"How often should I get massage?"

I get this question frequently.

The first and truest answer is: I don't know.

That said, what I tell people is that it depends on several factors:

~what are your goals and priorities?

~what can you realistically afford?

~what kind of time can you devote to massage or bodywork?

~what kind of self-care are you doing, or willing to do, between sessions?

Often, what I will recommend to someone coming in with a complaint that they are eager to fix is: come in for weekly treatments for 3-4 weeks, and then let's re-evaluate. If money or scheduling is an issue, it might be bi-weekly for 3-4 treatments, or it may mean doing shorter, more focused treatments.

I know, from experience, that regular bodywork brings change; people get results. Clients are pain-free for longer periods of time between sessions; they regain range of motion; they report decreases in insomnia and more restful sleep; they are inspired to take better care of their bodies beyond bodywork.

If there is one thing I can encourage clients to do, it is this: go for bodywork before reaching a state of absolute misery. There is no point in "saving" a bodywork session for when you absolutely cannot stand the pain or tension anymore. Resist the temptation to fall into this trap.

Personally, I go no longer than 3 weeks without bodywork. When I can swing it with scheduling and/or finances, I go weekly; generally, it's every 2 weeks. I recognize the value of it to my well-being, so I prioritize it. If I didn't, I suspect I'd have no business being a bodyworker!

:)

Just another Manic Monday

Actually, it's not all that manic, but that song gets stuck in my head on a weekly basis, so I thought I'd share the joy.  ;)

I had a great idea for a post earlier today, but it seems to have slipped away, so instead I'll share with you my favorite smoothie recipe.

frozen strawberries, plain yogurt, peach juice.......blend like crazy.  

Sometimes I throw in protein powder.  But sometimes the texture of protein powder isn't the nicest.  

Guided Visualization

I have had clients who struggle with pain.  I mean, we all do, in our way.  But sometimes with pain, it becomes this overwhelming, amorphous entity that can be difficult to manage due to its unwieldyness.  In Buddhism, there is the practice of naming things: feelings, thoughts, etc.  I like taking this concept but adding a creative person's twist.

So pain.  Do you have any in your body right now?  Discomfort will do.  :)

Close your eyes and see your pain or discomfort.  What color is it?  What texture is it?  What shape does it take?  There are no right or wrong answers; don't get caught up in this.  Just be willing to go along for the ride!

I broke my tailbone last June (pretty spectacularly, I might add), and I am still in pain daily.  For myself, I visualize the protective ligaments holding onto me for dear life, trying to keep my bones and muscles where they belong, even though the threat is long gone.  At this moment, the color it seems to me is an eggplanty purple...dark, bruised, deep.  It forms a sharp triangle following the shape of piriformis (one of the deep muscles in the hip).  It is taut and sharp.

Next step: visualize introducing an element that begins to undo the pain and tension: light, warmth, breath.  Be patient.  Let the disintegration happen on its own time.  See and feel the tension and pain becoming liquid, frayed, broken up.  

Now visualize the disintegrating pain becoming so liquid/small/soft/etc that it begins to flow out of the place where it is being held/where you've been holding it.  If it's in your lower body, it flows out of the bottoms of your feet and toes; for your upper body it flows down your arms and out your fingertips and palms.  All of that excess muckery is drunk up by the earth and filtered and cleaned and recharged into new energy. 

While being in pain or discomfort stinks and usually we want nothing more than to be out and done with it, do not rush this exercise.  If you're rushing, you're not truly paying attention to what's going on in your body.  

And off to sleep!