by SharonHartnett | May 28, 2014 | Craniosacral Therapy, Massage, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, Structural Integration
What is Depression?
Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and depression may make you feel as if life isn’t worth living.
More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness, nor is it something that you can simply “snap out” of. Depression may require long-term treatment. But don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychological counseling or both. Other treatments also may help.
This is how it is defined by the Mayo Clinic with the Link right here: Mayo Clinic
massage helps create positive change.
So what are some of the “other” treatments that may support wellness?
Here is a link to the position held by the American Massage Therapy Association:
http://www.amtamassage.org/approved_position_statements/Massage-Can-Reduce-Symptoms-of-Depression.html
AMTA Consumer Survey Facts
More Americans are incorporating massage therapy into their regular health and wellness regimens to assist with medical conditions:
• 88% of individuals view massage as being beneficial to overall health and wellness
• 88% of individuals believe that massage can be effective in reducing pain
• 75% of consumers surveyed claim that their primary reason for receiving a massage was medical (43%) or stress (32%) related
• 53% of people say their doctor has recommended they get a massage
In recent studies, Massage, which includes touching and working with the soft tissues of the body, has been shown to reduce stress and also take the edge off of depression. These effects are due primarily to the parasympathetic and hormonal levels shifting to reduce stress and anxiety. While massage and bodywork does not cure depression, these changes do help clients to better cope in day to day life.
For people who are feeling alone and disconnected from life, reaching out and finding the right type of therapy may be helpful for you. Intimate massage touch and skill can help you feel rejuvenated and more open to life.
Clients often leave their massage sessions feeling happier and more relaxed.
At Lighten Up Therapies in Columbus, Ohio, we offer three main modalities of bodywork:
-
Craniosacral Therapy
-
Structural Integration
-
Reiki and Brennan Healing Science
Each of these techniques holds the client in confidentiality, sacred listening, and with an intention to help you to reconnect to your health and wellbeing.
If you have any questions,
please contact: Sharon Hartnett LMT 740 966-5153
www.massageincolumbusohio.com
by SharonHartnett | May 20, 2014 | Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K
In the dictionary: Suffering noun
hardship, distress, misery, wretchedness, adversity, tribulation; pain, agony, anguish, trauma, torment, torture, hurt, affliction, sadness, unhappiness, sorrow, grief, woe, angst, heartache, heartbreak, stress; literary dolor.
Does suffering have to be part of the human experience?
Relieve Your Suffering
Yes, you can stop suffering by taking charge of your life.
Depending how identified you are with your belief system will determine how you unravel from the dream of “oughts, shoulds, woulds” and anything that takes you out of the moment.
Suffering is a condition. It is a learned habit. It is a thought that things should not be as they are. Once the present moment is denied, the energy of feelings and sensations follow and support the untrue images that cause misery.
For people who are suffering, it is not always a very clear vision on how to exit the dream of anguish.
If they could erase their stressful thinking, they would awaken to reality which is quite a different thing. The question is how does one stop believing what the brain tells us is true?
One of the best ways to face and challenge your beliefs is to do “The Work” by Byron Katie. She invites people to inquire in a very clear and direct way when caught in any type of suffering. Her work can be found on, www.TheWork.com . The four questions that make a real difference are:
The Four Questions
-
Is it true? (Yes or no. If no, move to 3.)
-
Can you absolutely know that it’s true? (Yes or no.)
-
How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
-
Who would you be without the thought?
Then one turns the questions around. You can find worksheets, and all different type of information to get you going on the path to freedom for free by check out her site.
We live moment to moment here as human beings. Making a commitment can make it easier to make “inquiry” a daily practice. Start writing down the thoughts that are bringing you stress. Ask the questions. Sit with your experience. Observe the moment. Bring these intentions into unity and see what happens.
or Adyashanti:
http://www.adyashanti.org
You are not alone. There are teachers and friends who are finding ways to relieve the suffering that exists in this world.
Warmly,
Sharon Hartnett LMT
Healing in Columbus, Ohio
740 966-5153
by SharonHartnett | May 15, 2014 | Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K
Lower Back Pain…
A large percent of clients that come through my door have experienced lower back pain without relief.
But unless you have actual nerve impingement that needs medical attention, massage and bodywork can be very helpful in releasing those pain patterns that are keeping you from work and having fun. Invest in yourself and it will pay off. Stop looking at massage as a luxury, and give yourself what you need.
An article I just found on the AMTA’s site provides you with an informative study:
Massage Therapy Can Help Low-Back Pain
In a study published in the February 2014 edition of Scientific World Journal, researchers investigated whether chronic low-back pain therapy with massage therapy alone was as effective as combining it with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. The study was conducted on 59 individuals divided into two groups, all of whom suffered from low-back pain and were diagnosed with degenerative changes of the spine, other intervertebral disc diseases or spine pain.
In both patient groups, the pain measured was significantly reduced and the level of disability showed significant improvement compared to the baseline. Researchers concluded massage had a positive effect on patients with chronic low-back pain and propose that the use of massage causes fast therapeutic results and that, in practice, it could help to reduce the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of chronic low-back pain .
Working with the Craniosacral System, the Fascia, and the Muscles to come into balance can change your whole attitude about life. When your pain goes away, life seems a lot easier and brighter.
Massage relieves back pain through soft tissue release
You don’t have to stay in bed for the week. Find a massage therapist who can get you moving and back into life!
Warmly,
Sharon Hartnett LMT
www.massageincolumbusohio.com
by SharonHartnett | May 15, 2014 | Craniosacral Therapy, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, Structural Integration
Are you one those people who believes Massage is a luxury?
Would you believe that over 38 million people in the United States have received at least one massage therapy session?
Of all these people, my bet is that the majority received some wonderful health benefits. The question is not how much will massage help, but will you commit to giving yourself the physical help you need when you are in pain?
For those of you who know, when you find the right connection with a person who listens to your needs and has the skill to work with your body therapeutically, it’s hard not to walk away feeling less stressed and feeling great. Not only that, many massage therapists have specialities that help in specific situations. In order to stay licensed, each LMT pursues the type of work that interests them to enhance their bag of techniques that work for you. Each modality is geared to specialized issues. For example, Craniosacral Therapy is wonderful for balancing the nervous system. For clients with spine issues, high levels of stress, fibromyalgia, ADHD, this type of work can truly make a life difference. Structural Integration is another modality that layers deeply through the fascia and reorganizes how the body stands and moves in relationship to gravity. This type of work can be very gentle but also very deep and transformational. It depends on your level of comfort. Structural Integration, very similar to the Rolfing method, creates an excellent road to better posture and flexibility. Some people prefer an even lighter touch such as Reiki or other types of energy work like Brennan Healing Science. It’s important to interview therapists and ask them questions so that you find the right practitioner for you!
Massage and Bodywork: Would you rather take a pill or receive an hour long session?
For more information on Massage, please read:
http://www.amtamassage.org/research/Massage-Therapy-Research-Roundup.html?utm_source=%2fresearchroundup&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=redirect
The AMTA keeps you updated as to the current events and benefits of Massage Therapy.
Update: Since the posting of this article, Sharon Hartnett is only doing Craniosacral Therapy, and not massage any longer.
Warmly,
Sharon Hartnett LMT
703 509 1792 or 740 966-5153
Massage Columbus, Ohio
www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus. com
www.massageincolumbusohio.com
by SharonHartnett | May 8, 2014 | Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K
Every Person Experiences His/Her Body Uniquely.
Our bodies are created as a result of a creative force, our thinking and our actions.
When we stop living fully in our bodies, our life force diminishes, we loose our spark and joy.
So What does this mean to you?
Well, through life, most people encounter some type of suffering, discomfort or pain. When this happens, we have different ways of coping. We may ignore the pain and push through … we may disassociate from what the body tells us and disassociate… we may pretend that everything is alright with a happy face when we don’t feel that way at all. There are many type of coping mechanisms that help us to avoid pain when our thinking is trying to leave the situation.
The Challenge is that when we oppose what our experience is telling us, that information stays stagnant until we stop defending against it whether subconscious or not. That energy of pain that is not originally felt waits to complete its cycle into health and integration. To unwind these patterns, it is necessary to include unwinding the body too. It is through opening and feeling deeply that we can restore our energy levels and wellbeing.
My experience as a professional Structural Integration Therapist is that there is soft pain that is often tolerable. This is a basic natural reaction to getting physically or emotionally hurt. For example, a child falls off a bike and has a boo boo. He/she goes to Mommy gets a kiss and bandaid and all soon is well. It hurt but was taken care of with kindness and sensing. This is a positive interaction because it allows flow but also keeps our physical being safe and wise in interacting with our environment. This type of pain is helpful in keeping us alive physically. What causes the real suffering is not feeling deeply into it when it occurs in the moment. An example of this might be a soldier goes to war and the experiencing is overwhelming. When home, PTSD or other biological processes need to be integrated because the experience was just too much. Our defense systems assist us when life feels overwhelming and intolerable. This intelligence has its benefits. Yet when that defense system becomes a habit, and it often does, it is important to question the benefits of maintaining its system.
Pain can stay numb or can show up later in life if it is disregarded longterm.
What has helped me assist clients is to work with people in their zone of comfort.
I enjoy being a bodyworker with a lot of modalities under my belt. But one of my favorites in giving and receiving is Structural Integration. That is because by layering deep into the fascia, all that cellular memory begins to awaken. The tissues soften, rehydrate and the body actually reshapes itself from its own wisdom. Structural Integration is a wonderful method to help the body find its proper alignment, leading to more ease and freedom in the body, mind & soul.
Now Rolfing has had its negative popular opinion. Historically it has been known to be to rough and abrupt. Some people have claimed that it is painful in itself as a treatment. And it is true that when the tissues are felt, the natural defense systems kick in and that closed system is not necessarily happy to be unprotected. The mind is smart and wants to to keep things status quo. Yet if the body is not allowed to stay open, relating, and communicating as a whole, we become segmented.
Structural Integration as I have learned it is the same as the Rolfing method, but as with the Rolfers, many practitioners have learned to slow down and stay in the zone so there is no re-injury. Yet I have to say that Structural Integration is not for that half-hearted. It will be uncomfortable at some points and there may be some pain involved. But that is the pain that already exists in the body and is being touched and awakened. Often clients tell me that it hurts, but it is the good kind because as the resistance dies, new energy can surge in that is very healing and helpful. At the end of a session, clients can be very giddy and happy because they have let go of old patterns that have kept them down. It is wonderful to witness this.
It is my promise as a Professional Structural Integration Therapist, to help you to feel deeply into your body. I will do this at your pace, in your time and with your consent. In order to keep in the zone, we set up healthy boundaries of communication. If anything feels over the top, then we slow down or give you a rest. Now I don’t want to scare you off, but I am being honest that this work does usually include discomfort. The key to a great session is to listen, allow and be in the moment. The mind will resist at some point the changes that are happening, and I will ask that you feel this softer discomfort when it shows up. But your dialogue and wishes are always respected.
When clients finish going through the 10 series of Structural Integration, their whole body changes. They stand straighter, they feel more energy, and the pain in their body diminishes quite a bit. Life is general changes just because people feel better after a series even if they can’t put their finger on it.
Because this takes a commitment to your overall health and wellness, take your time and consider the possibility of Structural Integration. As Marianne Williamson says in one of her quotes, “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Opening to feeling vitality and joy means moving through inner resistance… mental, emotional and/or physical. It’s easier to stay in our habits than to break through.
Here is a quote by Byron Katie that I think about when I consider Structural Integration Work in relationship to the mind:
The Work
I also offer more gentle modalities like Craniosacral Therapy, Brennan Healing Science, Aromatherapy and more. This is just one road to healing. As I mentioned in the beginning, each person’s make-up is unique, and if we are to heal, we need to be met where we are.
When you decide to ask for help… interview, ask questions. Find the right practitioner for you.
Warmly,
Sharon Hartnett LMT
740 966-5153
by SharonHartnett | May 6, 2014 | Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K
We each have a way that we have configured the energy in our lives.
There is a “Yes” current and a “No” Current.
As Human Beings, we have access to a certain amount of energy to use every day.
With this being the case, the ego always has a way to align with either positive or negative intention and thereby create.
Where do you focus your attention?
What if you were able to align your flow current with an optimistic view of life?
Could your life change if you focused on the very best in every moment?
Intentionality
It does not always seem easy to change old harmful habits of thinking. Especially if these ways have served well in the past. However, you do have the choice now to make a new decision about what type of life you want.
Only we can create positive lives but focusing on positive intentions.
Many Blessings,
Sharon Hartnett LMT
(740) 966-5153
