Mark Lemay Massage Therapist

http://bit.ly/2J4Y59O

Posture Muscles - Awesome Stretches for Neck and Shoulders! Neck Pain and Stiffness is often associated with active Trigger Points in the Scalenes Muscles and is relieved when these are released The more time spent with a forward head posture, the more likely it is that one will develop neck and shoulder problems Most neck pain that is not caused by whiplash...

Every massage should be as different as the individual receiving it. While many experienced massage therapists are very good at discovering each body’s unique set of muscular and physical issues, the quality of your massage is very much dependent on how well you inform your therapist of what’s going on with your body.

Massage therapists can achieve some amazing results with their toolbox of techniques, but if they’re spending time figuring out what’s going on, they won’t have as much time to focus on addressing the actual issue(s). Here are some guidelines on what you should let your massage therapist know before and while they’re working on you to ensure that you’re getting the best massage possible:

Tell your massage therapist about any past injuries
The first time you visit a massage therapist, you’re going to have to fill out some paperwork about past injuries. Don’t let it just be a first-time conversation however. If you feel an old injury flaring up (whether it needs extra attention or is extra sensitive or should be avoided), it’s important to let your therapist know so he or she can help you feel better.

Injuries can create structural and muscular imbalances that can linger for years if not addressed. Cluing your massage therapist into these can help them in understanding where they need to spend their time to get you back in balance.

Communicate current pain points or problem areas
Do you know what may be causing your pain? Anything goes! Maybe you have a soft mattress, pulled a muscle while moving, or are just sore from running in unsupportive shoes.

If you’re taking any medicine, are pregnant, have skin conditions, have high blood pressure or other health issues, be certain to share these as well. In some instances, massage may not be a good idea, or certain areas or techniques should be avoided

Talk about your lifestyle
Your lifestyle is very important to talk about with your massage therapist. The more your therapist knows, the better he or she can help you. After all, lifestyle stressors are often the reason you’re in their office in the first place. An informed therapist can make great recommendations on how you can stay pain-free (think: fixing your posture while working at your desk or showing you how to stretch chronically tight parts).

Some lifestyle questions they may ask:

How is your day-to-day stress level?

How often do you exercise?

Are you on your feet all day? Sitting at your desk for work?

Be a semi-active participant
Your massage therapist uses your body’s feedback to better understand and address what’s going on, but they’re not clairvoyant. Letting your therapist know that the pressure is too deep, to light, or that the area they’re working on is a “hot spot” ensures that your therapist can adjust their approach to result in th best possible massage for you. Help them help you!

Communicate your feedback
Sometimes clients do not return and therapists are left to guess as to why. Help remove the mystery by giving constructive feedback. Every massage therapy and bodywork professional wants to make you happy and leave you feeling amazing, but too often we hold back our constructive comments for fear the therapist will be offended.

Nothing is off-limits; talk about technique, the office, the temperature, the music, the service offering, etc. It’s better to hear it from you than see a lousy review on the Internet. Keep it professional and kind and you’ll most likely find an eager audience.

Many people feel that receiving massage is a one sided affair. While it can be, and many times is, you’ll find that you’ll receive a better massage that’s custom tailored to

WHEN WE REALIZE WE ARE VASTLY MORE THAN OUR BODY, WE PLANT THE FIRST SEED TOWARD ACCEPTING OUR OWN DIVINITY....

PORTION OF THE WHOLE :

We think we are our bodies; but we are not. We think we are our problems, or our ancestors, or our many identities. We are not. We are not our s*x, or our illnesses, or our desires. We are not our loves, our pains, or our addictions. What we are is a piece of the all that is, sired by the Light, in order that the "isness" might experience Itself greater than it was before.

We are the embodiment of love so vast, so incomprehensible, that we run from its power. Yet that power is what we are. We are the higher power that is greater than ourselves. We are a marvellous creation of mind in matter. We are the ongoingness and foreverness of everything that is.

NEVER SEPERATED FROM THE SOURCE :

We are a portion of the infinite, a piece of God destined to wake up one day and remember just that. We are incomprehensible forces of energy living for now inside physical instruments, because that is what we CHOSE to do. We are a portion of the Whole: therefore what God is, is what we are. We are power centers of unlimited magnificence, supreme intelligences who have never been seperated from our Source, for we are that Source.

We are what we look outside ourselves to find. We are the love we seek, the joy for which we yearn, the fervour of life we think we have lost. Our longing is but the pressing call of our Soul to wake up, and remember. This, then, is our grand journey home!!

THE LONGING :

Understanding what our strange longings have felt like over the years, and how we handled them helps to clear away any doubts we may have about beginning this journey back to remembrance.

Most of us have felt something was missing in our lives, that there had to be far more to life than a paycheck, a two-car garage, 2-3 kids and matching towel sets. There was an emptiness we haven´t understood and rarely spoke about, a hollowness we yearned to fill, but never did - or could.

The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to seek to remember who and what we are. The only way we will ever fill that longing is to walk into our own power and accept our divinity while we relish our physicalness.

OUR BELIEFS FORM OUR REALITY :

If we can swallow the notion that our beliefs create our experience, that our entire physical environment is the materialisation of our beliefs, that our beliefs form every moment of our reality, and that if we really believe a thing, the effect will follow whether we want it to or not... well, if we can ultimately swallow all that, we just MIGHT realise how unimaginably powerful we are. We just MIGHT come to accept that each and every one of us is a creator god, creating at the moment by accident instead of by intent. We just MIGHT come to accept that we are made of the same omnipotent, supreme energy that creates worlds.

Sure, a lot - if not most - of our beliefs have come from others, but until we can see that we are not at their mercy unless we BELIEVE we are, we remain in that vicious circle where we´re constantly reinforcing all the stuff we´re trying so desperately to change. And wondering why it´s not happening!!

If you want to know what your beliefs are, you have only to listen to your conversation with others. Here´s the bottom line: Until we can completely and unequivocally accept the idea that our beliefs form our reality, our reality is not going to change. Period!! And we will never, but never come to believe that we are any greater than these dear bodies. Yes, the bodies are a wonder, but they are simply not what we are. Never have been, never will be. So if we can match up at least some of our beliefs with some of our problems, and vice versa, we just MIGHT be willing to accept that we are ever so much more than our bodies.

ENTITY AND BODY :

Deep inside each of us, to the left of the heart, is a little spark that is incomprehensibly powerful. That little spark is what we are, for it is a piece of our entity. It is All That Is, learning to experience more of Itself in this wonderous thing called a body. Inside us, our entity can exploe its potential and understand more of what it is, meaning more of what WE are.

However, let´s not downplay the body. While it is nowhere near the totality of what we are, it holds the knowledge of all that has ever been or ever existed... anywhere... in any universe. Our journey, then, is to get the two together, entity and body. This is the journey home, the journey into remembrance, the journey back to the love from which we came and from which we were made. This is the creation of heaven on Earth.

COSMIC OMNIPRESENCE :

As soon as we allow ourselves to explore possibilities beyond physicality, our minds will open like whilwinds. No, we´re not talking "spirit world" here, but WAY beyond that into cosmic omnpresence. And no, we don´t get there by dying, for dying is just stepping into another frequency that feels good, but where we´re still basically physical. What we´re talking about here is learning to touch the realness of ourselves WHILE STILL IN THIS BODY. When we can reach in and touch that life spark, we step into a world of incomprehensible joy. We´ve mastered physicality, and we´ll never have to do anything else except play out our physical games for the remainder of the time we choose to stick around.

Image!! That´s the operative word here. Until we can see that image has been dictating our lives, not much is going to change. So let´s work at slicing away at the image, forcing new joy and new feelings into our bodies. Let´s sharpen our awareness of what our images are doing and work toward eliminating our boundaries, one by one, until there will be nothing for us to do but live from that inner spark, in joy, in harmony with all Life.

(This article is from "Tenets of Awakening".)

Think about it!

Sandals Whitehouse Resort- Jamaica

Being an RMT (Registered Massage Therapist), you see all kinds of people, conditions and concerns.

From routine, to severe, to weird, to even funny. In my practice, I’ve started to see some common reoccurrences emerge. After consulting some colleagues of mine, they seem to have noticed a few patterns too. So, I’ve compiled 10 points that stick out the most.

Common concerns, incidents and what your RMTs are really thinking! Here are 10 things your RMT wants you to know:

1. That’s probably normal.

Is this normal? My ____ does this. My ______ has that. Outside of orthopaedic concerns, you would be surprised what patients ask their RMTs. Do other people have hair there? My skin has cellulite there, is that normal? As regulated health care professionals, we do our best to answer your questions within our scope of practice, and if you are really concerned, go to see your Doctor (we will probably refer you if we are concerned, too). But, more than likely, it’s normal.

2. It really doesn’t matter that you haven’t shaved.

Seriously. We truthfully don’t even notice, up until you mention it. It has no effect on our treatment, if it does, that’s what the oil and lotion is for. I mean it.

3. Do your stretches.

And your exercises, and your hydrotherapy, and your home care, and…you see where I am going here right? Although it would be fun to follow you around, give you treatment and remind you of your therapeutic exercises all day long, we can’t. Our time together is very short, minutes a day, a week, a month, or even longer.

This homework RMTs are giving you, is designed along your treatment plan to help you resolve your pain and dysfunction. Your health is in your hands the rest of those minutes, days, weeks, and months. If you want to get better, you need to do your homework.

4. Your body is beautiful, too.

RMTs treat hundreds of patients. That means seeing, and touching, their naked bodies. Guess what? They are all different. Out of all of them, not even one looks like what you see, airbrushed in the media. Male or female. A few have come close, but no cigar.

It breaks our hearts a little bit when we see those patients insecure about their bodies, because of the pressure of the media. It’s not often the media shows the stretch marks, scars, deformities, muscles, moles, dry skin or cellulite. that we so often see on…everyone. Those images aren’t what we see on a daily basis.

There is only one condition your body should be in, male or female, young or old: healthy. And that looks a little different for everyone. Your RMT is here as a vessel for health. We are not here to judge. And we want to tell you: Your body is beautiful, just how it is, as long as you are on your journey to health.

5. When you “re-make” the table, I smile inside.

Post treatment, when we come in for reassessment, check ins, clean ups, etc. And we see that all of the linens have been attempted to be put back, tidied and re-made, it warms our hearts. I mean, it’s silly really, they all go off to be sterilized and sanitized. It’s completely unnecessary, but it’s also really sweet for some funny reason.

6. Don’t call us “masseuses.”

We are Registered Massage Therapists. With years of training, education then certification, experience and legal responsibilities. The word masseuse is…ugh. Shudder-worthy. It’s associated with under-the-table, sketchy, “happy ending” type massage. And that is not what we do. RMT’s provide well thought out, research based treatment plans to assist our patients return-to or maintenance-of health. Please call us by our hard earned titles. Registered Massage Therapist, Massage Therapist, or simply, RMT.

7. Don’t be shy about your butt.

In our world, it’s a large muscle, actually it’s three. We call your bum gluteals or glutes. It’s not a b***y or ass and we don’t see it as fat, tiny, jiggly or bony. We observe your bodies in a clinical sense, and if you have pain associated with your low back, legs, hips or glutes, don’t be shy. We’re here to help, let us know!

8. …But, please, don’t undrape yourself.

As RMTs we are legally required to follow draping protocols to protect you and ourselves. We only undrape the area being treated at that time, then redrape fully, before undraping any other areas. Please keep yourself covered. And no, we are not interested in seeing your bits (see number six if you need clarification of what we do).

9. Bodily functions are normal.

Most massage therapy treatments have some component of relaxation. Your parasympathetic nervous system starts to shine, meaning the rest-and-digest functions are in gear. And yes, that means stomach grumbling and growling, snoring, even passing gas are normal. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, that’s a good sign you are relaxed. As healthcare professionals, it doesn’t faze us. We don’t judge you, we’re here to help you.

10. We care.

Yes, we actually care if you do your home care. Yes, it really matters what you tell us and how you are feeling. And yes, even though we shouldn’t, we worry about you when you’re struggling. Your success is our success.

We hope we can make it better, that’s the goal, that’s why we do what we do. That’s also why RMTs refer you to other practitioners, because we truly think they could help and their tools could be of use to your recovery. Because your recovery is our priority and you matter to us. And most importantly, because we really care about you and your health.

Next time you see your RMT, keep these 10 points in mind.

Know that we love what we do, helping people is the best job in the world. We truly feel just as good as you do after a rockstar treatment! We are genuinely grateful when you consider trusting us with your health, and we consider it a privilege to share that time with you!