Reasons for Chair Massage in the Office

Although many offices do have some type of Wellness Sessions occurring at the office, many don’t see it as a true benefit to the workplace. Here are 3 quick reasons to have Chair Massage as a part of the workday-

1. It takes the excuse of “I don’t have time” out of the equation. The chair is already there, and you have a few minutes in your day to take care of yourself. It is a matter of priority. Where are you on your Priority List?

Your ears and shoulders should be like exes; they should be aware of each other, but nowhere near each other.

2. It reduces pain in tension areas of the body that tend to be overused – the head, neck and shoulders. Leaning into your computer screen, peering into your cell phone, poring over paperwork, or even cradling the phone between your neck and shoulders all contribute to sore muscles that can create headaches, eyestrain and afternoon lethargy.
3. It creates a refreshing afternoon break in the day. It’s after lunch, and 5 PM seems like a LONG way away. What do you have to look forward to- Going home? With that last break of the day, getting a quick massage can give you a calorie free quick burst of energy and a well needed (and well-kneaded) stress break! Adding peppermint (essential oil or even candy) to the session can help increase concentration on tasks.

Of course, there are many more reasons – what is your reason to have Chair Massage at your office?

Stress Free Tips for the School Year

School in the South has already started! It shouldn’t be a stressful time for parents and children alike, so here are some tips to take some of the stress out of the school year –

1. Plan ahead – No one Expects the Spanish Inquisition, but expect that kids will leave things until the last minute. Create a basket or bulletin board in a common area to hang all permission slips, reports and assignments due.

2. Keep in touch with the Teacher(s) – Make sure your child’s teacher can get in touch with you so that your kid’s ‘last minute’ assignment isn’t actually last minute. If your child knows that his or her teacher is a speed dial or click away, the less likely it is that they will try to get away with something. This also goes for parents of the friends.

3. Have the kids take ownership of their OWN homework. – When I was in school, twenty (cough, cough) plus years ago, homework took forever. I don’t think it has gotten any easier or less stressful for kids to do their assignments. Kids are going to get frustrated, which will result in YOU getting frustrated. Doing their homework for them doesn’t solve their problem, at all. It saves tears and late nights, but it doesn’t solve the problem. There are a lot of apps, and free videos (especially Khan Academy) that can help your students in subjects that even you needed (or still need) help in!

4. Take a break! Taking short breaks throughout homework time lets the body relax a bit and move the blood around, giving you more energy and creativity.  Skipping breaks tends to wear you down, because the stress level never really abates. Even if you take time to do self-massage, meditate or have a dance break, all of these will help reduce stress.

These are only a few tips, but I’m sure that you have some great ones! What are your best ways to get the School Year off to a stress free start?

How often should I get a Massage?

By far and away, the question of how often one should get a massage is the most common one that I get on a daily basis. I think, as so many people have different reasons that one would NEED a massage, the answers are never the same, or easy to answer.

How often you get a massage all depends on YOU, and what you need to get out of the sessions!

Here is my best recommendation – it depends on you! If you’re athletic and just trying to maintain good muscle tone, the frequency and type of massage would be different than someone that is completely stressed all the time. If you are sedentary, and sit at your desk all day, your massage regimen would be different than someone that would be in a surgery theater. I am not trying to be vague; if you have a specific treatment that you need to feel better, I’d be able to give you a better idea as to your frequency of sessions, because it would be contoured to your need. 

If you have any questions about massage, let me hear them! I’d love to know what you are wondering about!

Just Blog It- Day 12 Favorite Social Media Platform

Pinterest is where I can share more of my passions, aside from Massage Therapy to a wide variety of people.

The place I’ve been spending a lot of my social media time is Pinterest, primarily because it’s where I can share other ideas other than Massage Therapy. I like to be known for what I do, but I am so much more than what I do. Sharing my other interests and passions makes me a more rounded person, and able to meet so many other people aside from the great ones in my line of work. I enjoy using Pinterest enough that I did a class earlier this year on how you could use it.

This, however doesn’t diminish my love for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. They are absolutely great for connection and sharing ideas, but for being creative, most of the stuff that I share or create myself, it goes right to Pinterest.

Here is my Pinterest page, to the right. This is one of the slides that I used for the class that I taught a while ago. If you’d like to check out the page, here’s the link.

Just Blog it – Day 11 – Tooting my Own Horn

Chair Massage – Atlanta Pampered Ladies Expo – Photo Credit Moore Memories

The one thing I love about myself, in regards to massage therapy, is that I love to tell clients and potential clients about things that we hadn’t talked about prior to the massage.

It’s weird, and the looks I get are amazing. I’ll find a knot, or really tight muscles in the lower back, and I’ll ask if they lock their knees when they stand up during the day.

“How did you know?” they ask quizzically. We hadn’t talked about it previously, and you can already see that they’re wondering really, how did I know their back was bothering them.

“Your back is talking about you…behind your back!” I usually reply, which make them laugh. After the session is over, I explain to them as to how I figured it out, and how they can get back into the habit of loosening those muscles and making them more flexible.

Just last week, I was doing a Chair Massage session for Daycare employees, and asked a few of them if they had a headache. A similar quizzical comment came through the face cradle, asking how did I know. Again, I explained to them how I figured it out, and how to take care after the session was over.

The one time I freaked myself out doing this was when I was working at Logan Airport, right after 9/11. I was in my first year of doing massage, and did a foot massage for a client on a layover. He’d been on his feet after refereeing an NBA game the night before. After I prepped to start this massage session, I misted his foot with a lavender and peppermint spray, and began to start working on his foot, when he flinched. My thought process is ticklish people also flinch, but this was different. And when I say he flinched, he jerked his foot so quickly, he kicked the chair.

“You must be a middle child,” I blurted out. We hadn’t had a conversation about family, so this comment was really out of left field for both of us.

He looked at me as if I tapped into an earlier phone call with family, and overheard something I shouldn’t.

“How did you know???”

“As an older sibling, I know what a ‘Punchbuggy’ flinch looks like.”

That was the last time I asked about birth order. That was freaky, even for me.