Category: pain relief

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Thai Yoga Massage

Thai Yoga Massage
Thai Yoga Massage

What is Thai Massage?

Sometimes referred to as ‘Lazy Man’s Yoga’, Thai Yoga Massage is designed to address flexibility, movement and discomfort. Performed fully clothed, most often on a comfortable mat on the floor, TYM can become your next favorite thing. While I’ve studied three different philosophies over the years, I find that utilizing techniques that are appropriate for each person is more meaningful than getting caught up in dogma.

The most beneficial sessions seem to be when we are taken to a limit and remaining there until the limit changes. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like ‘good’ Thai massage as a receiver! The added bonus of being fully clothed makes it a great option for folks who would otherwise shy away from bodywork.

Session are 60 or 90 Minutes long and are done with no lotion or oil. (Great if you have to get back to work.)

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Meditation and Massage

Improve your health with breath

Breath. Such a simple thing. It’s essential to life, but yet how often do we think about it? It ebbs and flows throughout our days and we barely give it a second thought.  We’re going to look at some ways our breath improves our health – including some techniques you can utilize today.

Deep breathing can reduce anxiety
Implementing a deep breathing technique when anxiety strikes can make the difference between a full on attack and an unwelcome blip in your day. Deep breathing lowers your heart rate, improves circulation and promotes clearer thinking.

You can use your breath to calm down
Let’s face it, when tempers flair it seems almost impossible to think about anything other than the current situation that set you off. Practicing simple breathing techniques can encourage calmness and help reverse the physical symptoms of anger.

    TECHNIQUE for Anxiety and Calm
Isolate yourself from everyone for 15 minutes
Inhale slowly for the count of 4
Exhale slowly for the count of 8
Notice the space in between the inhalation and exhalation
Repeat until you begin to calm down

Take breathing even deeper with pranayama
Pranayama is the practice of using the breath to soothe an active mind. If practiced right, pranayama can bring harmony between mind, body and spirit. It boosts your ability to be mentally and spiritually strong. There are very specific breathwork techniques that are outside the scope of this article, but we recommend reading up and finding a good teacher.

Use with meditation
Breathwork can be a fantastic addition to your mindfulness or meditation practice. It can allow us to open our hearts and our minds. It has been said that it can move stuck energy as well.

    TECHNIQUE for Pranayama and Meditation
Quiet your body and mind
Observe your breath as it is
Slow your breathing to a calm steady level
Concentrate on the air that moves in and out of your lungs
Focus on how your body feels and moves as you inhale and exhale

Much like massage there is no doubt that breathing can encourage relaxation and healthy habits. It keeps the body/mind functioning and curbs stress. Your muscles naturally relax and you can go about your day a little easier.

Breathing may seem insignificant. It happens naturally, so we may not think about breathing all that much, but maybe it’s time we should.

 

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Deep Tissue-That’s Not a Thing

The Problem with ‘Deep Tissue’

When I started working as a massage therapist in 2001, my training was in Swedish massage, anatomy and physiology, pathology, and a smattering of surface knowledge in massage modalities. I spent the first five years of my career studying modalities that I felt were most important at the time. This continuing education was time consuming and expensive, and exciting to be sure.

I have a resume on my desk, at this moment where the therapist claims to be proficient in “Deep Tissue”. For the record, that’s not a thing. Sometimes with better outcomes than others, massage schools started to offer more depth of training in advanced techniques. Yay! Maybe.

How this Happened

Sometime in the last ten years spas and massage franchises started differentiating between ‘relaxation’ and ‘deep tissue’ massage. They charge more for deep tissue and often pay the therapist more. Sounds okay, right?

What seems to have happened is a giant cross-section of massage consumers who equate deep tissue with massive amounts of heavy pressure and undertrained therapists trying to deliver results with inadequate knowledge of pain science risking injury. Not a week goes by where a new client explains to me that they only have the deepest work and I ‘can’t work too deep.’

hippo

Truth is, I can. Embarassingly, I have.

All health professions go through periods of great change where science and education trump old myths. Now is one of those times in massage therapy. To do our best as professionals, we have to remain current on research. We know that the human on our table does not give a hill of beans about Neuromuscular Therapy vs Myofascial Release vs Orthobionomy. What they want to know is, “Can you relieve my pain? “, “Is my range of motion or performance increasing? ”

Part of maintaining ethics in any field is transparency, education, and not working beyond our capabilities. Being willing to refer someone to a colleague with more in depth knowledge is not a bad thing. It’s a necessary thing.

Know your healthcare provider, understand their level of education, take a proactive approach to your pain relief. Long term results require planning and partnership.