This Week at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy!

Massage /

This week at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy:
– Negotiated a truce with 1 angry hip
– Calmed 3 cases of desk jockey neck
– Consulted on 1 case of improving sleep position
– Relieved 1 clogged sinus
– Eased 3 tense sets of shoulders
– Introduced 4 people to Ashiatsu!
– Introduced 1 person to abdominal massage!
– Introduced 2 people to cupping!
#ILoveMyJob #Massage #HarvestMoonMassage #MyDecaturAL #Ashiatsu 

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Managing Pain at Home

Self-Care /

As a massage therapist, my clients ask me regularly what they should do to help manage pain between their regular massage appointments. Check out this little Facebook Live video I did addressing that question. In it you’ll learn a couple of different techniques for managing pain at home and how to make your own hot/cold pack.

Let me know what you think. Did I cover it all? What do you do that I didn’t think of here?

Make sure to Like my Facebook page if you haven’t already. There will be more little goodies like this as well as my weekly openings, specials, and other bits of interest.

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Ashiatsu Massage Specialist!

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How Does Your Skin Feel?

Self-Care /

massage dry skinWith this wildly varying weather and the cold coming again this weekend, there’s a good chance your skin is as dry and itchy as mine.

If that’s the case, here are a few tips to minimize skin issues due to cold weather:

  1. Reduce the length and temperature of your baths and showers. Water and soap remove the natural oils your skin makes and needs to stay hydrated.
  2. Drink plenty of fluids. This seems like such a no-brainer, but warm drinks will not only help keep you hydrated, you get the additional benefit of the steam on your skin.
  3. Consider a humidifier in your space. Many heating systems sap the moisture from our environments and our skin.
  4. Moisturize your skin morning, noon and night and any other time you feel you need it. Pick something thick and nourishing for best results.
  5. Bundle up. Make sure your skin is covered as much as possible if you have to be out in the extremes.

And if you just can’t reach that itchy place in the middle of your back, give me a call and I’ll be happy to help!

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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How Often Should I Get a Massage?

Massage /

CalendarI seem to be getting this question a lot lately. From clients as well as people who know I’m a massage therapist that haven’t been on my table (yet).  So I thought I would take a shot at it.

The answer is…it depends.

How often you get a massage depends on what you’ve got going on in your life and body and what your goals are by having massage. I know, I KNOW, goals and massage? What? But it’s really not that complicated.

Let’s say you’re really stressed out, your shoulders and neck are hurting and you’re having headaches. You work at a desk with a computer full-time and there’s no chance of your workload slowing down any time soon. You’re pretty sure it’s all stress-related because the doctor says you’re perfectly healthy.

If all goes well with your first massage, we will assess how much progress was made and decide how soon you need to come back. In my experience, stress-related muscular issues usually respond well to massage. You may need to come back at two week intervals for a while to train your body and nervous system to relax, but after a few sessions you may choose to go to three, four or more week intervals. After a few months of regular massage therapy, your body will begin to tell you when it needs a massage and you and your massage therapist may need to adjust your interval again.

This is just an example, but I hope it gives you an idea of why it’s sometimes hard to answer how often someone should have a massage.

If you’d like to know how often you should be getting massage, give me a call and let’s talk about it!

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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Don’t Get Taken Out By Your Resolution!

Self-Care /
fireworks-768706_1920It’s New Year’s resolution time again. Maybe you’re one of the many who is making some changes this January. If so here are a few tips to keep a little perspective.
  1. Keep it simple. Drastic changes are harder to make than small ones.
  2. Start slow and build up steam. It takes a while to change habits, attitudes, muscles, etc.
  3. Be kind to yourself. Change is a process. If it were easy we’d just wake up and be different. It’s okay to fall off the wagon and begin again.
  4. Ask for help. If you get in over your head, ask a friend to help you evaluate your goals and gain a bit of perspective.
Good luck and let me know how it’s going for you!
♥
Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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Need a Gift Certificate for Christmas?

Business & Marketing for Massage /

Christmas massage gift certificatesIf you’re looking for that last minute stocking stuffer that will make your friends and loved one’s drool, you’ve come to the right place!

We now have Gift Certificates available here and online! So no worries if you can’t get to the office in person, just head on over to my online gift certificate store and follow the prompts. You can purchase as few or as many as you like in whatever denominations you choose. Then you can print them out yourself or email them to the lucky recipient.

And there’s really no rush if you’re purchasing online. The online gift certificate store will be open up to and including Christmas Day. So get out there and do your shopping, baking and partying, then click the link and finish up in your PJs!

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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Clean Your Dryer, A Cautionary Tale

Community /

There’s a dirty little secret lurking in your clothes dryer. For years I’ve heard safety experts talk about cleaning your dryer to prevent fires. And for years I thought, “What a load!” and “Who has time for that?” and “That won’t happen to me!”

Until one day I noticed my dryer wasn’t performing particularly well. It was about 11 years old. And I began to wonder whether there was anything to this cleaning out the dryer for better performance thing I’d been hearing about. I Googled about it and everything came back with, “Clean your dryer!”

So then I got on YouTube and searched for my brand and style of dryer and lo and behold found a wonderful Hispanic man speaking in English showing how to clean out my particular dryer. His accent was fabulous! And his style was fun so one morning I sat about cleaning my dryer. Did I mention it had been 11 years? It was frightening. I wish I had taken pictures. There were literally bricks of compressed lint built up in the thing.

Fast forward a few more years down the road and said dryer gave up the ghost. Right in the middle of a load of sheets. And a mere two weeks after I had cleaned the machine and the exhaust system out. Hmmmph!

Somehow I managed to score a new-to-me, used dryer for the most reasonable price ever (free). Then one morning I went to work and when I arrived home it was installed and all my sheets were dry. Gotta love your neighbors!

So because I now know what dryers can look like on the inside and I didn’t have any maintenance history on this thing, I decided I should probably clean it. This time I took pictures and I wanted to show you why it’s important to clean out your dryer.

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This is what I found when I got the front panel off. Notice the “mice” made out of lint and the whispy nature of the wiring. Something else that was immediately apparent is that a lot of the foam seals had lost their adhesive and were hanging or just disintegrating. These are important to fix or replace because the seals keep the lint in the exhaust system and not in the interior of the dryer with the electrical parts. Aka, fire hazard!
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There were rafts of lint in the corners and standing on top of flat surfaces and all the electrical and motorized parts were covered in lint.
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The exhaust trap was caked with hardened lint on the inside and covered in dust and lint on the outside.
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And possibly the scariest part of all was this turbine thingamajig that I pulled this pile of lint out of. The good news is that with a vacuum, a little flexibility, elbow grease, and time this easy household task was accomplished and now I don’t feel like I have to stand over the dryer with a fire extinguisher every time I turn it on.

I’m not even going to address the bacterial potential for what goes on in the innards of a dryer. Just know that you really don’t want to leave wet clothes hanging out in your dryer. Trust me. Really, trust me on that. And over dry everything just a tad.

Since I do so much laundry, three to four loads per day just in sheets, I clean my dryer out every three months. I’m not sure what is recommended for a normal household, but I will tell you that 11 years was way, way too long. We were lucky. So if you haven’t lately (or ever), make time to clean out your dryer!

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Business & Marketing for Massage /

thanksgiving-2016

Here’s hoping your Thanksgiving is filled with family, friends, and a full belly!

I know many of you will be out shopping bright and early tomorrow so I decided to make shopping a little easier for everyone. I have finally figured out how to activate gift certificate sales on my MassageBook site. So, if you’d like to shop from the privacy of your own home, it is now possible!

Just head on over to my MassageBook profile and select the Gift Certificate tab. Follow the prompts from there and get your Christmas shopping done without even leaving the house!

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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A Meditation on Gratitude

Self-Care /

gratefulness-2016So lately I’ve noticed random posts from friends listing different things they’re thankful for. One of the Facebook business groups I follow posted an “advent calendar” for gratefulness for the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving. I’m not great at keeping up with stuff like that. I get too invested, my perfectionism kicks in, and I spend too much time worrying about things that don’t matter. So I read through all the different questions and moved on. One of the ones that stuck asked what smell I was grateful for?

At first I was stumped by this question. I’ll admit I’ve been thinking about it on and off for weeks. You see why I moved on from the daily calendar, it would take me all year to finish!

Anyway, what smell am I grateful for? I like a lot of smells. Food, herbs and spices top the list. But that’s too easy and if you pressed me I couldn’t pick just one. I like the smell of my dogs most days. Their musty, individual smells are comforting and warm. I’m thankful they don’t smell like some dogs I’ve met! I love the way my house smells after I mop the kitchen with Pine-sol or when the dryer is running.

And then I sort of forgot about the question altogether for a while because I was stalled trying to pick a favorite smell. One that wasn’t just a smell.

A few days ago, while I was on the table working with a client, out of the blue it finally hit me. I am grateful for the the smell of hot, stainless steel as it’s being rinsed in the sink. Kind of random and definitely odd, huh?

I don’t remember when I first noticed how good my stainless steel pots smelled as I washed and rinsed them. It’s been a while because I look forward to washing them now. But why? Why would anyone be thankful for the smell of hot, stainless steel? Because…

Because that stainless steel pot was a gift from my grandmother. She’s gone now and I’m so grateful for the frequent reminder of her and how she taught me so much about cooking and life and love.

Because there is hot water running from a tap and good soap to wash my dirty dishes with. I am lucky to live where I have access to the basics.

Because there was food in the pot to make it dirty and to fill my and my family’s bellies. I am fortunate to be able-bodied where I can work, earn, and provide food for my family.

Because I have a family to love and care for who loves and cares for me right back.

And that is when I realized what my favorite smell is and why I am grateful for it. Because family and love is what it’s all about and when I think about gratitude and what I am thankful for more often than not it circles back to love and family.

So what are you grateful for? And why?

♥

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage Therapy is Decatur’s Barefoot Massage Specialist!

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