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Aromatherapy & Massage, Nuking Food Safely, Breathing Exercise

Tom Saulnier — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 20:45:36 +0000

Aromatherapy and Massage

Karrie Osborn

Separately, these two therapeutic traditions hold individual prowess in the realm of personal health and well-being. Together, however, they become a formidable health alliance that can address not only a person’s physical health, but the health of the mind and spirit as well.

A Natural Complement

Our senses were designed to work best in conjunction with one another. Our sense of taste would not be as acute without our nose lending its support to the process. Our auditory senses might seem hollow if we weren’t gifted with sight as well. Indeed, there exists a quiet partnership between all our five senses that’s built on synergy.

Let’s see how it works. Essential oils are extracted from herbs, flowers, and plants with the intent to improve a person’s health and well-being. Addressing everything from arthritis to whooping cough, effects of the approximate 3,000 oils found globally can range from sedative to stimulating and antibacterial to antispasmodic. The benefits derived from aromatherapy during a massage come in part from the contact the essential oil has on our skin, but even more so how it affects us when it’s inhaled and absorbed through the soft-tissue linings of our nose and mouth.

The scientific explanation suggests that the essential oil’s molecules, when inhaled, lock onto receptor cells at the back of the nose, sending an electrochemical message to the brain’s limbic system. This message appears to trigger memory and emotional responses, causing…(To red “The Rest of the Story”, please click here Spring2022Newsletter

10 Reasons You Should Gift Yourself a Massage

Tom Saulnier — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 01:43:37 +0000

10 Reasons You Should Gift Yourself a Massage

The season for self-care starts today!

– by Karrie Osborn

Over the years, we’ve often reminded you in these pages that sharing a gift of massage with others is a wonderful way to show you care. And while that is still an important message we hope you will share this season, even more important is reminding yourself that you’re worthy of that gift too . . . now, and all year long. Here are 10 reasons why you need to gift yourself a massage.

1. IT’S A HEALTHY WAY TO INVEST IN YOURSELF

Now, more than ever, self-care needs to be a priority. Show yourself some love by investing in yourself. Research shows touch is a necessity, a basic human need. If a child is deprived of human contact, they fail to thrive and have issues with social attachments. Isolated elders have shorter lifespans. Touch is important to our human DNA, no matter where we fall on the lifespan timeline. Therapeutic touch, with all its intention, is even more powerful and is a loving gift you need to honor yourself with more frequently.

2. IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR BODY

When it comes to the physiological benefits you can reap from massage, researchers are constantly adding more and more value to that list. A few of the most impactful massage benefits research has proven include:

Improved immune system function
Improved muscle and tendon recovery
Improved sleep and reduced fatigue in cancer patients
Increased pain relief without the side effects of narcotics
And don’t forget all its preventive benefits either!

Truth is, massage may feel like a luxury, but it is actually a sound investment in your health. In fact, hands-on therapies have an incredible return on investment.

3. IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR MIND

In addition to the peace and well-being that naturally blossoms from a cared-for body, many forms of massage and bodywork have specific restorative effects on the mind. While your body is getting its therapeutic attention, your mind has a chance to go quiet—something that doesn’t come easily in today’s world—and you get to double up the therapeutic benefits.

Massage can work at a deeper level too….(To read “the rest of the story”, please click here BSwinter2020

Support Your Immune System: 7 Things We Can Do for Ourselves and Others

Tom Saulnier — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 20:24:58 +0000

Support Your Immune System: 7 Things We Can Do for Ourselves and Others

By Angie Parris-Raney, LMT, Chopra Center Certified

Technology has certainly put us in touch with important information on preventive measures for spreading the COVID-19 virus, such as washing our hands and avoiding contact with those who are sick. However, much of the information is ignoring an essential part to staying healthy—boosting our immune system.

There is a part of our nervous system that hasn’t evolved far from our ancestors called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Its purpose is for primal survival, equipping our mind/body to react to danger. When we are charged to respond to a stressor or danger, we are flooded with stress hormones. Our digestion shuts down, and we increase blood and oxygen to the heart, brain, and lungs to flee. Blood pressure rises and breathing becomes shallow. This is called the sympathetic part of the ANS, commonly known as the fight-or-flight response. Feeding the fear loop stimulates the fight-or-flight response and is known to suppress the immune system. Stress over time can begin shutting down other systems of the body.

Thankfully, there is another part to the ANS called the parasympathetic system, known as the rest-and-digest response. The largest cranial nerve of the body, the vagus nerve, innervates from the brain stem to the chest and abdomen. When we stimulate the vagus nerve, we tap into the rest-and-digest response. The heart rate decreases, blood pressure normalizes, breathing is deeper, stress hormones are reduced, and happy hormone production is initiated (promoting sleep, focus, and happier emotions). There are simple methods and lifestyle choices we can make to support our own immunity. We can consciously pull ourselves out of a state of reaction, take back our own power, and ask ourselves what our mind/body needs in this moment to support rest-and-digest.

If you’d like to read “the rest of the story”, please click here BS Spring 2020

Bodywork, Essential Oils, Sun Care

Tom Saulnier — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 22:40:10 +0000

Bodywork Sampler

Ten Types of Somatic Methods, All Awaiting You

Nora Brunner

A rich garden of bodywork exists, to benefit you at the different ages and stages of your life. Getting the advice of your massage therapist, doing some research on www.massagetherapy.com, and seeking methods to which you are intuitively drawn are your best guides to finding what works for your body and spirit. No need to wait for a medical problem or a new high on the stress-o-meter to get on the table and into the hands of your massage and bodywork therapist.

1. Swedish Massage

This technique is typically the starting point for most massage training and client receiving. It involves five kinds of touching and is delivered to soft tissues by the therapist’s hands, which are moisturized with massage oil or lotion. The kneading, rolling, vibrational, tapping, and percussive movements all work inward toward your heart and will stimulate your circulation. Among many benefits, Swedish massage will hasten healing of injuries, reduce swelling, and help dissolve scar tissue adhesions.

2. Deep Tissue

Often integrated with other massage methods, deep-tissue work is exactly what it sounds like. Once the outer muscles have been relaxed, the work goes deeper into the fascia, the deep, dense, connective tissue that helps join your body parts together. Deep-tissue work is an excellent remedy for chronic muscular pain, injury rehabilitation, and reduction of inflammation-related pain caused by arthritis and tendinitis.

3. Sports Massage

Whether for professional athletes, active kids, or weekend warriors, sports massage has benefits for participants in the active life. For most people, sports massage is handy after muscle exertion…(want to read more?…please click here Summer 2018

Maximize Your Massage Experience

Tom Saulnier — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 20:00:46 +0000

Are You Maximizing Your Massage Experience?

By Kristin Coverly, LMT

Take this short quiz to see if you’re a pro when it comes to receiving massage … or whether your client skills could use a little improvement. Then, read on to become one of your massage therapist’s favorite clients and learn tips so you can get the most from your next massage session.

1. Do you take a moment to do a body-mind check-in before you arrive at your session so you know what you need and want that day?

A. Absolutely; I know exactly what I need! (2 points)

B. I don’t give it a thought until I walk in the door and my therapist asks me where I’d like to focus. (1 point)

2. Is your next massage appointment already scheduled?

A. Of course. I have more than one future session on the calendar! (Congratulations! You’ve earned bonus points for this answer: 4 points)

B. Yes, my next session is on the books. (2 points)

C. Nope. Thanks for the reminder! I’ve been meaning to do that … (0 points)

3. Is your payment ready in advance: check written, credit card easily accessible, or prepaid?

A. Yes. (2 points)

B. No, I don’t think about how I’m going to pay until after the session. (1 point)

4. Have you recently updated your health history form with any changes to your wellness, medication, or emergency contact information?

A. Yes, I conveyed some recent changes about a health condition that was diagnosed, knowing that it may affect how the massage therapist approaches my condition. (2 points)

B. No need; everything’s the same! (2 points)

C. No. I completely forgot to update my massage therapist about recent health changes. (0 points)

5. Do you speak up about your preferences so your therapist can meet your needs (about the depth of touch, pressure, the temperature of the room, music playing, etc.)?

A. Yes, I feel comfortable asking my therapist for what I need. (2 points)

B. No, I want to, but I never know quite what to say. (1 point)

How Did You Do?

(0–8 points) So close! You’re just a few small tweaks away from acing your massage and bodywork experience. Use the following tips to enhance your client skills.

(9–12 points) Congratulations! You’re maximizing your massage and bodywork experience. Read on to learn how to ensure you become one of your massage therapist’s favorite clients. BS-summer-2017

Aromatherapy, Effective Stretching, Touch for Trauma

Tom Saulnier — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:55:47 +0000

The ABCs of Effective Stretching

Combining Massage and Stretching Can Increase Joint Flexibility and Relax Overused Muscles

By Anita Boser

Olympic athletes, sedentary office workers, and chronic-pain patients can all enhance the effects of massage by stretching between sessions. When done as part of a health-care regimen, massage and stretching increase joint flexibility and relax overused muscles. Get the most out of stretching, and your next massage, by following these stretching ABCs.

Awareness. Stay aware of sensations when you stretch. You are more likely to pull a muscle if your awareness is somewhere other than on your body.

Breathe. Holding your breath is counterproductive. Emphasize your exhale to get a better stretch.

Connective tissue includes ligaments, tendons, and fascia. We think stretching is good for our muscles, but our connective tissues bene t just as much. The best stretches for connective tissue are fluid and elastic.

Dynamic stretching is a new way to warm up. It is based on research showing that using traditional, static stretches before exercise can actually impede athletic performance. Dynamic movements are more effective than static stretch holds in improving performance and muscle elasticity.

Ease into and out of a stretch several times before holding it. This softens the connective tissue around the muscles and gets nerves prepared to reduce muscle tightness.

Feel your sensations as you stretch. They will guide you toward the best results. Feel for the stretch point— where the amount of pull on the tissues is just enough for the muscle to let go. If the muscle tightens or is painful, you have gone beyond the stretch point. The stretch point is always less than your maximum.

Genetics. How flexible you are has more to do with genetics than how much you stretch. Some people can stretch every day and never be able to do the splits. (Take it from me!) On the other end of the spectrum, hypermobile people have to be careful not to overstretch already loose ligaments.

Hold. You only need to hold a stretch until you feel the tissues release. If you don’t feel a release within 30 seconds, back off, as you’ve probably caused sensors in the tendons to tighten the muscles.

Interoception is awareness of what is going on inside your body. While most of us ignore our innards unless there’s something terribly wrong with them,
it turns out that developing this awareness helps us self-regulate and increase pain tolerance. Stretching with awareness is one way to develop interoception.

Jaw. Tension in your jaw while you stretch is a sign that something is not right. Envision your lower jaw being heavy and your upper jaw being light.

Keep your joints in line when stretching to make sure you are getting to all parts of the muscle and connective tissue. For example, when stretching your hamstrings, if your knee turns to the side, you avoid lengthening the muscles on the side of your leg.

Lift. It’s easy—and counterproductive—to sink into a stretch. Instead, lift throughout the movement and hold phases. This engagement is particularly important to prevent injury to ligaments, especially for people who are hypermobile. (to read the complete article and this issue of Body Sense Magazine, please click here BS-spring-2017_compressed

Aromatherapy, PM Essential Oils, Grill Healthy

Tom Saulnier — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 00:45:49 +0000

IN THIS ISSUE: * Aromatherapy and Massage * Afternoon Essential Oils * Healthy Grilling Tips

Aromatherapy and Massage – by Karrie Osborn

Aromatherapy, a process utilizing the purest essence of a plant, is a 4,000-year-old technique that has enhanced the health of everyone from modern-day pop divas to the scholars of ancient Greece. The art of massage has its own deeply rich roots, with even Plato and Socrates touting the value of hands-on bodywork for good health. Separately, these two therapeutic traditions hold individual prowess in the realm of personal health and well-being. Together, however, they become a formidable health alliance that can address not only a person’s physical health, but the health of the mind and spirit as well.

A Natural Complement