Self Care for Massage Practioners

GIVING FROM THE HEART 

All licensed massage therapists and students of massage will benefit from 

this class, which teaches the art of giving and receiving from the heart. 

 "Burn out" is one of the main reasons massage therapists leave their profession. 

We burn out when we don’t understand clearly how to give and receive from the

 heart energy, the infinite source of healing energy. This class equips you with simple meditation techniques, which we call “snacks,”(because they are quick and nourishing, like a healthy snack). You can use these “snacks” to connect with the healing energy of the heart.

  You will learn how to nourish yourself with your own heart energy and create clear energetic boundaries while providing your client with a deeply healing and therapeutic massage.

In this class you will learn to:

 

1.  reduce burn out and create a more sustainable practice by:

• connecting with your true source of healing energy --the feeling of unconditional love which lies in the heart chakra
• calling upon this healing energy when giving a massage
• reducing energy drain and being present with clients in a neutral and loving way 
• replenishing yourself with your heart energy
• creating clear energetic boundaries with clients so that you do not pick up the client’s energy
• creating an energetically clear and healing space for giving and receiving a massage

2.  use effective methods to help yourself feel grounded and centered while working with clients

3.  become a more effective giver by accessing your inner guide, your intuition

4.  become more time efficient.  These techniques are very simple and quick and can be done any time throughout 

the day to refresh, reconnect and re-energize. Each technique is only 30 seconds to 2 min long

What to Bring:  Just bring yourself and wear comfortable clothes

Instructors: Sandra Storwick, LMP and Nitika Kohli (LMP expected August 2010)

Class Dates:  September 25, 2010

Class Times: Saturday 12 - 3 pm

Continuing Education Credit:  3 hours of CE credit can be obtained by taking this class

To register or for more information, go to www.TheraTraining.com or call 206-853-6875

Location:  

Cost:  60$

Cost/hr:  20$/hr

Hours:  3

Clea Luminosity

Yoga and Meditation to help free the throat and jaw 

The neck and jaw area is a very delicate, yet very strong region of the human body. The structures in this area unite the head with the rest of the body. When there are problems with this area, the problems can be reflected not only in the jaw, but in the body and even in the mind. 

The human neck is much like the very narrow neck of an hour glass in its structure and function. 

When the flow of energy between the mind and the heart, like the fine sand, becomes restricted, physical and mental symptoms can appear. Some symptoms are local. TMJ, teeth grinding, hearing problems, snoring are all examples of localized symptoms. However, the health of the whole mind and body is dependent upon on good communication between the mind and the heart. A list of seemingly unrelated physical and mental symptoms can also result from blockages in this area.  Neck and jaw blockages can be a factor in physical pain and illness in seemingly unrelated parts of the body and mental symptoms such as having a busy mind, difficulty making good decisions, lack of clarity and confusion. 

The heart is the home of our wisdom and our intuition. Our intuition is our inner teacher. ( The word “tuition” means ~ the act of teaching and instruction) . The mind is the part of us that gathers information through the senses. It then tries to processes this information, though it’s ability to remember, analyze, synthesize, evaluate etc.  However the mind is not able to see the bigger picture.  The mind is meant to consult the heart.  When communication between the mind and the heart becomes restricted,  the information gathered by the senses does not easily flow down to the heart. The wisdom in the heart can not send its guidance to the mind, and the mind has difficulty listening to the heart. The wisdom in the heart is capable  of guiding us with more clarity and than the mind as it is the part of us that sees the bigger picture.  

Blockages in this area can have a significant effect on the physical body. Blockages, that we may feel as restriction, tightness or illness or injury in the neck and jaw can be the root of a wide variety of disorders in our physical body. The throat energy center is the center of expression and physically our vocal folds are in our throat. How often do we feel we need to express something ...a feeling, an idea, an emotion, and we find ourselves holding back for some reason. When the energy that was behind the feeling is suppressed, it is stopped at the throat, as if it reaches a ceiling or a barrier that says - “nope - you can’t go beyond this point”, and just like a ball that bounces up and hit’s a ceiling, the energy bounces back down. The energy has no choice but to go back and settle into the body. Eventually this energy creates a stiffness, which over time becomes a pain or even an injury. 

 Although our physical problems may not originate as a blockage in the jaw, much relief can be found by freeing the energy blockages in the jaw. Hip pain and knee pain are often very connected to blockages in the throat and heal remarkably easily when the energy of the throat has become clear. 

The solution is not just choose someone to yell at, although sometimes screaming into a pillow can help, as just the feeling that you want to scream at someone is just a sign that there is a blockage in the energy of the throat. 

The solution is to gently and peacefully open the energy channels of the throat using the yoga poses and purna yoga meditation techniques and other healing modalities to release tight areas, exhale stagnation and bring the light and feeling of heart love into the spaces that were created.   You can even dissolve those blockages that could have developed into future physical or mental health problems by working to free the energy blockages that would have eventually created those symptoms. The little blockages are just trying to say, “Hey, I am here!! Will someone please help to free me!”