How to make your calendar more attractive next week

How much better would next week look if you could already see a massage therapy appointment on your calendar? You can, you know....

Capitol Hill
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Tuesday, June 4: noon - 5 pm
Thursday, June 6: noon - 4 pm, 8 pm

Tenley Sport & Health
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Monday, June 3: 2 pm - 8 pm
Wednesday, June 5: noon - 4 pm

To schedule a massage on Capitol Hill, email me or call/text me (202-744-1878).

To schedule a massage at Tenley Sport & Health, call the gym directly (202-362-8000)

Your Body as Barometer

While I was living in Brisbane, I got connected with a local healing arts center called The Lightworkers Cottage. Wonderful place. I still get their e-newsletter. The most recent had this, which really talked to me. Listening to our bodies really does tell us volumes about how we're doing as a total entity.

Often our own bodies are talking to us and we ignore the messages they are trying to communicate to us. Tiredness, anger, insomnia, loss of interest, fear and sadness should be important warning signs that you are not managing your life well! We need to pay closer attention to what happens to us in the course of a day. Messages, signs and symbols can come to us through our pets, a close friend, a book or music that comes into our life at just the right time. Guidance is all around us. By being more alert to our dreams, our intuition, and coincidences, we can live fuller and richer lives. Once we start connecting to the language of our bodies, being open to the external signs and symbols around us, we will connect more powerfully to the possibilities around us.

Have Chair, Will Travel

Do you have a fundraising event where it would be cool to have seated massage as well? I may be able to help!

One of my 2013 initiatives to promote my practice (that sounds quite official, doesn't it?) is to help organizations raise money by offering seated massage at their events. Participants pay me. I turn over all the proceeds to the organization.

I've done it a few times this year and it turns out to be one of the more enjoyable marketing tools I've tried! I'm particularly interested in organizations / events that are within about 4 miles of my Capitol Hill office. (Tonight I was in Jessup MD, which is 30 miles from my office but, hey, I met some great people!)

If you've got an event where seated massage would be another fundraising tool, talk to me.

Degenerative Joint Disease

If you've got Degenerative Joint Disease, give the following a read. I originally read it on Anatomy & Physiology on Facebook.


Musculoskeletal Wednesday by Michel van Exsel, MSc:

Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the knee can result in pain and constraints during daily live. When DJD is associated with varus or valgus malalingment osteotomy could result in a relief of symptoms. Osteotomy results in a shift of the weight-bearing axis away from the degenerative compartment. Varus deformity is corrected with high tibial osteotomy (lateral closing wedge or medial opening wedge). Valgus deformity, less common, is corrected with most often a distal femoral osteotomy.

Osteotomy is indicated for physiologically young patient with painful unicompartmental DJD. Before surgery is planned, any meniscal, ligamentous pathology and referred pain from the hip should be ruled out. The intention of performing an osteotomy is not be a lifelong solution of the DJD but is performed to postpone a total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patients are often able to delay a TKA for more than 10 years. During those 10 years high impact activities could be performed.

From: Gardiner et al., Sports Med Arthrosc (21) 2013 38-46. All rights reserved to Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Whatch doing Thursday?

I've given myself some goals for each month to help me make a business decision this summer. In line with that, I'd love to have two more massage appointments tomorrow (May 30). If you've been thinking about it, go ahead and sign up for one of these appointments on Thursday:

1:30 pm
6 pm
7 pm

202-744-1878
massage@bowershours.com

You shouldn't have to decide

I was chatting with someone today about massage and got a question I get fairly often: what "kind" of massage do I do?

The people who ask this are are usually people who get massages in spas or spa-like settings which post different prices for the different modalities/styles of massage. I understand why spas do that but I think it's really unfair to you, the client.

Biggest problem with it? You can't make an informed decision unless you've done a lot of research about the modalities a massage therapist has access to. The descriptions in the spas I've been to aren't a lot of help. Even within the massage community, we don't all agree on what the "deep" in "deep tissue" means.

I operate on a simple principle: you tell me what you need out of your session, I'll use everything I've got to make that happen. I use all the things I've learned over time, all the modalities I've studied, all the things I've picked up on my own and I'll combine them the best way I know how.

You're not buying a product from me. You're buying an experience and an outcome. I don't tell my doctor how to relieve the pain in my abdomen. I tell him what the problem is and I trust him to use whatever techniques he thinks best. Even if I have some idea of what might help, the odds are he's more up-to-date on the latest treatment techniques than I am.

There's nothing wrong with asking for a specific modality when you want a specific experience. Love hot stone massage? Ask for it! Heard good things about raindrop therapy? Ask for it!

Don't be intimidated, though, if you don't know exactly what it will take to achieve your massage goals. That's my job and I'm happy to do it.

Last Massage Before Summer?

Memorial Day weekend is just one week away. Do you need a massage before the unofficial start to summer? Here are your options May 20 - 24:

 

Capitol Hill

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Tuesday, May 21: 2 pm - 9 pm

Thursday, May 23: 1 pm - 4 pm; 8 pm

 

To schedule a massage on Capitol Hill, email me or call/text me (202-744-1878).

 

Tenley Sport & Health

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Monday, May 20:  2 pm - 8 pm

Wednesday, May 22: noon - 4 pm

 

To schedule a massage here, contact the gym directly: 202-362-8000.

 

 

Be well, enjoy the sunshine, hope your roses are blooming too, and I look forward to working with you again.

Elephant Massage?

This is a very nice write-up about massage. Even if you don't read the whole post, make sure you slide down to the end for the elephant massage (and I'm not saying anything else about that, you have to go look for yourself).

Some news you probably already knew

The latest AMTA Research Roundup shows that massage therapy is a powerful tool for pain relief. But you already knew that, didn't you?

Memorial Day weekend

Are you making your Memorial Day plans? (It's only 10 days away you know.) I will be OPEN Memorial Day! I am seeing clients from 10 am - 4 pm at Tenley Sport & Health.

So now your Memorial Day plans can include the gift of relief, relaxation, and harmony with your body. Not a bad way to start the summer.

Need a massage soooooooon?

Here's what's available for you this week.

Capitol Hill

Tuesday, May 14:  3 pm - 9 pm
Thursday, May 16:  noon - 4 pm

Email me (massage@bowershours.com) or call / text me (202-744-1878).

Tenleytown

Monday, May 13:  2 pm - 6 pm
Wednesday, May 15:  noon - 4 pm

To schedule a massage at Tenley Sport & Health, call the gym directly.  202-362-8000.