Ask the Massage Therapist

Why give the gift of massage?

As you are making your gift-giving choices, we hope you will think about giving the gift of massage. Why would you want to give massage? There are many reasons.

You won't have to worry about color or size.

It won't add to their "stuff."

It won't make them gain weight.

It may actually inspire them to take better care of themselves.

If you know someone who is tense, tired, or strained, it will give them a break and allow them to relax.

If you know someone who gets a nagging ache between the shoulders, it will give them some relief.

If you know someone who suffers from chronic pain, it may help reduce it and could be their first step towards recovery.

You could improve the quality of their life.

It's eco-friendly. It won't get shipped from halfway across the planet and uses very little natural resources.

It supports small, local business.

Almost everyone loves it. They will thank you!

I don't usually go for spa treatments, but a few years ago I had the opportunity to take a hot stone massage class and I really liked it. People make all sorts of dubious claims about it. I'll just say this: it feels good and is relaxing. That's good enough!

What is hot stone massage? People do it differently. Some simply place heated stones on the body. The warmth and sensation of weight are pleasant and relaxing. Others will massage you with warm stones. This can feel very, very good, especially during the winter months when it's so cold outside. I do both. While my routine may vary, I generally start with the client face down and place the stones on their back, allowing the warm weight to help the person relax and "pre-treat" the back, the most common area of tension. Then the backs of the legs and the feet are massaged with the hot stones. When that is completed, the stones are removed from the back and the back, low back, hips, and shoulders are massaged with the warm stones. Most people find this very, very pleasant.

Dates for the Massage for Couples classes at Forest Park Community College have been set for the first two semesters of 2013. For details about the classes, go here.

Dates for the Fall/Winter semester will be set later in the year.

If you'd like to stay informed of when classes will be held and when registration is open, send me an email at Alice@massage-stlouis.com and ask to be put on my email list. You'll get occasional emails about promotions and articles of interest, too, but I promise I won't spam you.

Take advantage of our December discount. Twenty percent will be deducted on orders over $70 now through the end of December. Purchase easily online and print out instantly or have it emailed to the recipient.

Package deals are available. Buy three one hour massages and get an additional $30 off. That comes out to $48 for a one hour massage!

Your loved ones will enjoy it and you'll be their favorite gift-giver. And don't forget to get one for yourself!

Use this link or go to the home page and click on the red bow. Follow the "Buy Now Gift Certificate" sign.

We appreciate your business! Tell your friends!

 

When Ida Rolf began putting her hands and elbows on people’s skin and applying pressure, creating a slow, sustained stretch, she imagined that she was stretching fascial sheets. Generations of manual therapists have followed her thinking, accepting this explanation to account for the changes felt in tissue tension beneath their hands and the sensations experienced by those who receive this type of therapy.

In honor of Small Business Saturday, we are beginning our Winter Holiday Special. From now until December 31, a 10% discount will be applied to all gift certificate purchases of $70 or more. In addition, for today only, an extra 5% discount will be added to all purchases of $40 or more. Use the special promo code SMALLBUSINESS.

To purchase your gift certificates, click on the "Buy Gift Certificate Now" icon on our home page or contact page. It's quick and easy. You can have the gift certificate emailed to the recipient or have it emailed to yourself to print and present yourself. Discounts are added automatically at check-out.

If you are sending gift certificates to multiple persons, you'll have to purchase each separately. If you'd like to take advantage of package deals but have them go to different individuals, contact me directly for special arrangements. I'll do what I can to accomodate you!

In July of 2011, Will Stewart of 3-D Optimal Performance interviewed Dr. Timothy Noakes, a South African exercise physiologist and author of Lore of Running. Noakes recently published Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports , a book which addresses the little known hazards of drinking too much water, especially for women in endurance sports. The primary subject of this interview is the Central Governor model proposed by Noakes to explain the role of the brain in our experience of fatigue during physical exertion.

Low back pain is one of the most common and persistent pain problems, affecting millions of people. Besides working hands-on with clients, I try to help them understand how pain works and to find ways they can continue to help themselves at home.

Cory Blickenstaff is a physical therapist in Vancouver, WA. My clients have found his videos on "edgework" and "novel movements" to be helpful and enjoyable.

"Edgework" is finding the point in a movement where it begins to transition from easy and comfortable to slightly guarded or painful. Movements should be done slowly, watching carefully for the first sign of holding the breath, muscular tension, or pain. The movement presented in the video is one possible movement. Other movements can be used as "edgework" using the same approach.

"Novel movements" are movements that are a little different from the way we normally move. As Cory says, they are movements about which the brain has not yet formed an opinion. By practicing novel movements, we can try to find movements that are not painful and break the association between movement and pain.

Christopher Moyer, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology who has done research on anxiety, depression, and massage therapy. He recently co-authored the book Massage Therapy: Integrating Research and Practice. Active in many online discussions, Moyer has been a voice for science literacy and research literacy in the field of massage therapy. Through his online comments, he has patiently and generously mentored many massage therapists who aspire to be more science-based and research literate. In a recent FaceBook discussion, Moyer raised the question: why is continuing education credit, required for some professional memberships and state licensing, granted for classes in Reiki?

This page was written as a reference for those who attended the Skeptical Society of St. Louis Skepticamp, Saturday, August 18, 2012. It includes websites mentioned during a presentation on the field of massage therapy from the point of view of a science-based massage therapist. The title of the presentation was "Woo, Sloppy Thinking, and Language."