A Look Through The Door

Today I realised that I haven't posted any photos of the new treatment room now Cornerstone Therapies has moved. I hope that you like it and I would love to know your thoughts and comments. 

Restart! :

I made Spelt Bread this morning to help my whole-grain in take. I'm also trying to up my essential fatty acids, so added avocado to my salad last night for dinner. Yum!

What I'm loving in the Treatment Room today:

I'm enjoying my work on the head, neck and shoulders this week as a lot of my clients seem to be needing concentrated work in this area. (Roll on next week for the TMJ Blog Series!) It's also a great day to mix and match the hot and cold stones; reassuring yet refreshing.

Music of the day:

Currently listening to Iron and Wine's 'Kiss Each Other Clean'.

I hope that this blog finds you well and that if you are living around my part of the world you have enjoyed the amazing lightning strikes, thunder and rain today! It was a show stopper at lunch time.

I thought I would write just a quick blog today to let you know that I am planning a week of posts next week centred around the Tempro-mandibular Joint, also known as the TMJ, or 'Jaw Joint'. This idea for the blogs was born after an interesting study session last week when Lesley and I took time to go over old treatment notes from a couple of years ago on the subject. The TMJ is an over looked subject in massage therapy at times and I know that when I was at college 11 years ago I can safely say that treatment for this area of the body was never covered. Thanks to the training that I am under taking at Jing at the moment, I have felt confident to treat TMJ Disfunction for a couple of years after being trained by Tracey, who in a previous life was a dental nurse before training as a massage practitioner and instructor. I think it's a great subject to look at with you over the next week and hope you enjoy reading all about it!

TMJ Disfunction can cause all manner of problems; tooth ache, headaches, neck pain and shoulder discomfort. I feel that a lot of people could benefit from treatment around the jaw joint to help with numerous pain patterns around the head, neck and shoulders.

I'm really looking forward to concentrating dedicated time to one area of the body and seeing how great Body-Work can help and hopefully this will be the beginning of a series where we look at the whole body in depth. So your eyes peeled next week for these exciting blog posts!

I am off to Bonny Brighton on Thursday for the day to learn about data collection for my dissertation, (which I am writing this year), as well as getting great advice on Case Study and Reflective Practice writing. It's a little nerdy and won't effect you guys too much, but it's always good to know what I'm doing, where I'm going and which techniques and tips I'm picking up for your next treatment.

Also, don't forget to get in touch to make the most of Cornerstone Therapies' July offer: 10% off all treatments! Places are booking up fast before the summer exodus in August, so if you want to make the most of it, do email me to sort out your bookings.

Restart! : Day 2 of the first week of my 'Restart' (see yesterday's blog) and I have to say that I am feeling good. I got 3 great meals down me yesterday instead of snaking on junk and I drank 1.5lts of water.

Today I enjoyed a hot chocolate in Nero and I felt that I should have had a mint tea instead. I'm just about to do half an hour of Pilates at home before I so the supper. I should have walked into town instead of driven, but I'll do that soon … I promise!

What I'm loving in the Treatment Room today:

My marble stones are cool and my steam towels are refreshing. Both have helped people relax after they have arrived hot and sticky from the drive here.

Music in the Treatment Room today:

Due to a power cut I didn't have much, but when it was on I was listening to Classic Calm; awesome music to chill out to. 

Looking After Ourselves

When a Therapist sits in front of you and says; 'Your skin is dry and dehydrated; you should drink more water. Also, you are very stressed; you should relax more', I bet you would like to either say something very cutting, or just walk out the door.

The truth of the matter is that we are all probably wound up like springs and not looking after ourselves in the best manner and I know this is true for myself. Over the past few days I have realized that I am drinking too much alcohol, eating at odd times and skipping meals (when I do eat it's not the most wholesome food), water has turned into a rare beverage and my stress levels have been through the roof due to the house move. My skin is very dry and dehydrated and I'm generally feeling a little below par.

Now, I am totally against the idea that you should go on a five day detox and expel everything in your body by purging it in a very short space of time. Through 10 years of working with the body and seeing how it reacts and moves through life, I now believe that this approach is just too stressful on all the organs, especially the mind. Purging in this way doesn't help you change your habits as there isn't enough time to learn new ways of helping yourself in the long run, so the benefits, if there are any, are minimal.

I would much rather my clients make a 6 – 8 week life change and then go on a week long Pilates, Yoga or Thi-Chi retreat. The two months prior to the retreat allows the body and mind to prepare and learn that looking after yourself should be an every day pattern, rather than a one hit wonder.

'So', I hear you cry, 'what are you going to do with your self Jenny?'. The answer is that I am going to try taking my own medicine! On Friday I went to bed feeling really stuffed after eating too late and drinking too much and thought that it was about time that I got myself together. David and I moved 3 weeks ago now and all the boxes are unpacked and the house is starting to come together, so I have no reason to get worked up about that now. I am starting to get down to studying again after 5 weeks off, so I need my brain to function clearly from now on. To top it off I have not done a single hour of concentrated exercise since the move, so really now is the time to look at my life and just rejig a few things.

To kick start my two month re-start (I don't want to use the word de-tox), I have gone back to a book that has often helped me: 'Looking Good and Feeling Younger' by Susan Curtis , Alex Kirchin and Karen Sullivan. It's published by Neal's Yard Press and is a simple little book packed with great ideas, tips and information about how to keep yourself in tip-top condition. The back of the book is great as it has a 6 week 'plan', (a loose term as it is simply a list of prompts) of things you can do each day to keep yourself feeling great. I like the approach that they set out:

“There are no strict diets or set regimes; instead, you'll be making alterations to your normal routines and ways of doing things, to ensure that you are doing the best you can for your body and mind. If you slip it's not a problem. …. In a nutshell, if you get 80 percent of your lifestyle right, the other 20 percent can be relaxed. So a night in front of the TV with a couple of glasses of wine isn't going to ruin everything.......”

Fantastic!

One of the points made in the book is that you should try to get a 6 week window in your diary that isn't packed with holidays and shed loads of parties, so avoid trying to change things at busy times like Christmas.

So my re-start starts today. Week One is all about diet and today I am going to clear out the kitchen of all junk, write a meal plan and then go shopping. I have had my one coffee of the day and I am going to aim for 4 glasses of water to help hydrate my organs. I am making time for me and am going for a Pedicure and Wax with Emma, (my Dermalogica Skin Care Therapist over in Guildford), so I shall relax and feel a little more presentable to the world by the end of the day. The only other thing I shall do is sit down with my diary and work out where I can fit in a couple of trips to the gym this week. I'm not going to do anything too much all in one go, a simple Pilates for beginners and a twenty minute swim would be enough this week!

I'm going to up date you with how I go at the end of each blog over the next two months, so just scroll down to the 'What I'm loving in the treatment room today' part of the blogs to read all about it.

Remember, little steps every day allows you to walk up mountains and onwards through life. So, if you are thinking that this summer is the time for you to change a few things for the better, do it slowly so your mind and body can relax into a whole new world of better living.

What I'm loving in the Treatment Room today: Mondays are my day off, so I am going to enjoy someone else's treatment room and visit Emma Hobbs for a Pedicure and Wax. Bliss!

Music in the Treatment Room today: No doubt my day will be filled with the joys of Lifehouse :) . 

Time Flies.

Wow, where has this month gone?! I can't quite believe that we are past the half way point already; time seems to be flying away at the moment.

This morning I thought that I would just let you know what has been happening at Cornerstone Therapies this week as well as what I am up to in the way of studying.

The treatment room has been really busy this week, which is always a great feeling! After the decoration was finished on Tuesday, it was full steam ahead and I have been really enjoying combining great skin care treatments with massage therapy.

It seems that a lot of people have been suffering from tight necks and shoulders as well as dehydrated and sensitized skin. The answer: Dermalogica's UltraCalming System in combination with half an hour of Trigger Point Massage and Stretch Therapy!

The two treatments work hand in hand and it offers great relief from the feeling that your skin is hot and on fire whilst being cracked and day, and the feeling that your neck is locked in one position and giving you headaches.

Whilst the super soothing Oatmeal face masque has been working its magic under a gentle steam I have found that I can still work into the muscles around the head and neck including the Scalenes, Tapezius, Levator Scaplua, Sub Occipitals, Sternocleidomastoid, Temporalis and Frontalis. All these muscles can radiate pain around the head, apart from the Scalenes which commonly sends pain down the arm into the fingers. They all need to be treated to enable you to gain a better range of motion as well as help to reduce your pain patterns.

I love combining treatments that give you an all over sense of well being as my ambition is to have you walking out of my treatment room feeling better then when you walked in! I don't see why we have to stick to just one aspect of therapy when we have time to embrace a full range.

I have not been resting on my laurels this week in the way of study either. I went to see Lesley, (my study partner), on Monday afternoon and we had a great time working out how we are going to get to grips with the next part of the academic journey.

We are starting to take one 'bit' of the body at a time, starting this week with the head and face and specifically working around the Tempro-Mandibula Joint (TMJ). The TMJ allows you to open and close your mouth and we will be looking at the pain that can be caused by the surrounding muscles, the anatomy of those muscles as well how we can treat them. It is all great review information as we covered it 2 years ago and feel that we need a refresher. We are meeting this coming Thursday to go over it and talk about our Dissertation interests, (as well as to drink tea and eat cake!).

What I'm loving in the Treatment Room today:

It has been cold, wet and down right horrid this week, so I have been making the most of my Hot Stones as well as Dermalogica's Professional Energizing Oil. It is only available for therapy and I use it to aid people who need a bit of a pep as well as making full use of it's warming properties. It's also great for detoxifying and the smell of the Sage, Rosemary, Rose Geranium, Cyprus and Ginger is wonderful! It glides really well with the Hot Stones and leaves the skin feeling conditioned and nourished.

Music in the Treatment Room today: We are music free today, but the bird song outside is glorious!