort zone and create a healthier lifestyle that requires focus and attention to improving their emotional, physical and mental health.

If you feel you want the benefits but currently have no drive or will power, don’t despair, most people feel like that at some point in their life. That is why I have created an online program with a video series about mindset and mindfulness. Sometimes we have to work on our ‘head space’ before we can be driven to take action. Many of my online clients have informed me that they have often spent time watching my mindset video series with a cup of tea and haven’t practised movement that day. There’s no harm in that at all. The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness online program has been designed to help shift old thought and attitude patterns as well as movement. Some days you may feel you need a mental health or mindset day rather than movement. If so, that’s great. Each time you educate and empower yourself in the area of your health and well being you are taking yet another step towards self monitoring, self regulating and regaining control of your health and well being.

Notice how one of my online clients has embraced Somatics and found it to be beneficial for her health and well being….

“I love Somatics and really feel the benefit of it in my life! I have been practicing Somatics for a few months now and can honestly say it is the only therapy I have known to have such an immediate and noticeable result. The tension and pains I often feel during the body scan at the start of the routine are usually gone by the end of the routine and my muscles and joints feel looser and more relaxed. I also enjoy the mindfulness aspect of Somatics. I always look forward to my Somatics time!”

Would you like to learn Somatics in the comfort of your own home at a time convenient to you? Join the many thousands from around the world who have embraced The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness into their daily life. Once you notice and feel the benefits of Somatics, you too will be like my client above, enjoying life with less or no pain, greater range of movement, improved posture and a somatic mindset to everyday life.

Join me today at www.TotalSomatics.com
Take care,
Heidi Hadley xx
www.TotalSomatics.com

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