Giving Thanks


It’s Not Just for Thanksgiving, Being Thankful Can Keep You Healthy

So, what if there was a simple solution to stress, involving nothing more than giving thanks for the positive things in your life? Well there is. It’s called gratitude.

Gratitude means giving thanks, counting one’s blessings and acknowledging what we receive. Psychological and behavioral research has shown that your life will improve in amazing ways if you simply take a few moments each day to shift your focus from what your life is lacking to the abundance already present.

Giving thanks makes us happier and more resilient. It improves relationships, health and reduces stress.


Being Thankful Increases Your Quality of Life

Studies show, people who regularly practice giving thanks have a measurable increase in their overall wellness.

In a research paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Counting Blessings vs Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life”, psychologists Robert A. Emmons (UC Davis) and Michael E. McCullough (University of Miami) reported on an experiment they conducted regarding gratitude and its impact on well-being.

Spanning three separate studies, over 400 people were split into separate groups and each of them tasked with recording a daily diary. The first group was asked to keep a general log of the events that occurred during their day, the second group was told to record only unpleasant experiences and the last group was instructed to record events for which they were grateful for. The surprising results of the study were that the group that recorded things for which they were grateful for also showed heightened levels of energy, optimism, determination, enthusiasm and increased alertness. They were more resilient to stress and depression, exercised more often, were more likely to help others and made greater progress towards personal goals.

Dr. Emmons, author of the book “Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier” has been studying psychology for almost fifteen years and is a leading clinician in the growing field of positive psychology. He has proven that thankfulness is good for us, and that learning to be more thankful and by adopting an “Attitude of Gratitude” people are more likely to:

• feel happier
• exercise more
• eat better
• be more alert
• build stronger immune systems
• be more optimistic about the future
• cope with stress
• take better care of themselves

So with that in mind, here are a few simple suggestions to learning to live a life of gratitude.

• Saying thank you. If somebody does something nice for you, just say thanks, and mean it. No matter how small the act might been, they were thinking of you, let them know that you appreciate it.
• Going out of your way to be thankful. If something positive that someone has done for you crosses your mind, or helps you to cope with a situation in a better way, give them a call or send them an email. Let them know that you are thankful for something they have done in the past. It only takes a few minutes and will brighten everyone’s day.
• Look at things in a new light. Most difficulties can also be opportunities to grow. Many of the challenging situations in our lives are not really that upsetting, we just chose to take a negative outlook on them. Think back to some of the more stressful, difficult or sad situations you’ve been through and where you are now because of them. Your life today is the product of your past experiences, both good and bad. If you learn to give thanks for the things you have now, how can you be unhappy with the events that lead you to them?
• Write it down. Recording things you feel grateful for is a great way to regularly give thanks. Emmons has shown that individuals who listed five ore more things weekly that they felt grateful for reported greater optimism and fewer health problems than those who didn’t. Additionally a second study has shown that daily gratitude logging is even more effective.
• It’s about who you have, not what. We generally assume that those of us who have more material possessions have more to be thankful for. Research however, suggests otherwise. Dr. Ed Diener, (University of Illinois) states that while income is not highly correlated with happiness, social relationships are. Similarly the 75 year Harvard Grant Study has shown that you can have money, a successful career and good physical health, but without supportive, nurturing relationships we cannot truly be happy.

Once you learn to focus on things to be thankful for, you’ll find yourself beginning to appreciate life’s simple pleasures and all of the things you’ve previously taken for granted.

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Sometimes de-stressing just isn't enough! If you would like to learn about how you could benefit from mobile therapeutic massage, or you would like to schedule an appointment in the Grants Pass area please call Melissa A. Bailey, Licensed Massage Therapist at 541-862-1442 or:

Chair Massage in the Office – Enhancing Productivity and Reducing Stress

Corporate massage has become somewhat commonplace recently; however many employers are still find themselves unaware of the benefits this type of massage therapy can provide their staff. Chair massage has been shown in countless studies to reduce the tension and overall stress levels of recipients, as well as increasing alertness, competency, speed and accuracy.

In a study published in The Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice Journal, nursing staff who were provided with 15 minute chair massages once weekly over the course of five weeks showed lowered anxiety and stress levels afterwords. (According to the Mean Perceived Stress Scale, Smith Anxiety Scale, Linear Analog Self-Assessment Scale  and the Symptom Visual Analog Scale.)

In a similar study published in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 18 people from various offices were provided with 15 minute weekly chair massages. Another group of 15 people received an an extra 15 minute weekly break instead. The data provided by this study showed a significant reduction in the stress and anxiety levels of the group who received the massage therapy, while the “extra break” control group showed little to no change.

One of the lesser known effects of massage therapy is its ability to enhance alertness and sharpen mental faculties. TheMiami School of Medicine took 26 participants and provided them with 15 minute chair massages twice a week for five weeks while a control group of 24 participants were asked to just relax in the massage chair for the same period of time.

On the first and last days of the study, participants perfumed mathematical computations and cognitive tests, were tested for the stress hormone cortisol and were monitored by EEG (the recording of electrical activity along the scalp). While both groups displayed an increase in relaxation, the massage therapy group additionally showed enhanced alertness, an increase in mathematical speed/accuracy and a reduction in the stress hormone cortisol. The control group showed little to no change for alertness, mathematical computation or stress levels.

As an employer, you might be wondering what this means to you. It’s an accepted fact that stress and anxiety frequently lead to lower productivity. Employees who are less stressed are proven to have not only a higher work output, but an increase in their efficiency. These studies show time and time again, that even short durations of massage therapy can have a powerful effect on stress and anxiety.

If you would like to hear more about how you could benefit from mobile therapeutic massage, or you would like to schedule an appointment in the Grants Pass area please call Melissa A. Bailey, Licensed Massage Therapist at (541) 862-1442 or visit her online at gpmassageinmotion.com

Fighting with my Bed.

As a massage therapist I have to take care of myself in order to provide quality sessions day after day. An important part of that is simply sleeping better, as sleep plays a critical role in good health and well-being. This means both getting enough sleep and sleeping correctly. Poor sleeping posture can place unnecessary strain on your neck, spine and muscles pulling your entire back out of alignment resulting in chronic back and neck pain. When I’m in pain I can’t operate at 100% and that’s not fair to my clients.

To that end, I spent a great deal of time researching and reading reviews before I invested a fair amount in a more supportive mattress from a top-of-the-line manufacturer. Not only was it recommended to me online based on my body type and sleeping habits but, without even knowing it was the same exact model, I fell in love with it on the showroom floor.

I’ve owned a memory foam mattress topper for years as they are proven to relieve pressure points for those with back or joint pain, I use a medium loft latex pillow as they consistently rate the highest for both pain reduction and owner satisfaction. And though I’d rather be on my side, I sleep on my back in an effort to take the best care of my spine possible. (See my earlier post on sleeping posture here.)

Recently I had been struggling with a fair degree of neck pain and stiffness -lasting several weeks. Nothing I did on my own was providing complete relief and I was sure it was not the way I slept since I had taken every measure I could to make sure I was getting the highest quality rest I could.

It was pointed out to me that I had only recently pulled the memory foam mattress topper out of storage after my most recent move and it got me to thinking. I did start to notice the stiffness in my neck shortly after putting the mattress topper on my bed!

How could that be though? Well, it turns out that the memory foam is less dense than the latex in my pillow and while my body was comfortably sinking into the pad, my pillow was floating on top, pushing my neck unnaturally high and out of alignment.

Just food for thought, I thought I was doing everything right, but the combination was all wrong.

Does Massage Therapy for Pain Relief Have to Hurt?

Occasionally a client will say something like “Give me your worst. I’m strong and can take it.” or “You can really beat me up, I don’t mind.”

I know everyone has different tastes, and some people actually enjoy the feeling of having a deep knot really worked out, but the frequency I hear it brings up a really good question: “Does massage therapy for pain relief have to hurt to be effective?”

Well the answer as far as I’m concerned is: No, not at all. The “No pain, no gain!” saying does not apply to massage therapy. In fact massage is most effective when the appropriate pressure is applied. You can get amazing results and relief from pain with even the most gentle treatments. Also, most people have misconceptions about deep tissue massage. A lot of people seem to think the deeper the better, but the practice is not about how deep. It’s about how we gently and gradually work through the multiple layers of muscle to free your connective tissues and relieve your pain.

While massage can be uncomfortable and sometimes even painful when you are treating recent or chronic injuries, the pain should not be the result of the therapist beating you up. The discomfort is something to be worked with, gently and within your limits.

If you experience pain during any massage therapy session, please tell your therapist. Your muscles release tension when you are relaxed, not when you’re tensed up in pain.

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When it comes to massage therapy, tuning in to your own body and sensing its response to each particular technique is a much better indicator of effectiveness than the how much pain you can take during a session.

If you would like to hear more about how you could benefit from mobile therapeutic massage, or you would like to schedule an appointment in the Grants Pass area please call Melissa A. Bailey, Licensed Massage Therapist at (541) 862-1442 or visit her online at gpmassageinmotion.com

Banish Stress Headaches at Home in as Little as 5 Minutes!

Do you suffer from tension, stress headaches or neck pain? If  you answered  yes you’re not alone. 6 out of 10 Massage in Motion customers are plagued by chronic headaches and the majority of them are caused by muscle tightness and stress. Did you know that in 5-10 minutes on your own you can alleviate most of them?

There are several stretches you can do on your own to alleviate neck tension, however my favorite ‘trick’ to teach clients is to find a time every day that they are on idle, watching TV, taking a break or during the red light that they get stuck at for way too long on the way to work. Even the bathroom… it might sound funny, but who doesn’t waste a few minutes there each day?

Anyway, to the point! You have the time to get rid of your pesky headaches without constantly taking pain killers!

• Slowly tilt your right ear down towards your shoulder and then move your chin slightly towards your right shoulder to feel a stretch in the left side of your neck.
• Place your right hand on top of your head to add just a little pressure. DO NOT pull your head down. This stretch can be done either sitting or standing and you should try and hold the stretch for 10 to 20 seconds.
• Repeat the exercise again this time tilt to the left in order to stretch the right side of your neck.

To keep your neck flexible I recommend trying to stretch on a semi-regular basis. It’s a great way to release stress since that’s we store a lot of the tension that we accumulate everyday.

Warning:

Avoid stretching your neck up or backwards as that can compress the vertebrae in your spine and lead to more pain!

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Positive Body Image Through Massage Therapy

Combating Negative Images

So, how do you see yourself? Are you happy with the person looking back from the mirror at you or do you scowl in frustration? Researchers say over 80 percent of women in the U.S. are unhappy with their body. Whether lamenting about a pear instead of hourglass shaped figure or even more serious, self-loathing body dysmorphic disorders. Our body image is under attack in this celebrity-fixated society we live in. Though advertising agencies continue to airbrush photos of slender, 115-pound supermodels onto magazine covers, there are others who are trying to teach our young girls to love their bodies, imperfections and all. A great way to combat the Hollywood-hype and help to create an appreciation for our bodies as well as learn how to teach our children the same is through hands-on bodywork and massage.

Reconnecting with Massage

Being upset with our bodies can have serious lifelong, ramifications. Feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing set up a lifetime of self-deprecating behavior. With regularly scheduled bodywork allows us to “get back” into our own body and to reconnect with ourselves. Massage can help us release mental and physical tension, enhancing our ability to fully experience our body (regardless of its size and shape) in a more healthy way. Just as it allows us to relax, massage therapy can also encourage an inner awareness of the body, allowing us to see things more clearly and to self identify with our own destructive actions, including overeating or purging.

Bodywork and massage therapy also creates a sense of healing and nurturing that is incredibly powerful when it comes to letting go of a poor body image. Learning to accept the nonjudgmental touch of a professional massage therapist goes a long way towards learning to rebuild respect and appreciation for your own body. If we can learn to find acceptance for who we really are and how we we look we can give ourselves permission to live comfortably in our own skin.

The Value of Touch

Touch can be a powerful ally on the quest for mental and physical health. Not only helping you learn to be more in touch with your body, but creating a sense of wholeness and wellness that can often be lost in the fray of our scrambled and over scheduled daily lives. When you regain that connection, it becomes much easier to realize that our body is something to be be nurtured, loved and cherished; Not betrayed, mocked and forgotten.

Valuable for every body type and age, bodywork and massage have vast benefits. Here are a few:

• Alleviating lower back pain and improving your range of motion.
• Decreasing dependency on medications.
• Eases depression and anxiety.
• Enhances your immune system by stimulating lymphatic flow.
• Stretches and exercises tense, sore, or atrophied muscles.
• Increases joint flexibility.
• Improves circulation by working nutrients and oxygen into vital organs and tissues.
• Releases endorphins – your body’s own natural painkiller.

Every Shape, Every Size

Whether a client weighs 35 pounds or 350 pounds, bodywork and massage therapists are trained to appreciate them all without judgment, delivering the most compassionate care possible. Throughout your session, your practitioner’s goal will be to foster an environment that feels nurturing and safe for you while providing much needed therapeutic touch.

Through the Scars

A negative body image is not always necessarily about those few extra pounds around the hips. Instead it can be tied to the scars of past surgeries or injuries. Massage and bodywork can help here as well. Research has shown massage for burn victims can assist with the healing process, and for post operative breast cancer patients, massage and bodywork can help to reintegrate your battered body and spirit. As well as softening scar tissue and accelerating post surgery recoveries, massage and bodywork with these clients is also about reverence, respect and learning to look beyond the scars.

If you would like to hear more about how you could benefit from mobile therapeutic massage, or you would like to schedule an appointment in the Grants Pass area please call Melissa A. Bailey, Licensed Massage Therapist at (541) 862-1442 or visit her online at gpmassageinmotion.com

The Benefits of Frequent Massage Therapy

There’s simply no denying the power of massage. Regardless of the words we use to describe it (therapeutic, rejuvenating, pampering) or the individual reasons we may seek it out; For pain management, stress relief or simply a luxurious treat, massage can be quite the powerful ally in one’s healthcare regimen.

The incredible benefits of bodywork and massage therapy can be even more  powerful if provided on a regular basis. Researchers at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami note that the more massage therapy one receives, the greater the benefits they reap.

The Effects of Stress on Your Body – WebMD

Seventy-five to ninety percent of disease is stress related. So perhaps nothing accelerates aging faster, both externally and internally than anxiety and high stress. Though eliminating these pressures altogether in today’s fast-paced world may be a bit of a pipe dream, massage therapy can without any doubt help to control stress. Translating into:

• Reduced anxiety.
• Better quality of sleep.
• Increased energy.
• Improvements in concentration.
• Increased blood flow.
• Reduction in fatigue.

Furthermore, massage therapy clients frequently report a sense of clarity and perspective after receiving a treatment. The emotional balancing that bodywork can provide is often just as valuable as the more noticeable physical benefits.

Profound Effects

In response to massage therapy, specific chemical and physiological changes course throughout the body with powerful effects. Studies by The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine show that with frequent massage:

• Arthritis sufferers report less stiffness, pain and fewer aches.
• Asthmatic children show increased pulmonary function and better peak air flow.
• Burn injury patients note reduced anxiety, pain and itching.
• High blood pressure patients show reduced anxiety, less cortisol (stress hormone) and lower diastolic blood pressure.
• Women suffering from PMS have decreased cramping and a reduction in water retention.
• Premature infants have significantly improved weight gain.

Studies continue to show the incredible benefits of massage. Ranging from the treatment of  neurological disorders, chronic diseases and injuries to simply reducing the tensions and stress of a modern lifestyle. As a result, the medical community now is actively embracing massage, and bodywork is becoming a fundamental part of neonatal intensive care units as well as hospice care. Many hospitals are even incorporating in-house massage and bodywork practitioners along with spas to aid in the treatment post-surgery and chronic pain patients as part of their recovery process.

Increase the Benefits of Massage Therapy Through Frequent Visits

The real beauty of bodywork is that it’s benefits are compounded used as a frequent therapy. Simply put. The more you massage therapy you receive, the more it does for you.

Participating in this type of regularly scheduled self-care can and will play an incredible role in how healthy you are and how vibrant you’ll remain trough the passing years. Budgeting out the time and money for regular massage treatments is truly an investment in your short and long term health. Remember, just because it feels like you’re being pampered doesn’t make it is any less therapeutic. Think about massage therapy appointments a crucial part of your health and wellness plan and work with your therapist to establish schedule for treatment that best meets your schedule and goals.

Helping Yourself to Health

So what exactly are the reward to regularly receiving massage treatments? Some of them include:

• Alleviating lower back pain and improving your range of motion.
• Assisting with shorter, easier labors for expectant mothers and shortening maternity related hospital stays.
• Ease dependancy on pain medications.
• Enhancing your immune system by stimulating lymphatic flow. Your body’s own natural defense system.
• Stretches and exercises tense, sore, or atrophied muscles.
• Helps athletes from all walks of life prepare for and recover from their strenuous workouts.
• Improving the condition of the skin, your body’s largest organ.
• Increases joint flexibility.
• Lessen anxiety and depression.
• Promote tissue regeneration. Reduces stretch marks and scar tissue.
• Pumps oxygen and vital nutrients into tissues and organs by improving circulation.
• A reduction in post operative swelling and adhesions.
• Reduce cramping and spasms.
• Relaxes and softens tired, injured and overused muscles.
• Release endorphins. The amino acids that work as your body’s natural painkillers.
• Relief from migraine pain.
  

If you would like to hear more about how you could benefit from mobile therapeutic massage, or you would like to schedule an appointment in the Grants Pass area please call Melissa A. Bailey, Licensed Massage Therapist at (541) 862-1442 or visit her online at gpmassageinmotion.com