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 Minute Massage
for Colds and Congestion
Nothing's worse than a cold in the winter. Whether from the office or school, congestion and
achiness combined with tiredness can be depressing - especially with the many commitments and expectations
of the season. I'd like to show you some acupressure and simple lymphatic moves you can use to relieve the
symptoms of colds. Try using a combination of these points and techniques for 5 minutes every few hours
while your cold is at its peak.
- Draining the Ducts: Place your hands at the junction of the front of your neck and your
collarbone. Your fingers will fall into a small hollow on either side of the front of your neck. Use your
fingers to lightly press down toward your chest at a rate of about 1 push per second. Imagine that you are
lightly pulling fluid just beneath the surface of the skin toward the heart. This lymphatic drainage move
stimulates flow of lymphatic fluid and can pull the fluid down out of the head to relieve sinus pressure.
- Press on your Eyebrows: A good acupressure point to induce drainage of sinuses near the
eyes is located at the inner corner of each eyebrow. Put your fingers on the corners of your eyebrows in
the upper ridge of the eye socket. Press in toward the bridge of your nose, and let your head relax into
your hands to increase the pressure. This point relieves colds, sinus congestion and frontal headaches.
- Press under the Cheekbones: Put your middle fingers under your cheekbones in line with
the pupil of the eye. Feel for a small notch and press up into it. Place your index fingers next to your
middle fingers at the side of the nose near the outside corner of each nostril. Press upwards with your
fingers into your cheekbones. This will release the sinus areas beneath the eyes and next to the nose.
These points relieve head congestion, stuffy nose, eye pressure, nasal congestion and sinus pain.
- Press at the base of the skull: Just below the base of the skull, there are hollow
areas on both sides of the back of the neck. They feel as if they are sitting on a corner of the skull
about 2-3 inches apart. Put your fingers in the hollows and press upwards into the base of the skull.
This point relieves headaches, congestion and neck pain.
- Press at the center of the base of the skull: Just below the base of the skull, at the exact
middle of the neck, where the cervical spine dead ends into the base of the skull, press in toward the
brain. This point relieves head congestion, mental stress, headaches and neck stiffness.
- Press in at the upper corner of the breastbone: Just beneath the collarbone, there is a hollow
that sits next to the breastbone. Press in toward the chest on either side of the breastbone at that
junction with the collarbone. This point relieves chest congestion, breathing problems, sore throats and
coughing.
Remember to cancel your massage session if you have a fever. It's also a good idea to see your
physician when the cold comes and lingers - before it turns into something serious.
 Rates & Hours
45 min - $50
60 min - $60
90 min - $85
Tuesday: 9 pm to 5 pm
Wednesday: 1 pm to 9 pm
Thursday: 9 am to 5 pm
Friday: 1 pm to 9 pm
Saturday: 9 am to 5 pm
*by appointment only (Call 615.294-6672)  Gift Ideas
Massage gift certificates let us indulge ourselves and others. Remember the "Buy 5, get 1 free/Buy
10, get 2 free" special through Christmas.
Other gift ideas:
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
- Hannukah
- New Years
- Birthday
- Anniversary
- Housewarming
- Wedding
- Baby or wedding shower
- New baby
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| November 10, 2003 |
| Editor's Note |
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Happy November! With the colder weather, I'm thinking of hot cocoa, hot tea, and hot
wassail - anything to warm up my fingers. I've also just finished a revamping of my website. Although the
look and feel remains the same, I've added a few pages on additional services, and one dedicated to
self-massage.
During the holiday season, I am running a special on gift certificates. Buy 5 massage gift
certificates for others, and get one free for yourself. Buy 10 and you'll get 2 free sessions (You'll save
between $10 to $14 per session). Individual gift certificates can be purchased at the normal rate (60
min-$60 and 90 min-$85).
This newsletter includes an article on the benefits of massage in the workplace - which I am now
offering - as well as a description of Rolfing. Also in anticipation of the winter season, I cover
self-massage for colds.
Happy Holidays! -- Heather Wibbels (615.294-6672)
P.S. Consider on-site massage for company holiday parties or end of the year business retreats.
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| Additional Massage Services Offered |
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With the changes to my website, I've also added some services including corporate/on-site massage, retreat massage, special event massage, and massage for couples. See the story in this
newsletter for more information on the benefits of massage to employee wellness and productivity. Massage
at retreats can mark the transition of the start of the retreat - defining that special space that makes
retreats so effective. Whether for your business retreat, a holiday party or a religious retreat, massage
makes a great addition!
In addition, I'm offering massage at special events, like weddings. Weddings can be stressful for everyone
involved, and offering short sessions to the wedding party, or to the bride and groom, can ease some of the
tension associated with the big event. It's a great gift from the bride and groom to their parents or
the wedding party.
Several clients have asked about massage classes for couples. For the cost of a normal session, I can
demonstrate simple massage techniques to use on your significant other. I will also put together list of
simple moves (customized based on what he/she enjoys most in sessions) for you to take with you.
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Massage in the Workplace:
How to Talk your Company into
Bringing a Massage Therapist On-site
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Deadlines looming, stress building and pressure increasing. How would you like to
take a 10 minute break during the day to de-stress and de-compress with a massage? The benefits of massage
extend into the workplace - and help both the employee and the company. It turns out your boss might like
you to get that massage.
Statistics show that 80% of all illness is stress-related. Stress affects businesses on a daily basis with
loss of productivity, employee engagement, and lower morale. Although hard to measure, these all affect
the bottom line at every company in ways that every manager has experienced.
Individuals working at computers or on the phone for long periods of time often experience severe upper
back and neck tension. This tension can lead to stiffness, reduced range of motion, pain, discomfort and
headaches. Many people working in office situations find these complaints exacerbated during periods of
high stress - causing a distraction from the goals at hand while dealing with discomfort and pain. On-site
massage can reduce the tension in the upper back and neck, enabling employees to refocus on the tasks at
hand. It also recharges individuals - some times, we go entire days without taking any breaks. Taking
10-20 minutes to step away from the desk and get on a massage table or chair can assist individuals in
renewing their focus and in their ability to concentrate on their daily tasks.
Research conducted at the University of Miami School of Medicine found that 15 minute massage therapy
sessions given during the workday resulted in increased relaxation and alertness, increased speed and
accuracy on computational tasks, lower anxiety levels, and lower job stress when compared to a control
group (See "Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Pattern of Alertness and Math Computations" in
International Journal of Neuroscience 1996 Sep; 86(3-4): 197-205). Additional studies of massage in the
workplace show that massage reduces job stress, reduces muscular tension related to job performance, and
improves cognitive abilities.
Many massage therapists offer on-site massage or chair massage as a way for companies to take advantage of
the benefits of massage. Whether using on-site massage as a regular benefit offered to employees or
bringing in a massage therapist for a special event like a holiday party or business retreat, the positive
effects of massage therapy on the individuals remains the same. Heather Wibbels offers on-site table
massage where employees lie on a massage table while clothed for work to their back and hands/arms.
Sessions can range from 10 minutes to 20 minutes. If you're interested in massage at the workplace, call
Heather Wibbels at 615.294-6672 or talk to your massage therapist. Often, a quick introduction of the
benefits of on-site massage to the owner or human resources department of a company can open the door to
regular visits by a massage therapist to benefit both you and your company. Your co-workers will love you
for it.
For more information on the study on workplace massage see:
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More on Massage: Rolfing and Structural Integration:
How fascia affects the structure of the body
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Dr. Ida Rolf developed a method of massage commonly known as Structural Integration,
but her specific technique has been called Rolfing. She theorized that correct vertical alignment of the
body eases movement, and creates a more efficient and structurally integrated body. Throughout our lives,
as we learn to crawl, walk, work and play, we internalize those actions - whether or not the actions are
healthy for the body. Continual repetition of the same action "locks" the muscles into performing the
actions the same way each time. Movement compensation for injury or trauma becomes muscle memory as the
body continues to use those patterns of movement - even after the injury heals. Dr. Rolf suggested that
by aligning the body as a full, vertical structure, we let gravity do the work of keeping our bodies in
alignment and healthy, and we use our body in the ways evolution intended.
Rolfing works by manipulating the connective tissue which becomes shortened and constricted over time and
through injury to the body. Imagine a sheet of plastic wrap around your muscles, organs and bones which
holds everything in place. This connective tissue is called fascia and is the focus of the work of
structural integration. Rolfers use finger or elbow pressure to loosen the fascia and allow the body to
move back into its natural state.
Rolfing is done in a series of weekly sessions for 10 weeks (called a ten series). After an initial
assessment of the structure of the body, the practitioner begins to work on segments of the body and starts
to align the segments with one another. Each session builds on the progress of the earlier session and
works with the overall goal of realigning the body's structures. After the initial ten series, Rolfers
usually suggest regular follow-up sessions to correct any problems that arose since the end of the ten
series.
Although Dr. Rolf called her type of massage Structural Integration, her students formalized her modality
of massage as Rolfing. This means that anyone advertising as a Rolfer has been certified through a
rigorous and complex training process. Other types of massage that are based on or build from her work are
generally called Structural Integration.
For more information on Rolfing:
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