Melt Massage Blog

Couples Massage Class!

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(Makes a great gift!)

Do you want to know how to give and receive an even better massage at home? For any pair of people who love to give, and receive, massage from each other. In 60 minutes, start leveraging the skills I’ve learned from 30 years of practice to both give and receive a great massage, every time. Feel better right away and take home the tools to continue getting better and better at giving a massage that makes them Melt. In person – all Covid protocols followed. Also offered Virtually to do from the comfort of your own home.

Book Now!

Virtual Massage? Yes! (it works!)

Featured

Revised June 16, 2023

Although there were many trials and tragedies from the pandemic, one thing I’m grateful for is that it gave birth to Melt’s Virtual Massage services!

It is different. But, it works!

Now offering Virtual Instruction in:

  • Self-care with Self-Massage Class
  • Other-care with massage for one another; friends, family or lovers, as “Couples Massage Class
    • or Mother/Father & Daughter/Son Massage!

Clients of Virtual Massage Services say,

“Feeling good. Slept better last night.” Rebecca D.

“…really appreciate getting to learn some new techniques and ways to make massages easier and more effective.” – Carla H.

“My pain seems to me to be markedly diminished….You are a good and patient teacher.” – Glenn H.

 

How it works – by video call:

  • We start with a Discovery Dialogue
    • For self-care, to more effectively treat your discomfort, we review 10 topics to more fully understand the nature it
    • For other-care, we review your top 2 or 3 nagging physical complaints
  • We Set Goals and Establish Expectations for our time together
  • We assess your baseline Knowledge and I add to it

How long it takes ~ 1hr:

  • 15-30 minutes for Discovery dialogue
  • 30-45 minutes for goals, expectations, demonstration and instruction

What to expect ~ Relief!

  • In the comfort of your own home
  • Fully clothed
  • We will
    • establish a baseline for skills
      • What self/other care do you already do?
      • What works/doesn’t?
      • What do you want to work better?
    • demonstrate techniques
      • you show me – what you do, so I can determine what to add to it
      • I show you / guide you – what else I would do
        • leveraging what you already do
          • + ergonomic tips
          • + how to get more out of what you already do
        • adding easy-to-use secrets I’ve learned over 20 years
          • customized for what works for (both of) you
    • practice, review & refine techniques for
      • safety,
      • effectiveness &
      • stamina.

What to take away – New Skills!

  • By the time we’re done you should have new and proven, easy and effective ways to help yourself and the loved ones in your germ-pod feel lasting relief from stress and tension leveraging your learning from one massage to the next.

How to schedule / For more information:

  • email: Hana@MeltMassage.net
  • call / text: 510-418-4262

Looking forward to connecting with you.

In health,

Hana

New Masking Policy

Revised

Effective August 14, 2023 at Melt Massage wearing high a quality NIOSH approved N95 mask covering the nose and mouth will continue to be required if at the time of your appointment:

  1. you had or recovered from having had Covid in the previous 21 days
  2. you are asymptomatic but have been around someone who is sick or “getting over being sick” * with any airborne contagious illness like the common cold, flu, RSV, the novel Coronavirus, etc., in the previous 7 days, or
  3. you have travelled in the previous 5 days.

Otherwise masks will be optional starting July 1, 2023.

I will continue to mask as we wind down from Covid, and whenever requested, because it has proven to be an easy way to avoid getting and spreading various airborne illnesses. That, and my boss doesn’t give me ‘sick days.’ 😉

If you show up sick or “getting over being sick” to an appointment, you may be denied service and required to pay for time you’ve reserved.

Thank you for supporting an environment of health and wellness.

*PS. If you are sick or “getting over being sick” 48 hours before your massage appointment, it is best to reschedule. Find out why.

This policy is subject to change.

Is it a Cold, Covid or Allergies?

This past year’s winter led to a beautiful and prolific spring. But, super-blooms mean super allergies. With Covid declining but still mutating, colds recirculating and allergies at an all-time high, how do we know which our system is dealing with to know how to respond safely and properly?

Check out this article from the Mayo Clinic with comparison charts making it easy to distinguish your condition and get closer to an accurate diagnosis. To be sure, consult your doctor.

And if you have a massage appointment scheduled, please reschedule unless you’re sure it’s allergies or until you’re 100%. Why? Learn why here.

Tips for Traveling without Pain

How many travel injuries have I treated? Pulled backs from lifting luggage, strained necks from sleeping on a flight or on strange beds… Travel can be fun, but what good is a vacation you come home from feeling like you need another vacation?

Try these Travel Tips!

 

In your Carry-On, pack:

1) Tennis ball – In your carry-on, use on tight spots in glutes, lower back and under soles of feet. Seated, place tennis ball under tight spot in glute, or lean on between lower back and the seat or in socked feet, lean foot onto ball to leverage pressure. For more check the first Tennis Ball video.

2) Hot water bottle (empty) – If room, add this to your carry-on, too! Because Security will take your ice gel packs, pack an empty hot water bottle to use for crushed ice or hot water! Once past Security look for a food vendor to get crushed ice or hot water or ask a flight attendant on the plane. Fill your hot water bottle and you’re good to go! If your body feels injured, inflamed or irritated, use ice. If you’ve sat still too long in a dry environment and stiffened up, use heat. Remember, before re-engaging iced muscles, remove ice and wait at least 20 minutes until the iced area has returned to body temperature before exerting normal strain, like getting your luggage on deplaning. Better than your reusable drinking bottle because it can conform to your form. 🙂

3) Two individually wrapped NIOSH approved N95 masks – As recently as last month I had a client who got Covid from flying without a mask. Consider packing one for yourself and at least one for a seat-mate on the flight next to you who ends up coughing or sneezing unexpectedly. It takes such little exposure these days. A simple and effective barrier can go a long way.

4) Throat lozenges (individually wrapped, per above)

 

In your luggage:

1) PYOP – Pack Your Own Pillow! You’ve seen those folks walking through the airport carrying their bed pillows like a security blanket. I used to scoff, but now I humbly admire their simple wisdom in planning ahead for a good night’s sleep wherever they land. You know the best pillow for you at home. If you can, pack it in your luggage. You can’t pack your bed, but you can pack your own pillow. Your neck will already have been through new strains from travel. Why not give it a good night’s sleep when you get there?

2) Back knobber – best kept secret for reducing back pain when what you need is pressure point release and you can’t get enough from a tennis ball.

 

For more tips on self-care, while traveling and at home, check out these self-care videos.

Do you have other ideas like these? Please share! Hana@MeltMassage.net

 

(Revised June 20, 2023, from previous July 6, 2022.)

Have a cold, but want a massage? Why it’s a bad idea:

You’re sick. You want to feel better. You’ve felt better after massage so you book a massage.

Or, you’ve got a massage scheduled and you’re sick or “getting over” being sick days before the massage appointment. Some symptoms have subsided and you’re “well enough” to work, so you think you’re “well enough” to get a massage.

The thing is, getting a massage when you’re sick, or “getting over” being sick, is contraindicated: a bad idea. Why? If you’re getting over being sick, you’re not well, you’re not 100%, you’re still sick.

When you’re sick your body is already working hard to get rid of toxins. Massage may push toxins through your system faster than it can handle and make you sicker. In addition, you can spread your sickness to the therapist. Even if the therapist doesn’t catch your cold or get your sickness, they may be a carrier to the next client or someone else with whom either of them are in contact, who may inadvertently catch that cold. That’s how you got it, right? You can be the one to stop the spread.

Here’s a perspective from a pediatric emergency medicine physician, Dr. Maya Heinert, M.D., published in Shape Magazine.

Also, if you are not actively sick, but have been exposed to someone who is sick within the last 3 days, please contact Melt before coming in. The CDC says we usually catch illnesses like a cold or the flu a day before we show any symptoms.

If you have symptoms of being sick or have been exposed 24-48 hours before your appointment, please reschedule to avoid the 24-hour cancellation fee of full payment for the session reserved for you.  If you don’t learn you’ve been exposed until fewer than 24 hours before your appointment, please text right away. If you show up to an appointment sick, in order to promote your health and ours, you may be declined service, charged the full rate for your appointment and sent home without your massage. We don’t want that to happen, so one way we try to help is by having our system send appointment reminders 2 days in advance.

Please reschedule if you are sick. A cold can be spread by sneezing, coughing or talking without a mask on or through infected body fluids. According to the CDC, a cold is thought to be contagious for up to 5 days of symptoms.

Even if we wear masks to minimize contagion, getting a massage may still make you sicker. We are here to help you feel better, not worse.

Thank you for protecting yourself, preventing the spread of illness and for understanding our commitment to your optimal health and healing.

Originally published Feb. 18, 2017.

Is Cupping right for me?

Cupping isn’t for every body and there are some conditions for which it is even contraindicated. However, if you have stubborn tension that hasn’t been relieved in other ways, or if you want to feel your body like you’ve never felt it before and your body is in a condition to benefit from Cupping, you owe yourself to give it a try.

Is Cupping right for you right now? Find out by reviewing the following:

List of Contraindications: (if any of these would apply at your massage, Cupping would not benefit you right now)

  • Organ Failure (Renal, Hepatic, and/or Cardiac)
  • Liver disease
  • Kidney Function Illness
  • Cardiopathy / Heart Disease
  • Pacemaker or Other Similar Aids
  • 3D Varicosities (Varicose veins) or Spider Veins
  • Anemia
  • Hemophilia or similar bleeding disorders
  • Pregnant (First Trimester)
  • Fever
  • Skin lesions or inflammation
  • Systemic Cancer
  • Undergoing Cancer Therapy
  • Hunger
  • Thirst
  • Emotional Upset

List of Precautions: (Under these conditions we may proceed, but with caution)

  • Hearing Aids (if so, please remove prior to care)
  • Menstruating
  • On blood thinners
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Low Blood pressure
  • Postpartum – the first 6 weeks after giving birth
  • Lymphedema
  • New Tattoos (localized)
  • Recently given blood or undergone a medical procedure
  • Psoriasis
  • Eczema
  • Rosacea
  • Hives
  • Herpes or Shingles
  • Skin tags
  • Raised moles
  • an Insulin Monitor
  • Ferrous metal joints
  • Metal plates
  • Bone Replacements
  • Broken bones
  • Dislocations
  • Hernias
  • Slipped discs
  • Sunburn
  • Ulcerated or inflamed skin
  • Recent surgical incisions

Are you in the clear? Then book your next Melt Massage today with an Add-On Service of Cupping ($25) included in your next massage. (Available for Return Visits only.)

Massage in Winter during Covid

We’ve come a long way but we’re not completely out of the woods in regard to the risk of contracting, getting sick from, and spreading Covid-19.

I continue with my Covid Protocols, including keeping windows open for fresh air. With Winter this means that air can be very refreshing.

In order to balance our needs for health and safety with your comfort, I have several options to keep you warm. We can:

  1. Do the session with you fully clothed.
  2. Do the session with over the sheet and blanket with you undressed to your level of comfort under the sheet and blanket.
  3. Turn the table warmer on high.
  4. Cover you with a second blanket.
  5. Use the small heating pad to keep your toes toasty.

If you choose to have your session over clothing, consider wearing loose comfortable cotton clothing. I can work over sweatshirts and fleece jackets, too (thanks to many years of doing Chair Massage outside.)

Looking forward to seeing you for your next Melt Massage.

In health,

Hana

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Melt Massage LLC

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