For those of you in the Northampton, MA area, I am offering the following December special:

60-minute Massage Therapy and CranioSacral Therapy Gift Certificates at 30% OFF!

Click here for more information, to purchase, or to check out my website.

While this article was written in December 2004, it brings up some very important poins to consider when thinking about seeing a naturopath vs a classically trained western doctor.

The first and most obvious difference between naturopathic physicians and classically-trained western doctors is that western doctors are primarily experts in disease, whereas naturopathic physicians are experts in health and wellness. So if you want to go to someone who knows everything that there is to know about disease and disease symptoms, it’s an excellent idea to go visit a conventionally-trained physician. However, if you are interested in knowing how to be healthy and you want to be given a plan that will assist you in your own efforts to become healthy, you need to visit someone who understands the causes of health. Western doctors understand the causes of disease; naturopathic doctors understand the causes of health.

Read the full article here:

CranioSacral Therapy (CST) was recently featured in an article at midwiferytoday.com:

CranioSacral Therapy in the Midwifery Model of Care

Here is a post I made recently regarding CST and Obstetrics (OB) at BodyworkOnline.com

Here are some clinical discoveries of the application of CST to OB

* We have been able to use CST instead of Pitocin to both start and/or augment labor
*Adequate progress for the ACTIVE phase of the First stage of labor (4.10cm dilation) is 1.0cm per hour - while our numbers are still small, none of our patients have shown any evidence of prolonged labor
*Infants born to those mothers who have received epidurals have shown non-negative effects of the epidurals
*While having a baby quickly may imply more efficiency, our average second stage (time pushing) is less than without CST. However, speed is not a necessarily sought after goal. Optimizing whatever time it takes IS the goal
*None of the babies born have required resuscitative efforts
*Common phrases used by mothers/fathers after the first few weeks include: “good babies; alert; not fussy; at peace; calm … ”
*Mothers report recovering more quickly and that the adjustment to motherhood is not difficult/as difficult (compared to their other children)
*Breastfeeding seems more easily accomplished and parents seem to be enjoying their children more
*Applying CST to the first labor and delivery appears to help mom through subsequent labors and deliveries (positive use of cellular memory?)

The doctor who did the initial research with this is an ob/gyn on a military base. He is trained in CST and has a CranioSacral Therapist working with him in his practice. He has a lot of documentation from all the printouts during labor and delivery of the monitors before, during, and after application of CST; and shows the effects of the work on mom and baby.

It’s pretty amazing to hear them talk about their work.

Also check out my previous posts:

Newborns and CranioSacral Therapy - Part I

Newborns and CranioSacral Therapy - Part II

As we move deeper into fall and closer to winter we approach the holiday season and cold and flu season. During this time we are more often indoors and spend more time visiting friends/relatives, attending parties and shopping. And its a time when we share a lot of germs.

The number of cold and flu infections greatly increases in late fall and through winter. So, it is important to do what you can to prevent getting an infection and further spreading germs.

When we sneeze or cough we produce droplets that can be propelled 3-4 feet away from us. It is said that a single sneeze can produce about 40,000 of these droplets. These droplets contain microbes that can live outside the body for up to two hours or more. This could be on a doorknob, faucet, keyboard, phones and many other surfaces. If you touch any of these surfaces and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, you greatly increase your risk of getting sick.

The absolute best and easiest way to reduce your risk and help prevent spreading germs is hand washing.

You don’t even need special antibacterial soap. Studies show that proper hand washing with regular soap is just as effective as using antibacterial soap. The problem is most people do not wash their hands properly. You’re probably thinking, “Is there a WRONG way to wash my hands? I wet them, lather up, and rinse. It’s easy.”

It is easy! But the part most people are not aware of is that to be effective you need to thoroughly and vigorously lather/scrub/rub (whatever you call it) your hands for at least 15 seconds. You can time yourself by singing the Alphabet Song or the Jeopardy theme song. Both of these are around 15 seconds, as long as you don’t speed sing through them.

Of course there are other great ways to help prevent getting a cold/flu. I’ll discuss those in future blogs. But for now, remember:

• Wash your hands often and well.
• Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough
• Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth

(This post taken directly from my website MassageNorthampton.com)

Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, and the St. Louis Rams know the benefits of massage pre- and post-event. Now studies are being conducted to discover the actual physiological effects of massage post exercise. Many of us therapists have spoken of these benefits for years. It’s interesting to me that it took a trip to Beijing and Olympic Medals for people to start thinking, ‘Hey. Maybe there’s something to this whole sports massage thing.’

Study: Massage Can Help Recovery

Anyone researching and building pages for the web,should not be without this tool:

Search It!

Here’s just a few things you can do:

Brainstorm new topics for your site.

Deepen the research on your competition.

Get your domain naming, trademarks and other legalities right.

Find original new inbound link opportunities.

Identify new ways to monetize your site.

Here’s a two part video from a Gainesville, FL local news station about a 13-year old girl with severe scoliosis and her family’s struggle to get CranioSacral Therapy covered by their insurance.

Part One

Part Two

Part two has video of Dr. John Upledger working on the 13-year old, and speaks more about CranioSacral Therapy than the first video.

Yup. That’s right. I completed my certification process on Thursday August 7, 2008! I spoke about my written exam and a bit about the certification process in this previous post.

I was unable to take my practical exam with the examiner in my city. But I believe it happened for a reason. I tested with an examiner/instructor whom I admire greatly. I have been a teaching assistant for his CranioSacral Therapy Level One class and he was my instructor for The Brain Speaks class I attended in March.

It was truly a wonderful day. He was very impressed with my work and knowledge of the material. He also asked if I was considering becoming an Upledger CranioSacral Therapy Instructor. Wow. What a compliment.

What’s next from here? First, I still need to let this sink in. I still smile from ear to ear when I think about being certified. Out of over 80,000 trained therapists around the world there are only just over 700 certified. In the US out of over 60,000 trained therapists there are just over 400 certified. And in Massachusetts I am one of 16 certified CranioSacral Therapists.

I’m going to spend a little time focusing on growing my CranioSacral practice. As that begins to grow, I plan to do more informational meetings and one-day trainings in the area, possibly at some massage schools. I will be working on honing my skills and presentation abilities to work toward teaching the 2-day Introduction class. Once I get there, who knows where I will go …

But for now, I just smile a lot and share the wonderful news with everyone I run into.

While it is good to protect yourself from getting a sunburn, it is important to pick the right sunscreen so you are not rubbing too many horrible chemicals all over your body. A little bit of unprotected sun exposed isn’t bad (5-15 minutes per day depending on your skin type). It’s overexposure that’s the problem. That’s when you need sunblock. But how do you choose? Which ones protect? Which ones have harmful chemicals?

Check out this page about sunscreens which includes research findings, good brands, bad brands, which are effective and which you should avoid.

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency