Welcome to Psoas Massage + Bodywork

Psoas Massage + Bodywork Newsletter

Greetings!

This month we are going to focus on Sleep! For us, and our clients, August seems to be a busy month - which makes truly restful sleep all the more important!

We are introducing 2 new massage modalities, and want to give you an opportunity to try them out with a raffle! Scott brings you a good method for training yourself to sleep on your back, as well as some key stretches before bed. Our therapist Mani McCoy gives us a do-it-yourself spine extension roll which works wonders when used before bedtime! Holly Furgason, owner and instructor, at Blue Sparrow Pilates offers some wisdom as well as a free class only for Psoas Clients.

We have another super disk review from our own DJ Split, and we are INTRODUCING Psoas on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, just in case you didn't know -- WE ARE OPEN ALL WEEKEND. If you are having trouble fitting an appointment in during the week - try Saturday or Sunday.

Hope this month is as great while you are awake as when you're asleep!

Peace out,
Psoas

We are giving away bodywork...

For every new client you refer to Psoas through August 31st, on top of your 20% Client Referral Discount, your name will be entered to win one of two Make It Yourself bodywork packages.

We are welcoming two new bodywork modalities to our clinical and sports practice, and want to give you the option to choose! Two lucky clients will have their pick of any two services listed below. It can be two different or two of the same services.

45 minute Feldenkrais Lesson
The Feldenkrais Method is very effective for chronic pain, repetitive strain, and re-organizing one's movement to prevent recurring injuries. The practitioner applies a series of movements from joint to joint allowing the nervous system to release the muscle tension that surrounds them. Jason Garcia, who has been a member of the Psoas team for 3 years, is excited to bring Feldenkrais to Psoas after a dedicated 4 years and 800 hours of training, completed last summer.

60 minute Hendrickson Session
The Hendrickson Method is an orthopedic therapy that combines massage, mobilization, and neuromuscular re-education to provide the client with a gentle yet extremely specific and effective treatment. We are excited to have Randy Lind, massage and Hendrickson teacher of 9 years, joining up with the Psoas team to introduce the Hendrickson method to the practice.

60 minute Active Release Technique/Sports and Clinical Massage Combo
Psoas has now combined the extremely effective Active Release Technique, a soft tissue modality that applies specific tension on muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and fascia while the client is directed through a specific motion, with our sports and clinical massage to provide you with an ART Combo session. You can still receive just straight up ART, but if you are looking to cover more of the body, the ART Combo could be the solution. We now have 3 ART practitioners with Martina James in training to join the club!

60 minute Sports and Clinical Massage
Our highly educated and skilled therapists provide the best Sports and Clinical Massage around. Every session is designed for your individual body to reach your goals and get the results you need. We are here to help you feel better, work better, and play better!

Good luck to all! Winners will be picked and notified soon after Tuesday September 1, 2009.

FREE Blue Sparrow Pilates Class

Join Blue Sparrow Pilates' studio owner Holly Furgason for a FREE Pilates Mat Class only for Psoas Massage + Bodywork Clients!

Have you been wanting to get in shape, reinvigorate your current workout, or try something new?

This free introductory Pilates mat class is perfect for Pilates beginners or experts. You will learn basic Pilates principles and exercises that you can add to your weekly routine that will begin to help you feel taller, longer, and leaner! We'll get you feeling muscles you didn't even know you had -and the best part is it's fun!

Saturday, August 22nd from 10:00am - 11:00am.
Limited space available.

To Register:
Call or email Blue Sparrow Pilates
415-398-4425
info@bluesparrowpilates.com

Sleep Your Way to a Better Body
By: Holly Furgason, Studio Owner and Pilates Teacher at Blue Sparrow Pilates

Sleeping Lady

Pilates is mind-body exercise, so naturally as a Pilates' teacher, I find it essential to train and maintain the entire being for optimum health. Joseph Pilates talked about looking after the whole organism through balancing eating, exercise, adequate sleep, and other factors to support health. I spoke with one of my Pilates students, Erin Gibson, a University of California Berkeley PhD candidate in Neuroscience, to learn more about the importance of a good night's sleep.

Erin is a superlative example of a highly functioning body and mind. She played on a nationally ranked pre-professional soccer team and now focuses her attention on studies in the field of Neuroscience. Erin researches the effects of temporal disruption, such as sleep disorders, jet lag, or shift work on the brain and immune function.

As an advanced Pilates student who has practiced diligently twice a week for the past two years, she attests to the fact that she has seen the results in her own body. For Erin, Pilates has strengthened muscles of the abdominals, shoulders, hips, and spine, increased balance throughout the body, and led to better, pain-free posture. "Without a doubt, I feel both my body and mind function more efficiently after Pilates," Erin says. One of the most important aspects of consistent physical activity is increase in circulation, which is vital to brain health. Increased circulation helps transport oxygen and glucose throughout the body. Your brain uses approximately 80% of your body's glucose supply, so getting nutrients efficiently through your body results in better brain function.

"Sleep deprivation or sleeping at the wrong time of day are associated with many pathologies," states Erin. People with sleep deprivation exhibit slower reaction times, increased errors on visual tasks and memory tasks, and a suppressed immune system so cells can't as easily fight off infection, which can increase rates of diseases such as cancer. Sleep deprivation results in decreased amount of time spent in the regenerative stages of sleep, which is especially important for athletes.

One of the most enticing things Erin told me about developing good sleeping habits is that I will live longer! Erin implores, "People who get an average of 7-8 hours of sleep at night tend to outlive chronically sleep deprived individuals. Good sleep will combat stress, keep your metabolism humming, help you maintain a healthy body weight, keep muscles properly functioning, build immune system, and make you live a longer life." So don't wear your sleep deprivation as a badge of honor!

Healthy sleep is four simple things-the right amount of sleep, at the right time of day, in the right environment, consistently throughout the week.

First, get eight full hours of sleep each night. Less than seven hours a night chronically will lead to sleep deprivation. Even if you feel okay, physiological and psychological tests show that you are sleep deprived. Additionally, growth hormone, which plays a big role in metabolism and growth, is secreted at night. Sleep deprived individuals or sleeping at the wrong time decreases the secretion of growth hormone, which is implicated in obesity and growth deficits.

Second, try to sleep at the right time of day. Your body not only has a homeostatic need for sleep but it also has a circadian or 24-hour rhythm to sleep patterns. Hormones, such as adrenaline, which play a role in alertness, oscillate on a 24-hour rhythm, peaking during the day when we are awake. Unfortunately, individuals who sleep during the day and work at night will still have hormones, such as adrenaline, peaking during the day - when they are trying to sleep, resulting in less efficient sleep. Working when your body is meant to sleep results in sub-optimal work and cognitive deficits.

Third, darkness is essential for good sleep. The light in your sleeping environment must be low because the production and release of the hormone melatonin in the brain is inhibited by light. Exposure to bright lights during the nighttime will suppress its secretion and make it difficult to initiate sleep.

Fourth, Erin advises that even with an unpredictable work schedule people must keep a consistent sleep pattern. Cortisol levels in the brain peak just prior to waking in the early morning to activate metabolic systems. Healthy sleep patterns allow for this peak to occur when the body needs to get going in the morning.

Joseph Pilates defined health as, "the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure." This level of health and fitness requires balance throughout all systems of the body. A good night's sleep and mind-body training such as the Pilates Method will help.

For more information on Pilates, contact Blue Sparrow Pilates at
info@bluesparrowpilates.com, 415-398-4425.

For more information and to take a simple quiz to find out if you are sleep deprived get the book "Power Sleep: The revolutionary program that prepares your mind and body for peak performance" by James B. Maas.

Back Sleeping
By: Scott Schwartz

Go scour the web on sleeping and you will find a plethora of info from how many hours one needs, to what personality type you might be based on your sleeping position. There are certainly many important factors to consider regarding sleep, but today I'm simply here to help all of you sleep on your back, if you want.

Aside from people with certain disorders, sleeping on the back is the best position for your body. That statement isn't 100% precise, but if you can sleep on your back you are going to have less bodily discomfort caused by sleeping.

The first step to making the change to back sleeping is dedication. Seriously, if you're not going to put some serious effort into this don't even try - it's not going to work. If you want to dedicate yourself to the endeavor you have to be willing to be a bit uncomfortable, in the beginning. We change positions in the night mostly for comfort. If you stay on your back for multiple nights the discomfort will go away. At least try to force yourself to stay on your back a little longer each night. Back sleepers sleep on their backs all night.

Setup:

Four pillows are needed during your training.

One under your head - not very thick
One under your knees - comfort levels differ but this can be a thicker pillow
One pillow either under or on top of each hand and forearm - these pillows can be discarded after training.

The pillow under your head should be thin to help align your head and spine to a similar position that they would be in if standing. The pillow under your knees is to take pressure off of your lower back. Try laying flat on your back with and without the pillow under your knees, and you should feel a significant difference in the tension in your low back.

The two remaining pillows are for your arms. Again, comfort will dictate position. People with forward shoulders will benefit from having the pillows under their elbows, forearms and hands. For those with shoulders more inline with their ears try resting just your hands and part of your forearms on the pillow or even placing the pillow on top of your arms. Try out all the positions to see which best suits your body type.

These pillows not only support your arms but also complete a cocoon of sorts. They envelop your body, making it more difficult to roll over - and really help the training.

If you do turn in the night, train yourself to keep the head pillow where it is, place the knee pillow between your legs and wrap your arms around the arm pillow on the side you have turned.

Try this out for a month or so and see if it helps. After you are sleeping on you back through the night, you might want to try removing the arm pillows.

Good luck and happy sleeping.

Welcome Psoas to Twitter and Facebook

Psoas has joined the masses and now belongs to:

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Click on an image above to join us.

We have found sharing information in real-time to be exciting and an easy way to communicate with our clients and beyond! Ask questions, read articles, get great Psoas Partner deals, and special discounts.

Stretches - Before Bed, Legs

One of the biggest complaints I hear regarding restless sleeping is jittery, restless legs or as Kramer called them - "the Jimmy legs."

Try these stretches before bed for a more restful sleep.

1) Gluteals/Hips (deeper) ---

Lie on your back. Bend both knees and place both feet on the ground hip width apart

Place Right ankle in front of the Left knee.
Wrap your hands around the back of your left thigh - right and through the opening in your legs, left hand to the left of your left leg (if flexible enough reach further and grab the left knee)

Gently pull your legs, as a single unit towards your body - this should provide a stretch to your right gluts
Keep your head and neck relaxed on the floor.

If comfortable with the stretch, release your Right hand and push Right knee forward while keeping the Left knee in the same place.

2) Adductors (supine) ---

Lying on back with head relaxed on floor, bend knees so the bottom of your feet are together.
Let your knees fall to the side creating a stretch on the inside of your thighs.
Hold and breathe

3) Hamstrings (wall) ---

A wall or doorway is necessary
Place straight right leg up the wall and straight left leg on the floor, through a doorway with the left inner legs touching the door frame.
Low and mid back, buttocks, head and neck relaxed towards the floor
Move right buttocks towards the wall as more stretch is needed
This stretch is great for those that have difficulty in stretching their hamstrings because it is relaxed and can be held for long periods (5 minutes is not unusual, start with 2 minutes and works towards more). Also, you do not need to use your muscles to hold this stretch.

4) Soleus ---

Calf Muscles (Soleus, Gastrocnemius)
* A note on stretching your calf. There are two major muscles in your calf - one crosses the knee joint, the other does not. Therefore, in order to stretch both muscles, you must stretch your calf two ways - with the knee bent and with it straight.

Right knee needs to be bent slightly during this stretch
Face a wall with both hands on the wall - feet about 2 feet away from the wall - toes facing the wall
Place some of your weight on the wall leaning into it
Move your right foot behind - entire foot firmly on the floor, left foot stays where it is
You should be in a lunge position
Keep your right foot flat as you bring your right knee closer to the floor, bending your right knee slightly, feeling a stretch in your calf a couple inches above your right heel.

Spine Extension Roll - Before and After Sleep
By: Mani McCoy

Here is a simple tip for aiding in the the health of your cervical spine. This will help with flexibility and circulation while maintaining correct cervical spine curvature.

Use this cervical roll before bed to aid in sleep and the health of your spine.

gently supports cervical spine
use for 15 - 20 minutes 1 - 2x/day
do not exceed 20 minutes
an execellent time to use the cervical support is before sleeping
do not sleep on cervical roll
it is best to use the cervical roll after doing gentle mobility exercises for the neck/spine to ensure tissue is warmed up
this is especially important to do when using upon waking

Here is a simple way to make the cervical spine roll.

First start with two hand towels about 15" x 26". Cut up an old towel if your hand towels don't fit perfectly. Now follow the video below.