Trev’s Blog

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I have just returned from a Hawaiian Festival in Inzell, Germany. Yes thats right. A Hawaiian Festival in Germany. Some folks came over from Hawaii and gave workshops on Hawaiian culture, dance and music. But most of the time was taken up with massage. The festival ran over three days and was attended by just over 150 people. It was great to talk to and work with so many other practitioners. Most seemed to work without covers on the massage tables and  used underbody strokes which I really liked. I am going to offer that style to my clients in future. As far as I know I will be the only practitioner in the UK offering that style of Lomilomi. Unfortunately, With the weather in ther UK I won’t be able to work outdoors which is a shame. In Inzell the sports field was dotted with tables under the trees where people worked all day. Three days was really to short a time. Hopefully next year they will run the festival for longer. Anyway, well done to the organisers. It was a truely inspiring event.

Present me with a physical problem to solve and I’m happy. Anything to do with the internet and I’m totally out of my depth. Today I have been trying to set up an RSS feed on my blog. All the instructions seem straightforward but I have come to realise that they assume you have a certain amount of knowledge and understand the lingo. As a complete novice in this area I am finding it frustrating. So if you happen upon this blog and you find things not quite as they should be, please be patient. I will get there in the end…..I hope!!

Of all the modern-day ailments that seem to affect us, none is more pervasive than stress.

What exactly is stress— and what more insidious effects does it cause? In today’s world, we think of stress as the result of too much pressure laid upon us by life, causing mental worry or anguish. This, in turn, manifests itself in tight neck and shoulders, headaches, nervous stomach, etc. But these physical and mental conditions are really only the beginning.

Studies show that stressful situations can develop into more threatening health conditions. For instance:

Sudden or unexpected stress can activate your adrenal glands, which sends adrenaline and other hormones into your bloodstream. This brings about an increase in your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow to the muscles. This physical response was appropriate generations ago when it was needed for our very survival, but today much of our stress is emotional. With the high number of mental stress incidents that we can experience each day, these repetitive physical responses can begin to wear out all of the body’s intricate systems.

When your stress is chronic, your body releases Cortisol, a hormone designed to help the body handle a period of prolonged physical stress. This hormone is hard for the body to metabolize and consequently can lead to an immune system that becomes heavily suppressed, a damaged cardiovascular system, and a worn out endocrine system (the system responsible for handling stressful conditions).

Regular massage is the ideal remedy for a stressful life. You first experience the relief from massage’s soothing movements that can loosen tense muscles, but there are so many more benefits.

Massage can open the lines of communication throughout your body. For instance, your blood and lymph circulation is increased, which helps all parts of your body to receive essential nutrients, dispose of waste products, and defend against disease.

Stress may take its greatest toll on the nervous system. Massage can address the imbalances that stress causes in your body by stimulating the sensory  receptors that interconnect and harmonize all areas of your body, bringing it back into proper balance. This brings about that sense of well-being you experience that goes far beyond the release of tense muscles.

Studies from the Touch Research Institute in Miami indicate that stress hormones consistently fall after massage, no matter what the age of the client. Workers receiving massages showed brain waves that reflect greater mental alertness, and their feelings of job stress were markedly reduced.

A handful of my clients come to me regularly once a month for a massage but the majority I only see three or four times a year. Massage, like exercise, is something that you have to do regularly to obtain the most benefit. While an occasional massage is a wonderful, relaxing experience; long term health benefits are only obtained if taken on a regular basis.

I came into this business to help people gain and maintain good health not to earn a fortune. And while I have to cover my costs I gave some serious thought as to how I could achieve this and still provide the help that I know a lot of people could benefit from. And this is what I have done.

I have increased the prices for all my treatments at the Bodywork Studio in Brackley. Not a wise thing to do you might imagine in these challenging financial times. A one hour full body massage will now cost £40. But, and here’s the surprise, I am offering up to a 60% discount for people who make massage a regular part of their health and wellness regime. That means you could only be paying £16 for a one hour massage.

The discount system works like this. You pay the full price for your first visit. If you book your second visit within one month you get a 30% discount on that occasion. If you continue to have treatments on a monthly basis the discount remains at 30% or £28 for each visit. If you decided to book every fortnight you will receive a massive 60% discount on each subsequent visit. That means a one hour massage for £16.

Visit www.body-work.biz for more information or to book an appointment or phone Trevor at the Bodywork Studio on 01280707414

Not all massage is used to treat purely physical complaints. Some styles are more suited to address mental, emotional and spiritual issues or may be used for pure relaxation. The focus of these styles are more to do with the unconditional love and compassion which the therapist works with as apposed to the more clinical styles like sports or deep tissue massage. Because massage is not a common part of our contemporary cultural experience, many people do not get the most out of this type of massage.  

One of the main reasons for this is that, ideally, you need to be nude. Clothing gets in the way of the most pleasant sensation of total wholeness and connectedness of your body. In our society with its preoccupation with sex and discomfort with nudity a lot of people may feel uncomfortable. This attitude is due to our sexual immaturity as a culture and the fact so many confuse nudity and touch with sex. Once you get use to receiving your massage nude you will feel very comfortable and wonder what all the fuss was about. In a professional massage situation you would normally be covered by a sheet or a towel to keep those “private” parts of our body covered. Normally only the areas being massaged will be uncovered.

There are certain medical conditions that may prevent you from receiving a massage so your therapist will have taken some medical history from you to make sure that there is no reason not to proceed. They will discuss any arrears of the body you don’t want massaged. Some people are very ticklish in various areas but generally a massage does not promote this sort of response.

 Your therapist will leave the room while you get undressed and get onto the couch covering yourself with a large towel or sheet.

Your only job is to relax as completely as possible. Breathe deeply and regularly, allow your body to sink into the table. As the therapist’s hands locate areas of tension, consciously try to let go and release those tense areas.

Generally, talking during the massage is distracting. Good massage requires concentration on the part of the therapist. Great massage is the result of good “energy” between therapist and recipient. However, do give feedback if any particular stroke is uncomfortable or if you would like something done longer or differently. It’s your massage and you will only get the best out of it if you are comfortable. Any good therapist will be only to happy to provide the experience you want so don’t feel you have to put up with anything that you are not happy with.

Just lie there. Allow the therapist to move your limbs into whatever position is required. Be a rag doll. Don’t try to be helpful. Simply receive. The therapist is a trained professional who can be trusted to take good care of your body.

It is not uncommon for emotions to surface. If this happens do not be afraid to give them expression. Sometimes during massage these emotions will come up and it will benefit you greatly let go and work through them. This is all part of the healing process. People who are unaccustomed to such tender physical caring provided by this type of massage may express their emotion by crying. If this happens you should not be embarrassed. You will be accepted and understood. The body does hold these emotions within and they need to be released and lovingly replaced with good feelings. At the very least, don’t be afraid to sigh with relaxation or hum with pleasure.

Close your eyes. See with your sense of touch. Feel your body both inside and out. Closing your eyes during the massage tends to bring your centre of energy out of the head and into the body. Relax and enjoy.

I had a situation a couple of days ago that is fairly common but it did prompt me to write this piece. I am the resident masseur at the Woodlands gym, Gaydon. A guy, a member of the gym, rang up to book a massage for himself and his wife. When I asked him what sort of treatment he was after, he opted for a deep tissue massage. He went on to say that his wife would prefer something a little gentler. Now I know from experience that most people are not aware of what a deep tissue massage actually is. They assume that it’s working deep and hard and quite vigorously. You Know, it’s a ‘guy massage’. When I explained that, while it was working deep, it was a quite slow and in some respects gentle treatment he was surprised. However, he booked a half hour for each of them working on back, shoulders and neck.  He said he would leave the style of treatment up to me.

The day arrives and I meet them at the appointed time at the gym. They had both had a workout and had spent some time in the sauna. So muscles were nicely warmed and ready for a bit of work. I started with some general effleurage. These are smooth, gliding strokes, to generally warm and relax the tissue. I then moved on to working deeper with thumbs, knuckles, forearms and elbows. The idea is to stretch out the muscle fibres, tendons and ligaments. Fibrous areas and ‘knots’ can be eased out with very slow but deep, firm pressure. Press too firmly or too quickly and the muscles you are trying to easy respond by tensing up in resistance. If that happens any benefits you have accrued will be lost. It is important that the therapist gets continual feedback from the client. While a certain amount of discomfort or ‘good pain’ may be felt, any acute pain or discomfort must be avoided. “No gain without pain” does certainly not apply in this case.

Happily for me they both got off the table saying it was the best massage they had ever had and would be booking me again. So, if you’re working on your partner and they want you to go deep, remember, the deeper you go the slower you go.

Over the next weeks and months I hope to bring you news and information about massage that I hope you will find useful. Please feel free to post comments and questions which I will do my best to answer. If you would like me to comment on any particular subject please ask.