I am excited to bring to you the second editorial and introduce the new Stretches Chart (in the side menu) where you can easily find examples of stretches to incorporate into your life whenever you need them. Touch of Nature has grown so much within the last month. This expansion has caused me to look at who my client base is, who you are and what are the most common problems you need me to treat. Without a doubt over 60% of you are corporate office workers who either manage your own businesses or work in a role encompassing management and are having stresses and strains dealing with your occupations.

I really discovered the importance of stretching some four years back. At the time I had been workng as a trader for a stock market company. My role entailed market analysis, screen watching and data referencing/researching. Now I can truly say trading and the stock market is not my cup of tea, however as I like to give anything a go and make it work I pursued this adventure.

One major lesson I learned that in order to be successful, I had to be a healthier, happier trader, in all manners. The first hurdle I came across was my inability to sit still for more than 10 minutes at a time. I began to get up from the desk at 50 minute intervals and after a while I stopped doing this for coffee and instead used that ten minute break in the hour to either do a series of stretches or a quick cardio exercise (e.g. walking up and sown a stair case) to elevate my heart rate and pump good blood back into my system again. There has been research into the fact that small twitching and movement while at a desk for long periods of time can trigger muscles to be switched on as opposed to off, where the body becomes lazy and lacks stimulation.

The secret to a healthy body, mind and spirit is to:

• Exercise with vigor (one hour)
• Eat well
• Drink as much water as possible (2 litres a day or 8 glasses)
• Stretch your limbs

So here I have put together some stretches you might like to incorporate into your daily schedule (10 to 15 minutes duration). Read more...

One more handy hint I learnt along the way to success is that if you remain active while sitting most of your muscular system stays active simply by twitching your fingers, tapping your toes and lifting slightly your legs, as often as possible and then eventually it will become a habit, but a good healthy habit! :) Balance can be achieved with perseverance, if you're not 100% well look at my secret to health and wellness and see what was missing in your day. Yoga is a fantastic form of stretching the whole body. Refer to my links page and log onto Mokysha Yoga.

Happy, healthy and successful thoughts to all,

Blanca Perez