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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!
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 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!  The majority of my clients understand Massage Therapy to be a necessary part of their health and wellness plans. Thankfully, those that use to view Massage as just a luxury are learning how helpful it can be. What I've been thrilled to witness in the past couple of years are the number of parents booking their teens and pre-teens in for Massage sessions with me. My own son was 10 when I started studying Massage Therapy and as a growing teen, student and hockey player, he received regular Massage sessions to keep his muscles flexible and fit. Growing pains and muscle spasms were resolved naturally. He was also introduced to a healthy way to relax and rejuvenate during exam time, hockey tournaments and the other stressors of growing.  Sports, technology and studying place the same stress on kid's muscles as they do on adults. Posture suffers from bending over textbooks and computers in the same way it does when sitting at a desk job throughout the day. Neck, shoulder and upper back muscles become tight and tense, which can lead to pain and headaches, regardless of age. Many clients say they feel taller and stand straighter after their Massage. The head pulled forward and chin tucked over a phone, turns into shoulders and head back and in alignment, with the loosening of muscles. It creates better awareness of just how good proper posture can feel. With the stress of school grades, bullying, peer pressure, sports tournaments... kids need to learn ways to relax and de-stress that are natural and healthy. What they learn through their teens as coping mechanisms will carry them through the adult years in the work force. It sets them up to succeed. While they may squirm at first because they are not familiar with the touch of Massage, young people soon become relaxed, calm and often fall asleep during their sessions. While easing muscle tension, massage also balances the hormones that are often raging during these years, boosts the immune system naturally, and encourages positive body awareness.  For the first session I often encourage parents to book young people in for 30 minutes rather than a longer session. It allows them to become familiar with how Massage Therapy feels, provides them a safe space to give feedback as to where they are sore or how much pressure they prefer with Massage. An adult is also always welcome to stay in the Massage room if that is what is more comfortable for a young person. Providing a space that feels safe is essential.  The signage has gone up in the window and the space is all set up for you! Clients are really enjoying this comfortable and welcoming space. Come by and see us! The Neck. Neck pain is one of the most common Massage Therapy complaints that clients come in to see me for. It's such an amazing, flexible part of the body but when it hurts...OUCH!  Free movement of the neck when muscles are loose Tight neck muscles can lead to pain, tension, headaches, jaw pain, pain in the shoulders, upper back and even the upper chest. There are 26 muscles in the neck that help to stabilize the upper body, allow us to look up and down and from side to side, let us bend our ear towards our shoulder, allow us to swallow and talk, and help to elevate our rib cage when we breathe. It's important to keep these muscles flexible so you can enjoy their full function and mobility! Technology and Neck Pain Taking a break from devices can help to rest your neck muscles While the technology we have is amazing, it is probably the worst culprit and what brings Massage Therapy clients in to see me the most. Straining or holding our neck muscles as we look at computer screens for work throughout the day, or tilting the head down to look at phones and other devices, puts undue stress on our neck muscles unless we take time to care for them. If you're regularly taking breaks from computer screens and your devices throughout your day as well as taking time to counter stretch the neck muscles, you may not be having issues. Unfortunately we can get drawn into the job or the conversation and forget to take those breaks. This Neck Pain, I Just Woke Up With It Painful Muscle Spasm in the morning can be helped No reason that you can think of as a cause, but when you woke up this morning you experienced severe neck pain. It hurts to move it, it hurts to not move it, your head feels too heavy to hold up... Has this happened to you? Another reason I see clients for a Neck Massage is because of Torticollis (or Wry Neck), a spasm in the neck muscle. It's likely that your neck has been tense and strained for some time but you may not have been paying attention. While you were sleeping you unknowingly moved into a position where the strain became an intense muscle spasm and because the muscle was already strained and fatigued, it's now yelling at you. Torticollis can be very painful. How Can I Help Your Neck Pain? Massage helps to release tight neck muscles Massage Therapy Massage Therapy can help to loosen all of the muscles of the neck, shoulders, upper back and upper chest. Clients often feel some immediate pain relief and notice increased flexibility and mobility. Myofascial Release A form of Massage Therapy, Myofascial Release focuses on encouraging the fascia around the muscles to loosen and release. Through rolling the muscles with the fingers, and gradually massaging in more deeply. The tightness begins to let go. Not usually recommended when the muscle spasm is acute, as it often feels too aggressive and painful. Craniosacral Therapy Gentler than Massage, Craniosacral Therapy will encourage the fascia that surrounds the muscles, ligaments and joints to gradually begin unwinding. As the fascia loosens the muscles have more room to move. Spinal Touch Through specific techniques Spinal Touch encourages good posture throughout the entire body to promote good spinal alignment. (read more about Spinal Touch here) Hot Moist Heat Muscles just love hot moist heat. It brings circulation to the area and can often encourage the muscles to relax. Getting into a hot bath to soak your neck and back muscles is the best way to apply this form of therapy. You can also place a damp hand towel in the microwave to heat up and place on the affected areas.  It's important to remember that your neck muscles have probably been under strain for a period of time and they are unlikely to completely loosen with just one treatment. Let's work together to get them loose through regular therapy, some home self-care and stretches. Once loose we can create a plan to keep them that way! You may already know which therapy is your go to for your optimal well-being, but have you tried others? Here is your opportunity!  Holistic therapies with Teresa Graham, RMT This month Teresa will be offering mini sessions in some of the holistic therapies she shares (some, because not all services fit into a shorter time period). ~ You can add a mini session to a longer appointment that you have booked, or book just a mini session, or book up to 2 mini sessions back to back in a day. ~ You can only book a mini session for a specific therapy once during the month. Your sessions must be booked and received between October 1 and 31, 2019. ~ Mini -sessions are 25 minutes long and cost $45 (plus gst). Sorry, gift certificates can not be purchased towards or used to pay for monthly sessions. Choose from:
By Email: handtohealth@gmail.com
By Phone: (403) 620-0561  Massage Therapy is for more than Relaxation Summer is over and it is back to work and school, and after school activities, and raking leaves, or shoveling snow and ... Feeling overwhelmed and stressed? A Massage Therapy session can help you to ease through the overwhelm and get you back to feeling energized and de-stressed. Plus ease out the back ache that often accompanies raking and shoveling.  Massage Helps to Relieve Stress Stress can cause your muscles to tense, your heart to beat faster and your blood pressure to rise. All of these trigger your body's natural “fight-or-flight” response which encourages the release of excess cortisol into your system. Massage therapy helps to counteract these effects while encouraging the release of "feel good" endorphins.  Decrease Anxiety and Depression Autumn brings ever decreasing amounts of exposure to daylight due to shorter days and colder weather that keep us indoors. Less daylight affects the release of both serotonin (mood stabilizing) and dopamine (helps to uplift and to focus) in the body. If you’ve ever experienced anxiety or depression, you know what a toll they can take. Massage Therapy helps to boost your mood and relieve anxiety while encouraging your body to release serotonin and dopamine.  Massage Can Help to Boost Immunity With the beginning of school days and more time spent indoors it can be difficult to get away from the viruses that are floating about the office, home and school. Massage Therapy has a preventative effect through helping to boost the immune system.  Sleep Better After a Massage A good night's sleep is vital to our overall health. Without good sleep we get cranky and depressed and our immune system experiences added strain. Did you know that massage therapy has been shown to improve sleep for almost everyone? The increased release in serotonin from a massage makes melatonin production easier and that is the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle.  Reduce Back and Neck Pain As a therapist I see more clients with back and neck pain at this time of year (save final exams in June). Students are spending more time bent over the books or working on computer, the eight hour workday can leave you with neck and back pain from sitting or being on computer. Chronic strain on the muscles of the neck and upper back can create tension and pain. Massage Therapy can loosen the muscles, improve your posture and increase blood flow,giving your body much needed relief.  Fall Onto my Massage Table this Autumn
Sometimes you need to take a step backwards to actually take some positive steps forward. Seems strange as we are often encouraged to just move forward without looking back.  When life is not flowing smoothly but instead is constantly hitting bumps and boulders I feel encouraged to sit in meditation (usually off in nature somewhere), and tune into what is feeling "off" and why. In that quiet space I can often come up with not only some answers, but also what changes I need to make to shift the flow and create more balance and harmony in my world. It's similar to how I assist clients during a Reiki session to shift into a healthier balance and flow in their lives. Practicing what I preach. Since 1995 I have owned my own business in the holistic healthcare field, and while it's been challenging I've always enjoyed that. While I'm still able to offer this for my clients and students in B.C., since moving to Calgary it's changed. My parents were both self-employed entrepreneurs as is my son. It seems to run in the blood. And so my recent meditations have me realizing the need for taking a step backwards while also stepping forwards in serving my clients in Calgary. Changes are afoot! After August 15th my business, Hand to Health, is what I will be working under in providing Massage Therapy and Holistic Therapies to clients. The same services and sessions in a holistic, healing environment. I have been blessed through the past two years to have been a part of the amazing team at Atmosphere Health. It's been a wonderful opportunity and I am so grateful to have had it. Being only 5 minutes away at my new location, it is my intention to continue to refer clients to both Dr Paul Semadeni and Andrew Dulcamara for their Chiropractic and Acupuncture care. They are both amazing healthcare providers in their fields! My days and hours will be the same with some flexibility to work later for those established clients who require that. If you need to book a session outside of scheduled times please contact me. I have some options available.  Massage and Holistic Therapies offered by Teresa at Hand to Health |
Teresa Graham,
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