Oxygen is the first and most basic necessity of life. It enhances your skin as well as reducing stress. Often Stress is accountable for the first and most basic causative factor of muscle tension and pain, both in the body and reflected in the tension in the face and neck. Optimal breathing brings oxygen into your skin and muscles and helps release stress and tension from your body. The result is heightened energy and awareness while reducing the discomforts brought on by improper breathing.

Stress is mirrored in your breath.

When you are enduring stress, you tend to breath more shallowly. The carbon dioxide level in the blood rises and the oxygen level decreases. You start breathing harder so you can rid yourself of carbon dioxide build up. This causes the diaphragm to tense and the abdominal muscles to constrict, preventing you from inhaling deeply and properly. This is called shallow breathing and starts the cycle all over. You are locked in a state of tension until you can begin breathing from your abdomen once more.

The first step in regaining optimal breath, and its benefits, is to become aware of your breathing patterns and to recognize when you are not breathing correctly. Every time you feel yourself become tense, proper breathing can be employed and your sense of well being will begin to improve.

Use this breathing technique:

Lie on your back and place your hands on your stomach. Inhale slowly and deeply, letting your abdomen expand fully with air. You will feel the air rise under your hands. Allow the abdomen to fall as you exhale slowly, at the same time letting go of stress and tension. Repeat inhaling and exhaling slowly and deeply for a minimum of 2 minutes. Work up to 5 minutes at a time. Practice this exercise every day, preferably in a quiet place when you can be alone.

You should begin to feel calmer and more relaxed when you are done. You can take control of your stress and increase the oxygenation of your skin through PROPER BREATHING. I invite you to begin today!

It is important to drink a lot of water after a facial or body skin lifting massage. Why? Massage helps to push toxins out of your muscles and into your lymphatic system to be removed as waste; drinking water after a massage aids in the flushing of the lymph system and the removal of these toxins. Remember it is essential to drink adequate amounts of water at all times, not just after a massage, since dehydration of the skin is a factor in producing wrinkles and deeper lines, dry and flaky skin, and other skin conditions.

Consider these other important water facts:

• The human body is made up of about 66% water.
• 70% of your skin is water; 75% of the human brain is water; 83% of the blood is composed of water; bones are made of 25% water; and 70% of your lean muscle tissue is water.
• Water plays many roles in the human body – it acts as a solvent, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, aids in temperature regulation, provides lubrication and shock protection for joints, participates in chemical reactions, protects organs and tissues, and removes waste.
• The body’s thirst signal is an indication that it is already dehydrated.
• Mild dehydration (<5% loss of body weight) can account for lack of energy, weakness, muscle soreness, rapid pulse and rough, dry skin.
• With strenuous exercise the body can lose 2 quarts of water per hour. If fluids are not replaced, the body’s cells will lose water, which will lead to dehydration and overheating.
• An average adult needs to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water per day.
• Coffee, soda pop and alcohol are dehydrators. For every glass of these beverages that you drink, you need to drink an extra glass of water to compensate.
• You can survive a month without food, but only 5-7 days without water.

Are you drinking enough water?

Cellulite is caused by factors which influence where and how fat is stored, where and how fluid is retained, and the amount and arrangement of collagen and elastin fibers in the connective tissue layers of the skin. Factors influencing cellulite include genetic predisposition, hormones, hydration, diet, exercise, stress, drugs and medications, and amount of water that is consumed.

When normal fatty tissue is stored, it is held in place by a network of collagen and elastin fibers and is supplied by a network of vascular and lymph vessels. When the system works well, the vascular system takes energy from the fat stores when required, and toxins are flushed away via the lymph. When the waste removal system starts to fail, waste products start building up and the connective tissue becomes saturated with fluid, and is often inflamed and swollen. Growing fat cells (adipocytes) destroy the network of collagen and elastin fibers, which then thicken around these cells forming hard pockets of fat. The hardened pockets of fat are the cause of the “orange peel” or “cottage cheese” appearance known as cellulite.

The Bigio Skin Lift Method™ assists in successfully reducing and eliminating the appearance of cellulite. With this renewed circulation from the massage method, the skin is hydrated by body fluids that bring nourishment to the deeper tissues and flush out toxins and wastes.

Of course, the greater the cellulite, the greater the effort required to treat it. When treating cellulite, the congested lymph and waste system needs to be cleared, with the hardened pockets of fat softened or broken down. The weak network of collagen and elastin fibers are then strengthened and re-modeled through the Bigio Skin Lift Method™ massage.