Bodywork at its Best

Lymph Drainage "How-To" Class

2010-02-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

A Free Class with Certified Lymphedema Therapist Liz Bucy, LMT, CLT

February 13, 2010

Come this Saturday, February the 13th, at 10:30 A.M. to learn all about the body's lymphatic system and information on how to do lymph drainage on yourself for allergies, sinus problems, breast tenderness, and sore throat. This informal meeting will take place upstairs on the second floor of the Santa Fe Public Library, in the Community Room.

Contact Liz Bucy at feelbetter@highdesertsantafe.com for more information.

© copyright 2010 High Desert Healthcare & Massage, Inc. all rights reserved.

EXPLORATIONS IN MERIDIAN THERAPY WORKSHOP

2010-01-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

A weekend in Santa Fe with Stephen Brown

April 17 & 18, 2010

Join us in Santa Fe for a workshop with Stephen Brown. This is a rare opportunity to study Japanese Meridian Therapy in the Southwest with one of the foremost experts in the US. Meridian Therapy, the most popular approach to traditional acupuncture in Japan, focuses on regulating qi. The emphasis is on gentle palpation in diagnosis and treatment in order to obtain constant feedback on the changes in the patient's qi. This two-day workshop teaches hands-on skills for diagnosis, point location, and root treatment. Very superficial needle techniques are used for regulating qi in the meridians and balancing the Five Phases. This workshop is designed primarily for those with some familiarity with Japanese Meridian Therapy.

Contact Tracy Conrad at landotlc@aol.com for more information or to register. Enrollment is limited as this will be a hands-on class, so please reserve your space as soon as possible! The workshop will be at Puerta de La Luna, 534 Harkle Road, on April 17th and 18th, from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. The workshop fee is $250 before January 31st, and $300 thereafter. 14 CEU's/PDA with NCCAOM.

Stephen Brown was born in Japan where he lived until the age of fourteen. In 1983 he graduated from the Japan Central Acupuncture College and became licensed as an acupuncturist and shiatsu practitioner. He attended the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, and later studied in Tokyo with renowned teachers including Manaka Yoshio and Serizawa Katsusuke. After moving to Seattle in 1986, he started teaching shiatsu and acupuncture at the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture. Stephen is also a practitioner and teacher of traditional exercises for health including yoga, Tai Chi, Sotai, and Qigong. Being a native speaker of Japanese, Stephen has translated many texts on Asian medicine, including Shudo Denmei's Introduction to Meridian Therapy and Finding Effective Acupuncture Points. Stephen is a founding member of the North American Journal of Oriental Medicine, a journal devoted to traditional Japanese medicine, where he served as the Editor in Chief from 1994 to 1998. Currently, he is on the faculty of the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine, and has just returned from teaching in Australia.

© copyright 2010 High Desert Healthcare & Massage, Inc. all rights reserved.

Bodywork at Its Best: Therapy for Long Trips

2009-08-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

‘Tis the season for long car trips and too much time spent in cramped airplane seats. So here are some simple tips for relieving aches and pains while traveling.

To ease the stress of sitting for too long, take a couple of tennis balls or golf balls along and give yourself a much needed massage during your journey. Some people prefer tennis balls, while some want the pinpoint pressure provided by a golf or racquet ball. One of the places that tends to need attention the most is the one we put the most pressure on…namely, our hard-working derriere. Simply sit on the ball, moving it around to find the areas that are most sensitive. Gently roll and twist your body over the ball, massaging those tight places. If you are able, allow your full weight to rest slowly onto the ball, feeling the tissues melt and soften. If that is too much pressure, add a little weight at a time until you feel the muscles relax.

Other great places to massage are the lower back and the area between the shoulder blades. Use whichever firmness of ball feels best and place it in between your body and the back of the car or plane seat. Gently push into the ball, wiggling your back just so to get that “Ahhhh! That’s the spot!” feeling. Only use as much pressure as feels good, and only keep it going in one place for a short while. It is possible to work the muscles too much and create some soreness for yourself.

For relief from the stresses of long car rides, you can also massage the undersides of the thighs—especially on the leg that’s pressing on the gas pedal—, as well as the underside of the arms to provide some support for your shoulders to rest down upon. Rolling your bare feet on a ball can send relaxation up through your entire body, allowing a long deep breath of ease to be felt.

I know people who keep a bag full of balls of varying sizes and firmness on hand for long trips. It’s a simple, creative and inexpensive idea, and, if you’ve ever had aches and pains while traveling, you know there’s nothing like being able to give yourself a quick, refreshing treatment during your trip or after arriving at your destination.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at Its Best: The Rolfing 10-Series, Sessions 4-10

2009-07-29T14:44:00.001-07:00

What happens in the fourth through tenth Rolfing Structural Integration sessions? The middle three treatments of a Rolfing ten series, sessions 4, 5 and 6, are focused on reorganizing the core of the body.

The territory for the fourth session is the inner line of the legs, beginning with the feet and traveling up the leg to the bottom of the pelvis. The top of the body’s core is said in Rolfing to be like the soft palate of the mouth, so sometimes we also address that briefly at the end of the session to ensure the work down below does not get stuck at the jaw and mouth. The therapist looks at how the weight is balanced on each foot and leg, whether it seems the legs are being pulled up into the pelvis or if the pelvis is sitting heavily on the legs. We assess each sacroiliac joint in the back of the pelvis to see if it is functioning smoothly or getting stuck each time the client lifts his/her legs or bends forward. We look at whether the knees are touching each other or are more bowed, and notice if the legs look balanced front to back. With “big picture” eyes, we look at the territory from the feet to the nose to see if the core space of the body looks like it could use some more room to expand and help create a sense of ease and length.

Generally the fourth session begins with the client in a side-lying position with the upper leg on a pillow, allowing the lower leg to be worked on in a safe and comfortable fashion. We might ask the client to do some leg and feet movements or micro-movements of the hips and pelvis as the session progresses. For many people, the inner line of the leg is a sensitive area that does not get much touch, so we work gently and ask about appropriate pressure throughout the session. This is often a profound treatment as it begins to reorder the relationship between the legs and the pelvis. As with each session, there is neck and seated back work at the end.

The fifth session is said to be the second half of the fourth, since it continues working the inner line of the body. As part of the assessment at the beginning of the treatment, we look to see if the length that was evoked in the core space during the fourth session is continuing into the trunk of the body, and whether more lengthening is needed. The territory covered during the fifth session is the front of the body, often beginning with the upper ribs and moving into the abdominal muscles. Sometimes time is spent with the rib basket as a whole to encourage more movement of the ribs and to release any that are stuck. We might address any restrictions in the diaphragm or collarbone, and sometimes in the digestive areas as well. Often the session ends with work in the psoas muscles deep in the abdomen, and while for many clients they are extremely tight, getting these muscles more relaxed and elongated is often a very profound experience.

The sixth session works the back part of the territory covered in the fourth and fifth sessio. We assess the length evoked in the previous two treatments and notice where in the back we need to work to balance and match that spaciousness in the front. The treatment is mostly done with the client in a prone position with the feet hanging off the table to take stress off the lower back. We work from the feet up to the middle back, getting into the calves, thighs and hips. Many people love this session, since these are often areas they can feel are very tight and craving new possibilities.

The seventh session focuses on balancing the head on top of this now beautifully lengthened and opened body. For some, the treatment begins with work along the spine, creating more support for the head and neck to rest upon. Others have enough support going into the session and therefore more time is spent on the head, neck and jaw itself. Few of us get enough work in our head and neck, so for many this is one of their favorite parts of the ten series. Often there is a need for work done inside the mouth and occasionally inside the nose, especially for people who have had injuries, have recurring sinus problems, or chronically clench their jaw or grind their teeth. While few people look forward to work in these areas, most love the feeling of openness and freedom that comes after.

In the next three sessions, we turn the corner into integration. Sessions 7, 8 and 9 are somewhat more free-form, with the Rolfer assessing which areas of the body have not come along as much as others, and where the body needs still more freedom of movement and better support. For the eighth and ninth treatments, this usually means additional work in either the upper body (shoulder girdle area) or lower body (low back, legs, hips) or in the spine. The tenth session focuses on completion and putting on the final touches of integration without starting anything new.

Each Rolfer and each client create the ten-series according to the needs and resources of the client, so this article is only a rough outline of what can be expected. Sometimes your session might look a lot like what I have described, others it might be different. The themes are what stay the same, with the first three sessions revolving around general opening, releasing broad restrictions and freeing the breath. The middle sessions are about opening up the core structures and spaces, re-organizing and re-balancing. In the last three, we integrate and bring closure to the ten-series.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at Its Best: The Rolfing 10-Series, Sessions 1-3

2009-05-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

What happens during each Rolfing Structural Integration session? The simple answer to this question is soft tissue manipulation. The Rolfer simply uses his or her hands and arms to work the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia) of the body, coaxing them into a more relaxed state. The complex answer is that there is a vision behind the coaxing, a plan and a pattern that determine how the work happens and why it progresses in a particular order. Each session has a different general focus, which is further shaped by what the client brings to it.

Most clients begin their Rolfing by receiving what is called a “10-series”. A 10-series is a neat little package of ten sessions that take a journey from the broad outer wrappings of superficial soft tissues into the core structures of the body and then into integration. If a client doesn’t want to or cannot do a 10-series, the first three treatments can make a perfect mini-series.

Ida Rolf, the creator of structural integration, used an image of a sweater getting snagged to illustrate what happens when our soft tissues get “snagged” by dysfunctional usage patterns and injuries. The same way the fibers of a sweater will get pulled toward a nail it got caught on, our own tissues get pulled toward points of strain. In the first three sessions, we work on unsnagging and spreading all the soft tissues away from points of tension, injury and strain.

Session 1
In the first treatment, we highlight the breath. Ida originally began with the feet, reasoning that since they are one of the main supports of the body, it would be most useful to begin by helping them to function better. After many years, she realized that, in actuality, the breath is a more fundamental support system than the feet. She found that the body changes more easily when there is more breath available. Now, when someone comes in for the first time, we assess where in their body breath is flowing well and where it looks like it could move better (the client remains clothed in underwear for the assessments and treatments). We look for movement in the ribcage: towards the front, back and sides as well as up and down. We look at the diaphragm, front and back, assessing where it could use more movement and responsiveness to the breath. At the same time, we are looking broadly for areas of “snags”, places where tissues appear to be too tightly wrapped. And, since each Rolfing session is also a preparation for the ones that come next, we also begin to encourage openness in the shoulder and pelvic girdles.

In that first session, the client is often lying on his or her back and we work those areas where it looks like there could be more breath (e.g. in between the ribs, in the upper torso, on the sides of the body, or wherever breath and movement look restricted, in order to encourage a three-dimensional experience of breath). The touch is often broad rather than focused, and we keep in mind the intention of spreading the tissues away from snags and of loosening any tight shrink wrap. We often encourage greater awareness of breathing patterns during this session, and most people realize they chronically breathe more shallowly or less smoothly than they would like.

After working the breathing restrictions, we begin to address shoulder and hip/pelvis patterns that might be creating strain, often moving the client into a side-lying position.

Each session also includes neck work and usually some back work. The back work most often happens with the client in a seated position, either on the massage table or a chair. This is a new experience for most clients and often becomes their favorite part. Ida was big on working on people upright in gravity whenever possible to help them discover a new way to be upright when going about their normal life. Seated back work gives the Rolfer a wonderful view of and access to tight muscles and any spinal rotations or imbalances.

Session 2
The second session focuses on our other two main support systems: the feet/lower legs and the back. As always, the Rolfer does an assessment to decide where to focus the work. Sometimes this treatment begins to correct dysfunctional walking patterns that might have begun years ago after an injury. Specifically, it can help with ankles that chronically sprain, fallen arches, hammertoes and bunions. Clients who need more help with their back might spend more time seated, getting help loosening the soft tissues along the spine and between the shoulder blades.
After the second session, most people feel their weight coming down differently onto their feet and their walk changing. Others don’t notice much difference this early, needing the support of subsequent treatments for their gait to change. For some, it is the beginning of an ease in symptoms they may have been experiencing in their back and neck.

Session 3
The third session is what one of my teachers used to call the “Oreo cookie” session. It is about helping to create a more distinct front, back and middle. Until Ida came along, no one had ever given much thought to the idea of having a middle. She realized, however, that in order for a well-functioning front and back to materialize, it is necessary to have a middle that is differentiated from, yet integrated into, the front and back. For work on the middle, the client is usually side-lying, and we spread tissue off the midline, manually showing the body how to have a front, back and middle. We work from the knee up to the base of the skull. It is a wonderful session, one people generally get up from feeling better balanced and more open.

Sometimes the work focuses more on the pelvis and low back, sometimes more on the ribs and shoulder girdle. As in the first two sessions, we do a visual assessment at the beginning to decide what is already open and moving well and what looks like it could use some help. We are also keeping that broad, snagged image in mind, always working the large patterns that might be causing problems.

If a client decides Rolfing is not the right therapy at this time, or wants to work with a different therapist, this is a great time to have completion or take a break. The first three sessions make a wonderful mini-series in their own right, and they also lay a great foundation for a ten-series if the client does want to continue.

When I begin with new people, I always tell them to come get the first session just to see if they like me and the work. If they do, I ask them to commit, in their own minds (not to me), to doing the first three. After three times, most clients can tell that in a general sense they feel better, or their symptoms have improved. If they continue with the 10-series, it is best to commit (again, not to me) to finishing the series over the next 7 weeks to a year, whatever works best for scheduling, finances and the needs of each body to pace appropriately.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at its Best: Reiki

2009-04-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Reiki is an ancient healing practice that originated in Japan and is now practiced throughout the world. It is based on the idea that intelligent life-force energy flows through the body, and this is what keeps us alive and healthy. In fact, the Japanese word “Reiki” translates as “universal life energy.” A gentle, relaxing form of bodywork, Reiki helps to support this natural self-organizing intelligence inherent within the living systems of the body.

In a Reiki session, the client lies on a massage table, fully clothed, with soft music playing in the background, if desired. The Reiki practitioner administers very soft, non-invasive touch through a series of specific hand positions, transmitting restful, healing energy that works on all levels: mental, spiritual, emotional and physical. Clients often report feeling a sense of warmth as the Reiki energy flows through the practitioner’s hands into their body.

Reiki energy works by helping to move blocked energy and naturally supporting the body’s ability to heal itself. Like a tune-up, Reiki can help bring the entire person back into greater balance. It has a calming yet revitalizing effect on the body, mind and spirit, helping to foster a deep sense of well-being.

Reiki can help men and women alike navigate through life’s potential challenges, including:

Health issues and pain
Stress or fatigue
Anxiety
Exams
Work
Transitions and life changes
Loss and grief
Decisions
Interviews
Relationships
Family issues
Money difficulties

Bodywork at its Best: Myofascial Release

2009-04-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Myofascial Release is a bodywork modality that addresses tight or painful areas in a slow, patient manner, giving them all the time they need to release under the steady invitation coming from the touch of the therapist. It is broad in scope, based in the knowledge that any tight area is linked inextricably with other areas, and that the most effective path to greater ease involves working all the related places.

For instance, in a session devoted to lower back pain, the therapist will pay attention to the ribs, making sure they have the springiness inherent in their design, not the stiff “cage” experience most of us live with. Only when the ribs are free to move with the breath and are lifted off the pelvis can lower back pain ease. The legs will also be worked, since, so often, lower back pain results when there is not enough support from the legs. When the joints of the ankles are free and moving, and when the tissues of the feet and legs can allow a happy relationship of the legs with the pelvis, only then can the lower back release, secure in the support it is getting from below.

One technique that is very common in a Myofascial Release treatment is slowly moving those body parts that are being worked, allowing the body to learn a different way of moving that does not tighten and shorten the muscles. This allows the body a new freedom from working so hard in simple, everyday movements, so that it can begin to change ways of moving that it adopted from bad habits or as compensation for past injuries.

Practitioners of Myofascial Release are always looking at the entire person, at what might be linked to and causing the pain. They know that we are not a collection of separate parts, but rather an entire being always connected to all other parts of ourselves. If only one part is treated or worked on, all those other connections will still be there causing problems, and pain will tend to recur, if it even goes away at all. Because of this focus on painful or restricted areas and the connected parts, a Myofascial Release treatment often does not include the entire body like a relaxation massage does, concentrating instead on the areas that will most help resolve the trouble spots.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at its Best: How Rolfing Changed My Life

2009-03-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

In the spring of 2001, I developed a repetitive strain injury in my right wrist. I had been working as a graphic designer for almost three years in an old office building, which meant I was spending eight hours a day, 5 days a week, clicking a computer mouse at an outdated workstation that was anything but ergonomic. Combined with my already poor postural habits, this made it impossible for me to practice healthy body mechanics. The damage happened slowly, the pain progressively making its way down from a sore neck and shoulders to a sore arm, until it eventually settled in one excruciatingly painful spot on the thumb-side of my right wrist.

At its peak, the injury hurt 24/7, often keeping me awake at night. I remembered having heard my grandmother talk about knee pain that bothered her constantly and having thought that she must be exaggerating, that it couldn’t possibly hurt all the time, that no human being can live that way. But I quickly learned what she had meant. I started getting regular massage, which gave me partial relief that was always far too temporary. I began using my clumsy left hand to click the mouse at work, and eventually started doing everything left-handed because my right wrist was so weak and injured that it would give out even if I tried to pick up something as light as a spoon to eat with. I also began wearing a metal-reinforced wrist brace night and day to provide strength and stability to my wrist, but, even with it on, the simplest of tasks were a painful challenge for me.

It didn’t take long before I quit my job as a graphic designer and found work that didn’t require me to spend much time at a computer. The intensity of my repetitive strain injury gradually subsided just from resting it, but the pain invariably and immediately returned any time I spent so much as 5 minutes on a computer. I also developed other meandering aches and pains in my hips and lower back.

In the spring of 2005, I was working as the receptionist at High Desert Healthcare & Massage. I had seen plenty of Rolfing clients come into our office in obvious pain and leave without it after a few sessions. I started to think that Rolfing might be just the thing for me, so I talked it over with my boss, Jill Gerber, who is also a Certified Advanced Rolfer, and I decided to try a Rolfing 10-series.

The only Rolfing session I remember specifically is my first one, during which Jill worked on the fascia around my ribcage, diaphragm and lungs. I walked out of that treatment feeling like I could get a full breath for the first time in 25 years, and that wasn’t even one of the problems I had wanted help with. At the beginning of each session, Jill would ask me to undress down to my bra and underwear like it was the most natural thing in the world, and then she would look at my posture from the front, back, left and right sides. She would ask me to lift an arm or bend a knee or walk a few paces around the massage table so she could see how my body was moving, where the restrictions were and where I was compensating for those restrictions, where the strain was originating that was causing the pain. She would then work on, it seemed, everything except the places that actually hurt. But, as if by magic, it worked. When she would ask me after our sessions how I was feeling, I always had the mental image that I was made of Legos and that she had taken me apart and put me back together better, or that I’d had a tune-up and all my joints and hinges had been lubricated. My body felt more efficient each time.

Ultimately, Jill traced the source of my wrist pain back to an injury I had sustained ten years earlier, when I had fallen down a flight of stairs on my tailbone and lumbar vertebrae. She hypothesized that the strain had migrated up my back, to my shoulders, and then down to my wrist. This is, in fact, what I had experienced, except that it had happened so gradually, and I had been so unaware of my own body, that I hadn’t even noticed. Jill spent a lot of time working on my lower back and legs, which helped me find new stability and balance. Between sessions, there were times when old pain resurfaced or moved around to parts of my body that didn’t usually hurt. But Jill told me this was normal, so I patiently observed my body’s process of readjusting and I didn’t take the aches too seriously, thinking of them more as "growing pains."

I had heard that Rolfing could be quite painful, and, to be honest, there were times when it definitely was. But I didn’t take that too seriously, either. I knew that I could ask Jill to let up at any time and I also knew that the pain I experienced during Rolfing sessions was the kind of pain I could just breathe through; it was the kind of pain that was momentary and concentrated, and that would help take away the constant pain I already lived with.

Since my Rolfing 10-series, I have gone back to Jill for four additional sessions over a period of four years when I’ve needed a little “tweaking.” But, for the most part, I live without pain and I can even use a computer without any negative consequences. My relationship with my own body has changed, as well as the relationship between the different parts of my body; I hold myself up, move and walk more efficiently.

I’ve also discovered that my body is fluid and always changing. With the Rolfing 10-series four years ago, Jill helped to remedy an imbalance that I had spent 29 years creating. But as I continue living my life, falling off my bike, bumping into things, dancing, sitting in uncomfortable chairs or sleeping on an old mattress, I will sustain lesser or greater injuries. My body will compensate for those injuries and create new imbalances. When those imbalances become apparent, Jill, or any Rolfer, will be able to see where my fascia is restricted or strained, and, now that I have a healthy foundation, will be able to help me rebuild my relationship with my own body again with relatively little effort, so that I, too, can move through this world that way.

by Rain Mateevici

© copyright 2009 Rain Mateevici all rights reserved.

Bodywork at its Best: Have You Had a Massage Lately?

2009-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

In these stressful times, there is something we can do for ourselves that can be surprisingly helpful. We may not think of it as a regular necessity, but massage has a long and historical list of benefits for every person at every age.

Massage is not only relaxing, but also healing and nurturing, stimulating and rejuvenating, and can be a very welcome alternative treatment for many causes of pain. Here are some interesting facts and useful information about massage:

Infants born prematurely who receive infant massage gain more weight and leave the hospital 50% sooner.
For older individuals, massage offers help keeping joints mobile by stimulating synovial fluid, helps enliven the skin and improve circulation, improves range of motion and reduces pain.
For all of us, massage reduces recovery time from injuries and surgery, reduces swelling and scar tissue, releases endorphins, reduces anxiety, fatigue and stress, boosts the immune system, stimulates lymph flow and detoxification, reduces stiffness, improves sleep, and can effectively address a long list of conditions, including TMJ, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, carpel tunnel, fibromyalgia, repetitive strain injuries, neck pain, back pain, sciatica, tendonitis, headaches, shoulder pain, and much, much more.
Of course, massage is great even when acute problems don’t exist. Helpful touch just feels good and is good for us.
Massage therapy stimulates growth hormone and brain chemicals that help us feel happy.
Massage elicits the relaxation response, a bodily state opposite the “fight or flight” state of readiness. This parasympathetic state, or relaxation response, is proven to be required for good cardiovascular health and overall well being.
Massage connects us to our bodies and gives us time to reflect and be in the present moment.
When you are ready to get a massage, be sure to thoroughly communicate your needs to the therapist. Let them know if you have specific problems or just want to relax. Inform them if the pressure is too light or too deep. Let them know if you don’t like the music. Massage time is your time, so make the very most of it.
There are many different modalities in which therapists can be trained. They range from the general to the specific, and can address the needs of anyone, including sports enthusiasts, the elderly, the overworked, and those recovering from accidents or trauma. Modalities can be incorporated alone or in combination to address every individual’s needs. The names of massage modalities and related therapeutic bodywork techniques include, but are not limited to the following:
- Swedish (classical) Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Sports Massage, Medical Massage, Myofacscial Release, Trigger Point Therapy, Prenatal Massage, Shiatsu, Reflexology, Hot Stones Massage, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Lymphatic Drainage, Ortho-Bionomy, Rolfing, Penetrating Massage, ThaiMmassage, Neuromuscular Massage, Structural Integration, chair massage, and others. An excellent resource for descriptions of various modalities and how they can be helpful can be found at www.massagetherapy.com.

Massage therapy is not just a special treat. It is an important self-care component improving our overall health and well being in these times, or any time.

by Jewel Alexander, MA. Jewel Alexander is a writer and Certified Life Transitions Coach. You can reach her at (505) 474-4960 or talktojeweltoday@yahoo.com.

© copyright 2008 Jewel Alexander all rights reserved.

Bodywork at its Best: Spring Into Transition

2009-02-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

Because spring is a time of transition and rebirth, it presents a perfect opportunity to make positive changes in our lives. In this article, Ben Thomson, Holistic Health Coach, gives practical advice on making the most of spring’s momentum.

Are you the type of person who feels a growing desire to experiment with and take on new behaviors, challenges and experiences? Here in “the city different,” are you living the life different? As I connect with friends, clients, students and strangers alike to get an idea of how “transition” is occurring for people, I feel and see wonders on the horizon as well as in the present moment. I would like to share these observations with you, that you might feel more a part of the transition into spring, or the spring into transition. I believe it is a great time now to take attention off of personal limitations and place that attention on fun, well being, and other intended outcomes.

If you sensitively feel the growing pains of your being or the arising desire for something more or different, I encourage you to read on and benefit from some of the personal experiences/suggestions of others like you; these may support your transition, shine a light on new possibilities, show you ways of placing a little extra attention in the area of self-care/self-organization, growth, and quite possibly more:

Make a special effort to free yourself from any unnecessary debt.
Clean up past relationships that lay incomplete (whether directly or through a ritual process).
Visit places/engage in activities that bring more joy and pleasure to your life.
Establish a morning/daily ritual that keeps you grounded and present to your needs and desires.
Nap more often; rejuvenate yourself and allow any unconscious shifting to occur effortlessly.
Make a dietary shift that adds a spring to your step or that supports your transition (colon or liver cleansing is a good idea, as is lightening your breakfast and spending more time and attention on meal preparation).
Exercise: I recommend a balance between cleansing and building. One day, stretch, do yoga or go for a longer-than-usual-walk (cleansing); the next, hike, swim, lift weights or cycle (building).
Express love and affection, especially in moments when you may habitually hold this back.
Find something to acknowledge about others during each and every interaction and express the acknowledgement.
Allow for more movement of your body, especially along the spine; experience greater freedom of movement accompanied by breath to encourage fluidity, healing, comfort, connection and peace (inner/outer).

It is my suggestion that you take on at least one of these practices per week and then add one for each consecutive week until we are fully in the spring of spring. Having a goal or a vision about what your life might look or feel like 3 months from now is a great way to keep yourself focused on the benefits of the steps you choose from above. In fact, journaling or collaging about outcomes and keeping that handy is a sure way to maintain the pleasurable aspects of a transition at the forefront of your mind. I hope you find these suggestions helpful. For more information about generating a results-based wellness plan or lifestyle re-organization plan, please feel free to contact me at connectswith@gmail.com.

Bodywork at its Best: Crystal Bed Healing

2009-02-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

Karen Welden, LMT, has been a massage therapist in Santa Fe for 16 years. In Auguest of 2006, she made her second trip to the world-renowned healing center, Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola, in Brazil, which she describes as “one of the most extraordinary places on the planet.” The Casa was founded by John of God, a spiritual healer also known as "the Miracle Man of Brazil." Over the last 40 years, 11 million people have traveled there from all over the world to receive physical, emotional and spiritual healing. For visitors to the Casa, a device called the “Crystal Bed” is prescribed to balance the energy field as a required preparation for healing work by John of God. Karen’s experience with the Crystal Bed was so incredible that she obtained permission to bring one to North America in order to share what it could offer.

Karen has chosen to rename her Crystal Bed the “Crystal Canopy.” This device, which uses quartz crystals and light to promote balance and healing, consists of a stand with seven extendable arms that are positioned over a massage table (like a canopy). On the end of each of the seven arms is a quartz crystal that has been cut to a specific frequency using a special technique developed by the late Marcel Vogel. The individual receiving the session rests, fully clothed and face up with eyes closed, on the massage table below the Crystal Canopy, and the seven crystals are aligned with his/her seven chakras. Above each of the crystals there is a small light bulb and a colored filter. Each filter is a different color, corresponding to the color of one of the chakras. The light bulbs pulse on and off, each in its own specific sequence.

In this way, the Crystal Canopy combines the power of Color Therapy and Crystal Healing Therapy. As colored light shines through the crystals in alternating patterns, each chakra is cleansed, energized and brought into balance with all of the other chakras. This allows deeper, more subtle energies to be brought into balance, helping to recharge the body’s energy, strengthen the immune system and ease stress. Other benefits include:

– Balancing the electromagnetic field
– Activating the body's own self-healing mechanism
– Rejuvenating the physical body
– Stimulating a deeper sense of spiritual awareness and harmony

The sequence and speed of the flashing lights is varied according to what each client asks for in order to effectively balance his or her chakras. In addition, the Crystal Canopy functions as a link to the helping spirits of the Casa. For these two reasons, it is important for each client to meditate or quietly think about what he or she hopes to accomplish from the session under the Crystal Canopy and then set an intention. It is also always advisable for each individual to rest after a Crystal Canopy Healing session and to drink plenty of water beforehand and throughout the rest of the day to help rid the body of any toxins released during the session.

Crystal Canopy sessions at High Desert Healthcare & Massage include a brief consultation with Karen Welden followed by 20 minutes under the Crystal Canopy in a nurturing, peaceful atmosphere.

Rates:

• 20 minute Crystal Canopy Healing session, first visit ($10)
• 20 minute Crystal Canopy Healing session, subsequent visits ($20)
• Package of 4 20-minute Crystal Canopy Healing sessions ($60)

© copyright 2009 Karen Welden all rights reserved.

Bodywork at its Best: Why Get Massage?

2009-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Imagine an ancient cave man coming back from a hunt with a pulled shoulder muscle from throwing a spear at a mastodon or a sore neck from sleeping on the ground. What’s the first thing that poor guy is going to do? Probably ask his mate or the local healer to rub it for him. Chances are he has been doing that himself ever since the pain began. To touch our pain is one of our most primal instincts, and to rub another’s aches is one of the most ancient healing methods, perhaps even wired into the primal part of our nervous system. Luckily, those ancient instincts are today deepened into a wide range of very effective techniques that feel great while also easing our pains.

I often tell my clients that when they have, for instance, neck pain, a poorly trained massage therapist will massage their neck. On the other hand, a well-trained massage therapist will know that problems in the neck are intimately related to tightness in the back, arms, head and upper chest. If those areas are not also addressed, the neck pain has a greater chance of quickly recurring. This is true for every area of the body. Lower back pain has a better chance of resolving if the legs get some good work. Arm or wrist pain is more likely to subside if the shoulders and neck get worked, and so on. It is an illusion to believe that the seemingly separate parts of us (like an arm or the neck), actually are separate and not intrinsically and unavoidably interdependent with all other parts. We are a body, not an arm; a being, not a sore neck. A good massage, while easing our aches and pains, reconnects our parts into one glorious whole.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at Its Best: Rolfing for the Rest of Us, Part III

2009-01-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

An experienced Rolfer shares a clear, comprehensive explanation of Rolfing Structural Integration in non-intimidating language that everyone can understand.

In the old days, like 40 years and more ago, Rolfing was a lot more painful than it is now. It used to be taught that way, and when you think about what was going on 40 years ago, this makes a lot of sense. Rolfing came of age in the 1960s and ‘70s at Esalen, in Big Sur, California. Ida Rolf had been developing it for 30 years by then and found a willing audience for her transformative ideas and techniques among the people who gathered at Esalen. Esalen was a center for the personal growth movement and was the home to EST, Primal Therapy and other transformational ideas. Whereas the 1950s were a time when Americans were looking for stability after the upheaval of WWII, by the mid 1960s there was an itch for something different. People began trying out new ideas and possibilities on a considerable scale. Psychotherapy became popular, and alternative lifestyles, drugs and organic foods all appeared on the scene. New bodywork modalities like Rolfing were a part of that explosion of possibility. Esalen was on the cutting edge, attracting people with an open mind and a willingness to explore anything that might improve the human condition.

Rolfing found fertile ground. But because bodywork was so new to most people, the work tended to be much more dramatic than what it is today. Those early Rolfers were, for the most part, touching people that had never been touched in a therapeutic fashion before, who had layers of tension and feelings locked up in their bodies along with injuries and experiences that they were only beginning to be aware of. Deep Rolfing was often necessary to break through the armoring and lack of awareness most people lived with, hence the reputation for pain the current generation of Rolfers have inherited. However, this is an outmoded belief. These days, Rolfers are trained to be just as effective but without the level of pain past generations of Rolfers believed were necessary.

Rolfing no longer deserves the reputation for pain it did in the past. Times are different, and most people come to Rolfing with more awareness of their bodies than people did a generation ago.

In addition, the field of bodywork has evolved techniques with more finesse and sensitivity, and Rolfing has benefited from those advances. The current Rolfing training incorporates cranial sacral therapy, gentle spinal derotation techniques and movement education. It also teaches the need to lighten up if appropriate, keeping in mind to always be sensitive to the ability of the client to breathe with the pressure.

After Rolfing, most people can stand up straighter without effort. They find that old injuries and pains have eased or disappeared, and they often report feeling like they’ve taken steps into new possibilities in their life, now that some of their energy is not being used up in poor posture, compensating for old injuries or movement patterns.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at Its Best: Rolfing for the Rest of Us, Part II

2009-01-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

An experienced Rolfer shares a clear, comprehensive explanation of Rolfing® Structural Integration in non-intimidating language that everyone can understand.

Up until Dr. Ida Rolf came along, the prevailing belief was that bodies do not change. If someone slumped, they were always going to slump. If someone was pigeon-toed or knock-kneed, they’d be that way for life. Dr. Rolf proved that this is not true. She was a visionary who knew that, with the proper input, bodies are eminently changeable. She saw that many health conditions, such as breathing trouble or lower back pain, are often related to posture and a poor relationship with gravity. If someone is chronically slumped, for instance, that will compress the lungs and ribs, making breathing more difficult. If the feet are splayed out like a duck’s, the knees usually have to lock and the lower back has to arch for balance, eventually causing chronic lower back pain. Our bodies can be seen as a conglomeration of compensations for injuries, postural habits, genetics, and emotional patterns that have physically solidified in the body. Rolfing helps the body find relief from those patterns and that history, as well as gain resiliency to better cope with future life events.

Rolfing helps with the big picture of what causes painful symptoms, restricted movement or an inability to stand up straight. Working the symptom directly is not usually as effective as addressing the overall pattern or old injury compensation that creates the symptom to begin with. A painful area is often the end point of a strain pattern, as in the case mentioned above of splayed-out feet causing lower back pain. Therefore, the entire pattern needs to be addressed, not just the painful end point.

When someone is in pain and gets a massage, a well-trained massage therapist will do a very thorough job of massaging the painful area and the related areas. For example, if someone has lower back pain, the therapist will also massage the legs. A poorly trained massage therapist will work only where the pain is, not the larger area. As a Rolfer, however, I may not do much initially where the symptoms are, but will prepare the area first. For example, if someone comes in with chronic lower back pain, I will look at the feet, at the knees, at the relationship of the legs with the pelvis, and at whether the rib cage is slumped down onto the pelvis, contributing to the lower back pain. Those areas will usually get addressed first, so that when I work the lower back, it will be much more effective because the bigger strain pattern has been eased, rather than only the symptoms being addressed. This means that, with Rolfing, there is a much better chance that the changes will be permanent.

The body is always doing the best it can, and sometimes the best we can do still causes us pain. When we have a choice to move in a way that does not create strain, we do so. Rolfing is a process of building support for these kinds of changes, so that with each step we take, with each decision of how to sit, we have new options for ease. The old ways of moving, sitting and standing become the harder ways, and we stop choosing them. It’s mostly an unconscious process, just like our old habitual movement and postural patterns were unconscious: we didn’t even realize we started favoring one foot a decade ago when we sprained that ankle and then never stopped; we still tilt our head to one side a little bit since that car accident when we were a teenager. These are the big patterns we live with, the big picture that Rolfing talks to.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at Its Best: Rolfing for the Rest of Us, Part I

2009-01-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

An experienced Rolfer shares a clear, comprehensive explanation of Rolfing® Structural Integration in non-intimidating language that everyone can understand.

Rolfing® is one of those things that a lot of people have heard about, but they don’t always know what it actually is or how it might help. Many people have heard that it is really painful or pulls muscles off the bones. It’s amazing the misinformation out there! In this three-part series, I will share a little about what Rolfing is, give a bit of history on it, and hopefully clarify some of the many misconceptions about it.

Rolfing® is a type of structural integration. This means that we work with helping the various structures of the body integrate into an easier relationship with the rest of the body. Let’s use the shoulder girdle as an example. Some people don’t have an arm, but, rather, an “armshoulder.” You’ve probably seen people like this…when they walk, it looks like their entire shoulder is swinging back and forth with the arm. Or, conversely, some people have an arm that swings like a marionette’s, with no involvement from the shoulder at all. Most of us are somewhere in between those two examples, with arms and shoulders that would feel better if each segment was functioning independently yet coordinated with the other, like nature and anatomy intended. That’s what Rolfing® does: it differentiates each part of the body from the other, and integrates it all back into a more cohesive and better-functioning whole.

Working initially in a ten-session series, Rolfing® creates a body that is more efficiently organized, can stand up straight more easily, and can recover more quickly from injury. Those first ten treatments address the entire body from the big layers of surface tissues to the deeper core structures. Each session has an underlying intention that is the same for everyone, but the territory covered might be different for each person. For instance, the first session is always about increasing the ability of the breath to move freely through the body. Dr. Ida Rolf, the founder of Rolfing®, realized that the body changes most easily when there is more breath available. The majority of us chronically hold our breath, or only breathe using one part of our ribs and lungs. For one person, this might indicate work on the front of the rib cage, whereas, for another, the work might be focused on the back of the ribs or the diaphragm area. Wherever it looks and feels like breathing is being restricted, that’s where the Rolfer works. Each session’s territory and level of pressure is adapted to the needs of the individual.

After receiving the first ten-session series, clients sometimes come in for mini-series as they feel the need.

by Jill Gerber, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing® Movement Integration Practitioner

© copyright 2009 Jill Gerber all rights reserved.

Bodywork at its Best: Neuromuscular Massage

2008-12-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

Neuromuscular massage therapy is practiced world-wide and has a foothold in both holistic and conventional medicine. Based on the concept that the central nervous system initiates pain, the goal of neuromuscular massage is to break the stress-tension-pain cycle and alleviate the underlying cause of dysfunctions in the soft tissues and other anatomical structures.

Practitioners of this myotherapy use myofascial trigger points to asses, treat, and prevent soft tissue injuries and chronic pain and therefore must be skilled in the knowledge of anatomy and precise palpatory application.

by Richelle Herzig, LMT

Bodywork at its Best: High Desert Healthcare & Massage

2008-12-19T15:34:00.001-08:00

High Desert Healthcare & Massage, in business since 1992, is a group practice that offers therapeutic massage, acupuncture, Rolfing Structural Integration, lymph drainage therapy, and much more.

We are committed to providing the highest quality bodywork, and the conrnerstone behind this commitment is our love of the work we do. Our experienced, exceptional therapists are among the best in Santa Fe.

With two locations and twenty therapists, we are large enough to offer a wide range of modalities and treatment styles, yet small enough to give excellent individual, professional care. Our space is simple and peaceful, without the trappings of an expensive spa, because our priority is to provide outstanding treatments at an affordable rate.

© copyright 2008 High Desert Healthcare & Massage all rights reserved.