A Message to Women From a Man: You Are Not "Crazy"

Huffington Post Article

This is a fantastic article. It is long but well worth the time. Enjoy.

~M

Happy Thanksgiving

Whatever kind of family tradition's you embrace this holiday season, I hope you have a beautiful day full of gratitude and laughter!
If you have a few minutes, read this great article about Gratitude

Thanks for reading,
~M

Indian Head Massage

I spend so much time thinking and talking about Ashiatsu that I often leave Indian head Massage out.

I want to fix that right here and now! Indian Head Massage is AMAZING!

It will leave you feeling relaxed, alert and focused. Perfect for a quick recharge during the work day and it is only 30 minutes long so you don't have to feel guilty for taking the time. Quite the contrary, because you will be more relaxed and yet alert and focused, you will be far more productive anyhow.

So next time you feel like you need a massage but you just don't think you have the time, schedule an Indian Head Massage. You won't regret it and you may even decide to add it in to your wellness routine regularly.

Placing a dollar value on good health. from wholeliving.com

Q. I started going to a massage therapist for some back pain about six months ago. It costs $70 for an hour massage, and I have appointments every other week. It's helped the pain a great deal, but I was shocked to tally up my bills recently to find that I'd already spent almost $1,000! I'd like to keep going, but I'd also like to avoid going broke. Any thoughts on what I should do?
-- Jenny C., Modesto, California

A. Anytime something gets up over $1,000 a year, you start to think of how much of your salary that amounts to -- never a great feeling. But you also have to ask yourself, "What do I value more, my money or my well-being?" It's a question I had to ask myself at one time. When I first started my career, I wound up with a horrible case of carpal tunnel syndrome. I could barely move my hands, much less type. My doctor wanted to put me in casts up to my elbows. I talked him out of it by promising to visit an acupuncturist and perhaps combine that with massage. My health-care plan didn't cover either one, but I went anyway. As a consequence, I regained the complete use of my hands, avoided surgery and pills, and never felt better.
My point is, sometimes the expense is worth it. You wouldn't forgo groceries or heating your home just to save money, and, at some point, you need to put your health care into the same nonnegotiable category. Just as water pipes will freeze in winter if you don't turn on the heat, not taking care of your back could have its costs: doctor visits, painkiller prescriptions, or physical therapy if the pain gets out of hand. Think of massage as a necessary expense, and you'll find a way to work it into your budget, no matter what.
One way to make it a little more affordable: See if your employer offers a health savings account (and if they don't, ask them to reconsider; HSAs are a great way to make health care more affordable). Basically, these plans allow you to set aside a portion of your pre-tax salary for health-care expenses -- up to $2,900 for individuals and $5,800 for families in 2008. You choose the amount you want to set aside, your employer puts it into a special account, and you use that money for your health-care needs without ever paying taxes on it. Your back massages will likely qualify if your doctor or chiropractor is willing to recommend them for you.
As long as you have a comfortable income and no significant debt, the money you're spending on massages each month isn't really a huge price to pay for your well-being. So I say go ahead and take care of yourself, and stop feeling so guilty. Being healthy is definitely worth it.
Text by Tracy Fernandez Rysavy

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Placing a Dollar Value on Good Health

Did you know massage can help relieve allergy symptoms?

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HOW MASSAGE CAN HELP RELIEVE ALLERGY SYMPTOMS

David Lies, a massage therapist in Wichita, Kansas, remembers his honeymoon well: The lush, nascent flowers and trees of early May in Eureka Springs, Arkansas; time relaxing with his new wife, Linda; the rustic honeymoon cottage—and his allergies, triggered by the colorful blooms around him. “I used to say that I was allergic to everything under the sun,” Lies says.

Lies discovered an unexpected ally in his allergy battle: The honeymoon cottage’s landlord, who was also a massage therapist. “He offered to give my wife and me massages,” says Lies, who finally said yes when his swollen eyes, nonstop sneezing and coughing fits started to put a damper on his honeymoon.

Lies remembers the horrible pain as the therapist dug his elbow into his back along the muscles and trigger points long contracted from coughing, sneezing and related stress. Just as he was about to cry uncle, the therapist removed his elbow—or so Lies thought as he thanked him. His wife, who was watching the session, laughed. “He hasn’t moved his elbow at all,” she told Lies. The muscles had simply finally relaxed.

After the massage, Lies made it through the week with just a few sniffles, his first nondrug-induced relief in years. He returned to Wichita inspired, enrolling in massage school and eventually opening A Servant’s Hands, a full-service massage therapy clinic with a special interest in allergies.

RELAXING THE SYMPTOMS

Many Americans rely primarily on conventional treatments, including antihistamines and steroids, both of which can have some adverse side effects. Massage therapists, however, can help relieve some allergy symptoms by reducing stress, increasing circulation, releasing muscle tension and reprogramming the body’s panic reaction, which can exacerbate symptoms.

"It’s not to take away from the biological, inflammatory component of the disorder,” says Rosalind Wright, MD, a pulmonist on staff at the Harvard Medical School. “But if you use complementary modalities, including massage therapy, you could optimize the results.”

Few studies researching massage therapy and allergy relief exist, but we do know massage helps with stress, as shown in the 1992 Touch Research Institute study where 30-minute body massages on depressed adolescents decreased saliva cortisol levels. And stress definitely impacts allergies. A 2008 Harvard Medical School study co-authored by Wright showed that mothers-to-be who expose their unborn children to stress may increase these kids’ vulnerability to allergies and asthma.

So, just getting clients to relax may help their allergies. “Most experienced massage therapists know the immediate relief from sinus congestion that can result from just lying face down,” Lies says. This position gives you a chance to work on the upper back and shoulders, where many sinus trigger points are located.
Source: Parts of this article were excerpted from Clare La Plante's piece in mtj® (Massage Therapy Journal®) Summer 2009.

4 hour Body

I started the 4 hour body diet this week. Not because I want to loose weight but to give sugar and carbs the boot. When it comes to food I have a nasty habit of getting too busy to eat, especially around lunch time. I always eat breakfast and dinner but lunch is often a skip over which leads to chocolate or candy or bread or some other kind of carb and a roller coaster of short lived energy boosts.

Just into day two and I am enjoying a wonderful breakfast of eggs and beans and cabbage and turkey sausage. I am amazed at how this yummy healthy food does not fill me the way a bowl of cereal and apple slices does (my usual). I am in awe at the craving, low level but definitely a craving, for carbs. I was prepared for the sugar craving but not a general desire for bread and cereal, and so soon as well.

The kids are on board too! Although their diet changes are small. They can no longer have any sugar cereal or any treats of any kind. No cookies no sweets, no chocolate, no cupcakes, no ice cream!!
How did I get the kids on board with this you ask?
Binge Day!

The boys have seen my mom and her husband on this diet for months and they have been actually encouraging me to get on it as well so we can all enjoy the binge day, It's the day that makes it all work, it's the day I have been looking forward to since Sunday night ( I started the diet monday morning!)

Binge day means, every Saturday night we get to go to the grocery store and buy whatever junk we want and spend all day sunday eating everything we want to !!! I plan on starting with about 6 york peppermint paddys and bowl of ice cream.

~M

New time slots availabel

I just opened up some times on Wednesdays from 10am- 2 pm. Go get a spot and get yourself or someone you love a massage. Everyone needs a massage!

Also, don't miss out on a nice leisurely Saturday morning slot, they will only last as long as the summer. Once school starts again they will be gone.
Enjoy the beautiful weather.
~M