Breathe

"Breathe". 
That is one of the first things we are taught in massage school. The power of the breath and how important it is. The breath carries fresh oxygen into those stagnant, muscles, helping to soften and ease. Being sure to remind our client to breathe through the intensity of a trigger point for example. Making sure that you are breathing deeply and slowly in order to stay loose and relaxed in your body. That the client that hears you breathing this way will take that subtle cue to do the same. So many wonderful attributes to the breath. Ahhh, breathe!


Something else that I was taught about the breath in massage school is equally important. Don't breathe in your client's face! Yep, that is what I said. Do not breathe in your client's face! This is a personal pet peeve of mine and I wonder how many Massage Therapists get it. I have been violated with a Therapist's breath more than once. Here I am, receiving what would be classified as a great massage. relaxed and feeling like I have finally found a good Therapist after my long, long search. The Therapist sits at my head and begins to work on my needy neck then, wham o! There it is! They exhale directly into my nostrils! Note to self: Back to the search!


Now, I am not so picky as to think that every massage will be perfect in every way but, I would sooner have a so-so massage without second hand breath forced up my nose than to have a super great massage which included the forced air treatment! I mean, for Heaven's sake people, let's be a bit mindful here! Seriously, how close to the client's face do you have to be? And must I, the client, have to say, "um, excuse me but, could you not breathe in my face?"? I don't mind telling my therapist that I would like a bit more or less pressure. After all, everyone has their own perception of how the pressure feels and we all know this because we were taught it in massage school right? I hardly think that each person has a different feeling about another person's breath flowing into their nose when they are trying to take a breath. 


So, in conclusion, when you are giving your next client a massage and you are exercising the mindfulness of the breath, please do it away from their face! They will be more likely to return and send others your way. I for one would certainly return to a place where I was allowed to breath for myself.

Religious Beliefs And The Work Place

There has been a lot of discussion on the subject of religion in the work place. Is it ethical to allow your beliefs into your work? As a Massage Therapist, I have been taught that the body is made up of three parts, body, mind, spirit. Even if you are not aware of it being so, it simply is. We are taught that massage is a very spiritual experience for many people. being a Christian, this makes perfect sense. I understand that we are created in the image of God, he is a triune being, Father, Son and Spirit. We are also triune, body (the flesh), mind (spirit), soul (the eternal part).
If I am being true to who I am as a Christian and I have convictions and beliefs that govern my life and make up who I am, how then could I ever separate that from my work? If I pray it is because it is a natural part of who I am as a child of God. His word teaches me that I am to pray without ceasing. I understand that to mean that I am to live my life in a constant attitude of prayer. Being ever mindful of who God is and that He is present at all times. He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you". I should learn a lesson from Peter and never deny Him or the fact that I am His.
I do not proselytize my clients. I do not advertise that I am a Massage Therapist looking for exclusively, Christian clientele. I also do not hide the fact that I am a Christian. It is not plastered all over my walls, car, business materials etc. it is embedded in my heart, mind and soul. If I am asked, I will gladly tell people that I am a Christian. Sometimes, my words reflects who I am because that is just my normal speech and I speak that way in my normal daily life. I refuse to censor myself at work or anywhere. If I say, "thank God for ...", or, "what a blessing that was" or something along that line, I really don't think that my clients would be or have been offended in any way. I think it is more offensive to try to be someone other than your true self at work or anywhere else. To do so would be to say that I do not think that my client has the ability to handle the real me so I must pretend because they need me to protect them. utter foolishness. I think it is more respectful to be yourself and honest than to shield someone from the real you.

Today was a bitter sweet day for me. I went to church last night in order to serve at church today. The sermon was excellent as usual. I was blessed by Christ as always.
It was sad to find myself without any family around me at Easter. No phone calls from my children, wishing me a happy Easter. Nothing. I called my mom to tell her I love her, to thank her for the card she sent and wished her a happy Easter. My husband and I had left-overs for our dinner and I took a long nap.
So sad that not one of my kids think of me on special occasions. I have to get used to the idea of being alone. Thankfully I have my dear husband. he makes every day special. Without him I would not know what to do.
I have only one question that I ask myself over and over again. Was I really that horrible of a mother to my kids?  The answer is always the same. I must have done a really bad job because they simply do not think of me. I am non-existent in their eyes. Ah, but that is a blog for another day.
No matter what, I have my Lord and my husband. And they both love me very much.

Christ offensive?

When I began this blog a few days ago, I really had no idea what I would be writing about. I knew it would evolve into something. I was just not sure what.
Here I am just a few days into it and I have a reason to write!
I have been a member of a Yahoo group for Massage Therapists for a few years now. It is a general group offering help and advice in marketing . Through reading many posts there, I have found that there are a few Christian members. I also have seen a Christian Massage Therapist group there that has never grown.
I also have a Facebook page. I decided a few days ago, about the same time I decided to start Blogging, to start a Facebook group for Christian Massage Therapists. I thought it might be nice to let the yahoo group know about the Facebook group. I posted an invitation for the FB group on the Yahoo group.
Yesterday, it was brought to my attention that the Yahoo group had some negative things to say about my new Facebook group.
Now, being a Christian, I want to answer the group in the right way.
There were many questions posted there to be addressed. One member asked me to define what I meant by, "Christian". I followed up with a basic statement of faith. I was then told by another member that it was " way out of line".
Then there were members posting that I was prejudice for creating such a group. Others said that ,"religion" had nothing to do with massage. Still others made comments saying that there should be a discussion before someone creates a group, Not to be so limiting and that a  more inviting title would be appropriate to get more participants. Some made the assumption that I wanted to exclude all but Christians as clients in my practice
Wow! I had no idea that offering Christian, Massage Therapists a place to share ideas and thoughts, would open me up to such remarks.

So, I want to use this space to explain a bit about why I feel the need for such a group. Other Christian Massage Therapists may have different reasons for wanting such a group. I make no claims to speak for them. These are my own opinions and thoughts.
As a Christian, I believe in One God, creator of the universe who exists in three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  There is much more to my statement of faith but for now I will begin here.
Because I believe in This God, I give Him and Him alone all of the glory and credit for  any and all healing that takes place when I massage a client. I hold no special power or energy in myself. All power and energy was created by Him and exists through him.
In the world of Alternative healers, many hold to a belief in energy being manipulated by "putting it out there to the universe". Don't ask me exactly what that means. I have a vague idea from talking to New Age minded folks, it means that, if there is something or some result that you want, you speak it to the "universe" and that puts the intention "out there". then it is released to create the thing or intention that you are seeking.
I don't buy into that. I ask the creator of the universe and believe that if it is His will, it will be done. After all, this is his creation to do with as He sees fit.
So, if I don't believe in all of this energy of the universe and creating your own reality, I am looked upon by those that do as weird. Really? I am the weird one? Don't get me wrong. People that hold to those beliefs are entitled to follow those beliefs. I can live with that but I can't live by that. I need the fellowship and support of believers and  to have discussions with them about healing . We simply speak a different language and understand each other better than all of the new age, crystal healing, pendulum swinging, Sage smudging, energy exchanging, universe believers. That is not the language I speak as a Massage Therapist.
My practice is based on my faith. As a matter  fact. my entire life is based on my faith. Everything that I do is because Christ lives. Without him I can do nothing. When I massage a client, I pray for them. usually it is a silent prayer. If they ask, I will pray with them. I pray for God to have His way with each session.

So, to be a part of a group of  Massage Therapists for the intention of having support is a great thing. I have learned some good things from that basic group. When it comes to more spiritually based thoughts and discussions, I want to have the company of others that believe as I do to share ideas with. A group that speaks my language.  A group that I can call on for prayer when things get tough. A group that understands the unique challenges I face as a Massage Therapist that happens to be a Christian.
Well, I have been up on this soap box for a while. I need to step down and gather a few more thoughts for my next post.

Saturday..

Not a whole lot going on this Saturday. We had storms move across the area this morning. Nothing spectacular.
Phil, my dear husband, is still re-cooperating from surgery that he had last week. We got out a bit yesterday but he is still not feeling like doing very much walking. I am praying he feels better soon. We love to get out and walk a lot so this has been pretty rough for him.
So, I am going to try some TVP for the first time today. If you don't know what that is, it is textured vegetable protein. It comes dried and you add water to re-hydrate it. We are going with the ham flavored and adding it to some lentil soup. Fingers crossed. This is supposed to be healthy stuff. I will let you know what it is like.
Stay tuned.

The beginning

So here I am beginning my first blog. Lord, help!
Not so sure what to write or where to begin. The last thing I want to do is be boring, yikes!
Bear with me as I learn the ropes of blogging.
In the mean time, welcome. thank you for stopping by. I will be blogging about whatever enters my little brain.