Author: Jason Brain

Posted on

3 Reasons You Need a Massage this Summer

Personally, your body deserves a massage every season of the year (if not more frequently). When Summer rolls around, there’s more than enough reasons to swing by for a soothing massage as the days get longer and the temperature rises. 

Below are three great reasons you should get a massage before or during the summertime.

1. Injury Prevention, Activity Booster
During the warmer months, we tend to find ourselves outdoors and more active. Make sure to remain loose and limber for all those fun activities, and make sure you don’t end the summer full of soreness, strains, or sprains. Massage is a surefire way to get your body ready for activity, or to recovery after some strenuous exertion.

2. “You Time”
Got kids home from school all summer? Got plans for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays for family, friends, and co-workers all summer? With all this wonderful weather often comes a lot more plans and happenings. Don’t spread yourself too thin and make sure to take care of yourself. Dedicate and hour or two to yourself with a relaxing massage.

3. Dehydrated Skin
As the temps scrape the hundreds here in Southern California, your skin is bearing the brunt of the damage. Keeping cool by sweating, ultraviolet sun exposure, and loss of body moisture through the skin are just a few reasons the skin needs a little extra love during the summer. Why not get a full body moisturization through massage? True, every therapist uses different products, but I offer organic, hypoallergenic creme that can be enhanced with my essential oils for focused skin care. No need to neglect the largest organ of the body, your skin.

Hope these benefits of massage remind you of how important it is to take care of your body and stop neglecting your self-care regimen.

Interested in more benefits? I could talk for days. Let’s schedule your next massage soon and get you ready to rue the summer.

Have a wonderful week. Happy June!

Posted on

Introducing Burke Williams’ Newest OC Massage Therapist

The rumors are true!  After a year away from the spa scene since leaving Equinox (Encino) to move to Orange County, I’m joining the Burke Williams Mission Viejo team part-time to keep these hands, forearms, and elbows busy while I continue to build my private Brain & Body business in the South Orange County area.

The thought of getting back into a spa had been on my mind when I learned Burke Williams was hiring after filling out an online recommendation for a massage colleague recently. I decided to check it out and was quickly swooped up by their Massage Manager at the Mission Viejo location.  I officially start this next week and am excited spread the massage love a little more down here.

Can’t visit me at Burke Williams? I’ll come to you!
Contact me to schedule you next mobile massage session!

One exciting perk of working at Burke: I can see private OC clients there with all their fantastic amenities at my personal rate, plus clients can use the fantastic spa after our massage for the rest of the day.  That is, as long as the client has never-ever been to a Burke Williams Spa before (the one restriction).  Private client appointments at Burke kick in after a couple months there; will keep everyone posted, trust me.  How sweet is that, though!?

Now, unfortunately, this does mean I will be working in OC Sunday afternoons and will only be available in the SFV/Los Angeles area all-day Saturday from 10am to 10pm.  If anything opens up, like a spare Friday afternoon/evening, I will keep you posted.

Until next time, take care!

Posted on

February’s Fascia of the Month: Superficial Front Line

Myofascial ‘Anatomy Trains’ by Dr. Thomas Myers
Along the front of your body is a nearly continuous myofascial chain of muscles and fascia (thus the term, myofascia) called the Superficial Front Line (SFL).  Coined by Dr. Thomas Myers, these ‘Anatomy Trains‘ (a few are displayed above in the banner of fascial trains) are ‘trains’ of myofascia that run seamlessly throughout the body from ‘station to station’ (joint to joint) and have significant effects on the body’s structural integrity throughout the body.
Superficial Front Line (SFL)
The SFL runs from the toe extensor muscles, through the outer shin, under the patella (knee cap), up the quadriceps, abdominals, along the sternum (chest), the sternocleidomastoid (or SCM, a powerful neck muscle), to the scalp fascia.  That’s a long chain of continuous soft tissue attachments all playing along together in real time (alongside the many fascial trains all moving concurrently).  You can see the full SFL train in the isolated SFL image. 

The SFL is the first Anatomy Train to develop as we lie in the fetal position in utero and must be counterbalanced as an infant/toddler by the Superficial Back Line to stand upright and eventually walk.  Our powerful SFL myofascia can quickly engage to protect us (a la the fetal position) when physical, emotional, mental threats emerge in our lives, and can show up in dysfunctional movement patterns and postural deviations.
Superman Stretch
Superficial Front Line (SFL) Stretch
How do you stretch the entire SFL at once? Well, try the ‘Superman’ stretch.  It’s a complete extension of the body grounded through the lower core.

Start by laying face down on the floor and extend your arms ahead of you, as if flying ‘like Superman.’  In a smooth, controlled motion, slowly raise your legs, arms, and head up from the ground.  All three should be pulled up simultaneously and held at their apex. The head should be up and looking forward, the legs should be lifted by the upper hamstrings and glutes (not the back), and the arms pulled up by the shoulders and upper back.  Avoid straining the lower back by engaging your core and keeping a solid foundation.

Oh fascia-February, may you never end.  So much fascia, so little time.  Have a fantastic week!
Posted on

Spotlight on IASTM: My New Favorite Weapon of Mass(age) Relaxation

During December 2018, I participated in an awesome IASTM Certification course and learned all about the emerging world of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, taught by the makers of RockBlades (the tools seen below).  But what is IASTM, and how can it benefit my clients?
Using these tools, the principles of IASTM are bound in the skin and fascia.  Using different techniques with the tools to feather the skin, scrape the myofascia, and chop densified tissue, we work to manipulate the neuro-sensory systems of the fascia (which has 5-10+ times more nerve receptors than muscle) to change the regulation of neural activity.  Basically that means I am working to amplify or pacify the nervous activity to the muscles and reducing chronic tension (down-regulate) or increasing tissue tone (up-regulate) using different strokes on the skin.

While the feeling of IASTM varies with the pace and depth of the technique used, you might be surprised that it is not a blatantly painful modality (you might be thinking about Gua Sha, another scraping modality).  Quite the opposite actually.  The goal is to start lighter and work up gradually to find the right response.  If the muscle is approached abruptly and deeply, it’s likely to tense up and efforts to relax it may prove futile.  Also, some of the nerves can only be played with using the slightest touch, while others need a fast pace, or a deep scrape.  Each technique is specific to the nerves that need to be manipulated, like the Pacinian and Ruffini corpuscles in the skin and fascia. 

I’ve started incorporating IASTM into my massage work already and am seeing results.  It’s not for everyone, but is another tool in my bodywork arsenal for my clients.  Looking forward to trying these tools for a test drive?  Let’s schedule your next massage soon!
Proudly powered by WordPress