Treat each moment separately. Never know....
"Dear Tina -
Just wanted you to know you are a beautiful, funny and smart woman who does NOT deserve any portion of the shit steak being served to you right now. You DESERVE to be loved and appreciated by many. Don't forget this. I know you feel hurt and betrayed by the ass-holic acts of "others". May you find a little humor in this. Ever need to talk, call me. (I never sleep anyway. lol.) HUGS!!! Love, Stace, "
Never got to give this to her.....When we last spoke face to face, she seemed more angry than anything, but understandably hurt. This link reminded me of her, and thought it might help get her to smile that big, beautiful smile.
May somebody find some value in this, anyways. Here is the link:
http://erikanapoletano.com/blog/your-messy-messy-life/
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Proper Time Management vs. The Proper Use of Time
I lost a friend today. I am re-posting this because I never got to tell her all the thoughts and wishes I had for her because we were beaten over the head by the clock. Rest well love. See you again.
Just got home a little while ago from one of my "brick and mortar" jobs where I work as a massage therapist; and for some, a confidant and cheerleader for helping others to achieve a happier and healthier, pain-managed life-style. I am passionate about what I do. The Universe has granted me a sound mind to cipher the intricate puzzle of the human body. This includes recognition of patterns and pains that can be debilitating if not dealt with in a kind and understanding fashion.
These "patterns" are sometimes easy to figure out from a physiological stand-point. These can be observed in repetitive motion injuries, or improper work-out strategies for the particular body at hand. Sometimes postural distortions are discovered that were previously unmentioned. They show their insidious harm in the way a person compensates in his or her daily activities. This comes as a beautiful "AHA!" moment for some people that have been struggling with pain for a very long time, but never knew why. Sometimes, though, the chain of pain runs deeper.
Sometimes, the reason behind a painful postural distortion comes from what it is happening, or has happened, in life. These cases require a special kind of care and patience. The problem with this particular "brick and mortar" job, is it is run by a corporation that is more concerned with "numbers" than real results. Enter: problem; at least, for me.
Tonight, I did six hours solid of body-work, back to back. At this particular job, each hour of therapy is supposed to actually yield 50 minutes therapy time to each client. In the 10 minutes remaining, the therapist is responsible for: bringing the client in and seeing how his or her body is feeling, gleaning what he or she wants to be worked on, and getting the client ready for the job at hand. Apparently, there is no time allotted for gushes of approval over how much better the client is feeling since the last session or concerns over what did not work and needs to be done. There is also no time allotment for talk about the weather, grand-kids visiting, stress at work, or anything else that might be affecting the healthy integrity of the whole living, human being before me.
Okay...I look at the clock that has passed several minutes past the top of the hour after this has all been revealed. I still have my 10 minute "slush-fund" to work with. It's all good. Now comes the session.
Sometimes the client will relax right into the face-cradle, just needing to be touched to let it all go. Sometimes he or she will continue talking the whole time to "get it all out" while I work at the physical problems that ebb and flow throughout the session. But sometimes, there will be that one client that needs "just a little more time."
Extra time is needed to go through Muscle Energy Techniques to release that bundle of muscle fibers that never let go after a gruesome hockey game two days ago. Extra Time is needed to quiet the nerve and stress bundles acquired by a young person trying to make "REGIONALS" at an important swim meet. Extra time is needed to disengage the shoulders from being worn as "earrings" from a person trying to accommodate demanding "in-laws". Extra time is needed to allow a person who is deaf and blind, to be able to find the table, know when and how to turn over, and how to find her clothes to get dressed after the session. Time. For the love of God and the Universe, it takes time.
I can usually get it done within the time allotted; but sometimes, I just can't, or should say, WON'T. Apparently, this is not acceptable, at this particular "brick and mortar" job. Therapists are no longer able to keep one room for their shifts. (We are now required to bounce from room to room each hour, to show the rooms are being used "effiiciently". I guess it "looks better" on the books this way.) We are also required to change sheets, clean the room and do all of our case notes which are housed in the front office (so as, to comply by HIPPA laws) in between clients. (Please do the math on how long all of these items should really take. Remember, we have ten minutes.)
I got reprimanded today, because: I take too long to get out of my room assigned for the hour before going to the next room, and, I quote, "You laugh too loud when you are in there". (This was a response to a particularly funny story a client was relating to me while she was on the table.) Another very humorous regular client was on the table a little while later.
He is a very kind, fatherly-like character who has "adopted" me has his "go-to gal" to unwind his ill-placed golf-swing. I caught myself laughing, and apologized and explained myself. With his usual wit, he replied, "Tell them you can show them how it is done, if they would like." I had to stifle myself, to be sure. I warned him I couldn't go over in time, as I had to be mindful of the clock. At the end, he thanked me, as he always does, then told me he would be out in 15 minutes. I closed the door laughing...loudly. Thanks for keeping me honest, dear sir. :D
Trying to be in the present moment doesn't always work in the world, I understand. But if you were on my table, how would you like me to proceed? Your comments are whole-heartedly welcome. Bright Blessings!
Please check out the beautiful image by: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Wings-of-Time-One-55051477
Monday, February 3, 2014
Back Pain AGAIN : Ilio-PSOAS, pronounced SO-AZ (and this doesn't mean falling on the ice on your bum!)
Okay. The title is corny...but by now, to my regulars, would you expect anything different? (hugs!!!!) ;) Anyways...
The Psoas muscle is a very important and nefarious player in the realm of back pain. It is difficult to address because its location is on the FRONT of the spine and travels down to insert on the inside of the inner region of the hip. In other words, picture scooping out all the intestinal matter from the gut and peering in to the hole left behind will show you where this creature exists. It is deeply hidden, and unfortunately, deemed a "bad guy" when its function goes away. It has an accomplice in its function and hence, pain-pattern. This muscle is called Iliacus. The dynamic duo, for both good and ill, is called "Iliopsoas" because they work together, and connect in a common place of the inner hip.
Whether from bad posture (sitting or sleeping in fetal-position too long) or injury (flexing at the waist instead of bending at the knees to pick something up), these closely joined muscles are going to let you know when they are NOT happy. "Ooooooh!!!! MY BACK!!!!" is the usual exclamation. Another popular one is, "ooohhhh! MY HIP!!!!" And sometimes, "My leg!!! Why does my leg hurt so bad?!?!" Welp...because they are all connected.
There is not just the 2 kindred muscles of Iliacus and Psoas at work here. There are nine muscles in each butt cheek trying to regulate and substitute for the shaky hip flexor and the subsequent shaky hip rotation left to flop out in the breeze when Iliopsoas aren't doing their jobs. (Seeing as many of us spend way more time sitting on the muscles of the butt than exercising them through upright activity, they are weak, too. If you haven't read it, please click on the following : If Your Back Hurts, It's Usually Your Butt's Fault ).
There are also postural muscles along the spine called "erectors" that are called to do more than what their name-sake is meant to do: keep the spine erect. At this point, we might as well make mention of demanding the poor Quadratus Lumborum muscles do more than what they bargained for. They are housed right behind the nefarious psoas and iliacus muscles, and are screaming, "HEY! We are supposed to raise and lower each hip as needed (like when WALKING). That's it!!!" This creates a perfect storm for perfect back pain. Muscles that are recruited to do more than what they are designed for are going to get tired, and eventually, revolt.
The multitude of needs of my own clients was exacerbated by pleas from readers on another place on the web. It would appear that the problem of treating the Iliopsoas, according to the comments, is finding a therapist who is willing to do it. The reason that many body workers are not able to help is the following:
a.) The actual location of treating the associated trigger points are very "intimate" as they are housed deep within the anterior pelvic to lower belly region which causes pause (and embarrassment) for many a practitioner.
b.) Yes: It is very uncomfortable for the client that has developed some horrid trigger points in this area to live through the initial "OWWW!!!" of even breaching the area of consternation.
The good news is, if (and only "if") the afflicted client can breathe through the initial point of contact until the trigger point is released, it WILL release. Please bear in mind, it didn't get that bad overnight, and there WILL be some homework to do to get a PERMANENT release. A body in motion tends to stay in motion, and a body at rest tends to stay at rest. (Just ask Newton.) Nothing will change without effort, of both the therapist AND the client. Read this post to a well-trained body worker. The moment the afflicted back-pain victim finds a therapist who gets it, is the moment that person starts to get out of this horrible kind of pain.
Hope this lights a few beacons to helping some peeps get out of back pain. Bright Blessings. Have a great week! :)
Top Pic: By The original uploader was Harrygouvas at Greek Wikipedia (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
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