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Fantastic Foot Massage with Ecco Shoes

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I'm pleased to report that my day of foot massage with Ecco Shoes, at Gordon Scott in the Harlequin Shopping Centre in Watford was excellent.

The Ecco staff, as indeed all the staff at Gordon Scott's, were lovely. Very friendly, helpful and enthusiastic.

The promotion worked well and customers really appreciated being offered a bit of pampering. Everyone who had a massage thoroughly enjoyed it.

There are many benefits to foot massage: it promotes relaxation, refreshes and stretches tired foot muscles and stimulates the nerve reflexes in the foot which affect all the major organs in the body.

A big thank you to Jo Martin from Ecco and the whole team at Gordon Scott.

What is holistic massage about?

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Many clients wonder what the term "holistic" massage means. A good explanation is as follows:

The word holistic means 'whole' (it has Greek roots for those interested in the Etymology!). So this form of massage deals with you as a 'whole'. Like other therapies, it is not just looking to treat the symptoms, but to establish the cause, whether it be internal or external. The aim is to rebalance the body so it achieves homeostasis or balance. The training for the therapist is quite extensive, as it not only covers massage, but also anatomy and physiology, nutrition and general health. The therapist's consultation form will include questions regarding lifestyle, medical history, exercise and diet to form a "holistic" picture of the client.

Usually holistic massage techniques are performed with light to medium pressure and the pace of the massage is slower. Unlike sports massage techniques which generally start off with light to medium pressure and then use deep tissue massage techniques to get to the root of the muscular problem. A sports massage therapist may move you into many different positions to achieve this - thereby making the massage more results focussed and less about treating mind, body and soul. That's not to say your tight muscles won't get ironed out in a holistic massage - however, the aim and intention of holistic massage is to treat the mind, body, heart and soul.

Don't get put off and think the therapist will be wearing tie-dyed clothing, smell of patchouli, burn incense and play whale music. [I do none of that by the way]. Holistic massage will treat "all of you" without you making any conscious effort.

I found the following article in Positive Health Magazine, which not only explains very well what holistic massage is about but also how you can practise it at home for yourself.

What helped Phelps become the Greatest Olympian of all time?

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I doubt there are many people who don't know who Michael Phelps is and what he's famous for?

This Greatest Olympian Of All Time [a total of 14 gold medals] who recently wowed the world by winning 8 Olympic gold medals in Beijing - has an interesting regime.

Guess what Michael Phelps has twice a day? A massage!

This is what an average day looked like for him:

A day in the life of a swimming great


Tues, Aug 12,

4.30am: Reveille. Turn over for another half an hour’s sleep.

5am: Breakfast in the team room and nodded greetings to fellow swimmers.

5.30am: Talks tactics with coach Bob Bowman.

6.30am: First massage of the day. Up to three massage therapists work on him.

7.45am: Leave for the Water Cube. I-pod on.

8.15am: Stretching and intensive warm-up.

9.50am: The 200m field gather nervously in the call room. 10.17am: Phelps briefly acknowledges the crowd.

10.19am: Another world record and masterclass.

10.40am: Gold medal ceremony.

11.10am: The 200m butterfly semi-final and a new Olympic record.

11.30am: Mandatory drugs test.

Noon: The daily Phelps press conference for 400-plus reporters.

12.30pm: Warm-down and return to Village for a long lunch, massage and sleep.

7pm: Evening meal. Final texts to the folks.

10pm: Go to bed.

You don't need to have olympic ambition or talent to benefit from sports massage.  Anyone who keeps fit or who has a job which involves manual labour can benefit from regular massage.

To read more about the benefits of sports massage click here



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