Sunday, October 19, 2014

Simply Massage works on shoulders, doesn’t close for shoulders

Melanie Reedy (left) and Jamie Fariss.
Melanie Reedy (left) and Jamie Fariss.
Melanie Reedy and Jamie Fariss are two locals who aren’t fazed by the shoulder season. Their business, Simply Massage and Boutique, located in the Village at Mammoth, will stay open seven days a week throughout the fall and they’re offering 20% off all items in their boutique for the month of October.
Reedy and Fariss opened Simply Massage in the Village in February of 2011 and expanded to include the boutique last November.
“The boutique is totally new for us,” Fariss said. “It’s been steady and during the summer and we’ve seen the potential. Plus, we both agree it’s important to stay open.”
“A lot of businesses close in the Village for about three weeks, but we don’t,” Reedy added.
Reedy and Fariss run the boutique, manage the spa, and also both still give massages to clients. “We’re really busy and it gets a little crazy sometimes,” Fariss said, but neither one of them seem to mind the busyness.
Simply Massage started as a mobile massage company in 2004, owned by Reedy who hired Fariss as a massage therapist. They went to houses and condos and eventually landing contracts with the Westin and 80/50. “We just started to grow from there,” Reedy said. “We gradually started to add on therapists but it was more of a seasonal business back then.”
As the business grew, Reedy opened a small office in the A-Frame on the corner of Minaret and Forest Trail in 2009. “I wanted to move close to the Village [to] see what kind of foot traffic we could get but knew rent was expensive in here.”
After seeing a growing number of clients from the Village, Reedy asked Fariss to officially go into business with her to open Simply Massage next to Chato Boutique in the Village. The boutique and spa “feed off of each other,” Fariss said. “Some people just call and book a treatment and then see we expanded and like something at the boutique. Others come in because they love the window display and then book a treatment.”
“My long term goal was to open a massage spa,” Reedy added. “And we always wanted to open a boutique.”
Originally from Minnesota, Reedy came to Mammoth in 2003 with her sister.
“I moved here just to check it out and at that point I had no intentions of staying,” Reedy said. “I had been moving every six months but this was the first time I wanted to stay.” Previously she had been moving around different resort towns practicing massage therapy, which she started in 2000.
Reedy met Fariss in Montana and then spent a summer with her in Alaska, where Fariss is from. Fariss, who spent five months during the summer commercial fishing salmon farms to pay for college, jumped at the chance to spend a winter in Mammoth with Reedy.
“Mammoth was perfect for me because I would fish in the summer and then I would travel the winters,” Fariss said. “When Melanie asked me to move to Mammoth it still worked, because I could travel in the fall and then come here in December and work…until we opened [Simply Massage] and the responsibility was a little bit bigger.”
Fariss still goes to Alaska for two months every summer to fish, and relates it a lot to massage. “You’re in your head a lot and you have to work through some challenging situations. Oddly enough there are similarities between the two,” she said.
Fariss has spent up to 21 days on a fishing boat and admitted she’s experienced bad weather and harrowing situations. “I don’t like to talk about those things, they make my heart palpitate,” she said. “It’s not as intense [as the Deadliest Catch] but it does get icky out there.”
Fariss sells some of her smoked salmon at the boutique, along with other “unique items made by artisans,” Reedy said. “We wanted to create more of an eco-consciousness and there’s not really a place [in Mammoth] where you can go and get unique gifts.”
“We have everything from organic woman’s underwear, to alpaca sweaters; fruit-dyed make-up and candles,” said Fariss, who is also building social consciousness into the boutique. “We just picked up this one woman [vendor] from Cuba. She goes into single-parent homes and teaches them how to make the jewelry so they can work from home.”
And the spa offers massages, facials and waxing with eight massage therapists and two estheticians. “We provide more of a therapeutic massage instead of a foofoo spa massage,” Reedy said, who will finish her Rolfing massage course on November 20. “I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time and no one does it in town since Rama Davis left five years ago,” she said. Rolfing massage focuses on structural integration by working on the connective tissue and realigning the body. “It’s good specifically for chronic injuries or pain,” Reedy said.
Although rent in the Village is “astronomical” according to Fariss, Reedy and Fariss plan on keeping their location in the Village long-term. “They’re [The Neighborhood Company] doing a great job putting on events which brings people in,” Reedy said.
“And we have a lot of long-term clientele that we’ve been massaging since 2004,” said Fariss. “I think we’re realizing even if it’s a poor snow year or a heavy snow year we are still pretty consistent with body work. There’s either not a whole lot to do on the Mountain so they come in for a massage or they’re so sore from being on the Mountain.”
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Angela Evans
— Angela Evans

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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

not running will prevent running injuries.

What is Rolfing – and can it fix my running injuries?

If physiotherapy, acupuncture or massage isn’t doing it for you, this technique – that focuses on correcting the positioning of the myofascial layers in your body – might be worth a try
Rolfing … yes, it can hurt …
Rolfing … yes, it can hurt … Photograph: Alamy

Rolfing? What on earth is that?

A treatment process developed in the middle of the 20th century by a lady called Ida Rolf, Rolfing is all about returning your body to its optimum structure, via the realignment of the interconnective tissues (or myofascial layer) that hold the muscles in place. It is usually done in a series – taking the form of 10 one-on-one sessions that follow a specific plan, moving through different body parts and muscle groups with methodical rigour.

What is it used for?

Often used as a method to treat chronic pain, like that associated with nasty RSI or muscle imbalances (as seen in professional musicians, or athletes) or for arthritis and back pain. For me, it was a debilitating hip injury, combined with some nasty stiffness in the upper back - oh and – let’s not forget that weak ankle - that led me to looking beyond the more well known treatment methods to something, perhaps more far-reaching, that might get (literally) get under the skin of the issue.

What about Rolfing for runners, more specifically?

If you’re a runner, the chances are you’re already familiar with different types of treatment methods, like physiotherapy (which takes the long, slow, but often very successful view), acupuncture (which aims to release tension from muscles, often with high levels of pain, and thus swearing, on my part) and sports massage (that kneading thing you love to hate). Maybe you even know a bit about muscle activation techniques and myofascial release therapy, and perhaps you can administer a bit of love to your knotty bits yourself, via the ubiquitous foam roller or a hard ball.
Rolfing is slightly different from each of these methods, in that a practitioner can actually lift up and move the myofascial layer back into its correct place, as well as helping to flush out waste products, as any tough massage might.
“I have worked with many amateur runners who report better economy of movement in running, as well as the resolution of various niggles such as ankle, knee or hip pain,” said experienced London-based Rolfer, Alan Richardson, when I inquired as to how his chosen method might be able to help.
Obviously, when niggles are sorted out and postural issues addressed, it’s possible to run better (especially – disclaimer! - if you’ve taken a few running technique lessons). This then leads to a reduced risk of injury, not to mention a general upsurge in style, speed and panache. It is a little bit chicken-and-egg though; you need to run with good form, to avoid overuse injuries and postural imbalances developing. But if you’ve got those problems already, the injuries are around the corner…

Does Rolfing work? Where’s the proof?

The main website has a range of links to studies done on Rolfing and its effects but there are relatively few that focus on running. There are anecdotal reports of increased balance and flexibility, as well as research conducted by Rolfer Valerie Hunt demonstrating how it can alter pelvic angle - all of which can be positive for runners.
As with many “alternative” approaches however, the true value is largely subjective. Certainly I found my series of Rolfing sessions to highlight those gnarly points or issues that had the potential to effect my running (and life in general). It took a while though - thank goodness I decided to do the entire series before I made a final judgement because it wasn’t until session 6/7 that we really started to get to the crux of things - my neck, chest and shoulder area are “holding” huge amounts of ... Something? Energy? Tension? Fear? Whatever it is, it’s causing problems.
“Do you know the meaning of the word relax?” Alan jokes, as I try to allow him to release my pectoral muscle whilst exhaling, lying on my back on the treatment table.
I think we’ve found a sore sport. Chest tightness however, is also typical of those who, like me, sit at a desk typing for hours on end. But it’s not just part time desk jockeys and part time fitness junkies (like me) who wind up on Rolfers’ tables. Olympic silver medallist in diving, Leon Taylor, has been treated by a huge variety of sports therapists during his career. Having recently completed a Half Ironman triathlon, he’s now considering a full Ironman. He says of the Rolfing sessions he had with Anna Collins: “In general, I felt I’d had my creases ironed out. In terms of running in particular… I’ll admit the weakest part of every triathlon for me is definitely the run, that’s where my body starts to really play up! But after Rolfing at least I feel I’ve got more movement in the lower back and hips, which is obviously very important for running.”

Does it hurt?

Yes, Rolfing can be fairly uncomfortable, even painful, at points (but then again, so can untreated injuries...) Like sports massage, Rolfing is very hands-on, but unlike most massage, it uses no oils, just skin and pressure against muscles and connective tissue. If you’re like me, and enjoy having tension kneaded out of you, then it needn’t be completely unpleasant.

Where can you find yourself a Rolfer and how much will it cost?

Up until this month there were only 23 qualified Rolfers in the UK. But this June (2014), 12 new Rolfers graduate after completing the first ever UK Rolfing qualification.
Costs vary between practitioners and locations. More information atrolfinguk.co.uk
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Friday, June 27, 2014

rolfing and gwyneth paltrow

ltrow has a massive entourage of herbal healers and pseudo-doctors who mend any of the actress' health grievances at a moment's notice. 
From the print issue of Star Magazine:
"Gwyneth has an army of people looking after her health," says a source revealing that the actress keeps a  battalion of 20 medical care providers on call, including an allergist, blood analyst, naturopath and osteopath  Vicky Vlachonis, whose actual skill set is murky.
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She also has a stress-relief team comprising a meditation teacher, a yoga guru, a Qi Gong expert and not one  but four different massage therapists for cupping, Rolfing, hot stones and shiatsu.
And while Gwyn touts herself as a kitchen all-star, her lithe figure is really due to her four nutritionists, three  personal trainers and "detox advocate" Dr. Alejandro Junger, who puts her on his signature cleanses.
Paltrow often advocates her unscientifically proven medical obsessions on her Goop blog, where she also writes about everything from designer clothes to artisanal bread shops in Paris.
In early June, Paltrow wrote that she is convinced the molecular makeup of water changes if there are too many angry people around it.
"I am fascinated by the growing science behind the energy of consciousness and its effects on matter," Paltrow said, citing Masaru Emoto, a Japanese "doctor" whose entire body of work has been dismissed by everyone in the scientific community.
"I have long had Dr. Emoto's coffee table book on how negativity changes the structure of water," she continued, "how the molecules behave differently depending on the words or music being expressed around it."
Paltrow's musings often draw the ire of the general public, the "mean" comments of which Paltrow recently  compared to being at a war.
"You come across [online comments] about yourself and about your friends, and it's a very dehumanizing thing," Paltrow said. "It's almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing, and then something is defined out of it. My hope is, as we get out of it, we'll reach the next level of conscience."
Tagged : Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin
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Friday, May 30, 2014

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-hilary-shoulder-20140510-story.html#page=1

Shoulder pain leads to a search for realignment

SwimmingAlternative Medicine
Trying to get rid of shoulder pain using physical therapy, massage, more walking
I thought I was an outlier, but at physical therapy, about 75% of those in the room had a shoulder injury
.@latimes: Her shoulder pain leads to a search for solutions
Whether it was years of swimming, too much sitting at the computer or too much driving, life was taking its toll on my body. My shoulder was messed up beyond belief; the pain seeped down my right arm and across my back, up into my neck.
With a mile-and-a-quarter open water swim race just three months away, and a shoulder so rigid I could no longer raise my arm over my head, I went to the doctor. First he tried to decide if I had bursitis or a rotator cuff injury (common in swimmers). I was put on Advil and taken off swimming. Things calmed down, but not enough.
I thought I was an outlier, but at physical therapy, about 75% of those in the room had some kind of shoulder injury. Friends have complained of debilitating shoulder pain from working too many hours at the computer, from overdoing it at yoga or from jumping too fast into a hard-core fitness program.
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FOR THE RECORD:
Shoulder pain: An article in the May 10 Saturday section about finding relief from shoulder pain misspelled the last name of physical therapist Drew Jenk as Jenks. —
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"What we are doing today does not support our eons of evolution," said Heath Reed, a licensed massage and yoga therapist who practices in Phoenix. "There is no way our biology can keep up with technology. The lack of movement at all is our first problem. The secondary problem is our dysfunctional movement."
I wanted to try every option before I considered surgery. Here's my path:
Physical therapy
With my doctor's referral, my first stop was physical therapy. My therapist asked me about the pain and when it started, and she felt around to find out where exactly it hurt. She swung my arm up, down, across and over, to isolate the pain. Swimmers, she said, are often weak between the shoulder blades.
First, she said, I needed to make sure my computer was at eye level, my arms were at my sides, my phone was not stretching my arm and I was not reaching for my mouse. In the car, I need to wedge a rolled-up towel between the base of my spine and the seat, to keep the curve in my lower lumbar spine.
I also was given a stretchy rubber sash for a series of arm exercises that used the wall, the door, doorknobs and the floor. They were short repetitions that required little effort, and, frankly, I was skeptical. I like to push until it hurts. I was told I could swim, but not hard, and no butterfly.
Drew Jenks, a physical therapist from New York who works with athletes and specializes in shoulders, said physical therapists look at movement impairment and work to fix it. "Do you have tightness in the back side of your shoulder? Do you have poor posture? Poor thoracic spine mobility? Poor stability and tightening of the muscles around the shoulder blade? We might get a doctor giving us a diagnosis for therapy for rotator cuff impingement, but that is not specific," said Jenks, chairman of the Shoulder Special Interest Group for the Sports Section of the American Physical Therapy Assn.
I did my exercises. I came back for five sessions of physical therapy. I swam tentatively at first, then harder. After five weeks I had regained almost complete mobility. I could not push myself. But my arm was functioning.
I competed in my race, and my shoulder did not hurt much. Still, I wanted no pain. Was that possible?
Massage
My physical therapist said massage complemented her work.
Reed, the Arizona massage therapist, teaches workshops on medical massage that focus specifically on rotator cuff injuries, shoulder bursitis and tendinitis. He said massage can help prevent shoulder injuries and rehab them, and help clients recover from shoulder surgery.
After an injury, there is an inflammatory response, Reed said. Traditionally experts have recommended RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Once the inflammation eases, many experts recommend MICE (movement, ice, compression, elevation). In the past, experts immobilized the area of injury, to give the body a chance to recover. But, Reed said, too long a rest can lead to stiffness. This is where movement and massage can make the difference. "In our practice, what we try to advocate is a union of physical manipulation of muscle, massaging, working with ligaments, tendons, joints, range of motion, stretching, strengthening to begin to bring balance to that joint," Reed said.
Massage loosened my shoulder in the short term, and it felt good.
Walking more, driving less
I knew that part of my problem was that I spent too many hours in front of the computer or in a car. Walking might not help my shoulder per se, but I felt that it would help my body overall.
Dr. James Levine, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist who invented the treadmill desk, coined the mantra "sitting is the new smoking," and Reed agrees. "Movement is the missing ingredient in our modern, technologically oriented society," Reed said. "We move significantly less than we did just a couple of generations ago."
Even 15 to 30 minutes of walking every day would alleviate tens of thousands of injuries, Reed said.
To make that walk more effective, Reed said, exaggerate the swing of your arms and look about 20 degrees above the horizon. When you look up, he said, it activates parts of your brain that help with coordination. Studies have shown that walking is one of the best therapies for lower back pain, the pelvis, the bottom of the spine and for getting the synovial fluid moving.
I hiked every day. I hoped that would gently nudge my body back into alignment. I still spend many hours in front of the computer, but my shoulder feels better.
Rolfing
I've long been curious about Rolfing, named for Ida Rolf, a New York biochemist who studied alternative methods of body work and healing beginning in the 1920s. I had heard it hurt but that the results were phenomenal.
Rolf developed a theory that the body's aches and pains arose from basic imbalances in posture and alignment, which were reinforced over time by gravity and learned responses among muscles and fascia — the sheath-like connective tissue that surrounds and binds muscles. Rolfing developed as a way to "restructure" muscles and fascia.
I felt like overworked muscles on my dominant right side were pulling across my back and yanking everything out of alignment.
Jan Sultan, a Redondo Beach-based Rolfer who was trained (and Rolfed) by Rolf and who has been practicing for 45 years, said that if a patient is orthopedically compromised with a rotator cuff injury, it lowers the probability that Rolfing will help. But it can help if the shoulder has a sprain, a muscle tear or imbalance to the joint.
My Rolfer, Maria Cristina Jimenez, discussed my history, symptoms and what I hoped to achieve. She had me walk, move and raise my arms over my head. Then she had me lie down on the table.
Her hands moved over my body, realigning and trying to find the pain. She was like a masseuse with extra-sensory powers. She found an upper rib (on the side of my injured shoulder) that had popped out, and with some pressure got it back in. Instantly my whole back and shoulder area felt better. The session ended with her gently cradling my sacrum and rocking me back and forth. There are many nerve endings there, she said. It felt weird, but good.
I walked home feeling clearer, taller and spaced out. After a lifetime of swimming, running, hiking, working, carrying children and sheer gravity, I realized that this is the crux of it: My body needs serious realigning — just like my car.
(I never got an official diagnosis because I chose not to get an MRI. And so far I'm not choosing surgery. I have just started swimming again after the race, so far without pain. I walk and practice yoga.)
Copyright © 2014, Lo
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