Heartwood Massage & Wellness - Canmore - Brenda Tutt

04/01/2025

Exciting News! 🌿 Osteopathy Now Available at Heartwood!

I’m excited to announce that Stéphan Guindon, Osteopath, is now offering treatments at Heartwood Massage & Wellness!

🗓 Available Tuesdays at Heartwood
🗓 Fridays next door at Inspire Physio

Osteopathy is a gentle, hands-on approach that helps with pain relief, mobility, and overall body balance. If you’re dealing with tension, injuries, or movement restrictions, Stéphan’s treatments can be a great complement to massage therapy!

Book your session and experience the benefits of osteopathy firsthand. Contact us to schedule or learn more!

Send a message to learn more

03/13/2025

More on Cupping: What It’s Great For!

A few weeks ago, I shared an intro to cupping therapy, and today, I want to dive a little deeper into the kinds of issues cupping can help with!

I’ve personally found it really effective for forearm tendonitis and hip bursitis, and I regularly use it on clients’ backs, forearms, IT bands, and calves to help with:

✔️ Muscle tightness & tension
✔️ Chronic pain (like back or shoulder pain)
✔️ Forearm & wrist strain (great for desk workers & athletes!)
✔️ Hip & IT band discomfort
✔️ Calf tightness & shin splints
✔️ Circulation & recovery from workouts

I also offer two types of cupping:
🔥 Stationary cupping – The cups stay in one place for deep release (this is what leaves those well-known marks).
💨 Moving cupping – The cups glide over the skin, which feels amazing and doesn’t leave the same marks.

If you’ve been dealing with tightness or pain, cupping might be worth a try! Have questions? Drop them below or ask at your next session!

Send a message to learn more

02/25/2025

Let’s Talk About Cupping!

I love cupping—both as a massage therapist and as someone who receives it! If you’ve ever been curious about those circular marks you see on people’s backs, here’s the scoop:

What is cupping?
Cupping is an ancient technique that uses suction to lift the skin and underlying tissues, increasing blood flow, reducing tension, and promoting healing.

Two Types of Cupping I Offer:
✔️ Stationary Cupping – Cups stay in place for a few minutes, creating the well-known circular marks. Great for deep muscle release!
✔️ Moving Cupping – I glide the cups over the skin, which feels amazing and doesn’t leave the same marks. Perfect for a more soothing experience!

❓ Does it hurt?
Nope! You might feel a gentle pulling sensation, but it’s usually very relaxing. The marks that appear are not bruises—just a sign of increased circulation, and they fade in a few days.

If you’re dealing with muscle tightness, stress, or just want to try something new, cupping might be a great addition to your next massage! Have you ever tried it? Let me know in the comments!

Send a message to learn more

12/08/2024

Woke Up with a Kink in Your Neck? Here's What I Recommend!

When I wake up with a kink in my neck, the best thing to do is to apply heat right away. A kink is usually a muscle spasm, and heat helps the muscle relax. Here’s my go-to method:

I grab a heated wheat bag (or heating pad) and place it on the sore area of my neck and shoulder.
To keep it secure, I tie it with a scarf wrapped under one arm—this way, I can go about my day hands-free!
I leave it on for about 30 minutes, reheating and repeating as needed throughout the day.
In my experience, heat works like a charm and often resolves the issue by the end of the day. In the past, I would try digging into it with my fingers or a tool like a Theracane, but I found that it sometimes made things worse. Now, I let heat do the work!

Pro Tip: If the kink doesn’t improve after a few days, it’s time to book a massage. I can help get those stubborn muscles back to normal.

Send a message to learn more

11/25/2024

💡 Heat vs. Cold for Pain Relief: When to Use Each 💡

I often get asked "when should I use heat and when should I use a cold pack"

🧊 Use Cold:
For new injuries (like sprains or bruises)
To reduce swelling or inflammation
To numb sharp pain

🔥 Use Heat:
For stiff or tight muscles ("I woke up and couldn't turn my head very far to look over my shoulder")
To ease chronic pain (like arthritis or sore backs)
To relax and improve blood flow

Rule of Thumb: Cold calms inflammation; heat soothes stiffness. Always wrap ice or heat in a cloth to protect your skin!

Send a message to learn more

02/20/2022

Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA) is the term Thomas Hanna PhD used when referring to muscles that have reduced voluntary control have become involuntarily and habitually contracted. This occurs due to adaptation to accidents, injuries, surgeries, major illnesses or on-going/repetitive emotional or physical stress.

Sensory Motor Amnesia is a functional problem of the sensory motor system and is a learnt response to stress and life.

Releasing muscle tension and regaining voluntary control is an educational process as it’s re-educating the brain through awareness and movement because SMA is a learned, functional problem that can be unlearned.

12/01/2021

Use Your Benefits Before They're Gone! It's December 1st, which means your benefits may be running out soon. Many insurance companies have a benefit deadline of December 31, and unused benefits will not roll over into the new year. My schedule is filling up quickly for the next month so book yourself in soon to use up those benefits.

10/08/2021

10/08/2021

I've been sewing 😊! Homemade microwaveable 'Magic Bags' are now available at Heartwood Massage & Wellness. Moist heat from the wheat or rice filled 'Magic Bags' penetrates quickly and deeply into the tissues bringing relief to sore, achy muscles. Sizes vary from small up to larger ones that can be placed around your neck or wrapped around your lower back. Made from fuzzy flannel or cotton from a variety of different fabric prints. Custom orders available. Handmade with lots and lots of Love 💜

09/06/2021

Massage therapy has been shown to help lower stress, eliminate depression and improve fatigue. Studies have found that the presence of depression is often triggered by active and chronic pain and that depression alone leads to muscle tension and pain which can be very painful to live with on a daily basis.

08/30/2021

Struggling with joint pain? Massage, massage, massage! Massaging helps reduce and bring down inflammation surrounding your joints. Once the inflammation has been reduced, blood can flow around the muscles properly which greatly minimizes joint pain!

Call or text 403-679-1221 or visit www.heartwoodwellness.ca to book your appointment!

08/16/2021

Massage can be great for enhancing one's mental clarity. As you get your neck and shoulders massaged, it allows for proper blood flow to your brain allowing it to perform at its peak. If you’re looking for more focus and clarity, give massage a try today!

Call or text 403-679-1221 or visit www.heartwoodwellness.ca to book your appointment!