Quote of the Day

 I don't fear death because I don't fear anything I don't understand. When I start to think about it, I order a massage and it goes away. ~Hedy Lamarr

Memorial Day

This day was set aside to remember soldiers that bravely served their county and ultimately lost their lives in war.  Memorial Day was started by freed slaves, after the Civil War, who wanted to honor slain Union soldiers.  They showed their respect by putting spring flowers on the graves of the fallen.  Later they extended the recognition to the Confederate soldiers too.  Since then our country has been involved in numerous wars and many lives have been lost. 

When I was younger I did not know the significance of this holiday.  I associated Memorial Day as the day that the city pools opened for swimmers and our family got together for a cookout.  Now that I am an adult and understand the true meaning of Memorial Day, I hope to remind others of the day's importance.  This year I hope you will join me in remembering all the brave souls that represented our country and fought for our freedom.  If you have loved ones in the service, my heart goes out to you and yours.

Quote of the Day

Our patience will achieve more than our force. ~Edmund Burke


This was probably not meant for massage therapy but it is a great quote for massage therapists!  It reminds us to take our time and truly warm up the tissue before we move toward deeper massage therapy strokes, and it asks us to hold our stretches a bit longer so the client's muscle(s) can relax and lengthen.

Pottymouth Quote

Apologies if this offends anyone but I laughed out loud when I saw this quote.

"Saying 'Fuck It' is like massage for the mind - relaxing you, releasing tension, giving up on things that aren't working."  ~ John C Parkin

Be Water My Friend

"Nothing under heaven is more soft and yielding than water.  Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better. It has no equal." ~ Lao Tzu

It was once explained to me that massage therapists should approach the body as if it were water.  Since water can be found in more than one form, it stands to reason that there will be more than one way to work with it.  Reach back to your middle school science class days and recall the solid, liquid and gas chapter.  Solid water is ice.  Liquid is flowing water.  Gas is steam.  Like water, muscles can be found in more than one state too and I don't mean the smooth, non-striated involuntary muscles nor the striated voluntary skeletal muscles.  I am referring to muscle conditions like tension, hyper-mobility, ischemia, strain, over-worked, etc.  So if you are going to make steam out of a knotted back muscle, where do you start?

First of all, I ask therapists to brainstorm on ways that one might break down an ice block.  An ice pick can bust the block into smaller ice pieces.  A heat lamp will slowly melt the ice, thus lessening its size.  Friction will warm the ice block surface and slowly diminish it.  In most cases blunt force and heat are the most often suggested methods for getting rid of the ice block.

After the ice discussion I ask therapists how they would treat someone with back pain.  As you can imagine there are usually a lot of different answers to this question.  After listening to their would-be treatment plans,  I ask this follow-up question,  "Would you walk into the treatment room and immediately drop an elbow into your client?".  Then I hold my breath and hope that nobody answers yes!

So now lets tie the water and muscles analogy together.  Assume that the ice pick represents the massage therapist's elbow.  While the pick is indeed a valid way to bust up the ice block or in this case the tight back, it probably isn't the best method to try first.  Isn't it easier to break ice after it has warmed up a bit?  The same applies to tight muscles.  If we rush in and drop an elbow without warming up the tissue, it will not feel good to the client and it could cause further injury.  In the long run it will not feel good to the therapist's body either if they have to do deep tissue massage for long periods of time.  Warming the tissue prior to that direct sustained pressure move aka the Atomic Elbow will make life easier for the massage therapist.....and the client will not wish evil plagues fall upon your house.

So lets look at the heat lamp and friction, or in the case of our ice block massage--heat therapy.  Hydrotherapy, heat packs, hot stones, ointments that warm the muscles, and other treatments can bring blood flow to the ischemic tissue.  When the blood reaches the surface of the body it will produce therapeutic inflammation, warm the area and promote healing.   Friction on the ice is equivalent to hands-on massage that targets the tight back muscles.  When friction and heat are implemented, the ice begins to change consistency from solid to liquid while the massaged and now warmed muscle also softens and changes form.

So the next time you are faced with a knotted muscle.  Let your massage therapy flow.... like water, my friend. 

Over The Counter Meds

I borrowed this from The Huffington Post.  Massage, Yoga, Acupuncture and other complementary medicine should educate the masses about both the positive and negative aspects of pain relievers. 

Eastern medicine philosophies recognize pain as the body's early warning signal. It's the lights blinking at the train track telling you stop, look and listen to your body. It wants to tell you something is wrong. When you take NSAIDs, you mask these pain signals and possibly ignore your body's warning signs.

Most people think of them as innocent little pills. Headache, pop one; backache, take another; arthritis, take them all the time. But those innocent looking bottles of pain relief may carry some serious health risks. I'm referring to the NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in just about everyone's medicine cabinet  . You know them by the names ibuprofen, (Advil and Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve), aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol). NSAIDs are estimated to be responsible for up to 20 percent of hospital admissions for congestive heart failure (1).

According to the latest research from Copenhagen University, heart attack survivors taking ibuprofen-based NSAIDs were 45 percent more likely to suffer a second attack when taking NSAIDs, especially at prescription dosages (2). Studies showing a variety of toxic effects from NSAIDs have been around for years, yet these studies receive little attention. In 2007, a study showed that NSAIDs had been found to increase an existing risk of heart attack or stroke in people who suffer from arthritis (3).

Data analyzed on 114,460 women in the California Teachers Study showed "Ibuprofen use was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and long-term daily aspirin use was associated with an increased risk of ER/PR-negative breast cancer (4)." High blood pressure is also correlated to NSAID use (5).

Even though the FDA now requires a black box warning on some NSAIDs (the strongest warning possible on an over-the-counter product) the general public seems unaware of the very real dangers of taking NSAIDs long term and at high doses.

Beyond the risk factors, there are side effects of NSAIDs use you should be familiar with. Stomach upset or indigestion is the most common side-effect, including nausea, vomiting, heart-burn (otherwise known as GERD) , bleeding stomach ulcers and diarrhea, as well as other GI events (i.e. gastrointestinal bleeding) with ibuprofen based NSAIDs. Liver damage can also result from acetaminophen based pain killers. Hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year result from overuse of these drugs, many from unnecessary prescriptions (6). Other common adverse reactions to NSAIDs include higher than normal liver enzymes, constipation, headaches and possible allergies.

Over-the-counter (OTC) doesn't necessarily mean it's completely safe. Depending on your own use and dosage, side effects can be minimized and these products can be used safely. But you should be aware that relying on NSAIDs to manage severe to even moderate pain does carry risks.

Mental Health Day

I have been battling a nasty bug for the past week and in an effort to not pass my icky germs to clients, I have not been doing any massages.  Today was the first day that I reported to work since last Thursday and although I am feeling better I am still not sitting on top of the world.  So this morning when the alarm went off I actually thought about staying home one more day to really try and feel better, but knowing that next week was going to be a short week due to Memorial Day and the weekend coming up is my son's wedding, I knew there was little wiggle room on rescheduling so working was going to be necessary.  But this morning,  it was like I regressed back to my childhood days when I prayed for snow accumulation so school would be called off.  Instead of waiting to hear the radio announcement that school was closed, I waited to hear my cell phone ring with a client cancellation.  When no phone call came, I drug my behind out of bed.

Let me clarify that most days it is very easy for me to get up and look forward to working.  I mean I do have a pretty low stress job and the pay is decent so it makes it easier to get motivated.  The fact that I am the boss and I happen to like all the office staff  improves my work mood as well.  Interacting with some of my clients is always a good time too.  But......occasionally I have one of those days.  You know the ones when you just do not feel like working?  You hit the snooze button more than once and ask yourself what would happen if you just stayed home and relaxed.  You feel your forehead and convince yourself that you must be running a low-grade fever.  You look longingly at the beach photo on your nightstand and wish you were back there soaking up the sun.  Then you glance at your calendar and think it must be time for a vacation.

Today was one of those days for me.  So after I do four massages today, I will be taking a mental health day.  I will be curled up in bed watching bad movies.  I will eat junk food.  I will surf the internet for a sexy vacation spot and maybe I will even turn off my cell phone.  Then hopefully I will bounce out of bed tomorrow and be ready to greet whatever the day brings.

Optimal Wellness

“Even people who aren't sick may not have optimal wellness.”  ~Brian Carter

I am no rocket surgeon but I am pretty sure this quotation applies to a great many people.  Most of us have become accustomed to aches and pains and daily stressors.  While we might eat healthier foods, drink plenty of water, and get some form of exercise, we still probably are not operating at optimal performance. Remember when Curt Schilling pitched in the 2004 playoffs with an injury that left him wearing a bloody sock?  When Tiger Woods won the 2008 US Open with a torn ligament and admitted he had been suffering with this pain for nearly 10 months?  These men were at the top of their games and strove for perfection but clearly were not operating at optimal wellness.  Why do we, like these athletes, push ourselves to perform under adverse conditions?  I tend to believe it is because most Americans have come to accept pain as part of their everyday lives.  As a massage therapist I am in a unique position to help return bodies to peak performance.

Now, I am not saying massage therapy can cure all that ails you, but I am saying that massage can help right some of the wrongs done to our bodies.  Studies have shown massage can improve range of motion, stimulate lymph flow--the body's natural defense system, increase joint flexibility, lessen depression and anxiety, increase circulation, reduce post-surgical adhesions and swelling, and release endorphins--the body's natural painkillers.  With all these benefits and more, shouldn't everyone consider receiving massage regularly?

When I am trying to convince someone that getting massage is important to their health maintenance plan, I like to compare regular massage to automobile tune-ups.  Most of us realize that if we do not keep our vehicles regularly serviced, there will be serious and costly repairs in the future.  The same service theory applies to our bodies.  If you do not change the oil and filters or refill the transmission fluid, your vehicle will begin to run poorly and eventually cause damage to the engine.  Changing spark plugs and aligning the tires will help the engine run smoother and make for an easier ride.  Consider the lymph as the body's version of fluids and filters.  If lymph does not drain properly the body will not push out toxins and subsequently parts of the body will become swollen and eventually cease to work efficiently.  Spark plugs are like nerve endings as they send impulses to the engine, or in the body's case--the brain.   If a nerve is pinched or impinged, one can usually expect an onset of tense muscles and pain.  Painful stimuli will signal the body to guard the injured and/or sore areas and activate other muscles to compensate for the one(s) not working at optimal performance.  This compensation will ultimately cause the body to move and operate off balance and after a brief period of time the body will interpret this misaligned movement pattern as the norm.

Think of your massage therapist as the mechanic for your body.  Regular massage or "tune-ups" can flush out stagnation, balance the body, relieve pain, etc.  When massage becomes part of your fitness program it can jump-start your body and put you back on the road to Optimal Wellness.

Manly Shade of Pink

A nice man called and booked an appointment with me for back pain.  When he arrived and introduced himself I was met by a strong, strapping fellow that had came straight from his workout.  After concluding that there was nothing substantial in his client intake other than his reconstructive knee surgery, I began his massage.

Throughout the massage session we chatted about random things, including how he injured his knee by jumping on a trampoline at a child's birthday party.  He shared this horrible but comical story with me and we both were laughing hysterically by the story's end.  The massage then progressed normally until I was ready to massage his feet.  When I moved the sheet back and reached for his foot I noticed that his toenails were painted a lovely shade of bubblegum pink.  My very masculine client said "I know what you must be thinking, but there is a very good reason that my toenails are polished.  My 4 year old daughter was polishing her own toenails and decided that she needed to polish my nails as well."  Without missing a beat I said "Uh huh, that's what I would say too."

Two years later I still check his toenails and tease him.  I have great clients!

Strawberries For Weight Loss

Red, ripe and delicious, strawberries are a little fruit that work overtime for your health.
Peak strawberry season is just around the corner, so now is the perfect time to add strawberries to your menu for summer weight loss. From farm stands to your local supermarket, these luscious berries are sure to turn up just about everywhere.
And don't forget about the amazing organically grown strawberries that come from California year round.
The exciting research that is being done shows that the special nutritional components in strawberries might be able to stimulate your metabolism and help suppress your appetite. They can control blood sugar and can also help you lose weight.
It is no wonder that scientists across the United States, in Sweden and other countries have been researching the wonders of the strawberry and discovering more evidence of its health benefits. There is no doubt that strawberries have joined the other rock stars of super nutritious fruit such as blueberries, cherries, cranberries and pomegranates.
What Gives Strawberries Their Nutritional Punch?
Strawberries are a healthy food to eat to lose weight, because there are 49 calories in one cup of strawberries. They are also loaded with Vitamin C, 3 grams of fiber, and some calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Strawberries are rich sources of phenolic antioxidants that can help:

1. reverse inflammation
2. aid in weight loss
3. reduce the risk of chronic disease.

University of Illinois researchers found that the most abundant antioxidants in strawberries are ellagic acid, as well as the flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol anthocyanin and catechin. They further pointed out that strawberry extracts have shown to inhibit COX enzymes in laboratory experiments. This would mean that strawberries could have the potential to help reduce inflammation and pain.

Learn more about fruit anthocyanin's ability to reduce pain in Cherry Season: Fight Pain and Inflammation.
Research on Strawberries and Disease
Research results indicate that strawberries can provide nutritional support to fight aging and disease:

• In vitro laboratory experiments from Cornell University suggest that strawberry extracts may help inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells.
• Studies with laboratory animals demonstrated benefits of strawberries for the aging brain.

Writing in the Journal of Medicinal Food scientists from Clemson University examined the cancer fighting potential of various berries. They note: "Plants are proven sources of useful anti-tumor and chemopreventative compounds. Hence, identification of phytochemicals useful in dietary prevention and intervention of cancer is of paramount importance." Evaluating the results of their experiments the Clemson researchers concluded: "Juice from strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry fruit significantly inhibited mutagenesis."
Strawberries Help Protect the Heart
Strawberry extracts have direct anti-inflammatory effects, inhibiting the activation of genes and enzymes that promote inflammation.
Most of this benefit is due to another group of phenolic antioxidants called anthocyanins, which help give ripe strawberries their lush red color. Anthocyanins decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke by protecting blood vessels from the effects of wear and tear.

Strawberries Promote Weight Loss
The ellagic acid and anthocyanins found in strawberries aid weight loss in at least three ways:

1. Chronic inflammation blocks the hormones involved in keeping you lean. Anti-inflammatory foods like strawberries help restore normal function to weight-reducing hormones.
2. Anthocyanins actually increase the body's production of a hormone called adiponectin, which stimulates your metabolism and suppresses your appetite.
3. Both ellagic acid and anthocyanins slow the rate of digestion of starchy foods, controlling the rise in blood sugar that follows a starchy meal. This effect is used to control blood sugar in people with adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes.

Learn more about making your weight loss hormones work for you in my article: Increase Metabolism with the Fat Burning Hormone Leptin

Organic Strawberries Have More Nutrition
I recommend organically grown strawberries. Organic strawberries have been shown to have higher levels of vitamin C and than conventionally grown strawberries, due to a higher content of phenolic antioxidants.
In a fascinating study, researchers from Washington State University compared organic strawberries and farms to conventional strawberries and farms. They found the organic strawberries to be higher in quality, and the soil to be healthier. Specifically, in comparison to the conventionally grown berries, the organic strawberries had higher total antioxidants, ascorbic acid, and total phenolics.
Enjoying Strawberries
Strawberries give you flavor, color, and aroma, awakening your taste buds to the fresh, natural foods your body needs to be healthy and vital.
When shopping for berries, freshness is important. Identify strawberries that are bright red and firm.
Strawberries are a great snack or dessert, and add color and flavor to healthy recipes. Naturally sweet and juicy, strawberries are a sublime pleasure and make a great healthy treat.
Simply add a handful of sliced strawberries to:
Cereal or granola
Hot oatmeal
Smoothies
Yogurt
You can eat fresh or frozen strawberries as a snack or dessert anytime.
Here is a recipe featuring strawberries from my book, The Fat Resistance Diet, an anti-inflammatory program.
Banana Strawberry Smoothie
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 banana, sliced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon freshly ground flaxseeds
1 tablespoon whey protein concentrate
Pour 2 tablespoons water into a blender. Add the yogurt, banana, and strawberries and blend. Put in the ground flaxseeds and whey protein. Blend until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy! Serves 1.

I hope you enjoy the healthy pleasure of strawberries now and throughout the year.

Quote of the Day

Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a treat.  ~Joanne Woodward

Of course it doesn't hurt to spend your life with Paul Newman.......

Interesting Thought

It was the first day of ninja school and nobody showed up.....or did they???

New Modality

Today while I was working on a particularly tight leg muscle, my client said "Wow!  You must be using your super bitch muscles today!"

I took that as a compliment.

Happy Mothers Day

Today I find myself flooded with a waterfall of memories of  Mothers Day celebrations throughout my life.   Ones I spent with my mother and my grandmother and those of my own after I became a mother.  I can see Mom getting my sister and me ready for church, in our matching Polly Flinders dresses with shiny black patten leather shoes. (My inner tomboy was not happy about the little princess get-up but it sure made my mom happy to have us all gussied up)  My grandmother always had a fried chicken dinner waiting after the church service for her children and grandchildren and eventually her great-grandchildren.  All the moms would have on corsages to show they were being honored on their special day.  Flowers were always the gift of choice for the ladies,  whether it was cut flowers in a vase, corsages, rose bushes, or hanging baskets for the front porch....you knew somebody was going to get flowers.

Years later when I had my sons and got inducted into the Mommy Club,  I got flowers and cards from my boys as was customary, but it was the handmade gifts that meant the most.  The plaster cast of a wee hand, a masterpiece in Crayola medium, a necklace fashioned with elbow macaroni, flowers picked from the neighbor's yard..... Looking down at those cherub-like faces as they explained how much effort they put into making my gifts touched my heart like nothing else ever could.  Of course the key-chain my oldest son got me one year was hard to beat.  It read "MOM is WOW upside-down".

As with all things in life, there will always be some bad times on Mothers Day alongside the good times.  It is with great shame that I share this story with you, but know that I am doing it so you can hopefully learn from my egregious mistake.  If the lesson is lost, then I hope that you have a very forgiving mother like I am fortunate enough to have.

About 18 years ago I was employed as a 911 Dispatcher and I opted to work the graveyard shift which began at 7:00 pm and ended at 7:00 am.  I worked 3 nights in a row and then I was off work for 72 hours.  Unlike many that worked this shift, I did not feel comfortable turning off my telephone as I needed to be available for my kids.  I explained my work and sleep schedule to my family and asked them not to call me before 3:00 pm as I would probably be sleeping.  For my family members that never worked anything other than a 9-5 job, this took some training.  My mother required remedial training......

The odd sleep/work schedule was hard on my body and I suffered from severe sleep deprivation.  Being tired and not getting enough sleep can make a person cranky.  Receiving a phone call at 9:00 am and only have gotten into bed an hour earlier can make a person REALLY cranky.  Receiving an early morning phone call from your mother.... for the second day in a row.... after you expressly asked her not to call you until later that afternoon.... can make your head spin around like Linda Blair's did in The Exorcist.  So on this particular morning when I rolled over and saw the caller ID indicating my early morning wake up call was my mom.....again, I lost all composure.  I did not answer with a "hello".  Oh no, we were way past civility at that moment.   I yanked the phone receiver up to my ear yelled "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO NOT F---ING CALL ME UNTIL 3:00?"  Did I mention that sleep deprivation can leave a person agitated?  Confused?  Mentally ill?  My mother, in the calmest voice replied "Well, Happy Mothers Day to you too."


Mothers truly personify unconditional love.

Evil Soles

When a client that says their feet and legs are killing them, before I ask a bunch of questions, I look at their shoes.  Running shoes that look like the dog used them for a chew toy, soles that are worn more on one side than the other, 4-inch stillettos and the like are all culprits of back, hips and lower extremity pain. Since this is sandal weather (at least when it isn't raining cats and dogs) there are a lot of really bad footwear choices to be had, but the $3 bargain pair of flip flops is hands down the worst shoe around......unless you are a massage therapist, then it is one of our top money makers.  Seriously.

The everyday run of the mill flip flops are the ones you grab on vacation to wear at the beach.  You know the ones that have about a 1/2 inch thick foam bottom with a rubber thong that goes between your big toe and the second toe aka the little piggy that stayed home?   These sandals are cheap footwear, but what happens when you sport these babies for extended periods of time?  You are forced to grip the flip flops with your toes in order to keep them on your feet..... and then you get foot and toe cramps from the gripping.  Then the gripping attacks the lower leg muscles...and so on and so on til every body part below your scalp feels icky.  Sometimes the thong rubs blisters between the toes or across the top of the foot.  This might cause you to walk more gingerly in effort to guard the sore spot and then you run the risk of postural imbalance and/or compensation pain.  Having no ankle support invites inadvertant twists and related injuries.  Remember the song that points out how each bone is attached to another bone?  Twas a goofy song but it is correct!

My analogy on flip flops should put these shoes of Satan into focus for you.  Imagine yourself driving cross-country on a bumpy terrain without good shock absorbers on your vehicle.  Now envision this rough ride without a seatbelt to secure you in the vehicle.  Then replace your plush car seats with boulder-like seats from Fred Flintstone's car and you will get a pretty good idea of what wearing flip flops will do to your body.

Still think flip flops are a bargain?  Factor in the massages necessary to ease tension, the prescription and OTC drugs needed for pain relief, physician visits if you do more than strain muscles......those $3 shoes got considerably more expensive, eh?  The choice is yours of course, but I am happy to have the business if you insist. :)

Ladies Only

Girlfriends..Stanford U. Study
 In an evening class at Stanford the last lecture was on the
mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease.The
speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things,
that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be
married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she
could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her
girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide
support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult
life experiences. Physically this quality *girlfriend time" helps us
to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat
depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share
feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They
rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain
things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes.
Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf?
Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.

Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with
our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health.
He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our
general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we
are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out
with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively
engaged-not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain
quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our
physical health as smoking!

So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just
pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something
good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's
toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good
for our health.

Massage Funny

I wonder how many prank phone calls this place gets......

Easter Funny