A) Face masks are no longer required. If you would like your therapist to mask, please let us know in advance and your therapist will mask and meet you at the door and escort you directly to the treatment room.
B) Wait time in reception is restricted to 5 minutes prior to your appointment. Your confirmation and reminder emails will include a link to your Intake Forms. To reduce time in reception, please download them and fill them out prior to your appointment. If you can't fill them out ahead of time, please arrive 5 minutes early to fill them out as intake forms must be complete prior to your appointment time to avoid cutting into your massage time.
C) We aren't heartless. You can come in to use the bathroom any time.
D) Do NOT enter the office if you have a fever of 100.4 degrees or more.
E) Intake and outtake will be done in the treatment room to limit contact with other clients.
Our COVID-19 Precautions
1) We will not come to work if we have a fever or are sick. If we don't come to work, we will try to get another therapist to take your appointment.
2) We will wear a face mask if you would like us to.
3) We have removed the fleece face pillow pads and replaced the cloth covered face pillows with vinyl ones. We have a protective barrior covering the padding on the table that can be sanitized between clients.
4) We will no longer use blankets unless you ask for one, and if you do, it will be clean and washed again before being used for another client.
5) As always, we will use clean linens for each client and wash our hands/arms before and after each massage.
6) We will sanitize touch surfaces after each massage. We have UVC lights that will be used to sanitize the treatment room after each massage. We also have UVC lights for the bathrooms, check out cubby, reception and break room. Pens, clipboards and anything else you touch will be sanitized before use.
Up to 100mg CBD $10
We can also sell you a 30ml jar with 1500mg CBD in lotion for $100. You can dilute with lotion if you don't want it as potent. Certificate of Analysis available here.
Oncology Massage is massage that is customized for the unique needs of someone receiving treatment, or who has received treatment for cancer. Damage to the lymphatic system, effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatment, ports, medical devises... all need specific adjustments made to the massage even decades after treatment.. I have received the special training to make the adjustments needed and now offer Oncology Massage. You must fill out the "Oncology Client Health Form" and return it a few days prior to your first massage.
We Have Moved!
We have moved to the Diamondhead building in the Hoover Court Shopping Center, behind Wells Fargo in the white office building. It is on the far left of the same shopping center as the Jefferson County Revenue Office.
We have a 4th treatment room, a larger couple's room, and a bathroom off reception. Clients will also find that they have more privacy as the rooms open onto an interior hallway separate from reception.
I've also purchased two spa tables for the comfort of those who cannot comfortably lie flat on their backs. For prenatal clients, this allows us to work your neck and shoulders better while you recline.
We Have a Wait List!
Our booking service includes a wait list.
If we are booked for the time you would like. You can specify what therapist, date and time period you would like to be wait listed for. If we have an opening come up, we will call and/or email that we have an opening and the first to respond will get the spot.
Check out our Comfort Craft tables!
We have 2 Comfort Craft Model 800 Mid-Split Electric tables. The mid-split means that the table can bend up to a 40° angle, which aids to open the back (9°) or with a steeper angle can be used to assist in stretching. This is the table under all our padding and sheets in 2 of our 4 rooms.
Shoulders: I love my Backnobber 2. This S shaped tool allows you to put good pressure on a small spot, which is perfect for knots or relaxing general tension. Just hook one end of the S over your shoulder onto a tender spot and pull down and out (oblique) on the curve at the other end with the opposite hand, resting the hand on the side you are working in your lap. You can also place the end on the top of the shoulder and pull down to put pressure straight down onto the top of the trapezius. In order to help hold it in place, I wrap the hand on that side around the upper curve and let the arm be dead weight so I'm not using the muscle, and pull down with the other hand. You can get a backnobber for about $40 with shipping from http://www.MassageWarehouse.com.
Glutes: Tension in the glutial area often contributes to low back pain and can also send pain shooting down your leg if the Sciatic Nerve is compressed. If you've ever driven a long distance and got a pain in your derriere, this is a wonderful relief. Simply take a tennis ball, drop it on the couch, sit on it, and roll it around the glutial area until you find the tender spot and work it. If you don't get enough pressure on the couch, try an ottoman or some other cushioned surface. I don't recommend you do this on the floor as you need something with some give or even a tennis ball will be too hard.
Feet: If you don't have a golf ball, they are easy to find and inexpensive. Simply roll your foot around on it, giving the amount of pressure needed to get that "hurts so good" feeling. If it's the arch you want to rub, the tendons don't take pressure as well as the muscle, so use a tennis ball there.
Occipital Ridge: (base of your skull where it meets the neck): The best thing I've found so far is a piece of styrofoam from a hobby store. Two or four short conical pieces placed just under where the skull and the neck meet. Whatever you use needs to be firm enough to support your head but not hard, and come to a ridge or rounded point.
Lavender: An Essential Oil for Fundamental Health
by Laurie Chance Smith Lavender essential oil is a one-stop medicine chest, helping to reduce anxiety, fatigue, and stress and balance hormones, increase the immune response, lower blood pressure, and relieve pain. To utilize lavender's healing benefits at home, mix five to 10 drops of lavender essential oil in one ounce of jojoba oil or unscented lotion. (Essential oils shouldn't be applied directly to the skin, it's best to partner them with a carrier oil, liquid, or lotion.)
Earaches: For earaches, dab one drop of lavender massage oil behind the ear and rub gently. Alternatively, place one drop of lavender oil on a cotton ball and carefully place inside the outer ear.
Headaches: Inhaling lavender is also effective for headache relief. Add a few drops to a bowl of warm water and breathe. Gently rub lavender massage lotion on the temples, forehead, and base of the neck.
Colds: Lavender oil can also help break up coughs and clear sinuses. Colorado-based holistic aromatherapist Nicola McGill suggests the regular home-use of antiseptic essential oils such as lavender to help avoid colds and other infectious diseases. Add a few drops to a vaporizer to help clear colds and infuse the home with lavender's scent.
Stress: At night, six to eight drops of lavender added to a warm bath helps melt away stress and relieve fatigue. Blend a footbath by adding three drops of lavender to a bowl of warm water, sink your feet in, and relax. For help inducing sleep, add two or three drops of lavender essential oil to the underside corner of your pillow.
Tranquil Aroma: A human takes 23,040 breaths a day, and each inhale floods the system with scent. Rely on lavender's tranquil aroma to clear the way toward peaceful days.
Best General Home Therapy for Sore Muscles
The best home therapy for sore muscles is alternating hot and cold packs. Please note: If there is inflammation (swelling) use only cold packs, do not use hot packs.
Use a hot pack for 10 to 15 minutes
Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes
Use a cold pack for 10 to 15 minutes
Let is rest for 10 to 15 minutes
Repeat one or two more times
Even One Massage Session Produces Measurable Benefits, Research Shows
Most massage clients will attest that the more massage they receive, the better they feel and function. New research shows that even one massage-therapy session "produces measurable biologic effects" and may have implications for managing autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, set out to determine the effects of a single session of Swedish massage on neuroendocrine and immune function.
"Massage therapy is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States with 8.7 percent of adults receiving at least one massage within the last year; yet, little is known about the physiologic effects of a single session of massage in healthy individuals," the study's abstract noted.
One group of people received a 45-minute Swedish massage session while a control group received a light-touch control condition. Both groups comprised medically and psychiatrically healthy adults, 18-45 years old.
The researchers hypothesized that the massage session would enhance immune function, according to the report published on www.pubmed.gov. The results showed that compared to light touch, Swedish massage "caused a large effect size decrease in arginine-vasopressin, and a small effect size decrease in cortisol. Massage increased the number of circulating lymphocytes ... "
The researchers noted, "preliminary data suggest that a single session of Swedish massage therapy produces measurable biologic effects. If replicated, these findings may have implications for managing inflammatory and autoimmune conditions."
"A Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals" is running in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
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