 Our Body is talking to us ALL the time; it’s our lifelong best friend. It constantly sends us messages about how it’s feeling and through listening to and feeling what it’s telling us, we can make adjustments in what we’re doing to keep it “happy”. With the intention of living a long and happy life with little or no pain, doing all of those things we love to do (like dance well into our 90’s and beyond) it’s worthwhile to take the time to listen to what our body is saying. What it is saying and how it is saying it speaks volumes about some of the adjustments and fine tuning it wants us to make.  Massage Therapy clients are often surprised to discover how the parts of their body are all connected. They often don’t consider that pain in one area of the body may be related to problems in another area. The realization of that connection can often make sense once awareness is created.  Our Spine is one of the key structures in our body, without it we’d be like mushy beanbags on the floor, unable to stand erect and unable to move. This amazing part of us gives protection, support and a base for our muscles and ligaments to attach to so that we have mobility. Honouring the spine’s natural curvatures and giving it the space it needs to move is essential. It’s important to remember that the spine is just a bony structure and that muscles move bones (not the other way around). Keeping our spine healthy means keeping our muscles strong, stretched and flexible. When we tune into all the ways in which our spine and other bones are able to be moved by those amazing muscles we remove a lot of limitations. Massage Therapy, Yoga, stretching and strengthening exercises all give our muscles the support they need for us to move freely with flexibility and without pain. Besides good nutrition muscles need oxygen (our breath work) and water (the Brain is 90% water, Muscles are 75%, Bones are 22% and water protects and moisturizes our joints....it’s a key ingredient to keeping us moving!) In our fast paced way of living we often become unaware of what our body is saying or we suppress (pain killers) or ignore it (gotta get that last thing done) until we have time to listen. Sometimes we become so used to ignoring our body that we don’t notice that we’re moving differently or limiting our movements to avoid the pain they cause...we adjust and limit, adjust and limit and soon don’t realize there are many more ways we could move around if only we were aware.  Taking a few minutes throughout your day, in your normal activities to check in with how your body is feeling will go a long way to make this a natural automatic response and keep you active for many years to come! If you’re not sure book in for a Massage Therapy session and let the therapist help in creating more body awareness.
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 Through 20+ years of practice in Massage Therapy and other holistic modalities I have come to specialize in the individualized treatment of women. Not that it was intended, my practice has just evolved that way. Throughout the life of a woman she faces a myriad of physical, emotional and hormonal changes. (and no, this is not to say that men don’t as well). I've watched those changes over the years in practice and am always in awe, not only in how each woman's individual body deals with them but the strength each woman has in resolving emotional and physical challenges.  Women face different challenges to their male counterparts, be it in the workplace, societal expectations or their role within the family unit. I was told recently that my uprooting my life to relocate to Calgary was a “brave thing for a woman, especially of my age” to be doing…. Hmmmm. Would the same thing have been said if a man was making the same changes? I think so. I think as human beings, male or female, we can become stagnant in our lives and that can be a very comfortable place to be. When anyone chooses to change all of that it does take some courage, energy and resolve. So whether change is brought about due to physical changes in age, hormones, etc. or whether we are initiating the change, we can draw upon holistic therapies to help ease our bodies and minds through them.  Massage Therapy helps the physical changes in muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints whether a fast growing teen, pregnant, menopausal or arthritic. An added benefit that many women experience is that it assists in becoming more body comfortable and body confident...a great self esteem builder!  Craniosacral Therapy benefits physical change through unwinding the fascia that tightens around muscles, organs and the body from injury or stress. It also assists the body to release past traumas that can cause fascia to wind tight and stay tight. Craniosacral therapy is also helpful for learning disabilities, TMJ, concussion symptoms and headaches…things that can be experienced at any age. What I've also discovered that often, when a more aggressive therapy is not working, the body will respond to the gentleness of Craniosacral.  Reflexology stimulates all of the nerve endings in the feet and/or hands, and through that opens up the circulation, encouraging the body to relax, and in that, begin self-healing. Read more about this healing art.... (click here)  Reiki brings balance to body, mind and spirit which can be essential to working through those periods of raging hormones that continue throughout life, easing the stress and tension brought about with exams, raising a family, being in this life and dealing with societal expectations. Reiki is a gentle reminder for the mind to rest and the body to heal. Throughout my years in practice I have been honoured to share sessions focused on the health of women be they newborn or 98 years in age, and every age in between that. I’ve been witness to watching these women travel through life’s changes with more ease upon their journey and that has been a priceless gift. What stresses and challenges to you feel, as a woman, you experience differently to men?
What steps do you take to ease and meet those stresses and challenges? Have you tried holistic health modalities?  Calgary Reiki A client, brand new to Reiki, shared the thought that the secret to Reiki was the time out from the world. That very rarely in this day and age do we take the time to completely remove ourselves, physically and emotionally, from having to be or do. That when we do take that time, even just for 30 to 40 minutes (or longer), that the quality of rest is so profound that the body and mind feel as though they have had 8 hours of sleep. On some levels I do have to agree. A reiki session encourages that level of deep relaxation, and when in that state our body’s innate ability to heal itself is given the space it needs to do so. That can be a really healing experience on an emotional/mental level as well. When we take the time to get quiet, put what is bothering us on the back burner for a time, and while it percolates back there, we often come up with resolutions we may not have thought of in our harried, busy state.  So why have a Reiki session if you can get the same results with a “time out”? Well, probably first and foremost is that not many actually take the time to relax this deeply, on a regular basis. The flow of energy that is Reiki goes to a deeper level on both the physical and emotional levels. While it may not be apparent at the time of your session, you will often notice, for many days afterwards, a sense of deep peace and harmony. The balance between mind, body and spirit that is brought about through your Reiki session gives you much greater energy to draw upon as you continue through your day to day activities. Accomplishing those activities in a less stressed state is not only good for you but beneficial to those around you. You end up having more to give, from a centred, balanced and harmonious place. What are your thoughts about Reiki?
What have been the short and long term benefits to your sessions? Do you actually take the time, each day, to be in a peaceful and relaxed state? |
Teresa Graham,
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