We have officially accepted stress as an everyday, unavoidable black cloud that follows us wherever we go. Its in the car. Its in the office. Its at home. Stress is waiting around every corner with its sharp edges ready to chip away at our most complete selves. Stress heightens our blood pressure, making us irritable and tired. It causes our bodies to lock up and feel limited in the activities we used to be able to do. Whether we realize it or not, stress is a significant ingredient in what weighs us down.

It is a difficult concept to realize in ones self. We get lost in the day to day hustle and bustle; each new day elicits tasks and responsibilities. We forget to take a moment to consider how we feel both physically and emotionally. But I have to take the car to the shop

Let me empower you with the idea of massage therapy. My job, my passion in life is to help people feel good; to encourage each individual to gain control of their own well-being arm them with a protective shield against stress. No phones, no traffic, no kids; a calm and soothing environment for you to let go and tune in. To work the knots out, to replace the dull ache with vibrant mobility. To bring you back to a place when you felt strong and energetic.

Its seemingly too simple a solution. How can a massage combat the negative effects of stressful situations that face us when we wake up every day? The answer is that massage is part of the solution, and restitution happens a little in small steps. But I just dont have the time

Saying you dont have the time is just like saying yes to sore neck and shoulder muscles. Saying you dont have the time allows stress to work its dark magic and slowly suck the metaphorical breath right out of you. Enough of the bad stuff; lets talk benefits.

Massage improves circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid. Healthy, hearty oxygenated blood to limbs and muscles make the body happy! Massage is an excellent compliment to exercise and stretching, which also promote fluid movement. Massage eases tense muscles. Have you ever had that pain in the neck and shoulders that keeps you from looking over your shoulder? The pain that intensifies after long days and commutes? Massage can really help that. Better yet, massage can keep it from coming back; its just a tight muscle.

EASE TENSE MUSCLESINCREASED CIRCULATIONA VERY HAPPY NECK

Massage increases immune system functions. Healthy, non-restricted blood carries antibodies to all parts of your body, and contains cells that devour the metabolic wastes. Keep it clean and flowing! Keep your energy levels up. Go ahead cold, make my day

Massage improves joint flexibility. Tight muscles anchor joints down. Lighten the load; decrease the tension and youll be doing the backstroke all the way home.

Massage promotes the feeling of wholeness. Do you ever feel disconnected from the waist down? Do you feel like your hands and feet are numb and restricted in movement? A full body massage works closely with your energy levels, bringing back into focus that you are a complete individual from head to toe. Get grounded!

And thats just to name a few. Nevermind massage facilitates recovery from injury, relieves anxiety, calms the mind, brings to light self awareness, and overall feels really good

No more excuses. A reason to avoid your well-being and simply endure the negative effects of stress does not exist. Get a massage. For your body, mind and spirit.

Jennifer Myers
centeryourselfmassage.com

I dont know about you but when I go for a massage I expect the massage therapist to use their hands, fingers and maybe even their elbows to loosen my stress-laden muscles. There is nothing more delightful than an experienced pair of hands that helps to expunge all of the bad stuff from my body that causes me to become tense, anxious and, perhaps, a bit unpleasant to be around sometimes.

I still vividly remember a visit with a physical therapist for a problem that I was having with a disk in my neck. The disk was pinching a nerve which was causing pain in my neck, back and arm. A particularly annoying area was near my shoulder above my shoulder blade. As I sat in a massage chair, the therapist used her elbow to dig right into the affected area with a force that caused some serious discomfort. But when I left that morning, the pain was almost gone. Now that was massage!

Recently, I was introduced to the concept of Reiki. I was reading up on the various forms of massage therapy and, quite frequently, Reiki was listed as a therapeutic option or as part of the curriculum at a massage school. Further reading about Reiki has caused me to question references to Reiki in the same context as massage. In fact, I began to wonder why Reiki was included in references to massage at all. And Im not the only one.

Massage is generally defined as the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body for therapeutic purposes, healing or relaxation. I would think that manipulation is the operative word here. The practice of Reiki takes a quite different approach. Like Shiatsu massage, Reiki seeks to balance ki or life force energy within the body. The theory, according to ancient Oriental philosophy, is that if this energy is out of balance in the body, or is depleted, then an individual becomes susceptible to physical and emotional ailments. Practitioners of Reiki seek to channel energy into their clients in a manner that corrects imbalances and promotes healing.

However, based on the prescribed methods of practicing Reiki, there is no manipulation involved. In fact, in some cases, there is not even actual touch involved in Reiki treatments. That would certainly present a conflict between the generally accepted definition of massage and the practice of Reiki.

Reiki, as practiced today, was developed by Dr. Mikao Usui, a minister and head of a Christian school in Japan. His students had asked him how Jesus healed. Usui did not have the answer but became fixated on discovering how Jesus had cured the ill and infirmed. I guess because he was the Son of God does not qualify as an acceptable answer.

Dr. Usui spent years studying in Christian schools, Buddhist monasteries and temples. He found no answer to the healing question until he embarked on a 21 day fast. At the end of the fast he apparently had a revelatory experience that showed him the methods he had sought to understand. He then set about on a healing ministry. Eventually, he shared his knowledge with Dr. Chujiro Hyashi who, in turn shared the knowledge with Mrs. Hawayo Takata who trained 22 Reiki Masters who then shared the knowledge with thousands of others.

Essentially, Reiki transfers energy from the Reiki practitioner to the patient. Actually, Reiki teaches that the patient draws this energy from the practitioner thus giving the patient an active role and ultimate responsibility for their own healing. The energy is then realigned and balanced and harmony is restored in the body.

Though it is not a religion there is a great deal of spirituality at work in Reiki. God or a Universal Life Force is acknowledged and recognized as the source of all life energy. Though there are specific principles involved in Reiki, the actual methods are quite similar to the laying on of hands practiced by faith healers of many religious denominations. But laying on of hands is not quite the same as the manipulation of soft tissue required to be defined as massage.

There are a couple of issues here. First, massage as a stand alone practice, has struggled to be recognized by the medical establishment as a legitimate form of therapy and healing. Under the auspices of physical therapy, massage is readily accepted and practiced to restore muscular function and to assist in the rehabilitative process. However, there is the view by many that massage therapy is somewhat of a mongrel healing application with touches of mainstream medicine, alternative medicine, holistic, health, New Age cultism, sexual indulgence and mystical fakery. The simple fact is the the manipulation of soft tissue has been proven and is accepted as a healing modality. It is the desire to include any healing avocation that involves touch, or even the close proximity of hand to body, under the heading of massage that creates confusion and causes suspicion.

Scientists and doctors have dismissed Reiki as a placebo that encourages patients to feel better because they are supposed to feel better. Other questions about the motivation of practitioners is the fact that Dr. Usui, the founder of Reiki, determined that there must be an energy exchange between Reiki healer and Reiki patient to invest the patient in the healing process. This investment is monetary in most cases and is a core principle of Reiki.

Another problem with Reiki being considered a form of massage is that some states require that practitioners of Reiki be licensed as massage therapists. Many Reiki practitioners dispute this categorization specifically because of the distinction between Reiki and massage as stated in the definitions presented earlier in this article.

So, Reiki has a bit of a schizophrenic personality. On the one hand, courses teaching Reiki are offered in many massage schools. On the other hand, many practitioners themselves dont consider themselves massage therapists. So, far be it from me to try and settle this dispute in one article. Reiki may or may not be a truly effective form of healing. All I know is that I still have difficulty categorizing Reiki as massage. I think there may be some manipulation of the definition of massage required to justify the inclusion of Reiki.

Massage therapy has been used in many cultures for thousands of years. Massage is the systemized manipulation of soft tissues to relieve pain, instill a feeling of well being and normalize tissue position. Los Angeles, always a hotbed of exciting ideas, has been an area with a thriving massage therapy industry for years.

Searching the Los Angeles yellow pages under for massage therapists can yield an interesting selection of businesses. Chiropractors, often the most conventional massage providers, abound in the metropolitan area. Many provide traditional chiropractic manipulation and massage therapies in combined treatment plans.

Prenatal and baby massage is becoming more and more popular and chic in the Los Angeles area. Prenatal massage therapy relieves the discomfort and stress that a pregnancy can cause. Celebrity moms-to-be are fueling the trend, but the positive benefits of this type of massage make it a popular choice for many expectant mothers. Baby massage is another area of rising popularity, with many new moms using the massage sessions as yet another way to bond with their child. Not only does the massage strengthen the bond between mother and child, it helps the baby eliminate toxins and aids in the development of joints and muscles.

Day spas are also more popular than ever, and a relaxing massage is usually a focal point of the experience. Day spas abound in Los Angeles with many specializing in various holistic treatments including several types of massage. A day of beauty treatments may include a seaweed wrap, steam shower and a Swedish massage. As more and more busy women try to find ways to relax and pamper themselves, this trend will continue to grow.

With the ever-growing emphasis on wellness and natural treatments, the popularity of massage therapies in Los Angeles continues to grow. This trend shows no sign of slowing down, and as competition increases, Los Angeles folks can look forward to more innovative, relaxing experiences.

In practice since ancient times, massage is a relaxing experience of hand strokes on the body to rejuvenate the mind and body and eliminate stress. Using hands and fingers, the therapist alleviates any kind of muscular pains and discomforts and relaxes the muscles.

Stress related areas in the upper body are shoulder and neck area. Do not massage the front of the neck area around the throat as it is the most delicate of all.

When the person is lying down, massaging the upper body is easier. If someone has headaches, neck or shoulder pains, start by massaging the upper torso. Rub your fingers in circular motion over the temples, cheek bones and forehead lightly. The massage receiver feels relaxed.

Continue the massage along the cheek bone and jaw line, rubbing softly but firmly. Use gentle pressure around the eye socket area with finger tips. Massage the scalp areas, especially along the base of the head and temple using your finger tips for great effects.

To massage the shoulder and chest muscles, stand in front of the massager receivers head with your fingertips facing their toes. Rub the chest with your hands in flat position, moving your palms up and down and side ways leading to the shoulders.

Cup your hands underneath the shoulders. Use your fingertips to relax the muscles of the arms. This alleviates socket pain and helps to relax more. Move your hands up and down the arms; continue massaging the muscles so that your arms will relax further. Repeat the same with the other arm.

Rub the back in the same manner that you massaged the chest. Standing at the head of massage receiver, press your palms into the back muscles, rubbing it in a circular motion with your finger tips. It will relax the muscles and provide relief from stress and pain.

While the practice of therapeutic massage has been used for centuries in the east, it is a relatively recent phenomenon here in the west. While the wonders of modern medicine have left many awestruck, more and more people are looking towards complimentary therapies and non-invasive treatments for their ailments. Massage therapy has never been as popular as it is today in America.

A number of studies have shown that massage therapy is a highly effective stress reduction technique. An earlier study, conducted by the University of Miami Medical School and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, suggested that children receiving 30 minutes of therapeutic massage daily were less depressed and anxious than they were at the time of their admittance.

This particular study also observed marked differences in the health and behavior of the children in the test group, over the children in the control group. The nurses taking part in the study also noted that the children were more cooperative, and were able to achieve a higher level of sleep quality. On the biological level, the children in the control group exhibited lower levels of cortisol a stress hormone in their saliva and in their urine. It quickly became evident to researchers that massage can play a significant role in stress reduction.

It is highly encouraging that both the medical establishment and the general public are starting to realize the impact that stress can have on an individual’s health and well being. Some physicians and researchers have suggested that stress is responsible for over 75 of all disease in the western world, including skin disorders, high blood pressure, headaches, digestive ailments, muscle pain, and depression. By employing the age-old techniques of massage therapy, there exists the distinct possibility of overcoming these terrible afflictions.

The eminent Victorian physician, Dr. Stretch Dowse, noted the following back in 1887 “The mind, which before massage is in a perturbed, restless, vacillating and, even despondent state, becomes after massage, calm, quiet, peaceful and subdued; in fact, the wearied and worried mind has been converted into a mind restful, placid, and refreshed.” While modern medicine is full of promise in certain areas, it is not wise to ignore the knowledge and insights of the past. Massage therapy has helped countless people cope with the stress of modern life. It could help you, too.

With fast paced lives and the continuous chase to meet deadlines, the tired mind and body tends to seek out for a stress buster. People bogged down by stress find it affecting not only their minds but their bodies as well.

Massage helps you eliminate stress to bring about a relaxed you. It is a relaxing experience by artistic hand strokes on the body to rejuvenate the mind and body and eliminate stress scientifically.

To give a back massage, follow these steps.

- Ask the person to lie face & belly down on flat surface with hisher head turned to one side. Avoid straining your back when you giving a massage. Stand or kneel beside the lying person

- Start off gently by spreading oil over the entire back, so that your hands dont’ stick to the massage receivers back.

- Begin with light strokes at the base of the neck. Move your hands on the either side of the spine, applying gentle pressure. Rub up and down the length and sides of the back. Repeating this several times starts the relaxation process.

- Apply the fleshy part of your thumbs to the shoulder blades on either side of the spine at mid back. Move up to the base of the neck by applying small outward strokes. Apply pressure away from the spine.

- After the warm up, move to the spots that feel tight or hard under your hand. Again with the fleshy part of your thumb, work in small circles. Adjust the pressure accordingly to serving the purpose of relaxation. This will loosen up the tight spots.

- Next pay full attention to the shoulder area. Place your palm on one of the shoulder blades, shaking it gently by moving your palm back and forth. This will create a nice loose movement of the shoulder blade and arm. Repeat on the other side.

- Next move to the bottom of the shoulder blade, near the spine. With your thumb, push all the way across the shoulder blade from the spine applying pressure suitably. Cover the entire shoulder area with the horizontal stroke. Switch to other side and repeat.

- Knead gently in small circular motions with the fleshy part of your fingers the tender spots along the top of the shoulder and collar bone.

- Use the heel of the hands to apply pressure down the sides of the spine, starting from upper shoulder and moving down to the lower back.

- Apply soothing finishing strokes by gently rubbing your hands up the center of the back on either side of the spine and down the sides of the back.