Stone Massage
By Jackie Christensen, BS, HHP, NC, MH
Faculty Member of GCNM
Stone massage is a form of bodywork that involves the application of heated and/or cooled stones to the body during a massage. The therapeutic benefits of a hot stone massage or thermotherapy have been recognized by various cultures all over the world for centuries. The Native Americans used hot stones to detoxify and improve mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing. European cultures used to wrap hot bricks in cloth and therapeutically apply them over a person’s injury for pain relief. In China, hot stone therapy was used as early as 1500 BC as a method for easing muscle stiffness and tension. The Hawaiian lomilomi also uses the application heat, which is referred to as tutu when heated stones are applied directly to the body.
Mary Nelson–Hannigan of Tucson, Arizona popularized stone massage in 1993 by adding new techniques to an old tradition. She developed a form of massage called LaStone Therapy. This massage involves using a system of 54 hot stones, 18 frozen stones, and one room-temperature stone. During a LaStone treatment, the therapist places hot and cold stones on different parts of the body and massages to open the chakras or energy channels. This style of stone massage is now practiced in almost all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Austria, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Spain.
Many therapists who perform stone massage claim that it helps them feel more connected to nature and collect their own stones from riverbeds; others are formed from white marble or basalt. The stones are heated to about 130°F or 34°C. The therapist then handles the stones before apply them to check they are at the right temperature. The warm stones are then placed on specific areas of the client’s body such as the spine, shoulders, hands and feet. As the muscles are pretreated with the heated stones it promotes circulation, decreases tension and relaxes the connective tissues. This allows the therapist to more easily perform deep tissue manipulations. The heat is also found to help remove toxins and waste more efficiently. The heated stones are often basalt, a black volcanic rock that absorbs and retains heat well, but other types can be used as well. Muscle swelling is one condition for which a hot stone massages should never used to treat.
Smooth marble stones are often used for cold stone massage therapy. Cold stone massage serves as a means to reduce swelling and accelerate the healing process. It can also refresh the mind, soothe irritation, and cool down the body. It is highly recommended for those who have injuries with inflammation. Menstrual pain and bloating may be calmed with a cold stone massage. Certain people such as those with a heart ailment or those who have skin that is easily sensitive to cold temperatures should avoid this type of massage.
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Book Review
Healthy Digestion the Natural Way
By Dr. D. Lindsay Berkson
This is a well-written and comprehensive work with a Forward by internationally renowned nutritional expert Jonathan Wright, MD. Dr. Berkson’s book is a valuable contribution to the growing abundance of natural health self–help books on the market today. It is well organized and written in layperson’s terminology to make the information accessible to all who may be seeking to heal themselves.
In this book you’ll find clear explanations of many digestive conditions, learn about specific foods and diets helpful in healing each condition, recommended juices and herbal remedies, specific nutrients, and a list giving information on how to recognize low tissue levels of these nutrients. Information on the reflex points that one can apply pressure to manually to stimulate healing and relieve discomfort, based on proven reflexology methods is also discussed.
The book includes intestinal exercises based on the author’s fifteen years of experience as a yoga instructor. Affirmations and meditations that work through the mind/body connection, which have been proven scientifically, and breathing exercises that energizing the body and heal the digestive system by calming the mind are included. The author emphasizes that avoiding anxiety and stress are important factors in healing many of these digestive conditions.
The book includes twenty chapters. Part One covers information such as understanding your digestion, fiber and water, the intestinal protectors, and using the mind/body link to maximize digestion. Part Two covers the specifics of thirteen digestive conditions, including all of those listed in the sub-title above. Valuable information on how to determine the presence of Parasites, the symptoms and healing methods for Candida yeast related problems, and information on serious diseases such as esophageal, stomach and colorectal cancer, and AIDS. Part Three provides great information on discovering potential food allergies and food rotation and eliminations diets, digestive enzymes, pancreatic enzymes, stomach acid and bile, and closes with Chapter Twenty in which instructions for a one-week detoxification and a three-week rebuilding program to cleanse and restore normal function are detailed. This final chapter also includes mind/body techniques and a helpful Reflexology Foot Chart to teach you self–healing based on applied pressure to the reflex points.
According to the author, understanding your digestion is key to prevention and healing. The three keys to the digestive process are Absorption, Assimilation and Elimination. Absorption is described as "the dramatic moment when food crosses from the outside world inside the middle of you through your intestinal tube, across your intestinal wall and into your blood stream". Assimilation is the process of the nutrients entering into the cells of the body, and elimination describes the process of ridding the body of the waste products that remain after absorption and assimilation.
Malabsorption is seen as the root cause of many health conditions. Malabsorption of nutrients can be caused by many factors in the typical diet. For example, consuming refined grain products can cause Vitamin B deficiencies, which can contribute to poor digestion and cause tiredness, moodiness, anxiety and depressed mental states. Over consumption of alcohol can stress your digestion causing even healthy organic foods to become toxic to your body, even short term alcohol use can harm your digestion. Another aspect of malabsorption is the harm caused by emotional trauma such as extreme anger, loss of a loved one, or being diagnosed with a serious illness, which may adversely affect the digestive process for weeks or months.
Dr. Berkson’s discussion on the intestinal lining is very insightful. We may not realize that the lining of the intestines is of particular importance to good digestion. It assists in the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, has a role in immune function and can neutralize unfriendly microorganisms and allergic substances, while providing a protective barrier that does not permit harmful substances to get inside your body but allows the beneficial ones in. To quote Dr. Berkson "Remember, whatever substances get inside your intestinal tube are "outside" of you until they cross your intestinal lining".
This lining has a muscular layer, which can weaken and fail to propel food through at the right speed, or become over stimulated and cause spasms. It is self–cleaning and renewing. The cells of the intestinal lining die and are replaced every three to six days, the fastest mitosis in the body. These new cells are highly sensitive to nutrition, easily harmed by poor dietary choices and affected by the balance of what the author refers to as "protector and stressor factors".
I found the book to be very helpful for both self–healing and use in researching these conditions and their natural solutions. It would make a very good addition to any practitioner’s reference library, especially for providing assistance to clients with acute and chronic digestive conditions. Great health depends on great digestion, what we eat is only part of the solution. How we absorb, assimilate and eliminate what we eat is of primary importance. Treating the source of disease is our focus, not merely treating the symptoms as in allopathic medicine. Even in the absence of any noticeable digestive conditions this book can be an excellent Maintenance Manual everyone will want, to help ensure optimum functioning of their digestive system.
Reviewed By Moira Khouri NC, MH, HHP, CCP
Faculty Member of GCNM
Exercise of the Month
Exercise Description: Seated Twist
Target Muscle: Abdominal Muscles
Instructions:
Begin the exercise by sitting down on a chair or bench. Make sure you are sitting up tall and straight with feet planted on the floor and abdominals tight. Raise your arms directly in front of the body at approximately shoulder height and clasp hands together. While keeping the hips facing forward, turn your upper body, including the head, towards the side stopping at the halfway point between the space directly in front of your body and the space directly to the side of your body. Turn your upper body back to the front and repeat the steps above to the other side. **Make to always sit up straight and turn the head with the rest of the upper body.
To make the exercise more challenging add a weight in between the hands instead of clasping the hands together. The weight can be a dumbbell, a medicine ball, or anything you can get a good grip on.
Graduate Profile
Rebecca Henry, NC MH HHP BSHH
Interviewed By: Moira Khouri NC, MH, HHP, CCP
Faculty Member of GCNM
I’ve always loved being outdoors and experimenting with the things of nature. When I was little the neighbor girl would come over and we’d go down to the creek to "be" Indians and "make" food and medicine out of the plants that grew along the banks. When I graduated from high school in the Spring of ‘06 I was planning on attending nursing school in the fall. However after working the summer as a nurse’s aid and gaining a clearer picture of a nurse’s work I decided on a change of course. In planning this change I discovered the Global College of Natural Medicine online and became interested in the Nutritional Consultant and Master Herbalist certifications. Over the next two years I pursued various other academic and practical skills courses including certification as a Doula, and in April of ‘08 I felt that it was time to enroll in the Global College.
After completing the NC certification I upgraded to the MH and immediately on completion of that certificate decided to continue with the HHP diploma program. In October ‘09 I enrolled in the BSHH program and completed it in January ‘10. Each of the courses was thoroughly enjoyable and I felt presented accurate and current information from a balanced perspective. I plan to use the knowledge and skills I’ve accrued from the Global College of Natural Medicine in my every day family life and with friends. Currently I am exploring employment options under the practice of an established Chiropractor but some day I think I may like to set up a private practice. I’m happy that the information and skills presented in this degree are highly versatile and can be used in whatever life situation I am in.
In addition to the great outdoors I’ve always loved children and would enjoy educating, counseling, and coaching parents and their children in healthy lifestyles. I would also enjoy working with clients to accomplish their fitness and weight loss goals. When I can see large amounts of progress in an area it excites me so I like working with people who are ready and willing to make positive life choices. Working with people and seeing them overcome addictions or seeing poor health dramatically improve is the aspect of holistic health that I most enjoy.
Q. What drew you to study with GCNM?
A. The low cost, the focus on core courses and elimination of unnecessary expensive classes, and the flexibility provided by the schedule and online format.
Q. What expectations did you have for the NC, MH, HHP & BSHH Programs?
A. I expected to learn about nutrition in a thorough and detailed manner, to learn about herbs and their healing properties both in general and as regarded specific health conditions, and I expected to learn about forms of alternative healing. From the BSHH program I expected to learn how to better understand and produce written material and gain an understanding of the basics of establishing a private practice.
Q. Did the Programs meet those expectations?
A. The programs more than met all of my expectations. They were thorough, understandable, and balanced, and covered far more than I could have imagined.
Q. What have your experiences with distance study been like?
A. Beside the Global College of Natural Medicine I’ve only ever had one other experience with distance study and that was in my senior of high school. I enrolled in a collage AP psychology course but after discussing it with the instructor I decided to drop the class because of the excessive requirements he imposed just because the students would be on their own and not "in class."
Q. What have your experiences with the GCNM staff been like?
A. My experience has been very positive. The staff was helpful, informative, and patient. I loved the "check up" e–mails that they sent periodically just to make sure things were going well. My mentor was fantastic and helped me a lot by answering questions, providing me with guidance and extra information sources, and much more.
Q. What was your experience with the subjects covered in the NC, MH, HHP & BSHH Programs?
A. The subjects where all interesting and I feel adequately prepared me for work in the holistic health field.
Q. What was your experience with the materials provided and information presented in the BSHH degree program?
A. My experience was very good. I felt that I learned a lot of practical things in the degree program about research and writing as well as in community assessment. I really enjoyed learning about diverse culture groups and how backgrounds affect the perception of health and wellness. The chemistry was the hardest part for me but I feel that the course stuck to the pertinent parts of chemistry as related to holistic health and did not overwhelm me by an overly extensive and in depth class.
Q. What do you plan on doing with the knowledge gained by the BSHH degree program?
A. The greater understanding of technical writing will enable me to better analyze much of what I read on a regular basis. If I ever start my own practice I know that what I’ve learned in this program will help me to better understand and relate to my clients as well as guide the practical aspects of business management.
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Search online for values in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
