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buddhainteriors.tumblr.com
I always recommend a warm soak in the tub following an intense massage. Go ahead and dump in lots of epsom salts. The warmth enhances your muscles’ new-found relaxation; the salts help leach your body of the toxins that we just released. Close the door. Light some candles. Put on some soft music. Just enjoy the quiet time to yourself.
Or, better yet, find the hot pool in the photo above and dive in.
via Pinterest
Princess Sassy Pants & Co.
by JaneLeeLogan
When you come in for your massage, the first thing I ask you to do is have a seat. I have a big comfy couch, a big cozy chair, and a sturdy wooden chair with strong arms (which is essential if you have trouble getting in or out of a chair for any reason). And we talk. Well, you talk. I listen, and ask some questions. Every massage begins with a conversation. This conversation might be brief. You might simply tell me what’s going on in your body, where you’re experiencing pain or discomfort. We’ll look at what might have triggered this problem and discuss some preventive measures to avoid this pain in the future. I use this information to map out your massage and determine what areas of your body are going to need the most attention.
But this conversation often leads to much more. This might be a time for you to unload the stresses of the day, or the week. You might just find yourself talking about the problem you’re having with your son, or your sister, or your boss. Maybe you’ll share your excitement about an upcoming trip to Peru. Perhaps you’ll tell me you’re dreaming about running your first 5K. When you walk through the door, I never know what you’re carrying with you physically, mentally, or emotionally. But this is my time to find out. I need to reassure you that whatever you tell me, you are most certainly NOT complaining, even though it may feel that way to you. It’s important for me to learn about the stresses in your life, both good and bad, so that I can support you through the body work you are about to receive. I’m going to discover where your body holds these stresses by way of muscular tension, adhesions, and trigger points. Because our bodies don’t just hold physical pain and injuries. We hold emotional stress and pain in our muscles and viscera also. So again, I’m going to map out your session in my mind. And I’ll get a sense of the energy work that I’m going to mix in to your session as well.
Each conversation closes with a question: What are your needs today? This is your time to tell me what you want and need from your massage therapy session. Again, I’m listening and fine tuning my mental map of your session. Because this is your time, and it’s your massage. And when you leave my studio, you’re going to feel so much better.
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A new client came to me the other day with mid back pain. This has been an ongoing problem for her. She’s an athlete: 1/2 marathons, full marathons, long distance hiking and cycling, rowing. She’s a competitor. This pain doesn’t keep her from he sports, but it’s been a constant companion for a couple of years now.
Once she was on the table, I explored her paraspinal muscles, and all the muscles around her scapulae, shoulder girdle, and neck. I was palpating for tension, knots, applying gentle pressure and stretching the muscles. I expected to find some nasty trigger points in these areas. (Trigger points are spots of tension and tenderness that frequently cause pain or unusual sensations elsewhere in the body.) Nothing. So I started working my way out from her mid (thoracic) spine, following the routes of the intercostal spaces. These small spaces between the ribs house a multitude of small muscles. Bingo. There was her pain. Massage would give her relief. She exhaled, and began to relax.
The relaxation, relief, and healing that massage provides is what I love about my work. But for this client to really heal, I knew that we needed to discover why she was having this on-going pain. Perhaps one massage would alleviate the issue, but it’s likely that the problem was deep-seated and would need further attention. So after lengthy discussion, it occurred to me to ask her about support. Support in the form of a sports bra. She supposed she wore a decent sports bra, but added that she had trouble finding one that fit properly as they don’t really make them in larger sizes. Again, Bingo. Improper support can cause a multitude of back issues. I urged her to get on-line and find a specialty shop that would cater to her size. It would be an investment in her health. She promised to do that, and to keep me updated.
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thebowtielife.tumblr.com
There’s a scene in the film “Out of Africa” (one of my all time favorites) in which Meryl Streep and Robert Redford’s characters discussing poetry over dinner. He notes that there are poems written about all parts of the body, but none about the foot. He claims this is due to the fact that nothing rhymes with “foot”. Streep’s character looks him in the eye and says, “Along he came and he did put, upon my farm, his lovely foot.”
Our feet are our foundation and connection to the earth. They’re the basis of our upright posture. They stabilize us, and also keep us in motion. Each foot is comprised of an astounding 26 bones. Yes, that’s right. I’m going to say it again. Each foot is made of 26 bones. The 7 tarsals of the ankle which, stacked-up like little stones, conjoin our feet to our lower leg; 5 long, thin metatarsals which form the arch of our foot; and the 14 short, thin phalanges of our toes. (When I hear of someone breaking their ankle, I always ask “Which bone was fractured?” The response is usually, “The ankle bone.” So many of us don’t seem to know that the ankle consists of a myriad of bones and joints.) A web of ligaments hold these bones together. A sheath of fascia and muscle cover and conjoin the bones to each other and to our leg. Several of the energetic meridians have their end points in the foot.
That’s a LOT of anatomy and responsibility packed into the relatively small package of the foot. It’s no wonder that we frequently experience a great deal of discomfort in this area. A healthy foot massage is a great tool to combat sore and tired feet, as well as more pressing foot issues like Plantar Fascitis (inflammation of the tendinous sheath that covers the sole of the foot), and fallen arches. Disorders of the feet will effect our posture and frequently result in dozens of other bodily issues, from problematic knees, to low back pain, to neck issues and headaches. It’s also important to care for the foot that isn’t crying out for help. Regular, healthy massage of the feet can keep potential problems at bay. Plus, foot massage is a fantastic stress-reliever and rejuvenation tool. When we take care of our foundations, the rest of us will be healthier.
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simplystreet.com
Mandy Meyer-Hill
Machu Pichu, Peru pinterest:
waterlilyjewels.tumblr.com
Earlier this week I had the wonderful experience of working in a doctor’s office. My clients were not the patients in that office, but the dedicated workers. Nurses. Office staff. Doctors. Intake workers. All women. All care-takers of one sort or another. All lovely people, each with their own story. They all work hard all day. Some of them return home to be care-takers of ailing family members. Some had small children. They all give and take care of other people all day, every day. They each had their own set of stresses. These stresses manifested in their bodies in a myriad of ways. Head aches. Tingling hands. Limited neck mobility. Low back pain. General pain and malaise. Only one or two had received massage before. Today they were taking a piece of their lunch break to take care of themselves. I had only 15 minutes with each of them. I needed to make our time together count.
It was gratifying work. At the end of each session I was asked if and when I’d be returning. Each woman felt relief from pain and discomfort. Each felt relaxed. Each had good color in their face, and a smile to boot. 15 minutes isn’t much, but it can make a difference. Especially to those whose lives revolve around the needs and demands of others. It’s important to take time for ourselves. Time to attend to our health. These women experienced that. I can’t wait to get back there. Having a positive impact on health is what it’s all about for me.
Mandy Meyer-Hill
quote and photo compliments of Pinterest
I mowed my lawn yesterday. Each year I forget that the season’s first mowing always takes much longer than the mowings to follow. Early in the Spring I can’t help but hack into the wooded areas surrounding my acre of yard. Always whacking away at the brambled borders, wielding my push mower as part weed-whacker, part chain saw. Enlarging my little country acre. Out here we have a pesky, parasitic vine which loves to wrap its way into all the trees. Left unchecked, it thickens into rubbery, boaconstrictor-like bands. They crawl across the ground and climb the tree trunks then wrap around the branches in a strangle-hold. They create ugly nests in the canopies. When I encounter them, I stop the mower and yank them down. They’re tough, insidious creatures and fight me every step of the way. But there’s a real joy in pulling the vines down, and it often takes my full body weight, hanging from them to do this. When the tree branches bounce up in a quick dance of freedom, I always sense an accompanying sigh of relief. As though the trees are taking in a breath of air, stretching with their recovered liberty and flexibility.
It’s like that when I work out the painful tension in muscles during a therapeutic massage. The tension and knots in a muscle often feel like thick bands or ropes under the skin. Insidious vines. These adhesions inhibit circulation, which means the tissues aren’t getting their adequate nutrition, nor are they being properly cleansed and flushed. They inhibit movement and range of motion. When the tension and adhesions are worked-out and circulation is restored, there’s always a sigh of relief from the person on the massage table. Flexibility, movement, and freedom are restored. What a feeling.
Mandy Meyer-Hill
photo reposted from pinterest: kitt3yzzz.tumblr.com
I totally agree with this quote. Music, to me, is EXACTLY what feelings sound like. Whenever I listen to music (particularly classical) feelings, emotions, and scenes play through my head and my body. Music always describes a story or a feeling to me. It’s how I experience what I’m hearing.
Something I struggle with is describing a therapeutic massage. It would be so much easier to talk about massage therapy if I could just take a picture of it. Like a work of art. An artist blogger can snap a photo of what they’re working on so you can see what they’re describing and discussing. Of course it isn’t the same as experiencing their work first hand, but it really helps. You can look at what they’re describing and discussing. But a massage is a completely sensory experience. You can’t look at a massage. You can’t see it. You can’t listen to it. So I’m asking myself today, what would a picture of a massage look like? Would it begin with pain or discomfort? What does that look like? Stark colors, perhaps. Shocking yellow against gray-brown with lots of sharp edges. Maybe. Then the massage would enter. A gentle hue. Maybe robin’s egg blue. Swirling gently. Increasing in intensity and color. Washing away the sharp edges. Softening the hues. Changing the consistency and intensity. Morphing the picture into soft blues, royal blues and purples, silver and gold threads woven through. A tranquil yet powerful picture. Abstract. Powerful. Clear. Clean. Vital.
After I wrote this I googled “the color of pain”. This is what I found:
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It’s quite similar to what I had envisioned in my head. I like this. So, what can the internet serve-up so we can “look at” the entrance of therapeutic massage into pain and discomfort? I’m going to google “colors of soothing, healing”. This was the first image I liked:
It works, but it’s not what I was picturing. So now I’m going to google “swirling blues”, because that’s what I envisioned as the entrance of massage into pain and discomfort. This is more like it: 
and: 
Now I’m going to google “the colors of tranquil power”, because those are the best words I can think of to describe the post-massage experience. Let’s see what there is. Voilá:
082108_mood02 found on apartmenttherapy.com
Mandy Meyer-Hill
Yellowstone Falls, WY adventuretravel.about.com
Today I had the joy today of giving a massage to a young woman who was heading out on a new life adventure. One of the things I so love about my work is hearing people’s stories. This woman is a recent college graduate. She leaves in a few days on a road trip to Wyoming, where she’s been hired to work in Yellowstone National Park. She’s never been there before. (Neither have I, but it’s on my list!) She’ll be taking her time driving out West, seeing the sights, meeting people, experiencing the country on her way. She’s excited, of course. And a little nervous, naturally. An adventure. A twenty-something woman heading out into the unknown terrain of the country and of her life. I was thrilled to be a part of her taking-off place and I loved having the opportunity to cheer her on on this adventure. The massage helped relieve the tension and pain in her arms, shoulders, and upper back. It also served to ground her, soothe the nervousness, and refresh her for the excitement that lies ahead. When we said goodbye I wished her happiness and fun and everything good on the new adventure of her life. What a joy.
The Umbrellas of Agueda, Portugal (thanks Pinterest!)
It’s chilly and gray outside. A perfect day for a massage. Arthritis and sore joints often flare up on a day like this. Many folks are longing for warm, green spring and might feel a little down. Those finishing-up a busy week and heading into an even busier weekend. Athletes sore from heavy training, or preparing for an event. There are so many good reasons to receive a therapeutic massage. There are no bad reasons. It’s just good for your health, and will always brighten your spirits, your day, and your sense of well-being. Go ahead. Schedule a massage, for your better health.
Mandy Meyer-Hill
Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation
Saturday April 20th 2013 will be the first annual Massage for the Cure event at Stairway Healing Arts Center. Massage for the Cure will fund Sarcoma research and help find a cure for this particularly aggressive form of cancer. I will be offering 1/2 hour therapeutic massages for $40, all day long. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation. By scheduling a massage session on the 20th, you’ll help bring us one step closer to finding a cure AND you’ll be taking care of your own health at the same time. You can’t go wrong.
You can find out more about the Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation and more about Sarcoma in general by clicking this link.
Please call or email me at the phone number/email below to make an appointment.
If you’d like to make a contribution but can’t participate on the 20th, you can simply send a donation. Please make checks payable to “JHYSF” and mail to me at the address below. Thank you!
Mandy Meyer-Hill, NYS Licensed Massage Therapist
writing, teaching, publishing
Steve's body of work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element.
Stairway Healing Arts Center 