What I learned from watching clients heal. will post update soon

   With each client who comes to me for massage, I take time to tell them there are a few simple self-care steps that can make your body a lot more relaxed and pliable – and make you a lot happier, especially at times of stress and injury.

·        A daily anti-inflammatory, such as a teaspoon of turmeric in your daily nutritional smoothie will work wonders for sore muscles and joints. We’re all used to ibuprofen, but turmeric is natural and doesn’t damage your liver, like over-the-counter meds.  In the long term, such meds can make things worse.  You’ve heard of “old lady hands?” With this, you won’t get them.

·        Cod liver or other omega fish oils. Yes, they can be yucky, so I recommend going with the orange-flavored variety. Again, a smoothie is a good delivery system for this. Put in a tablespoon a day. It’s an antioxidant and has a range of health benefits. Clients who take cod liver oil have the most release from trigger points and their problem areas clear out easier if they’re lubricated with healthy oils.

·        Ginger tea.  The preparation and drinking of tea daily is a nice, soothing ritual, so why not make it ginger, which cleanses muscles and flushes tissue of inflammatory toxins that come from eating a too acid diet, plus it has a lively, sprightly taste.

·        Oil pulling with sesame oil. Swish a tablespoon around in your mouth for 20 minutes, sucking in through your teeth. It’s a simple ayurvedic process that relieves the entire upper neck by the fifth day of doing it. Clients tell me their joints and muscles become much looser.

·        A diet of 75% organic produce(mostly vegetables). I’ve seen it help clients get a lot better and I’ve seen real change in my body – more mobile, healthier tissues.

·        A relaxing tea, daily, something good for stress, like Tension Tamer made by Celestial Seasonings, with B vitamins and blended herbs. This will head off that feeling of being frazzled and not being able to slow down and get back in neutral.  Passionfruit-mango by Stash Teas is also good – or find a good local tea with similar ingredients.

 ·        Cut back on wheat. Eat more potatoes and rice to open up the tissues. Wheat and too many grains make you acidic and stiff. Potatoes and rice are neutral. Potatoes and vegetables are easy to digest and they provide the carbs you need. Yeast-free sourdough bread is good, the best I’ve found, much better for your body.

   What we’re trying to do with all this is flush toxins out of the body’s pipes – the log jams or traffic jams that create pain and stiffness. It’s not age that causes aches and pains, it’s the accumulation of toxins.

   If you notice old injuries acting up, it’s the body storing toxins in old injured sites and it’s telling you that you need to do a cleanse.

   Beka Chandler is a masseuse with 17 years experience, living and practicing in Ashland, Oregon. She works in deep tissue massage, Alaska Energy Healing, cranial-sacral, stress reduction, sports injuries, migraines and chronic pain. She works in the offices of a chiropractor and acupuncturist and, when needed, can refer to doctors. Beka is at 541-778-0015 and www.bekachandler.com.