sensesationalmassage.com Blog » pain relief

Tour De Cure

smorin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 01:58:16 +0000

June 13th I will be at Kennebunk High School doing massages for all those riding for the “Tour De Cure”, helping to raise funds for Diabetes.

Registration starts at 6:30am and there is a route for everyone from begginners to expert riders. Join us!

Love and Light
Shellie
Sense-Sational Massage
www.sensesationalmassage.com

Mother’s Day Special

smorin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:00:08 +0000

Well May is fast approaching and Mother’s Day will soon be here. I decided for the month of May to offer “The Spa Detox”
This consists of a 75 minute massage that uses Arbonne’s Spa Detox Gel as the massage “oil”. Powerful sea and botanical extracts help restore skin’s ionic balance, for optimum moisture and to lock in skin renewing benefits. Enriched with sea plant antioxidants to resist environmental pollutants, this refreshing gel cools as it nourishes, hydrates and moisturizes for skin that is soft and smooth.

Then you get a foot scrub also from Arbonne’s Detox line. The detoxifying actions of sea mud and bentonite clay help draw out impurities as they absorb excess oil from the skin. Helps detoxify and condition the skin’s surface. It wraps you in comfort and leaves your skin glowing.

What a perfect gift for mom. This massage will leave her refreshed, relaxed and rejeuvenated. All this for $50.00 Gift Certificates available.

Now, onto something else. I have been hearing from lots of other massage therapists that low prices either say that you are an in-experienced therapist or that low prices belittle the profession, cheapen it if you will. My response to that is BULL! A smart business owner knows how to price to get clients and keep clients. I have been a therapist for 4 years now and I taught massage for a year. I think that qualifies me as experienced don’t you? It is great when you live or work in a large city that can support highter prices, but when you don’t you need to find what works for you. I believe everyone should be getting massages, to support health, well being and immune system strength as well as stress relief. That being said in a small town like mine where there are many massage therapists you really need to play the price game to a point. No I won’t be lowering my $50.00 price tag any time soon, but I will offer specials like my first and last Friday of every month $30.00 for an hour massage. I don’t think a month goes by that I am not offering something. And when my clients take advantage of the specials they are assured that they won’t pay the full price. Keeping it affordable that is my goal…it is important to keep it affordable so every single person can’t make the excuse that getting massages is too expensive. It doesn’t have to be.

I love what I do. I believe everyone should make massage a part of their health care. Everyone should be getting a massage at least once a month minimum. If I can help that happen by keeping my prices low and offering specials, than that is what I will do. I am not out to undermind other therapists, I am out to educate people on the importance of massage and trying to help them incorporate it into their lives on a regular basis. I can also tell you that I didn’t get voted “Best Massage Therapist in Sanford/Springvale” two years in a row because I give a bad massage. So if you believe in massage like I do and you want a really good massage without paying an arm and a leg for it, give me a call 207-850-1014 or visit my website www.sensesationalmassage.com and make an appointment.

Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT

BABY YOUR BACK Tame The Pain With Massage by Karrie Osborn

smorin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:24:53 +0000

Anyone with recurring, unyielding back problems knows the beast that is called back pain. While most of us have experienced back pain that comes from overexertion or muscle pulls, the effects of back pain for many can be debilitating, excruciating, and life changing. Experts say back pain accounts for $100 billion in lost productivity and health-care costs each year and is one of the primary causes of work-related disability. Managing back pain can be a daunting and exhausting proposition. One natural avenue for finding relief is massage therapy.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com

Holiday Gift Certificat Special

smorin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:13:52 +0000

The Holidays are coming. A great gift for you or someone you love would be a massage. For the Holiday season November 1st to December 23 I am offering a gift certificate special, Buy one gift certificate and get one of equal or lesser value FREE! Think about that, a 1 hour massage is $50.00, so it is like getting 2 one hour massages for $25.00. Same with a 90 minute massage, which is $70.00, it would be getting two for $35.00. An amazing deal if you think about it.

Give me a call 207-850-1014 and I can take credit card over the phone and mail them to you, or stop by at the 109 Hair Salon where I am located and anyone there can get them for you if I am not there. You can also order online at www.sensesationalmassage.com
just put Christmas special in the comment line and I will mail them out to you.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT

We must all help where we can

smorin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:37:14 +0000

As a small business owner, mother, wife, and human being, I find a need to do what I can where I can to help out. When I started my massage practice I knew I wanted to give something back to the community in my own way. I decided to offer all York County firemen/women and police officers one free massage a month and then 1/2 off any other massages for the rest of that month. Who better to recieve massages then firemen and police officers? The stresses they go through just in the day to day of their jobs must be so overwhelming. Putting their lives on the line everytime they go out. Such high stress and physically demanding their jobs, how could massage not benifit them.

My next venture to help those in the community is the teachers here in my town. They do so much for so little and it seems like they are required to do more and more every year with less and less. I decided that for all the teachers and staff here in my commuity I would offer 1 hour massages at $30.00. No matter how many massages they decide to get in a month, the price will still be $30.00 for 1 hour.

I think when you are in a position to do something like the above, you should. Yes we all want to make a living, but if I can make someone feel better, be in less pain, less stress then I think it is worth doing.

I also like to donate massages for fundraisers in my area. I enjoy volunteering when I can to. Where ever my services can serve others for the greater good of all. That is my mission and my joy. I love my job so much and I can not imagine doing anything else. I would also love to spread the benifits and joy of massage to everyone I can.

Massage is such a wonderful thing for so many reasons. I think I will post the benifits in another post.

Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com
207-850-1014

Decisions You Make

smorin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:57:35 +0000

I graduated from massage school back in 2006. All through school I knew I wanted to own my own massage practice. My first thought was to have a place at my house. I figured it would be convenent and easy having it at my house. My kids are older and it would be easy to let them be at home while I had a client in a separate office space attached to the house. I wouldn’t need a babysitter and I could work around my family’s needs.
My plans were to finish school and build and office on to our house. I soon found out though that building additions are very expensive and it is not so easy to get a loan and keep a payment within our budget. My next idea was to use my dinning room as my massage space. This meant that I would have to move my dinning room table into my living room and put up a privacy curtain between between the living room, dinning room and dinning room and kitchen. That was ok enough, but I also had to make sure that the husband and kids were gone and that the 2 dogs and 4 cats would stay quietly in the upstairs bedroom for the duration of the massage. I was happy enough with this plan and even successfully had four massage sessions this way, but none of those clients returned. I quickly realized that the nice, but unprofessional appearance of the curtains and massage area were less than ideal for people to feel comfortable.

Plan II: I would travel around to peoples houses with my massage table and do In Home Massages. I thought this to be a novel idea and won that would really be successful. Who wouldn’t want a massage in the convience of their home. It was going along pretty good, not to busy I was maybe doing 2 massages a month. I advertised on the Dollar Savor and thought I would get a lot of business. Well a year later and I still was not doing more than 2 massages a month. I really did not like the idea of working in a spa or for someone else. I really, really wanted my own business and was not about to give up on that idea. But you know that table is really heavy, 33 lbs and when you have to bring it upstairs it is really awkward.

Plan III: This plan just happened to come out of the blue actually. I put together a networking site for the graduates and alumni of my massage school and I would rutinely get notices from the school when massage spaces or job opportunities came about. Well well such notice was for a massage space that was right down the road from my house, like 4 miles. It was a hair salon owner who recently decided to build a massage room in her salon. I never really looked at massages spaces before because I still had this idea that maybe some how I would find the money to add on to my house and have my massage practice. Like maybe I would find a washed up treasure chest on the beach or something yeah right! Anyway this particular massage space notice appealed to me and I decided to look into it. And I am really glad I did. The owner and the other girls are so great and we get along really well. We have our own little family and I love going to work everyday.
My advice to anyone looking to have a practice in their own home is: Do it if you can build a separate rooom and bathroom and can insure a queit atmosphere. If not search around and find a place to rent. If your as lucky as I am you will find a place that matches your style and personality and if your even more lucky, like me, you will find a new extended family and find so much joy in your job and clients. I have noticed that my clients are the best most loyal clients. The atmosphere I work in and the people that come into the salon are the best and I don’t have to work super hard to book people. I still spend several hours a week marketing, but just being in the salon has gotten me many, many wonderful clients. Do I still want a massage practice in my home? Sometimes, but the joy I have where I am, I don’t think I would get through a home practice. One thing you have to think about it if you are working from your home it can get kind of lonely. You have your clients, but the social interactions you get from being outside of the home can be so rewarding.

I love my job and I love my clients. My clients are the best people in the world and I always look forward to my time with them. I feel very blessed to have them in my life.

Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com
207-850-1014

Remodel

smorin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:39:15 +0000

I am pleased to announce that my massage room has a new look! It took sometime and many hours to finally come up with the new look. Check it out:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Come and see it for yourself: Book an appointment with me,207-850-1014 or book on line at www.sensesationalmassage.com

Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com
207-850-1014

Aromatherapy Massage

smorin — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:28:32 +0000

Origin: The use of natural plant essences for health and therapeutic effects is ancient. The modern term “aromatherapie” was coined by a French chemist named Rene Maurice Gattefosse(1881-1950) as he studied the use of fragrant oils for their healing properties in the 1920-1930s. Later, Madame Marguerite Maury(1895-1968) started prescribing essential oils for her patients, and is credited with the modern use of essential oils for massage. She wrote an important aromatherapy guide in French in 1961 that was translated into English in 1964.

Technique: Aromatherapy massage involves the use of essential oils in massage oil blends for their therapeutic effects. Techniques of Western massage, Ayurvedic massage, and other systems of soft tissue manipulation may be used in the application of aromatherapy massage oils.

Theory: Essential oils are highly concentrated aromatic extracts that are cold-pressed or steam distilled from plants such as grasses, leaves, flowers, fruit peels, wood, and roots. Each essential oil has a specific therapeutic effect such as relaxing, boosting immune system, relieving congestion, or soothing muscular aches and pains. Common massage blends contain essential oils such as peppermint, lavender, citrus, tea tree, and rosemary.
Web Site: National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy(www.naha.org)
Tappan’s Handbook of Healing Massage Techniques by Patricia J Benjamin and Frances M Tappan

Shellie Morin LMT

207-850-1014

Hot Stone Massage

smorin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:31:51 +0000

Origin: Stones have been used in healing practices all over the world, including Asia. Healing or hot stone massage is a treatment that gained popularity in North American spas in the 1990-2000s.

Technique: Stone massage is a form of contemporary bodywork and spa treatment. Stones of various sizes, shapes and textures are used as massage tools, and as a form of thermal therapy. As massage tools, stones are used instead of the hands to apply pressure during techniques such as effleurage. As thermal therapy, stones may be heated and placed on the body over certain anatomical structures or in patterns over energy centers and meridians; or cooled and used as cryotherapy to reduce swelling and cool tissues.

Theory: Stone massage is practiced as an eclectic form of bodywork incorporating Western anatomy and physiology with traditional Asian medicine. Geological properties of various kinds of stones are considered. Hot stones applied to the body impart weight and heat that promotes relaxation, normal body function, and energy balancing.
From Tappan’s Handbook of Healing Massage Techniques by Paticia J Benjamin and Frances M Tappan

The benefits of Hot stone massage: The heat helps the muscle to relax, increases local circulation, and makes connective tissue more pliable allowing for a deeper massage. Sore stiff muscles benefit from increased circulation and heat. The chronic pain of fibromyalgia can be eased with Hot stone massage and well as many other chronic pain and some arthritis pain as well. Plus it just feels good.

Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com
207-850-1014

Swedish Massage

smorin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:23:15 +0000

Origin: Swedish massage and related techniques were developed in Europe in the early 1800s, and brought to North America in the 1860s. It can be traced historically to the work of two men, Pehr Henrick Ling(1776-1839) of Sweden, and Johann Mezger (1838-1909) of Amsterdam. The heyday of Swedish massag in the United States was in the 1930-1950s, when it was offered in health clubs, salons, and as part of physiotherapy.

Technique: Swedish massage is a form of traditional Western massage. The five classic technique categories of Swedish massage soft tissue manipulation are effleurage(long flowing strokes), petrissage (kneading, compression), tapotement (percussion), friction and vibration. Joint movements ad hydrotherapy are also within the scope of Swedish massage.

Theory: Swedish massage is based in Western anatomy, physiology, and pathology. It is applied to support the normal function of the human body and its systems, as well as enhance its innate healing capacity.

Massage is one of the traditional natural healing arts. It has been used for centuries to promote and restore health along with other gifts fo nature such as nutritious food, herbs, healing waters, exercise, relaxation, fresh air and sunshine.

Some of the effects of massage: Muscle relaxation, increased alertness, or reduced anxiety. Massage improves the overall health of cells and tissues of the body, primarily by increasing blood and lymph circulation. The “milking” action of petrissage techniques and the sliding movements of effleurage are very effective in moving body fluids to facilitate natural processes. Increased fluid circulation improves delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissue cells, and helps in removal of metabolic wastes and byproducts of the inflammatory process. Massage also plays a role in the tissue repair process by helping in the remodeling of healthy scar tissue, ease sore aching muscles, increase joint mobility and flexibility, help with posture, increase the immune system keeping you from getting as many colds and flus. It also reduces stress and just give you a better all over sense of wellbeing.

taken from:”Tappan’s Hanbook of Healing Massage Techniques” by, Patricia J Benjamin, Frances M Tappan

Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com
207-850-1014