 Gentle, slow unwinding of Fascia while also opening up any restrictions in the movement of cerebral spinal fluid, are the goals of a Craniosacral Therapy session. I often find that if a muscle is not letting go with traditional Massage Therapy, that a gentle Craniosacral hold to the area will do the trick. Sometimes muscles require a lighter touch to respond.  In our day to day physical activities our fascia can become tight and congested if we are not taking regular approaches to keeping it loose, hydrated and flexible. Emotional and mental stress play a part as well. Hunched shoulders, turtling, digestive issues... can all cause the fascia to wind tighter. When tight and congested the muscles and organs don't have as much room to move and flow normally.  Craniosacral Therapy is a beneficial and gentle approach to encouraging the Fascia to unwind subtly. When we open up the Fascia around our muscles and joints they move more freely. Fascia loosened and flexible around our rib cage makes that deep breath that stress often needs, increasingly possible. And some of the old trauma and stress that can keep mental and physical trauma in a holding pattern can begin to unwind as the Fascia does. Concussion symptoms are often relieved with Craniosacral Therapy. While clients often go with Massage Therapy or Myofascia Release, because they are more familiar to them, I do find that many clients have better results with the slower approach of Craniosacral Therapy. It does not have to hurt to work and Craniosacral Therapy demonstrates that. In the next blog I'm going to share a couple of personal stories where I have found this treatment beneficial to myself and my family.
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 It always makes me smile a little when I'm a few movements into a Massage Therapy session and I hear "You can go deeper" from the client, face down on the table. Yes, I can go deeper, but are your muscles at a point where they are ready for that? Is your Fascia ready? Movements are lighter at the beginning of a Massage Therapy session for a few reasons. Firstly, with my hands I'm feeling for temperature changes in the areas that I'm treating, usually checking for heated areas that may be signaling inflammation. If I start getting deep into the tissues right away, increasing circulation, I'm not going to be able to check for inflammation as easily.  Massage Therapy relaxes the Nervous System Clients will find their Massage Therapy session more beneficial if muscles are "calm" and part of the slower, lighter movements is to encourage the nervous system to relax and the muscles to open, allowing my hands to move in more deeply. Muscles are more likely to be "on guard" if I am trying to dig deep right from the start, and that can cause them to spasm. If you are hurting and clenching because the Massage is too deep or feels uncomfortable I will cause more damage than good. Massage Therapy does not have to be deep or painful in order to be effective.
We've been walking on some icy surfaces in Calgary for a couple of weeks at least, and I can feel it in the muscles of your legs and hips! Apparently there is more to come through the weeks ahead...ugh. What are your muscles telling me? To avoid falling or slipping we tend to walk differently on icy surfaces. The shoes we wear hopefully have a better grip, but they also tend to be heavier and clumsier than our usual footwear.
Our stance, or centre of gravity should change to feet wider apart and slightly bending forward over our feet to shift body weight where we need it to maintain balance. Hands out of pockets to balance and holding handrails to catch our fall if we go down, shifts our balance as well. We may hit an icy step and jerk or twist our body to keep from falling. Your muscles tell me all about it.  Happy New Year! While not much has changed in the move to 2021, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with regards to Covid19. A big thankyou to all of you for navigating all of the changes that 2021 brought to your sessions due to COVID19, I have really appreciated your understanding. My association has updated the infection control protocols that I must follow, effective January 4th 2021. It's really reassuring to know that in Alberta there have not been any COVID cases related to clients having Massage Therapy. This indicates the infection control protocols we have been using have been working and now a few additions can only be of benefit. Click here to read about the new protocols for my Calgary clients. Click here to read about the current provincial mandates for health sessions with me.  The New Year kicks off for me with additional continuing education in Holistic Nutrition followed by specific holistic nutrition that benefits muscle and joint issues, and then on to Yin and Restorative Yoga teacher's program and also a course in Assisted Stretching. If you don't already, subscribe to my enewsletter for updates and how these courses will be added to the services I offer.
I wish for you a healthy, happy and prosperous New Years! Cheers, Teresa!  Back to work for post Covid19 closure, for a little less than 2 weeks, and feeling grateful and thankful to those I have the honour to provide sessions to. I am very lucky! Each of you have been thoughtful and patient as together we navigate the required changes in safety and sanitation. It's made all of it so much easier.
For many it feels like forever since we've seen our friends, family, clients and colleagues, but with staying home and keeping everyone safe, we're now seeing a light at the end of this tunnel.
The idea of businesses re-opening can be both exciting and scary. With regards to Booking your Massage Therapy or Holistic Sessions, I want to put your mind at ease. Taking a necessary step back from working during this Covid19 pandemic has been challenging for me. I love my work, love helping clients and interacting with them. The first few days I filled with creating and now I'm on to spring cleaning...I think scrubbing surfaces will help keep my arm muscles strong for when I return to work.  Creative Crafting One of my passions when being creative is sewing. Have you noticed the different video clips and pictures from around the world, where industry has temporarily shut down, just how clear the skies and waters are becoming? Apparently Venice is seeing fish and dolphins return to their waterways and images show clearer skies above cities that have shut down. There has been a suggestion that Mother Nature has sent us to our rooms to just think about it. Seeing these images triggered my sewing projects last week. Those reusable plastic grocery bags are starting to wear out and I decided to replace them with washable fabric ones. I also created some produce bags to take to the market and store instead of using the plastic ones offered. My cat, who loves it when I sew, wasn't very helpful but did enjoy playing with the scraps. Here are some pics of creations:
Self Neck Massage All of this sewing resulted in a tight, sore neck and shoulders. I am unable to go to my Massage Therapist at this time either and so self-massage and extra stretching had to come into play, to ease those tight muscles. While searching YouTube for some ideas to make a video for clients to use, I found one that had everything I would have said. So go and get some oil and give yourself a fabulous self massage until I can see you again!
 Teresa Graham, RMT & Holistic Practitioner I chose my profession because people, their health and well-being, matter to me. I have been so fortunate to have found and to be able to work in a field where I can impact that directly. Each and every person that I see is of great importance to me, and the fact that I am trusted with your well-being is an honour that I take very seriously. My association has reached out to URGE RMTs to do our part in preventing further spread of Covid-19 by shutting down operation. From my personal perspective, my ethics as a (non-essential) healthcare practitioner requires me to put your health and safety first, always. It is impossible to offer safe distancing with most of the therapies that I offer. On Tuesday evening I had to make a difficult decision to temporarily suspend providing massage and most holistic services. The situation with Covid19 is fluid and changing and I will be reassessing regularly. I really look forward to when I can book clients again. I'm sure we will all need some mind and body stress relief. In the meantime, scroll down for what is still available and how I will be reaching out and staying connected with you until I can see you in person again. Stay healthy, safe, and don't forget to practice self care! Warmest Regards, Teresa
 When We're Back
To reassure you for when I re-open. I always take sanitizing seriously, between each client, and that will not change. All linens are changed between clients, individual oil containers are used and hard surfaces are wiped down with disinfectant. I will however be mindful and implement any other suggestions that are put forward by Alberta Health or Health Canada to ensure your good health and safety.  The Hips allow for a lot of range of motion for our legs The Hips are amazing ball joints created through the union of bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia of the upper leg and pelvis. A major weight bearing joint for the body, the Hip allows for great range of motion for our legs, when we look after it.  Extended periods of sitting can lead to tight hip flexors and gluteal muscles Probably the hip issues that I find clients dealing with the most are a result of not enough stretching of thigh, gluteal and low back muscles. Sitting at a desk day after day, standing for long periods, driving... can all contribute to contraction and tightness of the muscles surrounding the Hips. Massage Therapy and stretching can help to loosen and maintain flexiblity through the Hips and allow for easy, painless, movement. An important tip to remember: Bones don’t move the body, Muscles move the bones that move the body. This is particularly noticeable in Hip movements.  The muscles around the hip need to be stretched before and after work outs When a muscle is overworked, tight and restricted without being given adequate rest, stretching and nutrition, or is injured, it will begin to limit the movements of our joints or cause pain in those movements. Swelling, inflammation, spasm, fatigue, injury… all can lead to muscles that just will not work without pain or only work within a limited range of motion. As the condition becomes worse so does the pain, while range of motion becomes more and more limited. While true for all joints, as a Massage Therapist I see this happen more commonly in the shoulder and the Hip. The Hips Cradle Emotion Are the Hips holding emotions? Our Hips are also said to cradle and hold emotions. Some yoga instructors refer to the pelvis and hips as the "junk drawer of emotions" for the body. When stressed or feeling threatened our "fight or flight" response may have us jumping into action. Or if receiving bad news we curl forward towards the fetal position. Our body has an instinctual reflex to clench the deep muscles and sometimes doesn't let go even after trauma or emotional experiences are over.  Massage Therapy helps to loosen muscles & release emotions You may have noticed when you perform deep stretches or when having your Hips massaged that emotions well up unexpectedly. This is normal. On the otherside, when the muscles have loosened, you will often feel lighter and more relaxed. Stretching and Massage Therapy are really great ways to ensure your Hips stay healthy, flexible, relaxed, and move easily and without pain. Follow along on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for Hip care tips throughout the month of March!
I created a Gift Guide for suggestions of what can go with one of our Healthy Session Gift Certificates. You can put a Massage Therapy Gift Certificate in a basket of Bathsalts and Chocolate, wrap a Reiki Gift Certificate around a candle, hide a Reflexology Gift Certificate inside a pair of socks... lots of ideas
There is a reason to include each and every one of these, mostly it's to prolong the effects of the session that you gave a Gift Certificate for. Kind of like the Massage lasting after they've gone home! |
Teresa Graham,
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