Back to School, Back to Stress: How to Help Your Anxious Teen Relax this School Year
Let’s be real, with COVID-19 on the rise and school just starting back up, kids, parents, teachers and schools everywhere are feeling the pressure.
Any day, the news of a COVID-19 exposure and the subsequent requirement to get tested or quarantined could come. And if cases keep going up like they are, schools may be forced to retract back to complete online learning.
On my first day of classes last week, I was shocked to see the sea of students crossing the streets, riding their bikes and talking with each other.
It was so refreshing that, even with masks on, it felt like we were finally starting to return to normalcy.
But with that return comes the host of responsibilities and obligations that school life naturally brings.
Students and teachers alike have to endure class all day, do work when they get home and then oftentimes try to have a social life, job, sport, religious activity or club. This can be very taxing on both the mind and the body.
I remember going through my junior year at Wando High School with such neck and shoulder pain from the constant weight of carrying my textbooks.
I went home that night and dumped my backpack on the scale and it weighed 27 lbs!
No wonder I was constantly cracking my neck for relief!
On top of the literal weight that I was carrying on my shoulders, my mind was tired, I felt anxious, overwhelmed and burnt out.
When Longevity Wellness hired me, I soon realized the true importance of massage therapy and taking care of yourself. I had never had a professional massage before so I was a little nervous and didn’t know what to expect.
When I went in for my first appointment, I didn’t even realize how jacked up my muscles were until I layed on the table!
By the time I got out, I was as light as a feather.
The licensed massage therapist, Emily, made me feel at ease right away.
Afterwards, she gave me tips on how to properly stretch my shoulders and pecs so that I can get relief even when I can’t come in for an appointment!
Since then, I’ve become far more aware of the human mind and body and the daily strain we put on both than I ever expected. A.K.A: I can tell when my body needs a massage.
Through massage therapy, I was able to give my body space to heal and my mind space to relax.
And going bi-weekly or monthly can train your muscles to be less tense, correct posture over time, and build the immune system!
In a time when people are constantly hunching over their desks, computers and laptops, we find that our clients at Longevity Wellness carry a lot of their muscular tension in the neck, shoulders and back.
This is especially true for students, people with desk jobs or sitting in front of a computer for long hours at a time.
There are several ways to correct or treat your body when it’s under this much stress. We recommend these treatments or “routes of wellness” to anyone, but for students and teachers especially:
Massage Therapy
This is the big one. If you’ve never had a massage before, we highly recommend booking an appointment with us, give us a call, or pop by the office to see what we’re all about! Our biggest and most popular service is massage therapy for a reason.
We have three top of the line licensed massage therapists who get amazing reviews from clients, tourists, referrals and other healthcare offices!
Massage therapy as an industry is on the rise, people are realizing now more than ever that their bodies are worn out.
Whether it's working from home, driving long hours or body tension from sports or fitness, we believe in lasting change at Longevity Wellness. Through massage treatments specifically designed for you at a frequency and length of your comfort that will allow you to feel strikingly different than before you started with us.
Do you ever wake up in bed and slowly inhale as you tense and stretch every muscle in your body and then exhale as you relieve all that pressure? Those morning stretches are like no other. But with the complexities of the human body and its interactive systems, stretch therapy is a little more calculated than your long, full-body squeeze-fest.
Stretch therapy is a fully-clothed assisted stretch that our massage therapists perform on clients to help with flexibility, range of motion and stretching sore or tight muscles. Stretch Therapy also can translate into a little bit of yoga, using the body in order to bring relief to the body.
Chiropractic care
A lot of our clients also pair their massage therapy treatments with chiropractic care. A popular one is with our neighbors in Indigo Place called the Spine Pain Center.
Clients often say that they didn’t even know how misaligned they were until they went in and felt their body *click* back into place.
I myself have had chronic neck pain and whenever I get an especially bad crick in my neck from sleeping wrong, I go to the Spine Pain Center and they help me get it unstuck!
At-home Stretching
After our appointment with you, our massage therapists will review the findings of your appointment, what to work on at home, stretching that can help, recommended times to book another massage, etc.
If you’re not able to come in for an appointment, that’s fine too! Here are a few tips for at-home stretching that you can do to help with chronic pain from being a student or teacher! (Hint: it has everything to do with posture!)
Infrared Sauna
Infrared saunas are different from any other type of sauna because they use infrared heat to warm up the body. Infrared therapy has numerous benefits for the body including: detoxification, purification of the skin, weight loss, pain relief, relaxation of sore or tight muscles, improved circulation and so much more!
Our infrared sauna sessions are 30 minutes long and people looking to see bigger results come back multiple times in a week to really build up a sweat.
For me, I go to the sauna when I feel especially sore from the gym to help my body relax.
Longevity Wellness packages and memberships are also available for the infrared sauna at a discounted cost! Infrared sauna members get unlimited sessions per month!
As you can see, there are numerous ways to bring your tense body back to center! Whether you struggle with long term or short term physical health or just need a recharge, we hope you’ll think of us as your go-to Charleston wellness provider!