4 Fascinating Ways That a Hot Stone Massage Benefits Our Minds

Hot stone massages can benefit your mind as much as your body. We usually think about the benefits of these massages for our bodies. For instance, hot stone massages can:

o improve our blood circulation
o reduce pain
o release toxins
o relax our muscles

These benefits are certainly important, especially after a stressful day at work or school. However, we should not disregard the mental benefits of massage. Maintaining sound mental health is equally as important as maintaining sound physical health. Here are some of the most important mental benefits from a hot stones massage:

1. Improves our ability to think calmly

When our minds are stressed-out, we tend to react to situations in an irrational way, and to make irrational decisions. The results could be disastrous. For instance, "road rage" can cause us to drive aggressively and make various irrational decisions. That could include running a red traffic light, cutting off another driver, etc. Indeed, remember the old adage "cooler heads will prevail." A hot stone massage can help to relax your mind, allowing you to think rationally and calmly.

2. Encourages a relaxed state of alertness

My Little League baseball "career" lasted one season, after I got a black eye on a pop-fly ball. However, we can apply the baseball lesson of "keeping your eye on the ball," to virtually every aspect of our lives. It is important that we are constantly alert throughout the day. We must be alert to operate a vehicle, listen to the instructions of bosses, teachers, and so on.

Hot stone massages can increase our state of alertness. They become a form of meditation, clearing our minds of the worries of the world. When our minds are not bogged down with these thoughts, we can focus on our day-to-day lives. Also, when our bodies our relaxed, we are physically ready to spring into action when in "fight or flight" situations.

3. Improves our ability to be creative

It is difficult to write a poem or song lyrics, when our minds remain focused on other matters. However, by clearing and relaxing our minds through a hot stone massage, we get our "creative juices" flowing, and can then produce extraordinary creative works.

4. Lowers mental stress

Typically, when we think about stress, we think about the physical effects that it has on our lives. However, we should not overlook the impact of mental stress. A low-to-moderate level of stress in our lives is good. However, when our lives experience too much stress, this can be overbearing on our minds. We continuously fret about the difficulties in our lives, causing our minds to feel as disorganized as an unsolved jigsaw puzzle. Fortunately, a hot stone massage can help to reduce our mental stress, making our minds at peace.

When we think about the benefits of hot stone therapy, we typically focus on the benefits to our body. However, we should not overlook the benefits to our minds. Hot stone massages can help to unleash the power of positive thinking!

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Take a Break and Try Our Relaxation Package!

Relaxation Massage Package

*A four hour stay 

*One hour massage followed by steamy towels and application of a regenerative skin cream to protect your face. 

*Fruit and cheese plate 

*Nice tea selection 

$95.00 

To make an appointment for the Relaxation Massage Package, 

please call 707-447-8037

How Stress Affects Your Body - Sharon Horesh Bergquist

Our hard-wired stress response is designed to gives us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. But stress isn’t all good. When activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part of our body. Sharon Horesh Bergquist gives us a look at what goes on inside our body when we are chronically stressed.

Lesson by Sharon Horesh Bergquist, animation by Adriatic Animation.

Spoil Yourself with the Serenity Package

 

Serenity Package:

A four hour stay
Full one hour massage
Herbal facial massage
Body polish (an exfoliation treatment)
Decadent tub soak in oversized claw foot tub
Fruit and cheese plate

For One: $215.00
For Two: $415.00

Available at 36 Oaks Country Retreat! It is nestled in a grove of majestic oak trees on Gibson Canyon Road. It is an oasis of relaxation and natural beauty in the Vacaville countryside. A lovely country cottage setting on two and a half acres, with wild ferns growing in the shade. It is not uncommon to see deer wandering through, an occasional raccoon or even a fox.

Call today to schedule your appointment!
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Looking At The Benefits Of Stress Relief Through Massage

The modern lifestyle for most average people today is hurried and stressful. Most families are in a routine of stressful events that becomes a way of life. However, too much pressure for too long can cause multiple health problems. Headaches, heart attacks, stroke, and even some immune related diseases are caused and made worse by stress.

Think about how great it feels to have the muscles in your back massaged. This is true even when you have no injury to muscles. However, for those times you do have sore aching muscles from overdoing it, you are experiencing a form of stress. When your body is fighting inflammation and pain, you might be surprised at the level of pressure it is under while doing so.

Many diseases that are caused primarily from you being under too much strain for too long can be completely avoided by learning how to handle it. Consider the number of people in hospitals suffering from heart attacks and stroke. Many of these same sufferers might have thwarted these attacks by simply taking time to relax.

Learning to relax can be hard, especially when you may be the one working to support your family or you are the one caring for someone sick,. Several situations can cause a great deal of pressure on one person. While many people are tough and have a great will to keep going on no matter what, they end up succumbing to pressures. Visiting a masseuse on a regular basis can allow you the time you need to learn how to truly relax.

Regular visits for muscle massaging can help to strengthen your immunity. This is a great reason many hospitals and clinics are incorporating this natural technique in their recovery routines. Research has shown how much faster people heal when massaging is a part of their healing process.

Massaging muscles can allow them to better expel metabolic waste. This is certainly a plus when you consider the number of external toxins you might be exposed to every day. Massaging also helps to promote the dispersion of vital nutrients in soft tissue. This is especially helpful in the cases of injured muscle tissue that requires a higher level of nutrients for healing.

Learn more about how you can relax and reap the benefits of massage for stress by visiting a professional masseuse. Making sure you take out time for yourself is important and necessary for you to maintain excellent health.

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How Trees Talk to Each Other | Suzanne Simard

"A forest is much more than what you see," says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery — trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.

What Are the Health Benefits? | Deep Massage

Learn about the benefits of deep tissue massage and how it can help certain health conditions in this Howcast massage video.

3 Facts About Deep Tissue Massage - Benefits Compared to Swedish Massage

If you have been seeking massage therapy for aches and pains, you may want to consider getting deep tissue massage. Though the Swedish-style massage can be great for minor aches and pain, and is also great for relaxation, there are times when it just isn't enough. Deep tissue massage is more about therapy and healing than relaxation, and there is a reason why it works better than the Swedish type. You should consider that the problems you are having in association with chronic pain need a more advanced approach.

You may not hear much about deep tissue massage, but it is something that is used quite often to help athletes and others who have very physical jobs. Most injuries are not just surface injuries, and it is important to get to the root of the problem for real relief. Athletes are not the only ones who can benefit however, as there are many injuries that go deeper than the surface. If you have an office job where you must sit in front of a computer all day, or if you do a lot of repetitive motions for any reason, you are also at risk for this type of problem.

3 Things You Need to Know

1. How it Works

Deep tissue massage reaches core muscles that are often not stimulated through surface massage. These muscles may be in a state of agitation. These core muscles are important for posture, and when they are not loose and working well, you are going to have all sorts of problems. If you have a backache that won't go away, and regular massage doesn't seem to do much to help you, it means that the core muscles are in need of manipulation, and that is where deep tissue massage can help. You may find relief for many types of chronic pain through this type of massage, and once you find you are feeling better, you may kick yourself for not having tried it sooner.

2. What Results Should You Expect?

A therapist using deep tissue massage will have to apply more pressure to reach the muscle well below the surface. This means there is going to be more pain when you have treatment. This pain is temporary, and is letting you know that the proper tissues are being targeted. When muscles are bunched, the act of kneading and manipulating them will hurt. This pain is temporary, and depending on the state of your health, you should see results rather quickly. It is important that you keep up with your treatment if you want to see total and complete results.

3. Where Can You Go?

You may have to look hard to find a good deep tissue massage therapist. You generally won't find someone like this in a spa that specializes in Swedish massage, but it is not unheard of either. If you can't seem to find anyone, talk to your medical doctor. They may know of somewhere you can go. Though some doctors are iffy on recommending alternative therapies, many of them respect what deep tissue massage can do for the health and well-being of their patients.

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How Can A Massage Help Me Sleep?

It is one of our natural tendencies to rub someone when they are having a hard time sleeping. One of the most concrete examples to back up this claim is the way we gently stroke the head of babies, or rub their backs to make them fall asleep. Admittedly, rubbing or touching is a natural and instinctive way to soothe and relax. And isn't it that rubbing and touching is what a massage is all about?

There are many articles and scientific journal entries that discuss how a massage, massage therapy, or therapeutic massage can help us relax. Even just one session of massage therapy already has an impact on our body and how it works. Here is the picture: humans are born with a parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic nervous system. These two balances each other out. When we are stressed, our sympathetic system is activated making us feel the urge to fight, flight, or move restlessly. On the other hand, when we have a massage, our parasympathetic system is activated allowing our bodies to relax. What is the connection between this and our topic? Simply put, common sleep disorders are usually caused by stress and tension. And if these are the reasons why you are not sleeping very well every night, then you might be pleased to know that one of the benefits of massage therapy is improved sleep patterns. And this is true. In fact, there are some people who actually fall asleep while having a session at their massage spa.

Quite a number of people have claimed that they have slept well after receiving regular sessions of massage therapy and reflexology. Several studies also support the claim on how massage therapy does more than reducing incidences of back pain, body pain, and headaches. These studies also showed that therapeutic massage also helped patients sleep better due to lessened anxiety and depression. Another interesting massage study reported that critically ill patients claimed experiencing improved sleep patterns, both in the quality and quantity of sleep, compared to those patients who received only relaxation exercises.

So whether you are experiencing sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, or restless leg syndrome, there is a therapeutic massage technique that can help you. According to a professional massage therapist from leading massage spa in Sarasota, Florida, people increasingly avail of their Swedish massage, sports massage, pregnancy massage, deep tissue massage, and reflexology services because they want to be soothed and relaxed.

Here are the basic description of each massage therapy treatment:

- Swedish massage is a massage therapy technique that uses variations of long gliding strokes, kneading, and friction techniques on surface muscles. Strokes used in Swedish massage generally goes with the direction of blood flow toward the heart. Swedish massage is commonly availed by people who wants to experience relaxation, improve circulation and range of motion, as well as relieve muscle tension.

- Deep tissue massage is a massage therapy technique aimed at reaching the muscles way below the surface level. Chronic patterns of muscular tension usually happens at the deep connective tissues and this is the area targeted by deep tissue massage. With the use of slow strokes, direct and firm pressure, as well as friction techniques directed across the area of the body experiencing chronic muscle pain, deep tissue massage is effective in relieving chronic muscular tension and pain.

- Sports massage is a massage therapy technique that uses massage strokes similar to those used during a Swedish massage and deep tissue massage. The difference is that sports massage is specially adapted to deal with the effects of athletic performance on the body, as well as the needs of athletes regarding training, performing, and recovery from injury.

- Pregnancy massage is a massage therapy technique specially adapted to suit the delicate conditions of soon to be mothers. It uses the gentlest forms of massage strokes. A go signal form a medical practitioner is necessary before a woman can avail of pregnancy massage. Pregnancy massage is very effective in relieving back pain, leg cramps, and other discomforts associated with pregnancy.

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A Cleansing Facial for Healthier and Brighter Skin

 
For healthy and bright skin, this treatment will thoroughly cleanse your skin without irritation. It removes impurities such as dirt, oil and dry skin. Afterward, your skin will be clean, smooth and fresh. This facial includes cleansing, exfoliating, extractions, blemish control tonic, green tea mask and moisturizing. 

45 minutes - $75 

Call 36 Oaks Country Retreat to make an appointment to try this facial and any other of our relaxing spa treatments. 

(707) 447-8037