Today I had a very special commitment: I have been at the New Dowse in Lower Hutt to support the 'Big Latch On'! 
As part of celebrations for World Breastfeeding Week, La Leche League was holding the Big Latch On which is an attempt to break the world record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously. The emphasis was on making this an opportunity for the mums to get together and have a chat, some morning tea and celebrate the relationships with each other and their babies.
There have been almost 100 mums with their babies and kids filling the conference room at the New Dowse - what an atmosphere! I was offering the mums free neck & shoulder massages - and as you can imagine they where very well received :-) 
And who deserves it more than mums?!...

Today I got an email from one of my clients, who just gave birth to her baby! She added a photo - what a cutie!! To finally get to see the baby I have been 'in touch with' during a pregnancy massage is always very special to me - a little miracle, perfectly created and absolutely unique! A very special part of our future.
And I love touching the future...

So here you are: finally you made an appointment with your massage therapist and settled in on the table.  It took you a while to shut the 1001 thoughts off, but now you start to relax... And than your tummy rumbles!!! HOW EMBARRASSING!!! - so you concentrate on tightening your abs to stop it, and with that your relaxation is gone...
Sounds somehow familiar? Well, it definitely does to me. And right now I am not talking from the therapist's point of view. I was the client...
But one day I went to a therapist, who put it in just the right words "sometimes during a massage, our tummy can become very talkative. That's perfectly fine. Just let him talk!" - well, he did. A lot. But this time I let him talk - and wasn't embarrassed...

What have I learned since than? There are different reasons why our tummies rumble. One is simply hunger. The other reason is that our nervous system switches from sympathetic to parasympathetic - or in easier words: from 'fight or flight' to 'rest and digest' mode. This reaction,  when our body starts to release different chemicals into our system, is called 'relaxation response'. Our body doesn't prepare for fight/flight any longer, but starts to concentrate on the other important thing to do: digestion. (Yes, that is one reason why people living in permanent stress often develop digestive problems)

Knowing that, you will understand why I LOVE to hear tummies talk . A talkative tummy is like a compliment to me! A sign, that I was able to help your body find back to rest and into balance. So please, let him talk...

Last weekend I have been to another training course - I love having these weekends a couple of times a year.
Not only to add more tools to my tool box, but also to catch up with other massage therapists. Most of
us are working on their own or in small practices, so it is a great opportunity to share experiences.

One topic that came up during lunch break was our role as educators. Not the big lectures - but the small tips, which have the potential to bring ease to your life. Someone in the group said: "I would love to change the world simply by teaching to stretch the pecs!" She is so right: the pecs (short for pectoralis or chest muscles) are tight or shortened in a lot of people - often related to work on the computer and the
way we sit at the desk. The shortened muscles draw the shoulders in, and therefore bring tension to
the upper back, neck and shoulder muscles - and they get really unhappy...

A simple pecs stretch can help ease your upper back and neck pain! It doesn't take long at all - and all
you need is a doorway! I looked for a good demo on youtube - and by putting it on my blog, I'm going to
help change the world - one muscle at a time...

I am sooo excited! Today my website got its proper name!!!
After having written most of my pages, it was time to get a domain. First of all, because I wanted a "www" at the beginning. But even more a "co.nz" at the end!!! I love NZ...
To find a good domain name isn't an easy task. I tried the obvious one: "bodyandsoul". And of course it was already registered. So was "bodysoul". "bodyandsoulmassage" was simply too long. And after some other, fancy ideas "bodysoulmassage" seemed to win the race.
But than I got a stroke of genius. Well, to be honest: my husband got it...: "gudrun"

There are times in life, when having a bit of an unusual name has its advantages - "gudrun" was still available. And now its mine!!!
You know what I really like about it? It is actually what it all comes down to. Whatever fancy and great sounding name is printed on the sign at the door - your massage experience depends on the person who is going to massage you...
I still keep "body & soul" as my business name. Because that's what we all are. And that's what I like to be and work with.

I'm really happy about my name today!!! ...  www.gudrun.co.nz

Who loves to read or hear about your personal matters from people you don't even know? Not me...
That's why you won't read any names or good enough descriptions of people, unless I have asked them before. Like my daughter in yesterday's post...
And of cause the same applies to your massage session: whatever personal information  you tell me or experience in my massage studio, it stays in there! I won't tell your friend about your sore back, or anything else...
Well, there are things we like to have shared. So even if I don't tell your friend how good you felt after my massage - I DO like to hear that from people I don't even know....

Today was such a stunning day! After starting off with heavy rain, we had this awesome winter weather: sunny, warm, calm, and a breathtaking view of the south island - mountains covered in snow! I took a walk along the beach, and once again knew why I was here...
Before that I had a chat with someone about a lot of things - and about children massage. And we agreed about just how much kids love massage! How the most active child becomes quiet and the anxious one relaxes...

A lot of my daughters friends think, that she is lucky to have a  massage therapist as mum. Well, she might have  an advantage - but that doesn't mean that other mums can't do it! Often we think of massage as an hour set aside, a comfortable padded table, nice oils, relaxing music and professional strokes (and yes, that's what you should expect if you come to see me). But that's not how it has to be. Massage can be as simple as a good back rub, a squeeze of the shoulders, massaging the feet while watching TV and stroking the hair at bedtime...!
My daughter doesn't get on my massage table every day - but she gets at least one massage daily.
Because it's that simple...!

If you would like to learn some basic massage techniques, have a look at this book:
Healing touch for children: massage, acupressure and reflexology routine for children aged 4-12 by Mary Atkinson.  You can borrow it from the Hutt City Library  - they purchased it on my suggestion. And it is also available at Wellington City Libraries.

Today I wrote, deleted, added and changed a few on my website.... so if you have been here yesterday, you might spot some changes!
It is actually quite an interesting exercise to put into words, what your hands are doing and what massage is all about. There is already heaps of information about massage and its benefits available - I don't want to repeat it all.  And you probably read it already somewhere else. 

But what would you like to know? What is important for you, when you are choosing a massage therapist?
From my own experience ( and that's one of the great advantages of doing massage training courses - you get a lot of massages yourself! ), very often it is not the technique a therapist is using. It is the quality of touch, if he/she is fully present or thinking of her planned weekend trip ( yes, I do feel the difference! ), if he/she is following a routine, or is able to listen to my needs - which might change in the course of the session.
And it is the feeling I have, when I first enter the room...

So I will try to put into words, what you could be feeling....