January…it’s that time of year when we all evaluate what needs to change in our lives? For many of us better health is something we continuously strive for, especially as we get older. To start out your new year on a healthy note consider making fitness easy by bringing it right into your home. Professional quality exercise equipment and physical therapy products can help you lose weight, increase flexibility, regain balance, manage pain, build muscle, increase bone density or even lower blood pressure. You don’t even have to leave the house. Forget those expensive gyms and drives to work out! Save time and money, make exercising simple and convenient.

Yoga and Pilates are two of the most prominent mind/body exercises around, but what sets them apart? You do them on the floor, they are often seen together in the holistic “mind-body” section of the exercise world, and both promise to be a mental and physical panacea. But, despite these similarities, yoga and Pilates spring from different schools of thought.

Whether practicing traditional or contemporary Pilates, versatile pieces of equipment known as Pilates Reformers can help to establish torso stability and postural alignment. They can be used in professional or home environments and range in price and style. Pilates Reformers work the peripheral limbs in a range of motion. The adjustable springs allow for progressive resistance, which helps to lengthen and strengthen the muscles rather than building bulk. It makes for an effective, no-impact stretching and toning workout that is friendly to the joints.

For many, living with acute and chronic pain is an everyday battle. Most people suffering from these types of pain have only been given the choice of drugs to free them from their affliction.

You’re going about your day, and you lean over to take the trash bag out of the bin…only to moan in discomfort due to the ache in your lower back. Millions of Americans complain of back pain due to sports injuries and the strains of daily life. Simply sitting at a desk all day at work, or bending over to lift a bag of groceries, can put you at risk for back injuries.

This insightful podcast is an interview with a professional writer who works closely with alternative health practitioners. She identifies some new trends in home spas which help people deal with chronic pain, stress, or fatigue by creating a retreat within the home. Air purification systems detoxify the home environment, while aromatherapy oils and diffusers set the mood for relaxation. To ease lower or upper back or neck pain, there are some handy portable massagers, hydrocollator packs, and more. Some people want their own massage tables in their home spa, so their acupuncturist, chiropractor, or massage therapists may visit them. Others are trying new technology, such as Vibration Therapy or Whole Body Vibration Therapy (WBV) which has been shown to help improve muscle strength, flexibility, range of motion, circulation, and bone density and is used by NASA. All of these new trends in the home spa point to one overall message: people are becoming more proactive with their own health.

Cervical spine disorders account for thousands of visits to primary care physicians each year. Some require more serious solutions such as surgery, but others may easily be treated through exercise, and the use of physical therapy or other alternative therapy products.

Today we are here in the Banner Therapy showroom in Asheville, North Carolina to discuss the healing powers of aromatherapy. Banner Therapy is one of the largest online providers of massage supplies, physical therapy products, exercise equipment, chiropractic tools and more.

Since the 1960s the Soviet Aerospace program has used whole-body vibration technology or vibration therapy, also known as Advanced Vibration Technology, to help the cosmonauts battle the effects on the human body while in space for prolonged periods of time. While these individuals lived in space, they experienced zero gravity which caused a myriad of physical problems ranging from loss of muscle strength, flexibility, bone density and prolonged recovery time.

It’s the holidays. People are stressed not only with holiday plans, but with finding that perfect gift to show a loved one they care. What better way to communicate that message than by giving a gift that will make them feel good all year long?