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Keep your heart healthy with massage therapy!
February 7, 2012 | 
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It is hard to believe that we are already into February but here we are! February brings about Valentine’s Day as well as ‘Heart Health’ awareness month, so it seems appropriate to talk about our hearts.
The heart sits behind a protective layer of muscle, bone, and connective tissue. It is the size of a closed fist and beats to a steady rhythm. When the heart beats ,it pushes blood through the arteries of the body to supply it with fresh oxygenated blood. This blood being pushed through arteries is where we get blood pressure, and blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood pushed out combined in relation to the resistance it encounters.
One major lifestyle factor that affects blood pressure is stress. When the body is under stress, either physical or psychological, the heart responds by increasing muscle tension, heart rate and therefore blood pressure. This is where massage therapy can be of great help. A massage therapist uses Swedish massage techniques such as petrissage to help decrease muscle tension and any pain associated with the stress. This decrease of muscle tension and pain will allow the body to reduce the stress response and therefore the heart rate and blood pressure.
If you are a little overwhelmed this month and under some stress, give your massage therapist a call and book an appointment to start your body on the path of recovery.
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Stretches for weary backs!
It is that time of year again where everyone gets back into their routines and the kids go back to school. Lives get busy, and we forget just how heavy the things we lug around every day are and how they affect our daily lives. On average people shouldn’t carry more than 15% of their body weight, and children only 10%. This means a 50 lb child should only carry 5 lbs and a person weighing 150lbs should only carry 22 lbs. Now this might sound like a lot of weight but on average a laptop weights 6 lbs, a lunch roughly 2 lbs and two binders roughly 3 lbs. If you are experiencing back, shoulder, or neck pain it might be that your bags are too heavy.
First try some simple stretches for your neck and back. First place feet shoulder width apart, and bend over and touch your toes, only go as far as you feel a comfortable stretch. Next try a stretch for your shoulders and neck. Place your hands behind your back then gently tilt your head to your ear again only going as far as you feel a nice stretch. Repeat on the other side. Always hold for 30-45 seconds and never stretch to the point of pain. If these stretches do not resolve the issue you should book in with your massage therapist.
Couples Massage.
Meghan Munro and Jennifer Parsons are pleased to announce the addition of couples massage at Pillars of Health.
Couples massage, also known as side by side massage or massage for two, is not just for husbands and wives but for any two individuals who would like to have a massage in the same room at the same time. It’s also a great way to introduce someone to the wonderful world of massage or spend a little more time with the friend or loved one that is visiting from afar.
During a couples massage two therapists use Swedish therapeutic techniques to help relieve the tension and stress within the soft tissues of the body. The treatment will be specific to each individual as each body is unique. Please feel free to communicate with your therapist about pressure and preferences to help maximize your experience.
Couples massage etiquette is up to the couple; its okay to talk throughout the treatment or to be quiet the whole time. A couples massage can also be an informative session with the therapists teaching some easy techniques which the couple can use at home.
The fee for a couples massage will is $200 for a one hour session.
Call the office to book your first couples massage today!
Massage for well being!
Although widely used and known for treating sprains, strains, reducing pain and swelling, and rehabilitation, these are only some of the benefits of massage therapy. The benefit that most people are unaware of is that massage therapy can help with their mental and emotional well being. With our lives being so hectic, our emotions can sometimes get the best of us. Emotional stress can lead to muscle tension, and often pain. Muscle tension and pain are mentally draining and physically tiring.
Massage therapy focuses on decreasing muscular tension and pain throughout the body, thus promoting relaxation. With muscle tension and pain reduced your mind is able to relax which helps to decrease anxiety and promote a feeling of calm. When the mind and body are calm and in a relaxed state it can bring about an increase in mental alertness , which makes solving problems seem like a breeze! When the body is able to achieve this state of calm and relaxation the result is peace of mind. To start achieving a state of calm and relaxation call your massage therapist to book an appointment.
Tags: Massage therapy for heart health. A little relaxation goes a long way.
It’s February, so it would be appropriate to discuss matters of the heart. When it comes to the heart, it is a marvelous muscular machine that helps run our entire body. The heart however, is affected by a number of different things, one of the biggest that most of us can relate to is stress. Stress occurs when something triggers our bodies stress response, known as our “fight or flight response”. When this is triggered the body’s sympathetic nervous system, among other things increases our heart rate (sometimes as much as three times the normal) and blood pressure. This resonse is useful when there is a real threat, but not so useful for reactions to daily life challenges. Over time the body hasn’t adapted to modern challenges and therefore thinks that every little stress in our lives requires our fight or flight response to kick in. Every time we get “stressed out”, our body pours out stress fighting chemicals, increases our heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. This is where massage therapy can really help. In order to calm the stress response you need to start calming one thing down at a time. Massage therapists use their skills to reduce the muscular tension and pain that accompanies stress. In relaxing the muscular tension and pain it also encourages people to breathe more deeply and slowly thus calming the person and helping to reduce the stress response. So this month if you are feeling like your shoulders are up around your ears, or you have a little too much stress in your life, come in and make an appointment with your massage therapist to start your body’s much needed relaxation.