Meditation and Massage An Incredible Combination!

I have recently decided to create a new holistic treatment that combines Meditation with Massage Therapy. Two of my loves in one space! I have been a student of meditation for many many years, sometimes it comes easily and sometimes I still really have to work at it. I personally really like quiet when I get massage treatments, because I find that it is easy for my to drop into a meditative state in an environment that easily supports it. There is always calming music, I have to be entirely unplugged from all devices, and I have an hour and a half to just be where I am, no interruptions. So it occurred to me that I may not be the only one who appreciates meditation with massage and thus Guided Meditation Massage Therapy was created.

I know that meditation isn't easy, I know many people struggle, because I struggled for a long time, and still sometimes do. So I wanted to make it easier for someone to come in and really benefit from meditation by creating different forms of guided meditations to ease the body and mind into it, which is great for anyone no matter if you have no experience or years of experience. There are also different meditations to choose from so you can choose the one that appeals to you the most. There is a simple relaxation that focuses on your muscles from head to toe and breathing. One for rebalancing your Chakra's (energy centers of the body) to create more harmony and health within the body, and there is one where you can visualize and create a meditation space, or meet an animal or spirit guide.

Getting to a place where you are physically very relaxed is also really beneficial for the Massage Therapy aspect of this treatment. When the stress of the day is released through meditation, it allows me to really find and address the muscles that chronically hold stress and tension more efficiently because you are as relaxed as you possibly can be. It also helps me to get an incredibly accurate understanding of what level of pressure works the best for your body, when you are in meditation your body gets to 'speak' for itself and give proper clues when pressure is too much. (check out the post about pain if you want more info about pain in massage treatments).

As always if you have any questions drop me a line (clarissa@omniawellness.ca) or check out www.omniawellness.ca and look at the FAQ's for Guided Meditation Massage Therapy, or to book an appointment and try it for yourself!

The Care from a Massage

I recently had an incredible massage from a wonderful therapist! Within the first few minutes the only thing I could think about was that I really needed to blog about how amazing massages are!

I love so many things about massage, I would have chosen a different career path otherwise, but the things I really connect with and that I can't live with out are as follows:

- The incredible healing power of touch is second to none, and its effects are increased with a gifted healer.
- The care, kindness, and compassion a great therapist takes in taking care of you, not only your physical self, but your soul self too, is amazing.
- To have an hour or an hour and a half dedicated to myself, and my healing. I know that it is hard for me to take time out for myself, and I know that many other people feel the same way. It is nice to have time to reconnect with myself again.
- To have the time unplugged from all devices is incredible!
- To have an opportunity to meditate at the same time takes a healing treatment to incredibly deep levels, not to mention the time to be able to meditate and the help it gives to my already existing meditation practice.

I also decided to make sure that I am getting regular massages too, for me I aim for at least once a month, but I assure you, if I could get one weekly I would!

Fusion Massage Therapy

Fusion is a treatment for people who want more out of a massage than just the physical manipulation of muscles and other tissues. With a Fusion treatment, the energy components of both Reiki and Acupressure are applied, as well as finishing the massage with Body Talk. This allows the body to heal on the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels, this allows me to treat the body as a whole and not just it's parts. You will still get the pain relief from releasing muscular tension, and you get the added bonus of having your energy system  flow properly so your massage is even more effective. By bringing Body Talk in, your body gets the chance to express all of the things it needs attention brought to, and have all of those things addressed as well.

As an added bonus, by utilizing Reiki and Acupressure in a Massage treatment, it helps to create a relaxing treatment that is still very therapeutic, without having to use deep tissue methods.

What is your happiness waiting for?

I watched the first few minutes of a show that had a lovely woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she had gone through radiation twice and her body didn't respond well, and she is left with no alternatives. Though I have no idea if she is even attempting the non-traditional holistic route, just to see at least, but that isn't why I am here. She was saying that now she is making her happiness important in her life. If there is something not working, she changes it so that it does work or it isn't a part of her anymore. She is not alone, I have heard this many times from people who have, or are, experiencing a very big life threatening illness, whether it be a horrific accident, cancer, heart disease/attacks.

Why do we wait until we have a terminal illness to change our lives in such a positive way? I am writing this to say that I have made the commitment to myself to make my life as joyful as possible, if something isn't working right then I will change it, if I am not doing something I like, then I will change it. I refuse to have to resort to an illness to have a wake up call, I am learning from others so I don't have to go through it myself.

I encourage everyone else out there to choose yourself and your happiness, I know that change isn't always the easiest of things to do, but I promise once you have done it, it will feel amazing, and you will be grateful for doing it. Don't wait to be forced into it, just start with little steps.

October stretch of the month

This stretch is a good one! 

If you have pain or tension in your back between your shoulder blades the following suggestions are for you!

You can also place your full forearm from elbow to wrist against the door frame - elbows at 90 degrees and then bring your arms up to a 120 degree angle - hands near the top corners of the door.

Hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds and remember to breathe the whole time, only move forward to the point that you feel the stretch, not to where you feel the most pain. Repeat 3-5 times. I suggest doing this stretch through out the day if you can, it is really great to do when you get home from work, or really any time you are feeling tension in your back between your shoulder blades.

Another fantastic feeling thing to do is to roll a bath towel up lengthwise and lay it on the floor (you can also use a bolster or a foam roller), lay on top of it so it runs the length of your spine, and breathe, to increase the stretch you can place your arms at a 90 degree angle or straight up above your head. Lay there for as long as you like! or aim for at least 90 seconds at a time and repeat 2-3 times.

If you have any questions about these stretches or would like some alternatives, please don't hesitate to let me know, you can email me anytime at info@omniawellness.ca
You can also book a massage online at www.omniawellness.ca!

How Often Should You Get A Massage???

This is a really common question, and each therapist has a method to determine this, and not everyone is the same! It does depend on the situation in which you are getting a massage, if you are in the process of rehabilitating an injury, or if you are trying to maintain your health and wellness the answer will be different.

Personally I would love to have a massage once a week, but that isn't really plausible (except for when you are in massage school...how I miss it sometimes!) If you are in the process of rehabilitation, there will be a structured time line to improve your muscle function that should be adhered to that is completely dependent upon the injury. For maintenance of your health and wellness or reduction of tension and stress once a month is certainly ideal, if that fits your budget, or your insurance coverage, or your desire.

What it really comes down to is listening to yourself, it's incredibly important and it's the key to truthfully answering that question. When you start to notice the discomfort that brought you in for a treatment is coming back, that is the right time to come back in for another treatment whether that is 6 weeks or 6 months. Or when you feel like you want a massage, its the right time to come in. It is that simple.

The Subtle Intuition

I consider myself a very intuitive person, and how intuition works has always been an interest of mine, so I have devoured a lot of literature on intuition, and how to improve it, understand it, trust it, and hear it.

I had a really great moment of clarity and understanding the other day about intuition and I really have to share! We are all intuitive, I think that it is often that we don't really chalk things up to intuition, its usually just a moment of being glad you did something.
I was talking my brothers amazingly adorable dog out for a walk at an off leash park, we go there at least once a week. I parked beside a giant puddle and when he got out I made sure to grab his leash so he didn't go through the puddle - here is the intuition part, I don't care if he goes in a puddle, I have a towel on my back seat because I have been taking him to the river often and he is always still wet by the time we get back to my car - as we came around my car there were two other dogs there, they sniffed each other and then there was a minor altercation between my dog and one of the others. Thankfully they were both still on leash and it was really easy to get them apart without any real harm done, the other man apologised for his dog (Oliver is a really kind and gentle dog, and hes a bit of a chicken so I knew it wasn't him) so we just left and went to another dog park instead - the one with the river!

So here is my realisation, my intuition was working amazingly well, with out my conscious knowledge! So I have been trying to bring my consciousness more into awareness when things like this happen, mostly because I think it is so awesome. I do however, feel like I now know that it isn't always about me being able to know that my intuition is working, I can actually just sit back and let it do its thing, because it has always been doing it; and that is the important bit of information that I feel has been missing, and I wanted to share!