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ISBN: Print 978-1-64611-188-6 | eBook 978-1-64611-189-3
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To the glory of God, who brought me back to life.
To the love of my life, Calith, who lights me up.
To the women who show me how to Believe, Belong, and Become.
And to my children, Jefferson, Jackson, and Joshua, who teach me daily that my lifes true purpose is love, motherhood, snuggling, and nailing it.
Contents
P erhaps you have come to this book in chronic pain, searching for an alternative therapy because so many pills and scans havent made a difference. Maybe you deal with a disorder and are looking for ways to find relief from its symptoms. Or perhaps youre looking for a new coping skill to deal with stress, anxiety, or another aspect of mental health.
Im here to tell you that massage is a powerful tool for healing. This book will help you harness that tool with tips, tricks, and techniques for performing massage at home on yourself or on a loved one who needs relief.
In addition to teaching at a premier massage therapy college in California, I run a medical massage therapy clinic in midtown Sacramento. Massage changed my life, too. I took a (stress)full load of advanced high school classes and tests, headed off to an expensive four-year college to get a bachelors degree, then launched myself directly into an expensive law school, expecting to spend my life in a small office producing documents and paying off student loans until I expired.
As the years passed in my law practice, our culture of chronic stress took its toll on me, particularly when combined with my childhood trauma and a crushing amount of student loan debt. I spent my early adult life dealing with frequent bouts of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. After 14 years of high-octane performance, I decided I no longer wanted to run in the rat race; chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome (exacerbated by extreme stress), carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and full-body muscle aches and pains sent me frequently to the emergency room and interfered with my work, relationships, and parenting.
After nearly three decades in the fight-flight-or-freeze zone, I learned what it meant to rest. I became a yoga teacher and yoga therapist, specializing in restorative yoga to heal people with stillness. I found peace in my faith. I spent years in talk therapy, unraveling the negative thoughts and unhealthy habits I had developed while operating in survival mode. I came to massage therapy school in the middle of that process, ready to learn some extra tools for my yoga tool belt. When my own physical and emotional ailments eased through daily massage, I found a calling. I realized that my careers purpose lay in being the healing hands and feet that help people get in touch with the best version of themselves through massage therapy and health education.
When I graduated from the advanced neuromuscular therapy program at my college with 1,350 hours of massage training, I opened my own medical massage clinic. I now work with doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, and other health-care professionals to educate them and their patients on the benefits and healing power of massage. People come to my clinic because they know they will be listened to, supported, and guided well on their path to optimum health and wellness.
This book is for anyone looking for healing massage techniques to use at home, but it is written specifically for you: someone with little to no experience in massage. Ive included basic introductory information to get you started, easy-to-understand instructions with illustrations for every technique, self-care tips for each ailment, and information on great extras like essential oils and hot stones. I believe you or your loved one will find unexpected relief at home in no time using this book.
Thank you for trusting me to be a part of your healing journeyit is a responsibility I do not take lightly. It is my heartfelt prayer that you will pass your knowledge and massage on to those around you, continuing to spread the healing power of touch in a world that desperately needs to rediscover it.
Please note that the recommendations in this book are not intended to cure any disease or replace your current medications. Always consult with your doctor before embarking on a new healing protocol.
Welcome to the next step on your journey to healing. Massage is a powerful tool that has been used for centuries to soothe and relieve painful ailments from anxiety and stress to injuries and chronic pain. In .
introduces you to popular and effective styles of massage throughout the ages and helps you understand how to use massage for healing at home, including tips for addressing chronic pain.
