About
I came to massage therapy through a personal injury: whiplash and 3 broken ribs from a car accident. Funny enough, the ribs weren't the thing that gave me trouble, the whiplash was the worst of it. While everything else healed at a progressive rate, the whiplash improved only mildly. That was the first time I felt I could be permanently damaged and it freaked me out. I started physical therapy, which included massage, and within the year I had full range of motion back in my neck. The process was slow and frustrating but it was progressive, something it hadn't been before. At the end of it all, I learned that the body is capable of a great amount of healing if it's given the time and attention it needs.
My point here is not to say that massage therapy is a miracle drug, simply that I realized through my healing that we often accept living with worse physical conditions than we have to. That rings true both for healing and the simple day to day. Years after an injury your body can experience the side effects of the healing process. Scar tissue formed from the initial incident can inhibit normal movement which in turn irritates other joints and tissue because they are functioning in a way they weren't designed to. Aside from injury, everyday stress can wreck havoc on us. Stress creates reactions in our body on a hormonal level that boost our alert and allow us to deal with life. This is important to survival but our organs and other bodily systems are not intended to exist at that level of alert for sustained periods of time. Running your body that way taxes it in the same way driving a car without ever changing the oil does.
It's a given that massage engages muscle and other tissue but it engages additional body systems in an equally important way. Massage floods the Nervous System with positive stimulation helping it to stabilize and reach Homeostasis. In addition, massage aids the Circulatory and Lymphatic Systems in the very practical sense of improving their ability to keep blood and fluids moving.
For all of these reasons, I do not believe massage therapy to be a luxury but a very real need for all who wish to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. This belief is why I prefer to work in an environment where I can tailor my approach to each individual's needs. In contrast to a spa setting, I have the freedom and flexibility to take time at the beginning of each appointment to assess what is needed out of that particular session. Anywhere along the spectrum -from patients with Fibromyalgia to Body Builders- I work to assist in a relaxing reset or structural realignment. My approach is ever changing, but the intent is always to get the body at it's highest working capability.
My point here is not to say that massage therapy is a miracle drug, simply that I realized through my healing that we often accept living with worse physical conditions than we have to. That rings true both for healing and the simple day to day. Years after an injury your body can experience the side effects of the healing process. Scar tissue formed from the initial incident can inhibit normal movement which in turn irritates other joints and tissue because they are functioning in a way they weren't designed to. Aside from injury, everyday stress can wreck havoc on us. Stress creates reactions in our body on a hormonal level that boost our alert and allow us to deal with life. This is important to survival but our organs and other bodily systems are not intended to exist at that level of alert for sustained periods of time. Running your body that way taxes it in the same way driving a car without ever changing the oil does.
It's a given that massage engages muscle and other tissue but it engages additional body systems in an equally important way. Massage floods the Nervous System with positive stimulation helping it to stabilize and reach Homeostasis. In addition, massage aids the Circulatory and Lymphatic Systems in the very practical sense of improving their ability to keep blood and fluids moving.
For all of these reasons, I do not believe massage therapy to be a luxury but a very real need for all who wish to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. This belief is why I prefer to work in an environment where I can tailor my approach to each individual's needs. In contrast to a spa setting, I have the freedom and flexibility to take time at the beginning of each appointment to assess what is needed out of that particular session. Anywhere along the spectrum -from patients with Fibromyalgia to Body Builders- I work to assist in a relaxing reset or structural realignment. My approach is ever changing, but the intent is always to get the body at it's highest working capability.
credentials
Certified by the State of California through the California Massage Therapy Council: Certification # 3019
Insured through the American Massage Therapy Association
Insured through the American Massage Therapy Association