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Yesterday my wife and I left the kids on their own and went shopping. My wife, in the midst of the women’s accessories department, eager to start trying things on, handed her purse to me to hold. I wrapped my fingers around the straps, she let go, and the purse hit the floor; well almost.
As with many women, when we left the house that morning, she attempted to take most of it with her. Just in case …!
It is great to be prepared and, yes, I admit I often rely on her having that folding knife handy when we discover that I left house missing a tag on the new shirt I was wearing. However, women being totally prepared for almost everything are paying a toll for it.
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Heavy Handbags can lead to a trip to the Doctor
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More and more women are parading before their family doctors, physiotherapists and chiropractors complaining of headaches, sore necks and shoulders. In many cases this is directly due to carrying heavy handbags. Unfortunately, handbags, unlike backpacks put the load on one shoulder which causes your spine to lose its symmetry in order to support this load. This can cause resulting stresses on the spine and following aches and pains.
If you are a follower of stylist Sharon Feldstein’s view that big bags are going to stay in style then you need to look at ways to lessen the adverse effects of carrying them.
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Weight loss decisions for your handbag!
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The first thing to do is watch your weight (of the bag of course). Heidi Prather, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, as interviewed for Real Simple magazine suggests that the heaviest should be is 10% of your body weight or 10 pounds which ever is less. She recommends holding your purse in one hand and a gallon jug of milk (approx. 8.3 pounds) in the other. The bag should not weigh much more than the jug.
In order to get rid of some of those pounds you are going to have to consider some difficult decisions. Perhaps you can have one novel that you leave at the office to read. Of your PDA, camera, and cell phone you can consider leaving one at home at some days. Perhaps make use of the cell phone camera for emergency needs. Tear out or photocopy articles you want to read instead of carrying the entire magazine.
Consider leaving your gym clothes and shoe in a locker at the gym or use a second bag for them. Remember two 5 pound bags, one in each hand, are much easier to carry than one 10 pound bag. This is also far more symmetric as far as weight distribution on your body is concerned.
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Makeup essentials
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Unless you are a makeup artist you might want to leave your makeup kit at home. Bobbi Brown, makeup artist and author, as interviewed for Real Simple Magazine suggests carrying a small pouch with concealer, pressed powder, blush and a single lipstick or gloss. She goes further to say that if you need to rifle through your bag looking for makeup you have too much.
You might also want to consider a different bag. If you choose one with longer straps you may be able to wear it messenger style i.e. the straps over one shoulder and across the body so that the bag rest on the hip on the opposite side. This distributes the weight so that your spine can support it squarely on its appropriate surfaces eliminating unnecessary stress. Another bag type is one that also has short handles. This way, on days when you can’t leave anything at home, carry the bag by the short handles, continually switching sides to even out the stress of the load.
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Techniques to reduce the stress!
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While you are walking try to focus on keeping your shoulders level and pulled down. There is a tendency to raise the shoulder with the load which makes things worse. If you feel tension beginning to appear stretch of your neck muscles as you go. Do this by pulling your head down and toward the shoulder as if you are trying to touch your ear to your shoulder. Stretch your neck muscles as you do this. Do it to both sides; remembering that we always should strive for body symmetry. Shrug your shoulders up to your ears and press them down; shrug them forward and then press them back.
Lastly if you are finding tensions and stiffness in your body don’t put it off do something about it be fore it develops in to pains. The tensions and stiffness may appear in your shoulders, neck or back but be aware that tensions and pains caused by putting your body out of symmetry can pop up in surprising places.
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The GURU of a pain-free life
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The following books are written by the man I consider to be the absolute guru of pain free living. He has helped people from the stars to regular people like me and several of my friends to eliminate debilitating pain from their lives. I don’t have room to go into his system in detail but believe me it works. I highly recommend them. The first book listed is the one I was introduced to. These four books by Pete Egoscue can most likely be found in your public library. If you try one out that way you will, if you are like me want your personal copy. They are available through Amazon for between $10 - $12.
Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain by Pete Egoscue
Pain Free for Women: The Revolutionary Program for Ending Chronic Pain by Pete Egoscue
Pain Free at Your PC by Pete Egoscue
The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion: Revolutionary Program That Lets You Rediscover the Body's Power to Rejuvenate Itself by Pete Egoscue
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