For that Special Person in your heart ~ Valentines Gift Certificates!   Looking for  the perfect gift for your Sweetie this Valentine's Day?? We offer Gift Certificates for all of our Services, including Massages, Reflexology Sessions, Ion Detox Footbaths and more. Read about Our Services here...  Heart-healthy Vitamin D for Free!!   Sunshine is one of the most healing agents of Nature. Ultraviolet light actually converts the cholesterol in our skin to Vitamin D, which is vital for the absorbtion of calcium. If you expose just six square inches of our skin to direct sunlight for one hour per day, you will obtain our minimum daily requirement for vitamin D.   A growing body of evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of heart disease and is linked to other, well-known heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.   Careful use of sunshine can also increase our muscular strength, increase our sense of well-being, improve sleep, and remove toxins from our bloodstream faster.   Read more about the Careful Use of Sunlight here. Cut your Cholesterol with Living Foods One of the best ways to ensure a healthier heart is to leave behind the Standard American Diet and embrace a plant-based Living Foods diet comprised of vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts and fruits.   There are no trans-fats or bad cholesterol to encourage heart disease in Living Foods. Instead the seeds and nuts eaten as part of a Living Foods diet are chock full of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 - the good fats) which have all been shown to lower LDL cholesterol.   Raw foods returns us to the lifestyle God intended for us. They are high in enzymes, which are important to the body because they convert vitamins and minerals for usage.The phytochemicals present in raw vegetables keep the body from contracting disease, including cancer. Raw foods are also naturally high in fiber, which makes them very filling and a natural way to shed unneeded pounds and unhealthy fat--yet another key to a healthier heart!! Why wait to start on your path to a healthier heart and a healthier life? Call me today at 828-692-9999 or 828-776-3762 to start living a Living Foods lifestyle! Read more about Living Foods here. Greetings!   February is American Heart Month, a time to educate people on what we can do to live heart-healthy lives. Here at Health & Healing Massage we help you to live heart-healthy lives all year long! We believe the Practice of the EIGHT LAWS OF HEALTH (Trust in God, Careful Use of Sunshine, Pure Air, Free Use of Water Inside & Out, Exercise, Proper Diet, Temperance in All Things, and Rest), as well as healthful, restorative MASSAGE can and will aid in the restoration of your health.     How can the Eight Laws of Health promote a heart-healthy life?   Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, can, among many other benefits, strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system. Trust in God can help block anxiety and minimize stress and stress, if left unmanaged, can lead to physical problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains, and irregular heart beats.     Clean drinking water is essential to the function of all of our organs, including the heart. Drinking plenty of clean water can actually lower your risks of a heart attack. Both clean air and adequate sleep are essential for the proper functioning of our body. The American Heart Association urges moderation in the consumption of alcohol, and using moderation in our diet has numerous heart-healthy affects.    Read below to find out how Sunshine, Massage and a Living Foods lifestyle can help you live a heart-healthy life.   Read more about the Eight Laws of Health here. Massage and a Healthy Heart Massage therapy has a positive affect on your whole body, so it is not surprising that regular massage can positively affect your heart health. Massage stimulates receptors that send messages of relaxation to the central nervous system. These reflexes cause vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels) that results in decreased blood pressure and heart rate.   Our autonomic nervous system has two "states of being", fight-or-flight (sympathetic nervous system) and rest-and-digest (parasympathetic nervous system).  The sympathetic nervous system helps mobilize the body for action when we are faced with a stressful situation.   Very often, the daily stresses of our lives, and even our diet cause us to stay in this fight-or-flight state, which has a negative effect on our bodies including increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.    Massage therapy can help the Autonomic Nervous System shift into the rest-and-digest state. Studies show massage reduces heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow.   Plus, massage improves posture, joint flexibility & range of motion, can cause your body to release natural painkillers (endorphins), boosts your immune system, alleviates pain in migraine sufferers, improves alertness and performance in office workers and so much more.    Click here to read more about the Benefits of Massage.