Massage School Learning Experience

By Roblynn Neumann

At the end of our first day of massage school, we all circled up to share our feelings. I got teary eyed and said, "I miss my kids and cannot wait to go home and see them."

The months, weeks and days leading up to this experience had been very stressful for me. I had been a stay-at-home mom for the past fifteen years, with six children ranging in age from two to fifteen. I was embarking on my second career. My husband could not understand my stress and concerns. His constant reassurances that everything would be fine at home for the next five months, and that it was no big deal to undress in front of complete strangers, did not help.

As the first day of school got closer, I was so stressed that I broke out with a huge fever blister, right smack dab in the middle of my bottom lip. It hung around for the first two months of school!

It was amazing for me to realize how many of my ideas about education could be traced back to my elementary school teachers. I was actually remembering educational experiences from over twenty years ago; which fed right into my stress, of course.

Another stress was the unknowns of massage school in general. Would I be the old lady in a class full of young people? Would there be guys I would have to work with?

Did my brain even still function? All of these and many more doubts went through my mind.

The first day of school erased about half of these worries. There were eleven students in my class; all but three attending for the purpose of a second career, like myself. They all seemed harmless enough, including the three guys. What a relief!

Thus we embarked on our five month journey together. I have seen and heard about classes were everyone became instant friends forever. We were all pretty much to busy in our own lives for that to happen.

Massage school definitely has a way of showing you yourself, up close and personal. I had always considered myself to be laid back, nice. This unraveled with the first learning experience; which was just a nice name for a test. It is supposed to help mentally to call it something else. At that point I found out that I was very competitive, and even almost mean about it. Wow! Insight number one.

Another eye opener came a few weeks into school when we were having a communications class. I usually skipped these. In this particular situation we were to partner up with another student, and tell how we felt about each other. My partner told me that when we had begun school she did not like me, but she was beginning to! That hit pretty hard, obviously, since I still remember it.

Number three came in our daily circle when we were given time to share how clinics were going, and how we felt about the work we were doing outside of class. I was so excited to share about my work with the university cross-country team. When the teacher called my name, another student remarked, "What are you going to brag about today?" Boom! Insight number three.

I am glad to say these three and many other experiences did encourage introspection and change, but that did not make them any easier to take at the time. The biggest lesson learned was to be careful about the words coming out of my mouth. This has served me well in my business and my life. This lesson, still with my twelve years later, is the same, with this addition: be kind.

On the last day of massage school we all circled up to share our feelings for the last time. When my turn came I said, "I'm glad this is over, and I can't wait to go home to my children."
Everyone chuckled, but all agreed.

Roblynn Neumann is Co Director and owner of Costa Rica School of Integrative, a study abroad massage school located in Heredia Costa Rica. You can contact her at info@crmassageschool.com She has owned and run a private massage practice for 12 years, and taught for 3 years.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roblynn_Neumann

Natural Beauty Treatments - Banish Stress With Herbal Massage

By Lena Morgan

Stress is one of the great hidden enemies of your face and skin. It helps to etch the lines and furrows on your face that are the marks of age. And it robs your skin of its glow and softness.
Clearly any natural beauty treatment must include a system that brings you total relaxation.
There are many ways to relax but few have the elegant simplicity of a herbal massage. Here's
the lowdown.

First, let's look at the ways in which stress affects your skin. For one thing, stress depresses your immune system through increasing cortisone secretion. That means free radicals have more chance to wreak havoc on your skin.

What's worse, stress is a response to a perceived or imagined danger. So it causes the blood to be diverted to those organs vital for survival. This leads to a reduction in the amount of blood available for the skin, which is the body's largest organ. So your skin is deprived of the oxygen and nutrients it needs for optimal health.

Stress affects your digestion, too. You must know that knot in your stomach when you're under pressure. Plus your meals become irregular and you tend to east faster when you're stressed.
And if your food isn't digested properly, you don't get the full nutritious value. In addition, your system can get blocked with impurities. And under stress, you tend towards fast food, and consume more coffee and sugar, perhaps alcohol and cigarettes. None of these are kind on your skin.

Stress can also deprive you of the time to relax and exercise. And at night you sleep badly and don't get the rest you need.

So how can herbal compresses handle this litany of stressful horrors?

Herbal massage serves up a double whammy of stress reduction and super skin care at the same time. Here's how it works.

Massage itself is great for stress relief. Studies have shown that massage show lowers the heart rate and blood pressure, boosts blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes your muscles, and stimulates the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel good chemicals.

But by using a herbal compress for the massage, you get the added benefits of herbs. These compresses are bags of herbs which are steamed and then applied to the body's various pressure points.

What's more, you can choose the mix of herbs in the compress to suit your purpose. For example, aromatic herbs such as lemongrass are great mood lifters, fragrant flowers work to relieve stress, while sour herbs tone up the skin. You can also dip the compress in oil for a moisturizing effect. The possibilities are endless.

So look into adding a herbal compress to your natural beauty treatment regimen. They're easy to prepare and a delightful experience, too.

Herbal massage is one of the ancient natural beauty treatments of Siam. Discover the secret and makeover your life naturally. Only at http://www.ampawan.com

How Can A Massage Chair Benefit Me?

By Michael Russell

At fancy gadget stores, you’ll often find at least one massage chair waiting for you to test. Moms, kids, or just about anyone will take advantage of a free massage. For some, the new massage chairs even look like Darth Vader’s bathtub. But are they buying the chair? Why would anyone want to buy a massage chair when you can go to a masseuse and get a quality massage. There are some compelling reasons why one would get a massage chair.

Massage chairs allow you to relax in your own home without any distractions. The main advantage of this would be the privacy provided with a massage chair. Sometimes individuals do not feel comfortable going to a masseuse or do not want to take off clothes to a stranger. By having the chair in one’s home, a person anxious about public massages would be able to feel more relaxed and comfortable.

Massage chairs are pricey. They could cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to even over ten thousand dollars. Ostensibly, the cost is steep. But the cost is a one-time cost. Think about the cost of a masseuse in a nice spa or massage organization. Each individual massage could run you around $100. If you were to have a massage 15 times a year, you’ll be spending $1,500 a year. A nice massage chair could pay for itself in a few years. As long as the model is a good quality chair, you can expect the chair to be available for many years.

You can also benefit by not worrying about making appointments to the masseuse. If all of the sudden you feel that your muscles are tightening or feel physically stressed, the massage chair is there for immediate use. The massage chair doesn’t make you wait. In fact, you’ll find that a lot of spas are booked on prime times. There could be some considerable work finding the right time to balance with your active lifestyle.

Not all masseuses offer clients more than one style, such as Swedish or Shiatsu. In a lot cases, the masseuse is a specialist in one or a very few styles. Today’s massage chairs provide more than one style. Since the massage chair rollers can mimic almost any hand pattern, it can give you more than one type of massage style. Importantly, this is all dependent of the type of chair.
But as more of these instruments become advanced, the chairs will offer limitless options.

Physical benefits of massage chairs can match massages from a real person. You can benefit from back and neck relief, muscle loosening, better blood flow, fewer muscle spasms, improved back posture and much more.

It also allows you to customize certain motions and patterns for a unique massage experience. You may not be able to do that with a massage therapist. Moreover, if you go to a spa, you may not get the same masseuse that provides the massage that you like. At least with a massage chair, you can count on getting the same type of massage that you enjoy.

Massage chairs are a great way for individuals to enjoy massage with privacy, customization and greater flexibility. The chairs will allow you to benefit in many ways including a better physical body and lifestyle.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Massage Chair