Articles
SILICONE CUPPING
Cupping or Decompression Release Technique (DRT) starts with creating negative pressure (suction) which decompresses underlying tissues. Various techniques with the cups heats up the tissue, dispersing stagnation such as lactic acid deep within the muscle, draws in fresh blood and lymph and engages the parasympathetic nervous system and expediting the healing process. The cups have become a refined extension of my hands; increasing the depth and efficiency of unlocking fascial impingements within our kinetic body.
Facts About Cupping:
A.) Techniques: Shaking, Vibration, Friction, Parking, Rolling, Dragging, Pumping.
B.) Breaks up Trigger points, scar tissue, and adhesions in fascia. Also is used for reducing dimpling/ cellulite. (This is a connective tissue issue.)
C.) Improves performance by reducing fascial tensions that are pulling on the kinetic chain, consequently enhancing fascial flexibility.
D.) Facilitates sports and/or orthopedic injuries that haven’t responded wellto traditional manual therapy. The cup slides easily over sensitive areas suchas the knee joint by efficiently grasping the fascia on this bony prominencewith out damaging the injured joint. Rene Geerdes / BCTMB
October / 2016
“The Physician must be experienced in many things, but most assuredly in rubbing…for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid.” (Hippocrates )
THE SOUL MUSCLE
Many years of research has established that Massage Therapy has a myriad of positive physiological benefits. This includes improvement to range of motion, increased blood circulation, facilitating the elimination of toxins and other metabolic wastes for better cell nutrition, increasing elasticity of tissue, reducing healing time from injury, and strengthening the immune system. Manual therapies are an effective treatment for a number of psychological issues as well, such as depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress just to name a few.
Let’s talk about the Psoas muscle, a favorite of mine to illustrate the healing power of massage…
“The psoas is the tenderloin (filet mignon) of the human body. Juicy, supple, and dynamic, it is the primal messenger of the central nervous system. Your psoas is much more than simply a muscle. It can be perceived as the guardian or spokesperson of what is commonly referred to as your gut intuition. In some spiritual philosophies, the Psoas is referred to as the muscle of the soul.” (Liz Koch Core Awareness)
The Psoas is actually two muscles; the Psoas Major and Illiacus and is the core muscle of the body. This muscle is the strongest hip flexor and only muscle that attaches your spine to your legs. It becomes a super highway for communication from the lower body to your upper body and brain. The Psoas can have a major impact not only on our physical wellbeing and but also our emotional health.
Here are snippets of Liz Koch’s research from an article by Body Divine Yoga for an in-depth look at this complex muscle:
"The Psoas muscle is the deepest muscle of the human body affecting our structural
balance, muscular integrity, flexibility, strength, range of motion, joint mobility, and organ functioning. Growing out of both sides of the spine, the psoas spans laterally from the T12 vertebrae to each of the five lumbar vertebrae. From there it flows down through the abdominal core and the pelvis, to attach to the top of the femur bone.A healthily functioning psoas stabilizes the spine and provides support through the trunk, forming a shelf for the vital organs of the abdominal core. The psoas is connected to the diaphragm through connective tissue which affects both our breath and fear reflex. This is because the psoas is directly linked to the reptilian brain, the most ancient interior part of the brain stem and spinal cord. As Koch writes “Long before the spoken word or the organizing capacity of the cortex developed, the reptilian brain, known for its survival instincts, maintained our essential core functioning.”
Koch believes that our fast paced modern lifestyle, which runs on the adrenaline of our sympathetic nervous system, chronically triggers and tightens the psoas – making it literally ready to run or fight. The psoas helps you to spring into action – or curl you up into a protective ball. However, if we constantly contract the psoas to due to stress or tension, the muscle eventually begins to shorten leading to a host of painful conditions including low back pain, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, disc problems, spondylolysis, scoliosis, hip degeneration, knee pain, menstruation pain, infertility, and digestive problems.
In fact, “The psoas is so intimately involved in such basic physical and emotional reactions, that a chronically tightened psoas continually signals your body that you’re in danger, eventually exhausting the adrenal glands and depleting the immune system."
Is it any wonder then as each adhesion is removed and fascial restrictions are released using massage techniques, the sympathetic system will relax and release this ‘Fight or Flight’ response? This in turn loosens its grip on the structural system as well as our emotional body.
As someone born with an autoimmune disorder, Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis, I have lived with the physiological and psychological implications of an overactive sympathetic system. So I suspect you can appreciate my passionate advocacy of manual therapy. What once was viewed as a luxury became my life line in healing! My personal journey at a very young age healing from this autoimmune disorder turned into a driving purpose: A commitment to life-long learning and to offer the highest quality of manual massage therapy for any that suffer from chronic pain, illness and/or emotional trauma.
Whether it’s chronic low back pain, or a stiff neck from staring at a monitor all day, the benefits of applied by techniques such as Deep Tissue, Trigger Point Therapy, or Sports Massage are more than a luxury… they are an essential part of a self-care and wellness routine for everyone. These therapies should become a necessary investment, like clean food and water in your personal life-long health care plan.
Rene Geerdes / BCTMB
September, 2016 (Images: Google )
Muscle Recovery Spa Treatment and a few facts on Fascia
Along with free CBD pain cream and CBD blended oil w/body butter I’ve added two new muscle creams that are designed to aid with recovery, reducing inflammation and stimulate circulation.
I’m particularly excited about the Muscle Gel! Check out the ingredients posted below that are in the Muscle Essential Oil!
1.) Arctic Blue Cooling Gel
*SuperStar ingredients:
Arnica, Peppermint, Spearmint, Eucalyptus, PineScotch, Lemongrass
Basil and Tumeric Root Extract, Daikon Radish Oil and Seaweed.
2.) Muscle Gel
*SuperStar Ingredients
Menthol, Capsicum, Camphor, Organic Aloe, *Muscle Essential Oil Blend, Meadowfoam Seed Oil.
*Muscle Essential Oil Blend Ingredients:
Sweet Basil Essential Oil, Black Pepper Essential Oil, Roman Chamomile Flower Essential Oil, German Chamomile Flower Essential Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil, Citronella Essential Oil, Eucalyptus Leaf Essential Oil, Helichrysum Essential Oil, Ginger Root Essential Oil, Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil, Juniper Berry Essential Oil, Lemongrass Essential Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Pine Essential Oil, Cajeput Essential Oil, Rosemary Leaf Essential Oil, Spearmint Essential Oil, Oregano Essential Oil.
So WHY am I geeking out about these bougie muscle creams and the new quick treatment being added to the menu? ( Posted below)
Answer: WHY facial release techniques restore the body and why adding these creams, cupping and infrared sauna are essential for tissue health.
Fascia is multidimensional and multidirectional. It’s your ‘soft skeleton’ consisting of a superficial layer which resembles a honeycomb/ fatty layer, the second layer more thin, stretched out, and deep fascia encapsulating each muscle fiber as well as surrounding/ sectioning off muscle groups, along with over 250 million nerve endings! To name a few characteristics..
Within Fascia we have hyaluronan aka
hyaluronic acid, aka the HA you see in most skincare!
“HA is essential for two fascial structures gliding across each other; therefore, the regulation of HA could affect the functions of fascia implicated in myofascial pain…..Movement stimulates HA production and turnover, whereas immobility can increase the concentration of HA without effective HA recycling, increase the viscosity, and reduce the lubrication and gliding of the layers of connective tissue and muscle.”
Simply put: When we stretch and move the facscia the cell thrives. When we don’t move, the cell dies.
HA can become adhesive ( desensification) with lack of movement or it lubricates and allows structures to slide and increase movement. A difference between pain, ROM issues and inflammation or restoring movement, reducing inflammation thereby reducing pain.
MOTION IS LOTION
Side bar: We CAN pull and stretch the fascia on our face ( face Cupping) unlike what they told our mothers so many years ago that stretching the skin on the face would cause sagging. Ugh…
But back to the facts.
Published journals have discovered that fascia through sheering, vibration and the combination of compression while gliding and stretching such as Dynamic Cupping, MyoFascial Release, Trigger Point with applied Postional Release (my personal favorite modality I use in the treatment room.) restores healthy HA levels.
“Due to different anatomical locations and to the qualities of the deep fascial tissue, it is important to recognize that different modalities of approach have to be taken into consideration when considering treatment options [52]. Based on the fact that the superficial fascia is closer to the surface than the other layers of fascia, effective treatment can be achieved with light massage or with treatment modalities that use large surfaces to distribute temporary friction in the first layers of the subcutis [52]. For example, gentle pressure applied gradually will allow fascia to rearrange focal adhesions and macromolecule complexes to return to their healthy positions.”
Here is the journal if you’d like to deep dive a little more into the amazing world of FASCIA!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8269293/
And of course why heat therapy’s support healthy facial functional. Of course at Sanctuary we add a sauna beforehand along with topical creams with thermogenesis properties.
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/8/780
Muscle Recovery Spa Treatment:
60 Minute Treatment $130
Devotee Members: $10 Off
Devotee Discount: $10 Off
30 Minute Infrared Sauna
FOLLOWED By
30 Minute Head to Toe Treatment
Treatment Includes:
Full Body Dry Exfoliation using a *Korean Wash Cloth. Stronger than a loofah, softer than pumice.
*Made of 100% Viscose Rayon
Cleansed using chemical free *Bamboo Wipes and warm towels.
*Bamboo, Aloe, Vitamin E, Cucumber extract, marshmallow extract, oat extract and chamomile extract.
Full body Dynamic Cupping massage for fascial health and lymph drainage. Application of oil and one of two Muscle creams of your choice.
( Smaller cups for legs and sensitive areas. Larger cups for glutes and back)
1.) Arctic Blue Cooling Gel
2.) Muscle Gel
BCTMB Rene Geerdes
March 2023
A Discussion on Yomassage ©️
A certified YoMassage practitioner provides a financially accessible modalite that encapsulates whole body healing through three founding tools: Restorative Stretch, Mindfulness and Touch.
Research supports this collective of healing modalities. Massaging tissue while simultaneously applying stretch in areas of fascial adhesions ( Myofascial Release ) and even vibration will release hyaluron ( hyaluronic acid ) , a recycling process which keeps tissue hydrated and sliding happily over other structures.
“If it’s moving it’s lubing!”
When you add mindful breath work, along with massage and stretching we also stimulate the vagus nerve which is the bodies ‘built-in’ self regulating system to maintain physical and emotional balance.
These 3 foundational tools found in each YoMassage Certification will address multiple layers of healing by reducing cortisol, stimulate tissue healing, increase levels of dopamine, settle the mind and begin bringing each client closer to homeostasis. - Rene Geerdes
Discussion post: These past few months I have the perfect example of an Autonomic Nervous System performing their duties. Albeit a little out of balance.
Example one: Sympathetic
In January I had to increase my massage rates two fold. This decision was based partly on market rates but more importantly, holding value within myself. With 23 years of training, CEU’s and the day to day expenses running a business in Boulder County Colorado, this was a sound decision.
However, hesitation and fear sat upon my shoulders nagging at my soul leading my body heavily into ‘Fight or flight.’ Consequently, I experienced bouts of nausea, skin irritation, lack of sleep and depression.
Example 2 Parasympathetic:
The flip side to this chaos was consciously amping up my stretch / strengthening program via Upright Health on YouTube, Vagal breath work while listening to Binaural Beats ( Theta wave ) daily affirmations and of course, massage. This has allowed my body to recover and restore mental clarity.
It’s accurate when describing that the sympathetic system is much harder to ‘shut off’ while simultaneously and consciously activating the parasympathetic nervous system! Father Richard Rohr discusses how we are prewired to attach to fear and pain, and that it takes only seconds to live in that space. But to activate a change we need to spend MINUTES holding gratitude, positive thinking and so forth. And we may need to perform this dance many times over during a single day. -Rene
Fascia can be described as our ‘soft skeleton.’ It’s an interconnective extracellular matrix that binds, bridges, and encapsulates everything in our body. ( Muscles, veins, arteries, tendons, ligaments, muscle fibers, cells …) Fascia transmits force from one structure to another and is described as our richest sensory organ thereby responding to stimuli and manipulation. A highlighted characteristic of Fascia is that movement ( Applied pressure while simultaneously adding stretch or vibration ) stimulates a nerve within this complex sensory fabric which stimulates hyaluron production. ( Hyaluronic acid or ‘ lube.’ ) This recycling process hydrates our connective tissue for optimal sliding and smooth transitioning. But beware! The reverse is true as well. Lack of movement will thicken and stiffen and inhibit the interface between structures and over time can lead to ROM issues and chronic pain.
Whether it’s our thorocolumbar fascia, a sheet of dense connective tissue, subcutaneous fatty fascia , or sticky less dense fascia found around and within our organs, every ‘part’ is connected and should be treated as one whole system.
It’s due to these characteristics that manipulation to a localized area like the plantar surface of the foot can affect various other areas within that fascial plane such as the lower lumbar or even the Occiput.
Side note: Fascial planes described sometimes as ‘wood grain’ or ‘myofascial meridians’ join individual muscles into functional complexes within the fascial fabric-each with a defined anatomy and ‘meaning’ in human posture and movement. ( Tom Myers Anatomy Trains )
A modality such as YoMassage with its founding principles of Stretch, Touch and mindful Breath work is a ‘whole body’ approach to achieving optimal fascial health.
Restorative stretching in Yomassage utilizes a few body placements that you see in Positional Release therapy. By placing the client in positions of ease and comfort, the fascial network begins to unwind without triggering a pain response. Restorative stretching involves no contraction or strain and along with props to aid relaxation, each move can comfortably be held for 10 minutes.
Light to medium massage calms the clients nervous system, flushes fascial and lymphatic tissue and reduces inflammation. When you add the third principal of Yomassage, mindful diaphragmatic breathing, a client activates their vagus nerve, part of the neurological system deeply woven within the facial system to switch ‘on’ the parasympathetic nervous system.
These pillars of Yomassage address fascia through all its scientific and metaphysical layers.
My brief story should highlight the questions posted for this discussion. I have experienced nerve pain with recurring nerve spasms due to an injury. I have lived this nightmare measured in months, unsure when the next wave of fire would cripple my ability to literally function. Nothing can teach you better about mindfulness, and the power of surrender than having your body turn against you.
One of the many paths to healing from this injury was breath work.
In between the chaos and pain, I would actively seek out breathing exercises to calm my overly active nervous system, to deactivate the fear hiding in the shadows. Along with a rehab program that began retraining unhealthy tissue patterns to release the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae was rhythmic breath work that involved pelvic movement. ( Somatic breathwork that aligns with anterior and posterior tilting of the pelvis. )
Now, three years later I perform regular tissue work unwinding an autoimmune dysfunction, including regular positive self talk and THIS breathing exercise.
I like to lay flat, add Thetawave Music, slowly and deeply I expand my stomach with the inhale for about 5 seconds and then deeply exhale into the pelvic bowl pushing and extending this breath for about 8 seconds. I take 20 minutes in this space of breathing, meditating, repeating the mantra “healer heal thyself” and letting the music wash over my senses.
If there where any additions to the Yomassage protocol, I would offer a supine position during mindful breathing with a pillow under the calves ( This allows the pelvis to fall comfortably into a Posterior tilt and help clients with chronic LB pain and pain with sitting. ) and gradually work with the knees up while practicing pelvic tilting and slow rhythmic belly breathing.
After each section of this course I’m excited to incorporate newly found inspiration into my daily treatments. Now, before each session, clients are being guided to check in with their breathing while the warm up protocol starts. Later, when it's time to flip supine, they are asked to push safely back into a child's pose, perform a few deep belly breaths and proceed face up. Thank You! -Rene
Discussion post: Mindfulness #1
I’m sipping a mildly bitter cup of coffee, slippery and punchy from the added honey. The rush of heat and flavor rolling down my throat gives rise to goose pimples all down the length of my arms and back.
The tightening muscle fibers between my right Rhomboid and right Occiput slowly release just a skosh as the coffee hits my belly triggering a feeling of satisfaction.
I've spent 3 hours sitting on the dusty floor of my office shooting and reshooting a 3 minute video on Guided Breathing. The Tibetan Bowls station on Spotify is resonating off each wall and landing somewhere between my ears with a remaining pleasant hum.
The coffee is thankfully restoring an oxygen depleted body. Who knew guiding others in breath work, could spark lightheadedness and the foreboding black spots.
To no surprise, as I stood up, blood flooded my lower legs, toes began to flicker with electrical nerve pulses, my eyes watered a bit, and suddenly my nose picked up the scent of Ghee and spices wafting down the vent from the nearby restaurant.
Ah, yes…I’m hungry and thirsty!
Rene
The questions posed in this discussion were in the periphery of my consciousness and over the course of the past week chances arose to formulate an answer.
In this last course, The Mind Body Connection, I really liked the descriptor “giving the body something to think about…” when discussing meditation along with breathwork and touch as cornerstones to Yomassage.
Clients really responded to this statement.
We wear our stress as much as we wear our joy, but often a connection between the mind and body is lost. Have you ever had someone close to you point out something like “Are you ok? You look hunched” Or the reverse, “Wow, do you know you are glowing?” Our brains and mind can be off in a far away land totally separate from the body. A design created to help us in times of trauma when disassociation could potentially be life saving. However, we can’t stay distant and locked away.
So, for part of the discussion with clients on Yomassage and the mind body connection:
“Wouldn’t you rather take a weekly or monthly class that connects your body and mind back into harmony, back into a discussion that begins with breathwork to stimulate the vagus nerve, followed by positions of ease and gentle massage which research has demonstrated opens up channels to a higher consciousness? Meditation can be an intimidating word and even the idea of sitting alone trying to ‘dump’ all the ‘stinkin’ thinkin’ that occupies 80% of our brain space can be triggering in all the wrong ways. Yomassage provides a technique that ‘gives your body something to think about’ and through this collective of therapies, therapies that have been researched, peer reviewed and tested, lead to a path of whole body homeostasis.
“Keep in mind ( pun intended ) if we don’t stop and take ‘stock’ of what’s happening with our beautifully complex body and LISTEN through this mind-body connection and begin making necessary adjustments ( manual therapy, physical therapy, nutrition, mental health, spiritual guidance etc.) our body will SCREAM at us.”
Giving your body something to pay attention to, so your mind can release and just BE.
BCTMB & Certified Massage Therapist Rene Geerdes
July 2023