Sweet, Evil Sugar!

“We don’t need sugar to live and we don’t need it as a society”
-Dr. OZ

With Autumn upon us we begin to embrace the holiday season and that means sweet treats. From Halloween candy, to Thanksgiving desserts, and Christmas cookies, the sweets are everywhere. Surprisingly enough, sugar is almost everywhere all the time. We find added refined sugars in breakfast cereals, snacks, sports and energy drinks, as well as even fruit juices. According to Dr. Lustig, professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of California San Fransico, “sugar in all forms… is a key contributor to many of our diet related diseases and conditions, including obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease,  high blood pressure, and cancer. ”

Our bodies can’t utilize refined sugars and when it attempts to, sugar strips the body of essential vitamins and minerals due to the excess demand needed to digest, detoxify, and eliminate the sugar. This process goes on to produce “toxic metabolites” that accumulate in the brain and nervous system and  interfere with cellular respiration which is very damaging to our bodies.

Our sweet tooth can get the best of us, but beware or it can be damaging to your health.

The trauma from sugar can be repaired by the body when sugar intake isn’t excessive. It is recommended  by the American Heart Association that daily sugar intake should not exceed 25g for women and 38g for men. Seems like a lot until you realize that a single can of soda contains about 35g of sugar alone! You don’t necessarily have to cut sugar out of your life completely, but if you can become more aware of what contains sugar and moderate your consumption then you can become a healthier YOU!

Don’t Give Massage a Bad Name

“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.”

–Leonardo Da Vinci

It seems these days that the good name of massage therapy has been severely tarnished. The media has a tendency to sexualize massage and the emergence of  many  non-licensed “Massage Parlors” don’t help to justify the legitimacy of massage as proper healthcare. I can’t tell you how many times my profession gets mocked in a social setting by using the terms “rubdown”, “masseuse”, & “happy ending.”

The concept that massage therapy can be easily misconstrued is not difficult to see. Many clients are asked to disrobe in a private room and have someone touch them in a soothing way. History hasn’t helped this misconception either. Many times throughout history, brothels have been masked by the facade of a massage therapy studio. The truth is there is that Massage THERAPY is nothing like the misconception people may have of the profession.

Truth to the matter is that licensed massage therapists go through extensive schooling as well as testing the therapists knowledge on anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, as well as moral code. It truly is a slap in the face of the profession and those who have invested their time, money, and passion into the business of helping people. Understand that there is nothing wrong with your significant other giving you a massage at the end of a hard workday, but when you need more specific help you can rest assured that massage therapist out there trained in understanding the complex relationships of muscles and movement associated with the human body.

In the field of massage therapy there are many different modalities that show how diverse the profession can be utilize to the benefit of  the public. Continuing education that is required for massage therapist to retain their license allows the therapist to excel and keep them at the forefront of their specific specialties.   It is this reason you are seeing the Allied healthcare community become more supportive of the profession and why you see massage therapists in rehabilitation centers, hospitals, doctor’s offices, and chiropractors. The medical professionals understand and trust the importance and many benefits of therapeutic massage.

 

Skeptic Belief in Massage

“A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence”

–David Hume

I know that I write and post a lot about the benefits of massage and how it is great for general health and well-being. It’s easy to assume that when reading this it’s biased and swayed because it’s my business and I am a massage therapist, but the real truth is that I never believed that massage was anything more than just a luxury. That statement right there is blasphemous to my fellow therapists I’m sure, but I have to be honest so that you understand that Massage Therapy has truly changed my life!

Like many of people who only understand massage from what they see in the media, I really thought that massage was all about relaxing with candlelight, incense, and ambient music. It wasn’t until I applied for the Physical Therapist’s Assistant program at my local community college and was denied due to a lack of volunteer hours, that I was introduced to the clinical side of massage. I decided it would be worth my while to at least give it a shot, so I applied and was required to take several medical pre requisites. Pre requisites for a massage class? I knew at this point massage therapy had to be more serious than what I interpreted.

After getting accepted into the program, I was introduced to the program director and future mentor Steve Jurch. From day one Steve took a very scientific and clinical approach to how massage, or soft tissue treatment, can really make a difference in overall health and wellness. Throughout the program, which was almost 2 years long total, I learned more about biomechnical movement, muscular anatomy, and kinesiology than I had ever thought I would. I was also able to see and experience first hand how different the therapeutic approach really was and how immediately the results could be. It changed the way I felt, moved, and even perceived my environment.

My belief in massage therapy became greater and greater over the years, but in the early stages of my career I was still reluctant and somewhat skeptical. I had to ask many questions and do significant continuing education before I started seeing my treatments really effect people in a positive way. There have been many clients that I have worked with since then that have avoided surgery, regained range of motion, reduced painful and stressful symptoms, and so much more! Massage therapy has been around for many years and has been used to treat people for all kinds of aches, pains, disorders, and illness with great results. How can I not believe in this after seeing first hand many different times!?

It may have taken me some time to convert my skepticism, but I have been a massage therapist for over 10 years and let me tell you…if it can change my mind, I’m sure that it can change yours as well!

Honorable Mention

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well”

-Voltaire

I have always been of the mindset that what ever you do, do it to the best of your ability and this includes your “work”. If you do your work to the best of your ability, it will not longer be a job but a passion. Your passion for your career will soon become apparent to all of those around you.  I have always had the up most respect for those who have passion for what they do as I am overly passionate about massage therapy and how it can benefit many.

Apparently the people of Charleston have taken notice of my passion and have an appreciation of because I have been nominated as Best Massage Therapist along with 4 other great therapists in the Charleston City Paper‘s “Best Of” series for 2014. This honor is very prestigious to me and has proved to me that people do notice the hard work that I put in

to expressing the importance of massage and how much I enjoy help people to become healthier and just have better wellness overall. It would be absolutely amazing if I were to gain enough votes to reach the top position, but either way I know that even with the nomination that my hard work is paying off!

If you would like to visit the ballot and see who has made the other top nominations, please

visit http://charlestoncitypaper.secondstreetapp.com/Best-of-

Charleston-2014/Ballot/RecreationHealthampBeauty and while you are there if you feel inclined to cast your vote for me, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you again to all my supporters out there and for help to make my dream come true! I will never stop my quest to bring the public health and knowledge with therapeutic massage!

Holiday in Review

“Twice and thrice over,  as they say,  good is it to repeat and review what is good”

-Plato

 

So the end of the year is upon us and for many this is a time to reflect and review. I like to take this opportunity to review for a moment, but not for the whole year just the holiday. So much went on this past year that it would make this BLOG way too long. This holiday season was one of the best ever for my career and I would like to thank all my amazing clients for their loyalty and support in helping make DEFINED: Therapeutic Massage and the Healthy U radio show so successful.

Social media marketing has proven to be a great way to promote the benefits of massage therapy to the local market here in Charleston, SC. In December, I have received more NEW clients than any other month this past year.  To all my new clients, welcome to the D:TM family.  Speaking of welcoming to the family, I am pleased to announce the sponsorship of 2 local athletes! Jen Kryzanowski is a local triathlete looking to  hit the ranks Professional in 2013 and with her dedication and perseverance combined with the recovery of therapeutic massage, we are optimistic to hit that goal this year! Pete Kaasa is a amateur professional wrestler who has recently auditioned for WWE and is utilizing the many benefits of therapeutic massage to fine tune his skills and slam in to the industry! I am honored to be working with these athletes and can’t wait to help them achieve their goals!

On my personal fitness goals, I have been keeping up with workouts and even accepted a workout challenge on Christmas morning.

As a result of this challenge, I was able to raise for several charities including The Lymphoma & Leukemia Society, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, as  well as several other charities! Thank you to all of those who made the donations! YOU ROCK! If you would like to make any donations,  please do and email me the amount and what charity you donated to so that you can be recognized properly. Thank you in advance!

2013 holds  a lot for DEFINED: Therapeutic Massage as I am looking to expand  into retail and the distribution of  Biofreeze, China Gel, Foam Rollers, and Visalus products. I look forward to helping as many people move, feel, & BE better. To all of you out there, Have a very Happy New Year!

Another Perspective in Giving Thanks

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”
– Tecumseh

So begins the “holiday season”, a time reserved to spread happiness, joy, and  give thanks to all the many great things we have in our lives.  Sometimes we get lost in  the  stress of the holidays and the expectations of others as to what the  holiday season really means.

I’d like to take this moment to pass on some thoughts that have helped keep me grounded and things that mean the most and that I can  be thankful for in this world.

(I preface this list with a reminder that I am not a psychologist or any type of therapist. These are things that help me and have been passed down by people who I consider to be quite wise. They help me and perhaps they will help you too! )

1. My grandfather reads through the obituaries in the newspaper everyday and when you ask him why, he will  respond with “just making sure my name isn’t in here, means I’m still alive!” What I take from this is that life is important and  worth living, cherish it and make the best of the time you have here!
2. It’s not always getting the best, but making the best of what you’ve got! Be appreciative of what you have already, there are many out there who have much less.
3. Life is tough and can’t be handled alone and that is why you have family and friends. No matter what you may think, some one will always  be there for you and in my opinion that is something that can’t be appreciated enough!

All though the world may be a crazy place and can seem that there is not much to be thankful for,  think about the concepts I  spoke about above…there  is always something for which you can  be thankful.

Here’s wishing you a very healthy and happy thanksgiving to  you  and  yours!

Corrective Exercises, Corrected YOU!

“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.”
–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Exercise is one of the most beneficial activities that we can do for our health and wellness, but yet we see so many people avoid this task that seems dreadful to them. There are many reasons that top the list of  why people don’t want to exercise including not enough time, boredom, pain, but most importantly people don’t really know how to do exercises properly.

Corrective exercises are exercises that are designed to not only regain proper movement but maintain proper posture as well. These exercises will create a strong foundation to build stability upon.  It is after a client has mastered the corrective exercises that they can move on to functional exercises that will help the client to move, feel, and be better.

If you would like to learn more about corrective exercising, listen in to the Healthy U radio show on www.kinetichifi.com this Saturday the 6th from 2-4pm EST. I will be chatting with Justin Price of  Aspire Fitness & Wellness who is a personal trainer specializing in corrective exercising. We will be discussing how to become more educated in corrective exercising and how it can  dramatically benefit your life.

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Busy Week Indeed!

“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”
–Henry David Thoreau

Mr. Thoreau couldn’t be more from the truth in that quote!  I meet so many people who claim they are just too busy for anything,  but yet don’t seem to be productive or reach goals. As for me this past week  has been very busy and productive, so here is your update:

• Teaching is back in full effect at Trident Technical College’s Massage Therapy Program and the students are doing very well…I am so proud of them! It’s hard to believe that the first 7 weeks are almost over. Now it’s time to get into the good stuff!
• Business has been flourishing with many new clients and many new conditions that put my skills to the test. I have had the opportunity to start working with managing the symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome as well as help a golfer improve his game, just  to name a few. It’s a great feeling and an awesome learning experience!
• The next issue of the newsletter, ‘getting DEFINED:’ is being finished up and will be released on Monday evening! If you would like to receive a copy,  email me at definedmassage@gmail.com so I can add you to the mailing list. Topics covered in this issue are Forward Head Posture, Chiropractic for Toddlers, and The evils of Sugar!
• My new radio show, Healthy U on www.kinetichifi.com will have it’s second episode today from 2-4pm EST. Listen in as I chat with Melissa DiMaggio about nutrition and more specifically,  Integrative Nutrition.  You don’t wanna miss this!
• Lastly, if you have any topics that you would like me to address in my Blog or talk about on the show,  please leave your comments below. Thanks so much!

Healthy U Radio

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”
–Tony Robbins

As you may know if you follow my blog, and if you don’t you are about to find out, that I am very passionate about providing information about health and wellness to as many people as I  can.  I really feel that as  a  society we don’t take care of ourselves as well as we need to and I don’t feel that it is because we don’t want to ,  but because many of us don ‘t know how go about it properly. As the old cliche’ goes, ” Knowledge is power”  and we need that power to achieve our goals. It is with this thought that I try to convey and teach information through my newsletters, this blog, and even everyday conversation.

I am pleased to announce that I  am able to take this passion of mine to the next level with my very own radio show, Healthy U! The first show is this Saturday the 22nd from 2-4pm and  you can listen online at www.kinetichifi.com, it’s just that easy! The show is scheduled for every Saturday at the same times. Below is the description and mission statement of sorts for Healthy U:

“Welcome to Healthy U, a show designed to promote better health and wellness.  Our health and fitness are important to our livelihood but unfortunately don’t seem to make its way on to the priority list for many people. Healthy U’s goal is to inspire, educate, and support the health and wellness of the community through research and identification of specialists’ right in our own community that provide tips and additional education. The show will be completely interactive so that the listeners and the host can discuss the latest trends in health, fitness, nutrition, and other topics that spread wellness to us and others.”

If you would like to, you can follow the action and contact me with any questions, comments,  or ideas via:

email: healthyuradio@gmail.com

facebook: www.facebook.com/healthuradio

twitter: @healthyuradio

 

Happy 4th of July!

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”  

~Abraham Lincoln

Taking a moment to wish the United States of America a very happy birthday as well as wishing everyone out there a very safe and wonderful 4th of July! Be healthy and have a great time!