I have a confession to make. I haven’t always been good at getting a massage. I don’t mean booking a massage and putting it on my calendar — this is not a post about scheduling (though that is also important). This is a post about what to do when you get through the door, because it doesn’t always come naturally.…
Muscle Spotlight: Quadratus Lumborum
What is the Quadratus Lumborum? A) The muscle that connects the hip to the ribs, earning it the nickname “hip hiker” B) A deep muscle of the lower back and frequent culprit in back and hip pain C) Part of the posterior wall of the abdominal cavity D) A boring old square (quadratus lumBORum) Did you think it was all…
Songs to Soothe You
I’ve got music on my mind today. There’s a music only yoga class at Sacred on Sunday evenings, instruction at a minimum. It’s a standard Bikram-style sequence, so it works for anyone who’s taken a similar class before, and it is beautiful, a room full of people breathing together and moving silently and in sequence, adjustments to poses coming from…
Running Piglet
The other day, I mentioned my terrific acupuncturist, how one of the things that I like about her is that she talks through treatment strategies with me. Acupuncture is based on the same philosophy as shiatsu, so there is some overlap in our knowledge. I understand where the primary meridians are, and I know what it means when she says…
When NOT to Get a Massage
Today, I bring you an important message: getting a massage isn’t always a good idea. As much as I love massage therapy and enjoy extolling its benefits, it’s not actually the answer to all the world’s ills or to all of your bodily ailments. When you are sick, sometimes it’s better for you to stay home. It might seem like…
Finding Your Match
I love acupuncture, and I’m lucky to have a great acupuncturist. She first treated me in the clinic when I was in massage school and she was finishing up her acupuncture studies, and somehow she just “got” me. When she graduated, we lost touch. I’d seen other acupuncturists before, and I saw some after Sue graduated and moved on, students…
Spontaneous Adjustments May Occur
We massage therapists are not allowed to do spinal manipulations, and rightly so! We are not chiropractors or osteopaths, and even though we get to know the spine pretty well in our training, we don’t get into it the way these doctors do. Occasionally, a client will ask for a little back cracking, and I always explain this and politely…
Self-Massage for Achy Sinuses
It’s cold season. Here in New York, it feels like it’s cold season much of the year, whether it’s appropriately chilly out or not. The common cold comes in many forms, from many strains, with a variety of symptoms. Today, I want to talk about the sinus headache. You know the one: the stuffy nose, the ache in the front…
My Valentine’s Wish for You
I have always loved Valentine’s Day. Even when I was a teenager who’d never been on a date, pretending to be surly in my steel-toed boots. A friend brought me flowers, shiny-eyed and unabashed, and taught me how lucky I was, deeply loved despite my single status. Another friend told me the other day that, instead of Valentine’s Day celebrations,…
The Places Where You’re Strong
One of the many things that my friend and teacher Dara (studio owner and yogi extraordinaire) is great at is talking about strength and flexibility. “Most of us are naturally more strong or more flexible,” she says, and reminds us to go with what we’ve got, to inch towards flexibility if we’re naturally more strong, to focus on building strength when more…
Bodywork Brooklyn 