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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

Vision & Muscle Tension, Hemp Nutrition

Tom Saulnier — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 00:28:02 +0000

Is Your Vision Causing Muscle Tension?

Mary Betts Sinclair
Do you have tension headaches or chronic tension in your upper body? How about neck and shoulder stiffness? Maybe you experience strain in the temples, forehead, neck, shoulders, or back, especially after a long period of working at a computer or reading a book? If so, your tension could be related to how you look at the world.

Healthy vision is comfortable, efficient, and relaxed for the viewer, while poor visual habits can interfere with free and easy movement, making the body chronically tense. We use our eyes much of the day, and if we strain to see, we create tension in the face, neck, shoulders, and back muscles. Squinting and straining when we have trouble making something out, or stiffening our entire neck, spine, and pelvis every time we look up can affect the entire body.

Most of us develop these vision habits without even being aware of them, but there are other health factors that can play a role. Up to 5 percent of children are born with some kind of visual abnormality, or develop one in the first few years of life. A lazy eye, for example, may cause a child to hike up one eye or one shoulder, or twist the neck to look out of the better-sighted eye at all times. Being sensitive to light might cause a child to develop the habit of hanging the head forward. Injuries to or near the eyes can also cause chronic tension in the muscles of the eyes or structures near the eyes. And finally, emotional stress can cause us to hold our muscles tight while we look out at the world.

What To Do

Step One
Talk with your massage therapist about your pain and strain. During a session, your therapist can check you for extra tension in and around the eyes, neck, and shoulders, then fine-tune massage techniques to help relieve your discomfort. Relaxation exercises, as well as hot and cold packs, can offer additional relief.
Step Two
(to read “the rest of the story” please click here Spring2018Newsletter

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

Wellness Wednesdays in Simi Valley

Tom Saulnier — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 21:46:11 +0000

Welcome to Wellness Wednesdays! We are thrilled you have chosen to make health and wellness a priority in your life…and business.

The newest, in a healthy list of dynamic committees within the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce, it is meant to be a social media campaign designed to promote our community and our Chamber members. This new “MOVE-ment” is focused on encouraging individuals to improve their health – in their personal lives and in the workplace – through a network of support, tips and resources.

Spend the rest of your day thinking, working and living healthy

YOU DESERVE IT!

EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY

8:00 AM

Lost Canyons Golf Club

3301 Lost Canyons Dr.

1 Hour – 2 Miles

Wear your walking shoes

How to Get Involved

(as an individual):

Remind yourself daily that you have the right to be and are worthy of being healthy – not just Wednesdays, but all days!
Commit to being part of the “MOVE-ment” and encourage others to join you on your journey to a healthier you. Together we can build a healthy community.
Make healthy and nutritious food choices by staying focused on your goal
Take a few moments each day for some quiet time to yourself – Unplug, breathe and relax. Start with just 5 minutes a day.
Take a walk with friends, join a gym, take a yoga class, get a massage, exercise your brain, focus on nutrition, set wellness goals.
Share your successes and applaud the successes of others on the Wellness Wednesdays Facebook page – facebook.com/wellnesswednesdays #simiwell
Share tips that you find helpful and use the tips and tools shared by others to help you “over the hump”

(as a business):

Adopt the mission of “Wellness Wednesdays” in your workplace and encourage your employees to get involved
Provide a “Wellness Wednesdays Special” for your customers. Post your special on the Wellness Wednesdays Facebook page, personal and/or business Facebook page, Twitter and your personal and business websites

Mission Statement

Uniting Health and Wellness business professionals within Simi Valley to help improve the quality of life of every citizen.

Contact Info:

For more information, please contact:

Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce

40 W. Cochran Street, #100

Simi Valley, CA 93065

Phone: (805) 526-3600

www.simichamber.org

Wellness Strategy, Lavender, Happier Holidays

Tom Saulnier — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 23:31:53 +0000

IN THIS ISSUE: * Massage Therapy – Your Wellness Strategy * Lavender – An Essential Oil for Fundamental Health * Easing Holiday Angst – 5 Stress Busters for a Joyous Season

Massage Therapy: Your Wellness Strategy – by Nora Brunner

For many people, massage and bodywork are a critical part of their health and wellness strategy–an idea medical professionals are increasingly embracing. In a recent online survey, massage devotees talked about their commitment to regular massage therapy. These folks find a way to afford it, regardless of other demands on their resources.

Best Life – “Getting massage has been part of my life since I was in my 20s–I’m now in my 50s,” says Los Angeles chef Gisele Perez. Once a modern dancer and now proprietor of a boutique catering company, she considers massage necessary to the career she loves. She finds massage helps resolve problems she’s grappling with and that solutions arise spontaneously in her thoughts while she’s on the table. “I think it maintains my emotional balance,” she says. Many massage clients report cathartic experiences when they finally allow themselves to fully relax. With so much of our lives devoted to what one spiritual guru calls “efforting,” it’s nice to know that letting go of it all can be just as productive, perhaps even more so.

Some have come to massage because of injuries and found unexpected blessings in their situations. While many first-time massage clients have become acquainted with massage because of referrals from health professionals, there’s no need to wait for an injury to prompt you into forming the massage habit.

“I consider professional massage therapy an essential part of my best-life design,” says author and psychologist Mollie Marti, who suffered a whiplash injury…Click here for full Publication Newsletter Fall 2015

Bodywork & Exercise, Healthy Grilling

Tom Saulnier — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 16:40:33 +0000

IN THIS ISSUE: * Bodywork & Exercise – Increase Body awareness by increasing activity * Afternoon Essential Oils – need a boost or a break? * Healthy Grilling Tips – Flavors of the Season

Bodywork & Exercise – Increase Body Awareness While Increasing Your Activity – by Ruth Werner

You have to give us credit: as a culture, Americans are incredibly interested in getting fit. We invest every year in new diets, exercise programs, and supplements for weight loss and improved energy. Low-range estimates suggest that Americans spend about $2.6 billion each year on gym memberships alone.

We also tend to pitch full speed into any given commitment. If we’re going to get fit, by golly, we’re going to do it now, regardless of how long it took us to get into our current state. We don’t do things by half measures, and moderation is not in our nature. So how do we keep ourselves injury-free while honoring our commitment to exercise and get healthy?

Does It Have to Be All or Nothing?

We all know that starting an exercise program doesn’t actually mean we’ll finish it. When we throw ourselves into an ambitious new routine, we are likely to overdo it and get hurt. Then, we get discouraged, and may give up entirely, only to start the cycle over in another year or so.

Overdoing things in the gym or on the…Click here for full publication Summer 2015 Newsletter

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

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. …Click here for full Publication Summer 2014