The Benefits of Massage

Hi All,

I'm glad to be back in town.  Wow - it's shaping up to be a pretty interesting summer.  It's blazing hot here and we've had several dust storms and summer thunderstorms.  Just this past weekend we had an especially violent storm, right in our neighborhood, where we had a microburst storm that took down trees and electric lines.  I hope wherever you're at, your summer is going well.  I'm grateful for all the rain, and the beauty of nature.  I'm also grateful for the opportunity to work in the holistic therapy field.

One of the favorite therapies I perform is probably the most common.  Massage.  Massage can be one of the most relaxing and healing therapies and the benefits of massage can be very profound.  Today I'd like to expand a little about why massage therapy can be very beneficial for you.

First of all, the obvious.  It's relaxing.  It's stress relieving.  It feels great to get your body and muscles massaged.  In that vein, on a deeper level, massage helps to loosen up your muscles.  Massage helps move the toxins out of your muscle tissue enhancing and accelerating recovery of over used, tired, and injured muscles.

Massage is so relaxing

Getting a massage is also like a work out.  It works weakened muscles.  It increases blood flow thru your muscles, organs, and tissues - increasing and bringing oxygen and nutrients to your muscles, organs and the tissues of your body.  Massage not only increases blood flow, but also the flow of lymph.  This all increases and enhances your bodies immunities and encourages your body to be healthier.

People who have suffered from injuries or have had surgeries will find that massage can speed up recovery.  Massage will help work out and reduce scar tissue and reduce post surgery adhesions and swelling.  It also promotes tissue regeneration and will increase flexibility and range of motion.  Athletes like massage because it helps them to recover from intense workouts and competitions.  It also helps them to heal from the minor and sometimes major injuries.  Massage also assists in releasing endorphins - a brain chemical that helps to reduce pain in the body.

Here I am working with a client, performing a chair
massage at a recent event.  Chair massage can be a
very relaxing 10-15 minute session to help loosen
your back and neck.

Massage will improve the condition of the bodies largest organ - the skin.  It's wonderful for the skin to be worked on, to have the lymph moved along and have increased blood flow in it.  Massage therapists usually use a nice oil or lotion that's also very healthy for the skin.  It feeds the skin healthy nutrients.

Massage can help you to sleep better.  On of my mentors would always say - "it resets your body clock."  Most people find they have a very deep relaxing sleep the evening after getting a massage.  Massage can also lessen depression and anxiety as well as relieving migraine pain.

Massage can be so helpful and assist healing on any and all levels.  It is truly an holistic therapy - it literally affects the whole person in a very positive way.  And - it just feels so good to have someone work on you, pampering you a bit, and helping you to just relax and let go for a little while.

Massage can also be coupled with other holistic therapies, like Reiki and Reflexology.  This can really boost the benefit.

Try a massage sometime soon.  You can get a very deep tissue massage, a lighter touch, or a very therapeutic style massage.  Take care of yourself in all ways - and massage is a very relaxing and stress relieving way to take care of your body.

I practice massage in Phoenix Arizona.  I work out of an office and also can take my table on the road.  If I can serve you, please let me know.  Take a look at my website details and contact information.
www.HolisticTherapySolutions.weebly.com

Have a great week.  Make a difference in your community.  Help out a neighbor or someone who needs your help.  You won't regret it.  Every little bit helps.

Peace,

Tom

Life as Art...Breaking Bad.

Hi All,

Wow - seems like I've been gone for a while.  I just got back from a road trip to Texas.  My parents live out there and I spent a week visiting and catching up with them.  It was really good to see them.

So on the way back I stopped in to see some old friends in Albuquerque, New Mexico - Jerry and Deb King, and got to see John, their son, as well.  I stayed overnight at their house on the way home to Phoenix.

Jerry and I served together in the Air Force many years ago.  I was a medical illustrator and he was medical photographer at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital at Offutt, Air Force Base, Nebraska.  We had so much fun working together and still enjoy hanging out, when we get together.

One of the fun things we share is a love of the TV show, Breaking Bad.  As we had talked about, the TV show took place and was filmed in and around the Albuquerque area and they'd told me many key landmarks were close by to where they live.

So we had fun discussing it again and Debbie had gone to a "Breaking Bad Sale" at the local thrift store (maybe Goodwill?), and bought a chair and a couple other small items.  So I'd like to share my photos and Breaking Bad tour of my friends neighborhood from last Saturday afternoon.

Walt and Sky's car wash in Breaking Bad.

Above is the carwash that Walter and Skyler bought to launder the illegal drug money that he was making in the TV show.  It's about a mile from my friend's house, and it was funny - other people were pulling up and taking pictures of it too.

Stills of the chair in Breaking Bad and extra Mineral Spirits label.

One of Jesse Pinkman's dining room chairs in Breaking Bad.

Above - Jessie Pinkman's dining room chair.  It's actually a nice old chair.  Deb put a little display together with stills of the chair, from the show.  There's also a "Mineral Spirits." label that they were giving away at the sale.  The labels were used to label chemical barrels in the lab where Walter cooked the blue ice.

The house of Walter and Skyler White - in Albuquerque, NM

Above and below - Walter and Skyler White's house from Breaking Bad.  Just a nice middle class house in a regular neighborhood.  The kind of house that high school science teacher, Walter White and his family would be able to afford.

The White Residence

The house is occupied by the owner, who has people coming by taking photographs every day.  Evidently, the owners are good sports about the whole thing - I guess they'd have to be.  I'm told during the shooting of the show, the owners received $50,000 per year, for the use of the house.  All the outdoor scenes by the pool, were shot on-site in the back yard.  I don't think they shot the indoor scenes in the house - but I'm not sure of that.

Call Saul - Saul Goodman's office...now "The Vault"

"Call Saul" - one of my favorite characters on the show was Saul Goodman, Walter and Jessie's lawyer, played by Bob Odenkirk.  The guy was hilarious and an amazing caricature of the sleazy lawyer with a very low threshold of ethics.  Yet there was something so funny and endearing about Saul.  Above is the strip mall where his office was.

It was fun visiting old friends, seeing some of the Breaking Bad sites, and learning more about the city, Albuquerque, NM.

Have a wonderful day.  Make your life a work of art - you don't have to do incredible things or go on exotic journeys, just be a little bit creative in all you do to Live, Drive and Survive.

Peace,

Tom

CranioSacral Therapy - Traumatic Brain Injury

Hi All,

Hope you've all been having a great week.  Things are pretty good here in Phoenix.  It's a little on the warm side, but that's summer time in the desert.

One of the holistic therapy modalities I practice is CranioSacral Therapy (CST).  It's an energetic body work modality that can help provide dramatic results.  There are many aspects to it, but the main ones are working with the client's cranium, spinal column, cerebrospinal fluid, and connective tissue.

The cerebrospinal fluid is always pulsing up and down the spinal column, in and around the brain.  This fluid pulsing or pumping creates subtle waves which we call the cranial wave.  I work with the bones, plates of the cranium, and spine while I'm tuned in to the cranial wave.  It's very slow and gentle energy work.  This work helps the body to unwind.  Everything in the body is wrapped in connective tissue; fascia.  Holding patterns develop and when released, they unwind and help to bring the body back to a place of balance and helps the body to heal.

Illustration of an occipital hold

There have been many reports of CST being helpful relieving symptoms from PTSD, Traumatic brain injury and and other issues, including autism.  A friend, fellow veteran and CST practitioner recently told me of the tremendous healing he's had when he received CST himself.  He had been discharged from the Marine Corps with a traumatic brain injury that he received while in Afghanistan.  He described his head feeling "tight" and like his "skull was locked up," and a lot of pressure in his head as a result.  The therapy loosened things up and released that pressure.  He felt lighter and the pressure in his head had released.  It was nothing short of amazing.

I've been doing this work for a couple years now and am continually amazed at the resulting pain relief and healing that clients experience.  I've had the privilege to work with some Vets at a couple of retreats over the past year.  It's rewarding to be able to help these heroic people who have experienced so much pain and trauma find relief from pain.  The little feedback I received was good and that the treatments were helpful and appreciated.  Unfortunately, I wasn't afforded the opportunity for follow up.

Recently I was able to work with a young veteran who had been retired from the Army because he'd sustained a traumatic brain injury from an improvised explosive devise that hit the vehicle he was in, driving in Iraq.  He also had some back pain.

When he came in for the first session I asked him if he still had symptoms from his injuries or time in Iraq.  He said "well, I'm feeling ok, not bad."  So we set out to work.  The session lasted about an hour and a half.

When finished we sat down to talk.  The discussion afterwards was much different than the intake.  He reported an amazing release of pressure in the front part of his head.  He said that he'd gotten so used to the pressure in that he just figured it was normal for him.  After the therapy he felt light and felt very good.

We met two weeks later for another session.  We talked for a bit beforehand and he reported that his head had continued to feel good; without the pressure in it that he had for so long.  He also noticed that before the first session, he felt like he was a little bit clumsy and just off a little bit with physical coordination.  After the first session that coordination issue was gone.  He said he felt like he, "was at the top of his game."  He was happy to report his head felt great and coordination issue resolved.

We did the second session yesterday and all went well.  I was so excited I wanted to share this on my blog.  Hopefully there will be more good news like this to come as Vets and other people with traumatic brain injuries find relief with CranioSacral Therapy.

Veterans - if you're in Phoenix and would like to try this therapy, I offer a 50% discount to all Veterans ($25 per session).  The beauty of this therapy is that I've never experienced anyone having ill effects from it.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Remember - when you help others, you help yourself.

Peace,

Tom

Web  www.HolisticTherapySolutions.weebly.com

Facebook  www.facebook.com/HolisticTherapySolutions

Cap'n Pete's Midlife Cruise

Hi All,

Wow - what a busy weekend.  Had a great 4th of July holiday, got to watch a good fireworks display.  Then, we hosted a party yesterday, which was fun.  A low key get together, but hopefully a good time for all.  Whew!

Today I dug out a piece that a did a while back for a guy we call Cap'n Pete.  Cap'n Pete is a guy who would conduct transition programs for the military.  The programs help military members transition professionally from being an active duty military member to becoming a civilian again and Cap'n Pete is excellent at what he does.

Cap't Pete had developed a special transition program for career military members who were venturing out into the workforce after a 20+ year career.  I developed a design that he could use on folders, coffee cups, email and web, and various other promotional items.  One thing about Cap'n Pete; he is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan - or a Parrot Head.

Midlife Cruise artwork - Photoshop and Wacom tablet.

So with Pete being all about a laid back nautical lifestyle and the name of the program being, "Midlife Cruise," the illustration just about designed itself.  I started with Pete himself; a caricature portrait, and also a parrot and life preserver.

The life preserver is a symbol of getting help that is needed - like someone tossing you a life preserver when you're floundering in the water.  We all need that when transitioning to a new chapter of life post military service.  Of course the parrot and drink with umbrella are a light hearted nod to Pete's love of Jimmy Buffet and the laid back lifestyle and his mellow island music.  It's also representative of how this should be an enjoyable "cruise," into a new chapter in life, not a rough situation.

Like a lot of my artwork, I started with a tight pencil layout.  I then scan the pencil sketch in to the computer and work in the color with Photoshop and a Wacom tablet.

Well - gotta go.  There are still things to be done today.  Have a great week ahead.  Enjoy every day.

Peace,

Tom

Foods to Help with Colds and Flu

Hi All,

OK - its summer time in the northern hemisphere - and typically you don't think about getting a cold or flu during this time.  However, it happens.  Just a week or two ago, there was some bug going around.  So there's all the old sayings like, feed a cold, starve the flu, (I don't even know if I'm quoting that correctly).  Is this saying reflective of how we should eat to assist during times of working thru a cold or flu virus?

The book I refer to most on matters of nutrition is "The Worlds Healthiest Foods," by George Mateljan.  It's an in-depth, 800 page, holistic nutrition guide to foods, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.  It also outlines how to eat to help get thru a cold or flu bug.  I'm providing the info below is from the book.  Also - there's a facebook page and website for The Worlds Healthiest Foods also - good resources.

First - Essential Foods for Cold and Flu
- Fish rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
  -- Wild Salmon, Tuna, sardines, and cod.  They are precursors for series 3 prosteglandins - compounds involved in the regulation of the immune system.

- Organically grown fruits and vegetables
  -- Rich in Vitamins C, E, and A - all good for well functioning immune systems

- Onions
  -- help reduce inflammation and severity of respiratory congestion

- Garlic
  -- has sulfur-containing compounds that are effective against the common cold

- Shiitake Mushrooms
  -- contains the phytonutrient lentinan - good for powering up the immune system and strengthening it's ability to fight off infections.

Supportive Food

- Nuts and Seeds
  -- Rich in selenium and zinc which are great for immune system support.  Walnuts and flax seeds provide immune system support thru a vital omega 3 fatty acid called ALA.

Foods to Avoid

- Cooking oils exposed to high heat
  -- can produce immune system damaging substances

- Excessive consumption of fat and calories
  -- weakens strength of immune system

- Refined grain products, white sugar, processed foods
  -- deplete the body of vitamins and minerals....not good for immune system strength.

So there you have it.  A brief and hopefully helpful guide to some foods to help and to avoid when working thru colds and flu.  Of course one of the best things you can do for yourself is to live a balanced life.  Balance in eating, exercise, with proper rest, and so on.  Take care of the body, and it will serve you well.

Have a great week and we'll see you soon.  Homework this week...do something nice for someone - for no reason at all.  Research has shown that not only will this help strengthen the immune system of the receiver, but also the giver (and even observers if there are any) - and it's really a good thing to do for someone.  How awesome it that!

Peace,

Tom

Check my Facebook page (and like it please):  https://www.facebook.com/HolisticTherapySolutions?ref=hl

and - my website for Holistic Therapy Solutions, LLC (my holistic therapy business).