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The Serenity Space for Health

When we catch ourselves wrapped too tightly in the middle of our workday or workweek, we need to recognize the stressors and bring our body and mind into quiet to regroup. The best way to remove stress, and the “stress response” is to reteach our body and mind to be quiet.

One of the best ways a company, or work space, can facilitate in this process is to have a room dedicated to quiet, with set rules to be respected by all, and a space that attempts to bring the healing properties of the outdoors indoors, into the office. Some call it their “Serenity Room”. Others may call this a Wellness Room.

This space should be comfortable, inviting and uncluttered. There should be no electronic devices in the space. There should be a place to leave shoes at the door. There should be a variety of seating, including seating on the floor (floor mats or pillows) for those who wish to meditate for five or 10 minutes.  Fresh air through open windows would be nice.

These rooms are also wonderful to have in your home.

The key is avoiding interruption. When you are stressed, and feeling your heart rate increase, or notice shallow breathing, you need to interrupt it. Remove yourself from the situation, and go somewhere quiet to breathe deeply and slowly, clearing your head of the clutter or problem. Just focus on your body and being still for a few minutes. As you do this more frequently, your body and mind respond faster and faster, and soon you will be able to bring yourself out of a stress situation instantly upon recognition…and as your progress further, you can actually avoid getting stressed altogether. Try it!

Optimize your Workout Results with Dynamic Workout Recovery!

Massage is one of the best tools for recovery of worked muscle tissues and your whole body systems.  Just as nutrition and hydration are important in that first hour following your hard work, massage implemented soon – within 1-2 hours post athletic event – can work wonders.

  • Here’s a suggested plan: runners schedule their massage, typically a 90 minute session for the thorough deep tissue application on the total body. Many times this is the IT band, calves and feet.
  • The session is scheduled very soon after they anticipate completion of the event. This is a prime time to get the circulation jump started, work the tissues deeply to release the toxins and move them out of the circulatory, lymphatic system quickly and efficiently.
  • The goal result: No reported pain or aches the day following the event!! I have runners tell me they have never felt so good the day after as they did when they scheduled their 90 minute massage session for this 1 to 2 hour window following the event. They simply replenish with liquid whole foods nutrition on their way to my office. Water before and after massage. Lots of it!

Schedule a massage following your next workout event and feel the benefits! Call 701–238-8257 for an appointment.

Secrets About Hot Stone Massage

It doesn’t just feel fantastic! Heat Seekers love it, yes, but Hot Stone Massage is Therapeutic too.

When done properly, using the heated stones for the actual massage the benefits are as follows:

  1. Greater therapeutic work can be done, with less pain. The heat softens and makes the muscles more fluid. Therefore, there is no “fighting back” by the already tense muscles.
  2. Greater tension release, and flexibility is typically achieved.
  3. Greater detoxification. The heat, like heating oil, creates greater flow of the bodily fluids for circulation and elimination of those toxins.  Lymphatic drainage is accelerated.
  4. The relaxation effect is enhanced greatly with the addition of the heat element.
  5. It relaxes the digestive tract, the colon specifically, for greater elimination.

Hot stone massage is great for the training athlete in your family. If you know someone training for their first marathon, half marathon, or sporting event, this is the perfect gift to show your support.

Hot Stone Massage is also a wonderful and enjoyable way to help alleviate the pain associated with arthritis. The increased blood flow allows more nutrients and oxygen to the joints, for healing, reduced inflammation and less discomfort of the joints.

If this sounds like something you’d like to try, call for an appointment. 701-238-8257

Keys to Alleviating Stress in Your Life

We are ALL busy people. And in our lives of instant communication of cell phones, and texting, our stress levels have seemed to increase.

Here are some simple tweaks to keep your calm:

  1. Check your breath. Are you breathing? Draw in a few deep breaths. The most important thing is not how many – it’s the quality of the air that is key. Exhale two or three times longer than your inhale–that’s the relaxation phase of respiration.
  2. Check your posture! The slightest little head forward position can decrease your air flow and cause tension in the neck & shoulders. When your muscles get tense, your brain gets the message of stress.
  3. Bothfeet on the ground. Ground yourself. Feel yourself planted on the earth.
  4. Clear your Mind. Dismiss all frantic thoughts, all negative thoughts. Re-focus on solutions.
  5. Breathe again. Draw in long deep breaths and exhale slowly.
  6. Hydrate. Get those 6-8 glasses of water every day. It really does make a difference. When your body tissue are nourished and hydrated, it performs as it should.
  7. Get exercise and cardio. When your body is accustomed to exercise, if or when you need to jump up into action, it does not perceive it as an emergency, and does not trigger the fight or flight communication to the brain and autonomic nervous system signaling stress.
  8. Meditate. Similar to #7. When you have a regular mediation schedule, whether a few minutes…or longer, you get the body into the habit of staying relaxed. If you can go for higher frequency & shorter duration–even better.

 

Massage is as important as drinking water afterwards

If you have had a massage, you have heard it before, “drink lots of water after each session, it will help flush out all those toxins.”

These famous words are given to just about everyone who receives a massage. Drinking water is an important factor before and after a massage session, and it will help you get the most out of your massage. But what does water really do for us after a massage?

If you metabolize quickly, you may start detoxing on the table and you may want to go use the restroom right after, if not during the massage. Next time when you go to your massage, drink a little before your session in a little more after. Just drink up and be merry!

How much water do I need on a daily basis?

A simple rule is to take your weight in pounds, divide in half, and drink that number of ounces of water. So for a person who weighs 150 pounds, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water per day. Do not over drink, thinking that you can overcome months or years of under drinking by drinking a lot in a few days. Drink your amount (as calculated using the above formula) daily and your body will fully re-hydrate over a long period of time.

Physical activity, stress and injuries create the muscle tissues to build up toxins civic areas of the body. Lactic acids, stress hormones and dehydration are all causes of knots.

Water is seen as the “liquid Drano” for our bodies to flush out lactic acid and metabolic wastes that cause these knots. What a particular working muscle is dehydrated, it searches for a water source and most often clings to other muscle tissue for this water source.

How Does Massage Therapy Help?

When toxins build up in your muscle tissues, you’ll feel sluggish and your muscles may become “stuck”…so a massage will help you move those toxins toward the elimination process and hydration will make it happen smoothly. Drink up!

Feel Fantastic and Be Prolific

Excellent health is something that permeates the entire person.  When you have a well operating heart and cardiovascular system, you can exercise with ease. When your body is relaxed, your mind is at ease. When your mind is at ease, your body will follow suit. You can approach bringing your body and mind into balance and effectiveness from either end. But, the results of the balance of both body and mind being at ease are solid. This is where “Flow” happens.

“Flow” is where your mind is alert, sharp, but unaffected by external factors or stressors. “Flow” is where your mind and body communicate with each other in seamless, quick – fire fashion. Athletes call this “The Zone”.

A regular massage regimen, whether 30 minutes, once a week, or 60 minutes every 2-4 weeks, teaches your body and mind what this balance, free flowing energy in your body’s systems, feels like. It reminds your brain, and your body, where to go and what neurological pathways, are “Normal” for you. The more frequently you put your mind and body into this state, the more all of your systems will gravitate toward it.

Chinese medicine is based on the “Flow” of QI – Energy in our body and mind. The core of the practice of massage is also based on similar principles. There are many different modalities within the practice of massage. Some will bring results in different areas. Traditional massage, based on Swedish origin, is focused on this balance, the relaxation of the body & mind.

Five Ways for Getting Your “Flow” on:

  1. Drink water all day long
  1. Eat well making healthy food choices.
  1. Exercise. Walking is the easiest exercise to work into a busy schedule. Stretch often during the day
  1. Breathe deeply many times during the day.
  1. Take a break quiet the mind. You may want to consider trying meditation.

As you incorporate more healthy habits into your life you will notice increased productivity, creativity, and physical performance becoming the “norm” for you.

How Can You Strengthen Your Immune System?

Did you know that the many medical experts estimate over 90% of illness, disease and fatigue are due to stress? Stress compromises our immune system welcoming illness into our bodies. Whether it’s good stress (major life changes like weddings, graduation, moving across the country) or busy deadlines at work kinds of stress.

While many people take vitamin supplements during these times, there is more to the formula. It is also an excellent idea to eat vitamin-rich vegetables. Hydration is also a big one. Most of us fall short in the hydration department, so drink up!

 

Boost to Immune System Support

Massage offers much more benefit than simple relaxation. It provides an increase in circulation immediately and the secondary benefits in the endocrine, muscular, nervous systems, with continued benefits for the days that follow, are incredibly important to our immune system. There are more and more studies showing the benefits of massage for specific targeted ailments being published on a regular basis.

 

All of those vital nutrients that we consume and the oxygen we take in are so much more effectively circulated to all our systems in our bodies when incorporating massage. It’s not just about feeling relaxed, the healing you give yourself with a massage is truly amazing. It is an essential part of any wellness program, just like nutrition and an exercise regimen. With each improvement in any of these areas, you raise your body and mind performance. The body’s energy centers, meridians, and/or Chakras are also benefited by massage. The relaxation response that is initiated is the healing/recovery phase of the Autonomic Nervous System. This natural healing is the most effective kind.

Are you Suffering from Neck Tension?

Between being on the PC at work, texting & working on the iPad or Tablet, our necks are stressed & strained to the Max! The vast majority of the clients I see that their main reason for booking their appointment is tension in the neck. We hold our stress and tend to brace ourselves in the neck and shoulder area. When we do this, those muscles shorten and tighten. This results in reduced flexibility & range of motion.

The neck is the primary area of the body that affects opening up the body and mind as a whole. Circulation is the key to relief.

I use a focused, effective sequencing of massage techniques that usually relieves the tension and stress in the neck. This is the area through which all of the neuro-pathways travel (Brain to heart to body and visa-versa). Deep work in this area can help alleviate headaches, stress, shallow breathing, issues with sleep, and many emotional issues.

This work can be woven into any full body massage session, or it can be scheduled as the sole reason for the massage session.

 

 

Enhance your Health with Essential Oils!

What are Essential Oils? The concentrated fluids from the flowers, stems, leaves of plants are known as Essential Oils. These oils have the concentrated compounds that hold the beneficial components of the plant. Much like the dried herbs we buy in the Health Food store, a vast array of plants have healing properties for a number of health issues. However, the oils have a much more powerful effect, as they are immediately absorbed by the skin, and other tissues, depending on how you apply them. Inhalation is a very effective way to experience the benefits of the oils.

 

How are Essential Oils used as part of Massage Therapy??  The Benefits vary from oil to oil, but the Citrus oils, like lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, are all known for their uplifting effect on emotions; some tend to suppress the appetite & are used in weight loss programs; all have a bit of a detoxification effect on the body. They refresh & energize. They also make fabulous cleaners! So, when you add these oils to your massage directly to the skin, right before applying the fatty massage oils, you get an excellent application. Then the massage of the full body gets the circulation increased and the soothing effects of the oils are distributed through your body & mind for great results. Plus…clients are always commenting on how good it smells in my office J.

Different oils provide various benefits so let’s discuss and issues you may be having and there may be an oil that will help with relief for you.