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The Power of the Breath – Enhancing your Love Life

The Power of Breath: Enhancing Your Love Life

Introduction:

In the pursuit of a fulfilling and passionate love life, we often overlook a simple yet powerful tool that can deeply enhance our connections: our breath. While breathing is an automatic bodily function, consciously harnessing the power of breath can bring about profound changes in our relationships. In this blog, we will explore how using the breath can contribute to a more fulfilling and satisfying love life.

1. Cultivating Presence:

One of the primary ways in which utilizing the breath can enhance our love life is by cultivating presence. When we consciously focus on our breath, we anchor ourselves in the present moment, allowing us to fully engage with our partner. By being present, we create a space for deep connection and meaningful communication, fostering a stronger emotional bond.

2. Managing Emotions:

Emotions are an integral part of any love story. However, they can sometimes be overwhelming and lead to conflicts. The breath serves as a powerful tool to manage and regulate our emotions. By taking slow, deep breaths during moments of tension or disagreement, we activate the body’s relaxation response, calming our nervous system and enabling us to respond from a place of clarity and compassion.

3. Enhancing Intimacy:

Intimacy thrives in an environment of trust, vulnerability, and deep connection. Conscious breathing can help create such an environment. By synchronizing our breath with our partner’s, we establish a nonverbal connection, fostering a sense of unity and understanding. This synchronized breathwork can deepen the experience of physical intimacy, leading to heightened pleasure and emotional closeness.

4. Strengthening Communication:

Effective communication is the foundation of a healthy relationship. The breath plays a crucial role in improving communication with our partner. By taking slow, intentional breaths before expressing ourselves, we become more mindful of our words and their impact. This mindful breathing allows us to communicate with clarity, empathy, and compassion, reducing misunderstandings and fostering a deeper connection.

5. Managing Stress:

Stress is a common culprit that disrupts our love life. When we are stressed, our ability to love, connect, and communicate diminishes. However, by incorporating breathwork practices such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga into our daily routine, we can effectively manage stress levels. The breath acts as a natural stress-reliever, calming the mind and promoting overall well-being, which ultimately translates into a healthier and more fulfilling love life.

Conclusion:

In a world filled with distractions and challenges, it is essential to remember the power that lies within our own breath. By consciously utilizing the breath, we can cultivate presence, manage emotions, enhance intimacy, strengthen communication, and manage stress in our love life. So, let’s take a moment to inhale deeply, exhale slowly, and embark on a journey of love and connection, empowered by the simple yet transformative act of breathing.

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Introduction:
Welcome to our blog, where we explore the incredible benefits of massage therapy for fertility. Whether you are actively trying to conceive or simply want to optimize your reproductive health, incorporating massage into your routine can be a natural and effective way to support your fertility journey. Join us as we delve into the various techniques, benefits, and tips for using massage to enhance fertility.

1. Understanding Fertility:
Before we dive into the world of massage, let’s first understand the basics of fertility. We’ll discuss the menstrual cycle, ovulation, and factors that can influence fertility. This knowledge will help us appreciate how massage can positively impact reproductive health.

2. Benefits of Massage for Fertility:
Explore the numerous benefits of massage therapy in relation to fertility. From reducing stress and anxiety to improving blood circulation and hormonal balance, we’ll uncover the ways in which massage can support reproductive health. Learn how massage can promote relaxation, balance the reproductive system, and enhance overall well-being.

3. Techniques for Fertility Massage:
Discover specific massage techniques that are designed to stimulate reproductive organs, improve circulation to the pelvic area, and support hormonal balance. We’ll explore popular techniques like abdominal massage, reflexology, and acupressure that can be performed by a professional therapist or even self-administered at home.

4. Aromatherapy and Essential Oils for Fertility Massage:
Explore the world of aromatherapy and essential oils that can complement fertility massage. Learn about oils known for their hormone-balancing properties, stress reduction, and overall relaxation. We’ll provide guidance on safe usage and suggest blends that can enhance your massage experience.

5. Partner Massage for Fertility:
Fertility massage isn’t just for individuals; it can be a beautiful bonding experience for couples. We’ll discuss how couples can engage in partner massage techniques to support each other’s reproductive health. This section will focus on communication, trust, and the intimate connection that massage can foster.

6. Self-Care Practices:
In addition to massage, we’ll explore other self-care practices that can complement your fertility journey. From yoga poses and breathing exercises to nutrition tips and lifestyle changes, we’ll provide a holistic approach to support your overall well-being and fertility.

7. Seeking Professional Help:
While self-massage techniques are beneficial, sometimes seeking professional help from a trained fertility massage therapist can provide added support. We’ll discuss how to find and choose a qualified therapist who specializes in fertility massage and can guide you throughout your journey.

Conclusion:
Massage therapy offers a nurturing and holistic approach to enhance fertility. By incorporating the techniques, benefits, and self-care practices discussed in this blog, you can embark on a path of self-discovery and empowerment. Remember, every individual’s fertility journey is unique, so listen to your body, trust the process, and embrace the healing power of massage as you strive to optimize your reproductive health.

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Using Breathwork within your Massage Practice.

Using the Breath in Massage

Breathing is an essential part of life that we often take for granted. However, in massage therapy, the breath can be a tool to enhance the relaxation and healing process for clients. By incorporating proper breathing techniques into massage therapy, therapists can help clients release tension, increase circulation, and achieve a deeper state of relaxation.

The Benefits of Breath

Breathing is a powerful tool that can help clients release tension and achieve a deeper state of relaxation. Proper breathing helps to increase oxygen flow to the body’s tissues, which can increase circulation and promote healing. In addition, deep breathing can help to release endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers.

Breath Awareness

Before beginning a massage, it is important to help clients become aware of their breath. Many people hold their breath or breathe shallowly when they are stressed or anxious. By helping clients focus on their breath, therapists can help them relax and release tension.

Breathing Techniques

There are several breathing techniques that therapists can use during a massage. One technique is to instruct clients to take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly. This technique can help clients release tension in their muscles and achieve a deeper state of relaxation.

Another technique is to instruct clients to breathe in rhythm with the massage strokes. For example, during a Swedish massage, clients can breathe in as the therapist strokes up the body and exhale as the therapist strokes down the body. This technique can help clients synchronize their breath with the massage, which can enhance the relaxation process.

Breath Awareness during Stretching

Breathing can also be used during stretching. Instructing clients to inhale as they stretch and exhale as they release the stretch can help them relax and release tension. This technique can also help clients achieve a greater range of motion during stretching.

Conclusion

Incorporating proper breathing techniques into massage therapy can help clients release tension, increase circulation, and achieve a deeper state of relaxation. By helping clients become aware of their breath and teaching them breathing techniques, therapists can enhance the healing process for their clients. learn the techniques and become a qualified breathwork practitioner. 

1. Deep breathing: Encourage your client to take deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. This helps to slow down the heart rate, reduce stress, and improve oxygen flow to the body.

2. Diaphragmatic breathing: Ask your client to place one hand on their chest and the other on their belly. Instruct them to take deep breaths in through the nose, feeling the belly expand, and then exhale slowly through the mouth, feeling the belly contract. This technique helps to activate the diaphragm muscle and increase relaxation.

3. Box breathing: This technique involves inhaling for a count of four, holding the breath for a count of four, exhaling for a count of four, and holding the breath for a count of four. Repeat this cycle for several minutes to calm the mind and body.

4. Alternate nostril breathing: This technique involves closing one nostril and inhaling through the other, then closing that nostril and exhaling through the opposite nostril. Repeat this cycle several times to balance the energy in the body and calm the mind.

Remember to always check with your client before incorporating breathwork techniques into a massage therapy session, and to adjust the techniques based on their comfort level.

Join our nalu breathwork tribe

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Lava Shell Massage

We have been using Lava shells in our massage practise and training school for the last six years.

The best way to describe lava shell massage is: Lava shell massage is a five star massage without the price tag!

We heat up the shells with a high or medium heat charge depending on how hot you would like the massage to be.

Alternatively you can chill the shells with a cool shell, this is for another blog at a later date.

The shells are all natural and from the philippines and we also use the porcelain lava  shells, which are crushed up natural shells and mixed with a porcelain and placed in to a uniform mould to create a beautiful uniform shaped shell.

The Tiger-Striped Clam. It may not seem like much at first, but this little guy has quite a history. Over millions of years, the Tiger Clam has evolved to truly become one with the environment. Born with their shell, the clams spend their lives carefully filtering the nutrients they need from the seawater around them, and then patiently building their home as they grow and thrive.

During the process, the clams become a natural reducer of greenhouse gases because they filter CO2 out of the water, meaning more can be pulled from the atmosphere and into the ocean.

For thousands of years, islanders in the Philippines have had their own relationship with the clams, gathering what they need as part of their basic diet.

The clams are first collected by free divers, and the shells removed so that the clam can be prepared for food.

The shells were previously discarded as waste, however they have found a way to recycle these natural beauties. Rather than throw away the shells, the local islanders sort through them, looking for the right size, shape, and symmetry. The shells are personally matched by size, then sanded and bonded together.

The end result is a beautiful, all natural and surprisingly ergonomic tool that you and your clients will love.

When massaging with the shells its a powerful, long-lasting heat treatment, that can give deep pressure without the effort,  Or maybe you’re prefer  a beautiful flowing form of bodywork which is powerful and links the mind, body spirit.

These little beauties are so versatile, everyone that try lava shell massage does not go back to a regular massage.  Its so soothing and relaxing it melts the pain away.

I always say, ensure you train with an accredited massage trainer this ensures you are getting the right advise as suing heat and cold on a massage does have its precautions, especially for the elderly and pregnant.

The world is your oyster with lava Shells x

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Breathwork

What is breathwork?

Breathwork is a general term used to describe controlled breathing and breathing exercises that improve physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.
By consciously deep breathing you can activate your parasympathetic nervous system and in turn this will slow your heart rate down and lower your blood pressure creating a real sense of calm.

By breathing out slowly we also activate the Vagus Nerve, which in turns helps to put our body in rest and digest mode.

Whenever you feel a sensation of panic, anxiety or stress its good to take a deep slow breath and exhale nice and slowly.

This takes us from the fight or flight mode to rest or digest mode.

Some stress and anxiety is good for us, however if we spend most of our lives in the fight or flight mode (the stressed, anxious mode) then we start to notice in other areas of our health. Its important to take time out and slow down and take a breath.

I literally mean takde a nice deep slow breath and exhale nice and slowly through the mouth., notice how you feel afterwards. I like to add a sigh of relief after my deep breath and this really does then help to kick in the vagus nerve which will help you calm down and go into rest or digest mode.

Rest or digest mode is when the body is harmony and operating at its best. Its when we feel those feelings of calm and serenity.

Can you imagine living a life with those feelings of calm and moments of bliss every day?

Well you can and it’s so easy and costs absolutely nothing,  just a little bit of your time.

Learning to breathe changed my life and i know it can change yours too.

Try laying in bed, before you get up in a morning and do 5 mins of conscious breathing exercises. Breath in through the nose and out through the mouth nice and slowly. After one week, increase your time to 10 mins each day, and start to notice the difference in your day.

Its good to play some calming music or upbeat music if you would like to increase your energy and continue to increase you amounts until you reach maybe 20 min each day.  Notice how you feel calmer each day and how things that used to concern you start to disappear.

This is just the beginning, it really can change you life in so many ways.

Give it a go and let me know how you go with it.

Happy Breathing

 

 

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What is Lomi Lomi?

What is Lomi Lomi?

Lomi Lomi is so much more than a massage!
It’s A way of life
It’s about connection
It’s about living a life of aloha, a life with love, forgiveness and kindness and so much more.
In Hawaiian philosophy, everything is aligned and has equal importance: body, mind, spirit, and emotional body.
So with this in mind I would also say Lomi Lomi is a way of bringing our mind, our bodies back into balance back into homeostasis, as we were the day we were born.
Healing is all about finding our balance and allowing a safe place for our healing to take place.

To fully understand Lomi Lomi, it’s worth experiencing a lomi lomi session for yourself. Its like no other massage you will have experienced.
Feel the flowing moves, moves like the ocean waves as they roll in and out and over the body. Washing over your body to create a sense of ease and bliss.

Lomi Lomi Temple style or Kahuna as its sometime known here in Australia is a spiritual practice where you find harmony, not just physically but emotionally too.  With this in mind sometimes Lomi Lomi can help you rid any blockages of emotions stuck in the body, so this can help you release and then start to heal.

Once we give the mind and body space we give ourselves permission to heal.

The first time you expercine Lomi Lomi, you may feel a little vulnerable and this it totally normal. We usually undress fully or to your own comfort level, so the therapist can flow up and down the body without interruption.

This also helps you to lose control and give in and simply be! This is when we start our healing process, when we give in and simply be, our bodies and mind goes  in to rest or digest mode. This is when the parasympathetic nervous system is kicked in and allowing our mind and body to rest.

This day and age we spend so much of our time in fight or flight mode, that we literally forget how to relax and switch off.

If we take a  look back to manay many years ago, people would rest in an afternoon before getting back to work in the late afternoon.  This would allow the mind and body to heal and gain more energy from resting.

Maybe we should take a leaf out of our ancestors books and learn to switch off for a time each day.  What i mean by switching off,  is by not doing anything of importance. Switch off the phone, social media and put down your book. Maybe go for a walk in nature and sit under a tree. or just sit in the outdoors in silence.

Or book in with a local Lomi Lomi – kahuna therapist and receive this amazing. life changing massage.

Aloha and Mahalo for reading

Jen Barnett

Nalu massage Training

 

 

 

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How heavy has your head become?

As a massage therapist, one of the most common dysfunctions I see walk through my door is pain/tension in the upper back and/or neck. There can be many causes ranging from sitting for work 40 +/- hrs/wk, looking down at your cell phone consistently throughout the day, propping your head up while watching tv/reading and more severe cases due to motor vehicle accidents, whiplash and sporting injuries. The symptoms can also range from tension/pain that always comes back, headaches, jaw tension/TMJ, dizziness, tinnitus(ringing in the ears), difficulty swallowing, feeling like your head weighs 100 lbs and you just can’t hold it up.

All these symptoms are warning signs from your body that something is just not right and you have created a dysfunction. Pain and tension are only present because there is a dysfunction within your system. Recognizing these warning signs and getting proper assessment/treatment can reverse the dysfunction and spending as little as 5 minutes a day of doing specific home care can help you maintain a healthy pain-free life.

Book in with our Jen Barnett practitioner Nalu massage  to have your dysfunction assessed, treated and then be supplied with home care specific to your case.

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Medical Massage Team as a volunteer at The Commonwealth Games

Medical Massage Team as a volunteer at The Commonwealth Games
From the first shift until the last shift 15 days later I can honestly say it was a pleasure working in the Medical Massage Team for the Elite Athletes of the Commonwealth Games

 

We even got to meet Borobi a number of times.

Some of the Countries and Athletes that stand out in my memory like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Seychelles, Trinidad, Uganda, Rwanda , Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada and many many more.

 

 

They stand out in my mind for lots of reasons but for mostly their warm and friendly approach to us and also how they thanked us each and every time we helped them. It really does make the long hours and effort all worth it.

 

If you have never Volunteered before I can really recommend it and it may not be for a big event like the Commonwealth however I am sure you will gain as much as I did.

I came away feeling much richer in life from mixing with like-minded professionals to mixing with the elite athletes to making new friends. I learned so much about my self in this process too which is just awesome, I learned that I am a good leader and that I have abilities that I had forgotten about. I can honestly say It’s one of the best things I have done of late and would recommend volunteering, maybe you could volunteer at a local hospice hospital , or old peoples home and give massage to those that need it. I know for sure I am now thinking of ways we can volunteer in our own community to help others that maybe don’t have the money for massage.

Massage is so beneficial not just for athletes but for all, it helps with stress, inflammation, anxiety and pain, so what better way to help others than to give them a gift of our time and our massage knowledge. Join me on a pledge to find ways to help others with massage!

 

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Introduction To Acupressure for your own Wellbeing

Acupressure for your own wellbeing ans Self care.

Self-help tips for using Acupressure whilst at work or at home and using an acupressure mat for self-care and pain relief: Acupressure Mat 

Aloha, my name is Jen and I’m from Nalu Massage Training Academy here in Queensland, Australia. And today I’d like to share with you then benefits of Acupressure. I’m a trained massage therapist, have been for over 22 years, and massage educator. So, I’ve been teaching people the wonderful art of massage, including sports massage with elite athletes and also Hawaiian, lava shells, reflexology, Indian head, many different styles of massage. Acupressure is something that we include in the form of sports or remedial or therapeutic style massage.

Jen Barnett: And it’s also a treatment that you can do yourself at home, it’s so easy and so effective. We have some great results and acupressure continually surprises me with the results sometimes. So just to give you an idea, a simple, simple thing that you can do, which is a form of acupressure, if you’re having a headache and you really feel like you’ve got headache all in the front temples, a simple straightforward acupressure point that you can do as long as you’ve got your fingers and a thumb.

Jen Barnett: Put them together, place them on the nose, you’ll find the little area where the finger and thumb sit and push your finger and thumb in, slide it slightly up towards the bone in the forehead here and then just squeeze, hold it there six to eight seconds. So we’ll give it a go together, so hands together and push up, squeeze and hold it there for six to eight seconds and release.

Jen Barnett: Then you’re going to repeat that three times and each time just going a little bit deeper. So meaning, squeezing slightly more and raising the fingers slightly. So again, we’ll do it together. Thumb and finger together, find the little area, you’ll know when you’re on it because you’ll feel the tension, the pain. Raise the hand slightly and squeeze. Hold it there for 12 to 14 seconds for the second and the third time.

Jen Barnett: Afterwards, you will instantly feel a release. You’ll feel instant release here over the eyebrows, sometimes you feel release here in the temples as well. But it stops us from frowning, I’ve got a great frown line here from sitting in front of a computer and from bright lights here in Australia, from the sunshine. If you don’t want your lines on your forehead to get worse then this is a really good one to do, because it just releases that tension.

Jen Barnett: The reason we frown is usually that there’s pain or we’re trying to adjust the eyes so that we can actually see. By doing that we’re opening the eyes more. If my eyes go a little bit foggy, I tend to do that and it releases it. So give it a go and, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see what benefits you get from it and how it works for you. Now, I always say with any form of treatment, any form of massage, and I’ve said this to my clients for years and years and years, we don’t have a magic wand. If we had it’d be wonderful, there’d be no such thing as needing doctors, nurses, hospitals, whatever.

Jen Barnett: But what we do have … We don’t have a magic wand, but realistically, in massage, the hands I would say are pretty much magic. The amount of release and relief you can receive from a good massage … Even if it’s not a fully qualified therapist, even if you’re just releasing tension from your own body with a simple technique like that on the forehead … I’ll show you lots more on other days as well. But basically, if you can release tension by the art of touch, which I believe is what the world needs and it’s amazing what we do release when we have touched in our lives.

Jen Barnett: Now, I know not everybody is in a position to be able to afford to go for a massage or in a position where they might have a partner or a friend or a member of family that would like to massage them, so in those cases, it’s really important that we start to do self-care, and that’s really where my passion is right now. I’ve spent over 20 years massaging people on a daily basis, between seven to eight people a day, and I love it and I still want to do that, but my time now is spent more teaching other therapists so that they can help other people as well and also teaching individuals how to take control of their own life so they’re not living a life in pain.

Jen Barnett: Whether that’s physical or mental pain, generally, with the art of touch and massage, then we can generally release some form of pain. Now, if you’d like to receive my free ebook, which gives you a little bit more information about what acupressure really is, and acupressure is probably the easiest style of massage that you do to yourself, it’s very difficult to massage your own back, rub oil on your own back and massage it, but we have some great techniques and great products that really do help you.

Jen Barnett: Our own Nalu Massage Acupressure mat  has been specifically designed to help treat people that suffer from stress, anxiety, trauma, and pain. And that includes chronic pain, things like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue. We’ve had some brilliant results, and even in my own family, I’m seeing big differences. And so, yes, if you’d like to find out a little bit more about acupressure then download our ebook, You can find the Free Ebook on our Blog, hover over the blog site on our website and there will be a link that you can download the ebook.

Jen Barnett: It gives you a few diagrams but it tells you a little bit more about what acupressure is, where it’s from. It’s an ancient technique, it’s been around for thousands of years, as reflexology has, and also massage has. These days we’re finally going back towards the old traditional methods of medicine, which I’m thrilled about. So yeah, download the ebook, if you do want to try more acupressure then tune in, I will be doing some more self-help techniques, but also it could even be worth trying the acupressure mat. Have a look at a few of the videos and just see what release you can get.

Jen Barnett: Okay, thank you for joining me today and I hope you start to see some benefits from using Acupressure and I look forward to seeing you all next time. Bye for now.

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Hawaiian Chants and Prayers

When we are massaging and healing in Lomi Lomi we use Oli – Hawaiian chants or prayers.

We may be calling upon our spirit guides, angels and ancestors to share wisdom with us and to guide us on our healing journey.

Hawaiian prayers are powerful and I like to use them at the start of a Lomi Lomi (kahuna) massage and also sometimes during a massage and at the end of the Lomi Lomi.

There is no real right on wrong on this, it is entirely up to to the individual. In some cases I have given a full 90 minutes massage and done a silent prayer and no chanting and other times i felt the urge to chant out loud during the massage. I believe we are guided on this when we need it and its best to go with your flow.

It helps you connect, to relax and to guide you.

In ancient Hawaiian times prayers / Pule were used for many ceremonies and even today we use them to open the mind and allow spirit to help and guide us.

These are some of our  Hawaiian chants  or prayer we use in Nalu Massage Training.

E Ho Mai (1)

Aloha chant
Aloha chant

Ho oponopono prayer

Hawaiian Chants Mele: Music 

      Early Hawaiian music was in the form of chants. A chant is a type of song in which several words or syllables are sung in one tone. There were two basic chant forms, oli and mele hula. Oli were performed by a single person unaccompanied by any instruments. Oli were not composed for dancing. They were sacred prayers and genealogies of the spirits and aliʻi.

The other form was mele hula, or hula chant. Mele hula were poems and songs composed for dancing. They had definite rhythms to lead the dancer and were often accompanied by instruments.

Chants were composed for many reasons. Some were chants of birth, death, genealogy, love, naming, praise, prophecy or war. A chant composed for a particular person became the property of that person.

In our western ways of today many of the beliefs have some how got lost a long the way but i

Here is a  link to E H0 Mai, one of my favorites and thanks to Aunty Edith Kanaka’ole for having written this chant and also for Kumu John Keolamaka’ainana Lake for chanting it initially.