2012 is the year of the Yang Water Dragon, bringing many possibilities for good fortune.

In Ancient Chinese Elemental Theory Water produces Wood, which signifies growth and is the natural element of the dragon. The dragon governs the East and Southeast, wealth accumulation and the hours of 7 - 9 a.m.  Associated with thunder, lightning and arousal, the Water Dragon personifies creativity at its best.

Water Dragons occur every 60 years, so we have had Yang Water Dragons in 1952, 1892, 1832, 1772, 1712, 1652, 1592, etc. Future Water Dragon years are in 2072, 2132, 2192, 2252, etc.

In 2012 the Yang Water Dragon Lunar Year begins January 23, 2012 and ends February 9, 2013. The energetic high point of the year is the Dragon Moon, May 20 to June 18.  The new moon is May 20, full moon is June 4 and Dragon Moon is over June 18. June 19 begins the Snake Moon, which will set up the energy for the following lunar year, the year of the Yin Water Snake.

Embrace the upcoming 2012 Year of the Water Dragon! Also makes great gifts for people who are Water Dragons (born either between 1/27/1952 – 2/23/1953 OR between 1/23/2012 – 2/9/2013.)  

Today is the day that we as American's recognize the contributions and impact of this particular man.  To this end I share with you three things...

1.  This is a picture of the new King Memorial in Washington D.C. - I took this picture in October on my last trip.  It is amazing to see in person and I encourage you to do so when you can.  Until then, enjoy a preview.  

2.  Behind King's figure is a wall scribed with his words.  One wall in particular spoke to me.

MAKE A CAREER OF HUMANITY, COMMIT YOURSELF TO THE NOBLE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.  YOU WILL MAKE A GREATER PERSON OF YOURSELF, A GREATER NATION OF YOUR COUNTRY, AND A FINER WORLD TO LIVE IN.

3.  This morning I was listening to my iTunes DJ and this song came on and it just seemed so right.  So I share it with you.

Press Release 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement 

NEW YORK, NY, December 8, 2011 -- Edd Lee, LMT has been selected for the 2011 Best of Manhattan Award in the Massage Therapy category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA). 

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community. 

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2011 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties. 

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) 

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising. 

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America. 

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@uscaaward.com
URL: http://www.uscaaward.com 

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September  2010

 

Does a good massage do more than just relax your muscles? To find out, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage.

All of the subjects were fitted with intravenous catheters so blood samples could be taken immediately before the massage and up to an hour afterward.

 

To their surprise, the researchers, sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that a single session of massage caused biological changes.

 

Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone cortisol in blood and saliva, and in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.

 

Volunteers who had the light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, than the Swedish massage group, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.

 

The study was published online in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

 

The lead author, Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport, chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai, said the findings were “very, very intriguing and very, very exciting — and I’m a skeptic.”

 

July 2010

 

Massage therapy and flexibility training like yoga, qi gong, and Thai Massage can be a boost in achievement in any serious fitness regimen.  In addition to counter-balancing the active, exertive nature of fitness training (balance is highly valued in Eastern Medicine), there are concrete physiological effects massage therapy and improved flexibility has on the human body.  Physiological effects that can boost your performance and workout results - especially when coordinated with other personal trainer as do at Rich Barretta Private Training.  Here are three simple ways to understand how massage therapy and Thai Massage achieve this. 

 

1.  Improves post-workout recovery

Massage therapy increases circulation in the body by encouraging the movement of blood and lymph fluids through the body.  This increases access to nutrients necessary to rebuild muscle tissue and the removal of cellular waste products and toxins.  Increased circulation also helps cells that repair and form new tissue get to  where they are needed. 

 

Also, massage therapy stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, also called the “rest and digest” arm of your autonomic nervous system (the part of you that controls unconscious body functions like cellular repair).  This system is responsible for triggering the resting, healing and repairing functions in the body, while shutting off the sympathetic nervous system.  The sympathetic nervous system (otherwise known as the “fight or flight” part of the nervous system), shuts down healing to reroute the body’s resources in order to deal with immediate emergencies.

 

2. Can “reset” communication between nervous system and muscles

Massage and Thai Massage can disrupt subconscious “holding patterns” in your body that limit your range of motion, recruitment of muscle tissue and localized circulation.  Common conditions massage can address include myofascial trigger points (tightly contracted regions within muscle tissue characterized by a hyperirritable taut band with defined pain referral patterns that cause muscle shortening and limit strength and function), poor posture (which creates ineffective or painful movement), and pain (which can cause “guarding” or postural patterns).  You can think of it as recalibrating your brain and muscles so that you don’t waste energy unnecessarily contracting muscles (bad posture) or muscle tissue (trigger points). 

 

3.  Improve your body mechanics.

Thai Massage improves flexibility and mobility through rhythmic compression, stretching and joint mobilization.  Good flexibility and smooth mobility are important for proper body mechanics - that is movement that follows the design of your body.  And good body mechanics makes for more effective workouts, proper muscle development, and a better working body.

 

Plus a good massage therapist can help you understand your body mechanics through conducting an assessment - analyzing your body's tissues, your posture and your movement to determine the cause of pain, discomfort or dysfunction.  In addition to providing effective therapeutic treatments, working with a massage therapist can improve your understanding of how your individual body works.  This is especially true when your massage therapist is working with your fitness trainer to plan massage treatments and workouts that are coordinated to achieve your goals.

 

 

November 2009

 

Did you know research has shown consistent massage therapy reduces anxiety and depression at rates comparable to traditional psychotherapy?  Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne found those who received regular massage therapy experienced reductions of trait anxiety greater than 77% of their counterparts who did not receive massage and reductions in depression greater than 73% of those untreated.  In similar studies, psychotherapy has been estimated to have a 79% effectiveness - though probably not considered to be as pleasurable. 

 

Researchers Christopher A. Moyer, James Rounds, and James W. Hannum conducted a large scale analysis (meta-analysis) of data from studies that tested the effectiveness of massage therapy.  Only studies that randomly assigned participants between massage or no-massage groups were analyzed. The mean effect sizes were calculated from 37 studies for 9 dependent variables.  Multiple applications of massage therapy produced reductions of trait anxiety and depression that were statistically significant, with a course of treatment providing benefits simliar in magnitude to those of psychotherapy.

 

According to this analysis getting regular, consistent massage therapy can be nearly as effective in reducing anxiety and depression as therapy.  But I don't recommend replacing psychotherapy with massage, instead make massage part of your mental and emotional health self-care regimen.

 

 

September 2009

 

Massage therapy has a long, rich history as a medical practice. Defined as manual manipulation of soft tissue intended to positively affect the health and well-being of the client, massage therapy’s history as a medical practice extends back several thousand years.  Written records date as far back as 2000 B.C. in Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Japanese and Roman histories.  Early physicians Celsus (25 B.C. – A.D. 50) and Galen (A.D. 129 – 199) wrote extensively on the medicinal and therapeutic value of massage.  However in Western cultures, the association between medicine and massage diminished as other Greco-Roman traditions were abandoned. 

 

Although massage continued as a folk medicine through the Middle Ages, its adoption by the common people separated it from the scientific and medical milieu, and it therefore fell out of favor with the medical establishment.  This schism continued into the early 19 century, when Swede Per Henrik Ling, head of the Royal Gymnastics Central Institute in Stockholm, developed what is known today as Swedish massage and trained physicians who adopted and promoted his techniques.

 

Today massage therapy continues to regain popularity and validity among the scientific community and consumers alike.  A growing body of research confirms the efficacy of massage for a variety of illnesses and ailments when used appropriately, creating alternative and complementary treatment options.  Massage has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate; increase cytotoxic capacity (an important function of the immune system); enhance weight gain in pre-term infants; increase lymph flow and reduce edema; relieve and reduce certain types of back pain; and reduce anxiety and relieve stress.