Foot Massage Reduces Edema in Pregnant Women. Read on…http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=9881&catid=1&title=foot-massage-reduces-edema-in-pregnant-women
Win a free Baby Massage Book (“Hands on Baby Massage” by Michelle Ebbin) and a Baby Massage Onesie. Click here: “http://www.mommywantsfreebies.com/2010/10/basic-knead-hands-on-baby-massage-book.html“>
In today’s fast-paced world, who isn’t anxious once in a while? Unfortunately, stress is very damaging to our entire system and is the culprit of over 75% of our health problems. When we fail to manage stress, our body’s defense mechanism begins to break down, making us more susceptible to illness and disease. Recently, a study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine proves that massage does more than just soothe muscle tension but, in fact, causes biological changes that relieve stress.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage. All of the subjects were fitted with intravenous catheters so blood samples could be taken immediately before the massage and up to an hour afterward. To their surprise, the researchers, sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that a single session of massage caused biological changes.
Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone ‘cortisol’ in blood and saliva, and in ‘arginine vasopressin’, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.
Volunteers who had the light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, than the Swedish massage group, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.
The lead author, Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport, chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai, said the findings were “very, very intriguing and very, very exciting — and I’m a skeptic.”
While not everyone can afford to get a 45-minute deep-tissue or Swedish massage, there are many massage techniques that you can do at home. Reflexology is extremely effective for calming and balancing the nervous system. Here’s a reflexology technique that everyone can do at-home to bring about some much needed stress relief:
For a quick route to stress relief, stimulate the reflex area to the SOLAR PLEXUS, which is considered the “nerve switchboard of the body.” This area is located on both feet, in the center of the foot just beneath the diaphragm line. This is a great starting point to relax yourself or your partner. Press the solar plexus point for twenty to thirty seconds to balance your nervous system and begin the process of reestablishing inner calm. Repeat this several times on each foot. Stimulating the solar plexus can relax the entire body and bring overall stress relief.
What is it?
The SOLAR PLEXUS is a network of nerves, located behind the stomach and in front of the diaphragm, which sends energy impulses to the upper middle part of the abdomen. Its purpose is to help balance the sympathetic nervous system, regulate the functions of the organs, and restore calm. The solar plexus has been called the abdominal brain because it influences the nerves in the abdomen. It’s often affected by stress, anger, and depression.
The solar plexus reflex point is also the center of the third chakra, the Solar Plexus chakra, which relates to your personal power. This chakra is where the personality is formed. Stimulate this area to better express your individuality and strength.
Arvigo Maya Fertility Massage: More Than a Belly Rub
By Daphne Oz
Oprah.com | March 17, 2010
In the interest of making 2010 our year of wellness, Daphne Oz is on the case to find the ultimate in total mind, body and spirit care.
First, she explored the uses of aromatherapy. Then, she went a bit deeper with alternative medicine by looking into acupuncture. Now, she investigates Mayan abdominal fertility massage.
When you first hear that there is something called “Mayan abdominal fertility massage,” I know what you’re thinking: How could a belly rub possibly bolster fertility? When I first experienced the treatment as part of Soho House New York’s Wellness Week in January this year, I was just as skeptical. I have had a bunch of cats in my lifetime and recall that one of their favorite pastimes was to knead my stomach, every once in a while poking me with an outstretched claw. It was incredibly uncomfortable, and I feared that I had just signed up to have the human equivalent performed.
Perhaps because of this initial skepticism, I ended up leaving my 90 minutes positively raving. Not only was it delightfully relaxing, but my massage therapist’s explanation of how your digestive and reproductive tracts can both benefit from external abdominal manipulation makes complete sense.
That masseuse, Loretta Young, practices Arvigo Maya abdominal massage, a modern adaptation of ancient Mayan healing techniques that adds modern knowledge of anatomy, physiology and herbology. Through noninvasive massage, this technique gently manipulates the muscles and tendons that hold all the belly organs in place to bring all things back into alignment and promote proper functioning.
Arvigo Maya abdominal therapy was developed by Dr. Rosita Arvigo, a naprapath—someone who specializes in realigning the connective tissue—from Chicago who has spent the past 30 years living in the heart of Belize’s rainforest. Dr. Arvigo was an apprentice of Don Elijio Panti, who, when he died at the age of 103, was recognized in his New York Times obituary as “the last Mayan master healer in Belize.” For those who think herbal medicine is antiquated, 25 to 40 percent of all prescription pharmaceutical medications are derived from just 0.05 percent of the world’s planet species—including birth control of aspirin, both of which are made from wild yams. Imagine what medical miracles are hidden in the 99.5 percent of species that have yet to be analyzed for their medicinal properties.
Using Don Elijio’s techniques, Dr. Arvigo created Arvigo Maya abdominal massage in the early 1990s, teaching workshops in the United States and at her campsite in the jungle. In one of the weeklong seminars, Rosita and her staff first teach the art of self-care, stressing that in order to heal others, one must first be able to treat and understand the dynamics within one’s own body.
As part of the core curriculum at Arvigo’s workshops, students undergo rigorous spiritual intensives. All ancient Mayan medicine is based on the gratitude one must show for the bounty that the earth provides by giving thanks to God(s), and to the plants of the forest that work together in harmony to protect and prolong human life. Recognizing a force that exists external and internal to everyone, and connects all life, is fundamental to possessing the true healing power offered in these therapies. I felt this during my session with Young when she placed both her hands on my head as a way of introducing our energies and harnessing a universal energy and higher power to aid in the healing process.
Though Dr. Arvigo’s techniques have delivered results for a variety of gynecological and gastrointestinal ailments, they are typically to boost fertility. I’m not really looking for a bundle of joy just yet, so I was slightly less than eager to endure a half-hour of stomach-contorting toward such an end. But, as Young explained, women of all ages are thought to benefit from such work. When we experience sudden whiplash, jerking or repeated bouncing (such as from long-distance running), she says, the uterus can swing dramatically and become lodged in a sideways or tilted position. Young says this can lead to reproductive complications including PMS and, yes, infertility. And it never hurts to make sure everything in there is in good working order.
Furthermore, it can also be beneficial for men, because you boys tend to hold tension and stress in your stomachs by tightening the abdomen, which affects digestion by squeezing the esophagus and impeding deep breaths. Convinced, I gave her the go ahead.
You could picture Young reading meditation protocols to puppies: Her voice is soft and soothing, and she looks the perfect picture of someone who has spent her life cultivating a serenity that pervades patient and practitioner. Half-Korean, half-Central America, Loretta has rich, cocoa skin, arabesque eyes and a mane of shiny, black ringlets. Her hands are small and soft but very strong from years of working first as a prenatal masseur, then progressing through craniosacral therapy and into the abdominal work in which she now specializes.
To begin my treatment, Young first spread essential oils over the palms of her hands and had me inhale deeply. She then increased the energy flow within my body simply through light touch on my head and feet before beginning the actual belly massage portion of the treatment. Her technique was soft, firm and fluid. She pulled from one side of my stomach to the other, pressing her fingers deep into the flesh and pulling the underlying ligaments along with her in a gentle motion to coax out any entanglements or imbalances. Then, she massaged in a clockwise circle around my naval to smooth the surface and refresh the kneading-then-smoothing cycle.
It doesn’t sound like much, and I’m not doing it justice, but it was one of the most soothing sensations I’ve ever experienced—and nothing like the cat-pawing I had expected. I quickly found myself melting into the massage table as she lifted pressure away from my diaphragm and esophagus and my breath grew deeper. Then, she flipped me over and did a correlating back massage to complete the realignment. By the time it was over, I was ready for a good nap.
After I pried myself off the table and got dressed, I met Loretta in the spa’s softly lit sitting area for tea and a brief chat for her professional perspective on the Arvigo Maya technique. While she’s had incredible success with fertility-challenged couples, I asked whether her massage was worthwhile for someone who wasn’t looking to get pregnant. Learning to increase awareness of the dynamics in the pelvic region, and becoming increasingly connected with its sensations, stimulations and stasis, she says, can lead to increased sexual satisfaction. Relaxation plus body and sensation awareness equals orgasm—who knew? As with any area of the body, the muscles need to be taught how to respond and relax at the appropriate points. Additionally, abdominal massage helps to loosen and relax the muscles that overlay all the core organs, increasing blood and lymph flow.
In keeping with her teacher’s beliefs, Young is a huge proponent of self-care as a way to get to know one’s body better and to continue the healing treatment on a more regular basis. I want to learn—and she’s promised to teach me—but half the fun is getting someone else to rub your belly for you, right?
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0634
School is finally back in session and children are forced to focus their attention in the classroom. Unfortunately, this is often difficult for children who suffer from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The good news is that recent studies at the Touch Research Institute in Miami have shown that massage can help children and adolescents with ADHA by calming the body and improving alertness in a similar way that it helps adults.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is rapidly rising as the most common psychiatric diagnostic label for children. Anywhere from 3-7% of all school-age children and adolescents may have it, and it is one of the primary causes of behavioral problems in general pediatric settings. Nine boys are diagnosed with ADHD for every girl, but the rate of diagnosis for girls has been rising as well, and girls who are diagnosed have the same level of impairment as boys.
Kids with ADHD show difficulty holding attention and display impulsive behaviors and overactivity levels beyond what might be expected for their age group. They typically show poorer academic performance, have difficulty in social settings, and can’t adapt as well emotionally as kids without ADHD. Studies show that a diagnosis of ADHD puts kids at higher risk for delinquent behaviors and substance abuse. Other diagnoses such as learning disabilities, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders are often seen in the same children.
Currently, the drug Ritalin is the most common medication prescribed for children diagnosed with ADHD. In fact, it’s the most common drug prescribed for any childhood disorder and it’s been estimated that more than five million school-age children take Ritalin annually. Known to stimulate areas of the brain associated with attention, arousal, and inhibition, Ritalin seems to help improve ADHD symptoms in about 75% of cases, but its effects last only as long as it’s taken, and it does produce side-effects. Nervousness, headaches, sleeplessness, and rapid heart rate are sometimes seen with its use, and overdose can produce severe effects such as agitation, hallucinations, high blood pressure, seizures, heart arrhythmias, and psychosis. In addition, studies are only now being conducted on long-term effects.
The Good News…
Two recent studies conducted by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami reported that regular massage therapy and an ultrasonic humidifier with essential oils can be an effective treatment for kids with ADHD. One study found adolescent boys who received ten 15-minute daily massages were observed by their teachers to be more focused in their schoolwork, and they fidgeted less. In addition, the children rated themselves as happier than those who participated in a relaxation therapy program.
Another study involved kids aged 7-18, 20% of whom were girls. Each subject received a 20-minute massage twice a week. They showed immediate improvement in their moods and longer-term behavioral improvement in the classroom. They also reported feeling happier and their teachers found them to be more attentive.
In adult studies, massage has been shown to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, helping to mitigate the active fight-or-flight response. Massage also helps improve math computation performance and raises alertness levels, as measured on electroencephalograms (EEGs). Finally, massage decreases depression and increases mental focus. The same effects are seen in children and teenagers with ADHD.
By introducing and incorporating massage into your child’s daily routine, you can help your child develop an age-appropriate ability to focus, a calmer disposition, and even increased confidence. Studies report that two 20-minute massages a week are enough to show significant improvement in ADHD children. Since these kids have trouble staying still for prolonged periods, they better tolerate shorter, more frequent massages.
For massage on children with ADHD, a therapist generally uses simple, moderate-pressure strokes to the child’s head/neck, arms, torso, legs, and back. Dividing time between these areas–say four minutes each–will address the full body and is enough to get the desired effect. Most kids do fine fully clothed. For parents seeking skilled bodywork for their kids, chair massage is a great choice, done with the child fully clothed and for about 20-30 minutes at a time.
In addition, supplementing with home massages between professional sessions can also be useful. Talk to your massage therapist about private massage lessons for you. You can learn simple, effective techniques to use on your child when frequent visits to the massage therapist may not be practical.
By adding massage to your child’s routine, you’re giving him much needed physical contact and helping to calm his nervous system, which will improve his ability to do school work, interact with peers and teachers, and be happier in general, we also recommend getting information about nugenix supplements. And if you’re massaging your child yourself, you’ll create the opportunity for a stronger emotional bond between the two of you.
**Information from the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals by Cathy Ulrich
I’ve always believed in the healing power of touch, but I recently came across a fascinating research study by Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, which proves that touch can actually reduce feelings of fear, loneliness and physical pain.
In this study, scientists observed studied the levels of fear and pain experienced by women when they were given mild electric shocks. (Now, what woman would submit herself to this kind of research study is a mystery to me, but that is another story.) Anyway, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measurements were taken of the women’s brain activity and the results were remarkable.
When left completely alone while receiving shocks, the women felt fear and pain, and the areas of their brains responsible for emotion were particularly active. However, if a member of the laboratory team held their hands (and this was someone they had never met before whose face they could not see) the women felt less fear, even though they were in physical pain.
Finally, and most interestingly, when the women’s partners held their hands during the electric shocks their brain activity calmed down markedly at every level. It’s almost as if holding their partner’s hands was like a drug that effectively reduced their pain and anxiety. In fact, the effect on the women’s brains was directly proportional to the love they felt for their partners.
While the women’s hands were held, in the MRI’s changes were visible in the hypothalamus, the brain area involved most in processing emotions. The hypothalamus controls secretion of the body’s hormones, in particular stress hormones. The researchers at the University of Wisconsin call emotional relationships “the hidden regulator” because they have a profound effect on brain function in situations of stress and threat. However, their effect is imperceptible when everything is going fine.
So
, I say hold your partner’s hand whenever you can. And if you don’t have a partner, grab a hold of a friend’s hand and give it a squeeze. The power of touch may be imperceptible but it’s there and it’s effective.
**For any science enthusiasts out there, here’s the abstract called “Lending a Hand–Social Regulation of the Neural Response to Threat from the “Psychological Science” Journal:
ABSTRACT—Social contact promotes enhanced health and well-being, likely as a function of the social regulation of emotional responding in the face of various life stressors. For this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, 16 married women were subjected to the threat of electric shock while holding their husband’s hand, the hand of an anonymous male experimenter, or no hand at all. Results indicated a pervasive attenuation of activation in the neural systems supporting emotional and behavioral threat responses when the women held their husband’s hand. A more limited attenuation of activation in these systems occurred when they held the hand of a stranger. Most strikingly, the effects of spousal hand-holding on neural threat responses varied as a function of marital quality, with higher marital quality predicting less threat- related neural activation in the right anterior insula, su- perior frontal gyrus, and hypothalamus during spousal, but not stranger, hand-holding.
To read the entire research study, go to: http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/pubs/2006/CoanLendingPsychSci.pdf
Had a rough night? One too many drinks? (I certainly did last weekend at my birthday party!) If you wake up with a throbbing head, an upset stomach, tired eyes, and the feeling of a heavy cloud hanging over your head, you are in desperate need of hangover help.
Rather than just lying in bed waiting for the alcohol to seep out of your body so you can feel better, be proactive and take control of your hangover. Try reflexology on the reflex areas of the body that need the most help, namely the liver, kidneys, stomach, brain and solar plexus.
Reflexology really can help relieve the after-effects of too much alcohol. While I recommend stimulating the entire foot to soothe your entire body, even just a few minutes spent stimulating these five reflex areas can perk you up. Try it… It works!
Start with your liver point in order to help push out the remaining alcohol in your body. This is located on the outer edge of the right foot, starting from about the middle of the foot. This areas is approximated the size of a quarter. Press here for 10 seconds, release and repeat again.
Next, move to the kidneys, which coordinate with the liver in the elimination process, and drink lots of water! This reflex area is located on both feet, in the middle of the foot moving towards the heel. Press for 10 seconds, release & repeat.
To get rid of a headache, press the fleshy part of both big toes, just behind the nail. You can apply firm pressure here. Some people even use clothespins on their big toes to prevent and relieve headaches.
If you’re experiencing nausea, stimulate the stomach point, located on the inner edge of both feet about midway between the heel and toes. Finally, stimulate the solar plexus region, located in the middle of both feet, if you find your entire sense of center has been disrupted by the hangover.
In addition to this, to get rid of a hangover I personally recommend an icy Coke and a large order of McDonald’s fries. Good luck! And pass this on to fellow party lovers who may be in need of help. 
“My back is killing me!” This is something I hear all the time. Back pain is one of the most common complaints of people all over the world. It affects about seventy-five percent of the population at some time during their adult lives, so chances are you will already have experienced, or are likely to experience, back pain severe enough to make you reduce or even stop normal activity for a while.
Most people don’t realize the importance of the spine in the well-being of their entire body until something happens and they feel a pinch between their shoulders or a spasm in their lower back. Most back pain is caused from strain in the muscles that support the spine. However, pain in the back is not just a physical problem. It is also a manifestation of anxiety and pressure. Emotional distress often surfaces in the body as chronic back pain. More specifically, emotional stress from relationships often manifests as pain in the middle back, which is directly opposite the Heart chakra. 
Sudden, severe pain in the back, often the lower back, is one of the most common, painful, and disabling conditions human beings can suffer. It can occur as a result of lifting a heavy object, tripping or falling, or can be due to viral illness or emotional trauma. The pain may be felt immediately or may develop slowly, getting worse and worse each day. For the most part, the majority of acute back pain is caused by intense muscle spasms. As any woman who has gone through labor will tell you, spasms of the back muscles can be extremely painful and often unbearable. When back spasms, which are caused by a nervous reflex in the spinal cord, are so strong and persistent that they lead to inflammation, a vicious cycle is created that causes even more spasms and inflammation. Worse still, chronic back pain can lead to other problems, including neck and shoulder pain and migraine headaches.
The good news is that reflexology can provide relief, sometimes instantly, from acute and chronic back pain. I have worked with many clients who complained about back pain for years. After just a few reflexology sessions, they could not believe the improvement and relief they felt. Most people who complain of back pain find that the inner soles of their feet are extremely sensitive and tender to the touch. I recommend getting a tennis ball and rolling the arch of both feet on it, from the heel of the foot all the way to the toes and back. The pressure of the tennis ball affects the reflex area to the spine just as well as your fingers can affect it. By leaning some of your body weight onto the ball with your foot on top, you can control the pressure and allow the ball to sink in deeply. I find this to be a very relaxing yet invigorating way to start the day.
For the spine reflex point, work your thumbs up and down the inner soles of your feet, concentrating on the area of your back that needs it the most. For lower back pain, spend more time on the area along the inner sole between the heel and the middle of the foot. For middle back pain, work your thumbs along the middle section of the inner edge. For upper back problems, including neck pain, work the area along the inner edge of the foot from middle of the foot to the base of the big toe. To stimulate the entire back, begin at the heel and thumb-walk up the inner edge of the foot all the way to the base of the big toe. Do this several times, spending extra time on any area that feels tender or “grainy.”
Next, work on the reflex area neck region to relieve pressure and discomfort. This is located at the base of the big toe on both feet. This will also help your entire back, since seven of the spine’s thirty-three vertebrae are located here! Similarly, work the shoulder area, located on the outer edge of both feet from just below your pinky toe to the middle of the foot, to alleviate the discomfort and de-stress the entire upper body.
If you stimulate these areas regularly, you can relieve and even prevent back pain from ruining your day!