I dropped into a yoga class today purely out of intuition. The demand on my time and energy recently has been draining. I needed some down time to rest, focus on my breath and incorporate some deliberate, conscious movement. A piece of music during the poses connected to the stress I’d been feeling and moved me to tears. I’m grateful I listened and for the timely opportunity. I encourage you to find similar ways this week to connect with yourself, to rest and restore.
Chair massage gigs provide me with an opportunity to meet diverse groups of people. Depending on the location and type of workforce in a company they may be fun and talkative, or serious and reserved.
I happen to do a gig at a facility that had the former group of People.
They were of the working class, packers, drivers, managers and machine operators.
In massaging them I encountered tight forearms hardened by tying and lifting boxes. I met hands that were rough and worn and whose fascia had become restricted and altered from repetitive, strained movements. These people stand on hard concrete floors that hurt their feet and wear their joints.
I met eager and exhausted drivers ready to jump onto or fall asleep on my chair.
I had conversations about long distance relationships and about an aunt who had lived past a hundred.
I had a woman who had decided to come in for a sample based on recommendations but was very suspect about me and my chair. She was sure about what I was going to do. She even clarified if I was going to ‘crack her’.
She pulled back defensively when I asked her to remove her glasses, and then decided that she did not want to sit on the massage chair.
So my approach became much softer and involved with this woman. She then felt comfortable during the sample to ask, ‘When does a person feel relaxed?’ 🙂
While a massage chair isn’t the more ideal or attractive option to give a massage it does provide an opportunity to experience some interesting and unique interactions 🙂
Helping my clients resolve their health issues and keep their health in order serves as a strong reflection for me to pay attention to my own health.
I have become much more aware of what get me off balance, causes me stress or doesn’t serve or support me.
If you haven’t considered bodywork as part of your health and wellness routine I encourage you to consider doing so. I do and find the support I get from my sessions invaluable.
When you choose to get hands-on bodywork like Craniosacral Fascial Therapy, it’s important to note that symptoms you have been experiencing can sometimes get worse before they become better, or that what has been brewing within your body’s systems can be catalyzed into a new issue.
It is important to stay aware and BECOME present when your body, mind, spirit or ENERGY calls your attention.
Perspective is really, REALLY important.
It can make a difference between understanding and staying or walking away and letting go.
In health it is really important that the bodywork or medical practitioner listen to what the client or patient has to say.
It is not uncommon for me to hear from my client or patient that their medical or bodywork practitioner doesn’t not listen to what they have to say, or give them their full attention.
Does your health provider – bodywork, medical or otherwise LISTEN to you?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Your birthday is a special day to remind you that you are important, that you matter and that you’re very, very special. My wish is that you always follow your heart and pay attention to the clear voice inside you, That you build a strong heart and spirit and that you live up to your potential. …And if it isn’t your birthday, I recommend that you make believe that it is, at least for today!
Becoming well often requires the process of asking for help. Healing takes time… Healing takes space. Healing takes darkness, and Healing takes grace. Healing takes softness with yourself, and towards others. Healing happens in layers. Healing requires getting in touch with what’s going on inside of you. Healing can take some time…
We create patterns in our body as we move through life doing what we love, or have to do. We learn to hold our breath, to restrain our jaw, to freeze our mind, to store stress in our heart, back and belly. We learn that we can’t play, joke, be silly, or be open at home or work, or in the circles we move around. We close, shut down and don’t breathe as fully. We become stiff, inflexible, annoyed and irritated.
We develop patterns as a gender, male or female, based on what our family, society or significant continually tells us. It is possible to feel peace, calm and joy within those patterns. It’s when we aren’t happy, feeling joyful or fulfilled that we might need to question the pattern we’ve been in.
Do you feel stuck in a pattern you don’t know how to get out of?
Acupressure can help you to reconnect with yourself and transform your current ‘stuckness’ into flow and forward movement.
Every form of communication I have at my disposal has a clear advantage over another.
While one type may seem ‘advanced’ and easier to use than another, it may not be the most effective or optimal in conveying the significance, depth or nuance of what I need to communicate.
In order to develop conscious and valuable relationships, I attempt to choose the best and most effective form that will allow me to connect, engage and communicate optimally. No matter that the world around me demands and craves my attention non-stop.
How I make you feel matters, AND matters to me.
Has pain stopped you from doing the activities you love to do, like walking, hiking or practising yoga?
I’m working with someone who had to give up their yoga practice for over a year because of chronic pain that developed around their shoulders. Massage was their only option before they came to me. I introduced them to Craniosacral Fascial Therapy [CFT] and the benefits it could offer. I’m glad to report that in the first treatment they observed greater improvement than with any of the prior massages they had.