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.

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Love and Light
Shellie Morin LMT
www.sensesationalmassage.com

So For the month of February you can get a Chocolate Infusion Massage at Sense-Sational Massage. What exactly is a chocolate infusion massage? You will get a full body Swedish Massage using chocolate oil, no it will not leave you sticky, but it does smell like chocolate, along with the Swedish Massage when I get to your feet I will use a chocolate sugar scrub to exfoliate the skin on your feet and then whipe it away with a warm towel. This massage will have your skin feeling rehydrated and smelling wonderful. As an added bonus everyone leaves with their own small box of chocoloates.
All for just $10.00 more than a regular Swedish Massage, that’s Right all this for $60.00 for a 65 minute massage. Call and book now, or if booking online just order the Swedish Massage and put Chocolate in the comment box. Book Now by calling 850-1014 or online at www.sensesationalmassage.com

Destressing is the best way to make your holidays happy. These 65 ways to reduce holiday stress will ensure your holiday season is less stressful, happier and healthier.

Enjoy and relax with these 65 ways to reduce holiday stress and relax this Christmas season.

Social Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips to reduce holiday stress include saying no, accepting yourself, and venting.

1.Talk to your friends about your frustrations and joys.
2.Have a glass of wine or eggnog, but don’t overdo it.
3.Prioritize invitations to reduce holiday stress.
4.Say no to parties, or make a brief appearance.
5.Refuse to compare your appearance, lifestyle or possessions to other people’s.
Physical Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips to reduce holiday stress include physical activity, massage, and nutrition. Learning how to stay healthy at Christmas is a great way to reduce holiday stress.

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1.Get a massage.
2.Go skating, skiing, or walking in the snow.
3.Take a hot bubble bath.
4.Stop eating before you’re full.
5.Get enough sleep to reduce holiday stress.
6.Reduce your caffeine intake.
7.Take your vitamins, supplements, minerals.
8.Drinks lots of water.
9.Get a manicure or pedicure.
10.Make love to reduce holiday stress.
Mental Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips for less holiday stress include choosing your priorities, letting go and snoozing.

1.Volunteer at a food bank or special holiday dinner.
2.Take downtime to snooze, read, relax.
3.Play your favorite card and board games to reduce holiday stress.
4.Take a crossword puzzle or Suduku break.
5.Pick your battles, choose your priorities.
6.Let go of the little stuff to reduce holiday stress.
7.Watch your favorite TV shows or movies.
8.Share your baking with homebound people or lonely neighbors.
Emotional Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips for less holiday stress include punching pillows, being alone and laughing.

1.Practice gratitude.
2.Have realistic expectations to reduce holiday stress.
3.Laugh!
4.Stay in touch with your authentic emotions.
5.Cry, scream, or punch the pillow when you need to.
6.Stop to take a deep breath.
7.Be alone for a few minutes or hours to reduce holiday stress.
8.Keep old traditions alive, but be open to new ones.
9.Let yourself grieve if you’ve recently lost someone you love.
Creative Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips to reduce holiday stress include music therapy, museums, and movies.

1.Paint, draw or carve your thoughts and feelings.
2.Visit a museum or art gallery to reduce holiday stress.
3.Go to a movie in the middle of the day by yourself.
4.Listen to music that relaxes and/or energizes you.
5.Go for a drive in the country; stop for hot chocolate and muffins.
6.Write in your journal to reduce holiday stress.
Spiritual Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips to reduce holiday stress include praying and remembering the big picture.

1.Meditate or pray often.
2.Read the Bible, Torah, or other meaningful book.
3.Seek the deep meaning behind church or mass services to reduce holiday stress.
4.Remember that your God, Creator or Higher Power is working behind the scenes.
5.Adjust your perspective to include peace, compassion, and forgiveness.
Practical Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips for less holiday stress include shopping early, organizing potlucks, and delegating.

1.Use lists and calendars to stay organized
2.Set attainable decorating goals to reduce holiday stress.
3.Delegate chores: cooking, childcare, caring for guests, etc.
4.Cook the turkey; let guests bring the rest.
5.Be flexible with timing, food, and schedules to reduce holiday stress.
6.Rent funny DVDs and videos to keep people occupied.
7.Shop over the Internet to avoid crowds.
8.Ensure your prescription medication is refilled.
9.Give yourself extra time to reduce holiday stress.
10.Stick to your financial budget.
11.Avoid impulse buys to reduce holiday stress.
Relational Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tips to reduce holiday stress include sticking with your routines and ignoring criticisms.

1.Change your regular responses to aggravating family members.
2.Shrug off insults, challenges, and criticisms.
3.Avoid past betrayals, mistakes, failures – both yours and others’.
4.Don’t expect people to change (unless you change first).
5.Enlist kids’ help in baking cookies and cleaning up to reduce holiday stress.
6.Stick with your kids’ routine, if possible.
7.Enforce the regular rules for sharing, indoor voices, etc.
8.Maintain healthy boundaries to reduce holiday stress

My neighbor across the street, whose name I do not know, ever since we have lived here which is now 9 years, everytime we have gotten stuck in our driveway in the winter he comes over with his truck or backo and pulls us out. He has never been asked to, he just does it. We have always said thank you, but that has been it.

Well this year I decided, after he plowed me and the kids out one morining, to get him a $10 Dunkin Donuts card and a gift certificate for a 1 hour massage. Not knowing if massages were his “thing” or not. I also found out his name and I left a card with my little gifts in his mailbox. Today he calls me thanking me for the gifts and he tells me that his back has been bothering him. He messed it up in a snowmobile accident several years ago and used to see a massage therapist that walked on his back. She had since moved and he really needs a massage and didn’t know that I was a therapist. Needless to say I set up and appointment for him and also he mentioned that he wouldn’t mind plowing us out when we have a snow storm. I told him why don’t we exchange massages for plowing, and he agreed.

It just goes to show you in life the small gestures you do can turn out to mean so much to someone else and can also lead into something wonderful for all.
Love and Light
www.sensesationalmassage.com
207-850-1014

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

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

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

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