Hands On Health

by Lee Stanford RN, LMBT #8020

Golden Rule #1 - Drink ample fluid

Golden Rule #2 Avoid alcohol, sugar and tobacco

You can create a 5 star health retreat for your innards by making the right choices in your intake before a massage.
These very basic suggestions may be great guidelines for daily life, but it is especially helpful the day before and the day of receiving bodywork of any kind. One physical effect massage has on the body is that it gently compresses the muscles,organs, bones, blood and lymphatic vessels, fat (adipose tissue) and other soft tissue that make up your insides and everything all the way to the surface of the skin. As this repeated compression and release of the tissues occurs, your body-parts, down to the cellular level, are being bathed in fresh blood and lymphatic fluid which carries fresh nutrients and fluids to every cell, and carries away wastes. Naturally you want the best ingredients to get infused into your tissues for maximum healing and tissue recovery, which is in your power.

Drink ample fluids. Take the fluids steadily through the waking hours, rather than realizing you haven’t had any fluids for the last 4 hours and try to make up for it by glugging a jug of water down in 5 minutes flat. 2 Liters per day is a general safe guideline for healthy individuals. There is no simple formula for calculating how much fluids will flush your system. Your best bet is to judge by the color of your urine; the goal being pale yellow to clear, which indicates that you are properly hydrated.
Purified water, organic vegetables, homemade organic soup, herbal teas are all fantastic choices and will ensure the best absorption into your entire system. Imagine that what you take into your body is the foundation of your massage treatment and deeper, more prolonged benefits from receiving massage will be your immediate reward.

Avoid alcohol, sugar, and tobacco is advised, “because they ‘re bad for you!” Well, Mom may be right, but consider the theory that these items are acid-forming inside our body which means they create a change in your bodies pH. A litany of research is supporting the concept that many illnesses and degenerative conditions thrive in an acidic environment. Some examples are cancer, diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout, and systemic yeast Infections to mention only a few.
Yes, you guessed correctly, alcohol, sugar, and tobacco are some of the most extreme factors in producing an acidic environment inside your body. This does not directly correlate to foods that are acidic such as an orange, but to foods that are acid-forming inside your body. This concept can be complicated, and requires some patient reading to get the basics clear. If you are interested in pursuing the subject in depth, I have a link at the bottom of the page under “Fantastic Links”.
I try to seek out sites which are fascinating, helpful and evidence based. (I’m kind of a geek about stuff like this.)

I would like to acknowledge that there is some debate regarding whether what you eat can effect your pH systemically, or in your blood and tissues. While the scientific data continues to be tallied, it is safe to follow what respected authorities in Eastern and Western medical communities regard as good, common sense nutrition for optimal health.
“Let your food be your medicine, and medicine be your food” -Hippocrates, nicknamed the Father of Western medicine.

You can give your massage a luxury spa upgrade by following these simple guidelines at home before, and after receiving massage/bodywork
and beyond!

To schedule a massage with Lee Stanford RN, LMBT call 828-505-2899
Hands On Health Massage Therapy Center
830 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
or make an appointment online at
www.hohasheville.com

Fantastic links

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=63
www.whfoods.org
www.mayoclinic.com

By Christina King L.Ac.

Chinese medicine traditionally believes that the human body is a microcosm of the external environment. As the seasons change, our habits and lifestyle should also change. A balanced state of health comes from respecting and observing the seasonal changes of the year by adjusting our lifestyle accordingly. In Chinese medicine, winter is viewed as a time for renewal. It is a time for our energy to go into storage and for our bodies to rejuvenate, in preparation for the activity of the coming spring.

So what does this mean, practically speaking? How do we ‘put ourselves into storage’? First off, get plenty of rest. Winter is the time to save our energy. This is reflected in the natural world: it gets light later in the morning and dark earlier in the evening. This is nature’s way of telling you to get more sleep! Especially if you are feeling run down or extra busy, make an extra effort to get to bed a little earlier. Even an extra 15-30 minutes of sleep a night will help you to feel better and be more alert throughout your day. Being well rested also has the benefit of helping to keep your immune system functioning optimally, which is important during cold and flu season.

Secondly, make sure you are dressed appropriately for the weather. Your grandmother was right! You should never go outside without wearing the appropriate layers to protect yourself from the colder weather. Chinese medicine believes that at the back of the neck, that the body is particularly vulnerable to wind and cold weather. Wearing a scarf is an easy way of keeping your neck protected and of keeping the rest of your body warm.

It is also important to eat food that is appropriate for the season. In the winter, we want to be warm, so the foods that we eat should also be warm. Winter is a perfect time to enjoy soups, stews, and other hearty meals. Leave the salads for the summer time. In the winter, cooking fruits and vegetables is the way to go. In Chinese thought, the spleen and stomach, the key organs of digestion, are responsible for transforming the food we eat into energy. It makes it a lot easier on the spleen, especially in the winter, if the food we eat is already warm. This makes the transformation of food into energy easier and ensures your body is able to generate the energy it needs.

If you do find yourself feeling ‘off’ or under the weather, it would be advisable to consider an acupuncture treatment to get you back on track. Acupuncture can regulate the way that energy flows in the body, bringing you back to a greater state of health and wellness. Acupuncture can treat a variety of conditions, from musculoskeletal pain to digestive troubles. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 828-505-2899.

What is Thai Massage? By Lee Stanford, RN, LMBT

Many are intimidated by this exotic name, but it is one of the most down-to-earth types of bodywork I have ever experienced.  It is performed on a mat on the floor while you remain clothed, preferably loose fitting clothes like what you would wear to the gym or yoga class.  The treatment includes rhythmic compressions (like kneading dough), along energetic lines and acupoints (pressure points) referred to as Sen lines, and passive yoga stretches.  It is referred to as Thai Yoga Bodywork for these reasons.  It does a wonderful job of releasing tight muscles and achieving overall relaxation but also opens up the joint capsules and helps return adequate blood flow deep into the joints and tendons.  The most frequent descriptions immediately following a treatment is feeling deep relaxation, improved body alignment, and feeling fully energized, instead of groggy or sleepy. 

Does Thai Massage hurt? 

The massage works deeply, but there is no health benefit from causing you to cringe in pain during a treatment, in fact we will be trying to release knotted muscle fibers, not cause them to shrink up to protect against an attack.  The compressions begin gently, then gradually work deeper and slower to release the bound up tissues that are causing discomfort, thereby thwarting chronic pain and dysfunction.  The passive stretches are tailored to your individual range of motion and comfort and stops just before we cross that pain threshold.  The usual immediate reaction during a stretch is “AAhhhhhh yes!”

Thai Massage is Natural Preventive Medicine!

In Thailand, children would do “Thai massage” for their parents who performed hard labor just so they could get up and go to work the next day without injury.  Thai Yoga Bodywork can prevent injury from developing due to overuse and repetitive actions of muscles.  This Bodywork is actually a branch of medicine in Thailand that is estimated to be more than 2,500 years old and migrated to Thailand.  I recommend a fascinating article that describes it beautifully in Massage & Bodywork Magazineby Perry Garfinkel entitled, “Thailand Reclaims Its Ancient Medicinal Roots”.

Thai massage can be enjoyed by absolutely everyone including children and seniors.  It is ideal therapeutic work for athletes to improve their muscle recovery after events and while training, to improve alignment, endurance, and flexibility.

If life is your sport than Thai Yoga Bodywork can aid in meeting every challenge.

If you live, or are visiting Asheville, then sign up for a Thai Massage at

Hands On Health Massage Therapy Center. 

You may sign up online, or

call us 7 days a week at (828) 505-2899.

830 Hendersonville Rd.

Asheville, NC 28803

*Mention that you read about it here and recieve 10% off your first treatment!

One of the more common issues I have found people coming  to Massage Therapists for is Plantar Fasciitis. It is a pretty good indicator that this is the problem if there is pain along the bottom (plantar) surface of the foot, especially at the heel when they are putting weight on the foot. The pain subsides when weight is lifted off and is resting. Typical causes of Plantar Fasciitis involve walking, running, things that put repeated stress on the fascia. Also, having high arches predisposes people to this condition.

Massage Therapy is GREAT for relieving the symptoms while rest is the best cure. Ice Therapycan be used in conjunction with massage to relieve symptoms as well. In the acute stage, ice applications and keeping weight off of the foot are important to reduce inflammation and avoid reinjuring the fascia. Once the inflammation has decreased, cross-fiber friction of the plantar surface of the heel can help reduce the possibility of adhesion formation. As long as it causes no significant pain and the acute inflammation is resolved, passive movement of the foot will have a similar effect and can help increase range of motion. If there is any swelling of the ankle and leg due to inactivity, deep effleurage and lymphatic massage techniques can be used to move the collected fluids away from the foot. Any muscular spasms and myofascial trigger pointswill benefit from deep effleurage, petrissage and static compression in the muscles. These may especially be found in the tibialis anterior and posterior and peroneus longus muscles, all of which insert onto the plantar surface of the foot. Movement therapy, especially passive stretching and isometric exercise, can help these muscles retain their normal tone during the period of rest required in the treatment of plantar faciitis.

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Thriving as a massage therapist in Asheville, NC takes time, dedication and patience.  My first week here, I remember being told “You can’t swing a cat without hitting a massage therapist in asheville“!  Of course, my first thought was, “Who says that???”  Then I got excited, because I realized it really was kinda true, and that meant a few things… One, there must be people who wanted massage.  Two, even if there are a lot of massage therapists, the cream will always rise to the top.  Three, I wanted to work with the cream, and there most definitely are talented therapists in Asheville; and now many of them work at Hands on Health.  So if you are new to Asheville massage or Hands on Health, welcome.  Among our team you can rest assured you will find the care you need,  Be Well!

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