500 Sutter Street, Suite 906
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone 415.986.1040
Fax 415.986.1522
helaine@helaineshpritz.com
Hours:
Mon-Tues-Wed: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Thurs: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
I love me some greens…and I realized that I cook them really well. Now I’m sharing my secrets!
1. Pick the greens you love: recently I found some gorgeous curly kale.
Curly kale cooks beautifully with my method.
2. Chop and wash thoroughly.
3. Using a shallow 12 inch frying pan, add 4-5 T water or broth.
4. Place greens in pan and cover, sauté on low heat to steam and soften.
5. Once softened, drain liquid out.
6. Place greens in a separate bowl. Add some oil to the frying pan. I like grape seed and coconut oil.
7.Throw in a clove of thinly sliced garlic and add the greens back in.
8. Stir and cook about 2 minutes.
9. Add a little salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
I’m recommending to my patients (and myself) to hold stretches longer than the usual 15-20 seconds. Try holding your stretches between 45-60 seconds. I’ve been experimenting with this by doing fewer stretches but holding them longer. Sometimes I just get down on the floor at the office and stretch, even with my jeans and boots on. You don’t really need exercise clothes to relax those muscles.
You don't need exercise clothing or a gym to stretch.
Have a favorite stretch? Do you get a little better release if you hold it longer? What’s your experience?
I’ve been noticing more and more patients with plantar fasciitis, experienced as heel pain. The plantar fascia is the thick band of connective tissue on the sole of the foot, creates the arch, and helps to prevent the total collapse of the foot. Inflammation of that tissue is known as plantar fasciitis. I’ve also been reading a fantastic book, “Yoga Anatomy,” by Leslie Kaminoff. He explains that over millions of years, the human foot evolved for a world with no roads and uneven terrain. But we now walk on smooth, paved surfaces, so our adaptable foot isn’t used like it once was. Therefore, deeper muscles that support the arches weaken and allow the plantar fascia to bear the brunt of the foot’s work. This is why it’s so important to strengthen feet. And over the next couple of weeks, I will go over different ways to do just that. How are your feet? Any heel pain? Not just from those strappy stillettos, either. Let me know!
A high arch can be beautifully ready for plantar fasciitis.
Made by Alvera, buy it on Amazon.
Why natural deodorant? I think anything that requires scrubbing to remove is probably not good for us. And regular antiperspirant must be scrubbed off. So this is hands down—or arms down—the best natural deodorant I’ve ever encountered. Sounds a bit dramatic, yes, but I have a very low tolerance for ” natural” body odors, a.k.a. funk. This natural one is kind of hard to find in stores, but I just bought it again on Amazon. It’s mostly made of aloe. Effective, natural, inexpensive and gets the job done. Funk-free. What natural products do you like?
I’ve had some knee pain. Yes, even chiropractors can fall apart. So first, I get adjusted. Why? If my lumbar spine and pelvis are moving well, my knees will have better weight bearing abilities. And I get my knees adjusted too. Secondly, I get body work: serious therapeutic massage from the amazing Jennifer Chatfield at DogPatch Massage. She works on all the muscles of my lower body, from piriformis, psoas, hip flexors, glutes, erector spinae, and solius.
Then I get the right exercise, which for me is Pilates from Cassidy Moore at The Body Gallery. She goes beyond regular Pilates. We work on my specific muscle imbalances, turning on the weaker muscles and turning off the overworking ones. After a week, I am seeing and feeling improvements in my knees. Hooray!
Complicated in there, isn't it?
But I won’t stop getting help, because I know I need to keep doing all three treatments to stay healthy and out of pain. Sometimes, it takes a village. How about you? What’s going on with you? What types of things are helping you?
I’ve been seeing everyone and their mother wearing Toms shoes everywhere. At first glance, they look flimsy and unsupportive. But my shoe wardrobe had a hole in it (can’t wear boots everyday). So I bought a pair. And I love them!
Toms are like dance shoes to me. Snug around the foot, made of stretchy fabric, they feel like a hug. I actually think they are very supportive under my arches. Just don’t buy them too big. They do stretch. Already contemplating my next pair. Do you wear Toms? Let me know!
These are my new, supportive Toms.
European Sleepworks on bottom, Macy's, TempurPedic, and hospital up top.
I like pillows from European Sleep Works, all non-toxic materials and several different options, tailored to your size. Some people like the TempurPedic memory foam pillow with the curve inserts (didn’t work for me personally; felt like I needed an adjustment after sleeping on it). It’s really a personal preference. You may need to buy and try, so make sure you can return what doesn’t work.
Between hairline and base of neck lies your ideal pillow height.
This is a question that comes up almost daily in my practice: “What kind of pillow should I get?” The more important question is how high should your pillow be (and how should you sleep, but I’ll save that for another post). Your pillow shouldn’t be any higher than the distance between the bottom of your hairline and the base of your neck. Otherwise, you are causing your neck to flex more than it should, which will gradually reverse your beautiful cervical curve.
My husband bought me my first pair of Uggs for Xmas. I wore them four days straight, all day. So warm and comfortable; cute with everything.
Until the fifth day. I started walking and my left foot seized up. I couldn’t walk on it. At all. I was hobbling so badly, I actually had to leave Anthropologie early. Yes. A first. Then it hit me: Uggs aren’t shoes, they’re slippers. Slippers are not for walking. Now I wear them at home or on a quick errand when very little walking is required. That’s the difference between a slipper and a shoe.
Easy avocado dressing dip. Creamy, dip-worthy and child approved. Using my Cusinart/Immersion blender (best kitchen gadget of 2010), I blend:
1/2 avocado
1/2 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Drizzle it over a butter lettuce salad or use it to dip veggies in. The lemon juice gives it a fresh taste and keeps the avocado from browning. Deeeeelishious!
Fresh, ripe, avocados
