Tag Archives: meditation





Meditation techniques to try:



6 Tips To Sleep Easy And Beat Insomnia 

It’s no secret our bodies need sleep. We perform better at work, we are in better moods, and overall we feel better when we’ve had enough shut-eye. Unfortunately, many of us do not get adequate sleep. In fact, roughly 40 million people suffer from insomnia annually.

If you suffer from insomnia, these tips can help you fall asleep easier and stay asleep.

  • Wind down: Our bodies need time to relax and wind down after the day’s stressors. Take some time to yourself to enjoy a warm bath, reading, or light exercises, such as yoga.
  • Relax your entire body: Meditation is a great tool to help you fall asleep. Imagine releasing tension from each part of your body. While taking deep breathes, start at your feet, then each leg, your torso, each arm, and lastly your head, neck and shoulders. By concentrating on specific parts of your body and working with your breathing, you can relieve stress and sink into a deeper relaxation to help ease you into a restful night’s sleep.
  • Listen to soothing music: Turn on a sleep inspired playlist that last 30-45 minutes. Soothing tunes will drown out noises from neighbors or the outdoors.
  • Create the ideal sleep environment: Noise, temperature and lighting play a big role in how well you sleep at night. Cool, dark, and quiet provides the best sleep environment. Keep your room between 65-72°F. If you are a warm sleeper, avoid heavy sleepwear. Invest in pillows and mattresses that offer cooling gels and materials to keep your body temperature down throughout the night. The  PureRelax Zoned Gel Topper, Technogel Anatomic Pillow  and the TEMPUR-Pedic Breeze collection provide support and cooling relief all night long.
  • Look away from the clock: Checking the time when you’re having difficulty sleeping only makes matters worse. Face your clock away from you to avoid temptations of calculating the amount of sleep you can get if you fall asleep at that moment. This can cause more anxiety, keeping you up even longer.
  • Get out of bed: After 20 minutes if you haven’t been able to fall asleep, get up and leave the bedroom. Make a cup of tea, read a book, or listen to relaxing music. Do anything that doesn’t require a lot of concentration or effort. Once you begin to get drowsy, go back to bed.

Visit a Relax The Back location near you to speak with our trained sleep experts who can help you create the ultimate bedroom sanctuary so you can get your best night’s sleep. From fitting you for a perfect pillow, to showing you different mattress styles, to offering tips and information on ways you can sleep easier, our specialists are there to provide one-on-one support. Be sure to follow us on FacebookTwitter, and Pinterest for more sleep tips.

Relaxation in the New Year

relax Starting February 8th, celebrations for the Chinese New Year will begin all over the world. 2016 is the year of the Red Fire Monkey. A New Year brings the opportunity to reflect and sweep away any misfortunes or hardships from the previous year and start fresh. People born in the year of the monkey will find a balanced lifestyle will improve their health conditions.

Use this time to bring friends and family together, celebrate, and begin working towards a more balanced lifestyle. It is a time to refocus, recharge, and relax.

We’ve put together a few ways to help you relax and recharge as we begin a new year:

  • Music & soothing sounds: Whether it’s classical music, your favorite rock song, or soothing nature sounds, music and sound can help you relax while lowering blood pressure, anxiety levels, and your heart rate.
  • Massage: Relax your neck, shoulders, back, and legs to calm your mind and help you recharge. Massage chairs and massage cushions offer personalized comfort and relief in your home or on the go. Massage benefits include reducing stress hormone levels and chronic pain, increasing circulation and improving sleep quality, to name a few. Bring luck, prosperity, and relaxation into your home with the DreamWave Massage Chair by Inada in red leather and receive 48-month financing.
  • Meditation: Just a few minutes a day can help ease anxiety and make you more resilient to stress. Sit with both of your feet planted on the floor and repeat a positive thought or mantra – silently or out loud – such as “I feel at peace.” Syncing your breathing to your mantra will help you focus.
  • Restorative Yoga: This type of yoga sequence uses props to help calm and relax your entire body and mind. Yoga is a good tool for learning and practicing ways to find relaxation, on and off the mat.

Relax The Back wishes everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. May this New Year bring you all good luck, good fortune, and good health!

Top 5 Apps to Help You Sleep




Tips From The Experts: Tricia Cardone





Benefits of Yoga for Back Pain Relief

Many suffering from back pain find yoga intimidating, especially when imagining back bending. But yoga is more than just body twisting – it’s a mind-body practice that combines poses, deep breathing, and meditation. Yoga is also very much a personal practice, and can be easily modified to fit your abilities and limitations with the help of simple props.

Physical Poses
The fundamentals of physical yoga teach you precise alignment and posture to correct any bad and harmful habits in body movement. Overall, stretching and holding poses help increase flexibility, muscular strength and joint mobility while specific poses work to strengthen abdominal and lower back muscles for much needed back support.

Deep Breathing
Yoga incorporates slow and deep, diaphragmatic breathing that balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which can reduce your perception of pain.

Meditation helps you relax, focus, and manage stress that could result in back pain and tension. It can also improve your mental and emotional health to help you keep up with the demands of a busy life impeded by back pain.

Use of Props
Simple props such as pillows, blankets, blocks, and foam rollers can help you hold modified poses according your ability. This allows your body to relax and strengthen in comfortable positions. Relax the Back’s Exercise and Therapy Foam Rollers in particular can be used for abdominal and spine stretching and balance exercises in yoga.

As with any physical activity, the addition of hot and cold therapy can relieve stress on your muscles and body that Yoga may cause. Consider using a Therabeads Moist Heat Pad for muscles aches, arthritis pain and tension. To stay cool, try substituting your yoga mat with the Shield Life Cool Pad.

You should also exercise caution. There are many variations of yoga and finding the right regimen can be confusing. To maximize the healing benefits of yoga, consider practicing with an experienced yoga teacher who can help address your problems and tailor poses and sequences to your needs.