What is wellness?  It’s a word that we often hear in mind-body classes, but do we truly know what it means to be well?  One definition of wellness is “the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health.”  Did you know that stress can deplete your body’s ability to be well? Stress is a part of life — we can’t avoid it. We can try to eliminate and manage stress, but sometimes that causes us to have more stress. And that’s where the problem lies:  Stress actually accumulates in our body, in a stockpiling called “stuck stress” caused by active living, aging, repetitive postures, repetitive movements and emotional distress.

How do you know if you have stuck stress?  You may feel exhausted in the afternoon, have trouble falling or staying asleep, wake up to go to the bathroom, have headaches, constipation, poor digestion, stiff tight muscles, and joint pain — and these are just a few manifestations of the body saying it has lost the ability to repair itself.

The good news, though, is that there’s a very simple way to relieve this buildup of stress, and it’s through the MELT Method.

The MELT Method is a revolutionary step-by-step technique that can teach you how to directly address the stuck stress in your body and restore natural balance. MELT uses specific techniques with small balls and a soft foam roller to self-treat your body.  Adding MELT to your life for only 10 minutes a day allows your body to adapt to stressful situations with more ease and prevent stress from further accumulating. 

In a MELT class, you will learn to:

• Reconnect to your body to heighten the mind-body connection and discover where the stress is accumulating.
• Rebalance the part of your nervous system we call the autopilot that is responsible for supporting, protecting and stabilizing your body at all times, outside of your conscious control. 
• Rehydrate by restoring the natural fluid state of your connective tissue, which will decrease inflammation, improve nutrient absorption and relieve pain.  It is dehydrated connective tissue that causes the pain and stiffness often associated with aging. 
• Release compression in the joints of your neck, lower back, hands and feet.  This will relieve many symptoms of chronic pain by bringing space back into your joints and relieving pressure on the nerves.

Since MELT heightens your body’s ability to rest, repair and restore itself, when done regularly it makes you feel better overall, increases your stamina, allows you to move with greater ease and have enhanced feelings of wellness.  The unpleasant symptoms of stuck stress will, literally, melt away.

For more information about finding a MELT class near you, visit MeltMethod.com. Look for a listing of classes taught by MELT instructor Hilary Bilkis in our February edition.

Hilary D. Bilkis, MS, LMT, CST is the owner of Awakening Wellness, LLC, a light-touch holistic bodywork practice in Morristown.  In private practice since 1997, Ms. Bilkis is also a trained MELT Method instructor.  Her bodywork training includes a variety of therapies including CranioSacral Therapy, Visceral Mobilization, Somato Emotional Release and Energy Healing. Visit her website at Awakening4wellness.com.