I waited so long to use this gift, but it came at such a great time. My body was looking to relieve some tightness and I needed the relaxation going into my appointment.

The salon is beautiful and the employees were warm and welcoming. They gave me a super comfy bathrobe and some slippers and I headed into my 3pm appointment so excited.

In the ladies locker room lounge they had orange infused water, some trail mix and cookies. I poured myself a glass of the orange water and it was so delicious and refreshing.

When I first met my massage therapist Dalia she greeted me with a smile and asked me if there was anything in particular I needed to focus on. As you know I have had a previous hip & shoulder injury so those areas tend to flair up with muscle tightness so I mentioned those areas to her.

During the massage I chatted with Dalia and eventually was so relaxed I zoned out. She relieved a ton of the pain and knots that I had in my upper back and I’m so grateful for this experience.

When I left the salon, my body was so relaxed but I was surprised at how clear my thoughts were. It was such a positive experience and I knew this massage would help both physically and mentally.

Besides the beach, massage might be the second on my list for relaxation (wink wink) I don’t know how many of them I can line up because they aren’t cheap but they are definitely worth every penny.

Over the past few weeks I have been focusing on my body and treating it healthy in numerous ways. Sometimes I push my body to its limits and exhaust my brain and muscles until they are completely drained but I’ve decided to focus on my over all wellness not just in the gym but outside as well.

Have you ever had a massage before?

What other ways do you keep your body healthy besides the gym?

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=7714 0 http://thefitskool.com/?p=2264 http://thefitskool.com/?p=2264#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2014 16:15:37 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=2264 Continue reading →]]> After a week of tough workouts and getting back into my normal exercise routine, I have experienced some tight hip flexors over the past few days.

All the squats and lunges I have done in boot camp this week have made my hips a little stiff, so I have added daily stretching to reduce the tightness.

Do you sit all day at work all day? You might want to stretch out… if you sit all day this causes the muscles in your hip to shorten up. The good thing is you can get that flexibility back.

Here are a couple of pictures that demonstrate a hip flexor stretch. Make sure to ease into the stretch if you have never done it before. You don’t want to over stretch the muscle.

To get a deeper stretch raise your arm straight up and bend it slightly over your head.

This is just one of many stretches for the hip flexor. I have also been doing the butterfly stretch and the seated straddle stretch. I am hoping that after a few days of stretching my hip flexors I will be able to get a little deeper and more comfortably into my squats!

How often do you stretch? Do you feel better after you do?