Massage Can Improve Posture

 Massage Can Improve Posture

 

Most people spend a lot of time sitting.  Whether it’s in a car, in a conference room, or at a desk, all those hours add up to a significant part of the day.  If you spend those hours sitting in a less than ideal posture, some degree of neck and back pain is almost guaranteed. Proper posture is not effortless however.  Muscles, ligaments and joints all must work together to properly support your body.

When you sit with hunched shoulders or lean forward too much, your body isn’t properly aligned. This forces some muscles to work hard all day long to support uneven loads while others that aren’t being used (but should be) get weaker.  Over time these imbalances become worse and worse, eventually leading to more serious skeletal issues.

Maintaining good posture requires adequate muscle flexibility and strength, and normal joint motion in the spine and other body regions. Symmetrical postural muscles that are balanced on both sides of the spine are a key requirement for a long term pain free back.

Massage improves posture

Massage helps by bringing unbalanced muscles back to a healthy state, allowing all muscles to work together in a balanced way to support your body, head and neck.  The good news is that through massage, correcting the effects of poor posture can be a relaxing experience.  Massage brings muscles back into balance by increasing circulation and reducing pressure on sensitive nerves.  Relaxed, pain free muscles allow your body to position themselves in a more natural and correct posture.

Consistent massage allows you to reap the greatest rewards from massage. Regular sessions keep  muscles loose and relaxed, giving joints greater freedom to move.  This balanced and relaxed state allows your body to position itself in a healthy and natural posture and avoid the movements and positions adopted over time as a response to the pain.

The benefits of massage are many, and postural improvements are only part of the holistic health benefits massage can offer.

 

Sacral Chakra and Related Health Issues

 Sacral Chakra and Related Health issues

Our sacral chakra is our second chakra, just above our root chakra. The root chakra is responsible for stability, physical nourishment, being comfortable in the body, and feeling secure in the physical world. The sacral chakra is much less about our physical bodies and being stable, and more about transition, movement, feeling, and change. It is through the sacral chakra that we experience a connection to our emotions and feelings, which allows us to experience joy and fulfillment in our day to day activities, foster relationships with others (along with the heart chakra), and expression of ourselves through art, creativity, and sexuality. 

The sacral chakra is governed by desire, your appetite to explore, experience, and engage in your own life. It fuels your fire to pursue pleasurable activities, and a healthy sacral chakra allows you to enjoy and be present in each moment. With a healthy sacral chakra, you are able to both enforce and respect healthy boundaries with other people and yourself. This means that you recognize the nature of your relationships with others and can identify how much is appropriate to share and can open up emotionally to those that are close to you.

When the sacral chakra is out of balance, we often see issues in the:

• Reproductive organs, such as menstrual issues, PMS, endometriosis, fibroids
• A decrease in the ability to form stable, healthy connections with others
• The ability to feel, understand and interpret our feelings and emotions
• Sexual dysfunction or issues within one’s own expression of sexuality (excessive or deficiency)
• Guilt and shame surrounding pleasurable activities (Thoughts of “I should…”) 
• Issues “letting people in” or being an “over-sharer” with lack of boundaries 
• Lack of joy or zest for life

Excessive Sacral Chakra

An excessive sacral chakra may lead to neediness and cause a person to overshare with others. A lack of firm boundaries characterizes an excessive sacral chakra. A person with an excessive sacral chakra may continually crave attention from others and need frequent validation. They may not have a solid sense of self, and their personality may seem to take on what they think others around them, such as their boyfriend or girlfriend, wants. Sexuality may be over-expressed and used as a means to connect deeply with others and move relationships forward quicker than what is appropriate. 

 

Deficient Sacral Chakra

With a deficient, or closed off sacral chakra, a person may struggle to feel joy, passion, and intimacy. S/he may struggle to understand her/his own emotions as well as express them to others. In this case, boundaries are too rigid, and connection with others is a challenge. People with a deficient chakra often feel that life is monotonous, do not enjoy sexual intimacy, and lack the feeling of flow and freedom. A deficient sacral chakra leads to feelings of apathy and feeling stuck.

 

 

 

The Cause of Sacral Chakra Imbalances

The sacral chakra can become imbalanced in a number of ways. Developing a balanced sacral chakra and maintaining a harmonious sacral chakra can be challenging in today’s society. The sacral chakra first develops in response to the modeling we have as children regarding boundaries, emotions, and sexuality. As you may guess, it is common for parents to encourage their children to suppress their emotions by saying things like “You’re fine, stop” when a child becomes sad or angry. Sexuality and sexual expression are also taboo in many cultures, and exploring sexuality in a healthy way is almost impossible to navigate without some judgment. You are either a prude or too loose – is there ever any in-between? 

Taking time to enjoy yourself and do things that are not necessarily productive but simply bring you joy is often met with guilt. Ah, capitalism, is productivity and working for the man all we are here to do?

Showing emotion can be seen as a sign of weakness if you are male, or if you are female, too much emotion or passion is seen as hysteria.

As you can see, the sacral chakra, for most people, could use some healing.  

Healing the Sacral Chakra

Healing the sacral chakra is relevant to many, if not all, people. This is because from the moment we are born into adolescence and into adulthood, our society has put in place “rules” that demonize pleasure and reward “hard work” and suppressing our emotions.

Our society has taught us to deplete, ignore, and suppress many vital aspects of our sacral chakra. 

As children, we are afforded more opportunities to play, have fun, and express ourselves. However, when a child cries, becomes angry, or becomes too excitable, it is not uncommon for parents to tell a child to “stop”, or say “you are fine, stop crying” or “calm down” etc. Instead of feeling his or her feelings of anger, sadness, or glee, are validated, a child is taught that emotional expression is not ok. This is especially true for male children. Being sad or crying breaks the unwritten rule that “boys don’t cry.”

As this child grows up, he or she will be less likely to understand his or her emotions and what they are truly feeling and why. As a result, this causes emotional suppression. To encourage the healthy development of the sacral chakra, parents should instead help their child understand what feelings they are experiencing, validate them, and help them understand why.

Taking the time to relax and take care of yourself, saying “no” to extra tasks and projects, answering emails only during business hours is essential for creating appropriate work-life boundaries and taking care of your own mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Unfortunately, in our society, these practices are not rewarded and are often frowned upon or judged as “lazy” or “selfish.”

Understanding what your needs truly are (and respecting them) is essential for a healthy sacral chakra. The first step is recognizing the signs and signals that your mind or body sends to you when they are in need of rest, downtime, laughter, relaxation etc. Once you have begun to pick up on these signs and signals, the next step in creating boundaries to enforce these needs. This can take work, and it does not always come easy. 

Things to ponder on - 

Nancy McShane

 

Hello Saturday ☕

It's been a while since I've done an update so let's get to it. 

The move to a new location went really well and really fast. It's taken me time to adjust to so much space and the peace and quiet. The counseling center is owned by a husband and wife. They work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On those days they are in their offices in sessions so rarely do we see each other. I have truly enjoyed the space. I feel right at home. Feel free to make your way to the massage rooms once coming in the door. No need to wait out in the waiting area. There are signs on the doors now that say 'In Session.' So feel free to go sit in the other available room in the big comfortable chair. 

Some personal news: You may have noticed that I have lost a lot of weight and I will continue to be losing more in the next few months. I wish I could say I finally found the diet for all of us that works but that is not the case. For months now, I have been battling my own illness. I have been recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I don't wish this disease on anyone. December through February were my worse months. I've never experience pain like this. At this time I have no pain. So no worries.

Most of you have been my clients for many years and know that I talk a lot about eating right, water and exercise. My personal beliefs are that food is our medicine if we can figure out the code. So I made a very hard personal decision to NOT take any medication for this. I told myself that if you're going to talk the talk then this is my chance to walk the walk. I also based this decision on the facts that the medication they are prescribing for this disease DOES NOT address what is causing the disease. RA is categorized as an autoimmune disease but it's core cause is from our gut issues. Which I had not clue I had. 😖

It was just by chance that I came across a RA Support group that are using science based research to manage their RA. This program moves you into a lifestyle change and a plant based diet. That's right. My world has flipped upside down and my husband, who loves smoking meats, is besides himself. My diet for the last month has been Buckwheat, celery, cucumbers and lots and lots various lettuce families. No gluten, no sugars, no oils of any kind and no animal based products. Nothing. Everything I eat is steamed and plain. This is a baseline process. Next month I will be able to add one thing at a time to see if it causes issues. 

In the meantime, I'm in good hands. I have the support of my family. We've connected with a Functional Medicine Doctor here in the state that will work with me to help manage my weight, pain and process. This process may take months or years. We don't know. But I am hoping like many others that have taken this path before me that I will put this disease into remission. 

LIFE - it sure keeps us on our toes. 😂 I will keep you posted on my progress. Add me to your prayers and let's kick this in the butt. 

Have a great Saturday. ☕

Preparing for Your first Healing Session

 

Spiritual Healing is often considered to be a hands off therapy as it involves little if any direct contact between you and the therapist. It works with the body’s energies and seeks to balance and remove blockages to those energies. With this technique, I support the body’s ability to heal itself and to better cope with living in the modern world.

I will make no promises related to curing illnesses, and this form of therapy should not be used to replace anything suggested by your doctor. However, used in conjunction with modern medicine it can support body and mind and improve the effectiveness of the medication.

Preparing for your first session

Your first session needs to be approached with an open mind. Treatment affects different people in different ways, and the fewer expectations and misconceptions you have built up the better.

Sessions take place fully clothed, so loose-fitting, comfortable clothing is most appropriate. I prefer that you wear no jewelry, as it can become uncomfortable and interfere with the flow of energy.  The same is true of belts, perfumes, and colognes, all of which can mask things that are going on in the body and make channeling energy more difficult. You should wear shoes that are easy to remove, and tie back long hair so that I can access your neck.

Your first session

When you arrive, you are shown to a private treatment room. Treatment usually takes place on a padded bed or table, but can take place in a treatment chair if you are more comfortable sitting at an angle. The treatment room is designed to help you relax, I have low lighting, soft music, to help you feel relaxed and comfortable.

After talking to you about any concerns you may have and answering any questions, I begin the treatment by performing a body scan, this involves placing my hands over your body and feeling your energy field to find out where there are problems in the flow of energy around your body. 

Once the scan is completed,I will either places hands above, or lightly touches specific areas of the body called chakras. These are points on the body where energy flows through. By channeling energy through chakras, I can help it flow to the areas of the body where it is most needed.

During the session, you should feel relaxed and may even begin to notice subtle differences straight away. Some people feel lighter, as if their stresses are lifting during the session. However, it is not unusual to not feel anything for a few days after the session. The changes in the flow of energy around the body are different for everyone as is how they are perceived. Some individuals experience tingling sensations during sessions and even see bright colors or specific images. These can be discussed me at the end of the session. However, if they are of concern, you should speak up straight away.

Follow-up sessions

There is no specific number of sessions that you should attend. Spiritual Healing looks to cleanse and balance the body’s energy to support self-healing. This healing is not just physical, but also mental, emotional, and spiritual. Much depends on your lifestyle and individual needs. As Spiritual Healing is a safe and non-invasive treatment, you can have sessions as little or as often as your body and mind require. The more you listen to your body, the clearer its needs become and the easier it is to answer those needs, either through treatment or lifestyle changes.

 

 

3 Reasons You Need A Massage

 

Why You need a massage:

1. You have one speed: GO.

   Let’s face it. You will never hear your boss ask you to do your job slower. You will never catch a cab being the slowest person on the curb. You never think “I hope the copier breaks today so I can be extra late to my meeting.” When you get a massage, everything changes. You are literally and figuratively being forced to slow your rapid pace of life and finally cut yourself some slack.

2. You can feel your body rebelling against you.

   That constant pressure between your eyes; the ever-growing stiffness in your joints. Every morning, it seems to take you just a little longer to claw your way out of bed (I prefer the rolling method). Let a professional massage therapist evaluate your current state and work some magic with their hands like they are trained to do. You will get up from that table feeling 30 pounds lighter and at peace with the universe.

3. You feel like you’re losing it.

   Or maybe you don’t even remember what it feels like to have “it.” Business meetings, PTA meetings, soccer games, hockey practice, and doctors’ appointments are all jammed into your calendar in color-coordinated efficiency. Your planner may look like the Type-A dream, but it is taking a toll on your mental well-being. Do you feel like you blink and a week went by? Lose your keys more than once a day when you usually know where everything is at all times? Time to get a massage, let all of it go for that little patch of time when you can let your mind escape to a place of relaxation and bliss.

 

5 Ways to Rejuvenate Yourself

 

5 Ways to Rejuvenate Yourself

1. Meditate

   You don’t have to be in Bali in a kaftan chanting “Om” in order to meditate. All you need is a quiet place to sit down. Try sitting in a comfortable position and envisioning the things that make you happiest in life—your friends, family, pets, job. You can also take ten minutes to envision the life you want—what is your ideal attitude? Imagine yourself as that person.

2. Be Mindfully Grateful

   Gratefulness sometimes eludes us in our busy, hectic lives. You’re rushing from client to client, dodging traffic jams and calls from your mother-in-law. But if you take just a few moments in the day to think about what you’re grateful for, your mood will improve and your mind will literally “think different”. If you want to take it to the next step, you can be grateful aloud. Tell those around you that what they do makes you grateful for them (hint: be specific). Believe us; it will start a beautiful cycle.

3. Stretch

   This should be a no-brainer for those of us who work on the body for a living. And it’s no secret that the places of soreness can speak to us about lifestyle habits. Take some time in the morning and before bed to get back in touch with your body. Stretch it just a bit and prepare it for the day and for rest. Bonus: if you have trouble sleeping, introducing a stretching routine before bedtime can help.

4. Make a To-Do List

   To-do lists can be a stress-inducing thing—thinking about all that needs to get accomplished in a small frame of time. However, jotting down a realistic list of all you need to accomplish in the morning can allow you to get organized early and stay on top of your tasks throughout the day. Plus, it empties your mind and your feelings of forgetfulness so you can focus on your clients.

5. Drink Lots of Water

   What does water have to do with rejuvenation? Just about everything. If you find yourself going for another tea or coffee mid-morning, try chugging more water instead. It’s our energy source and lifeline. It will ease your stiffness or soreness, lubricate your joints and generally make you feel cleaner and happier.

Being mindful to do each of these things every day can make a huge difference in your life and your business. Having a clear mind and happy attitude will not only resonate with clients, but it will give you the energy you need to push forward and improve your practice.

Have other ways to rejuvenate your mind and body every day