Welcome to 2006!

Instead of resolutions at the start of a new year, my husband and I make predictions for ourselves, friends and family for the coming year. Last year, we got 33% of them right. OK, that’s not so great, but it’s hard to predict that you’ll win powerball in any given year.

For Valentine’s Day, I’m offering a gift certificate package with Reflections, an auto detailing company. How about giving your spouse or partner a massage AND an auto detail? They can get a massage while their car is cleaned and detailed outside!

This month I’m covering massage as part of those self-care resolutions we make at the beginning of the year. Take some time to think about how massage can help you keep your resolutions and get 2006 off to a good start!

- heather wibbels (615.294-6672)

At the beginning of the new year, it’s traditional to set a few resolutions for yourself: new habits to make, old habits to break. Resolutions may be to exercise more, eat better and to take better care of themselves. Massage can be an integral part of any resolution to take better care of your body and your mind.

Massage and Exercise
When you start a new exercise regimen, it’s normal to have some soreness as you use muscles that haven’t had a good workout in a while. Aches the day after you exercise that occur in places you focused on are to be expected. However, sharp pain with movement (rather than a dull achy feeling or general soreness) often indicates an injury. Use massage as a means to work on injured areas to increase blood flow and help the muscles and tendons stay flexible as they heal. Massage can also shorten the recovery time between workouts. Because massage moves by-products of muscle contraction out of the muscle and into the bloodstream, it directly effects the amount of soreness you’ll experience the day or two after a workout. Mention any changes to your workout to your massage therapist and ask him/her to include some stretches in the session.

Be sure that you take enough time to recover after an injury. Don’t push the muscle too hard too fast once you’re feeling better. Ease back in to your workout slowly so that you can avoid irritating or re-injuring the muscles. Remember it’s important to stretch after exercising as well as before. Before a session, stretching increases blood flow to the muscles. After a workout, stretching is even more important because it keeps the muscles from staying contracted and tightening. If you workout and fail to stretch afterward, you will often find you’ll hurt more the next day. Remember that you don’t want to exercise for at least 24 hours after a massage. That gives the muscles time to adjust and incorporate increased flexibility into your muscle movements.

Massage and Mental Health
One of the primary benefits of massage is its ability to relax the body and the mind. Oftentimes, the start of the year brings on lots of stress from changes to your schedule, the cost of the holidays, preparing for tax season, and kids starting back to school. Many times headaches occur from stress patterns due to contraction of the neck and shoulders as stress increases. For many people, stress causes the shoulders to creep up toward the ears or the base of the neck to contract tight to the spinal column. Tension headaches are often due to muscle contraction in these areas.

Stress not only tenses muscles, it also depresses the immune system and lowers emotional moods. Massage works on mental health through relaxation of the body. A massage office is a calming place with soft, relaxing music, a comfortable table and comforting hands to loosen the tension stored in the body. Relaxing the muscles reduces the amount of tension in the entire body and relaxes the mind. When you are on the table, it is all about you – the massage therapist focuses on your needs, your problem areas, and creating a calm environment for you to unwind. Take full advantage of the time and turn off cell phones and pagers so you can let your guard down and relax the mind.

Remember that no matter how good the massage therapist is, or how much you need to be completely relaxed, there are simply times when the mind can’t slow down. Don’t leave the massage feeling discouraged. Remind yourself that you had an hour or ninety minutes of quiet time where no one was calling you or asking you to focus on anything other than yourself. Sometimes under periods of stress, just having that hour to rest helps. Besides, the next time you get a massage you’ll probably just melt on the table.

Give a Massage AND a Car Wash for Valentine's Day

Gift Certificate Packages

This January and February, I’m partnering with an auto detailing business called Reflections. We’re offering packages that combine a massage with detail service – you can decide to schedule both at the same time, and get a massage while you get your car washed and detailed, or you can get them at different times, and have the detailing service come to your house or workplace.

Marcia and Ezra Gipson own Reflections, a professional business focused on customer service and excellent detailing. I can’t think of anyone I’d trust more to work with my clients. We’re offering a massage and one of the two detailing options at a discount to clients who purchase both services:

• Basic Wash: Service includes wash by hand, tires dressed, windows cleaned, interior vacuum, center console and dashboard cleaned/conditioned and air freshener. Starts at $25 for most cars.
  
• Impact Detail: Thorough interior and exterior cleaning, including all services in Basic Wash. Also includes your choice of floor mat shampoo or express wax. Starts at $50 for most cars.

Price List:

• One hour massage with Basic Wash: Starts at $80
• One hour massage with Impact Detail Service: Starts at $105
• Ninety minute massage with Basic Service: Starts at $105
• Ninety minute massage with Impact Detail Service: Starts at $130

Please note that the price is based on the type of car getting serviced. SUVs, trucks, vans, etc will cost a bit more because of the size of the vehicle.

Call 615.335-5826 or email Reflections to purchase a package. You’ll get two gift certificates, one for the massage and one for the detailing. The receiver can schedule them as she or he would like.

If you’d like just a massage gift certificate (available at regular rates: $65 for 60 min, $90 for 90 min), call Heather Wibbels at 294-6672, or email heather@massagebyheather.com or purchase online at http://www.massagebyheather.com.

If you’d like to purchase just a detail service, call Marcia Gipson at Reflections at 335-5286 or email info@reflectionsaac.com