Prioritizing Self Care

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Self Care Isn’t Selfish I have seen the meme, “Self-Care Is Not Selfish” show up on virtually all social media outlets that I subscribe to. Often it is accompanied by the analogy of the airline safety instructions to put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. It seems that people are beginning to take… Read more »

Physician, Heal Thyself

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While I certainly am not a physician, this biblical proverb is resonating strongly with me at the moment.  I can add “practice what you preach” to that because recently I was guilty of “do as I say, not as I do.”  Now I’m paying the price. If I Had a Dollar… …for every time I… Read more »

Support the Doctor Within (Stay Healthy Pt.3)

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massage therapist reston va

“Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within a chance to work.” Albert Schweitzer, M.D., Philosopher & Nobel Prize Winner My friend and colleague has a beautiful poster with this quote in the reception area of his office.  I have always loved… Read more »

Winter Massage for Warm Weather Athletes

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Massage During the Off Season Winter is considered the “off season” for many warm weather athletes. It’s the season when you may take time off to allow your body to recover from the effects of intense training. If you experienced a sports injury, this may be when you plan for surgery and/or rehabilitative therapy. Massage… Read more »

No Band-Aid Approach to Massage

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I recently read a fantastic blog post by Sally Fraser Wellness where she questions the “Band-Aid Approach” that is often practiced in the American healthcare system. Her post was spurred by the recent removal of a common heartburn medication from pharmacy shelves. The main point of her post is to question why, as a society,… Read more »

Massage Therapy and the Opioid Crisis

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Massage Therapy Research Influencing Policy Recently, the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released guidelines for the education of health care providers on many non-drug options for treating pain. The guidelines were developed with input from representatives from the Complementary and Integrative Health community (including the American Massage Therapy Association AMTA) This is a big step in the right… Read more »

Surrounding The Pain Dragon

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In massage school, I took a class called Commonly Encountered Conditions. As the name suggests, we learned about common issues that we would likely come across in our massage practices. We then learned strategies for dealing with the conditions. The instructor would frequently use the phrase, “Surround the Dragon” to describe his approach to pain… Read more »

Massage: When Less Is More

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I am a big fan of long, luxurious massages. I love to give them, and I certainly love to receive them. But sometimes with massage, less is more effective. Often a client has booked a 90 or even 120 minute massage and said, “I only want you to work on my upper back and shoulders. I have… Read more »