If you’ve made it into the spa recently, you know that we have made some changes. After this torrid year of unpleasant surprises and rapidly developing medical research, I know you probably can’t stomach much more change. But Quarantine 2020 afforded us plenty of time to invest in the Lakewood space, making changes that fit our intention going forward. Her trust in the healing qualities of the natural world guided Tabitha to choose to dress Sacred Hour Lakewood like a spring morning, crisp and cool, and adorned the common areas with some living green. By freshening the interior aesthetic, we lifted the mood from one that was dark and luxurious to a brightened one that embraces the beauty of the natural world. Cleveland Hardwood refinished the floors to their natural color, and we lightened the wall color to an inviting airy grey, with a warm clay color that greets you within the treatment rooms. The simplicity and predictability of natural beauty is the inspiration for the new aesthetic of our flagship location, and the healing properties of ingredients found in nature is the cornerstone of our new skincare line, Laurel.
Now that we’ve been back at it for a couple weeks, as a massage therapist I can confidently say that your home office probably needs work. I know that in my industry we had literal hours’ notice that we weren’t going to go back to work in a typical capacity any time soon, and unless your HR department is psychic or extremely proactive you probably got surprised by a sudden work from home order. I’ve been massaging clients who have all sorts of weird WFH setups: most often a kitchen table, but some work on a couch, a few clients I’ve talked to are working at a breakfast bar and sitting on a stool (they definitely needed a massage.) We all did our best with what we had available, but now that we are settling into the distancing groove, you owe it to your body to find more comfort while at work. Below is a shortlist of tweaks you can make to your workspace to make it a little more livable, plus some low impact stretches I recommend to my clients to undo WFH tension. I know it doesn’t compare to a vacation to reverse the stress of quarantine, but working in uncomfortable circumstances will only serve to compound our stay at home frustration.
Every conversation that lasts longer than an hour that I’ve had since Ohio opened up shop has turned to travel plans- where can I go? Am I feeling the beach or the forest? How much time do I need off? But in 2020 unfortunately we also have to consider cancellation policies since access to amenities like restaurant service and operating hotels are hit or miss all over the country right now.
Whether you are a newbie to spa life or a veteran bodywork client, you’ve probably wondered at least once what difference there is between Swedish massage and deep tissue besides the depth of pressure. The short answer is that they are not too different overall, since both modalities work to increase circulation and broaden the muscle tissue. However, in deep tissue massage therapists often introduce other methods of pain relief like trigger point release or myofascial release in order to address specific complaints. The benefits of deep tissue massage are obvious- if your hip or shoulder has been giving you trouble, therapeutic massage can often correct it. But my feelings about the necessity of massage for holistic health changed when I decided to give medium pressure Swedish massage a shot, with no specific goal other than chilling out.
I read almost nothing but coronavirus coverage over the last two months (haven’t we all?), partially out of necessity as it rightfully sucked all of the oxygen out of the news cycle, but mostly out of anxious curiosity. As someone who makes others feel better for a living, I not only wanted to get knowledgeable about how it is affecting us in the present moment, but also how it will inform my work through massage and teaching yoga once we all get back to our lives.
