Therapists Unite for the Red Cross Bush Fire Appeal

The Australian spirit has never been more amplified than in the wake of the tragic bush fire disaster in Victoria. It feels like everyone is trying to do their bit to help the Victorians who lost their homes and loved ones, and the massage therapy industry is no different.



















I received an email this week via the Australian Association of Massage Therapists, announcing a national fund raising event whereby massage therapists offer massages to the public, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross Bush Fire Appeal.

Endeavour College, in conjunction with ANTA, ATMS, RAoA, AAMT, AACMA and IFA has organised a fundraising event to take place in the following locations (more locations are being confirmed):

• BRISBANE Queen Street Mall – confirmed 8am to 4pm Friday February 27, 2009
• MELBOURNE City Square – confirmed 8am to 7:30pm Friday February 27,2009
• PERTH Murray St Mall - to be confirmed

If you do happen to see the armies of massage therapists and reflexologists out at these venues, pop in for a treatment and help support a really worthy cause.

Relief from muscular aches and strains

Last year, I wrote about the Young Living range of massage oils and essential oils. I've been using them ever since, and they feel and smell divine.

As part of my plan to get fit this year, I enlisted the help of a personal torturer, er, I mean, personal trainer.

The trainer has had me doing evil lunges and squats while carrying weights that are slightly heavier than I'd use if I was practicing alone...ain't it always the way! He's also had me boxing, doing push ups, chin ups and all manor of weight and resistance work that is truly shocking my body.

I suspect I overdid it this week, and I woke up after two consecutive days of training sessions with muscular pain right through my arms...the weights and boxing seemed to conspire to contract my biceps which made it nearly impossible to straighten my arms!

Regular warm showers have helped to ease the strain, and Young Living's Ortho Ease massage oil has also really helped to soothe the muscles in my upper arm. It's amazing how much heat this oil containing peppermint, eucalyptus, thyme and clary oils (amongst others) can generate when massaged into the skin. I can actually feel it working into my very overworked muscles.

My next training session is next week...can't wait! This time, I'll be more diligent with pre- and post-training stretching and hopefully won't need the Ortho Ease again. In any case, for me it has been a very effective product in helping to ease muscular strain.

Retreating on the Gold Coast

I knew there would be some fantastic things to see and do at last weekend's Health, Happiness and Soul Show.

I came across the Australian School of Meditation & Yoga's stand, who were promoting their one-day retreats in the beautiful Gold Coast Hinterland.

It sounds divine:

"We will give you simple and tasty vegetarian recipes and nutritional tips. This perfect day also includes beautiful chanting of sacred mantras, guided meditation and enlightening talks on the timeless wisdom of the yoga texts and how you can easily add meditation to your daily life. You will leave thinking clearly and feeling great."

All for $60! How good is that!! Mum and I are defitely going to book onto one of the upcoming retreats and check it out.

As well as getting fit, meditating more is one of my resolutions for 2009. I had actually seen the ASM's Brisbane's centre advertised, and have been intending to get along to one of their Sunday afternoon sessions, which sound equally relaxing, even if only for a few hours.

Stay tuned for my review of the ASM's retreat day. I can't wait!

The Health, Happiness & Soul Expo hits the Gold Coast

Yay! The Health, Happiness and Soul Expo hits the Gold Coast this week, from Friday till Sunday.

For the $15 entry free, there's a bunch of free seminars each day about everything from chakras, kinesiology, sacred geometry, spirit whispering, angel guides, intuitive art, crystals, belly dancing, soul psychosematics, spirit flutes, tantric sacred relationships, tarot, nutrition, healing, yoga...and the list goes on.

There's also a series of movies (running free and continuously all day) in the New World Spiritual Cinema, including Louise L. Hay's You Can Heal Your Life, The Secret, What About Me and Peaceful Warrior. I missed Peaceful Warrior when it first came out, and as a huge Dan Millman fan, I'm dying to see this TV adaotation of The Way of The Peacful Warrior - one of my favourite books of all time.

If you're looking for health and happiness in 2009, why not check out the Health, Happiness & Soul Expo.

A business in incubation

Happy new year! Can't believe it's practially mid-January 2009.

My soon-to-be launched business, Revive Holistic Marketing, is bubbling away in the background, while I sort out business stationary, websites, course material and venues for a series of workshops for holistic therapists.

The paperwork - and costs - associated with starting a new business seem to mount at a scary pace... business name registrations, bank accounts, business cards, letterhead, brochures, printer and fax for the home office, filing stuff, deposits here and there... and the list goes on.

It's been a fascinating exercise doing all of this on a shoe string budget. I'm used to working with a substantially bigger marketing budget and simply having the resources of a full working office. Now, when my printer needs new ink, I have to go buy it, install it and ensure that its ready when I need to use it.

I've also been somewhat shocked and amused at the quotes I've received for all manner of services - web and graphic design, corporate identity and branding etc...no wonder so many small businesses fail! We'll cover all of that and more in the workshops.

Stay tuned for the launch of the website and details of workshops around the country!

A night of pampering with All Pampering

I met Nathalie Panic-Vaucher by chance a few weeks ago and we got chatting about what we did. She said she runs pampering events for women, with her business partner Kym Morris, via their company, All Pampering.

She suggested I come along to their next Ladies Escape, held last night in one of the function rooms at Fitzy's, Logonholme.

Nathalie and Kym are full-time mums and business women, who believe that every woman deserves to be pampered. They run regular pampering events designed for women to take time for themselves. They are the Queens of "Me Time"!

The room was dotted with "stations" which we would later move around, and a range of products were on display. It was like a mini Mind Body Spirit expo, with candles, skin products, massage products and the like. The atmosphere was really relaxed and calm, a little sanctuary away from the madness of the week.

Nathalie opened the evening, taking us through a brief guided visualisation to help us calm our minds and centre ourselves.

We were invited to try some polynesian dancing, demonstrated first by the lovely Ruby. It was hilarious. Whether or not any of us will make professional polynesian dancers is another story, but we had a bit of a boogie and a big giggle.

It was then time for the first pampering session - a back and shoulder massage. We paired up and were given a Joya Massage Roller. I had seen massage rollers before, but nothing like the Joya version, which used a solid gemstone as the roller ball. The Joya comes with about 20 different crystal/gemstone roller balls. Each stone has different properties - I think we were using an aventurine stone, a green stone linked to the heart chakra, which helps to promote self-determination and individuality.

We were instructed how to use them, and then invited to give our pamper pal a back and shoulder massage. It was great - having been to the gym the day before, I was in dire need of a massage! The Joya was excellent as you could use the stone roller ball side to get into tight muscles up and down the back and around the shoulders, and the smooth birch wood side provided a firm surface to finish off with long, flowing effleurage strokes.

There were nibblies and music throughout the evening, and we had brief talks by the ladies who were displaying their products.

Loraine, a PartyLite consultant, talked about the range of PartyLite candles, essential oils and all other things smelly and burny. The room smelt delicious! Loraine runs candle parties - another discovery for me from tghe evening. Candle parties - like Tupperware parties! What a great thing to do with a bunch of girlfriends over a few chardies.

More pampering followed, and we teamed up with our pamper pals again to give each other a hand and foot massage. All Pampering supplied the creams, balms, towels and everything we needed. They used all-natural products from the Diva range.

It was interesting to observe the 16 or so women at the event, many of whom at the beginning of the evening were total strangers, and by the end were nattering away like we'd known each other for years. Some had kids, some didn't. Some worked full time, some were full time Mums. Yet we were all happy to be chatting, and doing and receiving a bit of pampering. You get that with women!

The evening finished at about 10.00pm and we said our goodbyes, smiles on our dials and armed with all sort of goodies and brochures related to pampering. It was a really nice way to spend a Friday night.

The next All Pampering Ladies escape is on Friday 13th Feb, and then there's an All Albout Me Expo on 22nd Feb. See the All Pampering events calendar for more details.

Perfect Potion's delicious essential oils

I found the most delicious shop in Brisbane's CBD this week - Perfect Potion.

The shop smells divine - it was the wonderful aromas that lured me in. Perfect Potion sells a huge range of organic, (animal) cruelty-free essential oils, massage oils, oil burners, body and skin products, herbal teas, and also offers aromatherapy treatments in some of its shops.

They had a fairly large range of blended essential oils, but the set that really caught my attention was the box of 7 chakra blends.

According to Perfect Potion's website; The root chakra connects us with our physical body and surroundings and promotes feelings of stability and security. Balance Chakra Blend is a blend of black pepper, vetiver, sweet orange, patchouli, lavender and Atlas cedarwood pure essential oils.

The sacral chakra represents our creative energy and is associated with the functions of our reproductive organs and sexual energy. Allure Chakra Blend is a blend of jasmine absolute, mandarin, sandalwood, cardamom, ylang ylang and patchouli pure essential oils.

The solar plexus chakra relates to our connection with others. Harmony Chakra Blend is a blend of vetiver, juniper, lemon, frankincense Roman chamomile and star anise pure essential oils.

The heart chakra is concerned with forgiveness and compassion – unconditional love through which we accept another for doing their best. Compassion Chakra Blend is a blend of rose absolute, ylang ylang, lavender, may chang, neroli, and bergamot pure essential oils.

The throat chakra is associated with communication and self expression. Expressive Chakra Blend is a blend of German chamomile, sandalwood, basil, and sweet orange pure essential oils.

Divine within and without, the third eye chakra enables us to follow our intuition as we open up to new ideas and our imagination. Insight Chakra Blend is a blend of clary sage, myrtle, lavender, rosemary and bergamot pure essential oils.

The crown chakra represents enlightenment and self-realisation. Cosmic Chakra Blend is a blend of lavender, frankincense, East Indian sandalwood and cold pressed lime pure essential oils.

This box set would make a gorgeous gift for anyone who loves essential oils or is interested in chakras. It comes with a thorough little booklet that explains the chakras and how to use the oils to assist in re-balancing them. I've been burning the Base chakra blend since I arrived home, and it's lovely spicy aromas are filling my apartment.

Perfect Potion has shops in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne - definitely worth checking out if you're still looking for Christmas gifts, or if you simply want to lose yourself in the wonderful world of essential oils and all things aromatic.

The knee bone's connected to the shin bone....learning anatomy and physiology online!

Having studied anatomy and physiology over a period of 9 months for my massage studies, I can tell you that having a great teacher makes all the difference to the way you perceive the subject.

The body's amazing systems are complicated and you have to learn an entire new vocabulary! Distinguishing between veins and lymph vessels can be overwhelming when you're up to your eyeballs in massage practice and the ITEC exam is looming.

I'm loving that Essentials for Health has made their A&P course available online via a virtual classroom. Even better, Jane Johnson is teaching the course.

Jane is one of the UK's leading Anatomy and Physiology teachers and is a practicing physiotherapist. She taught most of the A&P days when I did my studies at Essentials for Health last year, and it was Jane's passion about the human body that really made learning about it enjoyable. I've never seen someone get so excited about a debate over the pisiform bone, or the prospect of organising a field trip to a dissection lab!

The course covers all the body's systems:

• Skeletal
• Muscular
• Cardiovascular
• Respiratory
• Endocrine
• Skin
• Cells
• Reproductive
• Urinary
• Neurological
• Digestive
• Lymphatic

If you need to do Anatomy and Physiology as part of your holistic therapies studies, this virtual classroom sounds like a really viable way of doing it from the comfort of your own home. Click on the Essentials for Health image below for details.

Making time for YOU know who

I'm having the most relaxed weekend I've had in months - no commitments, no deadlines, no need to be anywhere or do anything. What luxury!

Ironically, one of the things I chose to do this weekend was to finish unpacking the last of my boxes (I've recently renovated my flat and still seem to be sorting things out!). I just really wanted to get rid of the pile of clutter that I walked past every time I went up my hallway.

And in one of the boxes was a stack of magazines I'd not yet read, together with the latest copy of WellBeing Magazine, which I had subscribed to a couple of months. "I'll get to that soon", I remember thinking at the time.

One of the first articles that caught my attention was called Acts of Love by Lara Phegan. It lists 10 relatively quick and easy ways that you can love yourself each day. How often do we think about giving ourselves the time to do this, when the pressures of every day life pull us in a mullion different directions?

First on her list, was move your body - and was about how beneficial it is for your mind, body and spirit when you physically move. Even a 15-minute walk can diffuse tension or help you to see things in a different way.

One of the other suggestions was to lighten up and laugh - how good does it feel to have a good laugh? Whether you watch a funny movie or hang out with great friends, there's nothing like a good chuckle. Earlier this morning, I decided I wanted to test my new oven, and had bought a muffin mix (I know, that's cheating). I thought I had a muffin tray, but it turns out I didn't -it must have got lost somewhere in the move. I was still really keen to make the muffins, and dumped the mixture into a rectangular tin that was probably more suitable for bread or a loaf cake of some sort. I could have chucked a huff about not having the right tin, but I figured it would all taste the same. Quite spontaneously, I started laughing - almost hysterically, because the thought of a large rectangular muffin tickled my fancy. Maybe you had to be there to appreciate the silliness of it, but it felt great to have a chuckle.

I also liked the tip about enhancing your environment. We spend a lot of time in our homes and offices, and feeling good in the places you spend a lot of time, suggests Lara's article, is a great way to love yourself.

Whether you enhance your space with photos of loved ones, plants or fresh flowers, or scented candles, the simple ritual of doing it can really improve your mood. I diffuse delicious essential oils from Young Living throughout my home virtually every day. Blends called Peace and Calming, Joy and Purification really make the place smell great. In fact my neighbour has commented a couple of times about the lovely aromas that waft from my place past her window!

One of the key tips was to spend time with yourself. This doesn't mean just being by yourself. I live by myself, but I don't necessarily spend a lot of time quietening my mind and truly being alone with myself. The article suggests activities like meditation, breathing or relaxagtion exercises, being present when you go for a walk, drive home from work or make dinner. The key, Lara suggests, is to slow down, pay attention and listen to the truth inside you.

All sage advice I reckon. I'm going to put a reminder of Lara's suggestions on my fridge, because I know this lovely relaxing weekend will soon end, and the madness of everyday life resume.

Check out extracts from the latest edition of WellBeing Magazine at http://www.wellbeing.com.au/.

Mind Body Spirit Festivals coming up in Sydney and Melbourne

The MindBodySpirit Festival is one of my favourite shows. Having lived in London for the last few years, I haven't been to one in Australia for ages, although I attended similar events in the UK.

The Sydney event is on next week (6-9 November), and the Melbourne event runs from 28-30 November. Unfortunately I can't get to either show, and will have to wait till the MBS roadshow hits Brisbane next June.

I love the show because it's always interesting to see what new holistic therapies and products are available out in the market. Festival organisers say that there are over 190 new experiences on offer, with everything from natural therapies, self development, massage, alternative healing, tactile body therapies, acupuncture, spiritual enlightenment, organic food health and beauty, stress release and life and career coaching.

And there are 71 free seminars - great value for a $13 ticket (purchased online in advance) or $16 (purchased at the event).

Still loving those massage school clinics!

In my mission to try as many massage school clinics as possible, I ventured into the Australasian College of Natural Therapies clinic in Sydney last week.

I booked in for a one hour remedial massage, as I hadn't had that type of massage for ages. Remedial massage is deliberately firm and really gets into the muscles and tissues. It's in these kind of massages that you often "discover" tense areas in your body that you weren't even aware were tense.

The clinic was professionally run, and the treatment rooms were basic, but clean and comfortable. My therapist introduced herself to me, did a quick postural assessment and ask where I'd like her to focus on. Neck and shoulders please...a very typical reply!

She was using a massage balm instead of oil and we discussed the pros and cons of oils vs balms. The balms didn't seem as greasy as oils, but still provided good glide - this is important when you're trying to roll smoothly over tense or dense areas of muscle.

Interestingly, the therapist started working on my lower back and detected tension there (surprise surprise for a person who'd went most of the week curled over a computer!). She then started to work on my glutes - another area where a lot of people store tension - and repressed anger, I once learnt in a personal development course. I was trying to pay attention to the techniques she was using (if I like the way something feels in a treatment, I always ask the therapist to show me what they're doing), but started to drift into the land of nod. Even though the massage was very firm, it still had the overall effect of relaxing me.

At the ACNT clinic, instructors actually come into the treatment room mid-massage to observe what their students are doing. This is the first clinic I've visited where that's happened! I had been asked prior to the massage if this was ok. The instructor observed for a bit then started to give my therapist some tips about how to work particular areas up the side of my shoulder. He then demonstrated on one side of my shoulder while she tried on the other side.

Hands on training like this is invaluable for therapists, and I was really impressed at the quality of teaching, and the supervision of students. I believe that the more clinic hours students do under such close supervision, the better therapists they'll be when they go out to do it commercially.

The ACNT clinic offers a wide range of treatments including massage, naturopathy, herbal medicine, nutritional consulations, aromatherapy, homoeopathy, reflexology and beauty treatments.

At $30 for a one hour remedial massage, this is one of the best value massages I've had - particuarly as the clinic is in the city (Foveaux Street, near Central Station).

The clinic is available to the public - check out their website, call to make a booking on 02 9218 8855 or email clinicreception@acnt.edu.au. I highly recommend it!

Generating interest at events with seated massage

It was my pleasure to spend an action-packed few days last week doing seated massage at one of the year's big IT Trade Shows - Cisco Networkers.
One of the exhibitors at the event, APC by Schneider, decided to offer free seated massages for visitors to the company's booth. It proved to be a great addition to their stand, with people queuing up for massages for pretty much the entire time - we got through 100 seated massages in 2.5 days!

While the massage was by no means the main focus, APC used it, and a Wii playstation to attract visitors to their booth. This gave the APC sales team a chance to engage with their visitors, and created a fun and lively atmosphere.

Curiously, while other exhibitors offered an array of prizes and competitions on their booths, there were no other seated massage therapists at the event. This surprised me, but it worked out well for APC, who were able to claim another yet unique point of differentation on their booth.

APC's Channel Manager, Joyce Sl Ng, said, "We recently engaged Melanie for a 3-day exhibition in Brisbane. A free 10-min shoulder & back massage was offered to everyone who visited our booth during this time. It has been a fantastic experience for all who took up the offer. The free massage was an absolute winner at this event; attracted a lot of traffic to our booth during the exhibition time. Melanie's service is fabulous & professional. Highly recommended for corporate events."

If you are planning an event - large or small, consider offering seated massage as a way of generating interest, saying "thank you" to customers, staff or guests, or just providing a little something different.

Seated massage is extremely versatile and requires minimal space. If your guests are seated, for example at roundtables or business meetings, the massage therapist can massage them in those seats. Alternatively, the purpose-built massage chair can be set up in the corner of a room, meeting or board rooms, booths etc.

Feel free to contact me to discuss the possibility of seated massage at your next corporate event.

EMPOWER - a new magazine worth reading

I discovered a new magazine yesterday - Empower.

With its second issue on the newsstands now, Empower says it is "a magazine to inspire, motivate and challenge you to improve your life."

The brainchild of Helen Rosing, a businesswoman and success coach, many of Empower's articles are written by coaches with different specialties - so they're all very action-oriented, positive and encouraging.

In the launch edition I've just read, there were articles on motivation, the art of forgiveness, complementary therapies such as Reiki and Bowen Therapy, business, career and wealth creation. Almost all of the articles list five or so key tips and provide additional useful resources. Empower also has a group on Facebook, which I imagine will start to generate some interesting conversations over time.

"Giving in Kind" was an article about random acts of kindness, and you can check out reader's acts of kindness at Empower's website. It's nice...uplifting to read about this sort of stuff. And there's a fairly substantial collection of free content on the site.

I really enjoyed the first edition of Empower and hope that the magazine will succeed. I think it's filling an important gap in the women's magazine market.

Free reflexology treatments during World Reflexology Week!

Feel like a free reflexology treatment?

If you're around the Burleigh Heads area next Friday (26 September) check out the Reflexology Open Day at Massage Schools of Queensland.

Members of the public are invited to attend the event, and will hear one of Australia’s pioneers in reflexology, Heather Edwards, discuss and demonstrate this fascinating holistic therapy. Visitors can then sample free reflexology treatments, with qualified reflexologists on hand to answer any questions.

Date: Friday, 26 September 2008
Time: 9.45am for a 10.00am start; reflexology treatments will run all day till 5.00pm
Venue: Massage Schools of Queensland, Level 1, 36 Kortum Drive, Burleigh Heads, QLD 4220
Ph: 5576 6366

Heather is involved in many firsts’ in reflexology education in Australia, most notably being one of Australia’s first registered reflexologists with the International Institute of Reflexology. She is a trained teacher, Aromatherapist and herbalist. She is a founding member of the Reflexology Association of Australia (RAA) and the International Council of Reflexologists (ICR).

Heather commenced her training with Dwight Byers in 1984 and became Australian Director in 1991. She has developed, co-ordinated and taught reflexology courses throughout Australia and Singapore for the past 19 years.

Having just completed my introductory reflexology studies with Heather, I'm sure that anyone who wants to learn more about reflexology, will find her talk invaluable.

Illusion and Reality

Wow - I just watched two fascinating videos on YouTube: Illusion and Reality 2012 Part 1 and Part 2.





There are so many interesting concepts in the 20 minutes worth of footage - everything from the significance of the year 2012, the major shift in both the physical and spiritual vibrations of every being in the universe, individual and world chakras, perception and reality, fear and love.

Really too much to summarise in a blog post, so you'll have to check it out for yourself!

Wanted: Chief Happiness Officer

I was flicking through the Sunday papers today and came across an article by psychologist and executive coach, Dr. Timothy Sharp, called Against the Odds.

It was about how easy victories don't bring much satisfaction, whereas well-fought battles invariably do. How true is that! It was an interesting, upbeat article, but what really caught my attention was Dr. Timothy's bio:

"Dr. Sharp is a best-selling author, a corporate speaker and consultant, and Chief Happiness Officer at The Happiness Institute."

Chief Happiness Officer...wow - some job, huh! I checked out The Happiness Institute's site. The company offers coaching and courses as well as happiness books, CD's & tapes and workbooks.

You can even take a free happiness test or sign up to Dr. Happy's e-newsletter. Once you subscribe to the newsletter, you can download a free e-book about happiness.

I'm feeling happier having used the word 10 times so far in this post - imagine how happy Dr Happy, the Chief Happiness Officer of The Happiness Institute must be!

The e-book was based on the philosphy that:

• Happiness is the ultimate purpose in life
• Happiness is achievable, for all of us
• Happiness is determined more by our minds than by our circumstances
• The disciplines that will lead to and enhance happiness (such as helpful thinking and good habits) can be learned and mastered, with practice.

It provides 21 tips about how to incorporate happiness into our lives, starting with Tip #1: make happiness a priority. It's one of those obvious things, but one that's nice to be reminded of occasionally.

It also got me thinking that we are all (or should be) Chief Happiness Officers. We are all utimately responsible for our own happiness - relying on other people to provide for it for us usually leaves us feeling underwhelmed or disappointed.

Dr. Happy's e-book is a timely reminder about the basics of happiness, and definitely worth a read. Check it out!