Raison d’etre

raison d’être /rayzon detr / ORIGIN French, ‘reason for being’
• noun – the most important reason or purpose for someone or something’s existence.

My grandmother used to tell me that we are all given different gifts, and I believe without a doubt that massage is mine – my raison d’être. I believe this because I have had the great fortune of having seen first hand (no pun intended!) the positive effects resulting from us placing on our hands on someone.

From the soothing touch of a mother’s hand to the therapeutic effects of applied, informed touch, there is no question of the power that literally lies within our hands – whether it is to comfort, or in our case as practicing massage therapists, to assist in providing optimal healing to the body.

One client specifically comes to mind, a former college football player who has been diagnosed and has been living with, Avascular Necrosis for the past four years. He has been told that he will be a candidate to total hip replacement in roughly four years.

To come full circle for a moment from my last blog on technology, when I first found out what my client had, I searched the internet like crazy for any kind of article regarding massage and this condition. Because of the word “necrosis”, I knew something was dying.

Avascular Necrosis also known as Osteonecrosis is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones. Without blood, the bone tissue dies, causing the bone to collapse, which then leads to joint dysfunction. Although it can affect any bone in the body, the most commonly affected sites are the epiphysis (ends) of the long bones, particularly the femur. Check out the cool diagram below, which I found under Patient Education on orthogate.org.

At any rate, my client has lost a significant amount of flexibility in the affected leg. In addition, the affected leg has atrophied considerably, so much so that it is noticeable both visually and physically. The affected leg is not just visibly smaller, but lacks muscle density.

He walks with a pronounced limp, with a gait that seems like he’s swinging his leg forward from the hip. He often complains about a “bone-on-bone” feeling which gives him a lot of pain – not just sometimes pain, but constant pain. When I asked him what his doctors said, he indicated that he was told there’s not much they can do but wait. If they do hip replacement surgery too soon, he may have to get another one in his lifetime.

Seems like a terrible prognosis, no? Wait until what? The hip fractures? Gives me the heebie-jeebies, I tell you.

It took me several months to convince this particular client to come in for some work, especially since by his reasoning, there was nothing that his doctors had been able to do for him so far except prescribe him pain medication. I managed to wear him down finally, and he came in for his first appointment.

I knew at the point he came in that there was nothing I could do as a massage therapist to “fix” him, and that all I can do is help him manage his pain. I spent an hour and a half working on him. I incorporate a lot of stretching in my sessions, but I was very careful not to stretch his affected leg, which had an atrocious range of motion – or is it a lack of? Flexion at the hip of the affected leg was roughly 35 degrees, with his leg medially rotated. From the feel of it, it seemed as though the bone was “fused”. I didn’t dare apply any kind of pressure whatsoever.

While it took me a several months to convince this very skeptical client to come in for a massage, the payoff was completely worth it. I always send a customary follow-up email the day after I work on a client, and when I sent him my customary email, he replied that he had not felt that loose or pain free in two years and he wanted to book his next appointment.

That was all the validation I needed – I had found my “raison d’etre”.

Melinda Eubank

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Know your numbers

I have been passionate about this topic for decades! It is absolutely not okay to seek medical attention or have routine blood work and be told over the phone by a nurse that “everything is fine”, or that “your sugar is a little high”. An educated patient is one who is armed with vital data to which a life-style change, if in order, can be monitored for efficacy.

I urge you to request written copies of all lab results and tests. Keep these results in a file or scan them into your computer. You can have great fun being the subject of your own safe investigations. If your cholesterol ratio is not in a healthy range you might consider dietary modification and more exercise. Have your blood evaluated again to determine whether or not the changes had a life-saving impact. If not, then you and your medical practitioner should together plan the next step in your treatment protocol which may include medications along with your positive life-style changes.

What Numbers Should You Know?

• Blood pressure
• Blood glucose (sugar) level
• Cholesterol – this should include a total lipid profile that differentiates between high and low-density lipoproteins (cholesterol) as well as fat levels in the blood (triglycerides)
• For African American men over 40 and white males over 50 – prostate specific antigen/ cancer screening (PSA)
• Bone Density to screen for osteoporosis

Debbie Hellmann

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To picture or not to picture….business cards

Business cards are the primary way most businesses advertise their business on a personal level.   Business cards should represent the nature of the business without being an overwhelming  graphic production.  For the skincare and massage industry, one should think about what sector of the market they want to capture.  For example a make-up artist’s card may be different from a medical aesthetician. A make-up artist may include many colors and different photographs representing their work.   A medical aesthetician may choose to put only the name of the business with a simple logo on regular heavy card stock.

To properly understand what type of business you are trying to bring in you must be represented visually. Visual representation made include a logo or a picture.  The use of color is also an important issue when selecting business cards. Not only must people be able to see what is going on but they must also be able to distinguish the correct contact information easily. *Information that must be on card:  Name of business, Phone number with area code, Address and email or website if possible.

The biggest questions I get when mentoring students in business development is if they should put their picture on their business card.  My first question to them is to think about what industry uses pictures.  Immediately, you think of real estate.  Right?  Well, again one must determine what type of market you are trying to go for.  In addition, pictures of people are similar to trademarks.  Remember that people must see the same symbol at least 11 times, hear it 11 times before they even recognize that business.  It is what people call branding.  Your company or business will be branded based upon how you portray your company.  Therefore, if you do choose to use a picture of yourself,  you cannot change the picture every time you need new cards.  People like to see consistency in a business.

Well, this is something to think about isn’t it.   To picture or not to picture, this is the question.  What do you think?

“Everyday is a Super Natural Day!” TM

Debbie Hellmann

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Vitamins and Skin

Have you ever heard that if you eat a lot of chocolate you may suffer from acne? Or, have you heard that if you drink a lot of sodas you will also suffer from acne breakouts? It is a misconception that these two forms of food actually cause this condition. However, it has been found that vitamin deficiencies do lead to diseases and disorders that effect how the skin will look. For example, alopecia (hair loss), ridges on the nails may appear or even the skin may look dark or dull as a result of gross vitamin and element deficiency.

The important vitamins are: A, C, B, and K. Vitamin A is important to the skin and the health of the eyes. Lack of this vitamin would result in pimples, dry and dull skin. Foods rich in vitamin A are liver, milk, egg-yolk and spinach. Derivatives of vitamin A have been made to be a topical healing agent for acne, e.g. Retin A. Vitamin C is highly anti-oxidant and is found in several citrus fruits. Vitamin B is also important to how the skin functions. A deficiency of the B vitamins may result in cracked lips. Vitamin K is important in blood clotting to assist the skin bruising process.

Taking a multi-vitamin may assist with some of these deficiencies for better healthy-looking skin. However, nothing beats eating from the balanced food groups. Take heart my friend, healthy skin can be achieved by eating . Eat healthy and make sure that you live everyday as whole as you can.

“Everyday is a Super Natural Day!”

Debbie Hellmann

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Dyslexia and the Desire to Succeed

As a teacher of adult learners, I have at times found myself sharing the frustration of students with dyslexia. Although there are many manifestations and types of dyslexia a common thread for an adult is the perceived futility in managing technical terminology and concepts such as the language of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology.

Dyslexia is a specific learning challenge that primarily affects reading and spelling. Some statistics indicate that about 10% of the population is affected by dyslexia to some degree.

I have been privileged to witness life changing “miracles” for some students during my career. I highly recommend the use of colored overlays from the National Reading Styles Institute. These overlays often help students overcome visual challenges that may include slow reading, poor visual perception, eyestrain, headaches, problems tracking, letter/word reversal, or poor comprehension.

I urge any parent, educator, or reading challenged adult to consider trying this system. Students at Atlanta School of Massage and Atlanta Institute of Aesthetics can contact me to try out sample color overlays.

Debbie Hellmann

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Vision: Being

About 15 years ago we articulated the school’s vision:

“Together we grow to serve through healing touch”

Growing to serve is about being not doing. It’s not only about skills or techniques or what we’ve learned about structure and function. It’s about serving from our center, our core and observing what is present with compassion.

What do you love about your experience here?
A student, who is completing our program today, wrote in response to that question: “I like the person that I’ve become and it’s been an enlightening journey”.

The school’s unique contribution is our commitment to a holistic, client-centered approach not only to teaching massage and skincare but also in our day-to-day function as an organization. Remaining true to the vision while growing a business isn’t easy. It’s about work.

“Human relationships are why we are here. Through them we grow and awaken. Our purpose here in this school called earth, is to remove all the fears that block our true nature, love, from emerging and expressing itself. We accomplish this through our interactions with others. Though this may be somewhat more obvious in our family and social relationships, this is no less true for the relationships in our work-lives. Nor are these work relationships any less important to our learning process. Though relationships take many forms, each comes with the same lesson, to teach and learn love, for that is what we are here.”

Robert Roskind, In the Spirit of Business

Leticia Allen

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From misfit to Ms. Fit

Well, maybe not really Ms. Fit, but at least more fit than previously. I am going to tout the benefits of a personal trainer and a fitness program. Athletic I’m not, nor do I ever intend to be so inclined, but frequent falls up and down the stairs led to the grim realization that my brain was not communicating with my skeletal muscles effectively. This is not good! Due to a number of different events over the course of a life and a gene pool spilling over with connective tissue compromise, I find myself among a group of individuals challenged by degenerative disk disease.

Now this could be a much more uncomfortable situation, however, I have access to the finest massage therapists in the country, graduates from Atlanta School of Massage. Additionally, I have a wonderful, if not slightly wacky chiropractor. All of this is well and good, but the disconnect due to nerve compression and interference resulted in these less than lady-like spills. The contusions, bone bruises, and bloody shins, forced me to conclude that I needed to spend time facilitating new neural pathways.

Just as a baby repeatedly practices a new skill, I am continuing to work toward creating better brain/body connections. I am no Ms. Universe, but as a more aware user of my body, I have had fewer spills. I intend to continue getting stronger to improve the quality of my life.

Debbie Hellmann

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Swedish Massage Series: Intro

One thing that I find interesting is the popular reputation Swedish massage has for being a modality well suited for relaxation, but not much more. It’s interesting to me because I’ve always thought of it in therapeutic terms. Each Swedish stroke has a physiological effect which can have a very therapeutic benefit. How one applies and combines the various effects of these techniques during the course of a session determines the treatment’s overall effect on the body.

How does one determine whether a particular protocol is appropriate?

The answer is another question: Do the physiological effects of the techniques in the protocol complement the process occurring in the body?

Do we want to increase venous and lymphatic return? Break up fibrous adhesions? Normalize muscle tone, proprioception, and nociception? Have general goals of reducing pain and dysfunction or increasing range of motion?

The six classes of Swedish massage strokes (effleurage, pettrisage, friction, vibration, tapotement, and joint movements) have effects which are well suited to these goals. I’ll discuss each one in turn in a series of posts over the next couple months.

Lovelace Linares

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Time Management

Time is such a precious commodity. Without time we would not have anything to judge different periods of our life that really make a difference. Most massage therapists, aestheticians and cosmetologists are really challenged in this area because they are normally creative people. Creative people tend to not have as much structure as some other people in different professions.

It has even been a challenge for me to always stay abreast of what is going on the industry, doing financial paper work (which is HUGE), meeting new clients, maintaining clients, nurturing necessary relationships with close friends and relatives, and don’t forget time to go to the gym.

I have found that the easiest way for me to maintain my sanity and manage my time effectively is to live by a 6-point time management system.

1.) Keep God first.
2.) Take care of my body.
3.) Prioritize schedule. Meditate. Put goals in order.
4.) Execute goal list.
5.) At end of day, check all things off that have been completed.

*Remaining items must go on to the next day. After all Rome was not built in a day. Therefore, I congratulate myself for accomplishing my first priority goals and immediately move the next goals onto the next day during my time of meditation.

Typically somewhere in my day I manage to touch base with all areas of my life that are important to me. For example, in order to make sure I spend time with my family, I call my mom at least 2-3 times a day to check up on them. Although we may not have long extended times to talk, I am able to tell her I love her, which is very important to me. All of the other goals are secondary to making sure I take care of the needs of my family.

Everyone is different. Just make sure that you find out where your value system lies. Think about it. Is it your family, career, fitness, or religion that make you feel the best? Whichever one you put first will ultimately satisfy you at the end of the day if you make it a priority to at least accomplish one goal.

Yes, time is surely a commodity and a precious jewel. Make sure that you use it to your advantage and get the most out of it.

“Everyday is a Super Natural Day!”

Debbie Hellmann

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Where the fruit is

Writing this blog will be challenging for me but I do hold the belief that we grow whenever we venture beyond our comfort zone. Frankly, I don’t enjoy writing and I’m inclined to be shy. But it was my idea to create this blog site so I’m climbing out to the skinny branches. And I’m going to have fun.

With almost 27 years of growing a business, I think that I may have a lot to share with you. So first of all I invite you to ask me questions or suggest topics that are of interest to you regarding our industries or business in general. I’m not an expert. I learn everyday. But I have loads of experience, guiding principles, stories to tell, and a network of resources.

Please look for a series of interviews that I’ll be conducting with some seasoned professionals. I think you’ll find them interesting.

Leticia Allen

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