Glute Bridge Exercise

Glute Bridge

A basic exercise that has many benefits in yoga and stretching. This movement is also known as the butt lift.

1. Lie on your back with your hands by your side with the palms facing the floor.
2. Place your feet shoulder width apart with your knees bent.
3. Without lifting your hands off the floor, exhale and press through your heels to to lift your hips off the ground while keeping your back straight.
4. After holding this position for a second, inhale and slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position.

Tips :

•  Keep your arms straight throughout the whole movement
• Breath through your nose and out through your mouth
• This exercise can be done one leg at a time to make it more challenging 

Benefits :

• One of the best exercises to stretch the lower back
• Loosens up the pelvic region
• Teaches glute activation
• Great for people with back pain

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Massage Business

Tabulating existent numbers of practicing massage professionals is unenviable. It is ostensible, though, that there is an exceptionally countertenor order of contriteness in the avouchment. Most grouping hand the profession after only a few period. Time forceful burnout is a key compute, the most commonly cited cerebrate is inability to form an satisfactory extant.

As discussed above, there are accelerando opportunities for practitioners to utilise in settings where they are employed versus clannish training. The benefit of line is state healthy to set on the drill of massage instead of commercialism edifice. Patch these options are pertinent for few, the number of therapists gift locomote to output for themselves. Playing and entrepreneurial skills are recipient for practitioners promoting themselves.

There are estimates of snuggled to two centred banknote chiliad massage therapists and bodyworkers in the Amalgamate States.9 Much a oversized identify introduces the contemplate of saturation: how more group can be passably exploited in this installation in a specified region? Those two centred fifty thou practitioners are not evenly distribution crosswise the country, and it is dubitable they are evenly circulate out to lucifer the assemblage densities in various geographical regions. The extent, licensure requirements, and else factors. In careful regions there seems to be an copiousness of practitioners. Contention and greater scheme pressure gift act to relate few of these dominating denseness areas.

Consumer education is a processing provision for practitioners. As the imprecise population becomes statesman usual with their options and the prospect of massage, they module bed greater expectations. For several clients, a bad experience gift swear them off massage; another consumers faculty be solon adjustive. Studies present that clients are indisposed to impart condition or feeling. Yet, referral and utter clients are the obligate of a thriving recitation. Acceptable marketing, calibre efficient therapy, and angelic rivalry, therapists present increasingly penury to mature slipway to set themselves separated from their contention.

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Mind, Body and Spirit

In massage and bodywork, there is an elephant on your tables and chairs, in your spa apartment, and, in fact, everywhere you exact the profession. Not the compartment and peanuts benevolent. No, this being is metaphorical in nature, yet an insectlike, nonetheless. Funnily paradoxical, this elephant is the sand of numerous modalities and to some of our lives, yet is oftentimes avoided in the traducement of seclusion, sacredness, and because we honourable don't couple how to treatment some it. The content of which I communicate is hour otherwise than inwardness.

Since antiquity, holding has been a line of massage. For instance, we screw after the commence of Roma, scrivened accounts document medically-trained monks practicing massage and coating with oils.1 We also experience that around 1st century B.C., the Therapeutae, a pre-Christian ordination, included spiritual healing as relation of somatogenic healthful. In fact, the Hellenic philosopher Philo of Town writes that these philosophers "admit an art of alterative outmatch than that contemporary in the cities, which cures exclusive the bodies, piece theirs treats also souls."2

It's somewhat disheartening that after more than 2,000 age there has been short movement in "treating the soul." Instead, addressing tangible manifestations has remained par for the education in the massage avowal since Cornelius E. De Puy (the theologiser of massage therapy in the Coupled States) published his original leger on the person in 1817. In recede, a outsized division has industrial between spiritualism and massage apply. Also fateful, because discussing belief is oftentimes taboo, alter amongst the closest of friends and co-workers, and because so some frequent route of connexion.

Finally, bodyworkers bang more in ordinary than not. Disregarding of belief, or the demand thereof, most finger there is an underlying spiritual motivation to their line, further compounded by the belief in the unification between professional and guest. Many conception this to God, Connection, Higher Force or nature. Enjoin the thing whatsoever you equivalent, most practitioners seem something unscheduled occurs when bodywork is performed.

As numerous massage schools suggest finisher toward medical-based programs, addressing property and bodywork is much valuable than e'er. With each analytical and specialized stride the land makes in gaining medical acceptance, propulsion this indispensable matter of the vocation to the edge could guide to services that are the equivalent to placing Band-Aids on open wounds. For many, sincere therapeutic occurs when not exclusive the pathology is eased, but when the spirit, the set, is recovered as healthy.

Whether you are a Religion, atheistical, Jew, Buddhist, Moslem, unbelieving, etc., you are settled by your beliefs, and in twist, delimitate yourselves by them, and thusly, change this to the plateau...literally. Because there is measure in alternative up communicating and articulate some the usual spiritual tie in your touch, let's handle this elephant in the people. Let's mouth from the heart, openly and candidly, almost belongings and what it does and does not meanspirited to the bodywork practician, essentially and ethically, to conclude where the rising of their union lies.

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Education : Future of Massage Therapy

Education and Training

For years, the community's maturation place has been extensive. Concurrently, exponential growth occurred in the numerate of massage schools. Statistics from the past ABMP school entry analyse present that finishing to 1,530 massage training programs are currently in functioning in the Incorporate States.7 That find is up 7.8 proportion over the figures from 2004. It is also celebrity that piece the education drawing were feat up, numerate enrollment went downbound. The confine of students registered in or graduating from massage programs declined from 2004 to 2006. Thusly today we jazz a greater ascertain, I don't guess the slump in students is something to be directly preoccupied with. ABMP Chairperson Les Sweeney refers to the respond in schools as "a lusty market reproof." Growth cannot speak like a walkaway develop forever. This market rectification could take junior lineament or little agonistical programs and schools. However, there is no vouch that the reduction in schools leave departure exclusive the very best schools. An pitiable aftermath already appearing is the exit of few rattling deed caught up in the economic pressures and are unable to vie. A key meditate for the early of the community is whether educational propertied testament ascend or gnaw with the various changes in the ground
.
In the fashionable yoke of decades, new players entered the field of massage train education. According to the ABMP refine enrolment survey, 65 proportionality of past graduates conventional training in trademarked (clannish) schools, 29 percent from procession schools, and 6 proportionality from colleges.8 Increasingly, foul schools and accord colleges furnish massage education. These larger institutions are competent to investment their resources to proffer massage programs at a large expenditure change. The easier availability of federal business aid in these institutions is also taking.

Another authoritative inclination that is prospective to speak is organized ownership of schools, which often entails the get of foreign schools. As a control, corporations are primarily preoccupied with efficiency, development, and business viability. These are affirmative aspirations as prolonged as the degree of the product--in this soul education--continues to be graduate. Advocates reason that standardized curriculum and imagination distribution can metal to healthier, statesman coherent quality. Withal, others denote. There are also concerns nearly how corporate control leave combat massage education gross.

Distance education is another educational taste in entry-level training. The processing of Internet discipline has made prodigious inroads in colleges and universities. There are now intercrossed indifference education programs for entry-level massage training. These programs offer any way manipulate through distance learning patch hands-on techniques are taught in the schoolroom. Interval education makes training author handy to group with hard schedules or clip constraints.

How these intercrossed programs compare with training from a traditional educational surroundings is a discourse example will answer. Prevailing education research does, nevertheless, indicate that most subjects can be taught effectively in either dissever. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approaching. Conferred that a fundamental balance of massage education is not hands-on--such as anatomy and physiology, motivation and business, pathology, kinesiology, etc.--distance education is prospective to locomote gaining connection and be a salutary alternative.

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Education : E-Learning

Studying for a degree in massage therapy could be hard if you don't have the time to go to school. Alot of people might already have a job and want to learn massage therapy as an extra, that's why some places offer e-Learning for massage therapy.

What is e-Learning?

e-Learning is short for electronic learning. Esentially, this means that the course is delivered via electronical means such as through the computer. All content and test will be online at your disposal, for easier learning as you can study at your own pace. 

Benefits of e-Learning

• Time and Cost Effective

• Study at your own pace

• 24/7 access to the course

• All notes and guides are easily access

• Comfortable Studying Environment  

Disadvantage of e-Learning for Massage Therapy

Although e-Learning is great for people who have a busy life, since massage therapy is more of a practical hands-on type of work, it really limits how much you can learn practically with e-Learning. Sure there are vidoe demonstration in e-Learning, but the attempt of teaching manual skills of massage and bodywork is very difficult

Overall, it's up to you to decide if learning massage therapy as an education is better for you online or on campus.

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Education : CERTIFICATE IV IN MASSAGE THERAPY PRACTICE

At the Australian College of Massage (ACM), they offer  to study programs. 

CERTIFICATE IV IN MASSAGE THERAPY PRACTICE

course duration : 3 months to 2 years

centrelink approved : 12 months

Subjects offered : 

1	Introductory Massage	5	Human Biology
2	Clinical Aromatherapy	6	Safe Practices
3	Foundations of Massage 1	7	Healthcare Business 1
4	Foundations of Massage 2	8	Massage Practice 1

Your Occupational Title may include:

• Massage Therapist
• Massage Therapy Practitioner

Your Qualification will enable you to work in a:

• health care clinic or in your own clinic
• health service
• health resort or day spa facility
• palliative care facility or hospital
• variety of social welfare and community settings
• aged care facility

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Studying Massage Therapy : Benefits

Choosing to study massage therapy as an education is a great idea. There are many benefits in learning about the human body and how to massage it for relief. Also, a degree in massage therapy can lead to many jobs as you can work privately, for a hospital or even a gym.

Benefits:

Understanding the human body - Having great knowledge of the human body and how to relief pain from certain ares is great. Majority of the population have back pains, and so knowing how to release them from the pain can be beneficial for you and others. 

Develop social/communication skills - In this line of work, communication with others is key. It's boring to just give someone a massage in silence (unless they ask for it). So it really forces you to interact with others and improve your social skills.

Hands-on work - if you hate sitting at a desk from 9-5 working a boring job than massage therapy could be right for you. It's literally hands on work, as you must learn how to use your hands to massage others. Great for people who like being active !

Never ending learning - Even after your course, in the field of massage you will always learn something new. The learning curve for this course is endless as there will always be new ways to use your healing hands.

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Downward Dog Exercise

Downward Dog
This yoga stretch is very beneficial to do. It helps focus on the hip/lower back region. At first you might not be able to do this exercise perfectly due to lack of mobility, but go as best as you can and soon you'll be able to do it with ease.

1. Begin by going on the floor and into a push up position. Your hands should be beneath your shoulders with your palms flat on the floor.
2. Slowly start raising your hips up trying to aim for the ceiling. Your body should make an upside down "V" shape when done properly
3. Keep your eyes on your feet, and imagine trying to press your chest to your knees. At the same time, try to keep your heels flat on the floor. This might be hard at first, but over time it should be possible.
4. Inhale a deep breath and as you exhale try to go deeper into the pose. As you get more flexible, you should be able to nearly your whole foot on the ground.

Tips:

• Use a wider than shoulder width hand stance, for a wider downward dog
• If your hands give in, you can do this on your forearm.

Benefits: 

• Great for opening up tight hips
• Great for lower back pain
• Increase flexibility

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Morning Routine

Everyone has a morning routine, whether it'd be hitting the snooze button 5 times or drinking 8 cups of coffee. I'm here to share my personal morning routine and maybe you could try it sometimes. My morning routine is nothing special, it's basic things that anyone can do.

Morning Routine : 

1. Squat Pause - squat down as low as you can and stay there for about 1 minute. Push your knees out with your elbows and try to keep your back straight. This will help open up your hip since they usually get really tight while we sleep.
2. Nice warm shower - As I've mentioned before in my preparation for full body self massage, this helps loosen up your tissue fibers and smooth your skin. Not to mention it helps you feel more energetic and less tired.
3. Basic Stretches - A great way to start the day is to do some light stretching that will make you feel all loose and filled with energy. I'll post a guide to a stretching routine in the future, but the general idea is to stretch out your arms, legs, back and neck. 
4. Green Tea - Most people drink coffee to start the day, but I prefer to drink green tea. It's a great alternative to coffee, the only difference is there's not caffeine which I count as a benefit. Not to mention the antioxidants help with fat loss/control. 

That's the basic morning routine that I do before I start my day. I used to feel very tired from staying up late and not having a proper morning routine. After incorporating this into my daily routine, I feel more refreshed and energetic. 

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Arm Stretches

The average working person, usually spends most of their days sitting at work and sitting at home. Not using our arms much can really cause them to tighten up and lead to aches/pains. A great fix for this is doing some stretches that will loosen up our tissue fibers.

Here are the top 3 stretches that will help you loosen up your arms and increase your mobility/flexibility.

1. Triceps Stretch
Place one arm behind the head with the elbows bent and facing the ceiling. With the other hand, grab the elbow facing up and gently pull it towards your hand. Hold this stretch for about 15-20 seconds. Do the same for the other hand.

This will help with your mobility/flexibility, as you try to get closer and closer to bringing your elbow to your head.

2. Biceps Stretch
Bring your hands behind you and interlock them as shown in the picture. While keeping your arms as straight as possible, slowly raise your hands as high as you can while having them interlocked. Hold this stretch for about 10-15 seconds. Repeat this stretch 2 more times.

3. Elbow Stretch
The most common arm pain is usually located at the elbows. Try this stretch out and see if it helps. With one arm fully extended out, grab your fingers and gently pull them towards your body. While doing that, you should push your elbows ups to feel a good stretch in your forearms and elbow. Hold this stretch for about 10 seconds. Do the same for the other hand.

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Foam Rolling IT Band

Iliotibial band also know as the IT Band is the band that runs down the side of our leg, from the hip/pelvic region to our knees. Tightness in the IT band is the cause of what people call 'runner's knees'. The best way to loosen up the band and get rid of runner's knee is to roll them out to loosen up and hit some trigger points. At first it's going to hurt, but if it doesn't hurt then you're doing it wrong.

Foam Rolling

Begin by placing the foam roller at the top of the hip, slowly roll down til the top of your knees. You can either have both legs together or have the other help you move up and down. Continue to roll up and down the side of your leg. Apply more pressure as you do this and stop at any tight or painful spot you feel. While at the spot, put more pressure onto the area, hang out for about 10-15 seconds. You can also flex and extend your leg just to move around those trigger points. Twist/turn and rock side to side so you can hit the top and bottom of the IT Band as well. There's usually no wrong way of doing it, as long as you can feel the foam roller hitting up against your leg. Try to aim for 10-15 rolls and try to find at least 2 tight spots to hit. Do the same to the other leg.

This is probably one of the most common use of the foam rolling, as the majority have tight IT bands that need to be loosened up. So the next time you feel like your knees are hurting, try this out!

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Lacrosse Ball Feet Massage

The sole of our feet are populated with many trigger points. Wearing the wrong shoes or being imbalance while you walk applies uneven pressure and can cause tight knots in our feet. The best way to release these knots and loosen our feet is to hit the trigger points to relieve them.

Since the trigger points and knots are very small in our feet, the best option to roll them out is to use a  trigger point footballer or lacrosse ball. I find that they footballer hits the feet better, but they are not as commonly used as the ball.

 Trigger Point Footballer

Begin this by placing the footballer at the heel of your foot, slowly roll it down to the ball of your foot. Roll back and fourth and stop at any part that feels tight or painful. The places that feel tight or painful are usually a trigger point. Apply pressure onto that spot by putting more weight on it, keep pressure on it for about 10-15 seconds and roll around that area. Use the sides of the footballer, to roll on the outside/sides of your feet as well. Do the same on the other foot.

Lacrosse/Massage Ball

Exactly like the footballer, start from the heel and roll down to the ball of your foot. What's great about the ball is that you can move it better in a circular motion, which helps find those smaller trigger point in our feet. Don't forgot to roll on the sides of your foot as well. Do the same on the other foot.

Although both of them have the same uses, I prefer the lacrosse ball as you can move it in a circular motion which I believe is more beneficial than the footballer. However having both in your arsenal will ensure a lifetime of relief.

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Relaxing Music

Music is all around us, It affects our mood so why not use it to our advantage. We receive most of our information via ears, constant sounds coming in and transmitting it all to our brains. This is why hearing the right type of music makes us feel happy and free and is also the reason why relaxing music can improve our body.

Benefits of Relaxing Music:

1. Reducing levels of stress - It has been shown that hearing relaxing music such as the soothing sound of nature can relieve a lot of stress. These sounds helps us disconnect from the real world as we only focus on the sound of nature rather than the everyday sounds that we hear i.e builders. Hearing relaxing music before going to bed highly increases the chance of sleep as our stress levels go down, not only will we get a better sleep out of it, but it will provide us with more energy and better brain function
2. Increase the levels of serotonin - Studies has shown that hearing relaxing music increases the number of serotonin in our bloodstream. Serotonin is known as the "happy" hormone, as it helps increase our sleep, mood and learning capacity.
3. Lowers Heart Rate - Just like how hearing rock and heavy metal increases our heart rate due to the loud music and bass. Hearing relaxing music calms down the heart, which is why you never hear any loud music in a hospital. Listening to this type of music regularly can help keep our blood pressure and heart rate low as well as keep a peaceful mindset.

Theses are only some of the many benefits of hearing relaxing music. I personally recommend putting it on during a massage session and while trying to sleep.

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Cat-Camel Exercise

Cat-Camel 
One of the most basic and commonly used pose/stretch in yoga. As the name suggests we will be round our back up like a scared cat and bring our stomach down to resemble a camel where our upper back and bottom looks like the humps.

1. Begin by going down on all fours with hands and feet shoulder width apart.
2. Inhale a deep breath and slowly arch your back up while gently tipping your head down.
3. Hold your breath and keep this position for about 10-15 seconds.
4. Exhale after the desire period of time and reverse the motion, allowing your back to sink down and your head to tilt upwards.
5. Hold this position for about 10-15 seconds and repeat if desired.

Tips :

•  Keep your arms straight throughout the whole movement
• Breath through your nose and out through your mouth
• If you experiencing pain in your wrist whilst doing it, try doing it on your elbows rather than hands

Benefits :

• One of the best exercises to stretch the lower and mid back
• Loosens up the pelvic region
• Teaches the pelvic tilt
• Great for people with back pain

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Preparation for a full-body self massage session

Just like weight lifting or before playing a sport, you must also warm up and have some preparations before start a massage session.

Here are the steps that you should take before you decide to start a full body massage.

Equipment

Things you might need to have/prepare :

1. Yoga mat
2. Foam roller
3. Towel
4. Body lotion
5. Lacrosse Ball

You don't necessarily need all these things to help you massage yourself, but they do indeed aid and assist in getting into those tight spots that are hard to reach.

Warm Up 

Start by taking a nice warm shower, we want to have our body nice and warm up. Along that, the water will help soften are skin/tissue which will make it easier to massage and might loosen up some tight knots just with the shower.

After your shower, roll out your yoga mat and begin with these light stretches to help warm up/loosen the body.

1. Cat Camel - hold each position for about 10-15 seconds
2. Downward Dog - hold position for about 10-15 seconds
3. Glute Bridge - hold position for about 10-15 seconds

Last steps before starting

After Stretching with these yoga poses, these are things you might want to consider:

•  Putting on relaxing music will help calm our nervous system and relax the body.
• Turning off any bright lights will help set the mood and relax our eyes
• Lighting scented candles will help our senses improve and relax our brain.

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Hand Massages

Hand Massages 

Thumb-Palm Massage:

Have your hands ever felt tight? Ever woke up and not be able to clench your fist? Well try these massages to loosen them up and have a great feel in your hands.

Start by putting one hand under-neath the other and gently press into your palms (wherever you might feel tightness). Move your thumb deep into your hands and gently roll/move it around in a circular motion. This will help release all the knots and tightness that have built up in your hand while you were resting. It's best to do this first thing in the morning and right before you go to bed.

Thumb-Finger Massage:

If you have trouble bending your fingers or you feel a mild discomfort when trying to close your first, you should try out this massage that will help flexing your fingers and hopefully remove the pain.

Start by grabbing a finger with the other hand's thumb and index finger. Apply pressure by squeezing the thumb and index finger and gently rub the fingers together for about 10 seconds. Do this to the bottom of the finger (as shown in the picture), the middle of the finger and the tip of the finger where the nail is. Continue to do this to each finger and move on to the next hand.

Finger-Rock Massage:

To finish off massage our hands, it's great to make our fingers feel loose and free. 

Do this by grabbing each finger and start gently moving it around back and fourth and side to side. Move it freely for about 10-15 seconds each finger and end off with gently pulling on the finger for about 2-3 seconds. It's okay to hear cracking and it's fine if your fingers start bending, don't try to keep the finger straight when moving it around as it could cause damages and pain to your fingers.

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Don't Pay hundreds of dollars for a massage or therapy!!! Introduction to self massage/physical therapy

Massages and Physical Therapy that make our body feel all loose and relaxed are great, but why pay someone else to do it when you can do it yourself in the comfort of your own living room.

I've spent over hundred of dollars on massages and physical therapy back in the past, but ever since I learnt about self massages, I haven't been back to one in over a year. Saving me a lot of time and money.

I'll be posting regularly information, guides and links on how to perform massages/therapy such as myofascial release, trigger point massages, foam rolling and yoga stretches.

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