Your Circulation and You!

One of the hardest tasks in performing this style of Shiatsu is trying to explain to everyone that I work on, especially any new clients, that your tension and your pain throughout your body, especially in your muscles, is all due to the circulatory congestion in OTHER parts of your body.

We, as a culture, almost 100% could agree that muscle tension is because the muscle is "tight". Everyone who comes in to see me usually have their own theories why they hurt here and there, and in most cases they all originate from a backward perspective. I have mentioned many times that there are multiple factors that combine to create a poor circulatory system, but none of those factors are ever mentioned by clients as they come in. It's not a surprise, either. You don't hear it anywhere, especially from doctors, other massage therapists, the internet, or other sources of information. When I was trained in Swedish Massage, they made it very clear that we could not affect the arterial flow of circulation and could only affect the venous flow. With that belief system, you are only and always going to target symptoms, not problems. For years I used that formula, and while my clients would feel relaxed and would get a little relief, it wasn't for any real length of time. This was extremely frustrating for me. I wasn't in this business to cheat people from their money. I wanted to get people better and KEEP them better. With these results it left me with many questions that I could never answer nor find anyone who could answer them for me. Once I met my Shiatsu Master, though, it was like opening a door to a bright room when I was surrounded in utter darkness.

Like I said, most come in with tension and only want that area really worked on. They believe that something they do on a regular basis is causing their muscle to be "tight". With that belief though, it still doesn't explain anything. You feel the tension, but you are not sure physiologically where it stems from. You can't show that the muscle is "tight" structurally, as if something was not allowing the muscle to retract anymore. All you can do is feel the muscle, see its decreased range of motion, feel its structural tension, and guess that there is something structurally wrong with it. This is where the Shiatsu breaks through conventional Western thinking.

I explain to everyone that the muscles expand thus creating tension and decreased range of motion when your overall circulation is impeded in other areas. Just like a clogged sink, where the water backs up into the tub of your sink. You don't eliminate the symptom which is the backed up water by focusing on the water. You eliminate the symptom by eliminating the problem... the clog. Once the clog is gone, the symptom goes away all on its own.

Think, for a moment, that at the center of your circulatory system you have your heart, which simply is a pump that has one job and one job only: To squeeze blood to your entire body. NOW, think about going to areas of your body and start to limit the amount of fluid that passes through. Think about the ramifications of doing so and how, in basic fluid mechanics, consequences will ensue. Now you're not stopping all the blood, just decreasing the volume that moves through it. Basic fluid mechanics will state that if something impedes normal flow, then the excess volume will find alternate routes. Simply put it is "The path of least resistance". You slow the blood as it passes the shoulder joint, then the elbow joint, then the wrist, and you get circulation that builds up in the muscles around your shoulder, neck, and over time in your other arm. You'll feel the pain in these built up areas throughout your day, due to the fact that the muscles have expanded and the flexibility has greatly decreased causing constant tension, but you don't realize that they are just the symptom of problems in other areas.

Areas of concern that build up stagnant blood are small, very specific areas around your jaw, suboccipitals, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, abdomen, knees, and feet... just to name a few. What you might notice is that most of these areas are dealing with joints and bends in the body. For when we move and have muscle contraction, those muscles can temporarily slow your bloods movement. This wouldn't be a big deal except that with lactic acid not being neutralized in your blood, due to its unnatural pH (because it is acidic rather than alkalized), those areas build up congestion, very similar to a beaver damn.

If you talked to 1,000 random people, you'd probably get 97% of them to admit they have tension in their neck, back, and shoulders on a regular basis. It is all because with the spots mentioned earlier your heart ends up pumping more volume to those areas simply because as it squeezes, it is not moving efficiently to the rest of the body. Fluid will go where there is least resistance.

The coolest thing about performing this style of Shiatsu is the before and after affect. Not only will my clients feel a massive difference in muscles that hold the backed up circulation, but I can also see the subtle physical changes in my clients body. For example, the gluteus maximus, minimus, and medius (Muscles in your hip) are literally blown up like a water balloon with the excess of circulation that is impeded in your feet and lower calf. So when I release the built up circulation, those muscles literally shrink like taking water out of the balloon. They can drop in height up to around an inch. It is subtle and most don't feel it happen. But if you ever watched it being done, it would be quiet surprising. With the excess of internal pressure, it makes the sensitivity of the muscle greater. When I push the muscle before I work the feet and calves, you'll either get pain, a sensation of tickling, or a weird combination of the two. When I perform the Shiatsu and go back to the same muscle, I can push harder and most of the time there isn't any of those feelings. If the sensitivity isn't completely gone, it is massively decreased.

If you can understand this philosophy and put it to use throughout your life, you'll be able to PREVENT tension, migraines, joint problems, slipped discs, bad digestive issues, and on and on and on. You can actually start to put the puzzle pieces of your life together and answer why you have such tension on a regular basis. Now, it is a process, like I have stated before. A quick fix doesn't exist. This will put you in a path of optimal health, but it takes some work. Getting your circulation intact should be the most important job to being healthy. Your entire body requires blood and all that blood brings to it. Without your blood, your body will start to break down, wear down, and slow down. Our body's ability to heal itself is amazing, but it can't do it with poor circulation.

If you have questions on what you can do to help, send me an email and I'll be happy to explain to the best of my ability what you can do to help yourself. I don't have all the answers, nor will I ever. But the knowledge I have been given has changed my life in such a way that I can't keep it to myself and I want to try and help as many as I can. At the same time I can only help those who want help. If that is you, than I can't wait to hear from you.

Stay Happy, Healthy, and Ready for Anything.

Quick Fix

Why is our society so fixated on the idea of a "Quick Fix"?

Lose weight, don't exercise, take a pill, and do it all within a few weeks!!! Make millions with little effort and do it all within months!!! Find love after one date! Cook great food in 1/3 the amount of time... just add water and put in the microwave! Fix all your medical problems fast with these pills with minimal side effects!

OR... even worse...

How about the frustration with those in our society and what they're being taught to think for the benefit of third parties making millions of dollars over controversy? For example; Why hasn't our President fixed the economy? He hasn't fixed the Middle East either. And what about the Healthcare issues? Why hasn't he personally fixed the Gulf BP Oil disaster?!?! He's had 1 1/2 years to fix these massive issues, how come we are all not taken care of???

Our ENTIRE culture is so caught up with this belief that there is a quick fix to everything that most live in a fantasy world without any relief in sight. What they wont tell you is that most who get rich quick, lose it almost as fast as they gained it. Those who lose weight fast... gain it back just as fast. Fall fast in love... and faster into divorce. And my personal favorite... Quick fix for your health problems, leaving you with side effects in many occasions worse than the initial issue.

Whether you like President Obama or not, you have to respect the fact that he came out once elected and stated very clearly in his speech;

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.


When he said that, I thought to myself, "Thank you! Finally a realistic man and a realistic approach. But it didn't take long before I heard so many different people who were angry that the President's "Change" wasn't working or fixing anything, forgetting or choosing to forget what he admitted from the very beginning. In fact I had a discussion with a friend about that very thing when she told me that a racist comment towards Obama was due to the fact that people were angry that he hadn't fixed anything...... 9 months into him being in office. Words would have only insulted the true feelings that were running through me.

It absolutely amazes me on how many people expect the quick fix and are outraged when it doesn't happen. How many expect to have a house bought and paid for by age 25 without a great paying job. How many expect to eat lousy and have medication to solve all of their problems.

But, if you know what you're looking for, it all makes sense. This "Quick Fix" message is driven by the same people and corporations that are making millions off your decisions. Those messages try and convince you that things like Energy Drinks are ok because they contain Vitamins, so the quick burst of energy by these drinks is validated. Or Pasteurized Cow's Milk is ok because it contains Calcium and that is the only real way you can get your calcium...instead of eating your green leafy vegetables which have more calcium then cow's milk. Or eat "blank" because it contains Vitamin-C and that will keep you from getting sick when there isn't any evidence that supports such theories, but it is a gimmick that has been used for years.

So many things you see on TV and the internet are directed to actually keep you in a constant state of unhealthiness. Because if everyone was healthy, you'd pretty much watch the healthcare industry collapse upon itself. Our healthcare should be focused on preventative care and healthy lifestyles, when it is more about coping with the symptoms of unhealthy living. Like my Shiatsu Master told me when I asked him why more don't use or know of this healing technique and philosophy that he taught me, "There isn't money in getting people 100% healthy."


Many who see me for regular Shiatsu sessions, or even new clients, generally ask me the same two questions; "What is the one thing I can do to help my body?" and "What was the one thing that caused this problem?". Do you notice the similarity between the two questions? They are both asking about the "one" thing they need to change. I wish it was so simple.

I have tried to explain that to be healthy, it takes a lifestyle of being healthy. There isn't just one thing that you do to fix your problems, nor is it just one thing that is causing all of your issues. Want the easiest explanation for how to be as close to 100% healthy as you can?

Live like nature intended.

Eliminate all processed foods and beverages. Walk barefoot as much as possible on natural surfaces. Get outside as much as often. Exercise by working in your garden or something else outside. Breathe breathe breathe! Most don't know how to properly breathe, and it makes a massive difference. I'll show you if you don't know how or you can ask me via email. Spend as little time in front of the television and the internet, and even less in your car. Walk to work, to the grocery store, to the park. Consume only foods that are grown seasonally to your immediate environment. Meaning if you live in Western Washington, don't consume fruit in December, since 500 years ago you wouldn't have eaten it because fruit wasn't growing in Western Washington in the Winter.

Your body has the ability to heal you and make you so unimaginably strong. How many times have you started to eat right and notice how much energy you have?!?!?! Eating right didn't cause you to have more energy, NOT EATING POORLY allowed your body to work more efficiently thus bringing your body closer to its natural state. And the new found energy you have is the same energy that has always been there, it has just been focusing on trying to correct all the junk you put in your digestive system. Understand that every time you consume an unnatural product, your body doesn't just simply digest it and use it. It has to REALLY work hard at breaking it down and by doing so it uses a massive amount of your own energy. Which is why we are all generally sluggish even when we think we're not.

If you want a quick fix, I've given it to you. Combine a healthy lifestyle with an occasional Shiatsu treatment to clean up any slow parts of your circulation and you'll get the quickest, most effective "fix" I have ever seen. BUT, it still is a process. I personally have seen and felt massive amounts of difference in my leg that had the blood clot. It is healing, but it has been a process that took its time.

The decisions of your entire past is the ultimate factor in what you see in the mirror today. If it took you 20, 30, 40, or 50 years to create that product you see, do you really believe that there is something on this planet that can fix it without pain, without side effects, without changing your lifestyles, without costing your soul, and do it all quickly? The best thing you can do for yourself is throw away that understanding and know that it is a process to bring your body back to optimal health. If you can't accept that, then you'll never see just what you can become.

You can do it. There is a whole other side of you just waiting to come out!

Stay Happy, Healthy, and Ready for Anything!

Your Oh So Aching Feet

Every single one of my clients that sees me on a regular basis all have one very specific thing in common; bad circulation in their feet.

It is as guaranteed as death and taxes. The biggest question I'm asked is "why?". Why is it that EVERYONE has bad circulation in their feet? To answer that question all you have to do is look down. You, almost every second of every day, walk on an unnatural surface. Whether it is carpet, hardwood, cement, or concrete, the surface that you are walking on is flat and hard. There isn't a plane on this earth with the exception of ice that is 100% flat. Our feet weren't meant to walk on such bland surfaces. They were meant to contour with the natural, ever changing surfaces of the earth. But, that isn't our only problem.

The bottom of your feet, especially the arch, is meant to be a secondary pump for the blood in your legs. To combat gravity, your legs need this extra pump. BUT, what does a pump need in order to be efficient? It needs the opportunity to actually pump.

Imagine, for a second, running outside barefoot on the natural ground. Your foot would flex and extend to its fullest every time you took a step. It would change angles and weight would be distributed differently with each step, thus adapting to the constant changing of the environment. There wouldn't be anything prohibiting it to do so. As this happens, the blood circulates properly through the body, and most importantly, blood doesn't become stagnant at the bottom of your feet. Not only would the blood not become stagnant, but the true villain, lactic acid, couldn't settle and build up a literal damn in your feet. This lactic acid and stagnant blood is the bad circulation that I'm talking about.

The other factor in this conversation that is as important as the unnatural ground we walk on is our shoes. And not just high heels and flip flops, but all of our shoes. Throw the idea of shoes that support, or orthodics, or Dr. Scholls blah blah blah... they all do the same wrong doing, and that is keeping the foot from moving like it was originally designed to. These shoes put the feet in an even more unnatural scenario then the flat ground does. I had a doctor once tell me that I needed "support shoes" for my circulation problems in my left leg, the same leg that I had my blood clot in. Funny thing... when Shiatsu was used to break up the stagnant blood in my feet it made my leg feels 1,000X better. The doctor wanted me to do the exact opposite of what worked. Truthfully, while he might have had the intention to really help, he was only guessing by using theories that have been developed by other doctors over the last however many years. In reality, he was shooting blanks in a dark room, while intoxicated, and giving a piggy back ride to a monkey. All he was going to accomplish was getting me to buy some ridiculously priced shoes. He, as in most doctors, have no real understanding how the blood moves, or doesn't move, through the feet and how it effects the body.

I have clients that come in and swear their orthodics have helped their back pain. But they come in to see me because their leg pain is really bad. I try to tell them that the orthodics have done nothing to "fix" their problem, and in fact it is one of the main contributors to their present leg problems. Their body has put their problems into a priority category. Legs first... then back. You can't feel all of your pain at once, you'd explode, so your body focuses on the most important or most recent first. They feel their legs but they don't realize their back is tight. Many times when I release the fluid tension in the legs (through just the feet), they start to notice the tension in their back almost immediately.

The last culprit in bad circulation for the feet is our very popular friend; our cultural diet. Again, we have a highly acidic and unnatural diet, thus changing our pH in our blood to create a very unhealthy clogged up circulatory system. Acid doesn't dissolve acid. So if your blood's pH is acidic, how is your body going to eliminate lactic acid that is in your blood stream? Not very efficiently. So then that same lactic acid finds its way through your body and settles down in places like your feet.

Why does everyone have bad circulation in their feet? Unnatural ground we live on, the idea that we need shoes for better health, the same shoes that limit our body's natural movement, and our unnatural cultural diet that leaves our blood pH extremely acidic.

What can you do to fix it? Change your diet using Trophology to stay properly alkalized. You can roll a golf ball on the bottom of your feet rather deeply to stimulate better blood circulation. Try drinking 4 oz. of water w/ 1/2 tsp. of baking soda once a day, usually at night before bed, to bring your blood's pH closer to its normal level (7.4). You can spend more time barefoot and walking on natural ground. Or just come and see me and I'll clean you right up.

There is another option and it is starting to get more and more popular, and the funny thing is that the developers don't even fully understand what they've stumbled onto. Go to this website and look at one of the companies that has created this new shoe. The sad thing was that this was an idea of mine, and I missed the bus by a few years. That's life I guess.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm

There are multiple types of these shoes, but technically they are the same. They protect your feet from the harsh elements but do their best to allow your foot to move naturally.

Well, there it is. Your feet are the most important part of your body to take care of. The Seattle Mariners Baseball player, Ichiro Suzuki, has gone on the record stating, "Healthy feet, healthy body.". This being the answer to the question, "Why do you use a wooden stick to beat up your foot before the game?". Ichiro stimulates the blood in his feet to keep his entire body's circulation healthy. There's a reason he can play at such a high level at the age he is and it isn't genetics.

Be nice to your feet, and they'll be nice to you. Stay Healthy, Happy, and Ready for Anything.