Whenever I see an old person who is very hunched over, to the point where they are only looking at the floor and can't look forward at all,  I always wonder if they've had a very hard life.

The saying "you look like you have the world on your shoulders" is so true.  When we're troubled, worried, depressed or lacking in motivation we tend to hunch forward.  Sedentary lifestyles and the fact that many people spend 8+ hours a day chained to their PC's, leads me to believe that kyphosis caused by bad posture, will soon be endemic and start to affect people at a younger and younger age.

I found this interesting article on MassageMag.com which says that posture also has an affect on thoughts  - it says "body posture can affect not only what others think about us, but also how we think about ourselves".

Learn more here.

This ties nicely into the holistic concept that the body affects the mind and vice-versa.   If the problem originates from bad posture there are many ways to reverse the problem:  yoga, Alexander Technique, Pilates, Rolfing  and massage to name but a few.

Ever wondered what some of the more obscure bodywork and complementary therapies are all about?  Then look no further. 

The MassageTherapy.com have produced this excellent online glossary.

I'm a long time fan of James Cracknell. Watching him and his team win the Olympic Gold reduced me to floods of tears. I also recently enjoyed watching "On Thin Ice" which was about his team racing to the South Pole. Besides seeing him in all his resplendent glory doing what bears usually do in the woods - on ice, I particularly liked the fact that he allowed himself to be portrayed in a less than flattering light. Even though he comes across as arrogant, stubborn and dangerously driven it gives an insight into the personality traits an olympian medallist probably has to have.

Anyway......I digress.......... he writes a column for the The Daily Telegraph and this week he wrote about a massage technique which he tried out called "shmeissing". This is a yiddish word for "beating" ..... I think you can work out the rest.

Read the article in full HERE

It's a real shame that James doesn't actually say how he felt after the treatment.

P.S I also found this article where the writer says the following:

"I am not a man lightly given to admitting to good health, yet so absolute are the relaxing, energising and stressbusting qualities of the shmeiss that even I emerge from a session with Big Lee feeling gleamingly clean (you wouldn't believe the gunk that emerges from a human back) and bereft of medical complaint".

If you only do one stretch this week ..... do this one.

Cross-legged seated gluteal stretch

You'll be pleased to know that the answer to good posture isn't just about standing up ramrod straight.

Standing too straight is just as bad as slouching, says Brita Forsstrom, an expert in the Alexander Technique

Here are some simple ideas to incorporate in your every day life:

* make it easy
* start at the beginning
* mix it up
* keep your feet on the ground
* take your eyes off it

This week I'm focussing on a rather beleagured, overworked muscle which affects the entire spine, the base of the neck and the buttocks.  It's an area which is tight and overworked in many of my clients.  Especially people who spend a lot of time writing or sitting at a computer.

What is Deep Tissue Massage?

Deep Tissue Massage is a massage technique that focuses on the deeper layers of muscle tissue also called connective tissue. It aims to release the persistent patterns of tension in the body (also known as "adhesions") through slow strokes and deep finger, hand and forearm pressure on the tight areas, either going across or following the fibres of the muscles, fascia and tendons.

Deep tissue massage uses many of the same movements and techniques as Swedish massage, but the pressure will generally be more intense. It helps to break up scar tissue. Deep Tissue Massage usually focuses on more specific areas and may cause some soreness or discomfort during or right after the massage. It shouldn't hurt, but it's likely to be a bit more uncomfortable than a classic Swedish massage. However, if the massage is done correctly you should feel better than ever within a couple of days. You should always feel free to speak up if the pressure is too much for you!

Why get a Deep Tissue Massage?

It feels good and it is beneficial to your health. If you are stressed muscles are tense, they block oxygen and nutrients, leading to possible inflammation that builds up toxins in the muscle tissue. Deep tissue massages assist muscle tissue release, get blood and oxygen circulating properly and also “liberates” the knots. Because many toxins are released, it's important to drink plenty of water after a session to help eliminate these toxins quickly from the body.

So what is the purpose of Deep Tissue Massage?

The purpose is to "unstick" the glued fibres of a muscle while releasing the built up tension, eliminate toxins, while relaxing and soothing the muscle itself. It is both remedial and therapeutic.

Precautions:

Always let your therapist * know if you:

- have any skin allergies or conditions
- have problems with your joints
- are, or think you could be, pregnant
- have recently undergone surgery, or are prone to or recovering from injury
- you have any other medical condition
- have a history of respiratory or heart problems

* a good massage therapist should ask you these question before embarking on any massage treatment.

Massage can be a powerful tool to help your body best perform its countless functions in its goal to maintain a healthy balance. Why not do everything you can to get the best possible results from every massage session?

This article is devoted to providing you with some hints to make the most from your bodywork sessions.

Before your session

The mood of your session can be affected by the things currently influencing your life. You can improve your results by preparing yourself before your massage time. If you can put the events of your life on pause for a little while and truly devote your session time to taking care of you, the benefits you experience can be greatly enhanced. Life really will wait a couple of hours for you — and you’ll be in much better shape to deal with your responsibilities when you are feeling your best! Other things you can do, as time allows:

- If possible, take a relaxing bath or shower before your appointment time
- Limit consumption of caffeine and sugar, as well as other stimulants
- Avoid eating immediately before your appointment
- Allow extra time in your schedule so you don’t have to rush to be ready for your session.
- Be aware of your current condition so you can report anything that needs attention

During your session

Share what’s going on with your therapist. A good therapist will work intuitively but don't forget, they're not psychic and will appreciate your feedback. If you have a tender spot or an injured area, bring it up so it can be addressed. If you feel you need more pressure or a lighter touch during the session, please say so. If everything is great, you can lie back and relax. If you find your attention is on something, bring it up so you will be able to lie back and relax!

Specify your preferences. Everyone has different needs and wants, so share yours! Is everything in the massage environment okay? The temperature? The lighting? Any other distractions? Are you completely at ease? Do you like certain music? Is the volume okay? Do you like specific techniques? More time spent on a certain area? Each session is especially for you, so please communicate about what you want! If there is anything you don’t understand, please ask so we can discuss it.

Let it all go and relax! One of the major massage goals for many people is to lessen tension and stress. Many of those aches and pains that demand our attention are linked to stress. In fact — according to Dr. Sandra McLanahan — eighty percent of disease is stress-related, so maximizing the relaxation in each session should help you to maintain a much higher level of well-being!

One way to quiet your mind is to focus your attention on the session — really get in tune with your sense of touch. Proper breathing helps you to relax and to reach your session goals. Slow, deep breathing (from the gut) will provide your body with much-needed oxygen, while signaling your body to let go of its tensions.

After your session

If at all possible, allow for some quiet time before you continue your busy life.

Drink extra water!! Massage releases waste products and toxins from your muscles. Increasing your fluid intake lowers this toxicity and lessens the strain on filtering organs.

Ever wondered how sports massage differs from other massage styles?

Take a look at the Sports Injury Clinic.

Have a niggle or tight muscle somewhere? There you can click on that area on a diagram of the human body and be taken to a list of potential causes. Then you can click on Sports Massage and you can see what techniques a sports massage therapist might use.

Sports massage isn't just for professional athletes or people who are super-fit. Anyone who likes firmer, deeper pressure will love sports massage.

I found this short article in Bodysense Mag and it made me smile - so true!

Try to remember the floaty feeling you get on
the massage table so you can incorporate it
into your life. Do that and you’re making the
most of your massage experience. Remember
that massage is about taking good care of
yourself—and we all deserve that.

Every week a woman gets on my table and gives
the same unneeded apology. “I’m sorry! I didn’t
have time to shave my legs!” Don’t worry. “None
of the guys shaved their legs for me this week,
either!” is my usual reply. We don’t care that you
didn’t have time to shave your legs. We’re grateful
you’ve made it to your appointment and that
you love massage. Please relax and don’t be self-
conscious. No problem! I mean it.

Finally, the key to receiving your best massage
session is to communicate with your therapist.
Just like Goldilocks, only you can know for sure
if the pressure is too much, too little, or just
right. Good communication between therapist
and client allows you both to work together to
find what works best for you. Remember the
Platinum Rule of Massage: communication helps
your therapist help you.

Time Magazine has published an interesting article - which goes so far as to say that post-operative massage gives similar pain relief to morphine!

I remember being taught at massage school something called the "pain gate theory". Pain travels through the body via nerve fibres of the nervous system and it's main route to the brain is via the spinal cord. If you injure yourself or have surgery your nerve fibres will be transmitting "OW, OW, OW!!!". If stroking and gentle pressure from massage is added on top of "OW", the nerve pathways aren't sure what to transmit anymore and pleasurable sensations can literally block the pain getting through the "gate" to the brain.

I found the following quote on a Washington University website:

"Although the gate control theory has support from some experiments and does explain some observations seen in pain patients during therapy, it does not explain everything. However, think of this...what is one of the first things you do after you bump your head or pinch a finger by accident? You probably rub it and it feels better, right? Could this be explained by the gate control theory? Well, rubbing your bumped head or pinched finger would activate non-nociceptive touch signals carried into the spinal cord by large nerve fibers. According to the theory, the activity in the large nerve fibers would activate the inhibitory interneuron that would then block the projection neuron and therefore block the pain."

Permission should be sought from your GP, Consultant or Surgeon prior to receiving post-operative massage.

I found this BRILLIANT site which illustrates and explains the anatomy and physiology of the human body - Get Body Smart.

It shows how every bit and part of us affects another part. For instance, did you know that sitting down at a computer for most of the day shortens the hamstrings - which are large muscles running down the back of the upper leg. These muscles attach to the bottom of the pelvis.

So, if you have tight hamstrings, this could pull the lower pelvis out of alignment, which in turn could have an affect on all the other muscles which attach to the pelvis [there are at least 20]. For instance, part of the latissimus dorsi muscle starts at the bottom of the shoulder blade and ends up attaching to the iliac crest -this essentially means having tight hamstrings could affect your shoulders! No muscle works in isolation!

Something that really impressed me about this site is that it shows how each muscle moves a certain part of the body. At massage shcool we learnt terms like adduct, abduct, medial rotation etc. however, being a very visual learner, being able to see this without having to demonstrate it on myself, is really useful.

If you currently have tension in a particular part of your body, why not identify it on Get Body Smart and have a play around. Who knows, next time you get a massage you could say to your therapist "I'd like you to massage my upper trapezius and then my rhomboidus major" - watch the surprise on their face.

Being a massage therapist is more of a vocation, or calling, than a way to get rich and retire early.

However, one part-time massage therapist hit the jackpot when she took a job in a small company that started out in a garage. Find out more about the massage millionairess.

Talk about right place, right time!!!

Sometimes a new client expresses surprise at my consultation form. As a holistic therapist [the word holistic is derived from the greek work holos - meaning "whole"] I look at my client as a complete system rather than dividing them into parts. For instance, you may have a stiff neck but that stiff neck is more than likely due to poor posture. That poor posture may be due to too many hours hunched over a computer. Those too many hours hunched over a computer could mean you're stressed. That stress could mean that you resort to fast food, alcohol and cigarettes to save time and relax ....... you get the picture. Now, I could just massage your neck, take your money and be done with you. Or I could also offer you additional advice on how you could make changes to your lifestyle and give you exercises to do to prevent your sore neck getting worse or recurring again.

I found this interesting article on Bodyworker which does a very good job of explaining how important information is:

"As massage has entered the mainstream of healthcare options, more and more people consider this intervention as part of an overall health plan. Massage has gone from being an occasional treat to being part of how we take care of ourselves. This may be especially true of people who live with chronic conditions that decrease quality of life: people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders. . . the list of those with medical conditions who find that massage is a valuable part of their healthcare is expanding daily.

All of this is good news: massage is a low-tech intervention with high benefits. While an hour of one-on-one time with a health professional can feel expensive, it is ultimately more cost effective than many other options like surgery, long-term physical therapy, or serious complications of various health issues. But the movement of massage into a medical setting comes with a cost: massage therapists are often put in the position of weighing whether their work will be beneficial or detrimental to the health of their client. The only way to preserve public safety is to get information about a client’s health status in general, and in particular for the day of the massage.

Some massage therapists take long, elaborate client histories. They may require clients to fill out forms before they come for a first appointment and schedule extra time to go through the forms together in a client history interview. Typically this occurs in settings where a client and practitioner may be planning on a long-term therapeutic relationship. In other settings, like an on-site massage or a visit to a spa, a client may never see this therapist again. Then short-term goals are at the top of the priority list, and the practitioner may not have the inclination or the time to take an extensive history. Nonetheless, it is important to share some key pieces of information so that everyone can derive the best benefits from a bodywork session with the least risks.

What follows are some questions your massage therapist may ask you, with explanations for why that information is important. Massage is more than just a rub; by creating a stimulus (even a welcome and wonderful stimulus), massage requires that the body be able to adapt. Some people are better able to do this than others, and your massage therapist has to figure out where you fall in this continuum. As you read this, you might make your own list of health issues you want to be sure to share with your therapist, whether this appointment is a one time only or part of an ongoing project.

Basic Questions for a One-Time Session with a New Therapist:

How is your health today?
This may seem obvious, but people sometimes seek massage when they are fighting a cold, dealing with an internal infection, or even just suffering from a bad headache. Massage therapists may change the way they work or decide it is not in the best interest of the client to work in some situations.

Do you have any skin conditions?
Again this may seem obvious, but it is amazing how often people forget about that mysterious rash on their abdomen until they are on the table. Obviously, if you have an active contagious skin condition (herpes, boils, impetigo), then massage may not be your best choice for today. If you have a chronic, non-contagious skin condition (eczema, psoriasis, allergic reactions), then your therapist can make appropriate adjustments. But if your condition is undiagnosed, your therapist is at risk for three bad things: spreading a rash further on you; spreading a rash on the therapist; or spreading a rash to another client.

Even if your undiagnosed rash or contagious lesion is in an area that the therapist doesn’t touch, it is important to share that information with him or her for safety reasons.

Have you had any accidents or surgeries that affect your health now?
This is particularly important if any accident or surgery currently affects your ability to get through your day. Scar tissue, headaches, limping, jaw-clenching, or other leftovers of trauma may be addressed with massage with good effect.

Do you have any chronic conditions that affect your health?
The answer to this question for most people is probably yes, even if that chronic condition is caffeine addiction or a boss who drives you crazy. But if you are under treatment for something more serious, it is especially important to share that information with your therapist. Common examples might include arthritis, depression, or high blood pressure. Clients with chronic conditions can derive wonderful benefit from massage, but some situations require adjustments in timing, pressure, or positioning.

Are you taking any medications?
Massage therapists must consider the possibility of interactions between bodywork and medications that clients take. For instance, if a client uses insulin and then receives a massage, it is possible to have an uncomfortable or even threatening double-dose of glucose-lowering interventions. High blood pressure medications or drugs that alter body fluids may also require some adjustments.

If you take a painkiller or an anti-inflammatory on the day of a massage, your massage therapist will have a harder time reading your tissues to give
appropriate pressure.

None of these medications categorically contraindicate massage, but they all may require some modifications from your therapist. This is why you should share what medications you take, what conditions you take them for, and when your last dose was.

Are you under a doctor’s care?
This question can bring up any conditions or situations that might be a red flag that haven’t already been discussed.

Are you pregnant?
Clearly this is not a question for every client, but for women of child-bearing age this can be an issue. Pregnant women can reap wonderful benefits from massage, but certain risks must be respected.

Do you wear contacts?
Many varieties of contact lenses are perfectly comfortable to wear during a massage, but you may appreciate the option to take out your contacts before you begin.

What would you like to accomplish today?
This may be the most important question of all: if you can clearly communicate your goals to your therapist, then he or she will be better able to give you a wonderful, satisfying (and safe) session.


Additional Questions for a Long-Term Relationship with a Therapist:

What preexisting conditions do you suffer from?
Your therapist may give you a list of conditions and ask you to indicate which ones you have had in the past. This gives some general insight into long-term repercussions that you may experience.

What activities make your pain worse? What activities make it better?
These questions are for clients with specific injuries or weaknesses they would like to address. In addition to helping the therapist understand your situation, he or she can form a baseline to watch how improvements grow over time.

What is your diet like? How well do you sleep?
These questions provide insight into your general lifestyle. While massage therapists don’t diagnose or prescribe, they may be able to offer some well-informed advice about how some lifestyle habits support or interfere with health-related goals.

What are your long-term goals for our work together?
The most fruitful client-therapist relationships are those where both people work together in an active partnership to make good things happen. While long-term goals for massage may change, working together to make them happen can be a satisfying and ultimately successful experience.

Once in a while an issue comes up in a client history interview that makes it clear that some kinds of massage may carry unacceptable risks. A good example might be this situation, based on a real-life scenario: a client who was recently in a car wreck, and who is taking high doses of anti-inflammatories and painkillers, wants his therapist to “really work out the kinks: just get in there and dig’em out.”

This client has a legitimate wish: to reduce his pain and limitation. But this therapist cannot ethically do what he asks, because of the risk for further injury with the kind of bodywork he is requesting. In this case the therapist may offer alternative forms of massage. It might not be what the client had in mind, but it is a session designed to give the best possible benefits bodywork can offer, while minimizing risks.

One final wrinkle that may come up during a client history interview is the need to communicate with a primary care physician. It is important for you to understand that your therapist may not talk to any other health professional about you without your permission. He or she may request that you fill out a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) form to give that permission. Therapists may wish to communicate with doctors to identify specific information about a certain condition, or to discuss the risks of certain kinds of modalities, or simply to inform the rest of your healthcare team that you are receiving massage in addition to whatever else you do to take care of yourself.

The overall point is that in a client-therapist relationship, more information is better than less information. Open, clear communication between you and your therapist helps to preserve your safety, but also helps you to get the very best out of your time together."

This article concludes the three part series on "How Massage Works" by Gerry Pyves, the founder of No Hands Massage.

"Thanks to getting regular massage your body is beginning to remember the power of touch from when you were a baby and your life revolved around simple touch. You have established that primal connection with yourself – a connection that will reawaken every time you get on the Massage table.

All your sessions after this have the potential to be as significant as anything else you have ever experienced in your life. Providing you do not let that gap go longer than 2 weeks. Each time you receive a Massage you start the session where you left off. With all the knowledge and memory of every session etched into your
psyche and tissues. This is because the experiences are so profound that your body now has no problem remembering.

It is as thrilling and as exciting as meeting your lover, only without all the difficult bits! It is not the Massage therapist you are falling in love with – it is your connection to your wisdom that you are falling in love with. Something is blossoming within you – something that every single human being has. Your truth!

When you feel this you are scoring 100 units on the Massage scale! Only now, you are becoming so used to such powerful experiences it only feels like a one or two! It is rather like this: having accelerated to a thousand miles an hour you are travelling so fast there is no sense of acceleration at all!

When touch is transforming your life so much, it is not possible to increase it much more than this. Massage cannot have much more of an impact on your life than this - unless you begin to levitate, perhaps!

The transformation that you experience after every session confirms the wisdom of choosing such a deep and natural therapy as opposed to those quick fixes people rave about. You also notice that all of the niggling little health problems you used to have are disappearing. Actually they have just fallen away so naturally and so quietly you probably haven’t even realised it.

You now know that what works is actually oh so simple… The more you let go each session, the more benefits you feel in your whole life, not just your body. The more you release, the more you discover there is to release. You are like a traveller who has been carrying so many bags of tension and disease for so long that it just seemed normal to walk around with so many bags of luggage under your arms and on your shoulders.

Each time you have a Massage you let go of another bag and as it slides to the floor you say “Damn! I had no idea I had been carrying that one for so long….” And when you get off the table and walk around the room you feel lighter and younger than you ever believed possible. You begin to expect the miracles that touch can provide...touch has become as much a staple diet for you as your food, and all your friends are remarking how well you look and ask incredulously “what are you on?"

Remember, total health and well being probably requires TRANSFORMATION at every level of your being, physical, emotional, energetic, mental and spiritual. If you wish to change anything, it takes commitment and persistence.

Real and lasting change is only achieved GRADUALLY, OVER TIME, WITH SUPPORT AND THROUGH REPETITION.

This is the ancient 'cumulative principle' on which the touch therapy of Massage is based. Massage practitioners who promote this free book on their web sites understand and honour this principle. They probably have some favourable pricing structures that reward your commitment to this 'cumulative principle'. They also have a commitment and dedication to the simplicity of healing touch.

.........Uncomplicated. Persistent. Powerful...........

All you have to do is keep turning up, and doing the work of BREATHING, FEELING AND RELEASING. Your Massage therapist will do the rest.

An ancient healing formula: The cumulative principle."

Following on from my previous post here's an opportunity to learn more about how massage works, based on cumulative touch. Written by Gerry Pyves the founder of No Hands Massage

"If you were wise, you booked this second session for just 1 week after your first, so you could get all the touch benefits properly locked into your body before it 'forgets'. This time, you know the answers to all of the initial questions and you already feel more relaxed about this second visit.

Within 5 minutes of this second Massage session, you are already achieving a higher level of relaxation than you did at the end of your first session! Because only a week has passed, your body instantly remembers the level of relaxation you achieved last time and you now become much more open to the full power of touch.

If we give this second session a unit score, it would probably be much nearer 10 units. This might be comparable to spending aday in a health spa or walking on the hills for a day.

Then you come for your third session...

If you are wise, you have booked this session for just one week after your second… Why? Because this means that your body remembers the effects of your last 2 Massages much more easily and by now you are feeling the effects from your previous session even as you travel to your appointment!

You get on the table already releasing tension you have accumulated over the last week, out of your whole being and you are already looking forward to what is becoming the most important hour of your week. You are beginning to understand that even with the best practitioner, it is up to you to let go of tension and your body is ‘remembering’ something you knew as a child.

Touch and healing is natural and normal and you are wise enough to know exactly how to release any tension you have accumulated. At the end of this session you have experienced amazing depth of touch and in terms of units are probably scoring 20 or 30 units. That is like being away on holiday for a week and it is ten times the power of your first Massage!!!

When you get onto the Massage table for your fourth session (still booked for 1 week after your last session!), within 5 minutes you have reached the level of release and rebalance that you ended the last session with…and the touch just pours into your life and you now understand how to focus your mind during the Massage on the 3 golden rules of Massage: BREATHE, FEEL and RELEASE!

You do this like you have been doing this all your life...

You are already becoming a Massage expert...You know how to get the most out of your session...you focus your mind on your breath, on the touch and on letting go....It is like a meditation...a meditation of touch...it is the place of healing, the place of your own personal journey.

The cumulative effect of 4 weekly Massage sessions means that you are probably getting 40 - 50 units of value from this one session, just like going on holiday for 3 months – still in just one hour, still just for a few quid!"

In our current social climate geared towards quick fixes and instant gratification it's good to take a step back and realise that there's hardly ever such a thing. Unless you're talking about mending your broken glasses with some sticky tape.

I'd like to quote from Gerry Pyves - the founder of No Hands Massage, he says it so well!

"Massage is a natural therapy that works on the ancient 'cumulative principle'. This ancient healing principle has almost been forgotten in our modern age of 'quick fix' and instant gratification.

Yet Massage was being used thousands of years ago – in a time when there was a greater understanding of the natural rhythms of the world, the psyche and the human body.

Massage works because you literally accumulate touch. Touch is the missing link in health. There are libraries of research papers documenting the phenomenal power of touch to heal disease and illness as well as prevent innumerable conditions from ever developing. Of course they don’t earn drug companies any money so we don’t hear about them, do we? Only Massage therapists seem to take action on this research.

The loss of touch in our families and communities, in the workplace, in schools and would you believe, in our hospitals is a subject that has occupied this author for his whole life. Massage redresses this in the simplest and most direct way imaginable. It does it through this ancient principle of accumulation. What this means is that your first Massage session is probably your least effective! That is why the really deep power of Massage still remains a very well kept secret – even some Massage therapists have not yet discovered it!

You see, the real power of touch happens at a deeply subconscious level and this takes time and repetition to truly embed. Most people do not realise this and only go for an occasional Massage. The secret remains safe…

All ancient healing disciplines that have remained unpolluted by our very modern need for everything to happen in a rush work to this tried and tested formula:

HEALING = SLOW + REPETITION + SUPPORT

The human psyche is a profound and complex mechanism and does not respond well to ‘quick fixes’. Even the most profound and dramatic changes in our lives only have a permanent effect if reinforced by this formula. Healing is like a good marriage. It often takes time and persistent work to last beyond the first dramatic and exciting whirlwind of the romance and falling in love. The only real change is change that lasts.

Here is how Massage actually works for you as the client:

You come for your first session and you are a little apprehensive of the unknown. If you are wise, and follow the advice of this book, then once you find a therapist you feel safe with, you will book yourself a series of 10 Massages over a period of approximately 10-20 weeks. It works even better if you have managed to find a regular slot (not always possible) and a regular day. This regularity also helps your subconscious to programme you for the very best results.

At this first session, you probably ask yourself "Is this practitioner a good Massage therapist? Will I feel comfortable and safe? Will this person pry into my personal life? Will the practitioner respect my privacy? Will the practitioner be sensitive to my needs? Have I made the right decision coming for a Massage? Will they give me the Massage I want?"

During this, your first Massage session with a new practitioner, everything is new: the room, the decor, the smell, the oils, the system (where do I get changed? do I have to take all my clothes off? Where will they start? How will I know when they have finished?

It is not so easy to completely let go fully in this new setting because it is such a new experience. Your Body and Mind have no reference points, so they stay alert and in a learning mode and in a protective mode. This is natural and instinctual. During this session, these fears should be assuaged and your body will let go. But it is still only the first session. You are still just a Massage Baby! (If your fears are not assuaged, cancel all future sessions and look for another therapist!)

So how do you measure the effects of this first session? If it has been a good first session, then you have only experienced the smallest nibble of the hors d’oeuvres of the full menu that touch actually has to offer you!

If we could give the impact and effectiveness of Massage in unit values, let us say this first Massage scored a 2 or 3. Let us say that a single unit is like a great cup of coffee or glass of wine, or a blueberry muffin . . . .and the most powerful experience you have ever had in your life scores 100."

Next week you can find out what happens in session two ...... it just gets better!