Tag: bodycare

Quick Guide to Natural Energy, or Chi

earthenergyEnergy; defined by wikipedia, is the property of objects, transferable among them via fundamental interactions, which can be converted into different forms, but not created or destroyed. It goes on to state that, wherever energy is present it has the same qualities no matter its form. In my day to day I work with energy. Not the type of energy that you can run your car off of or light your house up with. I am talking about the energy we all have inside of us. We take from the earth’s energy, and give back to it the very same kind, just now in a different form. If you have ever watched the movie Avatar then you might be able to grasp the kind of energy I’ll explain in my post. If you would like to feel first hand what I am going to describe, let us begin with finding your own energy. Give yourself a good 10 min to really get through the whole exercise. Start by resting comfortably, preferably somewhere quiet, as if you are going to meditate. In fact, that is very well what you are going to practice. A sort of meditation to really reach down and discover your own potential energy. Take some deep breaths. I want you to take your thumb and place it right in between your other hand’s thumb and forefinger. Do not press, just simply lay your hands across each other and feel with only your thumb. Try to let go all other thoughts that come to your mind. Focus on feeling.

How do you know what you are feeling? Is it energy or just a pulse? Energy can be felt many different ways. Some can feel heat, others vibrations, and can even be pulse like or wavy. No matter what you begin to feel, as soon as you pick up on something different than what you were feeling before (that pulsing), more than likely that is the energy being present. You know what a pulse feels like, right? It is the same feeling of your heart beating through your chest. The pulse beats right through the body. So now focus on any other sensation you can harness. I always notice my hands start to warm up, my pulse begins to fade away and I am left with the feeling of energy being transferred between my two hands.

What if you do not feel anything or it is almost undetectable? This is a case of insufficient flow of energy. Sometimes we build up energy in an area and that can cause energy to lack some where else. So in the instance of barley feeling anything, we would want to work on bringing the energy throughout you. It can be simple for some, but in the event that you are deficient, you may need some energy work done by a professional to really get the flow going. Otherwise, focus on relaxing all your muscles one by one letting go of any hold they may have on you. Let go of your tightness and feel the tension leaving your body. See if by simply depressurizing your upper body your energy is now shifting. It is your intention that will lead you to what you are looking for.

Energy, or in chinese medicine chi, can be pretty complicated if you do not have a clue what to look for. But it can also make the world of a difference when it is balanced within the body. I practice moving energy to help alleviate some of the toughest pain that people have to deal with on the daily. We do not create the energy and put it back into you. We simply take from the earth, its energy, and simply help push it through, creating a new healthy and balanced force. For more on chi and its understanding check out http://www.skepdic.com/chi.html, where they give a defintion that might make it more contextual for you. Also for more exercises on chi go to http://www.qienergyexercises.com/qi.htm for a more eastern practice of this. Leave any comments or questions and I will be happy to answer them to the best of my knowledge. Thanks!

90 Minute Versus an Hour Massage

registered-massage-therapy-1059x445Something you can always believe for sure is the more massage the better. Why is that? In the past 50+ years massage has had some pretty amazing breakthroughs. This of course has all been around for centuries, it just took the western world this long to make sure the science was proven in these methods. But when it comes to timing, massage could mean the best or not so best massage you have experienced.

Take it from the experts, you may not reach your peak relaxation in just a 60 minure massage. This can be even shorter in places that leave you with 10 minutes less because of undressing and such. We want to get the best for our time and money so let us raise the bar.

When do you feel the most relaxed into your massage? After five years of changing the world one body at a time, I would say give yourself at least 40 minutes to relax…that is merely getting sufficient amount of time for the back muscles to fully get what they need., Then you need a good solid 30-40  more minutes to get the most beneficial muscle releases you will ever receive. Not only that but you can also cover the entire body and almost every muscle in that amount of time.

Often I ask clients if they want an area of pain to be worked and focused on, in hour or less; if that’s all they can give me, because it won’t be as beneficial to try and make the whole body fit into that time. Especially if you have something specific that needs good work, which will take time. The not so good part of speeding through is activating a knot (trigger point) or muscle that needs to be worked out but only received a few minor strokes to ease it out. They can often feel achy still and tender to the touch. If there were just a few extra minutes to add to that area you could be left feeling 100% better.

Many of my healing methods are deep tissue and trigger point work. It can achieve great lengths in ways most people didn’t think they could ever reach again. Although, I feel as if there has been some mishaps in this area that leave people shying away from receiving that treatment. It is all in the way the therapist intends to release the muscle. To be efficient and to give you the absolute, most outstanding massage, it will take time. That also means paying for what you get. A more experienced therapist will know how to peel the layers of the tissue with lighter to medium pressures but also achieve the depth you’re asking for in a deep tissue massage. Just because we are accessing deeper muscles does not mean we need to use our heaviest elbow drops to get there.

benefits-of-massageAllow us the time to melt the fascia and remove tension from the closer surface muscles,  achieving those amazing hurt-so-good feelings everyone I think should experience at least once in their lives. Giving the therapist time to get all that in would not only benefit you and your healing but also make the therapist work easier for the next time you decide to come in. Which will now happen often because if you receive anything like what I am talking about you have found yourself a new addiction. But nice thing for you it is a healthy lifestyle change that can pave the way for a better you in the future.

So when you go to get your next massage ask yourself before you go. What do I want most out of my session? How long would be just enough to relax the way I need? What areas are of most concern? Then let your massage therapist know so they can perform their best massage to your likings. Do yourself a favor. Pick a 90 minute massage if you want a full body relaxation deep tissue massage. You will thank yourself and your body will in return love you back!