Ashi-Thai Surprise

Ashi-Thai /

I had written a while ago about scheduling an Ashi-Thai training for September of this year. Two weeks ago when I started making concrete plans to go to San Antonio, TX for that training we discovered that the class was probably not going to make. The instructor and I decided it would be best for me to transfer into the August training class in Dallas.

So after a lot of hastily done research a ticket was purchased, a car was reserved, and I’m driving to Birmingham to hop a flight this afternoon.

I’ll be back Thursday and I’ll be looking for bodies to practice on. If you’re interested, give me a call.

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Simple and Free Stress Relief

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Years ago, when I was learning yoga, my instructor started the very first class by teaching us to breathe. Up to that point, I thought I already knew how to breathe. By the end of the breathing exercises he attempted to teach me that night, I realized I hadn’t been breathing properly for years.

Stress causes many people to develop a shallow breathing pattern. This isn’t surprising when you think about how we gasp or pant after being frightened, injured or experiencing an emotional shock. If our bodies automatically shorten the breathing pattern during acute stress events then it only makes sense that chronic stress would have a similar, if lesser, effect.

Ayurvedic wisdom tells us that breathing deeply can help combat stress. Common sense tells us that if stress shortens our breathing pattern, then lengthening the breathing pattern (breathing deeply) should relieve stress.

Does it work? I think it does. During especially stressful times, I find myself falling back into the rhythm of those breathing exercises my yoga instructor taught me all those many years ago. Try it and see for yourself.

First, get comfortable. I like savasana or corpse pose, if you’re familiar with yoga, but any comfortable position on your back will do. Place both hands on your belly. Breathe in and out through your nose. For a while just observe your breath, don’t try to change it.

After a few breaths getting to know your pattern, breathe in through your nose and draw the breath down into your belly. You should feel your belly expanding under your hands. When you’re full, hold your breath for a moment, then exhale through your nose. As you continue, begin counting slowly as you inhale and exhale. Match the length of the inhale to the length of the exhale.

At first, this exercise may be difficult. It may be unsettling or uncomfortable. Give yourself time to adjust. Relax, and keep breathing. As you continue this practice and get familiar with how it makes you feel you’ll be able to take it with you to the office, on the roadways, or anywhere you experience stress.

Namaste!

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Out Standing In His Field

Ashiatsu /

Do you remember that old joke about the farmer? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.

Recently I was asked to write an article about Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy for our local Natural Awakenings magazine.

At first I got excited, then I got nervous, then I got so excited I made myself sick. It was not pretty. Eventually I got over the nerves and got on with it. I finished the article this morning and though I think it’s pretty good I’m back to being nervous. The thought of attaching it to an email and pressing send has me in a cold sweat.

I am alternately nervous that they won’t publish it and then that they will. What if it’s not good enough? Rejection stings. But what if it is and they publish it? Pressure.

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It’s Just A Pain In The Neck

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I woke up yesterday morning with a crick in my neck. They happen occasionally. Fortunately, less often now than in the past.

One of the advantages of massage school for me was learning how to stretch and strengthen the muscles that are typically involved in a neck crick.

Most cricks are actually aggravated trigger points in the muscles of the back that cause referred pain and tightness experienced in the neck. I found that strengthening my back cut down significantly on repeated incidents of cricks. I was experiencing severe cricks two to three times a month.

This crick though, it was different. So I turned to the internet to see if I could find some relief as all my standard tricks weren’t working.

I found this interesting article by Barbara Benagh over on Yoga Journal. And while interesting, wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. Fortunately she wrote another article which includes an exercise list with photos.

I tried almost all of these exercises last night. The crick is somewhat better, but still here. I’ll be trying them again. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the mat. It felt good.

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I Love The Internet, And This Is Why…

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I am an avid blog follower. I also enjoy writing which is why I choose to blog as my main interface for Harvest Moon with the internet.

As such, quite a while back I found a blog about fitness and nutrition and added it to my Bloglines, “Massage Blog” folder as more articles than not were of interest and I gleaned information I could use in my massage practice.

This morning I noticed a new article had been posted. It was on the knee and ligaments in the knee and how each different ligament experiences damage. It was focused and succinct and quite possibly the best overall description I’ve ever read of the ligament configuration and ligament function of the knee joint. You can read the article here, if you care to.

I wish my textbooks had been written as well as this lone article. Even though her focus is definitely not massage, but injury, this macro-style would have saved hours of flipping through books and internet searches trying to learn the specifics of the knee.

And this, my friends, is why I love the internet. A chic from Australia who knows a thing or two about knee injury can put her knowledge online and halfway around the world a chic from the U.S. can learn a thing or two from it. Where else are we going to get that kind of collaboration?

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AOBT Demo

Ashiatsu /

This is a beautiful video of Mary-Claire Fredette (my AOBT instructor) at the World Massage Festival demonstrating AOBT. I love the thumbs up from the client at the end! Perfect commentary.

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Funny You Should Ask

Ashi-Thai /

I received a phone call a few days ago from a gentleman in Auburn, AL. He was looking for a Thai massage therapist in the Decatur area and had found this website from an internet search.

Funny that he should call and ask for Thai massage specifically as I’ve been kicking around the possibility of taking Ashi-Thai in September. There has been much waffling and back and forth trying to make the decision. Can I afford it? Am I going overboard with the Ashi / CEUs? Will it sell in my area?

So the phone call prompted me to make the decision. I’ve contacted the instructor and will be traveling to San Antonio, TX in September to be trained in Ashi-Thai. I’m excited about learning and integrating the new skill set into my practice. I’m also quite excited at the prospect of being stretched for two days.

It’s also great to know that the website is working. And it’s always a pleasure talking to and educating someone about AOBT.

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Sports Massage?

Massage /

When I was in massage school, I never felt like I’d ever be a sports massage therapist. It just didn’t feel right to me, probably because I had never been athletic. My instructors would talk about how you had to know massage and specialize in a particular sport to become a good sports massage therapist. It just didn’t interest me.

In my head I would think that if I worked with athletes, I would treat them as any other client who presented with aches and pains. Identify the ache or the pain and work accordingly. It was simple, in my mind.

Of course, recently I have learned how to be a coxswain, taken a Learn to Row class with Rocket City Rowing Club and spent this year’s summer vacation learning to scull at Calm Waters Rowing camp. You might say that I’ve become a novice athlete.

Last weekend I found myself working with a client who sweep rows competitively. She was having lumbar region issues that manifested mostly while she was sitting in the boat and felt kinked up when she wasn’t in the boat. While working I began asking her questions about when and where she felt the pain. Before I realized it I was asking very specific question about during what phase of her rowing stroke she was feeling the pain.

That’s when it hit me. This is what my instructors were talking about when they talked about understanding the sport and its biomechanical peculiarities.

I certainly didn’t set out to become a sports massage therapist when I began this odyssey of learning to row. Mostly I did it to appease friends who were rowing and needed a short person to steer the boat. The learning to sweep row was a necessity at becoming a better coxswain and an attempt to get healthier. In the process though, I found something that I really enjoy doing, I’ve made new friends, gained new clients, dropped some weight, and gotten healthier.

And, unwittingly, I have also become a sports massage therapist who specializes in the sport of rowing. Who knew?

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Releasing the Rotator Cuff

Massage CEUs /

I spent the day yesterday with Peggy Lamb learning about the rotator cuff. What an interesting day it was. I wish I had learned these things while I was still in massage school. I keep thinking about how many clients I could have helped with the more specific work she taught us.

Of course, I’ve never had work on my rotator cuff before and it’s a bit sore today. Thankfully I know three local therapists who were in the class so I can continue this work and get the kinks worked out of my shoulders and back.

It’s amazing the pain referral caused by some of these muscles. I was surprised to learn that the pain I’ve suffered for years between my shoulder blades and across my deltoids is actually referred from three of the four common rotator cuff muscles. Thank you subscapularis, teres minor, and infraspinatus.

I can’t wait to bring this new protocol to my clients. Hopefully I’ll be able to make a difference in someone’s pain level with these new skills.

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