A Routine to Help with Menstrual Cramps, Bloating and Headaches

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I was back at The Social with a great routine to relieve menstrual pains like cramping, headaches and bloating. Watch here

We didn’t have time for the last stretch which is great for relieving neck tension, headaches and jaw pain. It’s a facial yoga pose as well so may help you look more sculpted.

NECK STRETCH

How to do: Turn your head to one side and gently tilt your chin up and slightly back, lengthening out the opposite side of your neck. You should feel the stretch down the side of your neck and into your shoulder. Keeping your head turned to the side, stick out your tongue and stretch it towards the tip of your nose to activate the muscles further. Hold this for a count of ten. Release back to centre, then repeat the move on the opposite side. Feel the tension leaveyour neck, shoulders and jaw as you hold the stretch.

Benefits: With PMS and during our period, we often find we hold tension in our neck, shoulders, and jaw area - which can contribute to headaches. This stretch helps to reduce the tension thus helping with headaches. Since it also stretches one of our key lymphatic points at the front of the neck - it also encourages lymphatic drainage which can ease bloating.

And this face yoga move may even help your face look more snatched!

the best neck stretch and face yoga pose

Your Weight Gain May Be a Result of Emotional Stress and Trauma Stored in Your Fascia

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If you’re holding on to extra weight, it may be due to the emotional stress or trauma you’re holding in your fascia. 

There are an array of factors when it comes to weight gain and weight loss. We often hear about calories in - calories out, hormonal balance and the psychology behind it. What we don’t talk about is how storing fat can be related to us storing trauma in our fascia. 

When we store stress and trauma in our fascia, this can increase our levels of cortisol (stress hormone) which encourages our body to store fat. And there’s more to it than an increase in cortisol - when we are holding on to things, we feel it as tension and stiffness in our body. Sometimes we even feel detached from our body. This holding pattern and detachment can encourage your body to freeze and hold onto fat as a survival instinct. Your body feels you’re in danger because of how much tension you’ve stored in your fascia, so it holds onto fat because it thinks you’ll need it.

By releasing the stored trauma in your fascia, you can encourage the body to let go of not only the emotions and memories it’s holding onto - but also the weight. That feeling of heaviness when you’re stressed can send feedback to your brain and it can encourage the body to add heaviness - or in some cases the opposite effect where the body tries to balance the minds heaviness with lightness.

If you tend to lose weight when you’re stressed or depressed, then your body is balancing the heaviness of the mind with lightness in your body.

If you tend to gain weight when you’re stressed or depressed, then your body is marching the heaviness of the mind with heaviness in your body.

In both cases - releasing the tension and trauma stored in your fascia can help create balance in your body.

This is why often patients will note that they start losing weight without changing their diet as we release stored trauma from their fascia. Part of this is that as you release the tension, you’re able to move better and thus you move more. It also encourages lymphatic drainage which means that your body will also let go of excess water weight that you’re holding on to.

As we release the tension from our fascia, we create safety in our body so that our body can let go of what we’re holding onto including excess weight and mental strain. 

If you feel like trauma or emotional stress has you holding on to things you want to let go - you may benefit from myofascial release treatment.

I’m here to help and can see you in person for myofascial therapy or virtual to talk and share self myofascial release techniques.

Breakfast Television - a routine to ease piriformis syndrome

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If you sit at a desk all day or even on the couch you may experience vague discomfort and pain where you sit. We call this lower cross syndrome, gluteal amnesia dead butt syndrome or more recently office chair butt.

In this syndrome, muscle tightness and weakness combine to create an imbalance. Constant sitting weakens the gluteus medius, the main stabilizer muscles in the buttock. The job of the gluteus medius is to stabilize your hips and pelvis. When it’s weak and can’t function properly, you may experience varying levels of hip and lower back pain when you sit and sometimes when you move. It also causes the hip flexors to tighten and since these muscles attach to the spine - can lead to back pain.

With minutes of sitting down - the nerves that activate glutes can shut down which can cause your glutes to atrophy (lose muscle) over time. This can cause your glutes to become weak, sag and flatten.

Dr. Liza Egbogah shares tips to combat office butt and exercises that will help your butt and back feel better. These exercises will also help lift and round your glutes so it doesn’t look like you’ve been sitting all day.

Watch the segment here: https://www.breakfasttelevision.ca/videos/the-harrowing-and-very-real-effects-of-sitting-down-for-too-long-and-how-to-fix-it/

How To Ease Shoulder Pain From Sleeping (Hint: NSAIDs May Not Be Your Best Bet)

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Shoulder pain can be caused and aggravated by the way you sleep 🛌 💤 I spoke with the Woman’s World about the cause of shoulder pain from sleeping and strategies to prevent and reduce pain. 

And of course I shared my favourite posture stretch that’s one of the best things you can do for shoulder pain 🧘‍♀️

Read the full article here

Could fascia massage derail the beauty industry?

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It was a pleasure to contribute to this Dazed article on fascia and how myofascial release can affect the way we look. This topic is very misunderstood, so it was great to shed some light on a technique that I started in 2009 before it became mainstream.

“While academic studies are still lacking, anecdotal endorsements are stacking up. Dr Liza Egbogah, a Canadian osteopath and posture expert who has a doctor of chiropractic, has used fascial techniques to help people like Jennifer Lawrence and George Clooney with their posture. She tells Dazed, “if we were to remove all of your bones, you would still maintain most of your shape because of fascia. As such, fascia can be manually manipulated to change our appearance and structure.” Dr Egbogah says that many signs of “ageing” in our modern digital age are from stress and spending too much time looking down at phones and computers. “This behaviour changes our facial posture because knots in the fascia developed from looking downwards will also pull your face down as well,” she says. “Myofascial release can counteract these effects. Even wrinkles can be a result of knots in the fascia and when you release those knots the wrinkles can essentially be erased.”

Read the full article here

 

The Social - Travel tips from a body and posture expert to look and feel your best when you land

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As an Osteopath and Chiropractor who specializes in aesthetic myofascial release and a frequent flyer - Dr. Liza Egbogah shares tips that will have you looking and feeling your best when you deplane. Travel can take quite a toll on your body. Standing for long periods in line, hauling bags through the airport, lifting them into overhead compartments and off the conveyor belts, sitting in cramped seats, the pressure of the cabin, elevation and overall stress of travelling can leave you arriving at your destination tired, achy and not looking your best.

Dr. Liza Egbogah shares exercises you can do on board so you won’t deplane hunched, lymphatic drainage acupressure points so you won’t be puffy and travel recommendations - so you can arrive feeling and looking your best. All these tips are tried and tested on long hauls including a 17.5 hour flight!

Fascinating Fascia and it’s Role in Trauma and Emotional Stress

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Fascinating Fascia and it’s Role in Trauma and Emotional Stress

Myofascial release is one of the most effective forms of therapy to release stored up emotional trauma from our body. Hopefully with this post I have helped to highlight the role that fascia plays in our mental and physical health, how we look and  how we live our life and relayed that the health of our fascia is essential for us to function our best.

Read More

The Social - Treatment and exercises for bunions

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Dr. Liza Egbogah returns to The Social with the bunion fix - exercises and self-treatments that won’t get rid of your bunions but will make them look and feel a whole lot better. Dr. Liza shares 4 foot exercises and 1 self treatment that you can to to strengthen your feet, minimize the pain from bunions, prevent them from getting worse and have them looking better.

And if you're looking for shoes that are great if you have bunions visit drLizashoes.com

Introducing the Cloud Collection Socks

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Proceeds from the sale of the dr LIZA cloud collection socks go towards providing socks for unhoused persons in Toronto. Support your feet and our unhoused friends by wearing these awesome socks. 

Not only do these socks look great - they have arch support, moisture wicking yarns, strategic venting and stay up compression that will boost circulation and have you feeling great. And they are literally the perfect gift for all!

Knit with moisture wicking, breathable, and durable 48% Nylon, 32% Polyester, 20% Spandex performance yarns.

One size fits all (5-13)

Dance moves that improve your posture and mood

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Improve your posture with these dance moves

 Dancing is a great functional movement that can help with flexibility, conditioning and mobility. It’s also a great mood booster. This combination of dance moves will help improve your posture by targeting muscles that tighten up from too much time spent sitting and on devices. Dr. Liza has put together a series of dance moves that can be used to ease tension or to loosen up after a long day of sitting. These moves help to improve posture while improving your mood at the same time by giving you a much need boost in endorphins (feel good chemicals). Even kids can benefit from this routine