Resonance Reflexology, Massage, and Manual Therapy

05/28/2025

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05/28/2025

You can find reviews here: Resonance Reflexology, Massage, and Manual Therapy

05/13/2025

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05/12/2025

This anatomy review is for the cranium (skull). I Wanted to draw the cranial bones, the sutures (squiggly lines of the borders between the bones), and talk about some points and techniques I like to use.

I first learned Cranial-Sacral Therapy back in 2006-7 and during that class we learned about the cranial rhythm, which is like a slow wave like pulse which has both an expansive (outward) and retractive (inward) phase, that with a very light touch (fingers, fingertips, hands) one can sink into and feel the quality of the pulse - how fast, how even on both sides, and how well it can pull you in with it. This can give me, as a therapist, clues as to which side a restriction is on and how well the nervous system is operating overall. This pulse can be felt anywhere that nerves are and involves the cerebral spinal fluid that encases the nerves.

One very therapeutically relevant bone, is the Sphenoid bone, which in the drawing, is the dark magenta color. The reason this bone is so important is that it is a very central bone that goes from the left to the right side of the cranium like a bridge - often referred to as the butterfly bone (at least I do) and that it shares a border with all of the other cranial bones.

One accesses this bone from the lateral sides where the edges of the bones are, just to the side of a persons eyebrow. I can either just sink into the rhythm and let the pulse take my fingers in or press with some firm pressure on the bones and hold it for a couple minutes. This can help a few things like relieving cranial pressure - headaches, migraines, etc, but also the Sphenoid has a connection to the hips and can be used to treat hip issues, like if one side us elevated higher than the other.

A couple other points I like to use are directly on the frontal bone (forehead) - on the drawing it’s the two black dots on the blue area. These have proven to be good points to use to relieve neck tension - one reason I think that this works the way it does is that there are parts of the Trigeminal nerve near these points. Or it’s a fascial connection - the Bladder Channel (TCM) runs up that way, which goes up to the back of the head and then to the neck and downwards. Either way it seems to relax the neck.

And on the very top of the head on the crown, there is Bai Hui - a very far reaching acupressure point, which is good at relieving issues involving the spine, neck , shoulders, and head. It’s a good point to help relieve cranial pressure. Close by, in a diamond formation surrounding Bai Hui are the ShI-Shen-Shong points, which are really effective and treating high blood pressure - there have been many times I’ve used these points on people who are experiencing dizziness and other excessive blood pressure symptoms.

Last but not least, I’ve developed a good technique to help to treat the eyes - especially when cranial pressure is felt behind the eyes itself. As the client is face up, I bring all my fingers under the base of the skull - to where the suboccipital muscles are -small muscles that are involved in head movements. These muscles are important because there is a nerve connection between the movement of the eyes and the movement of these muscles. So the muscles will move when our eyes move - even if our head is in place. Our movement begins with our eyesight and our body follows after.

And to help relieve this pressure my fingers are pressing up into these muscles, while I guide my client into various eye movements - rotations - LT/RT, up down, Left - Right. It can sometimes feel slightly disorienting if there is severe pressure present, but people feel a lot lighter after.

04/17/2025

Continuing on my anatomy review, this time I’ve drawn the Kidneys and how they relate to the rest of the organs. It was difficult to choose a good perspective, because there is so much surrounding and attaching to the kidneys and the ligaments that attach to everything else were so varied that I had to leave them out of the picture.

But as it relates mainly to my work - in terms of what often happens when kidneys become disfunctional or out of place, a few things can happen:

1. Most common when there are issues with the kidneys, they often can express those issues with tension or pain in the low back. In severe cases, kidneys can fall into a Ptosis, which is when an organ drops out of its normal position. Anytime any organ gets out of place, it usually starts to press and stress other structures around it and usually ends up with a lot of extra dense tissue trying to stabilize the new position. This can also stress the other organs that kidneys are attached to and cause them to not function properly.

2. The kidneys can end up pressing on nerves which can often radiate downward into the hips or legs - as pain or ‘’pins and needles’’. Also the kidneys can also press on the Psoas muscles in the hip and low back, which can cause some chronic tension/pain.

3. The function of the kidneys themselves could be compromised: so less water filtration, less hormone and blood pressure regulation, less red blood cell production.

I’ve found that working the kidneys gives my clients a greater sense of Left/Right balance, that wasn’t there before. Treatments involve going through the abdomen, working in the deeper layers, as the kidneys are deep to all the other organs on top - Small intestine, stomach, liver - and then it’s only really possible to feel the lower portion of the kidneys. Working with the breath and active leg tension/relaxation work (Psoas), while the knees are bent with feet flat on the table, it’s possible to gently wake up the kidneys and increase its natural movement, where it takes the stress of the other areas its affecting.

One thing I was thinking about in this review, was that in TCM the kidneys play a very important role in a person’s longevity. And that actually between the kidneys is a very important energy center, called Ming Men - which is kind of like a reservoir of our “Essence” , which is kind of like the pilot light of our energy throughout our lives. Looking anatomically at what is between the kidneys (not shown in the drawing), we have the main arterial trunk - the Aorta, the main venous trunk - the Vena Cava, and the main lymphatic vessel - the Cisterna Chili. Some very important structures also.

04/05/2025

Continuing my review of both anatomical structures and related TCM acupressure points and theory, this review is going to be about the Thorax, lung, pleura, the ligaments suspending the lungs, and the kidney - lung relationship.

In this drawing on the right side is shown the External Intercostal muscles, which are between the ribs. Underneath those are another layer of muscles the Internal Intercostals. Underneath those (depicted on the left) is the Parietal (outer) Pleura, and then underneath that, the Visceral Pleura. The pleura is a sheath of tissue that lines the diaphragm and ribs and covers the lungs, directly undeneath the pleura are the lungs.

On the left side of the ribs, I’ve also drawn points on the TCM Kidney Channel, which are points that primarily affect the lungs and the intercostals muscles. In the center on the lower sternum is Ren Mai 17 - great point to release tension in the sternum and heart.

Also in the drawing on the top left we have the subclavius muscle, just under the clavicle (collar bone). Above that are the ligaments that attach from the cervical spine to the pleural dome, which suspends the upper most aspect of the pleura and lung.

Doing rib, lung, pleura, and intercostal work is some of my favorite and I would love to specialize in more of this work eventually.

Some really great work I enjoy is to put thumb pressure in-between the ribs, have the client breathe deep, expanding the lungs, while I’m holding pressure as the thorax is moving. This really helps the breathing muscles and the lungs itself.

Another really great technique is hold the hold the lower portion of the ribs with a flat hand, pressing rather deep, while the client has their knees bent and feet on the table and side bend their legs giving a extra stretch - which I help by directing the pressure downward towards the feet. This gives a great stretch for the thorax and pleura.

Stretching the Pleural dome ligaments pictured on the top left, is a great way to relieve neck tension as these are often very tight. This is done by holding a flat hand on the front base of the neck and have the client turn their head in various ways getting a stretch.

The sublclavius underneath the clavicle is an often overlooked muscle, for years I never did much with this one, until the last year or so. I’ve found this one to be really tight and tender on most people that I check it on and can be another source of shoulder tension/pain.

In drawing the thorax and looking at the kidney points I was reminded of the connection in TCM the lungs and kidneys have. It is said that the Kidneys receive the breath from the lungs and the two work together to transform and transport fluids in the body.

Out of curiosity I did a search about a more physiological connection between the two organ is this is a snippet of what I found:

Kidney disorders can instigate metabolic acidosis and fluid retention, activating the lung–buffer interaction and potentially fostering pulmonary damage by hindering the clearance of inflammatory mediators [7]. Moreover, alterations in renal hemodynamics and neurohormonal responses can further contribute to lung injury. Conversely, lung pathologies, particularly those requiring mechanical ventilation, can trigger systemic inflammatory responses that increase the risk of kidney injury [7]
https://icm-experimental.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40635-024-00672-1

I thought that was very interesting to learn, basically lung disorders can lead to kidney disorders and vice versa.

If you are interested in any of this work, get in touch!

03/27/2025

Reviewing some of the the anatomy that I’ve learned over the last 2-3 years lately and this one is a drawing of the thorax, specifically illustrating the attachments (connective tissue ligaments) which suspend and stabilize the Pericardium (the hearts’ outer layer).

I still find it really interesting that one these attachments (the top one - the verebropericardial ligament) goes all the way up from the pericardium up to C7 to T4 - and sometimes as high as C4. This kind of reminds me that tension in the neck can come from lots of places, if for instance this ligament is tight for some reason, it could easily be pulling on the neck and causing pain or restricted movement.

Same can be said for the other two ligaments that attach to the sternum, except that the tension pattern - when these ligaments are tight, tend to create tightness in the chest. The superior sternopericardial ligament attaches from the pericardium to the manubirum (just below the throat). The Inferior sternopericardial ligament attaches to the lower portion of the sternum.

I find it also really interesting that there is an acupressure point on both areas where the ligaments attach, and both are really great at releasing tension in the chest and regulating heart and lung function. Ren Mai 17 has been a favorite point of mine to use for just these purposes. It’s really great to understand the mechanism behind it now - pressing on these points can help relax these ligaments.

When I took the Visceral Manipulation Thorax class, we learned some great chest compressions for the ligaments and the Lungs, which besides relaxing the ligaments, most of my clients with anxiety, remark at how calming these compressions are - really dissolving their sense of anxiety.

And at the very bottom of the pericardium is the Anterior Phrenopericardial lig.(note I mistakenly titled it the phrenocardial lig. on the drawing). This is the attachment from the pericardium to the diaphragm and logically when this gets tight, breathing problems can occur.

If you are interested in any of this work, please get in touch!

09/10/2024

I have a session available tomorrow 9/11 at either 12pm or 12:15pm. Contact if interested!

07/15/2024

I have a 2 massage appointments available this Friday 7/19. Reach out if you want to set something up. $80/hr or $110/90min. Also take Pacific Source - commercial and Ohp insurance. 541-seven -two - 9 5739.