Stress Reduction is key if you want to improve your health and wellbeing.
Some of the easiest things you can do to decrease the amount of stress in your life is to exercise, eat well, meditate, and get involved with the arts, yoga, movement and other creative hobbies. Life is meant to be enjoyable so find your sense of joy! In my personal field of expertise, most people come to my office because they also find Massage and Bodywork to be quite helpful in achieving their goals of relaxation. Professional touch and mindful sensory interaction is known to have many benefits that allow the the body to find its optimal state of Being. Who hasn’t walked out of massage therapy session at one time or another feeling calmer and yet more in tune with their energy flow? I would like my clients and others to find a way to maintain that well sense of health.
So how do you daily maintain the same sense of balance and connection that you find after a massage?
Today we are going to talk about how you can make a real change in your life by finding peace Within on a physical level.
To begin, let’s talk and learn about stress…
From a definition point of view, stress is a normal physiological response to events that are considered threatening, engaging the body’s defenses to move into a “fight-or-flight-or-frozen” reaction. In cases where there is a real emergency, stress can spring you into the necessary actions needed to keep you alert, strong and able to protect yourself in order to stay alive. In daily activities, it also helps you to keep on top of things, to concentrate, and be productive when challenges arise. The problem is that that when the body is continually exposed to a state of stress, it begins to recognize life this way as being normal. Yet it is not. In the longterm, stress can negatively affect your mental state, your spirit and health all around.
On an energetic level, when a person’s is stressed, the dynamic of being mobilized to use a lot of energy often takes the person out of their grounding. The brain has issued orders to to initiate nerve cell firing and chemical release to prepare for possible attack. Thereafter, we move into either defense or offense. The end result is that our consciousness is focused on fear and the body automatically moves into contraction in some areas.
I have to be honest and say, that most people who come in for massage and bodywork have no clue how they habitually hold their body against life itself. From a working perspective, a massage therapist can support the body and help clients to self-correct through their tissues and find better alignment. But when the work is done, what can you do to make the change sustainable?
Grounding and Breathing
I can’t say enough about how important it is to find your grounding.
Now you may say- what do you mean about grounding? This term is often thrown about and it is not necessarily an easy concept to understand. That makes sense because if you are trying to figure out grounding in your thinking, you will go in circles. Grounding is a real connection between the body and the earth. It is more of a sensory experience that feeds your brain.
When you think about it, we are walking, sitting and lying down during out days. Most of the time our minds are occupied on how we need to interact from these position to make things happen in our environment. Even when we are asleep, habitual stress will ended up showing up in clenched teeth and TMJ and such. If you want to get in contact with your authentic centered self, awareness to our bodies is key to making that happen.
So what is the key that helps us make the connection which will enable us to let go of that stress?
Explore your relationship to Earth with mindfulness.
Lay down on the ground and bring your attention inward. I know this takes patience and a different mindset for some to actually give themselves this gift of time. I know most people have a lot on their plate. But restoration and kindness to one’s sense of grounding is really important to keep your body in health. The physicality of your whole self has important data that needs to be sent to the brain in order to relieve stress. So take the time to scan, feel and be curious about yourself. This is your time for you.
Next Feel how your body rests on the ground. Are you comfortable? Are you tight somewhere? Do you feel numb at all? How about noticing the texture and strength of the floor beneath you? What happens when you begin to explore where you end and the ground begins? Getting into body awareness is important if you want to understand how to release tension. When you are ready, find a place in your body that feels at ease. Move that area very slowly , -imagine in micro movements. Before you approach any tension, stop and allow new information to come in. In this exercise, less is more and you don’t want to be living in pain, but in the easy mobility that is available. Then bring the movement back to it’s original place. Sit in the quiet for a moment and allow this to integrate.
The last step is to try a specific exercise. Situate yourself in a place that is very comfortable either inside or possibly outside in a beautiful field connected to nature. I will outline an exercise here for people who have tight backs and shoulders. As you have completed the first two steps, while lying on the ground, interlock both hands above the head, and allow them to rest on the ground superiorly. Observe and experience your breath, and notice how that is either in movement, or stillness. Taking your time, bring the hands ever so slowly to the right on the ground, while keeping the motion effortless and very small. Play with this going one way and then the other. If you run into any discomfort make sure to stop. Less is more! After the right side is explored come to center above your head and relax. Try the left side as well. This exercise might take about 10 minutes at most. When the whole thing is complete, allow your arms to come down to your side with palms up and allow this quiet but spacious work to integrate in the body. If there is any residual holding, breath and let it go.
Now bring your awareness to how the back and shoulders feel on the ground. Do you feel more relaxed? Has the tension began to dissolve? Can you feel how pleasant it is to relax on the ground beneath you? As you can see, by keeping your whole body in contact with the ground and experimenting with micro movements, while staying in intimate relationship- the human body starts to feel supported and can send messages to the brain that everything in the world in good. It alters our thinking and our feelings as a natural integration occurs.
Wellness
It is because we are always moving through gravity in reactive relationships outside of ourselves that we loose our ability to stay centered. That’s not a bad thing because it is part of our human experience. However, if we truly want to find a way to interact with less stress, we must re-orient ourselves with grounding and support.
One of the links I recommend for this type of work is:
With practices like these, you will feel more whole and complete.
You can do these exercises at home, find a practitioner for 1:1 work or you can take classes.
In order to find relaxation in your life- it is absolutely essential that you find ways to feel open and spacious inside of your body. Grounding in a sensory experiential always helps to calm and nurture. Take the time to be generous with yourself and wellbeing.
For more information, contact, Sharon Hartnett LMT in Columbus, Ohio:
(614) 372-6598
For more information on movement awareness check out this youtube sample of Feldenkrais:
Don’t let Injuries and postural challenges derail you!
In this day and age, fitness is getting easier.
Find out more about Structural Integration and how it can help you to feel better.
One of the goals of a Structural Integration program is to improve one’s flexibility through fascial stretching, as well and increasing balance and strength. It’s our habits that keep us out of shape and in pain. That can be changed! Opening up and freeing the soft fascial tissues can change your life dramatically.
The ten series plan includes bodywork, education and mindfulness in order to find optimal health. With seniors as a focus, it is important to start small and with light fascial contact to find the magic of life in small movements. If you are feeling tight and stressed, realize that it is never too late to start some type of self- care program to reconnect with your vitality and wellness. After each session, you will receive a few homework exercises to help you continue to enliven your connective tissues, allowing space for better circulation, lymph flow, and natural alignment.
Here in the United States, we have learned to believe that getting older means bending over and surrendering to being more limited in our lives. Our lifestyles have supported this by shaping our bodies into unhealthy patterns through the mechanical supports we use rather than finding away to live from our core. We sit most of the day with chairs holding us up, we move forwards in space most of the time while walking, and we learn to bend from areas away from our natural hinges. With the series, you gain a more thorough understanding of what no longer works from a sensory perspective, but more importantly, how to change your movement to reflect more ease in your life on many different levels.
If you have received a series of massage and bodywork before, you are in for a treat.
Let our hands guide you into a sense of freedom and more youthful vibrant energy.
It’s sometimes difficult to distinguish whether your child is suffering from actual ADHD or experiencing life with a typically high activity level with a short attention span. But what a parent does know is that it can be challenging trying to fit their kids into a mainstream educational system without some extra support.
Regulating life through New Sensory Input.
At Lighten Up Therapies, we are not so concerned where your child falls in the spectrum of ADHD, but instead we choose to focus on giving your child a new integrative mind, body & spirit experience. We have been intrigued with the success that Craniosacral Therapy has had with young people in helping them to self-regulate and be more comfortable in their daily lives. A quote that describes our outlook to healing is well spoken by Moshe Feldenkrais, “What I’m after isn’t flexible bodies, but flexible minds and to restore each person to their human dignity.” So how do we help children to find more joy and emotional balance through massage and bodywork?
It’s very helpful to imagine the mind as being inclusive of the whole body, and if you can even go outside the box a little further, into the complete human energy field. When we can allow kids to become mindful of their physical self and subtle energies if only for a few minutes here and there during a session, the brain becomes better informed. Sensory information attained through the fascial and nervous system can enliven the DNA to express itself in a new way and change our thinking and expression. By touching into the continuous web of dialogue, children can become better educated to find quiet and self-correction
One of the first things that is helpful for children during a session is to induce a still point. A still point is a period of time in which the cerebral spinal flow comes to a rest, allows improved circulation to the brain, and helps relieve adhesions around the brain’s membranes and spine. Still points can be very calming and nourishing to the nervous system. It may take time with children who don’t want to sit still, but with patience, still point is a practice that can be taught to parents and felt deeply relaxing by their children. One of the best things a practitioner can do is give their clients tools to take home to carry the work forward.
While children with ADHD might initially avoid this type of experience, eventually- the new felt sense of the subtle work of Craniosacral regulation will begin to take root. The calm will open the doorway to a more relaxed sense of wellbeing. At this point, we can then proceed with checking the diaphragms for release, listening to the flow around the spine and brain, and to encourage symmetry, strength and coherence within all the systems. With this work, as the structure changes, so does the way the energy moves The internal environment can integrate with the mind body & spirit sense of reconnection!
One of the best things you can do it interview. Sharon Hartnett LMT CST offers 15 minute free phone sessions to answer your questions at:
(614) 372-6598
Helping your children to become more focused and centered is an experiential commitment. It often takes time to see improvements, but in most cases, dramatic change does show up.
If you would like to try a session to gain your own first hand experience of Craniosacral Therapy, ask for $10.00 of your first session.
When muscles are stuck in either over-contracted or over-stretched positions, you’ll often find reduced functioning in that area of the body.
In order to find the best treatment to reduce this type of strain and help nourish overworked muscles, look to supporting healthy fascia through modalities such as: Structural Integration, Craniosacral Therapy or exercises like Yamuna Ball Rolling or Feldenkrais. Through fascial manipulation and mindful movement, it is very possible to restore full body movement. By reopening the adhesions in the tissue, one is able to to restore fluid flow and help the nervous system to enliven, as well as correct the misalignment which helped contribute to that pull.
Finding Healthy Structure through Balance
This adhesion gives you a good view of deformed fascia. As people get older, lifetime stresses often play a significant factor in how we relate within and to our environments. Accidents, illnesses, repetitive motion, and stress can all take us all off kilter. The resulting tension patterns take us out of effortless motion and tend to create pain over time. Fortunately, for us, the fascia is able to self correct through a practitioner’s or proper exercise of gentle pushes and pulls of this continuous fabric of life. Whether you go to a Fascial Bodyworker, or choose to check into using tools such as the balls, Melt Tube,or instructional movement DVDS, it is easy to improve your health by lengthening and unwinding rotations and twists. As the tissues unfold and lubricate, there is more space for movement and nourishment to organs, muscles, and bones. And- we all want to feel our best, right?
The first thing to do to stabilize and balance the body is to find a therapist who will help bring self awareness to you about your fascial body. Learning mindfulness with the body is pivotal in taking responsibility for one’s health. Many people are not familiar with the web-like fasical system and do not know how important it is in regards to postural balance. Yet once a conscious relationship is awakened, you’ll be surprised how simple it is to gain more flexibility and energy. It’s a shame that this system has not been investigated more thoroughly in the past as it is a life altering element of health and wellness. Getting yourself educated by experienced people and good literature will ultimately help you stay in charge for your own life. Take some time to read about all the new finding regarding the role of fascia in the field of wellness. A good place to start is: http://www.theiasi.net/new-to-structural-integration-
Once you have found the best bodyworker for you, make sure that there is educational dialogue. Each person develops in his/her own unique way. It is valuable to share the type of touch that works best for you even with the most experienced therapist. If you have any previous trauma, whether physical, emotional or whatever… please let us know because the best sessions are where there is respect for boundaries and good listening. Sometimes it is the case that the body will allow one in, but repetitive thought patterns and the emotion energy behind that can bring about strong resistance and responses in other levels of consciousness. The whole of a person must be addressed for deep healing and respect of the process and this holistic model is the key to success. The fascia is a continuous web of connective tissue that is responsible for posture. Whatever history you bring into the session will begin to unravel as the whole body changes, and organically many different experiences unfold.
On a personal note, I like to ask my clients not to work out very hard while going through a ten series. Often muscles building can lead to overuse and weaknesses that may be unconscious or imbalanced. It is beneficial to allow the 10 weeks to be dedicated to feeling the body open and lengthen naturally. Personally, I also like to advise clients to use rollers and balls to work each day to keep the fascia hydrated, layered and softer. By the time the client feels a 10 series from the superficial work to the deeper layers and such, he/she (if they have been mindful of their bodies), will feel a dramatic shift into freer mobility, increased energy and integration.
Fascial work originally was brought to attention by Ida Rolf. Since her time, there are now many wonderful graduated practitioners across the globe from schools such as the Institute for Structural Integration,The Rolf Institute,The Upledger Institute, Tom Meyers School and more. The research that is being done is exciting and coming more into the mainstream of the medical community. In my own Private Practice,I have seen people who have lived with years of pain, release and find themselves feeling freer and happier than in previous years. It is always a pleasure to see my clients walking away with more essence and vitality in their step.
Fascial work is so exciting because it can help so many people to feel more deeply and alive. If you have any questions, please call Sharon Hartnett LMT for a free 15 phone consultation.
Chest Pain can be caused by many different circumstances…
If you feel any mechanical restrictions or ongoing pain, make sure that you see a doctor and get your questions answered. However, if everything checks out there, you might find great benefit in finding a Structural Integration or Myofascial Massage Therapist to help you relieve the pain and discomfort.
The first question I would ask as a Massage Therapist regarding thoracic pain is whether you have been in any car accidents. Automobile accidents have become one of the leading reasons why clients come in for help due to thoracic restrictions. When a person crashes, upon the impact, the human body encounters extraordinary pressure. The energy force that moves through is absorbed mainly into the soft tissues around the sternum, clavicles and ribs. The seatbelt area in particular is a place that may feel painful since it holds the body back while the rest of the body jets forward. For clients who have been in an accident, this information allows us to have an idea of how the body was impacted during the crash and give us a direction on how to treat. Other probable causes for structural thoracic pain to be considered might be falling, birth traumas, being physically hit, or any type of trauma that has exerted force through this part of the body. When you come in for intake, it is important for you to relate your history so that we have a thorough understanding of any traumas to the body.
During a session, once you get on the table, we move to a more sensory type of experience. Over the years, a Fascial Massage Therapist learns to feel the subtle layers of connective tissue and how it is organized. We palpate for adhesions, disturbances, lack of motion, and all imbalances. We observe the breathing and notice where it is stuck and where it moves freely.The body gives us all the clues we need to help create more space and flexibility. In particular with the upper thoracic pain, I like to ask my clients to bring mindfulness to their breathing during this type of work. It is amazing how much information people will learn about themselves when they quiet down and be curious about their own basic functioning. What clients with upper chest pain often notice is that there is little moving there at all. Most of the breathing is in the belly and stops before it moves superiorly. It’s important to explore this to help open up the upper chest. Mindful breathing and releasing the breath and any sound is a constructive way to bring ease and flow back into the thoracic area.
Once these patterns of restriction can been observed, it’s time to free up the affected structures. Personally, I begin by using general superficial movements to allow the fascia to get a basic stretch.My intention is pay attention to the diaphragm and thoracic inlet to release them for better breathing and to improve general overall efficient functioning in the area.As I do this, generally smaller and tighter restrictions will also reveal themselves. When I find the smaller spaces that are fixed, we spend more time exploring breathing and my movements into the tissue until we get the tissues to spread and/or unwind. When the layers begin to differentiate and flow over each other more freely, we have achieved success. This ongoing process goes on around the whole thoracic area (including the ribcage) until the breath starts to expand more equally from the front of the upper body to the back.
With the general work said and done, it is next important to check out the joint restrictions. I usually begin by exploring the clavicle and how it relates to the sternum. Some work around the shoulders with gentle manipulations will help allow confined articulations to clear through deep seated patterns.Touching into the sternomanubrial joint with compression and decompression with help repair tension imbalances. Using opposing movements facially from the back to front to engage the tissues will bring about more vitality and rehydration. The idea is to begin to get the body moving on these different layers of fascia to that everything within begins to re-engage with itself and the other. This is what creates health and wellness.
When our bodies face trauma, often the body self-corrects as much as it knows how. However, when a heavy energy force enters the body, often there are residual imbalances that may ended up keeping you stuck out of alignment. Soft tissues, mostly the fascia, are key to work if you want to release habitual distorted structural patterns in the body. You don’t have to live in pain. It is possible to begin to feel better.
Relieve the Pain
If you have more questions about feeling healthier in your body, call Sharon Hartnett for a free 15 minute phone consultation.
