Marilyn Monroe Quotes

"I'm very definitely a woman and I enjoy it."

"I don't mind  living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it."

"It's better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone."


I love that MM embraced her femininity and sexuality!  MM was a size 14 too!  She was living proof that a woman does not have to be stick thin to be sexy.

Mulligan

Ever have one of those days when you want to scream "MULLIGAN" and start the day over?  I need a re-do!

For my massage music of the day, I picked a beautiful CD that has classical piano music with a background of ocean waves.  My client lost a loved one less than a year ago........while swimming in the ocean.

M U L L I G A N !!!!!!

We're Number One!

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Although it's known for its beautiful horse farms and as the "Thoroughbred Capital of the World," Lexington, Kentucky has gained a new distinction -- as the most sedentary city in the United States.

Along with Indianapolis in Indiana and Jackson, Mississippi it ranked among the most exercise-phobic cities in the nation, according to a new ranking by Men's Health magazine.   Seattle, San Francisco and Oakland, California were the most physically active.

"What hurt Lexington most was the actual amount of activity, or exercise, people reported engaging in -- any physical activity at all, which was relatively low. And they did have higher rates of deaths from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as well," said Matt Marion, deputy editor of Men's Health.

To compile the rankings of the 100 most sedentary cities featured in the latest issue that will hit the newsstands on Tuesday, the magazine looked at how often residents exercise, the number of households that watched 15 hours of cable television a week and bought more than 11 video games a year, and the rate of DVT, a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg, which is associated with inactivity. "When we crunched the numbers Lexington finished at the bottom," Marion explained.

Southern cities dominated the least active metropolises. Tulsa and Oklahoma City, also scored a low grade, as did Birmingham, Alabama, Laredo in Texas, Nashville, Little Rock and Charleston, West Virginia.
Marion suspects the southern lifestyle and balmy weather could be contributing factors.  "In certain cities there is a more laid-back lifestyle. That's fine, but there is not that same drive you'll see in certain parts of the northeast or California, or the northwest where people get up every morning and run or hit the gym," he explained.

Residents of power-hub Washington, DC, Salt Lake City, Reno, Portland, Atlanta, Denver and Minneapolis were also visiting the gym or pounding the pavement as each city scored top grades for being active.
"With the most active cities a common theme that runs through is there is a bit more body consciousness, a more youthful and body conscious sensibility in these cities. And I think that equates to people making it a priority, no matter how busy, to get a run in or go for a walk," said Marion.

Drivers Education My Style

Hello Soccer Mom?  Your overloaded minivan--you know the one that is creeping down the highway at 45 miles per hour in the hammer lane?  It should be in the friggin' slooooooooooow lane!  Just an FYI.  Perhaps the next time you are sitting in car line waiting for one of your offspring, you can thumb through the driver's manual and refresh your memory.

Excuse me, Foreign Lady in front of me at the intersection?  When the light is a green turn arrow and you are sitting in the turn lane, QUIT MOTIONING OTHER CARS TO TURN RIGHT ON RED---IT IS YOUR FRIGGIN' RIGHT OF WAY!  Not sure what right of way is?  Get off the roadway until you understand how to drive.  Please and thanks!

Yo!  Youngster on your cell phone?  The light changed from red to green and is now yellow and you are still toying with your phone instead of driving.  It's alright....really.  I don't mind sitting thru another cycle of lights so you can make sure your buddies know your up to the second Facebook status.  BTW, when your car insurance premiums sky rocket I will be ROFL.


Hello, Young Witch with bad hair?  Big red octagonal sign?  It is called a stop sign for a reason.  You arrived last at the 4-way stop yet you rolled right on through the intersection and dared to flip me off when I honked at your poor driving.  UP YOURS!

HEY THUGGY PUNK BOY!  WHEN I CAN FEEL THE BASS VIBRATING OFF MY CHEST AND YOUR CAR IS TWO LANES OVER FROM ME....YOUR MUSIC (using that word loosely) IS TOO FRIGGIN' LOUD!  I AM YELLING SO YOU CAN HEAR ME OVER THE GANGSTER RAP YOU ARE CHILLING TO.  DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND TAKE OUT STOCK IN HEARING AIDS BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR HOMEBOYS WILL BE NEEDING THEM SOONER THAN YOU THINK.

If you are making a turn, use your signals.  All cars are equipped with turn signals so why not use all the accessories that you purchased?  Conversely, if you turned 5 minutes earlier, about 2 miles back, then it is okay to turn OFF your signal now.....unless of course you want to be prepared for a turn you MIGHT be making 20 minutes from now.


Hey cigarette smokers!  How about using your car ashtray for your butts instead of throwing them out the car window and littering?  You never know which of your family members will be wearing orange jumpsuits and cleaning up the mess you left.....

Road rage personified.  Glad you aren't on my massage table about now?

Sexy Attitude

"Let me ask you a question? In all the years you've undressed in front of a gentleman has he asked you to leave? Has he ever walked out and left? No....Because he doesn't care, he's in the room with a naked girl. He's won the lottery. I'm so tired of saying no and waking up in the morning recalling every single thing I ate the day before, counting every calorie I consumed so I know how much self loathing to take into the shower. I'm going for it. I have no interest in being obese but I'm just through with the guilt." ~Eat Pray Love, Liz

This quote should become the mantra for every woman! 

And gentlemen, if you want to get a gal in the sack you should take a few notes from Felipe.  Of course it didn't hurt that Javier Bardem played this character in the movie...... but I think most of us ladies would fall for lines like these even if the man was not Hollywood handsome.

Liz Gilbert: I'm sick of people telling me that I need a man.
Felipe: You don't need a man, Liz. You need a champion.


"Listen, balance, my darling, is not letting anybody love you less than you love yourself." ~Felipe

"I like your body.  You are elegant and slender from afar, but round and fleshy up close." ~Felipe
 
Or my personal favorite.  When Felipe decides that he is ready to become lovers he puts on one of his mood music mix tapes, takes Liz by the hand and says:  "Darling, it's time."

I like how those Brazilians think!

Emotional Release

Early in my massage career a client broke down and sobbed while she was on the massage table.  Thanks to my training, I knew that she was having an emotional release, but knowing what was happening and knowing how to handle the situation were two entirely different things for me.  I was taught to be the compassionate therapist who was "present" for my client, but I wondered how present I could actually be when I was more than a little uncomfortable and not wholly sure what action or inaction would best serve my client.

The famous biochemist Ida Rolf, who came upon the idea of Rolfing or "structural integration" believed  that we literally store our thoughts and their emotional reactions throughout the cells of the body.  In other words, memories are not only stored in the brain but throughout the entire body/mind.  Just like the mind can recall things, sometimes touch can trigger memories in the muscle that the mind has long forgotten or buried. 

Since our society frowns upon negative emotions, we tend to bury emotions such as sadness, grief, anger and fear.  So when we hide these emotions, where do they go?  They manifest as tension in our bodies.  Tight neck muscles, headaches, ulcers, et al are just some of the physical conditions that can sometimes be traced back to a negative emotion or a specific trauma or event.  When we have an emotional release it is the body's way of telling us that it wants to let go of that memory or it wants us to recognize the original cause of that nagging, persistent pain.

I like to think of muscle memory as a different kind of compensation.  You know how we get compensation pain with a sprained ankle injury because we alter our gait and walk with more weight on the other foot?  I think our muscles compensate to ease emotional trauma by burying the painful memory in the muscle instead of the mind.  For instance, if a child is physically abused and they do not have the emotional maturity to handle their anger, pain and fear, then the body might hold those emotions until the mind is better able to handle these complex feelings.  As was the case with my client.  Many years after the traumatic event occurred, as I was massaging her neck, the muscles remembered that trauma and my touch brought all those buried memories to the forefront.

When a massage therapist is faced with a client having an emotional release, the best thing to do is make the client feel safe and supported.  Let them know that it is okay to let go of the emotion.  Keep a grounding touch on your client and let them know you are listening to them--both in their body and their mind. 

Normal Massage Therapist

My back has been knotted and in spasms off an on for several weeks.  I had a few massages, did some yoga,  ate some muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory meds, laid on a heating pad and stretched every chance I could but nothing was releasing my stubborn muscles.  Sooooo after suffering, not so silently,  I decided it was way past time for me to visit with my chiropractor and get an adjustment. 

I have seen this fellow for several years off an on and over time we have developed a very friendly rapport.  We refer clients to each other and we have seen each other socially so our professional relationship is only part of the relationship that we have with each other.  Naturally we chit chat during our sessions and our conversations are not always patient/clinician based.  So today was nothing out of our normal visit.  We were talking about the inner workings of alternative medical offices, how some chiropractors had in-house massage therapists, how some offices had on-call massage therapists, and various other random topics quasi-related to our fields.  The conversation was very laid back and  nothing we talked about required my utmost concentration.

Just before my adjustment ended, he said "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you are the most normal massage therapist I have ever known."  After I stopped belly laughing I said "And you are the second chiropractor to tell me that!".  

So in effort to fit in with the stereotypical massage gurus.....

Peace Out Man and don't bogart the brownies!