Me Time: women's health and wellness



Wellness offerings benefit women's body, mind and soul

varicose veins


Varicose veins can be caused by aging, genetics, smoking, excessive sitting or standing, obesity, or pregnancy.

 

Get help for varicose veins


Varicose veins are a common condition that happens when faulty valves in the veins allow blood to flow in the wrong direction or to pool. The condition can happen for a variety of reasons, such as aging, genetics, smoking, excessive sitting or standing, obesity, or pregnancy.


If you have varicose veins and experience leg pain or fatigue, you may have venous reflux disease, a progressive medical condition. If left untreated, however, the condition may worsen and develop into a more serious form of venous disease, which can result in ulcers.


Low impact exercise, such as walking or yoga, wearing compression stockings, and keeping your legs elevated can help alleviate pain caused by varicose veins. If symptoms persist, various treatments are available, such as vein removal surgeries, laser ablation, sclerotherapy, radio frequency ablation, and gluing the veins closed. Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County.

Make time for mindfulness


With all the multi-tasking it takes to run a household and raise kids, it's easy for moms to feel scattered and spread thin, or like they're are running on autopilot. Mindfulness practice helps women focus and show up more fully for what is right in front of them, at any given moment.


Over the past 40 years, scientific research has proven mindfulness practice - the art of bringing nonjudgmental attention to the present moment by becoming aware of your breath, sensations in your body, thoughts, and emotions - to be extremely beneficial for overall well-being.


Meditation or mindfulness practice can be as simple as remembering to take a mindful breath a few times a day. Or slowing down when eating - savoring the smell, flavors, and textures of food. And remember, when you do get frazzled you can always start again. Each moment is a new opportunity to come back and practice again.


Becoming aware of your emotions, without judging yourself for them, is also an act of compassion and may help you empathize with others and extend your compassion to them. You are also modeling behaviors that can be learned and reciprocated. Chrissa J. Santoro, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.

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Recharge at a retreat


In addition to women's roles as caregivers, they are often simultaneously balancing work, running a business, maintaining their personal relationships, and running their households. A women's only wellness retreat, like the one hosted at Frost Valley YMCA every year, gives women the space and time to focus solely on their wellbeing, including physical, mental, and spiritual health.


Often, retreat classes not only get a woman's heart pumping through exercise classes, but also offer massage or acupuncture sessions. Mindfulness can come through activities like hiking, focused breathing, yoga, or meditation. Activities for self-expression may include writing, painting, and sculpting.


Moms should consider taking part in a wellness retreat once a year or more as time away allows women to reconnect with who they are as individuals outside of the needs of others. It's also a great way for women to bond with others.


Look for a retreat that supplies meals and provides whatever a woman needs to recharge, whether that's a heart-pumping adventure, the calm serenity of nature, or the laughter and camaraderie of other women. Frost Valley YMCA.

 

Bring on the benefits of pre- and post-natal yoga


While expectant and new moms need to care for their coming and new babies, they also need to focus on their personal wellbeing. Practicing pre- and post-natal yoga provides women with the opportunity to attend to their bodies, spirits and souls. 


By engaging in breath work, relaxation techniques, strengthening postures and birthing preparations, pre-natal yoga helps women by providing ways to manage their body's changes at each gestation period.


Likewise, practicing the techniques of post-natal yoga helps women regain their body's balance, heal and relax. Liz Glover Wilson, Stone Wave Yoga.