On this warm day, I was thinking how can I spruce up my Turmeric Tea…..I know mix it together with my Green Tea. Just because time allowed, I went ahead and Googled “green tea and turmeric”. Look what popped up on the National Institutes of Health website.
Here’s my thought….Start with a hamburger (bad) add in fries and shake (bad), when you combine, what you get is worse yet. Fortunately, it works both ways. Add good things together, be creative, and see your own positive results.
If your body feels sore or you suffer from any inflammatory conditions try this simple drink. Turmeric ice tea. Just add a quarter teaspoon of Turmeric to a tall glass of ice water. add Stevia if you like it sweet. 
Turmeric has many health benefits and some health concerns or possible side effects.
Does it taste great? Not so much but it is refreshing.
It just seems ironic to me that in a profession like massage therapy, one that brings clients so much relief from pain, even bliss, that so few consider what happens to it’s practitioners.
Contrary to the old adage “It’s better to give….”, for massage, the opposite may be true. While most folks enjoy the effects of a great massage, how they feel afterwords and all the health benefits, not everyone comes out ahead.
Massage therapy as a profession has it’s limitations. For one, the therapists just don’t last all that long. Why? In part, injury. Something they don’t tell you about when your trying to decide if you want to become a massage therapist, before your shell out a ton of money to go to massage school. I’m trying to run down the numbers, but I’m hearing, the average length of “career” is about 18 months.
To be sure some therapists have lasted longer. Case in point, myself. Maybe I was lucky. More likely, I was good at my work. By good, I mean, I had a passion for the work. So I learned and applied myself. Most importantly l used good body mechanics which allowed me to practice my trade longer.
One of the goals of massage is to help your client (recipient) to relax. That just won’t happen unless you are already relaxed. So then how to prepare? In a word ……Ritual. Teach yourself a series of actions that you repeat over and over again before each and every massage. Here is one of my routines. 1. Clear my mind……what are you thinking about right now? Drop it. You are now a Tabla Rasla (Blank Tablet). I’m thinking about absolutely nothing. 2. How am I breathing….I actually monitor my breath. How fast, how deep, how smoothly I inhale and exhale. Just be observing, my breath, those qualities improve. 3. Start up my CD player setting the volume near it’s lowest levels. 4. Check out the room, is it to warm, or too cool. What about the lighting? What are my clients preferences? 5. Greet my client giving them all of my attention. Asking about how they are doing, whats hurting. Guide them to the table giving all necessary instructions. Finally, asking if they have any questions? 6. Wash my hands and mentally asking myself whats my game plan for this massage.
What do you do to get ready?
When I say Larry is one of the most flexible people I know, it’s no wild stretch of the imagination.I’m not just talking about physical flexibility, but in every sense of the word. A long term client, Larry touts the benefits of both massage and being flexible. ”Regular stretching may extend your life”, surely your athletic life. He believes massage makes stretching easier to accomplish with less discomfort.
As Larry explains, one keys to learning how to stretch is to “concentrate past the pain”. Ironically, to really be 
Gumby you have to develop an iron will. While holding your stretch you might concentrate on your breath. While breathing, during your stretch, notice your body sensations are almost always more uncomfortable when your inhaling. Pain in the body often reduces during the exhalation phase of breathing. Another key, do your stretching for at least 15 minutes a session, otherwise your wasting your time.
Larry does some exercise coaching, if your serious about getting more out of your body. His understanding of stretching is unique. This is not a”Yoga” approach. To inquire about Larry’s unique training and what he can do for you drop him a line at …..lrryhurley@yahoo.com
For years I have been fortunate not been ill from cold or flu. Here are a few things that I did to prevent or shorten the duration of the common cold and flu.
When you are just beginning to feel under the weather is the time to go on the offensive. Most bacteria and viruses don’t do well in an alkaline environment (the way your body chemistry is supposed to be). Unfortunately, many among us are too “acidic”; this actually promotes or encourages these entities to find a home sweet home in your body. Let’s make them a bit more uncomfortable, shall we?
Start drinking plenty of water, adding just a spritz or two of juice from fresh lemons in each cup. Drink water at least once an hour while you’re feeling under the weather. If you never drink water, don’t over do it. Onces of H2O is what your body needs, on average, say, 64 onces a day (8-80z. glasses). If you have a medical condition involving your kidneys, you need to consult your doctor as to how much water is appropriate. The water and lemon juice can begin to change your body more towards alkalinity, which makes you stronger and the germs weaker.
Also, this is time to take your vitamins, like Vit-C, and minerals like zinc; both are stimulating to, and support your immune system. The herb echinacea also stimulates the immune system to gear up. Your whole strategy early on is to prevent these pathogens from getting a grab hold. If you can hold them at bay for at least 3 days while your immune system gears up, the chances are you will beat your cold or flu before it really gets started.
If all that does not do the trick, I add some herbs and supplements that will directly attack these invaders. The list is long: I like garlic; high quality organic honey; oil of oregano; olive leaf extract; cinnamon.
If you or a loved one are running a high fever or having difficulty breathing, please do consult your doctor.