Did You Know the Five Surprising Benefits of Massage?

To the people who know about massage and what it can do, this will be preaching to the choir. But to those who do not you will find an article published in Newsweek on September 4^th quite surprising to quote the article.

I recommend this article as a very good read about the benefits of massage.  Move your mouse over the title and click on it to link to the article.

Five Surprising Benefits of Massage

By Temma Ehrenfeld

Massage is available at my office located in Downtown Silver Spring, MD, close to Washington DC and just blocks from the Red Line’s Silver Spring Station.

Relieving Stress Boosts Your Profits!

Everyone experiences stress as it is a natural part of life. A recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle said that according to the American Psychological Association one third of Americans are living with extreme stress. The most cited source of that stress was the workplace.

This is very costly to employers as it affects the bottom line. [Read more]

Investing in your health – your #1 Asset!

Lately I have been reading a book entitled RICH DAD POOR DAD by Robert T Kiyosaki, and in his book he stresses the importance of investing in assets – things that produce income. I thought to myself what is a person’s #1 asset? Well of course the answer is oneself and one’s health. Without these two “things” one cannot produce anything let alone an income.

I speak to groups all the time about protecting their health, being proactive in maintaining their wellbeing – mind, body and spirit. The one example I use is that of one’s car. Who does not make sure to change the oil and other vital fluids in their vehicle to make sure it runs well. Ask any mechanic what the #1 maintenance item is for any vehicle and they will tell you – “change the oil every three thousand miles or every three months whichever comes first” – right?

Let me ask you a question – why don’t we do the same for ourselves? Now I don’t mean we should change our oil, but we should be taking care of our bodies, minds and spirits.
Massage is a great way to enhance your health. A massage can loosen and invigorate tired muscles. It can also relax the body and calm the mind and thereby relax the spirit. This can lower blood pressure, increase range of motion, calm, lower stress, reduce pain and so much more.

Acupuncture is another great way to enhance your health. An acupuncture treatment
can also relax the body , calm the mind and relax the spirit. Acupuncture can reduce pain, improve digestion, help with conception, reduce reaction to seasonal allergies, reduce or eliminate PMS or menopausal hot flashes and sweats. Acupuncture can also make changes in the qi the body’s energy, which if functioning properly maintains your health.
Combining these two modalities along with others that I know can have Powerful benefits for you mind, body and spirit. These benefits are dividends that your body will pay. Some of these dividends are – clearer and sharper thinking, being more productive, having a better attitude and disposition with friends and loved ones, a calmer home and office, more or increased flexibility, decreased sickness, decreased lost work days and the list can go on.

So get to it, invest in yourself! Pick up the phone and call me right now to schedule your appointments to get started on the road to riches!  My clinic is located in Silver Spring, MD which is close to Washington DC.

Stress in Your Workplace?

In an article published in the Business section of the Washington Post on February 19, 2008, author Vickie Elmer discussed the effects of stress in the workplace.

In her article, Ms. Elmer that if you are “angry and overloaded because your hours keep growing as the staff gradually shrinks, don’t expect much help from management.” [Read more]

Stress and You II

A colleague of mine just told me about a wonderful thing she did for herself. She went on a spiritual retreat. It was not with a revival group or anything like that. It was just her and some things she does to revive her spirit.

What she did was so simple, yet so powerful. [Read more]

Stress and You

Let me ask you something; what is the one thing in your life you could have less of and be a much happier person? If you said stress, you were right. I’ll have you know, stress in and of itself is not a bad thing. It is our body’s natural early warning system. It is the system that makes your hair stand on end when your gut tells you something is wrong. It initiates what is called the fight or flight response in your body.The problem with stress is when we have too much of it, when we have it all the time. It is like I tell my patients; you can’t always have the army out looking for a perceived enemy. The soldiers get burned out and tired. It is the same thing with stress. Having constant stress is like always having your army on high alert. The system that governs it the autonomic nervous system - gets burned out, so to speak.

So what to do? what to do? Well let me suggest a few ideas. First, take a walk and think about something pleasant. Second, pick up the phone and schedule a massage for yourself. Massage of any type is very calming. According to the Touch Research Institute in Florida, touch has unique ability to reduce stress hormones and improve immune system function. According to one study they did, it was found that massage therapy reduced anxiety, depressed mood, salivary cortisol (stress hormone) levels and body dissatisfaction.

Massage increases endorphin levels in the body. Endorphins are the body’s natural feel good hormone that helps with pain relief. Endorphins (or more correctly Endomorphines) are inherent opioid biochemical compounds. They are peptides produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in animals with spines, and they resemble opiates in their abilities to produce pain relief and a sense of well-being. In other words, they might work as “natural pain killers”. In fact the receptors in the brain that endorphins attach to are the same receptors that morphine would attach to.

In1999 clinical researchers reported that inserting acupuncture needles into specific body points triggers the production of endorphins [1]. In another study, higher levels of endorphins were found in cerebrospinal fluid after patients underwent acupuncture.

In my clinic I use a combination of massage, acupuncture and aroma therapy to induce a state of relaxation. This powerful treatment which I have used on many patients in combination with required “homework” has been a boon for my patients. Many have related being a “different person” at home and not being so quick to anger at other times. Don’t you owe it to yourself as well as your loved ones to be the best person that you can be? Wouldn’t you love to be more relaxed and calmer? It is possible, you can do it! Calm happy people are productive people. Who today would not want to be more productive? So take some time each week to focus for an hour on yourself. Invest in yourself, the dividends could be enormous.