A Dose of Inspiration: Keep Moving

So you know this much about success: Make goals, break them down, and start checking steps off your to-do list, right? An important piece to keep in mind is to keep moving. You sit down, and it's SO much harder to get back up and work on the next step. Keep your head up, take deep belly breaths, focus. Remember why you're doing it, how much better you'll feel when you've finished it, what difference it will make in your life, who else will benefit from the end result with you. 

Keep moving.

And don't be reluctant to pat yourself on the back when you reach your goal. I am a big proponent of rewarding myself for a job well done. The reward doesn't have to be huge. I'm a bit like Pavlov's Dog when I'm at work--I've developed a tradition of allowing myself one piece of Dove dark chocolate after each massage I give. Keeps my sweet tooth in check. ;) 

I'm also about to get my next massage scheduled--after many hard hours working in our backyard this week, it's almost done, and I am SOO ready to rest and treat my body to some TLC. And I highly recommend you do the same! ;) 

Got the second stump out yesterday.

Hard to believe there used to be 2 trees growing in the middle of the yard, then 2 big holes from taking out the stumps, huh? Can't wait to make it grass instead of dirt now!!

Yes, I know I need more massages than just after lots of hard yardwork, but I also know how much more enjoyable it will be to know that I won't have to do more yardwork still, after I've gotten a massage. Once the grass seed is down & covered, I will relax. Ahhh....can't wait!

Upcoming Events

I hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July celebration and took advantage of that awesome weather we had. We found ourselves cutting down two poorly placed trees in our backyard and attempting to remove the stumps that weekend. We've since gotten one of the stumps out, and now: back to rain. Nonetheless, I love Oregon. The cooler, wet weather gives us an excuse to let our bodies rest from our newfound homeownership-induced weekend warrior status. 

I've got a few things up my sleeve to tell you about this month. On Sunday, I'm planning on painting the walls of the bigger room next door to my massage room and begin to move into that room. After nearly 3 years in my current room, I'm beyond ready to stretch out my legs. The extra space will be put to use during the workshops I'm trained to teach to other massage therapists, as well as my new project. My business is taking me in another new direction, a pull I can't resist and am SO excited about. I'm in the process of creating study and mentor programs to help newly graduated massage therapists prepare for their licensing exams, get a job, and/or learn to build their own clientele through my help and guidance. 

The study and mentor programs are in the very early stages of development, but I'm hoping to be ready to launch them within the next month or two. As much as I enjoy the hands-on aspect of my job, it still surprises me how much I enjoy the behind-the-scenes business-end of my job, and I feel these new programs will bring a fun twist for me.

In other news, our CD of the month is Medwyn Goodall's Medicine Woman. 

I recently had a client come back to see me after a 3 year span since his last massage with me. Upon seeing the picture above, he said he liked the picture, and thought of me as a medicine woman, not realizing that it was the cover to the CD we were listening to. 

Other client testimonials this week include another client I hadn't seen for a year who stated the he must get massages more often, and would have to get his wife to come in. 

The testimonial I am most excited about was not even an expression of words, but the very dramatic difference I made with her physically, which has now inspired me to keep a little video camera at the office so I can document before and after massage results. When this client was first laying on my table, face down, I thought she was uncomfortable due to seeing wrinkles in her skin where her shoulder and neck seemed cramped. She said she was fine, readjusted a little, and was able to move her shoulder away from her neck a little, but it was still quite "stuck." After my work with her, both her shoulders were leveled out, and she felt the opposite shoulder was the one that was raised up near her neck--she felt so out-of-balance that "normal" now felt wrong to her! 

If you find yourself on my table, and I see something that I think will show dramatic visual results such as this, I may very likely be asking your permission to take some before and after video that I can post on my website for others to see. I so wish I had the opportunity to do that with this client, the results were absolutely amazing!

One more side note: I am hosting a PartyLite party this Saturday to replenish my stock of candles that I use during massages. If you'd like to order and contribute to the sales of my party, you can do so here. Just click on Shop, then Look Up Your Host and enter in my name for your order to be applied to my party. And much appreciation, as always!! I'm excited to be adding their water fountain and maybe a few other things to my "new" massage room soon!

Upcoming Events: Welcome June and Sunshine!

Welcome June, and your long lost friend Sunshine!! 

Who do you know that's graduating this month? What an exciting time in life, closing one chapter and bursting with energy to move on to the next. Show them you care and wish them well as they follow their journey in life. I have special "Congratulations" gift certificates, if you find that helpful. 

Father's Day is coming up June 19, and while I do prefer to work with women's bodies as opposed to men's, your husbands, dads, sons, and brothers are welcome--gift certificates are available if he's like MY dad, that is impossible to shop for otherwise.

This month, I decided Summer Thunder would be our tunes to relax to. This CD is fairly quiet--one track in particular, so enjoy the added moments of peace between the piano, rain and thunder--on the CD, hopefully not so much outside! ;)

So the weathermen say we'll be seeing sunshine and warmer temps this weekend--let's keep our fingers crossed! Supposing the weather follows suit, I expect the weekend warriors will be out in their yards, out at the park with the kids and dog, or otherwise overdoing themselves in true Oregonian form. I also expect that'll bring some sore bodies come next week. Good news for you--my schedule has some play in it this month. If you find yourself a stiff pile of sore muscles, be sure to seek relief for it, so you can be ready to get back out there when the sun strikes us again. 

Remember to put on sunscreen before you head out, and drive safely. Keep aware of "the other driver." As you may or may not know already, I do insurance billing for clients who've been in car accidents. More often than not, my clients are the people who were rear-ended, not the people who rear-ended someone else. In either case, I'm here to help you recover if you find yourself in such a situation. The 4 clients I've been working with over the past several months have improved dramatically, resulting in my schedule now being more open and able to accommodate a new set of these clients. While I don't wish the trauma of a car accident upon anyone, please keep me in mind if you find yourself or someone you know in that situation.

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