Golds Massage Woodbridge

02/26/2020

I know this page has been inactive for a while. A busy schedule does that to me. My apologies for the silence. Some of you have heard me threaten to start a YouTube channel of things I tend to say over and over. Well... today was the day.

Rain is a massage therapist here to share with you the things she has been saying to her clients for decades about how to decrease pain and become more comfo...

11/08/2017

Gratitude and Joy

In a world that sells dissatisfaction, it’s almost rebellious to feel happy about your body. We are inundated with suggestions on how to look better via crash diets, fad workouts and body changing garments. For all the sunshiny Facebook messages telling you “You’re beautiful!” there’s not much to make us feel legitimately joyful to be in our own skins.

So where does happiness come from, anyway? Psychological studies show that happiness stems not from being the best, most successful, or sexiest, but from gratitude. So telling yourself over and over that you’ve got a great body is less likely to leave you feeling happy than feeling grateful for the body you’ve got. It’s not always easy. None of our bodies are perfect. We often feel at odds with our bodies, feeling as though they’re betraying us in some fundamental way.

We now find ourselves in the season of Thanksgiving, and if there were ever a time to give thanks for the bodies we inhabit, it’s now.

*You can give thanks that your body has seen you through many long years of life.

*You can give thanks that your body has taught you important lessons about pain and about the mental and emotional strength you have by living through it.

*You can give thanks that your body has survived injuries, illnesses and overuse.

*You can give thanks if your body has given rise to new life.
*You can give thanks if your body honors your parents with
features it received from them.

*You can give thanks that your body has the senses to know beauty, the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings of the world around you.

*You can give thanks that your body includes a mind that can think, imagine, and dream.

*You can give thanks that your body has built, dug, cooked, sewn, planted, and shaped the world around it.

*You can give thanks that your body has held and honored and taught the bodies of others around you.

Massage therapists are lucky people. We get to see the wonder in the bodies around us every day. It’s an honor, and one we’re perpetually grateful for. On Thanksgiving Day, give thanks for food and family and friendship, those standards of the season. Express your gratitude however you normally do, through writing in your journal, phone calls to your loved ones, a reflective walk in the woods, meditation or prayer. But don’t forget that incomparable body of yours, which has accomplished so many things throughout your life. Treating yourself with kindness, compassion, and understanding can help us to be kinder to those around us. If we all inhabited our bodies with an attitude of gratitude, who knows what might happen? Maybe that whole peace on earth business wouldn’t seem so far away.

~Rain – Director of Massage

10/30/2017

Rain is now on Twitter!

10/17/2017

Scary First Massage… 10 things your massage therapist wants you to know.
If you’ve never had a massage before, you may be worried about how your body will respond and appear to the therapist. See what our therapist has to say.
1. Bodily functions happen. As you relax, your digestive track has the opportunity to move along. Your stomach might get noisy and you might fart. Don’t worry about it, it’s a good thing, it means the massage is doing what it’s supposed to do.
2. You do NOT have to take off all your clothes but you can and, in all honesty, it is easier to work on sore low backs and hips if you completely disrobe. Having said that, we can work around whatever you prefer to leave on and either way you will always be covered by the sheet and blanket so it doesn’t matter all that much.
3. Ok, the next inevitable question. Without getting into too much graphic detail… getting and maintaining an er****on is extremely rare unless you are contributing to the situation. It does happen unintentionally but not often and as long as you don’t try to be inappropriate we’ll give you a moment to breath out of it.
4. While we’re on the subject, if you ask for a happy ending -even as a joke- the session is over and you will no longer be welcome back.
5. Falling asleep is ok. It doesn’t mean you are missing out on the massage and you do not need to apologize for not keeping your therapist entertained with conversation. We are perfectly happy chatting if you’d like to but staying quiet to relax or doze is great as well.
6. A freshly showered body has its advantages and disadvantages. Clean feet are definitely much nicer to work on and the heat can help your body already be a little more relaxed but it can also dry out your skin, leave you sweaty if it was too hot and some shampoos and body products are a little strong smelling for us. The best thing to aim for is to not be actively sweating and to be as odor free as you can (that applies as much to colognes and perfumed products as it does to body odor).
7. We do not care if you did or did not have a chance to shave before your session. There is no right or wrong amount of body hair or grooming options.
8. Body type does not matter! We understand that most people have some type of insecurity about their body but we are not judging you. Most of the time we don’t even take note of the thing you are most concerned about unless you mention it yourself. We’re looking at how your body functions and what we can do to help it do its job better.
9. Be honest about your health history and your current health. It not only protects us but helps us to protect you. There are things we may need to do differently depending on your body’s history.
10. We want you to speak up! It’s your massage, if you are finding the session uncomfortable or would prefer more pressure, we want to know. We won’t be insulted and we can’t have the discussion about why we do what we do or get the opportunity to customize to your preferences if the conversation never happens.
If you have any other questions or concerns, I am more than happy to talk to you.
Don't be scared!
~Rain – Director of Massage, Gold’s Gym, Lake Ridge/Lorton

08/15/2017

3 simple ways to have less stress

You may have noticed my post last month about how stressful it is to be told to relax. So.... I'm not going to tell you to relax today. I'm going to give a few suggestions on how to incorporate some simple de-stressors into your daily routine. Would it be great if you could spend your entire day today chillin? Absolutely! But who can realistically accomplish that? Certainly not me. I've got way too much going on in my life for that. Besides, I find it's the little things that can add up into a lifestyle rather than a crash phase.

So ... try these ...

1. Choose something in your daily routine that you like to slow down. Is it that first cup of coffee? Or breakfast? or your morning shower? What ever you choose, try to extend it a little. Now I'm not saying you should sit with your coffee, staring into space for an hour (unless it's your day off, then go for it). Just slow it down a little. Savor it. Enjoy it.

2. Breath. Before you jump out of your car to head into work, take about 30 seconds to sit and take a few calm, slow breaths. Maybe let the song you were listening to finish. You'd be surprised how just 30 seconds can change the tone of the beginning of your work day. Now I know most of us feel the need to get in the door once we complete the frantic commute. 30 seconds will not significantly impact your arrival time but can make a huge change in the mood in which you enter the work place.

3. Screen time breaks. You've heard this one before. About once an hour you should look away from your computer monitor for the health of your eyes. Look at something across the room and let your eyes focus on something farther than 3 feet from you. Talk to any Optometrist, they'll agree that this simple act can slow down the effects the toll working on a computer can take on your eyes. *Taking my own advice right now*. While you do this, might as well roll your shoulders to ease the tightness that comes from desk work and shake out your wrists and hands while you're at it. Only takes a minute, you can do it!

Adding these three little tricks may add all of 10 minutes to your daily agenda but could add years to your life and make the ones you have more enjoyable! For even more effective relaxation, regular massage can work wonders. Still doubtful? Only one way to find out for yourself...

~Rain
Director of Massage
(703) 606-3440

07/26/2017

I'm hanging some butterflies on the ceiling today above the massage table. Something pretty to look at while you're relaxing.

06/20/2017

I can count the times on one hand that a client who was doubtful if they were going to like massage or feel comfortable with being touched left saying anything other than "I don't know why i waited so long!"

Body image risk and reward in massage

Body image. Almost everybody has something about their body that they don’t like. For many people it’s a minor issue, no big deal. But some people have a major issue with their body image. It affects how they live and their happiness.

When I tell some people that I’m a massage therapist it can cause a strong reaction. They tell me, whether verbally or through their reaction and body language, that massage is not for them. Their body image is such an issue that they don’t think anybody else can accept them.

The paradox here is that massage can really help with body image issues. In massage school we were all nervous about taking off our clothes and letting somebody else touch us. It didn’t take long for us to discover that bodies are just bodies and become much more comfortable with our own. We also experienced how good receiving a massage made us feel. Something unexpected happened – when our bodies felt better we felt better about our bodies.

I think there are three options to consider. Let’s look at the risk versus reward for them.

1. Don’t get a massage.

This is the easiest because it involves doing nothing. The risk is low since you are not letting another person see or touch you at all.

The reward is zero. You didn’t get a massage so your body doesn’t feel any better, and you still have the stress you had before.

2. You get a massage, but the massage therapist either makes note of how you look, as if it matters.

If this has happened to you, I’m sorry. You got a crappy massage therapist. That’s a bummer, and I’m really sorry. You took a risk, and even if the rest of the massage was decent, got very little reward.

This is not going to happen if you come to me. Never. No way. I can’t say this strongly enough. It goes against the very nature of who I am, how I treat people, and what I believe.

3. You get a massage. A great massage. And the therapist does nothing to make you feel uncomfortable about your body. In fact, you feel pretty good about your body after the massage.

In this option your risk is low. I don’t care how your body looks. That’s none of my business. I just want to help it feel better. Your reward is high. Again your body will feel better from the massage and you can start feeling better about it.

I have no idea how your body got to be in the condition that it’s in. You may be dealing with something that you can’t control, such as a medical condition or an injury or accident. You may be in a lot of pain or are limited in what you can do physically. Since I don’t know what caused your body to be like it is now I can’t make any judgments about you.

I’ve worked on hundreds – maybe thousands – of people. Each body is interesting and I’ve yet to come across one that I could not help.

If you have been avoiding massage because you feel uncomfortable about your body, let’s find an option that works for you. You don’t even have to explain anything to me. Leave your clothes on. Stay sitting up or face down or lying on your side or however you want. It’s up to you.

It’s my job to help you feel better. That’s it. Together let’s find a way to help you relieve your pain and stress. Don’t let your body image keep you from feeling good.
~Rain Weingarten / Gold's Massage

06/13/2017

Unless you already know Rain (Our Massage Therapist) there is one part of the gym you may not have seen.

06/05/2017

In the fitness world, we spend lots of attention on the intensity of working out. “No pain, no gain!” and the like. It’s all about how much you can do. How many? How heavy? … I’m not knocking it. Doing more can be great though it can be a little 2 dimensional to think about health and fitness in only that way. Our bodies need to move in all the ways it can move, frequently, as far as it can move comfortably and without intensity or resistance. I’m going to say that one again. As far as it can move COMFORTABLY!

We can all get behind the need to move to maintain the ability to move. On some level, most of us admit we should stretch more than we do. In my opinion, even stretching can be too intense for the simplicity that our joints and muscles really need to be comfortable. When the nervous system perceives an intensity, be it the sensation of stretch or the load of a weight, it responds by tightening, bracing and stabilizing. Nothing wrong with doing these things. Please do them. Strength is a wonderful thing! However, our muscle tissue also needs to be able to reset, relax and hit that neutral length where it is neither actively contracting or being pulled on. Simple range of motion (ROM) can help achieve this blissful state.

When you move a joint comfortably through its ROM, many things are contributing to finding a comfortable neutral. The muscle is shortening and lengthening without any of those triggers that add to the accumulation of tension. When the movement is repeated, lymph fluid is being pumped through the area and the joint capsule is moving and being moisturized with synovial fluid.

The harder to see effects are pretty cool. When one side of a join contracts, there is a reaction sending a chemical to the other side of the joint to allow it to relax. Going through that contract relax pattern helps both sides of the joint relax and get even more comfortable with each movement. The more easy and comfortable the movement, the more relaxed and comfortable the area is with each repetition.

Try it out. Shake out your arms and take mental note of how they feel in general. Now choose one arm, bend and straighten your elbow as far as is comfortable, stopping before you feel any stretch at all. Bend and straighten 10 X. Now draw a circle in the air with the same hand as large as you can without feeling any stretch or resistance. Go clockwise and counter clockwise 5 X each. Last, raise your arm out to the side, lifting at high as you can without feeling your shoulder tense or your side or anything else stretch. Do this one 10 X as well. Now shake out both your arms again. How does the side you just moved around a little feel in comparison to the other one? Looser right? More comfortable? Like you just don’t feel it as much as the neglected side? How easy was that?!?

The one thing I didn’t talk about was the effect of all this on the brain but that is a conversation for another day.

~Rain Weingarten Director of Massage

05/30/2017

It’s not uncommon for active people grapple with Iliotibial band (or IT band for short) issues, most commonly around the outside of the knee and/or hip. Traditionally, a regiment of foam rolling or stretching has been recommended to treat an irritated IT band. And if you have ever foam rolled your IT band, you know how much it hurts.

Some quick anatomy: The IT band runs from the crest of the outside of your hip to just below the knee joint and helps to stabilize your leg through a wide range of movements. Unlike muscles, which can contract and relax, the IT band is fairly static because it is made up of a non-contractile connective tissue called fascia. Given this difference in structure, the IT band simply does not change length in the same way your muscles do—an important distinction that helps explain why foam rolling or stretching the IT band does not have the desired effect.

In the same way that I wouldn’t advise you to stretch your irritated hamstring, I can’t recommend stretching or rolling your irritated IT band. Not only will it hurt like hell but, because we know this structure is not dynamic like muscle tissue, attempting to lengthen it is useless. If it cannot contract, or shorten, it cannot lengthen either.

So, why does it seem to help? There’s two main reasons why. One is that the action of rolling on the foam roller causes friction. Heat. Facia softens with heat and will temporarily have more mobility due to its warmer state but it is only temporary. Second, foam rolling hurts so it feels really good when you stop. That may seem silly and simple but the brain is a funny thing.

If you want to make a lasting change to the tension in your IT band, an entirely new approach is necessary.
The key is to look for the root cause of the discomfort, which might be up or downstream from the uncomfortable area. In most cases, tightness in the IT band is caused by the muscles attached to it pulling. Many of the muscles in the hip use the IT band as their attachment site, when they are tight, they pull on the IT band.

The answer is often to focus on stretching and relaxing your hip. The glutes. Your butt. When they are not as tight, the It band is softer and less painful and the knee gets less friction.
If you need suggestions on how to relax your hip, I would be more than happy to help.

Rain Weingarten
Director Of Massage
goldsmassage.weebly.com

05/23/2017

Please don’t tell me to relax!
Have you ever been told you need to relax? By a loved one during an argument, by concerned friends, by your massage therapist? Has it ever actually helped you to relax? As well intentioned as the comment may be, it is more likely that having the lack of relaxation pointed out to you only made you feel worse. Like you are being judged for your mental state. The first thought that usually pops into my head in these situations is the angry, frustrated, sarcastic response of “Thanks. I really want to be [insert appropriate adjective here: stressed out, tense, uptight, in pain, etc.]”.
Well then, what would be helpful? I can’t give you advise about your relationships but I can tell you how I have learned to throw the phrase out of my professional vocabulary. I have often stated that I believe that one of the best things getting a massage can do for you is to bring to your attention tension patterns you were completely unaware of, giving you the opportunity to start doing something about it. However, being told “You’re really tense through here.” or “Just relax” while you’re on the massage table without any direction about how to relax only frustrates the recipient of such comments. Instead I talk about the specific change I’m looking for like letting the hand uncurl if they’re clenched or allowing the shoulders to soften.
More on common tension points at http://goldsmassage.weebly.com/blog

05/13/2017

Tomorrow is the day! Are you ready?