Amidst the long hot days of summer, many of us are getting ready for another school year or we need a vacation to rest up from our vacation… summer ends up being a busy time with many activities, we find ourselves falling out of our routines and often pushing ourselves to the limit. That’s why people are subject to summer colds or might be more accident prone. Why not take out a moment for massage? It’s a mini-vacation in itself and might be just what you need to keep on, keeping on.

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I will be the Massage Therapy Coordinator for the 2008 St George Marathon and I need your help. We want to double the number of therapists volunteering this year (from 60 to 120) to give the runners post event massages in Worthen Park after they cross the finish line. I am in the process of putting together welcome packages for all the volunteers, particularly those who travel long distances to come here to southern Utah to help out. If you have a business or work for a company that would like to donate items to include in the packets (wrist bands, bottled water, yogurt, discount coupons etc) that will help make this a more exciting event for these volunteer, please let me know.

Secondly, you know this town is booked solid during the Marathon with over 7,000 runners. In the past some of these massage therapists or massage students have had to sleep in the park the night before the event because they have to be here so early in the morning. So I am looking for “Host Homes”. If you would like to be a host home for any number of volunteers ( you don’t need a fancy guest room, just floor space for a sleeping bag and a shower) please let me know. This would be for one night Friday October 3rd. Chances are they will only be there from 10 pm until 7:30am and most of the time they be sleeping so you won’t have to do any entertaining. This is a great way for us to show these folks how great a town we live in.

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HOME REMEDIES

Most of you have enjoyed the cold stones I use in the massage sessions. The idea came from a headache remedy that my Grandmother who raised me used to use. She would take a cold wet wash rag and put it on her forehead, then go lay down in a darkened room. This was long before the over the counter remedies boomed in the 60’s (along with a TV in every house) and tylenol and exediren did massive ad campaigns and convinced people that aspirin wasn’t safe to take. This is when we became a culture that came to believe that health and magic came to us in a pill that we could take and everything would be all better. At what point is it that technology has improved our lives and at what point did we steer away from common sense and listening to our body? Today we live a balancing act of taking 2 of these pills to counter the effect of the other one we took. We take a multivitamin to counter the effects of a fast diet and we take energy drinks to counter the effects of not getting enough sleep (probably because we had too much caffeine in our system from the energy drinks).

I was fortunate to be raised by a farm girl who didn’t have a Drugstore just around the corner that’s open 24 hours and has a drive up window. She was taught the lore of plants and using the things around us as natural remedies. That is why even though I was raised in the suburbs, we always had mint growing in the yard so that if ever someone had an upset stomach we would make some fresh mint tea Spearmint was my favorite although we had peppermint too). I remember too getting a bee sting at about 5 years old and having my finger stuck in some cool mud until the pain went away. Most of these things worked well because back then we were more careful to listen to our body. If you could notice the telltale signs of a headache coming on (usually from too much stress) or the first signs of an upset stomach and use the remedy immediately, you could often reverse the condition before it became severe. Today we go until we drop. Why not when there’s a emergency room a few blocks away. After all we trust the medical field and it’s wonder pills to put humpty dumpty back together again don’t we? Is it any wonder we shop doctors and go from one to another till we get the answer WE like?

A good simple remedy to relieve pain ( but only works if you apply it on the onset) is to pinch the small divot above your lips (called the philtrum) and just below your nose. You”ll know when you’ve got it as it is a minor pressure point. It has the effect of short circuiting the pain receptors, therefore it stops the pain in its tracks and resets the switches. If nothing else it lowers the pain waves so that they don’t hit those sharp spikes.

Here’s some good websites for simple home remedies. They don’t include wonder berries from the slopes of Mt. Everest or the latest phenfen pill to take off pounds while you sleep, but simple helps from everyday items, herbs, and lotions that have been around for a long time. Remember that nobody is going to recommend something they can’t make money off of, but isn’t it refreshing to find a doctor who simply say, “take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning”?

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” —Thomas Edison

http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_indx.htm

http://www.priceless-home-remedies.com/

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AUGUST MASSAGE DRAWING WINNERS

Lacy Davis Annette Reitano Shelly Derosia

It pays to enter every month!!

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Interested in having Michael come to your office, special event or party and do Chair Massage or Reflexology! (Sure beats that clown who blew up animal balloons last year) It’s easy to do and everyone loves bodywork. Call Michael at 435-215-3480

Got alot of things happening so make sure and scroll through the entire page…

First, Wanna a FREE Chair Massage?

Join us Friday July 11 from 8 am til 2 pm at Country Dentist at 2313 Santa Clara Drive in Santa Clara . You are welcome to participate in Free Vision Therapy screening, Dyslexia screening and Free reading assessment brought to you by “Clear View Eye Care” and Free Dental screening, oral cancer screening, and a visual decay exam brought to by “Country Dental“. Enjoy free refreshments and a 12 minute chair massage by Michael Forrest, LMT. Advance booking is recommended, so call 435 652-4100 to reserve your time slot.

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Allow me to introduce my good friend, Jennifer Iverson who is wonderful stylist with over 14 years of experience. She has worked for Redken as a color educator and as a learning leader at the Paul Mitchell school. She has put together a wonderful special for all my good friends who get this newsletter :

STEP INTO SUMMER WITH SOME SUN KISSED HIGHLIGHTS!!!

Did you know you could be many different things?

*Beachy Blond-Carmel candy-Butterscotch-or any color under the sun

For July Only Jennifer is offering $30.00 for a Halo of highlights (full foil weave not included, hair cut sold separately) Also receive a complimentary eyebrow arch with purchase of halo highlights.

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Thank you to Valerie Ciardi, who has MS, and who is finding that regular massage makes a tremendous difference in her ability to manage pain and function better as she continues her day to day activities. She found a graet article on massage in “Neurology Now” which further documents how beneficial massage is for those with Parkinsons, MS, and other neurological disorders.. click here to view the article

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I appreciate all the wonderful comments and feed back you’ve given me on our previous articles. Remember these articles are like editorials in the newspaper. They are opinion and anyone is welcome to post their reaction, comments etc on the blog (that’s what blogs are for) I love your support and would love to share your comments, so e-mail me or post a comment on the blog so we can all benefit.

WORLD CLASS MASSAGE

This past March I had the opportunity to cruise on Carnival’s ship Elation on a 4 day vacation from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. I thought it was my professional duty to tour their spa and sample their massage treatments (tough job, I know); I’m always curious as to what other therapists are doing and not above stealing a good technique if I can. Besides, I had attended a recruiting event by Steiner (the London based company that runs most of the cruise line spas) while in massage school. In fact, half way through my schooling at Nevada School of Massage Therapy, we found out that Steiner had bought out all of the UCMT family of schools. So knowing a little about the spa onboard, I figured this would be a great opportunity to see what kind of product they put out.

I already knew that Steiner was a sales based spa with an emphasis on selling their spa products. Upon looking over their menu, I opted for the most economical service which was a one hour Hot Stone Massage for $175.00. There were lots of other treatments that included seaweed or some type of mud, but there was certainly no basic “swedish massage” or simple sports massage available (even though the spa is connected with the fitness facility) but hey, I love Hot Stone, so we were looking forward to it.

My therapist was from the Phillipines and I was up front with her that I was a therapist as well giving her instructions to spend a little extra time on my hands and wrists. She did a good job and I’m sure I noticed some of those “asian” techniques such as finger snapping that I didn’t learn in school but seem prevalent with the folks who do chair massage at the mall. We had a good visit some of the time but mostly I tried to be quiet and enjoy my treatment. I smiled as I noticed that the music playing was the same as CD’s I play during my sessions. I was a little disappointed in the treatment room which seemed bare and only had sliding doors to separate us from the next room. The ambience was further disrupted when I could hear a thumping noise that got loud and then faded at regular intervals. This was because the running track was over our head and it reminded me of family gatherings with the parents yelling at the kids upstairs to play quietly…. Of course, the session ended with the sales pitch for this product that would make my skin nicer and help me lose weight (would you care to add it to you cabin bill or have it shipped to you back home)…

What I came away with from my massage experience on the ship was a greater appreciation of the world class experience we provide for you at Salone Sienne. I would stack our massage up with any in southern Utah and in most places in the world. We may not have a soaking mineral pool or other such amenities but we do offer a phenomenial massage in a truly relaxing setting which is intentionally affordable (with a $30 tip my total was $225.00) so that you can come to us often.

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JUNE MASSAGE DRAWING WINNERS

John Schultz Shari Rammell Ashley Heaton

It pays to enter every month!!

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HOT JULY MASSAGE SPECIALS

take an additional $10.00 off on any service bought and booked this month

(this includes senior and employee deals)

Have a wonderful July and a fantastic 4th

Stay safe, stay healthy, keep smiling!

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Interested in having Michael come to your office, special event or party and do Chair Massage or Reflexology! (Sure beats that clown who blew up animal balloons last year) It’s easy to do and everyone loves bodywork. Call Michael at 435-215-3480

Aqua Detox Debunked: Does this spa treatment keep its promises …

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Remember Dad this year with our special package that includes a full hour Swedish or Sports Massage and a $30.00 gift certificate for any merchandise at Rebel Sports in the Zion Factory outlet mall.

all this for just $55.00 (a $90.00 value)

You can purchase this package online* (click here)

or you can purchase them at Rebel Sports in The Zion Factory Stores

or come see us at the Downtown Farmers Market at Ancestor Square Saturday 8 am til 12 noon

*free mailing or delivery available before Fathers Day

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This month’s article

Debunking the Detox Footbath

I have often been asked my opinion about the detox remedies (patches) that are being promoted in late night infomercials or the Detox footbaths that are popping up in Chiropractic offices, salons, and recently in a ladies health club that has since closed it’s doors. I have always been cautionary in my remarks suggesting that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t. So I took it on myself to do a little google investigating and found that my reservations were justified.

We Americans have always been suckers for the “quick fix”. We fall prey to snake oil salesmen who promise us quick weight loss while we sleep or a magic elixir that will cure all our ills. The science behind these foot baths can’t support their claims. Anyone who knows basic anatomy has learned that the integument (skin) is formost a waterproof covering for our body and the skin of the bottom of our feet has a different pore system just like the palms of our hands and pads of our fingers. While it is true that the feet is a catching ground for toxins that the body fails to eliminate (urea acid crystals) because of gravity and because the feet, like storm drains, are a mix of muscles, tendons, and many small bones; these toxins are deep in the tissue beyond the integument and can only be reabsorbed and released thru the circulatory and lymph systems. In simple terms, it cannot be released through the skin. While much is made about the pads or footbaths changing color, the explanation is simple. The chemical reaction is similar to test strips used to test swimming pool water. Because we keep socks and shoes on most of the time our feet often become breeding ground for bacteria. Now most of this bacteria is helpful and part of our natural flora and fauna, sometimes it gets out of control such as athletes foot. Like pool water we change from acidic to alkaline and back again in regular cycles. This is the bodies way of keeping bacteria in check and the smell that emits from our feet is caused by this dead bacteria (no need to worry, normal bathing takes care of this) which will have a vinegar like odor when w are acidic and a sweet rotten smell when we are alkaline. So essentially the chemicals in the pads react to our bodies natural ph but do NOTHING to change this or have any effect on us. Really, it’s just smoke and mirrors but no more sophisticated or beneficial than the mood rings that were popular in the 70’s.

The problem is when claims are made that these baths do more than wash your feet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of pedicures and healthy feet, and encourage anyone to have these treatments because they feel great and keep us healthy. I just don’t want anyone to be misled by false claims. I’ve attached some links to the end of this article if you’d like to investigate this further. You’ll especially like the eye witness report from a Phoenix TV news team. I don’t believe that you’ll find any medical doctor or true health professional that will support the claims of these detox products. Many States are investigating these products and their claims based on consumer complaints and such as their use becomes more prevalent. Let’s hope that common sense prevails over snake oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5uQz67L-oI&feature=related

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/08/your_friday_dose_of_woo_a_soothing_footb.php

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May Massage Winners

Dave Biasi Susan Keller Nancy Mahi

it pays to enter every month!

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Due to popular demand the May specials are being extended through the end of June

2 for $88.00 3 for $111.00 or 12 for $400.00

click here to purchase

Thank You to everyone for making May so busy. The best clients come from referals, so tell a friend!

Have a wonderful June

Happy Mother’s Day

Don’t forget Mom loves massage!

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The Power of Touch

We human beings are wired for touch. We respond to touch and need it to survive. Our first instinct when we are injured is to put our hand over the affected site and oftentimes to rub it. There is a special magic that occurs when someone else touches us. The brain responds by releasing endorphins that heighten the sensation of touch, then the hair follicles have a muscle that causes the hair shaft to stand up in response to stimuli; we blush, which is increased circulation. These are just some of the automatic response we have to touch but it goes deeper than that because of the nurturing nature of person to person touch. This explains why we respond three fold to therapeutic massage.

If you look at the studies of Jane Goodall with the chimps, you see that they spend a huge portion of the day grooming each other, clumped together in social touching. We too receive psychological benefits from touch. This is one of the reasons that massage has such a deep effect on reducing stress, which is not just muscular but emotional as well. There have been studies that showed that infants who were not picked up and held ended up having severe health problems.

What a shame that as western medicine advances it loses sight of the power of contact and touch. People will never respond as well to therapy that replaces human contact with a machine, but today medicine looks for ways to have the doctor treat more people therefore they hook you up to a machine that stimulates muscle activity so that the doctor can spend time with the people in treatment rooms 2,3 &4. We are too focused on whats expedient for the doctor than what is good for the patient, and we are too caught up in what insurance will pay for rather than what will make us well. Example, you injure yourself and believe you require surgery (probably not getting a second opinion because insurance wouldn’t pay for it) after the deductible and co-pay and the physical therapy and prescriptions and on and on you end up paying $6,000.00 thinking you got off cheap because the total bill was $60,000.00. Think out of the box, surgery is another injury that you end up having to recover from. That same $6,000.00 could have bought you over 100 massage sessions. Therapeutic massage and injury massage can have dramatic effects. Massage therapists are they only medical practitioners that will spend total hands on time with you to aid you in your own healing. If you believe that the body wants to heal itself, that it wants to return to normal; then massage does the primary thing that the soft tissue needs to rebuild itself which is to increase circulation to the effected area. Blood flowing into the area removes the waste and brings nutrients to the cell tissue. That’s right! Massage works right down to the cellular level.

Reports and studies are being conducted all the time that show that a massage once a month reduces doctor visits and the amount of drugs people take. Everyone thinks of a massage after the pull a muscle and their back hurts but massage helps keep you well and is an important preventative measure you can take as well. So take the time to have some positive touch therapy and make massage a good habit.

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May’s Specials

Two full hour massages for $88.00 (average price $44.00 each)

Three full hour massages for $111.00 (average price $37.00 each)

or the big kahuna, the Economic Stimulus Package

“if you’re getting that rebate check then why not get set up with massage through next year? Get 10 massages for $400.00 and I’ll throw in 2 free ones for a total of 12 massages (average price $33.33 each)”

Go to www.stgeorgemassage.com/specials.html to purchase these deals

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April Drawing Winners

HEATHER BRACKEN MISTY BRENNAN KARLENE YOUNG

Congratulations! It pays to enter each and every month.

help us celebrate

NATIONAL FOOT WELLNESS MONTH

We are pleased to participate in a OPEN HOUSE for Summit Foot & Ankle Clinic and Dr Brad Webb, DPM. We will be doing FREE foot reflexology sessions at this event.

Wednesday April 2, 2008 from 2 pm until 6 pm

&

Thursday April 3, 2008 from 9 am until 1 pm

Call 435-251-9112 to schedule a free 15 minute foot reflexology session and while you are there be sure to sign up for drawings for dinners, Running shoes, Massage, Gift Cards etc. There will be free food and beverages. Most importantly take the opportunity to have a free foot screening by Dr. Webb.

We are pleased to participate in this event and recommend Dr. Webb who did a great job on my ingrown toenail surgery last summer. Last time we did this I was booked solid the entire day so call early to schedule your time.

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In honor of this event our April Massage special is $10.00 off any Reflexology session. You can get, this month only:

Reflexology (35 minute session) for only $25.00

or the

Reflexology plus (a full hour) for just $40.00

Either of these treatments are a wonderfully relaxing experience that release stored up urea crystals and other toxins stored in the feet as well as targeting the specific nerve endings that relate to organs and regions throughout the body.

To purchase click here

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April special for clients and friend of stgeorgemassage.com….

Please meet my friend and associate; Suenie Irwin, Master Esthetician at Salone Sienne

This month only she is offering 25% off any service (Facials, Waxing etc) for more information go to www.stgeorgemassage.com/suenie.html

Suenie does a wonderful job and you will love her attention to detail and charming personality.

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Winners of the March Drawing for a free Massage are :

Sharlene Dalley
Ken Harris
Colleen Woodbury

Remember you can’t win if you don’t enter

So click here to enter!

Welcome to my new blog page. We hope this will give everyone more interactivity by allowing you to more easily add posts, comments, questions etc.

MARCH Specials: In honor of the Washington County School Districts “Health & Wellness Fair” on March 7th, we have declared this “Health and Wellness Month” and we are giving everyone who reads the newsletter the EMPLOYEE RATE of $40.00 for a full hour all month long. Why not make a self improvement pact before spring begins to make massage part of your healthy lifestyle. During March 2008 you can purchase massage gift certificates at this special rate to.

Thank you to all who were so patient with me the past few months while I was in the Man of La Mancha. I know I had to turn away clients because of the rehearsal/show schedule and most were flexible in their willingness to work with my schedule.

Michael as Juan in Man of La Mancha

Congratulations to February’s Massage Drawing winners:

Carol Golichnik    Nicole Kimzey      Holly Chan 

it pays to enter every month!