Mar 21, 2019 | Aromatherapy, Body & Beauty, Fitness Centers & Mind-Body Studios, Health & Wellness
After you’ve hit the gym and gotten in a really good workout, you probably feel great. Like you’re on top of the world. The endorphins are flowing and you feel energized. But there’s a small thought in the back of your head – this is going to hurt in the morning. You get out your foam roller and go to town, but it only does so much. You still feel sore the next morning.
Instead of always needing to default to over-the-counter pain medications, why not try some natural pain relief? Essential oils and other natural products are a great way to help ease muscle soreness and stiffness. Here are a few of our favorites and how to use them:
Menthol Crystals
These are a game-changer when it comes to muscle pain and soreness, and because their properties are so concentrated, you don’t need much product to make a difference. Here is a simple recipe to make an all-natural muscle salve that you can rub into any sore muscle for pain relief:
Ingredients:
2T coconut oil
2T shea butter
2T beeswax
4T almond oil
1t menthol crystals
30 drops eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions:
- Measure out the coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax and melt them on low heat.
- Remove from heat, and stir in the menthol crystals until they’re dissolved. Be sure to keep your face away from the mixture so you don’t irritate your eyes or nose.
- Once the crystals are dissolved, mix in the almond oil, followed by the essential oils.
- Pour the mixture into a container that has a tight lid, but allow the mixture to cool before putting the lid on.
- Store in your refrigerator to maintain texture and shelf life.
Lavender Oil
Lavender is known and loved for its calming and relaxing properties and it can do the same for your muscles as it does your mind. One effective way of using lavender specifically for sore muscles is to add the essential oil to a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil and use it as a massage oil. Working the oil deep into your muscles allows those effects to really get where it’s most needed.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint contains menthol, which brings a much-needed cooling effect when you’re sore. It’s also anti-inflammatory. If you have access to a steam room, bring our Mint-Infused Pure Eucalyptus ShowerMist along with you to get both the benefits of Peppermint and the steam room (read this blog post to read more about the benefits of steam rooms). Simply spritz a few sprays of the ShowerMist away from your face and breathe in and feel the benefits.
What are some natural ways that you deal with muscle pain?
Please share below in the comments!
Aug 8, 2017 | Aromatherapy
Everyone knows that living a healthy life involves exercise and workouts. Activity keeps our body in good shape to not only function properly but also look its best.
But exercise requires hard work, and that work can cause you to feel uncomfortable. So how can you improve your exercise while minimizing the repercussions afterward? One word: aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy is the perfect balance between natural medicine that doesn’t cause adverse side effects and effectiveness. The essential oils provided by nature possess potent properties to enhance your exercise and help you better enjoy the results instead of the consequences.
Aromatherapy in Exercise Preparation
Just like stretching and warming up are crucial in exercise prep to get the most out of your workout, essential oils can be another vital part of the process. There are several benefits that aromatherapy can provide in your exercise preparation:
- Energize
- Improve circulation
- Open air ways
- Injury prevention
- Eliminate soreness
Some good prep oils are rosemary, peppermint, and Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus oil is the best because of its comprehensive uses, providing all the above and more.
We recommend using our Eucalyptus Oil ShowerMist and diluting it with a carrier oil (e.g. almond or jojoba). Add 10-30 drops (or 1-2 spritzes) of the ShowerMist into the carrier oil to create the proper mixture. Apply it to the muscles you intend on exerting, around the neck, and on the chest to improve circulation and open up your air ways.
Aromatherapy During Exercise
While you’re exercising, you’ll need something to maintain good performance as your body fatigues. Maintaining proper circulation and reinvigorating your body will help you do that.
Lemon and orange oil energize with their citrus scents and are also known to help improve circulation. Our Citrus-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist will energize, keep circulation up, and allow more oxygen intake so you can focus on your workout, not your exhaustion. Apply it using the same recipe as above.
Post-Workout Aromatherapy
With post-workout aromatherapy, soreness and stiffness can be a thing of the past. The best oils to combat muscle pain and tension are Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Teatree oil.
We recommend Lavender since it’s soothing and shortens the recovery time for your muscles. Using a similar mixture as noted above, massage our Lavender-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist onto the muscles that are likely to be sore as soon as possible after your workout.
Using these oils will prevent injuries, relax your body, and boost your immune system.
Make Aromatherapy Part of Your Routine
You don’t have to let muscle stiffness and pain slow you down anymore. Aromatherapy will enhance your workouts and exercise routine, driving your body to achieve goals faster without the side effects.
Want more tips on how to use aromatherapy in your daily life? Then sign up for our newsletter right now!
Aug 29, 2016 | Health & Wellness
When you’re working out, you’re in the moment. You’re feeling the power and enjoying the adrenaline. However, the next day is a different story. It’s pretty normal for you to wake up sore and stiff after a challenging (or even light) workout. We hear a lot about muscle pain, but we have the tips and tricks you need to get back on your feet.
Here are five ways to prevent the soreness and heal it quickly:
1. Stretch Well
Stretching is an oft-overlooked aspect of exercise. No matter how you eat and live, your muscles need to be stretched. It’s best to stretch them before and after each workout as well as before bed.
2. Drink Water
Muscles need water. Dehydrated muscles lead to cramps and post-workout soreness. Hydrate before exercise, during, and especially afterward.
3. Calcium/Magnesium
This is a supplement you should look into. Calcium with magnesium feeds the muscles with what they need to grow, contract, and relax. Taking this before will aid your sleep and avoid nighttime cramping.
4. Limit Caffeine and Alcohol
Caffeine and alcohol dehydrate your muscles and deplete your body of calcium and magnesium. If you do have one of the above, drink extra water and boost your vitamins/minerals intake.
5. Heat and Eucalyptus
High-quality, non-diluted, unprocessed Eucalyptus essential oil (like our pharmaceutical-grade Eucalyptus) has anti-inflammatory and soothing properties that make it a great option when treating sore or over-exercised muscles. It can relax stiff muscles, allowing for pain relief and ease in range of motion and muscle movement. The best way to enjoy Eucalyptus is in the steam of a shower or in the heat of the sauna.
Here are some ways to apply Eucalyptus to your sore muscles:
- Add 3-5 drops of straight Eucalyptus oil directly onto sore muscles. Slowly massage into skin.
- Add 15-50 drops of Eucalyptus oil to a hot bath. The heat of the water, combined with the Eucalyptus, encourages muscles to relax and reduces next-day stiffness. For additional benefits, add Epsom salts to the water.
- The easiest option is to use our Pure Eucalyptus Oil ShowerMist and spray it into the hot steam of your shower, or into the warmth of any sauna or steam room. You’ll not only enjoy the relaxation in your muscles, but you’ll also be breathing in the anti-inflammatory properties of the eucalyptus.
Leave Soreness Behind
The body has an amazing ability to heal itself when supported well through healthy lifestyle habits. Pain in the body is also a sign of something else going on, so in addition to getting relief naturally, be sure to investigate the cause with your doctor or natural medicine practitioner.
Don’t forget to comment and share the knowledge of sore muscle relief with the buttons below, thanks!
Sep 22, 2014 | Uncategorized
If you are one to work out regularly, it’s safe to assume that you like to both look great and feel your best! If that’s true, then you’ll want to make sure you are helping your muscles recovery quickly. We know this is important to you, so we’ve compiled our list of the best ways to help your body recover after a good work out! Enjoy and Eurospa know how these tips have helped you!
STRETCH BEFORE & AFTER
Gentle stretching before AND after a workout is a key component not to be dismissed. Trust me, I’ve been there and sometimes you just don’t want to ‘waste your time’ stretching. I want to emphasize the gentle part for a minute as well. Especially before a workout, your muscles are not warmed up. This will cause them to be more tight and stiff – like a dry rubber band. Over stretching or stretching to forcefully will actually weaken the muscle, making injury more likely. Once your workout is complete – consider stretching in a sauna (still gently) and really make use of the extra heat. More about saunas below…
HYDRATE
You lose so much water during exercise and while it’s best to replace it during exercise, refilling your personal hydro-tank after exercise is a great and simple way to speed up your recovery time. Water supports every metabolic function and transfer of nutrients in the body. Having plenty of water will improve each and every bodily function. Adequate fluid replacement is even more vital for endurance athletes who lose larger amounts of water during hours of sweating and peak activity.
REFUEL
It’s SO important to make sure you eat within 60 minutes of a hard workout. You just depleted your energy stores and now it’s time to refuel them if you expect your body to recover, repair tissues, get stronger and be ready for the next challenge. Some great go-to foods for a speedy recovery are protein shakes, bananas, nut butters, hummus and red peppers, yogurt, berries, fish and all green plants. Let’s just face it – green plants are the food to eat pre and post anything!
HOT COLD
Take alternating hot and cold to the next level. The old advice of ice pack and heating pad have great purpose but are better for targeting certain areas. Try taking a really hot shower and then switching to the coldest setting for about 30 seconds (or how long you can handle it) and switching back to hot again. As well, if you have access to a steam room or sauna – go stretch in the heat for 5-10 minutes, go out and take a cold shower (or use the ice bath if it’s available) and the return to the sauna. Repeat the process 2-3 times for best results.
DID SOMEONE SAY SAUNA
Of course I did. I would almost go as far as saying that I’m one of the biggest sauna fans in the world. It’s for good reason too. The health benefits that saunas deliver make me wonder why more people don’t invest in building one in their own home! {If you DO want one built, talk to a contractor today and you’ll be on your way to better home health in no time!} But back to muscle recovery… If you’re already going to be stretching and alternating hot and cold in that gift of a sauna – enhance the experience further and add Eucalyptus oil or Spray! For the oil, mix the essential oil into another base, like almond or jojoba and you’ll quickly have a muscle recovery rub! The oil penetrates deep into the tissue (more so in the heat of the sauna) for an anti-inflammatory effect. When using the spray, simply spritz into the shower steam or the sauna/steam room. The oil in the air will then enter your lungs and be carried off to nurture the needier parts of your well-worked muscles.
You are working out and exercising to better your health and look your best. Congratulations! That’s a big commitment you should be proud of! Please take care of yourself with proper diet, rest and recovery as you live your life to it’s absolute fullest!
Aug 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
If you are working out, you probably want to look and feel good. In order to get the most out of your workout, it’s important to act in ways that help your muscles to recover
quickly and healthily. We need to be careful not to neglect the most important aspects of our routines as a result of our busy lives. Yes, let’s find ways to be fast and efficient, but it’s also smart to have a few tips on hand to make recovery both faster and smoother! So – keep up your (healthy) routine and enjoy some of these all natural, post workout recovery tips!
STRETCH
Gentle stretching before AND after a workout is a key component not to be dismissed. Trust me, I’ve been there and sometimes you just don’t want to ‘waste your time’ stretching. I want to emphasize the gentle part for a minute as well. Especially before a workout, your muscles are not warmed up. This will cause them to be more tight and stiff – like a dry rubber band. Over stretching or stretching to forcefully will actually weaken the muscle, making injury more likely. Once your workout is complete – consider stretching in a sauna (still gently) and really make use of the extra heat. More about saunas below…
WATER
Water is so easily lost during exercise and you’ve to to replace it during and after the workout to not only hydrate those cells, but also to speed up recovery time! Water aids your metabolic function and supports the transfer of nutrients in the body. So staying properly hydrated will improve each and every body function. This is even more vital for endurance athletes who sweat more during periods of strenuous and peak activity.
GROOVE
Music is a great tool that can help us through a tough workout, at least by distracting us from the burning feeling in your legs. But on a more serious note, listening relaxing tunes can surprisingly aid in your workout recovery. So my recommendation is to listen to the faster heavier beats during the workout and switch it up to the slower tempo songs while you stretch and cool down, as the slower music can reduce blood pressure and pulse rate, which is especially useful after an intense workout!
FEED
Are you feeding your body with the right fuel? Machines require fuel and so do our bodies. You’ve got to make sure you eat within 60 minutes of a hard workout. Your energy stores have just been depleted pretty badly, so you’ve to restore them if you want your body to recover, repair, gain strength and be prepared for the next challenge! So great go-to and simple snack ideas that will speed your recovery along are protein shakes, bananas, nut butters, hummus and red peppers, yogurt with berries, fish and all green plants. Let’s not forget the obvious- green plants are the foods to eat pre and post anything, really!
HOT & COLD THERAPY
Take alternating hot and cold to an even better level. The traditional advice of alternating applied ice and heat have great purpose but are better for targeting specific areas. Instead, try taking a really hot shower and then switching to the coldest setting for about 30 seconds (or whatever you can handle) and then switching back to hot again. You could even include the sauna with this one. Sit/stretch in the sauna for 5-10 minutes, go out and take a cold shower (or ice bath if that’s available) and then return to the sauna. Repeat this process 2-3 times for best results.
SWEAT IT OUT
Sauna is the word on the street these days for health and fitness advocates all over the world. For good reason too. The health benefits that saunas deliver cause me to wonder why homes all over the world don’t invest in installing one in their own homes. If you’re already going to be stretching in all that heat, enhance that experience further and add Eucalyptus Oil Spray to the heat and even steam. Simply spritz the spray into the steam or heat. The oil in the air will then be activated by the heat, enter your lungs and be carried off to nurture those needy parts and well-worked muscles!
Congratulations. You are working out more regularly and committing to bettering your health. You will soon be looking and feeling better and that’s something to be proud of. Please take care of yourself with proper diet, rest and recovery as you life your life to it’s absolute fullest!
From all of us at Eurospa, we toast to your health!
