Moving Mindfully

Moving Mindfully By Alison Palmer As a physical therapist who practices functional manual therapy, I am constantly helping my patients to be able to move and function more efficiently. Whether it is an elite athlete who is wanting to stay injury free, or someone who has had

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MOXIBUSTION: THE POWER OF HEAT THERAPY

MOXIBUSTION: THE POWER OF HEAT THERAPY By: Ramie Holmquist One of the clearest memories I have of receiving my first acupuncture session was the fragrant and smoky herb my practitioner burned around different points on my body. Its scent was distinct and heady. A gentle warmth radiated

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Use it or Lose it!

Use it or Lose it! Three things that naturally change in the body with age and how to prevent them! STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE As we get older, the physical changes that occur naturally in our bodies can keep us from doing the things that we love.

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Womblifting

Womblifting Some of you may already be familiar with women’s health concerns and the relationship with the alignment of the uterus. I hadn’t ever heard about this until my studies brought me to my Thai massage school in Chiang Mai, Thailand where I studied in 2015 and

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Sciatica Syndrome and Massage

Sciatica Syndrome and Massage By Alessandra Nisco Jacobson Perhaps due to extreme summer sports, long hours sitting, or the average age cohort of my clients, I have had a wave of massage clients this summer experiencing sciatica-type symptoms, which can be alarming and unbearable. Sciatica is not

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Breathing: The Core of Pilates Posture

Breathing: The Core of Pilates Posture by Kim Moriyama “Breathing is the first act of life and the last. Our very life depends on it…Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.” – Joseph Pilates Joseph Pilates believed that focusing on breathing was vital and created various breathing

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Treating Depression

Treating Depression Depression comes in all forms, and no one is exempt from occasional periods of “the blues.” However, when one goes from being down occasionally, to an excessively prolonged period of depression, it’s time to seek help. There are many different types of diagnosable depression. There

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The Importance of Efficient Breathing

The Importance of Efficient Breathing Breathing is a key function of the body that sustains life. As a physical therapist specializing in Functional Manual Therapy, how efficiently a person is able to breathe is an important part of my evaluation. I look at the whole person and

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THE SYNERGY OF HERBAL MEDICINE

THE SYNERGY OF HERBAL MEDICINE By Ramie Holmquist When asked what I do for work, I typically tell people I am an acupuncturist. While that response isn’t inaccurate, it is also doesn’t tell the whole story. Having gained some traction in western culture over the past few

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Peace is Still Every Step

“Peace is every step,” by Thich Nhat Hanh was a book that inspired me when beginning to hike El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, for the first time, in the spring of 2001. I had spent a week at Plum Village, his retreat center in France practicing

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Unleash the Mighty Psoas

The psoas, a dynamic 16-inch-long involuntary hip-flexing, core muscle which connects the upper and lower body, providing structure, stabilization, and locomotion, can also contribute to healthy digestive, emotional and sexual function. This miraculous muscle, with a myriad of interrelationships, lives on the front of either side of

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Money Issues and Raising Children

While most of us are familiar with many of the problems and issues that arise from being strapped financially and raising children, we may not be as familiar with the issues that arise from being financially well-set, or affluent, and also raising children. Children raised in affluent

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Get The Help You Need After Childbirth

Yes, ladies this article is for you!! Since childbirth, do you suffer with urinary incontinence or leaking issues, a diastasis or separation in the middle of the abdominal muscles, low back or pelvic pain, a prolapse “down there”, stuck scar tissue from having a caesarian, a flabby

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Men and Pilates: Where have all the men gone?

I have been wondering why there are not more men in Pilates classes. Pilates was created by a man, Joseph Pilates, who was a gymnast, boxer, and skier. When did Pilates become out of balance with the male population? My questions led me to take a workshop

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GUA SHA: A HEALING MODALITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE

While most people are now relatively familiar with the practice of acupuncture, there are a multitude of adjunct therapies used under the scope of Chinese Medicine that remain foreign to westerners. Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps have helped put the practice of cupping into the public eye

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Scar Tissue and Chronic Pain

Our bodies are very good at communicating to us when something is wrong.  A fever when we are sick, a rash when we are allergic to something, and pain when there is dysfunction.  The origin of pain can be very hard to isolate.  No doubt pain can be associated with

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Abdominal Massage

The massage school I attended in 2004 (in Vancouver, WA) introduced us to abdominal massage as a way to aid in healthy digestion. Over the years, in my massage practice, I have integrated these techniques mostly upon request as well as for friends’ babies who have tummy

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