Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Tag: travel

  • Chinese Medicine in Nicaragua

    Leon is Nicaragua’s showpiece to the world.  A stroll down its cobbled streets takes you back to its glory days when the Spanish empire was one of the richest, most powerful in the world.  The Spanish came, saw, and refused to leave until they had decimated the indigenous population and plundered their wealth of minerals and metals.  While they were here they built monuments to their grandeur, symbols of their might and ego, carved out of solid rock that remain neatly arranged around the town centre.  The towering cathedrals, which could never be mistaken for simple churches, punctuate the city’s barrios: each cathedral dedicated to a different biblical event.

    Leon today is a must-see; a city highlighted and recommended in every traveller’s guide.  Travellers come to witness the colonial charm that remained after history ran its course.  Others use the city as a base for visiting the nearby beaches or for the “once in a lifetime” chance to toboggan down the side of a volcano.  More serious travellers take advantage of the city’s language schools and learn to hablar espanol muy bien.  Most don’t realise that in the city lies a real rarity that is hard to find anywhere else in Central America: a traditional Chinese medicine centre.

    The Chinese Medicine Centre

    The many services the centre provides

    Centro de Terapias Naturales y Orientales offers acupuncture, massage therapy, herbal remedies, Thai massage, chiropractic massage, lymphatic massage, and reiki.  The best massage I had in Central America was received here for a mere $14. There is an herbal dispensary selling supplements at very low prices.  A bottle of maca root that would normally sell for $20 in Canada, is only $2.50 there.  A bottle of dietary cleanse capsules that normally go for $25, sells for $1.50.

    The most interesting story, however, is not what the centre is, but why it is.  This Chinese medical centre exists because of the revolution.  The revolution had strong roots in liberal, intellectual Leon as evidenced by the many murals and monuments around town remembering the martyrs of the revolution.  In a show of empathy and solidarity with the people and their ideals, a team of Japanese came to Leon’s aid.  In the years they were here, they trained willing students the art of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and massage.  The director of the clinic and her husband were both in the first class of Nicaraguans to learn Chinese medicine from the Japanese.  It was this tiny grass roots group that carried on the tradition, spreading the knowledge to those who want to learn.  Today they offer  a one year course in acupuncture that can lead to certification.

    Centro de Terapias Naturales y Orientales can be a bit tricky to find.  The address is:

    Costado Noroeste UNAN Leon
    1/2 cuadra al oeste, Leon.
    Telephone: 2311-2955, or 8333-8747, or 8657-0643

     

    A mural dedicated to the 4 martyrs of the revolution

     

    A mural dedicated to the massacre of July 23, 1959

     

     

  • The Travelling Massage Therapist Strikes Again

    Well, it’s 1am and I’m in a bit of a state of shock. I just purchased a ticket to Thailand for travel in August. There is a bit of an explanation that I owe you and I promise that it is coming soon. But for the moment, I think I’d better get some sleep (if I can… This is way too exciting).

  • Massage Therapy in Nepal

    Nepal was absolutely wonderful. It is hard to explain how one of the poorest countries in the world holds so much beauty. Trekking in the Himalayas was beautiful beyond compare. Also, after sampling some of the healing arts, I am now thoroughly impressed by the quality of care available there. I admit there are way too many massage hacks working the tourist trade, but with careful interviewing and selecting I found 4 practitioners of particular skill.

    One in particular, Jelly Rai from Pokhara, had some special abilities. On the day I saw her, I had come down with a fever that made everything painful and difficult. Every muscle on my body was sore. My head was cloudy. I had no energy at all. I saw her only hoping for a massage, but as soon as she started working on me I felt comforted. At about the half hour mark of the treatment I literally felt the fog of the fever lift from me like a veil. It was instantaneous. I had never felt anything so powerful and quick like that before. Instant healing? As a trained massage therapist, it is almost my duty to be skeptical. I followed a week long series of treatments and training sessions with her and found that her technical skills are nothing special. She does have a good intuition at treating, but for the most part, she uses very simple techniques and a lot of repetition. She used an Indian ayurvedic cream called MOOV which I purchased to try on my clients. I previously only used special homeopathic creams for clients that were in acute pain. And I only used the creams after a session to help them get through the rest of the day, but I am curious about how effective these creams can be during a session. The most important thing about Jelly was that she prayed. In what was once the only Hindu country in the world, Jelly is unique in that she converted to Christianity. She has a very strong faith and would pray during the session. She would pray for the client’s well being. She would pray for healing a particular ailment. I found it surprising, but I shouldn’t really. There are so many different kinds of Reiki, Traditional Chinese Medicine, energy channels, chakra healing, crystal healing and other types of energy healing out there. How are they any different than any of the world’s ancient religions? How is a therapist praying for your healing any different than a therapist trying to remove energy blockages? I will not say if any of this does or does not work, but I can tell you that myself and my travelling companion all had similar results and experiences under her care. I find myself inspired.

    Another look at approaches that have profound effects takes us to the barber shop.  The barber shop in Nepal is a real institution.  It is surprising just how precise these people are with an electric or straight razor.  Each superb haircut is followed up by a head, face, neck and shoulder massage.  I found the experience nice but rather uncomfortable because of the unergonomic position I was in.  (Yes, being a massage therapist can make you a very picky massage client)  Nevertheless, all critiques ended the minute the barber started pummelling my head.  I have had tapotement on my head before in China and Thailand, but at the barber shop it was relentless.  Hands curled into a loose fist repeatedly knocking me on either parietal plate (top sides of the skull).  Within seconds I had literally turned to butter.  By the end of the session, I couldn’t talk anymore.  I tried it on a friend later and it had the exact same effect.  Instant stress and tension relief.  And of course, I will be using it on my clients in the very near future.

  • Vacation in Nepal

    It seems that I’ve been vacationing more than working this year. Believe me, I’m not complaining. It’s been a wonderful year and I am absolutely falling in love with this rhythm.

    My next vacation will take me to Nepal for 3 weeks. I start in Kathmandu, then maybe some trekking in the Himalayas, maybe some bungee, maybe some paragliding… who knows… the possibilities, as it turns out, are endless.

    My last day of work will be Friday April 23. I start again on Tuesday May 18.

  • Acupuncture in a Cuban Hospital

    Here is an article that I have been working on since my trip to Cuba in January. I am embarrassed it took me so long to write. This article is based on information I gathered from an interview with an acupuncturist on January 4, 2010.

    After receiving numerous massages (the things I do for work, sheesh;-)) at the hotel, the massage therapist gave me some names and addresses of people I could interview about how acupuncture is incorporated into the Cuban health care system. My articles would finally start taking shape. As luck would have it, unclear directions, missed bus stops and a dozy bus driver turned the half hour trip into a 2 hour ordeal. 2 hours of getting lost in Cuba is not exactly a horrible experience though.

    My host was a nurse at the hospital that performed acupuncture. He was generous with his time.

    He explained to me that he was a nurse that was licensed to practise acupuncture after completing a 2 month acupuncture course. It was an intensive course that taught 4 hours of theory and 4 hours of practical work daily for 5 days per week. The course was actually more thorough than the courses available to health care practitioners in Ontario. While our practitioners need a 100 or 200 hour course (depending on whether they are a chiropractor, RMT, or physiotherapist) to be qualified to practise acupuncture, his course was over 300 hours. There were only 20 students in his class. I was envious of this as my course had over a hundred students in it. He was trained in the theory of Tao, the 5 elements, and yin and yang. The course covered the location, indications, cautions and contra-indications for the 80 most common acupuncture points.

    In Cuba, health care is free for all of its citizens. In addition to the standard western medical care, the system provides physiotherapy, massage and acupuncture for free. In fact, acupuncture is available at every hospital in Cuba and widely available of all 3 (national, provincial and municipal) levels of health care. Acupuncture is so common because it costs considerably less than pharmaceuticals or surgery. Medicine that we consider cheap costs a small fortune in Cuba due to the exchange rate and trade restrictions. Acupuncture also has considerably less side effects. With conservative, responsible needling techniques, acupuncture is completely safe. Simple acupuncture treatments are very cost effective and quick to administer helping the hospital avoid medicine shortages, surgery waiting lists and expensive procedures.

    When a Cuban is experiencing musculoskeletal pain, he may visit an orthopedic doctor who will triage the case and send him on to receive x-rays, medication, physiotherapy or acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. In this system, not only is the patient referred to acupuncture by an MD, but often in many cases, the acupuncturist and MD will work in tandem providing a combination of western and eastern care in one comprehensive treatment plan.

    The hospital did not use disposable single-use needles as is the practice in western countries. Instead, they would re-use the needles after sterilizing them. After use, the nurse washes the needles in soap and water then sends them to the sterilization facilities where they are sterilized along with surgical instruments in high pressure, high temperature chambers.

    Acupuncture was administered in the hospital in his office. There were beds for 4 patients as he would see 4 patients an hour for a total of 25 to 30 patients per day. All of these receiving free treatment under the direction of an MD.

  • How To Relieve the Discomfort of Airplane Travel

    Just got back from Spain via Amsterdam and I thought I’d share a few tips on how I coped with all the hours of sitting in a cramped little seat with the tiny fork and knife set, the tiny meal, served in the tiny dishes, with the tiny drink in the tiny cup…..  I’m still a bit jetlagged and my ipod alarm clock woke me up at 6 am for some wacky reason (ghost in the machine), so now could be the perfect time to hammer out this article that I’ve had in my mind for a year.

    When travelling, the biggest enemies are inactivity and improper posture.  The combination of them both leads to soreness or stiffness in the lower back, legs, shoulders or neck.  Here are a few tips that will help:

    Use Your Pillows &  Blankets

    1. This step should help to reduce the postural strain that improper sitting places on your body.
    2. Sit with your hips back against the back of the seat to get the maximum support from the seat.
    3. Place the blanket or pillow (personally, I like to fold the blanket in half) between the small of your back (the curve just above your hips) and the seat back.  This will help to support your lower back in its natural curve and reduce low back pain.  It is especially helpful if you are suffering from any disc related issues
    4. Place the pillow behind your neck and keep the back of your head rested firmly against the headrest so that you can feel your neck being supported.  This helps to keep your neck in its neutral curved position and reduce neck stiffness.
    5. If you follow these steps you should feel like your upper body is fully supported in a more natural position.  You should feel less strain or discomfort in this position

    Get some exercise

    1. Too much rest is not a good thing.  All that sitting without any real movement can make you achy and stiff.  The perfect solution is a bit of exercise.  Any simple exercise or movement helps increase blood flow and lubricate your joints.  Improved blood flow nourishes and oxygenates your body’s tissues and helps in waste removal, leaving you feeling healthier and more refreshed.
    2. Get up and walk around.  Use any excuse to go for a walk:  Get a glass of water; Go to the bathroom; take a tour of the cabin; see what movies everyone else is watching; or as they say in the Dead Poet’s Society, view life from a different perspective!
    3. You will probably feel pretty stiff the first time you get up.  This is a sign that you should be doing it more often!

    Choose your seat carefully

    1. Make sure you get an aisle seat.  All that getting up and walking around is never going to happen if you are stuck in the middle of a long row between 6 very close strangers.   Make it easy for yourself to get up at will without annoying your neighbours.
    2. The aisle seat also means that you have to get up every time one of your neighbours wants out, but if you’re not big on sleeping on flights, being forced to get up is a bit of a bonus and the perfect chance to stretch out a bit.
    3. Don’t take all the aisle seats!  Leave at least one for me  unless you want to see me get cranky 😉

    Use your time between flights

    1. If you are stuck waiting for a few hours between flights, take the chance to walk around.  A good solid hour of walking can do wonders to reverse all the damage that sitting for 6 hours does to your body.
    2. Shop.  Not up for a brisk walk?  How about a leisurely stroll through the mall?

    Beware Deep Vein Thrombosis

    1. Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot that can form in your calf.  It may feel like a bit of pain or swelling in your calf.  This is only mildly annoying, but if left untreated can result in the clot breaking free and blocking the blood supply to your heart or brain.  If you feel soreness and swelling in a calf muscle after a flight, consult your doctor.  The typical treatment is a round of blood thinners to gently break down the clot.
    2. The lower air pressure combined with inactivity and sitting increases your chances of getting deep vein thrombosis. Seniors or women using the birth control pill are especially at risk.
    3. One solution for preventing the deep vein thrombosis from forming is exercise.  It is much more difficult for a clot to form if you are moving about.  Get up and walk around every now and then to keep the blood flowing in your legs.
    4. Try calf raises.  While you are seated you can practise going up on your tippy toes and back down again.  The constant flexion and relaxation of your calf muscles act like a pump and move the blood faster through  the calf.
    5. An Aspirin a day.  Aspirin is a blood thinner in addition to being good for a variety of other ailments.  If you doctor agrees with it and believes you are healthy enough for it, take aspirin daily for 3 to 4 days before your flight.  Remember to be sure to consult with your doctor before you try this.

    Some other tips

    1. The air is pretty dry in the cabin, so keep drinking water to keep yourself hydrated.
    2. Try the in flight exercises.  Most planes have neck and shoulder exercise routines available in their in flight magazines.  Try them out.  It might look a little silly, but they definitely help.