Massage & Body Boutique Blog

Expand your conscious and subconscious mind with hypnotherapy

massagebodyboutique — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:45:02 +0000

Expand your conscious and subconscious mind with LOVE.This treatment is 30% off this week.BOOK your APT now http://massageboutique.com/MassageBodywork.html

Cleaning your microwave with Vinegar

massagebodyboutique — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:26:13 +0000

Cleaning your microwave with white vinegar is such an easy thing to do! It is cheap, easy and green. Click me to find out how.

Thanks for caring and sharing!

Love Who You Are

massagebodyboutique — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:25:07 +0000

I don’t know about you, but for me this year has already been action packed! Don’t get me wrong, I love to be busy I just know that some times it can be a bit much for our bodies. One of the ways that shows up is in our skin – check out the following article for more tips on great skin.

Elimination Effect
Clear Skin Depends on Internal Wellness
Shelley Burns, N.D. – from ABMP

Do you often wonder why a skin blemish has not resolved or why acne outbreaks continue in spite of countless therapies? If so, you may need to dig a bit deeper and look inside–inside your body, that is. Good digestive health and the health of your colon can mean healthy skin.

The Question Is, How? Both the colon and skin are responsible for absorbing and releasing chemicals, water, and other metabolic products. The colon is the largest internal organ in the body. Its function is specifically to absorb food, nutrients, and water.

One function of skin is to help the body breathe. It inhales and exhales similar to how the lungs work. Inhalation and exhalation by the skin allows it to open pores and perspire. So, sweating is a good thing.

When the colon is unable to get rid of waste produced from food, the colon becomes constipated and toxic. The skin also becomes toxic in trying to perform the elimination function, and often results in skin eruptions in the form of acne, eczema, and psoriasis.

Prevention You can avoid some of this trouble with these tips:
- Consider removing certain foods from your diet–especially dairy. An allergy to milk and other dairy products can cause severe acne.
- Drink at least 64-80 ounces of water every day, as it lubricates the colon and helps with regularity.
- Refrain from dehydrating beverages like alcohol, coffee, and soda, as they can cause constipation.
- Strive for a daily bowel movement– try 1-3 teaspoons of ground flax seeds added to your breakfast.

Beautiful skin starts from the inside out. Adopting these practices will not only improve colon and skin health, but will promote your overall health as well.

Thanks for your continued support!

This is also in a newsletter, if you would like to see it in its entire form

Proud of Myself

massagebodyboutique — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:29:02 +0000

Truth be told, I am not very technologically proficient, but, I realize that it is in my best interest to continue expanding my abilities.

I am in the process of setting up an online suite for my business that will be so Awesome for you the consumer and for me the technological dork – shopping cart, online booking, and tons of other great things on the back end of running my business.

LAST night I got part of quickbooks cleaned up, imported to a spreadsheet, and sent to this company so they can import the information into their system – YAY for me (and my IT guy because he did help a bit)

Continue to expand your abilities, it is good for you!

Oh, and I’ll keep you posted about the online suite.

Soothe Winter Skin

massagebodyboutique — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:43:10 +0000

I have some tips to make it even easier for you. I will add those in bold and italics along side of the article – happy reading!

The drying effects of winter are upon us. Here are some at-home ideas to help soothe your skin through this challenging season.

Cleanse- Put away your foaming gels and soaps and stock up on creamy products. Cleansing creams, lotions, and milks are great winter choices, because they don’t contain the harsh, oil-stripping detergents found in most cleansing gels. Chamomile Cleansing Cream, Sweet Lupine Cleansing Cream, Oat Facial Polish

Tone- Shelve your astringents and switch to a toner. In the cold months, your skin needs to be soothed and balanced, not dried out further. Rose Geranium Soothing Plant Milk, Lavender Honey Balancing Plant Milk, Rosemary Lemon Clarifying Mist, Peppermint Cleanser

Moisturize- Choose heavier creams than you would in summer months. You can even use your heavy eye cream on your lips and face. If your skin itches, the dry air is causing the moisture in the top layer of your skin to evaporate quickly. Slather those areas with extra moisture until you feel relief, and never be afraid of using pure oils on your skin–a bottle of jojoba or olive oil is great to have on hand.Camellia Oil, Jojoba Oil, Primrose Eye & Upper Lip Treatment, Calendula Essential Hydrating Cream, Daily Defense Moisturizer, Seaweed Recovery Mask, Bourbon Vanilla Body Lotion,

Exfoliate- Exfoliate twice a week to remove dead skin cells and help your skin absorb the extra moisture you are using. Because central heating systems reduce the amount of sebum our skin secretes, contributing to dryness, exfoliation will free this natural regulating agent. Use a cream-based exfoliant with jojoba beads, so your body can soak up the rich oils. Skin Brushes

Hydrate- For a simple in-home hydrotherapy treatment, start your day with a steamy shower. Just as you are finishing, switch the water to cold for about 15 seconds and then back to warm for 15 seconds. Repeat the process for two minutes.

Shower and Bathe with Oils- Did you know you can apply body oil, lotion, or cream during your shower or bath? The heat and steam help your skin to thoroughly absorb the moisture. I put oil on every time before I take a shower.

Remember to drink plenty of water even in fall and winter.

Take your body weight, divide that figure into half, take that amount and put it into ounces. Drink that amount daily

Put a pot of water on the stove or wood heater and let the steam permeate through you house – this is one mf my favorite treatments!

Do you have any questions or concerns about your skin? I’m here to help. Call me.

Receiving a massage is also a great way to moiturize your skin!

See you soon,

Colleen

article by Kayla Fioravanti ABMP

Pine Essential Oil Recipe

massagebodyboutique — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:20:45 +0000

Pine is such a pleasenat aroma and this time of year our homes seem filled with it. Pine essential oil is used for sore muscles and to make turpentine – not that this is suggested to use for a relaxing night around the fire! Try using pine essential oil in a b

ath, receiving a massage, in a sauna or in a mixture of other essential oils.

This is a great recipe

3 drops of pine essential oil

3 drops of cedar essential oil

4 drops o juniper essential oil

5 drops of peppermint essential oil

2 ounces of almond or jojoba or hazelnut oil

This is the link if you want to see the whole Newsletter….Pine Essential Oil Recipe.

Flying into Health…..

massagebodyboutique — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:35:03 +0000

Flying into Health….. absorb all you can about back pain and massage by reading this great article from ABMP

How Bodywork Can Help

Karrie Osborn ABMP

Healing Massage

Whether it’s a pulled muscle from yoga class or an afternoon basketball game, or a long-term pain caused by injury, most of us will come to know the beast that is called back pain. In fact, when it comes to low-back pain specifically, researchers say that 70-85 percent of the population will experience it at some point in their lives.

Causes of Pain ~ Experts say the cause of back pain can be the result of several factors. High on the list is stress. When our body is stressed, we literally begin to pull inward: the shoulders roll forward and move up to the ears, the neck disappears, and the back tightens in the new posture. “It’s an armoring effect,” says Angie Parris-Raney, a Denver-based massage therapist who specializes in deep-tissue massage and sports therapy. “That protective mode, with the muscles in flex, can even result in visceral problems,” she says, where the pain also affects internal organs.

In addition to stress, poor posture, bad ergonomics, lack of exercise, arthritis, osteoporosis, a sedentary lifestyle, overexertion, pregnancy, kidney stones, fibromyalgia, excess weight, and more can contribute to pain.

Geoffrey Bishop, owner of Stay Tuned Therapeutics in Flagstaff, Arizona, says mechanics is the main cause of back pain that he sees in his practice. “It’s mechanics, including repetitive use and ignorance about preventative postures, and neglect by employers and employees to provide rest and recovery.” The past also plays a part, he says. “Old injuries and traumatic events, left untreated and unresolved, seem to dictate where stress lands in the back as well.”

Massage Offers Hope ~ Those who suffer with back pain know there are no easy answers for chasing the pain away. Physical therapy has proven effective for some sufferers, as has chiropractic and acupuncture, but massage therapy is also making a name for itself when it comes to providing relief. In fact, research has shown that massage can be a great friend to the back-pain sufferer.

“Massage therapists have long treated low-back pain safely and effectively,” says Les Sweeney, president of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. “They have done so less expensively and less invasively than is possible with other treatments.”

In fact, a study by the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle found that massage was more effective at treating low-back pain than medication. Patients who received massage once a week for 10 weeks were more likely to report that their back pain had improved, and improvements were still present six months after the study. Other research from the University of Miami School of Medicine and the Touch Research Institute showed that massage can decrease stress and long-term pain, improve sleep and range of motion, and help lower the incidence of depression and anxiety that often accompanies back pain.

For Parris-Raney’s clients, the length of pain relief provided by massage therapy varies depending on the condition they are experiencing. Getting on a regular massage schedule, however, has really helped her clients manage the back pain, she says. When they go past their normally scheduled appointment, “their bodies know it’s time to get a massage again.” Whether it’s just helping clients get through the day, or reminding the stressed-out office worker to breathe, Parris-Raney says massage can play an important part in back pain relief.

Whitney Lowe, owner of Oregon’s Orthopedic Massage Education and Research Institute, says the benefits of massage for back pain depend on the primary cause of the pain. “If it is predominantly muscular pain, then massage has a great deal to offer in reducing pain associated with chronic muscle tightness, spasms, myofascial trigger points, or those types of problems. If it’s something caused by a joint alignment problem or compression on a nerve, for example, then the role of massage might be somewhat different, such as helping to address the biomechanical dysfunctions, but not really being able to get pressure off the nerve itself.”

Massage Works ~ When it comes to back pain, there are a lot of options out there. Ultimately, massage, and its myriad benefits, might be a viable answer. For back pain sufferers, Parris-Raney says massage can work wonders. “Massage can help relax the body, relax the psyche, and improve a client’s range of motion and circulation to the affected tissues,” she says. Not only can massage help directly with the pain, but it can also make life a little easier, too. “Massage lets you tap into the parasympathetic system,” she says, “and tap into all the good hormones that help you sleep better and help you handle stressors along the way.” All of that helps in building a healthier back and a happier you.

Benefits of Massage ~ From stress relief to skin rejuvenation, the benefits of massage are extensive. When it comes to managing back pain, however, there are some specific benefits touch therapy can offer:

–Improved circulation. With increased circulation comes faster recovery time for sore, overworked muscle tissues.

–Increased release of endorphins. The prevalence of these natural painkillers is boosted every time you have a massage. This can only help in managing pain.

–Improved movement. Range of motion and flexibility both get a boost with massage.

–Increased relaxation. When you relax, your muscles relax, thereby calming the pain.

The Appropriate Portion

massagebodyboutique — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:32:35 +0000

Healthy living

YES, this is me dog sledding in Alaska – it was so much fun.

Small Diet Modifications Can Mean Big Changes – ABMP

Dropping a few extra pounds may mean reversing the voice in your head that sounds suspiciously like your mother telling you to clean your plate. Here’s why: eating just one hundred extra daily calories–which may come from finishing everything on your plate, even after you’re full–can represent ten added pounds in a year. Conversely, and fortunately, reducing your daily intake by just a small amount can help you manage and even lose weight. Following are a few portion control tips to help you meet your goals.

Eat at Home Dine in, and fill your own plate. Studies show that most people serve themselves smaller portions at home, but eat more when someone else fills their plate. Restaurant portions have grown significantly in recent years, in some cases doubling, and research has directly tied obesity with regular dining out. When you dine at home, serve yourself only what you think you can comfortably eat. Store leftovers in individual serving containers, and freeze them or take them for lunch the next day.

Slow Down Pay attention to how fast you’re eating. Slowing down helps you eat less and better recognize when you’re full. When you dine out, ask your server for a box. If you continue to pick at your plate while talking with friends, you’ll soon eat the whole thing without even thinking about it. This mindless eating can account for a lot of calories.

Divvy up Dinner Sharing an entree with your dining partner and ordering an extra salad is a great way to avoid eating a large meal. If you’re traveling and dining alone, try an appetizer and salad.

You’ve heard the reports: Obesity is one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease, degenerative arthritis, and cancer, and it’s now epidemic in the United States with an alarming 66 percent of all adults obese.

The good news is watching your portions, slowing down, and being mindful of the food you consume can make a difference. Even your mother would agree, you don’t always need to clean your plate.

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410920333

Exercise Feels Good?!

massagebodyboutique — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:47:53 +0000

So, there are many different way to get your exercise – this is me building a brick path in our back yard! This was some good exercise, and I even enjoyed it ~: Colleen

Finding the Pleasure in Exercise

Sonia Osorio ABMP

Exercise for Health

We’re busier than ever with longer workdays, less leisure time, shorter lunch hours, longer commutes, and more demands than ever before. We may even be in a job that doesn’t fulfill us, yet we spend most of our time there. When the day ends, we have almost no energy left to do what we enjoy. How to find a healthy balance?

Plenty has been written about the therapeutic benefits of exercise. So, why aren’t more people reaping those benefits and moving toward health and well-being? We need to reexamine our notion of what exercise and movement are and consider what we’re moving toward or away from. Then we can begin to ask ourselves other questions: Not just are we fit, but are we physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy? Are we happy? Do we enjoy how we’re moving through life? How can we integrate more healing movement into our days?

Exercise as “Medicine”We sometimes see more barriers than options to exercise. But what if we reoriented our point of view to notice where the opportunities lie? We can begin by simply redefining exercise (with its sometimes negative connotation of obligation) to movement. Already opportunities arise: How do we want to move in our bodies and in our lives? How can we have fun doing that? How can we move more (or maybe less, if we need to slow down)? How does it feel to be still? How can we make time to move into pleasure, to move with pleasure? Already, the notion of movement takes on a more healing expression. Rather than simply being another item on our to do list, it becomes a way for us to examine our lives, to see where we can move toward health, and use physical activity as a way to support this.

“When most people think of medicine, they visualize something material like a pill to be popped, a liquid to be swallowed, or an injection to be endured,” writes Carol Krucoff, author of “Healing Moves: How to Cure, Relieve, and Prevent Common Ailments with Exercise” (Harmony Books, 2000). “Some might also consider surgery, tests, or procedures … [But] simple physical activity can have profound healing effects.”

Krucoff, who cowrote the book with her husband, Mitchell, a Duke University cardiologist, advocates movement as preventive medicine, saying it’s an ideal way to combat the increasing number of inactivity-related health conditions such as heart disease and obesity. This could actually be expanded to include stress-related conditions. In fact, it’s often this combination of inactivity and increased stress that wreaks havoc on our immune system, endocrine system, and circulatory system. Every system in our body, in fact, responds to stress and inactivity. But, if this is true, then the inverse is also true: every system in our bodies will also respond to movement and pleasure. To make movement pleasurable and to use it as a way to reconnect with our bodies is, in many ways, the perfect antidote to the cycle of inactivity/hyperactivity and stress. As we move more in this way, we gain energy and health, we feel rejuvenated and relaxed, and we become more physically and emotionally aware.

Emotional FitnessWe often focus on physical fitness, but any movement toward health must also include emotional and spiritual fitness. Psychologist Nancy Mramor, PhD, author of “Spiritual Fitness” (Llewellyn Publications, 2004), ties emotional fitness with our physical health and with our heart’s expression. “There is evidence that the largest number of heart attacks occurs on Monday morning between 8 and 9 a.m.,” she says. “This occurrence is related to the experience called joyless striving. It applies to feelings of having to force yourself to go to a job that you have no interest in, or even truly dislike. Clearly these feelings suggest a lack of emotional fitness in the match between the employee and the job.” When we’re emotionally connected to our work in a healthy way and to one another, we not only survive, we thrive.

Personal HealthInterpersonal relationships, in fact, are one of the three major causes of life stress, along with environmental events/conditions and personal attitudes and beliefs. In his book, “Love and Survival” (Harper Collins, 1998), renowned physician Dean Ornish, who first proved that heart disease was reversible through lifestyle changes, says that in order to survive, we need not only care for our lives, but the lives of others. Individuals with supportive relationships get sick less, heal faster, and live longer.

Our health and well-being are not about being hyper-active or inactive. They’re about finding a balance, making our actions conscious, and learning to move in ways that are both healthy and appropriate in our own lives, then moving this healing energy out toward others. So, rather than exhausting or limiting our energy, we learn to expand it. Then we can begin exercising in a whole new way–exercising our right to choose and to better understand our body, our life, and what we want to be doing with it.

Begin by checking in with yourself as you’re moving through your day: How does your body feel right now? How are you breathing? Where is this movement taking you? Do you feel good? Are you satisfied? Are you happy? If not, then change something. Change how you’re moving, where you’re moving toward, or look at what you’re moving away from.

“Become the change you seek in the world,” Mahatma Ghandi said. This isn’t about a temporary quick fix to end a bad habit, lose some weight, or fill our time. This is about long-term change–making more conscious use of our time and of our life. It’s about moving though life in healthy and healing ways, and expanding our idea of who we can be. Then our view of the world widens, our heart grows, our spirit soars, and our body moves toward true change. This is the healing power of movement.

Behold…….Vinegar

massagebodyboutique — Wed, 18 May 2011 23:37:51 +0000

Incredibly affordable and environmentally safe, vinegar is an ideal product for your home. I love using vinegar to clean and disinfect the whole house and office.

Use these tips and enjoy the benefits of vinegar in your life.

1. Cleaner and Disinfectant

From countertops and windows to bathtubs to hardwood floors, countless household surfaces can be cleaned with vinegar. You can clean and disinfect just about anything with vinegar and water. You can use pure vinegar or a diluted solution, depending on the severity of the dirty situation: Use vinegar full-strength for tough cleaning jobs and to remove lime or hard water stains. Look for a higher percentage of vinegar – that works great as a deep cleanser. I found mine in a European Deli.

2. Fabric Softener

1 to 2 oz of vinegar works well to remove detergent from you washer. This works great but, before doing this I would recommend finding a detergent that leaves no residue.

3. Odor Remover

Is a strong scent lingering in your home? Vinegar is a natural odor remover.

Set out a small bowl of apple cider vinegar…….within a few days your room will smell fresh and clean.

4. Stain Remover

Whether you’re cleaning carpets or cloth diapers, vinegar is a powerful stain remover, used with baking soda you have a great deep stain remover.

Put a good amount of baking soda on the stain, then spray some white vinegar over the baking soda. After the best bubble show around, wash, then experience the fresh cleanness of vinegar.

5. Blemish Treatment

Vinegar is also a simple remedy for curing pimples.

Banish blemishes fast….. combine 1 tsp. salt and 3 Tbs. vinegar in a bowl and dab on pimples using a q tip. Let sit 30 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water. Remember vinegar is an acid, please be careful.

6. Drain Cleaner

This is still my favorite thing to do, even if my drains don’t need it. I swear by baking soda and vinegar for freshening up kitchen drains: To keep sink drains clean and odor free I periodically pour baking soda into the drain, then white distilled vinegar. The foaming actions cleans the pipes and makes me smile.

7. Pots and Pans Cleaner

Why spend 20 minutes scouring off burnt food when vinegar and baking soda can do the work for you?

Use vinegar & baking soda for stainless steel pots…Sprinkle the inside bottom of your pan with baking soda, set pan on the stove (medium high), pour on vinegar after a minute. This will lift any baked-on crud.

8. Weed Killer

Vinegar in a spray bottle kills grass and weeds in sidewalk cracks too…my new fave!! I suggest pulling the weed up and spraying any leftover roots with vinegar. This will change the PH of your ground so again be careful.

I recently noticed a funky smell on my favorite green, velvet couch – Yuck!!

I mixed in a spray bottle 1/3 water, 1/3 vinegar and 2 tablespoons of my favorite liquid cleanser (Basic H.) I sprayed directly on the cushions and lightly wiped it off with a soft cloth in the direction of the velvet’s grain.

My couch is clean and smells fresh again!!

It is time for me to go clean my drains,

Have a fresh and beautiful day, Colleen