Massage Therapy improves physical and emotional health and is one of the best antidotes for stress. This hands-on manipulation of the body’s soft tissues and joints physically stretches muscles, ligaments, and tendons improving circulation and range of motion. Depending on the style, it can be sedating or stimulating. The therapeutic use of massage effects all the systems of the body – in particular, the muscular, circulatory, lymphatic, immune, and nervous systems.
The benefits to this form of therapy are many: tight or tense muscles are relaxed, circulation is improved and overall stress can be reduced. When our stress levels go down our energy increases and our outlook on life improves, which lends a boost to the immune system.
Massage Therapy also speeds recovery from strenuous physical activities such as running, or from muscular over-use such as strains from a weekend of gardening or water-skiing. Regular Massage therapy can help the body develop, maintain, or augment physical activity. If you have never had a massage, ask a registered massage therapist to recommend the massage therapy that would be best for you.
• Headaches and migraines
• Repetitive strain injury
• Back pain
• Whiplash
• Muscle related conditions such as
sprains and strains
• Stress related conditions
• Circulatory Problems
• Pregnancy and labour discomfort
• Frozen Shoulder,
and many other such symptoms…
Physical and Mental Benefits of Massage Therapy:
• relaxation for the whole body
• loosening of tight muscles
• relief from tired and aching muscles
• increase of flexibility and range of motion
• diminishment of chronic pain
• calming effects on the nervous system
• lowering of blood pressure
• lowerinf of heart rate
• enhancement of skin tone
• assistance in recovery from injuries and illness
• strengthening of the immune system
• reduction of tension headaches
• reduction of mental stress
• improvement in concentration
• promotion of restful sleep
• aid in mental relaxation
Osteopathic Manual Practitioners use their palpatory skill to identify areas of the body that are restricted (not moving normally), or constricted (strangled or squeezed). These areas can be commonly found in any of these systems:
· musculoskeletal
· respiratory
· cardiovascular
· digestive
· reproductive
· nervous
Osteopathic Manual Practitioners identify and then gently ease the restrictions or constrictions so the body can function normally again.
Manual osteopathy is based on 4 basic principles:
1. Each structure in the body supports the body’s functions. If a structure is damaged, out of place, or otherwise not working properly, the body will not function at its best.
2. The natural flow of the body’s fluids – lymphatic, vascular, and neurological – must be preserved and maintained.
3. The human body is the sum of its parts. Its physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive systems don’t work independently -they work in harmony.
4. When the body has no restrictions, it has the inherent ability to heal itself. Osteopathic Manual Practitioners recognize that a patient is an integrated whole. When all the body’s components are in balance, a person is complete and in total health.
They remove the underlying causes of pain:
- Reduce pain and stiffness in muscles and joints
- Increase range if motion in joints
- Treat spinal problems resulting from poor posture or spinal disc injuries.
They relieve chronic pain through non-invasive treatment:
- Decrease the stress on joints
- Reduce tension in the body
- Relieve tension headaches and migrane headaches.
They help the body to adapt to hormonal and structural changes during pregnancy,
They reduce scars and adhesions;
They treat trauma resulting from accidents such as:
- Sports injuries
- Motor vehicle injuries,
And they encourage the body to heal itself by:
- Increasing circulation
- Reducing blood pressure.
This procedure can treat a number of ailments such as:
Whiplash
Chronic Pain
·Circulation Problems
Migraines
·Jaw Pain
Overuse Injuries
·Back Pain
Headaches
·Sinus Pain
Gynaecological Problems
·Sciatica Fibromyalgia
·Chronic ear Infections
Anxiety
·Paediatric Issues
Irritable Bowel
·Respiratory Problems
·Emotional Distress
·Sport and non-sport related injuries
Visceral Mobilization – Gentle mobilization of the organs of the body
Osteoarticular Corrections – Gentle realignment of the bones
Myofascial Release- restoring normalcy in the muscles and surrounding tissue
Muscle Energy – Creation of muscle relaxation through muscle contraction
Strain Counterstrain – method of relaxing and re-positioning joints
What Happens on Your First Visit?
On your first visit, an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner conducts a thorough health survey listening to the chief complaints, any health issues, and other medical interventions received throughout the patient’s life.
An Osteopathic Manual Practitioner will then conduct a physical examination ruling out any major health concerns and ensuring that a safe treatment can be provided. The practitioner assesses all systems and structures that may be related to the area of complaint. Loose clothing, like shorts and a t-shirt, are best to wear for the first assessment.
Once the health history and examination are complete a plan is implemented.
Treatments are administered once every one or two weeks to allow the body to adapt to treatment.
A Reiki treatment ususally lasts about 75 minutes, but each experience will be unique – as will be the healing benefits.
Reiki is an ancient and revered art of hands-on healing. It creates the conditions for the body to begin healing itself gently, and naturally.
Holostic therapies embrace the idea that the underlying causes of disease are present in one’s energy field long before they show up as discomfort, symptoms, and disease on the physical level.
You can feel when your energy is flowing freely: you feel well, balanced, healthy, and at ease with yourself and your life. However, when this flow is disrupted or restricted you feel “heaviness” and you may be more vulnerable to feeling lethargic, disheartened, and unwell.
In a Reiki session you remain fully clothed. A Reiki Practitioner is trained to sense and be aware of the flow of energy around and throughout the body to guide energy to where it is most needed. The gentle touch of the practitioner, through a series of specific hand placements applied directly to the body, creates a deep and soothing experience of relaxation, harmony, and healing.
This powerful therapy is now recognized by doctors and health care professionals in many hospitals and clinical situations where chronic, long term, and degenerative conditions are benefited by Reiki treatments.
Reiki helps to shorten healing times, while reducing side effects of traditional and alternative medications or remedies.
Reiki is a beautiful, soothing therapy that benefits the entire body. Reiki relaxes the stressed nervous system, stimulates the immune and circulatory system, balances PH levels, and increases blood flow back to the internal organs. As aches and pains are relieved, digestion improves, and healthy sleep patterns begin to return, the patient will feel energy and a brighter outlook on life returning as well. Reiki treatments produce relief from many common ailments such as:
Mild physical discomforts
Cold/Flu
Stress
Arthritis
Chest Congestion
Hypertension
Pain, stiffness
Fibromyalgia
Headaches/Migraines
Muscle and Joint Aches
Anxiety and Worry
As you begin to heal physically, you may also be aware of deeper connection to your emotions. You feel happier, more balanced, and at greater peace. Mentally, you may notice clearer thinking, higher focus, and increased confidence. Many individuals feel empowered to identify healthier life choices to better support themselves and their new well being.
You may choose to enjoy Reiki on an occasional basis as a boost to your overall system, or perhaps you have unresolved or long term health issues that would benefit from a regular treatment schedule.
“I beleive actively participating in your own healing and self care is vitally important…My intention is to encourage, support and assist you.”
The practitioner applies calming, soothing, yet precise massage to reflex points and zones in the hands and feet, and in the face and head.
Like the Unicorn of ancient mythologies, of whom it was believed that the lightest touch of his spiraled horn healed wounds and cleansed poisons, so the Reflex Therapist brings healing through gentleness.
The Therapist uses his fingertips only. His touch is sensitive and serene. Those fingertips, and the training that directs them, bring gifts of healing and re-balance, encouraging the body, the mind, and the spirit to find wellness and harmony.
Some patients fear that such a soothing touch, especially to their feet, will be “ticklish”, but it is very much like the sensation of being warmly snug in a pair of favorite, old shoes or slippers. The Reflex Therapist’s touch should feel “just right”: warm, comforting, and relaxing.
The hands, especially, respond instantly and positively to being massaged and many clients even fall asleep while receiving their treatment.
Calming massage of the face and head, which are very important to a Reflex Therapy healing session, works to balance the body, as well as to release emotional and mental energies to help find balance.
Some clients feel much more energized immediately following their session with their Reflex Therapist, others feel comfortably drowsy, and some find that they have been cleansed of negative emotional energies such as: depression, anxiety, and anger.
Working with head reflexes may also include a gentle manipulation of neck and shoulders, depending on the needs of the particular client.
Finally the feet receive their attention, a calming pressure and easing manipulation that will take 10 to 15 minutes for each foot. At no time during a Reflex Therapy Session is any oil, cream, or aromatic fragrance applied. Depending on each specific client’s requirements, after the session is completed a light, fragrance free oil may be applied to specific places on the hands or feet where unusual dryness of the skin may occur.
In the physicians Tomb in Ancient Egypt, dating from 2,300 BC, there is a wall painting which illustrates Reflex Therapy being applied to the feet of the Pharaoh, and a companion painting which shows the same points being stimulated on the monarch’s hands.
The hieroglyphs advise that the physician does not cause the patient any pain, but instead takes the pain away. The words above the Pharaoh quote, “Please do not hurt me”; the glyph above the Healer read, “I will act in a way that will make you well, Sire”.
In ancient India, a text from 5000 years ago lists, among the duties of the good wife, that she should rub, and press gently, the feet of her mother-in-law every evening.
The “Foot-Pressing” techniques of the ancient Hindus cover many of the points of modern Reflex Therapy, but as the Egyptian tomb painting makes clear, Reflexology is NOT just for the feet of the patient; it is also for the hands, and the face, and the head.
The human body has changed little since the dawn of mankind. It is not surprising that ways of bringing healing to the body, and “…slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, the heartaches and the thousand natural shocks this flesh is heir to …” have remained similar since the time of the early Shamans, and will into the future.
Regardless of the length of time required to complete the session, the fee remains constant, only $90.00 per treatment, which includes all taxes.
A Certified Reflexologist in the Province of Ontario is the graduate of a two-year course of study including; Human Physiology, Biology, as well as supervised practical experience, at a Provincially recognized school . After the training and studies, the candidate must pass written, oral, and practical exams which are set and overseen by an Ontario Provincial Board of Examiners for Alternative Medical Practitioners.
Exercises start off simple and one-dimensional, allowing the client to deepen their awareness and strength of their core. As the core becomes stronger, we challenge the body by adding exercises that involve more complex three-dimensional movements, coordination, speed or endurance. These more advanced exercises must still be executed with precision while maintaining core stability. The overall result is an exercise program that challenges your body and your mind.
Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900’s. Over 20 years ago, the Toronto-based STOTT Pilates gathered a team of specialists and revolutionized the exercise method of Joseph Pilates. By applying intelligent exercise science and modern principles of spinal care STOTT has expanded the repertoire into hundreds of exercises making pilates accessible for all ages and abilities. All instructors at Exhale Pilates are trained through STOTT Pilates, and we exclusively use their professional equipment.
The benefits of pilates can be felt by coming once every week – you will definitely notice an improvement in your posture, muscle tone, and overall flexibility. However, the majority of our clients enjoy attending regular classes 2-3 times per week. Like anything, you will experience more dramatic results the more frequently and consistently you perform pilates.