Tag Archives: do-it-yourselfers

Being healthy is a process

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Saturday, I received my health plan benefits update, that’s code for less coverage and higher rates. The envelope it arrived in had images of younger people doing sports, also pictures of fruits or vegetables. Got me to thinking.

What does our health plans not cover?  Your Health! If you don’t believe me just go visit your neighborhood hospital. Do you see tons of healthy people? Of course not. That’s because being healthy is not a plan, it’s an activity, it’s the choices we make moment to moment.

Having a life cycle in your living room won’t get you in shape, unless you make the wheels spin. So I made those wheels fly…

Yesterday, I Juiced 10lbs of carrots, 15lbs of celery, 8lbs of apples, and some ginger. That yields me 2-3 days of concentrated nutrients. I feel the energy flowing through my body as I write this post. I feel great and wish the same for you. Right now, what are you doing? Is it adding to your health, in this moment, or is it just another “health plan”

 

My hands hurt after I give a massage

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How to give a massage without having to need one by the time you finish.

Over the years my clients often tell me….”You must have very strong hands how can you give so many massages and not get tired or injured.” When I give my ………………..a massage my hands always hurt!”If you can relate, don’t feel bad. Even professional therapists have this problem.

In my line of work, now days, therapists last about 1 1/2 years. Not good news. One big reason why is injury. So my advice applies to both the beginner, novice, and to those providing massage for a living.

Lets use a typical massage situation. “Honey, can you rub my shoulders?”

Okay, 1) Before you start massaging lets get warmed up up. Relax your arms, let them dangle comfortably at your side, making sure that your shoulders are not elevated( drawn up by your ears). Now shake your hands vigorously. This loosens your shoulders, arms, all the way down to your fingers. Repeat a few times. Take a deep breath and now stretch your fingers apart wide. Give another shake or two and we are ready to begin the massage

2) align hands with your forearms. In other words keep your wrists straight. If you massage with wrists bent your asking for trouble. It’s kinda of like watering your lawn with a hose that is kinked, the water just can’t get through. To accomplish this you may have to bring your body higher or lower in relation to the shoulders (person) you are massaging.

3) Now place your hands along that muscle on the top part of the shoulder. That muscle is called the Trap muscle. Many people make the mistake of trying to pinch that muscle between the tips of their thumbs and fingers. Instead, allow your hand/fingers to conform to the shape of the muscle, with as much surface to surface contact as possible. Instead of pinching, try rolling the muscle between the fingers and thumb, even lifting the muscle up a bit away from the shoulder.

4) Don’t go at it to long. Build up slowly over time. Just a few minutes. Stop before you feel fatigue.

5) Learn different techniques, learn to use other parts of your anatomy to deliver that massage.

 

Staying healthy naturally during the “cold” season

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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.

Top performing companies and massage therapy

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Successful companies like Google don’t get that way by accident. Even in these difficult times, the company thrives. Why? They think outside of the box. They throw  most  conventional thinking out the window. They always ask how they can improve what they are doing.  Of course, unlike most companies, their employees are highly motivated and very creative. Fortune magazine ranked them as the number 1 company to work for. It was no surprise to hear that all their employees can receive massage as a job benefit, right at their  facilities.

 Google’s Massage therapists are treated with the kind of respect not often afforded in the “real” world, working no more than 12 hours a week. Contrast  that with Massage Envy’s sweatshop- like conditions and meager wages that take advantage of under-trained and undereducated recent “graduates”. I bring this up because Massage Envy does a lot of the “massage” business  but they don’t really provide  much steak, just the sizzle. So, it is not really massage you receive and, therefore, it is more a luxury then a real benefit to your health. Don’t take my word for it…….here is what others think! The Massage Envy ?  or this spa site.

 At Google, the therapists are well trained and represent what massage is really all about. Does the company you work for provide massage for employees?  No? Well maybe they ought to think about it, think outside the box!

Can’t I just learn Massage from a book or video?

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What’s wrong with learning Massage from a book or video?  Not a thing, yet  there are advantages to getting home mentoring in the art of Massage. After all, Massage is a “hands on ” profession. You will learn faster and get better results. Why? Feedback!  A teacher can immediately identify a technique executed correctly right from the start. This is important because you develop  good massage work habits, bad habits are hard to correct, don’t get the job done, and you may end up physically  hurting  yourself, or your loved one. How good then is your Massage really? The techniques you learn from the “book” may not be appropriate  for the person receiving the Massage or the person giving. For example,  your  wanting to use  a technique involving direct finger tip pressure to your partners back.  Perhaps you are a smaller petite woman with small hands  and not a lot of hand strength. Your partner, on the other hand weighs in at 250 with muscles tight as a drum. Try as you may, pressing as hard as you can, he can barely feel you, and your wrist and fingers are beginning to throb. You barely have enough strength to throw that massage book away. Being out the $20 and whatever you spent on that wonderful table pales to the feeling of not being able to share this wonderful experience that Massage can add to your relationship.

With Massage, it is about the quality of the interaction. While all touch is good and nurturing, focused, educated touch yields even better experiences.