If you are like me in the old days, always have cold hands and feet even in regular days, you probably have poor blood circulation. Over the years, I have built up my workout routines and paid attention to my diet. Nowadays, I do not suffer too much except in the below zero winter days but get the habit of having two pairs of pants and socks when I walk my dog outside. Here are some facts we should know about blood circulation and how to improve the conditions.
Poor circulation contributes a lot of chronicle discomforts such as hair loss, brittle nails, dry skin, and slower healing wounds. There is a medical term ‘Raynaud’s Disease’ contributed to these symptoms. It is recommended to consume enough water, to get active even while doing desk jobs. Staying idle, especially sitting on a chair all day performing desk jobs or working with a computer, limits the movement of our body parts.
According WebMD’s article How to Improve Your Circulation, high blood pressure can cause poor blood circulation because our heart arteries gets thinker and the heart cannot pump out enough blood to our body. If you have been diagnosed high blood pressure, please follow diet guidelines to control the blood pressure.
Practicing yoga improves our flexibility and releases tension in the muscles.
How to Improve Blood Circulation?
Get moving : Regular exercises, such as 15-minute cardio workouts or 30-minute yoga practices get our heart and body to warm up. The idea is not to let any body part stand still so that its functionality or flexibility decreases. If you have a physically challenging job and cannot stand on your feet after a day of work, simply life your legs upwards against a wall so that the blood can flow back to the heart. The stretching and twisting in the yoga practices work internally in the muscles around the organs in our mid-section.
Less efforts : Massage Therapy and Aromatherapy
You can either visit a massage therapist for a 60-minute session to relax your muscle or have some remedies at home. A certified massage therapist works with massage oil, aroma, and applying pressure on our body to release any tension, stress, and pain on our body. As for home remedies, it can be a simple hot bath, massage or exfoliation on the face, hands, feet, and other body parts.
Home Remedies – Facial Scrub, Foot Baht, Hot Bath
Recommended essential oils that we can use for candles, diffuser, massage, topic application (diluted or in lotion and cream form) are:
Aromatherapy with candles, diffuser, and atopic application.
Geranium: for varicose veins Ylang-ylang: for high blood pressure Cypress: for circulatory system Rosemary: for circulation Tarragon and Basil: for platelets of the blood Marjoram: relaxes muscles and dilates blood vessels Orange and Grapefruit: balance the viscosity or thickness of the blood Peppermint: increase blood flow to the area where it is applied
As we moves into April, there is better temperature ad more sunshine outside. Grad a pair of running shoes and enjoy the outdoors! Stay healthy!
Macy xxx
References How to Improve Your Circulation, WebMD Using Essential Oils for Raynaud’s, Raynaud’s Association