I hope you’re enjoying the season so far. It’s finally cool enough to take my morning walks in the pastures behind my house with my trusty sidekick, Mr. Gray, and we’re pretty happy about that. 🐱
I have a couple of announcements to make.
Starting January 1st, 2024, I will no longer offer 75-minute massages - I will just be offering 30, 45, and 60-minute sessions. So, if you’re one of my 75-minute clients, I do apologize. I will be scaling back a bit in the new year.
The good news is that if you’d like to book a 75-minute massage between now and December 31st, I am offering a $10 discount. When you book the session, the confirmation message will list the rate as $125.00, but I will deduct $10 when you pay at the end of your session.
If you’d like to book a session, please click here.
Secondly, I have finally created a protocol for my new treatment called Face, Hands, and Feet. This treatment is a 30 or 45-minute session with focused work on these three areas. For more information, read on!
Face, Hands, and Feet
“Your hands and feet get your mind to where it wants to be.” – Allan Rufus, The Master’s Sacred Knowledge
It’s difficult to fathom just how much your hands and feet do in the span of a lifetime. Beyond the mundane acts of ordinary life– like putting food in your mouth and walking multitudes of miles–your hands and feet physically connect you to the material world and other people (and pets!). They are the means by which we affect and experience the external world around us. It’s a very important job.
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to take our hands and feet for granted. Even seeing our faces in the mirror every day can seem passé; after all, we’ve seen the same face millions of times.
Living in the present moment, practicing mindfulness, and having mind-body awareness all sound rather effortless, but the truth is, it takes a lot of patience and practice to achieve these states of mind. For myself, I find that receiving bodywork, whether it’s traditional massage or some other modality not only helps me relax but really helps me break out of the mundane patterns of the external world and focus inward.
The Face
Engaging the physical, mental, emotional, and energetic layers of the body (i.e. the body, the mind, the heart, and the spirit) all in one session is a tall order. It sounds rather complicated, but this is what my method, Integrative Acupressure for Mind-Body Balance, is all about. For a more in-depth description of acupressure and my method, please click here.
Each of the fourteen meridians either begins or ends on the face, the hands, or the feet. The acupoints in these areas are potent points, and when engaged through acupressure, send biochemical signals along channels to their corresponding organ systems and throughout the body.
Regarding the face in particular, I have found that engaging the facial acupoints elicits an immediate relaxation response. The face is a very vulnerable area–you don’t let just anyone touch your face. But when someone you trust lightly touches your face, it can be a very healing experience.
In addition to reducing stress and anxiety, stimulating the face, scalp, and ear acupoints promotes the following:
Removes toxins and enhances lymphatic drainage, alleviating sinus conditions
Improves mental clarity and focus, alleviating brain fog
Stimulates the nervous system to release endorphins, elevating the mood
Releases muscle tension in the face
Eyes: helps relieve eye strain
Jaw: helps relieve TMJ and bruxism
Nose: helps relieve sinus problems
Scalp: helps relieve headaches and migraines
Ears: helps relieve vertigo and the symptoms of Meniere disease
Stimulates the vagus nerve, a component of the parasympathetic nervous system that modulates, among other things, emotional regulation, a significant factor in “letting go” and emotional release
The Hands
There is so much concentrated energy in the hands. It makes sense that many of the acupoints begin or end in this area. One in particular, located in the fleshy part between the thumb and index finger, is especially potent. You may have noticed during your massage that I almost always hold this point. It’s called The Great Eliminator and holding this point helps the body release negative toxins and energy.
Other points located on the hands, fingers, and wrist are beneficial for relieving respiratory and digestive issues, improving circulation, stimulating the immune response, and overall balance of energy.
Conditions relieved by stimulating the acupoints in the hand include:
Arthritis
Peripheral neuropathy
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Repetitive strain injuries
Stress and anxiety
Nausea
The Feet
The feet contain a lot of concentrated energy, just like the hands. A lot of energy tends to “pool” in the feet. Acupressure disperses this energy rapidly, essentially pushing it up and outward to different zones throughout the body. Pressing these points has a systemic effect as it directly affects the central nervous system, telling it to release chemicals that stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities.
The feet are arguably the most important physical component of feeling grounded and centered. The most potent acupoint on the foot is located right in the center of the ball of your foot. When pressed, this point releases excess energy, especially in the head, essentially draining toxins down and out of your body. Sustained pressure, then, transmutes this energy into groundedness, restoring the body to its natural equilibrium.
Conditions relieved by stimulating the acupoints on the feet include:
Peripheral neuropathy (helpful for people with diabetes)
Arthritis
Fatigue and sluggishness
Insomnia and other sleep conditions
Migraine
Anxiety and depression
Dementia
My goal is to help keep you in alignment with my multi-layered, transformative approach to bodywork. If you would like to book a Face, Hands, and Feet session, please click here. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the 30-minute and the 45-minute options.
Enjoy the Fall, everyone. I look forward to seeing you soon.
~Robin
Sources
McGavin, George. “The Incredible Human Hand and Foot.” BBC News - Science. February, 18, 2014.
Mehta, Piyush. Dhapte, Vishwas. Kadam, Shivajirao. Dhapte, Vividha. “Contemporary acupressure therapy: Adroit care for painless recovery of therapeutic ailments.” Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. National Library of Medicine. PubMed Central. April 2017.
Steenbergen, Laura. Maraver, Maria J., Actis-Grosso, Rossana. Ricciardelli, Paola. Colzato, Lorenza S. “Recognizing emotions in bodies: Vagus nerve stimulation enhances recognition of anger while impairing sadness.” Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience. National Library of Medicine - PubMed Central. July 15, 2021.
Sater-Wee, Diane. “Hand Pressure Points: Everything You Need to Know.” American Institute of Alternative Medicine. February 23, 2023.
Zhu, Heming. “Acupoints Initiate the Healing Process.” Medical Acupuncture. National Library of Medicine. PubMed Central. October 1, 2014.
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