Celebrating the Olympics

Although it seems no time since London won the 2012 Olympics, they are nearly upon us. To mark the occasion I'm holding two special events, with an international theme.

Indian Head Massage Day

Sohan Jalaiai, St Albans

Thursday 2nd August

45 minute Treatments for £30 (usually £38)

Thai Foot Massage Day

Revive Clinic, Apsley

Wednesday 8th August

Hour-long treatments for £35 (usually £45)

There is however a twist - these are TEAM EVENTS.

I have 5 appointments available on each day, and the special rates only apply if all 5 are taken. So if you want to take part, get all your friends to book in and fill those slots!

To take advantage of this offer, e-mail me with the day and time you'd like.

The slots to be filled are:

Indian Head Massage Day 2nd August:


1.00, 2.15, 3.30, 5.15, 6.30

I practice a gentle form of Indian Head Massage that incorporates shoulder, neck and face massage, as well as the scalp. The massage addresses the areas where many of us hold tension, gently releasing the muscles and connective tissue. It can feel wonderful to have our hair, scalp and face massaged, making this a surprisingly relaxing and enjoyable treatment.

Thai Foot Massage Day 8th August:


1.00, 2.30, 4.00, 6.00, 7.30

A recent import from China to Thailand, Thai Foot Massage has proven to be popular and effective. I use thumbs, knuckles, palms and a wooden massage stick to press, stroke and occasionally pummel the feet and lower leg, working on the reflex points and energy lines to affect the whole body. It is incredibly relaxing - I personally haven’t managed to stay awake while receiving a foot massage yet!

Appointments will be allocated on a first come-first served basis. If you could make more than one time, let me know and I'll fit you in to best fill the appointments.


Places will be held open until the 27th July - if they're not filled by then, anyone already signed up will have the option to keep the appointment at the full price, or to cancel.


For more information on these and other massages I offer see www.lucindacracknell.co.uk

Charity Massage-athon - in pictures!

Charity Massage-athon for the Healing Hands Network
Saturday 14th July 2012, St Albans Town Hall
Here's how it all went on the day...

Our beautiful display, with lots of information about
Healing Hands and our lovely massage therapists

Everything ready, waiting to go

An early client, he seems to be pleased

Neck and shoulder massages
proved to be the popular choice

Carly Day helping out with a shoulder massage

Danny Smith, who interviewed me on Radio Verulam
about the Massage-athon, came along to try a
massage for himself

The Massage-ometer!

Tracking our massage total throughout the day

(And everyone loves an excuse for a bit of colouring in!)

The end of the day,
21 massages done,
£129 raised!

1. 
   

Pilates - guest post from Carly Day

What is Pilates?


Pilates is a conditioning intervention that challenges the body and the mind. It combines mat exercises with the use of specialist equipment and aims to activate the deep, stabilising muscles of the body that many of us have 'forgotten' how to use properly. Humans have two layers of muscles, the deep, stabilising muscles that are located around the joints and the bigger, mobilising muscles on the outside of the body. If our stabilising muscles don't activate when they should do, the mobilising muscles have to do twice as much work causing fatigue and tension. Pilates aims to reinstate the neural activation of the stabilising muscles, making us more aware of how we move in every day life.

Stabilise your body from within

STOTT PILATES® practiced at Revive Sports Rehabilitation & Acupuncture Clinic is a contemporary approach to the original exercise method pioneered by the late Joseph Pilates. During his lifetime, Joseph Pilates studied many forms of exercise such as yoga and weight lifting as well as the innate movement of animals to develop a set of exercises to promote natural, tension free movement. The contemporary approach used in STOTT PILATES® includes modern principles of exercise science and spinal rehabilitation, making it one of the safest and most effective methods of Pilates available.


Pilates converts the way you look and feel about your body by eliciting core postural muscles to create a centre of strength, to stabilise and support the body from within. It is intelligent exercise with profound results.


Who will benefit from Pilates?


Pilates is great for those with movement difficulties but will be equally challenging to well trained athletes. This exercise method develops strength from within which means that tired, over used muscles of the back, shoulders and neck don't get overworked any more. It can help with reducing back pain and instability aggravated by occupational movements, is great for expectant and new mums as it promotes activation of the deep pelvic muscles and it can be combined with a regular exercise program for sports men and women to prevent injuries. Pilates is endorsed by many health professionals including GP’s, Physiotherapists and Osteopaths. Through regular practice, Pilates will help you restore more efficient and natural movement and can have profound results in relieving muscular tension, correcting altered alignment, breaking bad movement habits and improving posture. It’s used by rehab and prenatal clients, athletes, celebrities and everyone in between.


What does a typical session involve?

A holistic workout that will leave you
relaxed and rejuvenated

Pilates can be practiced in one to one, small group and larger group sessions. Private one to one sessions are a brilliant way to maximise each and every workout as the instructor can give absolute attention to every movement produced. These sessions involve a full postural analysis, outlining areas of tension, weakness and muscle shortening. You will then be taught the 5 basic principles of Pilates that are built upon throughout all of the exercises. Exercise modifications are then given to suit your own posture type and you will quickly learn what movements are beneficial and which are of less use to you individually. You can then use this knowledge of your body in future classes as well as during day to day activities.


Pilates can also be done in a group session which involves initially learning the 5 basic principles and then going through the repertoire exercise by exercise, working at a beginner, improver, intermediate and advanced level. Each exercise can be modified to challenge and support you depending on your goals for the session. Most exercises in the matwork repertoire are done in a lying position either on your front, side or back but it's not as easy as it sounds. Pilates involves the connection of the mind and body with breathing, so it's a holistic workout that will leave you feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, walking taller and with more confidence.


Carly is a Rehabilitation Specialist and Pilates Instructor, based in Apsley, Hertfordshire.


If you would like to talk to Carly about Pilates, or arrange a session, you can contact her on 07739 005874 or visit www.carlyday.co.uk.

Treating neck ache and tension headaches

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the same experience keeps repeating, as if the universe wants you to take notice of something? Several times in the past couple of weeks I've treated clients with tightness in their necks that transfers into the scalp and causes headaches. This has prompted me to explain a bit about why this happens, and a simple technique you can use when it does.

Here's "the science bit"

At the back of your skull there's a ridge of bone called the occipital ridge. You can feel it by putting your finger on the back of your head and running it downwards until you feel it dip onto softer tissue. The ridge is most obvious just to the side of the central line, but runs across from ear to ear, just above the hairline.


This ridge is an area for muscle attachment. Muscles from the neck, and even the shoulder, run up and attach to it, and a band of muscle and connective tissue runs from here, over the top of the head, to the forehead. Any tension in the neck and upper back, whether from computer work, holding stress in the shoulders, an injury, or anything else, is therefore transmitted to the occipital area. From here it can pull on the tissue over the head all the way to the forehead. This is why a tight neck can cause tension headaches.


It is also why, during massage, we work on the soft tissue at the occipital ridge. This is true of Deep Tissue Massage, Indian Head Massage, Thai Massage; there's even an occipital move in Pulsing.


By manipulating the tissue, we can often release contraction in the neck and shoulder muscles, and in the scalp. This can ease any pain and discomfort.


You can also do this yourself, if your neck is tight or you feel a headache coming on.

• Put your index and middle fingers together, and place the tips at the back of your head, on the occipital ridge, pointing inwards.
• If you have long hair, it's easier to work from under your hair, and with it loose - tying hair up tightly can also contribute to headaches.
• Make a few small circles with your finger tips, then move them outwards a bit, still on the ridge, and repeat.
• Resist the temptation to press hard - just firm enough to move the skin, rather than just the hair, is fine.
• Continue until you get to the corner of the ridge under the ear; you can then make circles back towards the centre, or slide your fingers back and work outwards again.
• You can also do one side at a time if it's more comfortable, but try not to twist your head too much.

Of course, if you have an underlying issue elsewhere that's causing the problem, this technique won't address that. However, easing the tightness in the occipital area may relieve the discomfort until you're able to take more permanent steps, whether that's taking more frequent breaks from the computer, or getting a massage to release tension in the muscles throughout the neck, shoulders and upper back.


There's more about Lucinda's massage at www.lucindacracknell.co.uk