The Spa...for the woman who cares - Bothell

So, I must start off by letting you know that Joyce from this spa has been a huge supporter of the Find Touch community from day one and I am so glad I finally got to meet her in person and visit her spa!

A bit of background on "The Spa... for the woman who cares". It started about 7 years ago with the idea that women can come relax, hang out and totally pamper themselves...all day if they wanted to! Over the last couple of years, Joyce's spa has grown into a bigger space and she took the opportunity to do some remodeling. Now, I didn't see the spa prior to the remodel, but the feeling I get from it now is spacious, yet cozy, and definitely relaxing. Maybe it was the ambiance of the fireplace in the corner... Oh how I do love a fireplace!

You will find a nice waiting room here with a waterfall along with water available for the clients. There are 2 massage rooms available of a decent size conveniently located by the waiting area. Joyce herself is an esthetician and keeps very busy with her clients throughout the day. She also takes the time to pamper those guests who choose the all day spa package... these are some of the times she looks to Find Touch for a massage therapist to fill in. Her concept is more along the lines of a wellness spa. She prefers to use all-natural products and is very in tune with the needs of her clients.

Joyce is currently looking for a more permanent massage therapist of the independant mindset who enjoys marketing themselves and understands the difference between being an employee and an independent contractor. She would ideally like a massage therapist who takes ownership of their position and pride in their work environment. She cannot guarantee a set amount of clients and is hoping for someone who either already has clients to bring with them or who is interested in building and maintaining a clientele from scratch. She offers an excellent commission split and a lovely spa to practice in!

If you have excellent communication skills, enjoy caring for others and feel like the qualities described above fit you, please contact Joyce at: thespaforthewoman [at] verizon [dot] net, or apply through Find Touch.



Have a lovely day!

Michelle B, LMP
http://www.findtouch.com/
service [at] findtouch [dot] com

Modality of the month..."Visceral Manipulation"

Awhile back I had asked the Find Touch community what they would be interested in reading about. I received several wonderful ideas, and one of them included reading about a different modality each month along with why you would want to take it upon yourself to learn this skill and incorporate it into your practice.

Now, I'm not yet going to commit to writing about a modality each month, especially since I prefer to actually have some experience with the skill I am sharing information about (and although classes are always worth it, it might get spendy to do it each month:). I will however, do my best to share what I know and get you pumped up to learn something new!

I recently got involved with a Visceral Manipulation mentorship taught by Greg Yasuda who also teaches at Cortiva. I personally did not really know beforehand what this technique was all about...I thought to myself "something to do with the viscera perhaps?" In case you are not quite sure, Viscera is the term for organs. It is really much more involved than a "manipulation" skill, as you start off by fine tuning your listening skills...listening to the body that is. We all do this of course while letting our intuitive hands lead the way, but when we take on learning a completely new concept, it refreshes our senses and gives us a new perception! One aspect I appreciate about Visceral Manipulation is that it requires enhancing and refreshing your knowledge of anatomy. It's easy to spend so much of our time focused on the kinesiology aspect, and when you are able to assess what the body needs along with learning to understand more about restrictions within the organs and then actually applying this knowledge to help your client with chronic lower back pain (as an example)...what a great feeling!

I of course can't speak in present tense and share results I've had with clients due to the fact that I have taken one class so far, but I would like to share a positive result from my personal experience. What my classmates and instructor found was that I had tension in my pericardium, which is underneath my rib cage on the left side. The instructor was able to reach underneath my ribs, hold for a few seconds. Since this is a very protected area, it does require trust, patience and letting go. The referral went all the way up through my lungs right near my collar bone. Once a great amount of tension was released I had this renewed activity in my digestive tract! I am so looking forward to the next class and excited to tune into listening and assessing so I can share this technique with others.

I have found the site of an instructor in the Seattle area who offers workshops on Visceral Manipulation. His name is Michael Hahn and he also specializes in Hellerwork, Cranial Therapies and is a certified Body Talk practitioner.

Please share any information you might have on this therapy by commenting to this blog. Also, if you have interest in sharing your experience and an idea for the next modality, I would love to hear your thoughts on that too! You may contact me anytime at: service@findtouch.com.

Have a wonderful day,

Michelle B, LMP
http://www.findtouch.com/

Massage Envy- Newcastle

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Massage Envy in Newcastle, WA. Did you know that this is one of the very first Massage Envy locations? It actually is in a conveniently located spot too, especially if you live on the eastside! You will find plenty of parking, a grocery store, Starbuck's and a variety of eateries close by for your breaks. Not to mention you will find a nice-sized break room and this room for resting upstairs with bean bags and such!

I met with Jamie Hyland who is the manager and a Massage Therapist herself. She maintains a low-key and mellow atmosphere, which I found to be very grounding and pleasant as I spent time here! This is the busiest treatment-oriented Massage Envy and as an LMP working here, you would be consistently booked and enjoy benefits by working 25 hours per week. One thing that I found to be a very positive note is that they are flexible with your schedule and leave it open for you to set your limits. They also encourage continuing education and provide a Hot Stone class at this location for CEU's, not to mention a CEU incentive program is available company-wide.

If you are interested in applying, you may do so through the Find Touch website at:

Job Details of Massage Envy Newcastle From this screen you will be able to log in to apply! You can also contact Jamie Hyland at: 206-423-5405. She is really pleasant to talk to and looks forward to hearing from you soon!

Have a wonderful day,

Michelle B, LMP

http://www.findtouch.com/

Moussaka- It's What's for Dinner...in a few hours that is!

Yes, the other day I decided to take an adventure into the recipe book and randomly pick a recipe...bam...opened the book right up to Moussaka. I remembered a few years back being invited to a big Greek family's house for Christmas dinner and this was one of the dishes on the menu. I thought I remembered it being quite tasty...so why not give it a whirl?

Well, since I kind of skim through things when I read them and don't always pay attention to all the fine details...and I've had conversations with other massage therapist skimmers as well, so I know I'm not alone:), when the recipe asked for 8-10 large eggplants I for some reason did not blink an eye or even think to myself "Geesh that sounds like a lot"! While I was at Trader Joes filling my cart up with these large vegetables...eggplant was a magnet for conversation!! I was getting recipe tips and recommendations for Indian spices (maybe Indian food will be the next dish).

Once I finally had all the ingredients, I got home and started prepping...and yes, "prepping" being the key word. One of the guys in Trader Joe's even mentioned this when I told him of my Moussaka excursion...I heard him again in the back of my mind "I hope you like to prep". Okay, sure I do...I love to prep (hee hee)! Am I ever glad I got an early start so I could eat by a decent hour:) There was definitely a fair amount of cutting, slicing, dicing, chopping, peeling and what not. I think the most prep involved were these eggplants....coat them in salt for an hour after slicing, after peeling, then rinse, then dry, then broil till' browned. In a studio apartment, you definitely get creative with counter space...I almost had to start balancing items on my head there for a minute!

When I went back to the recipe book to "prep" the next step I realized...oh...my goodness! I was preparing a dish for 12-18 people...I had to laugh at myself for a moment, and then I thought... yessss! Now I have leftovers:) Once I finally reached the last step of throwing the Moussaka in the oven to bake I felt so overwhelmed with joy...like finishing a great feat or something!

So, the moral? Yes, the moral of the Moussaka story is mmmm mmmm good! I would recommend sharing the warmth of this dish with others, and yes, you will have leftovers, but if you have a big appetite like I do and this is the main dish, it will not feed 12-18 people! The recipe book I took this from is "Nourishing Traditions" and it has an excellent selection of healthy and hearty meals with great tips and pieces of trivia along the way! I also thought you might enjoy a photo of my house guests who were quite pleased the Moussaka madness!

So... a thought for Thanksgiving perhaps?

Michelle B, LMP

www.findtouch.com