Well, I'm back from a four day vacation and thought that I may have gotten a few things done before leaving, i.e. pre-scheduling Posts. It obviously didn't work for me. I'll try again until I get it and hopefully never miss another day.
We all need a break from our everyday routine. It restores and freshens our passion for what we do. I find that sometimes it's better for me to visit another city for a couple of days and do things I wouldn't normally do in my own town. And when I return home, I can hardly wait to get back to my work!
Did I pre-schedule a massage for myself before I left on vacation? You bet!
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Friday, August 31, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
A Simple Foot Massage
Sometimes I'll finish off a Relaxation Massage with the feet and most of my clients will comment on how much they love their feet massaged. I usually hear big sighs and long exhalations while I'm working on the feet. They do take a beating after all.
All those tiny muscles holding all the bones of the feet together get contracted and sore. Just a soak in warm water and a light self massage will loosen the tension and create better circulation.
It's also a great bonding experience with a loved one!
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
All those tiny muscles holding all the bones of the feet together get contracted and sore. Just a soak in warm water and a light self massage will loosen the tension and create better circulation.
It's also a great bonding experience with a loved one!
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Doing Nothing Feeling Free
 |
| Feel the Freedom |
It's been a wonderful summer so far and everything is going great.
It's easier to think that between work, life at home and the hot summer days that we are having some down time. But come Monday morning are you really feeling refreshed and ready to start the week off again?
I've heard time and again, "we had a great weekend at the cottage. We got so much done in the yard and the dock fixed up. We cleared all the rocks off the shore and....."
Well, that just sounds like a lot of work to me. Does anybody really know how to just have an empty schedule with absolutely nothing to do? Can you just sit and listen to yourself breathe?
When I give a Massage I like to get into my zone. I pay attention to the needs of the body I'm working on. My hands follow the body's needs. This way I give the person on the table a chance to do nothing but listen to their own breathing and feel their body expanding and contracting, relaxing deeply with each exhalation. After a while your body learns to slow down on its' own. You begin to find your limits and soon you find yourself doing nothing at the cottage.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
photo by me.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Self Care
Coming in for a massage on a regular basis whether it's weekly, bi-weekly or monthly there's still time between appointments for you to take care of yourself.
We do feel our daily activities in our body and a good stretch helps relieve some of that tension. A twenty minute soak in the bath with Epsom salts helps loosen tight muscles. And fifteen minutes of just sitting quietly in a meditative state releases the grip life has you.
One of my favourite things to do at the end of a long day is use my Thera Cane. It's an S shape plastic apparatus with knobby ends. I put one of the ends on my shoulders and gently press down. It works on those tight and tired shoulders of mine. I can also use it down my back on either side of my spine to work on my tired erector muscles. After standing all day and using my body to work on yours my Thera's nice to come home to.
To learn more about the Thera Cane go to: www.theracane.net
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
We do feel our daily activities in our body and a good stretch helps relieve some of that tension. A twenty minute soak in the bath with Epsom salts helps loosen tight muscles. And fifteen minutes of just sitting quietly in a meditative state releases the grip life has you.
One of my favourite things to do at the end of a long day is use my Thera Cane. It's an S shape plastic apparatus with knobby ends. I put one of the ends on my shoulders and gently press down. It works on those tight and tired shoulders of mine. I can also use it down my back on either side of my spine to work on my tired erector muscles. After standing all day and using my body to work on yours my Thera's nice to come home to.
To learn more about the Thera Cane go to: www.theracane.net
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Vastus Medialis Returns
Getting Started is all about me learning to Blog about Massage Therapy. The youtube video I tried to upload about the Vastus Medialis didn't work. I spent a good part of my day trying to figure it out and so this is my second attempt. Fingers crossed..........
This next video shows how to use tape to support the strained quadriceps muscles. Tape helps the muscle to heal and gives it support during exercise.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Pets Need Massage Too
My three year old cat, Mercer loves to get an early start on his day. And if he can beat the sun coming up that suits him more so. Scratching the side of my bed, chewing on the Ivy and making a nuisance of himself in order to get me up is even better. This way he gets his early breakfast then off he goes to watch the squirrels and birds from his backyard window.
On a rare occasion Mercer will hop up into my bed and nestle up beside me.....demanding a massage. He never stays too long although in his time it may feel like a whole hour has past.
I start under his chin and work around to his cheeks. Then leading to the back of his neck I use the palms of my hands and massage down both sides of his spine. I repeat this a couple of times then go up to his shoulders using my thumbs, massage in small circular motions down each leg. Not all cats, but Mercer enjoys massage between the pad on his paw and his toe pads too. I repeat this in his hips and hind legs. Then by some natural instinct or mind reading, Mercer will turn over and expose his belly as if to say, here too please. I use a very gentle lifting technique here by cupping my hand over his entire chest then work my way down to his abdomen.
Usually by this time he's already fallen back to sleep if not, only half conscious. His mood becomes tender as he stretches a far reach and rubs his whiskers against me as if to say, thank you.
Our pets can be really rough on their body through their playing about. And as they age they can have arthritic aches and pains just like we do. At times they too get emotionally down about stuff going on in their life. A massage can really give them the lift they need and a wagging tail every pet owner loves to see.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
On a rare occasion Mercer will hop up into my bed and nestle up beside me.....demanding a massage. He never stays too long although in his time it may feel like a whole hour has past.
I start under his chin and work around to his cheeks. Then leading to the back of his neck I use the palms of my hands and massage down both sides of his spine. I repeat this a couple of times then go up to his shoulders using my thumbs, massage in small circular motions down each leg. Not all cats, but Mercer enjoys massage between the pad on his paw and his toe pads too. I repeat this in his hips and hind legs. Then by some natural instinct or mind reading, Mercer will turn over and expose his belly as if to say, here too please. I use a very gentle lifting technique here by cupping my hand over his entire chest then work my way down to his abdomen.
Usually by this time he's already fallen back to sleep if not, only half conscious. His mood becomes tender as he stretches a far reach and rubs his whiskers against me as if to say, thank you.
Our pets can be really rough on their body through their playing about. And as they age they can have arthritic aches and pains just like we do. At times they too get emotionally down about stuff going on in their life. A massage can really give them the lift they need and a wagging tail every pet owner loves to see.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Quadriceps Group
Yesterday I wrote about a cycling injury to the Vastus Medialis. This is a single muscle that works in conjunction with three others; Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Intermedius and the Rectus Femoris. As a group known as the Quadriceps or Quads work to extend the leg at the hip and the knee.
In cycling this group of muscles helps power your down stroke.
The Vastus Medialis is easily located by it's tear drop shape on the inside of your knee. It also helps in stabilizing your knee cap (patella).
I've attached a video from youtube showing an exercise to strengthen the Vastus Medialis. I hope you find it helpful.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lqmkmVG6q2E?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Monday, August 20, 2012
Massage and Injury
As an avid cyclist, I belong to a local cycling club who takes us out into the rolling hills of the country side. The views are spectacular and some of those hills, intimidating. At times we cycle for 100kms and reaching speeds into the 40kms/hr on the flats. The group can range of up to 30 or 40 riders at a time and one can really get boxed in.
It's always an enjoyable time with the added bonus of getting a great workout and burning calories! However, there are the rare occasion where injuries occur. On a recent outing we were climbing a fairly steep hill when suddenly one of the cyclists veered off to the left and cut in front of another cyclist causing her to make a sudden and awkward stop. She said she immediately felt pain in her knee.
Once we got back to our vehicles we got ice on her knee. I palpated and tested the range of motion in the painful area and discovered the Vastus Medialis aka inner, lower thigh or quad had been strained.
I did a light massage to the quads and hamstring muscles to passively stretch out the muscles and prevent further guarding, slightly increase blood and lymph flow to help with a speedy recovery and reapplied ice to decrease further swelling.
Two days later I made a house call finding the strained quad almost completely healed. The cyclist, Cheryl had been resting, icing and applying Arnica to her knee. I gave her a complete, full body massage emphasizing her low back, gluteal muscles and legs. These are the areas that were affected most during the cycling incident. After the massage we iced the recovering vastus medialis and left Cheryl to rest a little longer.
The quicker we aid an injury the quicker we'll be back out to our activity.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
It's always an enjoyable time with the added bonus of getting a great workout and burning calories! However, there are the rare occasion where injuries occur. On a recent outing we were climbing a fairly steep hill when suddenly one of the cyclists veered off to the left and cut in front of another cyclist causing her to make a sudden and awkward stop. She said she immediately felt pain in her knee.
Once we got back to our vehicles we got ice on her knee. I palpated and tested the range of motion in the painful area and discovered the Vastus Medialis aka inner, lower thigh or quad had been strained.
I did a light massage to the quads and hamstring muscles to passively stretch out the muscles and prevent further guarding, slightly increase blood and lymph flow to help with a speedy recovery and reapplied ice to decrease further swelling.
Two days later I made a house call finding the strained quad almost completely healed. The cyclist, Cheryl had been resting, icing and applying Arnica to her knee. I gave her a complete, full body massage emphasizing her low back, gluteal muscles and legs. These are the areas that were affected most during the cycling incident. After the massage we iced the recovering vastus medialis and left Cheryl to rest a little longer.
The quicker we aid an injury the quicker we'll be back out to our activity.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Feeling Great with Massage
We always feel great after a Massage! Tired, relaxed, like jello.....like having a nap. Then why not make it part of the things we do in our life.
A friend of mine told me that she goes for Massage when she feels stressed or when she gets a gift certificate but when I suggested she have a Massage on a regular basis she asked why. What else is it good for?
I asked her how she feels after a Massage and she said, "I feel great after a Massage." Need I say more. However, to answer her question about what else Massage is good for:
headaches
muscle soreness
stiff joints
circulation
immune boost
scar tissue
skin health
tendonitis
injuries
stress
The list is endless
The point is, if you do feel great after a Massage then please do make it part of a regular routine. Once you make it a habit your body becomes healthier. Your brain signals wellness to all parts of your body with regular Massage treatments.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
A friend of mine told me that she goes for Massage when she feels stressed or when she gets a gift certificate but when I suggested she have a Massage on a regular basis she asked why. What else is it good for?
I asked her how she feels after a Massage and she said, "I feel great after a Massage." Need I say more. However, to answer her question about what else Massage is good for:
headaches
muscle soreness
stiff joints
circulation
immune boost
scar tissue
skin health
tendonitis
injuries
stress
The list is endless
The point is, if you do feel great after a Massage then please do make it part of a regular routine. Once you make it a habit your body becomes healthier. Your brain signals wellness to all parts of your body with regular Massage treatments.
Wellness to you,
Jeanne
Friday, August 17, 2012
All About Massage Therapy
Eric's super challenge to blog for 31 days! Deadline was Aug 15th and it took me three days to get it sorted. That's ok by me.....trophy or not.
The challenge still stands for me.
The idea is to blog about Massage Therapy however, that really is all encompassing. Meaning, there's a lot to blog about!
I will definitely take you through why Massage is great for everyone but I'll also blog about injury and recovery and how Massage can help you through stressful times too.
If you haven't had your first Massage yet, I'll tell you why you should and why you should make it a habit.
There's a beginning to everything. Please join me on my new beginnings and laugh as much as you like. It's all so new to me too.
Cheers,
Jeanne
The challenge still stands for me.
The idea is to blog about Massage Therapy however, that really is all encompassing. Meaning, there's a lot to blog about!
I will definitely take you through why Massage is great for everyone but I'll also blog about injury and recovery and how Massage can help you through stressful times too.
If you haven't had your first Massage yet, I'll tell you why you should and why you should make it a habit.
There's a beginning to everything. Please join me on my new beginnings and laugh as much as you like. It's all so new to me too.
Cheers,
Jeanne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)