self-care

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Sciatica: Is it Piriformis Syndrome or Your Lower Back?

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Sciatica: Is it Piriformis Syndrome or Your Lower Back?

When seeking answers for low back, hip, and leg pain, you may have heard the term Sciatica. This condition occurs when the sciatic nerve (the largest nerve in the body) is irritated or inflamed, causing pain, tingling, and/or numbness felt along part or all of the nerve path; most often starting in the low back or the buttock and traveling down the outer leg, even all the way down to the foot in some cases.

This irritation of the Sciatic nerve is actually quite common, and is often attributed to one of two causes, Piriformis Syndrome or a spinal abnormality in the low back; with a pretty even 50/50 split between the two.

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Massage and Depression

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Massage and Depression

Depression is an all-too-common struggle for people all over the globe. According to the World Health Organization, it’s estimated that 350 million people suffer from depression. While there are many treatment options, one you may not have thought of is massage therapy. Massage can decrease muscle tension and ease some of the daily physical stress you may put on your body, but it can also go beyond just making you feel good.

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The Importance of Your Breath

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The Importance of Your Breath

We’ve all been breathing since the moment of our birth, but did you know that we’re often doing it wrong? While the way you typically breath will keep you alive, it’s often not as efficient at keeping you at peak performance. That’s because we all leave it up to our unconscious brain to keep up this basic function without thought, which is fine for the most part. However, if you take the time to think through your breathing and practice new ways to breathe, you can often alter how your brain and body work.

Depending on what you’re doing, or attempting to do, you may need to alter your breathing in order to achieve it. Try one of these techniques the next time you need to be more alert or you need to calm down.

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The Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact for Newborns

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The Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact for Newborns

When it comes to a new baby, whether you have previous children or not, many people have the same fears. Nurturing another human being whose life depends on you is a big deal, and regardless of how much preparation you attempt, you will always feel a little bit of fear in your capabilities. We have so much information at our fingertips to help us prepare for any situation in life, but the problem with the information we are given is that it is often conflicting with other information. One practice that has been gaining popularity over the past several years is skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their parents and it’s gaining popularity for good reason. Skin-to-skin contact is when a baby or newborn is held naked against their mom or dad’s skin mimicking the experience and security that they had in their mom’s womb. This is something that is vital directly after birth when possible and the need and benefits continue far beyond the hospital.  

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Guide to Giving Massage

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Guide to Giving Massage

When you’re relaxing on a massage table, it’s easy to see massage as a gift. Whether you’re there to reduce pain, to ease anxiety, to help you recover from the physical and mental stresses work or athletic training or parenting or simply being alive, massage is a moment of freedom in an occasionally crushing world. If you’re thinking of sharing the gift of massage with someone else for a special occasion or “just because,” you are almost certainly doing so from a place of love and generosity.

Obviously, I’m a big fan of giving massage as a gift! But just as with choosing to visit a massage therapist yourself, there are some considerations when offering this kind of gift.

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Five Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

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Five Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

It’s that time of year again. A time of celebration, family gatherings, holiday parties, gifting, traveling, and most of all, excitement. While many of us are thrilled and looking forward to the holiday season, that excitement is generally accompanied by STRESS. Stress to pick out the perfect dish, give the perfect gift, maintain a spotless house, show up to every party, and decorate our homes like Martha Stewart. So here’s a few tips to help you keep your holiday stress under control, so you can enjoy what the holidays are truly about.

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20 Minutes Stress-Buster Night Routine

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20 Minutes Stress-Buster Night Routine

For a healthy sleep cycle, it is crucial to have a nightly routine that signifies to your body that it’s time to shut down for the night. The hard part about my last statement is life is stressful and it is so difficult to turn your brain off at the end of a long day, especially if you haven’t checked everything off your to-do list, have unfinished projects, or are unclear of the next day’s plans. Here are some ways that you can release stress before bedtime to improve your quality of sleep in under half an hour.

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Massage and Cancer

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Massage and Cancer

A cancer diagnosis is scary. Read our blog on how massage therapy can help.

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Five Steps to Healthier Skin

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Five Steps to Healthier Skin

Did you know that the skin is the largest organ of the body? The truth is, there are so many factors that go into how to improve your skin quality. What you put into your body, how you care for it, the environment that surrounds you, and your stress level all play a part in the condition your skin is in. So, how do we improve the quality of our skin? And we’re not just talking the skin on your face. Skincare includes the skin throughout your entire body. It needs special care. Here are a few of our favorite tips to help you out.

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Trigger Points and Muscle Knots

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Trigger Points and Muscle Knots

If you’re a regular to massage, the concept of a muscle knot is probably something you’re well aware of, but what are they exactly? And what’s the relationship between a muscle knot and a trigger point?

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What to Expect During your First Massage

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What to Expect During your First Massage

For many, massage therapy isn’t really on the radar as part of routine healthcare. It may have just been something that was part of a spa gift certificate the family got mom for Mother’s Day or a splurge before a big event, like a wedding. But the massage industry has only grown over the last several years, and with it, a new public acceptance of massage therapy as part of a healthcare and self-care protocol. While it may seem a little intimidating to get your first massage, let me put you at ease by filling you in on all the details of what to expect.

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Listening To Your Body

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Listening To Your Body

The human body to me is such an amazing thing. Not only can it create life, but it can fight off sickness, adapt to its environment, and be molded and formed into what we choose for it. But the most amazing part about the human body to me, is that if you are in tune with your body, it will speak to you. Your body will tell you what it wants or needs and what it doesn’t want or need. Your body will talk to you in many ways, you just have to be sure you’re listening to it.

Four Reasons You Should Take A Break

Four Reasons You Should Take A Break

I know you’re busy. You rush through your days and probably right now have numerous browsers open or are only halfway reading this because you have so much on your mind. That’s life in the world we live in. But did you know that taking a break is far more beneficial than just a few minutes of downtime?

Whether it’s a 10 minute break in the middle of your workday or a full week away, taking breaks has numerous benefits. Here’s 4 of the best…

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Post Sports Event Massage – How Does It Help?

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Post Sports Event Massage – How Does It Help?

After a big sports event your body will be stretched to its limits, and ou will more than likely be feeling tired and sore. The ideal time for a massage, we think!

A post-event massage is typically performed anything from 30 minutes up to a day and a half after a race or event. It’s designed to help improve your blood circulation, get lymph flowing and relax tired muscles after you’ve pushed them hard.

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The Benefits of Pre-Event Sports Massage Therapy

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The Benefits of Pre-Event Sports Massage Therapy

If you’re taking part in a sports event, you’ll probably be training hard and eating well to make sure that your body is as well prepared as possible. But what about pre-event massage? Did you know that there are many benefits to preparing your muscles – and mind with massage therapy?

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Why Massage Therapy Can Give Athletes a Competitive Edge

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Why Massage Therapy Can Give Athletes a Competitive Edge

You train hard to reach your goals, but injuries can send you back to the couch! Prevent injury and recover faster with regular sports massage therapy. Massage stimulates your body’s own natural healing process, so you can keep challenging yourself and keep winning. Read more about sports massage here!

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Think You Need to Stretch Your Back?...Maybe Not!

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Think You Need to Stretch Your Back?...Maybe Not!

When your back is hurting, it’s common practice to stretch it. That usually means bending forward at the hips and allowing the low back muscles to stretch a bit. This can also help to stretch out the hamstrings, calves, and with the right arm position, the shoulders and upper back as well. But what if this sort of stretching is actually doing more harm than good?

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Seven Easy Self-Care Tips...

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Seven Easy Self-Care Tips...

While massage therapy can have benefits that last days or weeks at a time, that doesn’t mean you can neglect your body every day in between appointments. To help the effects of your massage last longer and simply to feel better, you’ll need to practice some self-care. Massage therapy is not a luxury, nor is it selfish to receive. Daily self-care is no different.