How do You Pick a Massage Therapist? (2/4)

(Part 2 of 4)

Some things to look for when searching for a massage therapist:

Licensing

Education

Length of Practice

Location

Specialties

Photos

Reviews

Choose a Massage Therapist because they are a great fit for you. Don’t let someone talk you into being a good fit! 

Do the therapist and the client share some of the same interests?

Many clients are now finding their therapist based on social media.  Why not?  It’s a great way to see the person’s appearance, get a general feel for how they might conduct themselves while massaging and observe a list of personal interests, such as travel, pets or views on religion, sexual orientation or politics.

Should these  things really matter in the choice of a therapist? Absolutely! Anyone who says that these factors are unimportant is someone who isn't, perhaps, being  honest with him/herself.

I think that, idealistically, I can massage anyone regardless of their views of the world. Ideally, a client should expect a professional massage when they book one. When you go to a resort, a therapist is most often chosen for you. You could make a gender preference, You can inquire about their skills and experience, but ultimately, until you see your therapist face for the first time, you are largely uncertain of what to expect!

Conversely, it is the same for us, as therapists. Within a resort setting, when we meet the guest for the first time and create that first impression, we are uncertain of what to expect, as well! “Is the guest still on another time-zone?  Are they receptive to the Massage, or was it a gift that they reluctantly accepted?  Or my personal favorite: Is the guest sober?

Going to a Resort Spa or Day Spa is not the setting you should choose if you are looking for your “own” special massage therapist.  The fact remains that, given an opportunity, a client will gravitate to a certain therapist. When placed in a Russian Roulette style of massage appointments, the result can be dicey. 

 

You do NOT always get what you pay for with massage. Compare experience and education with the rates being charged.

There are some massage companies that offer discounted membership style massages. Does that mean that they are bad ones?

No!

You’ll need to consider the types of therapists who are typically attracted to these types of businesses (such as massage as a second job or newly graduated students) and decide if that is a good fit for you.

Resorts offer a wide variety of massage services. Read over the promotional materials carefully to understand the treatment that you should expect.

There is no guarantee that if you go to a resort and pay premium rates that you will be assured of a blissful experience. I think that the high end spas would like you to think that all services that they offer are uniformly fantastic. The truth is that every massage is performed by an individual, not by a company.

What is your gender preference when choosing a massage therapist?  I would be willing to lay odds that most therapists who do not offer massage PLUS services could care less of your gender. To me, it makes little difference.

There are experienced massage enthusiasts who genuinely have no preference whatsoever as to who massages them, as long as the massage is great!

For others, it’s like going to see the doctor.  They would prefer the same gender to massage them. It could be a regional issue, but many heterosexual men would consider it completely out of the question for another man to massage them. (But, consider sports massage and the many professional teams that employ same sex therapists).

I have seen many married heterosexual couples where the husband will choose a female therapist for himself and insist on a female therapist for his wife, as well.

Unless they fit into the category of “massage enthusiast” I believe that most gay men prefer to have men massage them.

Some religions require massage by the same gender.

How do You Pick a Massage Therapist? (1/4)

(Part 1 of 4)

This is for all of you folks who have not had a massage before. Maybe you have had one, but it wasn't everything that you expected, and you were left wondering why everyone says massage is so unbelievably wonderful. How do you pick a massage therapist?

Look for a Massage Therapist with “the touch”. This is not to be confused with therapists that may actually offer a specific type of massage called Touch Therapy.

What is Touch Therapy? Supporters of touch therapy claim it can treat and cure a wide variety of illnesses, including heart failure, diabetes and infections. The theory is that people who are ill have disturbed energy fields, and that by moving trained hands over the patient's body (without contact), a touch therapist can detect malalignments and re-pattern energy fields to create "energy balance."

I do not provide Touch Therapy. The actual touch that I refer to is the sense by which objects or stimuli are perceived, through physical contact. Unpretentious, experienced TOUCH is the single most important aspect that I bring to massage. This allows me to instinctively locate areas that need specific attention. Through this physical "touch" I can often feel, sense or observe areas of concern. There are, of course, other areas that are discovered through experience alone.

Finding the best massage therapist for you can only be done in person. I have often heard that finding a Massage Therapist is like finding a Hairdresser, a Dentist, a Doctor, or an Auto Mechanic. No amount of advertising or social connections or even a personal referral will absolutely guarantee your satisfaction. If you are not absolutely satisfied with your massage experience, you will not truly benefit from it. You need to dive in and take a chance! However, you can narrow the search for a Massage Therapist if you simply consider the best fit for you. I have explained some ideas below that may save you some trial and error.

Massage (noun) is: The rubbing and kneading of muscles and joints of the body with the hands, esp. to relieve tension or pain.

IF ALL MASSAGE WAS EQUAL, YOU COULD RANDOMLY PICK A THERAPIST AND HAVE THE EXACT SAME RESULT.

Massage is not equal. Therapists practice different types of massage. There are folks in the massage business who are unhappy with being called simply a "massage therapist" and who long to be more clinical in their approach. They attend additional training to achieve more knowledge of physical ailments.

The actual definition of massage is the act of kneading and rubbing. However, there are therapists who practice massage, PLUS something else; such as, maybe, Reiki, Chakra work or working with your Aura. There are numerous practices that therapists or workers employ to “balance” the body; returning it to what, we in the business call homeostasis.

In energy work… there is nothing measurable.  It requires a theoretical explanation of the procedures, a client who is willing to accept the energy work and a worker with the claim that they can provide the work.

I’m not saying that Reiki or other forms of energy work are not effective. They are subjective. The therapist/worker assigning themselves a label of “Best” or “Master” or “Unsurpassed” or whatever only prepares the client for disappointment, when the services don’t live up to the advertised hype. And, it is a fact that they will not always live up to the expectations of every client.

On the internet, I see many massage therapy business descriptions that, in effect, say…”Me, Me, Me; Pick Me! Because, I’m the best!”. And, while describing massage services requires a bit of “You should pick me because…”, elevating your abilities to a level of the “be all / end all” status is really disingenuous for everyone. Many of my clients have said that mine is the best massage they've ever had. While I don't claim that my massage is the best, I do claim that my "style" of massage is one of the best.

The bottom line... I believe that most people institutionally know that for each client, there is a specific type of massage therapist (also visa versa). My friend Jules Hamland has written an ebook on niche marketing for Massage Therapists. It is just NOT possible to rock every client’s world in the exact same way, nor would you want to.

Regular Massage and Drinking More Water Will Give Simple Relief from Edema.

Water has so many health benefits including relief from extensive edema and some types of back pain!

It sounds so basic and simple, yet so few people actually drink enough water... and no, soda, coffee, juice and teas don't count!

Massage is very helpful in reducing extensive edema in the legs. Your legs are generally elevated during this massage.  Massage for this issue consists of rubbing only in the direction toward your heart while starting at the toes and pushing gently, but firmly up the leg all the way into the groin. This is done for 15 to 20 minutes on each leg.

Some Edema may be caused by very serious issues.  For this reason this massage may require a doctor's approval prior to a massage session. 

So How Much Water is Enough?

Most experts recommend 8, eight ounce glasses throughout the day...but I say shoot for that at a minimum... try for more.   The key is to drink water throughout the day and not just at meals or at a particular time.

Does your skin feel dry to the touch? As a massage therapist I can often tell a client's hydration level by just touching their skin.  Almost immediately after applying lotions does your skin become dry again? It may not be your skin responding to the lotion but rather its inability to soften because of hydration levels.

When water is not available to get into the cells freely, it is filtered from the outside salty ocean and injected into the cells that are being overworked despite their water shortage. The design of our bodies is such that the extent of the ocean of water outside the cells is expanded to have the extra water available for filtration and emergency injection into vital cells. The brain commands an increase in salt and water retention by the kidneys. This directive of the brain is why we get edema when we don’t drink enough water.

When water shortage in the body reaches a more critical level and delivery of water by its injection into the cells becomes the main route of supply to more and more cells, an associated rise in injection pressure becomes necessary. The significant rise in pressure needed to inject water into the cells becomes measurable and is labeled hypertension.

Initially, the process of water filtration and its delivery into the cells is more efficient at night when the body is horizontal. The collected water, which settles mostly in the legs during the day, does not have to fight the force of gravity to get into the blood circulation when the body is horizontal. If reliance on this process of emergency hydration of some cells continues for long, however, the lungs begin to get waterlogged and breathing becomes difficult. The person needs more pillows to sit upright to sleep.

This condition is called cardiac asthma and is the consequence of dehydration. However, in this condition you must not overload the system by drinking too much water at the beginning. Increases in water intake must be slow and spaced out – until urine production begins to increase at the same rate that you drink water.

When we drink enough water to pass clear urine, we also pass out a lot of the salt that was held back. This is how we can get rid of edema fluid from the body; by drinking more water. Not diuretics but more water! Water is the best natural diuretic that exists.

In a person who has extensive edema and whose heart sometimes experiences irregular or very rapid beats with little effort, the increase in water intake should be gradual and spaced out, but water should not be withheld from the body. Salt intake should be limited for two or three days because the body is still in an overdrive mode to retain it. Once the edema has cleared up, salt should not be withheld from the body.

"Salt Intake is Vital"   CureZone.com

 Relief for Edema

 

Elevation and other exercises using special equipment are recommended to promote lymph drainage. However, it is best for clients with lymphedema to follow individualized exercise programs developed by physical therapists or their doctors.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a specialized massage technique originally developed by Emil Vodder, a Danish massage practitioner and doctor of philosophy.  

The techniques help clear edema by facilitating lymph flow through collaterals across watersheds and collecting ducts. Since pressure is very low in lymph vessels, lymph drainage techniques resort to very gentle stretches of the skin, superficial fascia, and the lymphatic vessels in the direction of lymph flow, followed by gentle release of the stretch. Superficial effleurage and superficial lymph drainage techniques are used to remove fluid and assist further drainage, and kneading strokes may be used to soften the hardened tissue.

See ABMP article: Edema and Lymphedema: Are TheyDifferent?  By Kalyani Premkumar  

Palm Springs Massage Therapy Special  see: website for details

Massage is very helpful in reducing extensive edema in the legs. Your legs are generally elevated during this massage.  Massage for this issue consists of rubbing only in the direction toward your heart while starting at the toes and pushing gently, but firmly up the leg all the way into the groin. This is done for 15 to 20 minutes on each leg.  

Some Edema may be caused by very serious issues.  For this reason this massage may require a doctor's approval prior to a massage session

Limited time special offer: FOUR -30 minute specialized sessions for only $120. Plan all 4 sessions at your own convenience. You may choose to pay half of the fee and spread the remaining balance over the remaining sessions. Purchase individual sessions for $45 for 30 minutes. Combine this massage with my "Feel Good"massage for even further benefit. 

 

 

 

Grow your own Aloe for this summer's sun!

Have we, as a culture, lost touch with cultivating readily available plants? We have been trained so well to go to specialty stores when so many natural things are all around us. One of those things is Aloe.

Although there are more than 400 species of the Aloe plant growing on the Earth, it is Aloe Vera or “true Aloe,” also known scientifically as Aloe Barbadensis Miller, that is used for its healing and medicinal properties.

-Aloe vera (syn. Aloe Barbadensis Miller) is a species of Aloe, native to northern Africa. It is a stemless or very short-stemmed succulent plant growing 80 to 100 cm tall, spreading by offsets and root sprouts. The leaves are lanceolate, thick and fleshy, green to grey-green, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced on a spike up to 90 cm tall, each flower pendulous, with a yellow tubular corolla 2 to 3 cm long.

Not long ago, it was in full bloom just about everywhere you turned. (Other species come in various shades of red, yellow and orange, and are also in bloom). It seems to be largely taken for granted by passers by. This abundant succulent has spawned a multi-million dollar industry. On my last trip to Clark’s Nutrition in Palm Desert, CA, I saw many forms of Aloe available for a variety of uses, such as consumption and relief of digestive issues such as heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome. Some studies show that aloe vera promotes rates of healing. Internal intake of aloe vera has also been linked in preliminary research to improved blood glucose levels in diabetics.

I have been propagating Aloe plants for years, in my very own yard. It grows easily, which is good news for me (ask anyone who’s seen my yard). Once I learned how to easily process the “meat” of the Aloe plant, I have used it for sunburn, wound care, and to drink for heartburn relief.

I use Aloe from my own back yard, on my massage clients during the summer months, for sun and wind burns. If you make an appointment with me, just ask for an application.

The Egyptians, particularly the Egyptian queens such as Cleopatra and Nekfertiti, used Aloe Vera as a skin-care and beauty product. They believed it gave their skin a radiant glow, and helped to keep them looking young.

Aloe really is a miracle plant that grows in great abundance in many parts of the Southwest; but how many of us actually stop to benefit from its use? Sadly, many of us have been trained to go to specialty stores instead.

I have step by step instructions that were given to me for processing the pure meat from Aloe Barbadensis Miller plants. I will be happy to send this informational booklet to you for FREE. Just drop me an email, and I will send back a PDF version via the internet. eMail for Free Instructions

Do you agree? Have we lost touch with our natural surroundings preferring, instead to shop for them at a specialty store?

Palm Springs Massage Therapy