More pills?

I’ve heard many people complain over the years that doctors tell them they have a condition then begin prescribing a long list of medications. They’ll tell me they’re tired of taking pills and when discussing their pain I’ve seen a full gamut in my 11 or so years. TMJ, thoracic outlet syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome and back pain are just the beginning.

I use to ask clients where they felt back pain but honestly, I don’t need to ask many anymore. I can look at you and tell you where you’re likely to feel pain. How? I look at your posture. One day I saw a woman and looked deeply at her posture then asked, “Do you feel tingling or numbness in the ring and pinkie finger of your right hand?” Having no idea who I was she looked at me puzzled and said, “Yes, how do you know that?” I wandered off as if busy to avoid answering the question. It was a guess but I’ve noticed my ability to help people with chronic pain issues has grown over the years.

Doctors and medication are great. I’m happy to live in the 21st century and to be in a country where if I get hit by a bus the doctors will do everything within their power to keep me going. After they’re done however, I’ll be heading right back into what I already do, yoga and bodywork.

I’ll never speak ill of those in the healing professions but doctors have done next to nothing for me. I’m really good at what I do because I had a choice, I could figure out and heal what a doctor could not or I could become a junkie and make sure opiates eased what I could not control. I think you can tell which path I chose.

Always consult your doctor but healing comes in many forms. My mantra to new clients is this, “Every time I work on you I’ll give you 110% but if you want to grow old gracefully, start practicing yoga.”

Myofascial Pain Trigger Points pt.8 Coracobrachialis

I’ve had pain in my arm for so long I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to not have pain. I’d worked trigger points in subscapularis, infraspinatus and subclavius but still had some lingering pain. I was completely blown away when I found coracobrachialis.

My arm rotation, I’m happy to announce, is much greater and it’s improving slowly with ease, care and work. It feels nice to have my arm back after ten or more years.

When you work on the trigger point go slow. The area feels exquisitely tender and as I mention in the video be sure to use the pad of your thumb. No stress in the hands is needed and coracobrachialis is fortunately easy to access. Pull the elbow down into your side and you’ll feel the muscle pop up, relax the arm then press gently. Start in the middle of the arm then move slowly, purposefully into the armpit near the coracoid process.

Shoulders

I’ve had shoulder pain and misalignment on my left shoulder for so long it’s become part of me. Recently I had a major breakthrough and I’m slowly trying to integrate this new found movement and lack of irritation. Shoulders are extremely complex structures and due to the use of our arms the shoulder joint has more mobility than the other joints in our body. Long term this means we can develop more problems with them if we’re not careful.

The shoulders connect to the shoulder blades and then to the musculature and structure of the upper back and cervical spine. One completely affects the other and working on your shoulder joint can affect the shoulder blade, thoracic spine etc. Alignment is all.

Downward facing dog allows you to explore all of those structures but 1/2 downward dog allows more movement through the arms, more range of motion exploration and takes less strength to hold. This particular pose allows you to open the rib cage, pull the shoulder blades back and lets you experience some freedom from frozen shut and stuck on the rib cage shoulder blades.

Low Back Pain

Thai massage is the best bodywork for dealing with low back pain in my experience. I spent years doing table work to little effect on low back issues but when I learned Thai massage and started using it, low back pain clients glommed onto me in a way that I found puzzling at first. I didn’t realize exactly why it made such a difference but over time it became clear.

People usually feel pain right in the center of their low back, some describe it as a band across the low back and others often describe feeling pain running down their legs they call sciatica. Where they point to, isn’t where the problem is. That is why Thai massage is so effective in dealing with low back pain, it goes to the source.

The source of most low back pain comes from the hamstrings, the glutes and the pelvic bowl in my experience. What is Thai massage really great at accessing? All of those just listed. I’ve seen it so many times there’s a pattern that is ingrained in the way I look at posture.

The video shows a simple way of stretching your hamstrings while in an chair at your office. It’s a good start but long term, get regular Thai massage and start taking yoga classes. Trust me, I’ve learned a lot in the past 11 or so years.

Teach to learn more

Teaching the Intro. to Thai massage class this past weekend at Casa de Luz this weekend was great fun. We had I believe 12 or so students at final count and everyone was excited to receive work and learn to help others. Every group of students is different and brings their own unique flair to class.

This time I noticed we had at least 4 students with no formal yoga or massage training. 1/3 of the entire class just decided, this stuff is great I want more and decided to take a 14 hour class in it. I think that speaks volumes for how popular Thai massage is becoming.

One student has told me that they believe this will change their entire massage practice of over ten years. Their whole way of working, flipped and changed for the better. We helped do all of that in 14 hours. I don’t think that speaks volumes for my teaching, so much as the power of Thai massage itself. If you don’t know what it is, learn soon.

If you’re a massage therapist looking for a different way, if you want to save your hands and avoid burn out, this is it.

Thank you to all my students, for teaching me with beginners mind.

Ebb and Flow

Andrea and I have been working on trying to figure out buying the home we’re in for some time. We’ve never been fixated on purchase but it was always in the back of our minds. We have limited income, our businesses both operate out of the house in addition to its being living space.

We finally got word that our offer on the house was declined and someone else has purchased it. Time to move!

I announced to my yoga students last night that we had to be out of the house by March 1st. They didn’t make a sound. I was struck by it, expecting to hear whines or complaints. I teased one of our students about not having to do yoga anymore and Toni, one my most die hard students said, “Oh no, we’re doing yoga if we have to do it outside on the lawn.” I guess sometimes you reach students who won’t let you quit.

RobertGardnerWellness.com

So in one month we have to move out completely. There are many things up in the air at the moment. We have to find and possibly buy a house in addition to moving our businesses and setting up shop elsewhere. The one thing that amazes me is we’ve taken almost nothing and built something. We had an old abandoned rent house with holes in the windows and grass as tall as me and not only made it better, we made businesses that grew out of it.

My Intro. to Thai massage class this weekend has 14 people in it. I’ve had to work 2 years to promote and grow my business in order to do that. I’m on the verge of real financial success, the kind where you pay for advertising instead of do it all for free on facebook.

Sometimes things ebb, sometimes they flow, just make sure you don’t grow too attached and always keep moving.

What do you teach?

When students ask me what I teach I typically tell them bodywork or Thai massage. If they ask more questions I say that I teach yoga, yoga therapy and help people with back pain. I do whatever I can within my power to heal and help others do the same. As a human, I’m a flawed, errant and odd individual but therein lay my divinity, I embrace that duality.

Thai massage and yoga aren’t different things to me. They’re just two sides of the same coin. The person I am, always is. What do I teach? All that I know. Come learn. We only have 3 openings left in the Thai massage class this coming weekend. Click here to register.

Referrals

At work recently I walked in to a name I recognized, a face I recognized but I couldn’t put the two together. If I’ve had a busy few weeks this isn’t uncommon. Client after client with back pain or some issue starts to blend particularly if we’ve not had extensive conversation that allows me to get to know the person I’ve worked on.

When I said hello the client they looked at me fondly and said, “the new love of my life.” I blushed lightly, looked at my boss and she said, “I think she likes your work Robert.” I giggled and mentioning it to my boss later and she said I’d be surprised how many marriage proposals she’s gotten over the years.

Talking with the client afterwards, it turns out I’d done what for me is fairly standard, Thai massage or as some call it Thai Yoga massage on the table with a new client. She’d been having low back problems and the work is so beneficial it’s my go to in the tool box. Discussing her pain scale she explained to me that if 10 meant you were going to the hospital and 0 was no pain she was at about a 7 when she saw me. The following morning she felt like she was under a 1. That much pain relief will get you some loves.

She’d read some of the blog here, purchased a Ma roller and told all her friends. I adore having honest expressions of appreciation but other than a nice tip after your session nothing spells appreciation like referrals. In the business of bodywork I don’t find that ads draw people in. Much like a hairdresser there is something intimate about working with someone, one on one, on their body in some caring way. Most people ask other people who they go to. They don’t as commonly look up random names in a phone book like they would for plumber.

A referral does something that I cannot do. It tells someone that my work is good by someone who’s had it. Anything I say about my skills or caring nature isn’t matched by that of a pleased client with friends who’ll make an appointment based on those conversations alone. When that new person comes in they’re already relaxed, after all their friend had a positive experience, why shouldn’t they? In my line of work nothing works as well. No print ad, mailer with a coupon or blog article I write will have as much of an effect as when a friend says they have pain in their low back and someone announces, “You should go see Robert.”

Another thing that impressed me about the interaction with the client is they were engaged in their healing process. Not only did they make a semi-regular appointment for several weeks but they purchased the massage tool the Ma roller to engage in self care. The work we do is healing and in a culture with a lack of physical touch just that alone is therapeutic to people. The best care is active and passive, from working on yourself and from allowing others to help you. Nothing in my experience is as healing as your own focus and care then allowing a nurturing therapist to assist you in that healing process. It’s far better than just working on yourself. You’re not alone in your quest.

Tips are another area that spell appreciation. When a tank of gas costs $50+ these days it makes an impression not only financially but energetically. The fact that a client gives me more than the asking price tells me they value our time and interaction enough to want to keep me around. If you worked in a restaurant do you remember the patrons who tip well? Same if you’re a bartender? One thing I learned long ago if I was drinking hard liquor the bartender got a large tip right up front. The following drinks were always a little better.

Another factor to consider is regular sessions with a therapist. Regular work for a massage therapist is golden. We work in an industry that isn’t often stable. Work comes and goes, paychecks fluctuate and clients that get regular work make our income more balanced and our work go farther. Clients who engage in regular work respond better, their tissues soften and it shows they’re being proactive with their health. After ten years working nothing is quite as irksome as someone who comes in with the code red crick in the neck. That didn’t happen over night, it usually happens over the course of months of lack of exercise, lack of care and now they come in for me to fix it. A regular client who comes in gets far more empathy when it comes to the ups and downs of life and limb.

So the appreciation goes both ways. If you’re a client or student who sends friends, thank you. You’ve made my healing work possible. If you tip and help me pay for gas and groceries thank you as well. Without you I’d be working as a plumber in a far less fun environment.

Looking Back #2

There are 8 full class days this month teaching Thai massage in Austin. More business is cropping up, social media is taking off and within the next year I suspect my business will change more than even I realize. New heights, new challenges and I use what I teach to help me stay calm and centered. More yoga and Thai massage please.

Thai bodywork is on the upswing and I’m going to do everything within my power to use it, transform it for westerners and make sure the public knows there’s more to massage than cream and a table. The time is now.

Looking back it’s nice to see I’ve been saying this all along. The link contains a video with Kira Balaskis. After all these years it’s still one of my favorite Thai massage videos.

Looking Back

We’ve had many new students recently and also many new followers to our social media. As we just passed two years posting to the blog I want to post some occasional looking back posts. These will highlight blog posts from the past that I’ve enjoyed and show those who’re new what may be hiding in the blog.

Having my own space on the internet has allowed me a soapbox. Being able to share what I love and change the world with my joy is great. Thai massage is blooming. Here’s a post where my work started to come together. Simple videos showing easy to use techniques to work on people.
Austin Thai massage

Bikram yoga and Thai massage

Bikram yoga and Thai massage have been the cornerstones of my health regimen for years. I discovered Thai massage and yoga at around the same time then later bumped into Bikram practice. I’d never seen anything like Bikram yoga. My first class was an arduous, sweaty, New Orleans original with humidity that makes Austin look like child’s play. I tried, did what I could and left wondering what the hell did I just do?

Over the years I’ve integrated knowledge and distilled the essence of both practices into my own work as a bodyworker and yoga teacher. I ran across this article on blood stops the other day.

Blood stops in Thai massage are not something often spoken of. It’s a higher skill, taught later in my series of Thai massage classes. I learned them years ago, use them with clients and later realized while taking Bikram classes that Mr. Choudhury had incorporated specfic poses in his sequence, along with the heart pumping heat, to do the same. The tourniquet effect and a blood stop are essentially the same physiological mechanism.

This isn’t new information to me. I know it in the way that one knows your lover, from intimate contact and ongoing communion. What I was impressed to find was, oh someone else actually knows this and wrote about it. I rarely see Thai massage and Bikram yoga mentioned in conversations together and found it interesting that Bikram’s yoga was referenced twice in the pdf.

Bikram helped teach me to do some Thai massage to myself. Thanks to the staff at Yogagroove for helping me keep the blood moving all these 7 years. If you’re interested in my work there’s an Introduction to Thai massage class coming in late January.

New years resolutions

New years resolutions are a common end of year event. People typically desire to lose weight, feel better, spend more time with loved ones and eat more nutritionally dense food. In thinking about my own new years resolutions I always resort to the basics, to do better than I did the year before.

This TED talk spoke to me. I’d seen the video they use as a demonstration before but his breakdown of how a leader leads spoke to me. Tell you’re friends! We’re dancing to the beat of our own accordion at Robert Gardner Wellness.

My path has been a long winding 35 years and continues to bear ample fruit that’s pleasing. I’m on the right path, more steps are to be taken and at its core, what I want is to be more me and offer you a service you can’t get elsewhere. My work and my life are the same. I jokingly told another Thai massage teacher that if you cut off my arms I’d massage people with my feet. There’s something about bodywork that grounds me, heals me, helps me and makes me thrive.

Abundance and sharing is the name of the game. I want clients who grok what I do and don’t accept less than what we’re doing together. In my speech I talk about our studio, our work, our adventure. That’s because it’s not just me! I don’t need every yoga student or Thai massage client in town, I just need the .01% of the population of Austin and Round Rock, Tx that understand what we do and desire to be well. Let’s get to work! Warms up accordion.