Prenatal Massage: What The Expecting Can Expect

Being pregnant brings with it all kinds of changes and stresses on a woman’s body. At The Good Life Massage, we’re proud to offer prenatal massage. This specialized approach to massage gives pregnant women all the benefits of massage as they get ready for delivery.

We sat down with Michelle Green, LMT to talk about some of the differences between prenatal massage and regular massage. Prenatal clients are among our favorite clients to work with, but there are some things you should know before you come in for a prenatal session.

First, whether you’re a returning client or you’re new to The Good Life Massage, you need to inform your massage therapist if you are pregnant. As healthcare providers, this is something we need to know to keep both you and the baby safe, so please be sure to mention your pregnancy on your intake form. If you are pregnant, the front desk will give you an additional intake form with questions relating to your pregnancy. We understand that you may want to keep the news to yourself, and that’s understandable. But we really do need to know, and are bound by law to keep your medical information private.

How massage can help you cope until delivery day
Whether pregnant or not, regular massage therapy helps with a number of issues, including muscle soreness, posture issues, and chronic pain, as you might expect. But it has also been shown to help with depression, digestive issues, and sleep. All of these are things pregnant women could use extra help with, but there’s even more to it than that.

In Michelle’s experience, pregnant clients have particular needs that massage can most directly address. “Prenatal work can really help with a lot of those pregnancy aches and pains whether it’s low back and hip pain, to pain in the knees and feet. I’ve also come across a lot of women who have had some upper back and shoulder pain as they get a little bit farther along, and some of the massage techniques used can really help to relax those and kind of stretch things back out to keep you comfortable during the length of your pregnancy.”

Getting you comfortable
Baby bumps don’t fit on a massage table in the traditional way, and massage therapists need to adjust their modalities and techniques to accommodate pregnancy. This isn’t just a nice adjustment–it can be critical to the safety of the mother and unborn child.

“The massage therapist is going to take a little bit of extra time and care with the massage,” Michelle says. “They’re going to set the table up a bit differently, depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy, usually keeping you on your side and making you really comfortable with bolsters or pillows that we’ll put underneath the legs.

“We’ll give you a nice little pillow to snuggle with as well. It kinda helps to keep your spine and your shoulders as well as your low back in alignment to keep you comfortable while you’re on the table. And just like any other massage, you can undress down to whatever your comfort level is and really get a chance to relax.”

Your therapist may also use specially designed support cushions to allow you to lay face-down on the table as with a traditional massage. This is one of the reasons it’s important that we know about your pregnancy in advance of the session–so we can be sure we’re prepared with the necessary equipment on the day of your session.

The right massage at the right time
How and where you’re massaged depends on where you’re at with your pregnancy. Very early on, there are few noticeable differences in how we’ll work on you. “A massage therapist will do the majority of the work while you’re on your side. And this is for a little bit later into your pregnancy,” Michelle explains. “A lot of the times when you’re early on, you can still lay comfortably on your back so that some upper shoulder and back work can be done from that position as well.”

If you think you may need assistance getting on and off the table, our therapists would be happy to help. For this reason, you may feel more comfortable working with a female therapist, so please note that when you book your massage. While we are happy to accommodate any request regarding the gender of your therapist, you should know that all our therapists of any gender are well-trained and qualified to give our pregnant clients a safe, comfortable massage experience.

Can massage induce labor?
This myth seems to have legs, and it’s not hard to understand why. Who would want to give birth on a massage table? But massage professionals like Michelle know this just isn’t true. “You don’t really need to worry about early labor being induced during massage. The techniques that are used are very safe and won’t affect that at all.”

Pregnancy is difficult enough. Let us help you get through it. Book your prenatal massage now.

If you want to buy a massage for someone special in your life who might be expecting, you can purchase a gift card here in any amount you wish.

Tom Gunn is the blog editor and marketing director at The Good Life Massage. You can reach him at marketing@goodliferenton.com

Michelle Green is a licensed massage therapist at The Good Life Massage. You can reach her at support@goodliferenton.com

How Massage Can Beat Your Winter Blues

The days are short and gloomy. The nights are oh-so-long. To top it off, every form of flu and bronchitis known to man has decided to shack up at your place for several weeks. So what’s to be done? Fill the house with full spectrum sunlamps? Buy property in Arizona? Maybe.

But can we modestly suggest something more personal, more accessible? Our massage and spa services are just the thing to beat the long mid-winter blues. Here’s why.

Heated massage tables
Need I say more?

Okay, maybe not, but this bears elaboration. It’s not just about the tables. Each of our massage rooms are quiet and completely private. The whole atmosphere of our clinic is utterly inviting. Peel off the layers! Lift the sheet. Ease yourself slowly against our heated, well-padded tables as the sounds of soothing music and ocean waves brings your mind and spirit to rest. Take a deep breath, and get ready, because we haven’t even started yet.

A mini vacation
When you’re ready, the massage therapist comes in, gently places their hands between your shoulder blades, and begins to work their magic. Tension melts off you like suntan lotion in the summer sun. Months of stress built up since your last vacation evaporates. You feel your body sinking even deeper into the warmth of the table. Your mind drifts like a raft on clear blue waters.

Unwound, healed, happier
Reluctantly, you’ll rise from the table. You’ll have faint prints on your face from the wrinkles in the face rest cover. You’ll feel warm inside and out, glowing and flush with new circulation as you stretch what feels like a new back, arms, and legs. You’ll leave the clinic feeling just a little hazy from the deep, relaxing experience you’re still recovering from. In fact, it’s best if you avoid making any major life decisions in this state.

But does it last?
Your massage session is a great experience, but it has benefits that transcend the hour or two on the table. Yes, you’re going back out into the damp, dark winter, but you’re going feeling like you’ve just stepped off the plane from somewhere warm and relaxing. What’s more, you’re likely to be more emotionally stable. Massage has been shown to help people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder and depression. Even one massage a season will make a significant difference, but if you feel you need more regular treatment, we offer pre-paid packages to make regular visits more affordable.

Not just massage
We offer a range of enhancements that amount to actual spa services, some of which you won’t find anywhere else, including our chocolate hydrating face mask, aromatherapy, hand or foot scrub, and hot stone massage. Any or all of these can add to your massage experience and help you feel like you’ve just been on the vacation of a lifetime compressed into an hour or two.

Sound good?

Book your next massage now.

Choose the good life.

Tom Gunn is the blog editor and marketing director for The Good Life Massage. You can hire him to build your social media presence and focus your brand by contacting him at tomgunn@gmail.com

How Massage Can Help You Hack Depression and Beat the Blues

Depression has been called the common cold of mental illness. Most people at least experience the symptoms of depression in some form or another throughout their lives. It’s so common, in fact, that many (unqualified) people dismiss the idea that it’s even a real ailment that needs treatment, let alone medication.

The facts aren’t kind to this dismissive attitude. Although it’s common, it’s a fact that depression can be fatal. It can lead the sufferer down a path of dark thoughts that seem inescapable, to the point that they might be willing to harm themselves, or sometimes others, to make the pain stop.

But what to do about it? The first stop for anyone who thinks they may be suffering from depression is their doctor. A general practitioner can determine whether medication is warranted, and refer you to a mental health professional who can assist with the many challenges of coping and recovery.

After all that is done, though, consider giving us a call.

Why massage?
One of the most common pieces of advice given out to people who have depression is to exercise more. Exercise reduces cortisol levels (the stress hormone that can trigger depression), and increases levels of dopamine (the “feel good” neurotransmitter).

The problem, of course, is that because depression can cause lethargy and sap motivation, it’s extremely difficult for a severely depressed person to motivate themselves to get out and exercise, especially if exercise isn’t already an established habit. So, while studies have shown exercise to be extremely effective, there are huge obstacles for depression sufferers to overcome on their own.

Massage is an excellent answer to this perplexing problem, and here’s why. Massage provides many of the same blues-busting benefits of exercise, but without the need to motivate oneself to get up at the crack of dawn and go to a gym.

In fact, most massage clinics, and ours in particular, couldn’t be further from a gym-type atmosphere. The lighting is low and soft. The rooms are completely private. Everything is designed to suit your comfort. There’s no need to talk through your session–you can chit-chat as little or as much as you like. Our clinic is quiet, peaceful, and serene.

But what exactly does massage do that helps depression? Like exercise, massage increases dopamine levels. It also increases levels of serotonin–a key mood stabilizer. In short, it feels good! And you feel better afterwards.

Uncommon sense
We respond to human touch, whether in a clinical or a personal setting, in a primal way. We’re social creatures that need touch, so when you think about it, it isn’t really a big surprise that compassionate touch therapy can be so effective in stabilizing mood.

Book a massage today, and start feeling better.

Choose to live the good life!

Tom Gunn is the blog editor and marketing director for The Good Life Massage. You can hire him to assist you with building your brand and enlarging your digital footprint by emailing him at tomgunn@gmail.com

Massage and Weight Loss: Fact vs. Fiction

Let’s rip a bandage off right now: there’s no miracle cure for weight loss. Any doctor worth their salt will tell you the truth: to lose weight, there’s no real substitute for exercise and diet. This easy to say, much harder to do. Most people need a strong social support system, and must be willing to commit to long term change to achieve permanent results.

Now for some good news: Massage can play a key role in helping you achieve your weight loss goal.

No miracles, just healing
While some have tried to find in massage some kind of miracle weight-loss cure, massage isn’t that. Massage does nothing directly to burn fat or calories or reduce your waistline.

But massage can be a great supplemental treatment to give your efforts a vital boost to your brain chemisty and morale as your body transitions to a healthier way of living. Massage can help you transition your mindset from self-loathing and punishment to self-worth and healing, all while providing real physical benefits that accumulate over time.

True recovery
As a mode of touch therapy, massage has been shown to have measurable mental health benefits. Studies have shown that regular massage can help improve body image generally, and can be an effective treatment for depression.

It’s been well established by multiple studies that massage reduces cortisol levels–the stress hormone–and helps increase production of dopamine and norepenephrine–the hormones that give us a feeling of happiness and well being.

This really isn’t all that surprsing when you think about it. Humans have evolved to be connected, social creatures. We thrive on personal connection, and struggle in isolation. Touch gives a sense that we’re going to survive, that we’re not alone, and that we’re an individual with value.

And for many, sugary and fatty foods serve as a way to medicate against feelings of isolation and depression. These foods can trick your brain into wanting more by releasing those pleasurable hormones as you eat. Massage can be a healthy alternative to get that dopamine fix as you try to get your brain chemistry back to a healthy balance.

And when you consider the fact that retaining body fat has been linked to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, massage is a no-brainer for helping you lose weight.

Reward yourself
It’s key to your efforts to set up rewards for doing the hard work of behavioral change. The challenge is to find rewards for yourself that don’t involve food–a reward that could derail your efforts to change.

Massage is the ideal reward for making progress towards your goals. Let’s say, for instance, that you set a goal to work out three times a week for a month. If, at the end of that month, you’ve reached your goal, go ahead and book a massage for yourself! You might even consider a session enhancement or two. (Who knows? Maybe, for you, aromatherapy will become the sweet smell of success.)

Whether your weight loss goals are major or modest, regular massage therapy could mean the difference between success and failure.

If you’d like to get regular massage, but are concerned about the cost, a pre-paid package can save you 10% or more, and can help ensure you’re getting the care you need over time.

If you’re struggling with weight, The Good Life Massage would love to be on your team, both cheering you on and giving you a supportive push along the way.

Book a massage today.

As with everything on this blog, none of this information should be construed as medical advice or care. The employees of The Good Life Massage, including the writers of this blog, are not medical doctors. Consult with your physician before making any changes to improve your health.

Tom Gunn is the marketing director and blog editor for The Good Life Massage. You can learn more about his freelance writing and editing work by contacting him at marketstediting@gmail.com

7 Mendacious Massage Misconceptions

Massage is becoming more popular every day. The public is finally getting educated on what regular massage can do to benefit your mental and physical health.

Having said that, there are a surprising number of myths and misconceptions about massage that we feel the need to clear up here and now.

This came up as a subject recently in our post about pre-natal massage. In my interview with Christie Ellis, formerly of GLM, the following misconception about prenatal massage came up:

“Prenatal massage can induce labor”
I’ll let Christie take this first one:

“That is a myth! Massage does not cause labor. Acupressure can precipitate labor, and that would be on the level of applying director pressure on a very specific spot for two or three minutes every fifteen minutes over the span of about forty-eight hours.

So there’s no way to come in for a prenatal massage and come out a mother?
“(laughs) No! And to be clear, acupuncture and acupressure are very different than massage. We’re using much broader strokes with massage and there’s absolutely no concern that a nice foot massage could put a woman into labor.

“Another myth I would point out is that abdominal massage can cause miscarriage. That’s out there, too, especially for people who are concerned about the first trimester.

“I do think it’s important to have someone that’s trained for any sort of abdominal work, but massage in general is very safe for expecting mothers.”

But there are plenty of other misconceptions about massage out there. This should put a dent in a few of the more common ones:

“Sure, you feel great right after a massage, but the effects are only temporary”
This idea probably comes from those who really need regular massage, but only tried it once, and went back to the status quo after a day or two. If you suffer from chronic pain or posture issues, regular massage can be particularly beneficial in “retraining” your muscles and your body to be well and whole.

You wouldn’t expect to reach all your fitness goals with just one workout, right? Massage is the same way: long-term improvements in your physical health almost never come in the form of a magic bullet. It just takes time and persistence.

If cost seems to be a barrier to getting the treatment you need, you might not have all the facts.

“Does it hurt? It’s supposed to. Just let it happen.”
If you feel pain or discomfort during your massage, say something! While it’s true that some discomfort can be expected in treatment massage, you need to keep talking to your practitioner about your comfort and the treatment they’re doing. Even if a particular stroke or method is supposed to be therapeutic, your therapist can and should honor your requests. The kind of care you receive is entirely in your hands, and should be wholly directed by you.

What’s more, too much pain can actually be counterproductive. If you’re sincerely in pain, you’ll unconsciously tense up other muscle groups, creating the exact opposite of the desired effect for your massage.

“Massage releases toxins and cleanses your system”
Not really. It depends on what you mean by “toxins”. What massage does do is help stimulate circulation throughout your body. This can be helpful if you’re injured. Increased blood flow can be very beneficial in that case. That circulation can include run-of-the-mill cell waste, but there’s no medical magic in stimulating processes that your body routinely caries out anyway. You can get the same effect from vigorous exercise.

“If you don’t walk away feeling like a million bucks, you got a bad massage”
It’s true that, for most cases, people walk away from their massage feeling relaxed, limber, even a little euphoric. But while this is commonly the case, a good massage can sometimes make you feel, well, lousy–at least immediately afterward.

Are you fighting a bug? If you’re getting sick, a massage can sometimes accelerate how quickly you feel the symptoms. You may walk in feeling fairly well, oblivious to the fact that you’re about to get sick, and then get off the table feeling a little weak and achy. If that turns into a bout with a cold or the flu, we feel your pain. But you can’t blame the massage therapist or the job they did for making it happen.

Another scenario is when deep tissue treatment is called for and requested. When your practitioner needs to go deep below the surface tissue to release trigger points and send circulation to distressed areas, this may cause some discomfort both during and just after the treatment.

This can be the case for specialty treatments we offer, including deep transverse friction and myoskeletal alignment. People sometimes report feeling sore after these kinds of heavy treatment-style massages. That does not mean your practitioner did a bad job. In fact, that can be a sign that more regular treatment is called for. It shouldn’t hurt every time, and there should be significant improvement after a good night’s sleep.

“If you have cancer, massage will spread the cancer cells through your body”
This is basically impossible. Massage moves lymph, but cancer doesn’t spread through the lymphatic system. Metastization (the spread of cancer) is due to genetic mutation and a number of factors that have nothing at all to do with the functioning of the lymphatic system.

Having said that, if you’re a cancer patient, it’s wise to consult with your oncologist before scheduling a massage. Relaxation massage at any stage of cancer can actually be immensely beneficial, reducing depression and anxiety. Some studies have even shown that it reduces nausea and pain.

Are there any others you’ve heard that we didn’t cover here? Do you have any questions about massage and what it can do for you?

Let us know in the comments below.

You can also contact us by phone at 425-243-7705

or by email at support@goodliferenton.com

As with everything on this blog, none of this information should be construed as medical advice or care. The employees of The Good Life Massage, including the writers of this blog, are not medical doctors. Consult with your physician before making any changes to improve your health.

Tom Gunn is the marketing director and blog editor for The Good Life Massage. You can find him online at tgunnwriter.com

Amy Gunn, LMP is a co-founder of The Good Life Massage and has been a licensed massage practitioner since 1999. 

Better Sleep Tonight – 5 Simple Tricks You Can Try Tonight

We often find that it’s worthwhile to give up something good for something even better. Sacrifice is a principle of life.

Too often, we apply this principle to our sleep.

Numerous studies have shown the benefits of consistent, uninterrupted sleep. And yet, when the going gets tough, sleep is the first thing we sacrifice in the name of making our lives work.

Unfortunately, sleeping isn’t something you can bank and use later, neither can you “catch up” on the weekend. Repeated nights of too few hours or of low quality sleep can result in long-term health risks including increased risk for heart disease, more rapid aging, impaired memory, emotional instability, and depression. Your ability to cope with stress diminishes with time.

Imagine the effects that can have on your life. How would your emotional instability effect your friends and family? How would the reduction in memory and creativity effect your working life? This is where regularly getting a good night’s sleep could mean literal money in the bank.

Do it right
1. Turn off the television and try to avoid all screens, including your phone, for an hour or so before bed. Limiting your media to relaxing music or books just before bed has been shown to help your brain more easily settle into the relaxed state necessary for a good deep sleep.

Watching screens have also been shown to suppress the production of melatonin, a key hormone in controlling your sleep and waking cycles.

2. Set a bed time … and stick to it! (No, you didn’t wander into a parenting post.) Try it! You’ll find that a little self-discipline can go a long way in this area. After all, being a healthy, well-balanced adult means being a good parent to yourself. It may be difficult at first, but sticking to the routine as much as possible ensures you get the time you need to rest. Making your circadian rhythm consistent results in better sleep over all.

3. Get regular massage. This one is obviously self-serving, but it also has the benefit of being true. What’s more, massage isn’t just for the rich anymore, and is more affordable than ever.

Massage has been shown to improve sleep in people of all ages, including children and seniors. This extra measure can be particularly helpful for those who suffer from chronic pain. Massage provides relief from the kind of pain that keeps you up, or at least tossing and turning.

4. Prepare the bedroom. It’s best to keep your room as dark as possible and relatively cool. Avoid using clock radios with bright displays or night lights.

Also, keep the television off and avoid working on your laptop in bed. The more you associate your bed and the bedroom with sleep or intimacy, the more it will feel like a sanctuary from the cares of the day, and the better your sleep will be.

5. Invest in a good bed, pillow, and linens. And we don’t use the word invest lightly here. The benefits of better sleep are strongly correlated with higher incomes and more prosperous lifestyle. You spend nearly half your life in bed! Make it count, and get the best mattress, pillow, and linens you can reasonably afford. This is one investment you can be certain will pay off down the road.

Just because your body seems to be on autopilot when it comes to sleep, you really shouldn’t have that mindset. Look at getting enough sleep as essential self care. The rewards are well worth it.

As with everything on this blog, none of this information should be construed as medical advice or care. The employees of The Good Life Massage, including the writers of this blog, are not medical doctors. Consult with your physician before making any changes to improve your health.

Tom Gunn is the Marketing Director and Blog Editor at The Good Life Massage. You can follow him on Twitter @tomgunnpoet.