8/6/2015 0 Comments Surviving Childbirthby Pallas Hutchison
As soon as my baby bump made it's first appearance, I got inundated with helpful tips from everyone I knew - and several people that I didn't know. My older female relatives smiled knowingly at me when I decided against getting an epidural. The larger the bump got, the more people tried to give me unwanted advice. Women in the grocery store would stop me, trying to put their hands on my bulging belly while telling me all about how they almost died during labor and was I looking forward to childbirth? Not surprisingly, I was terrified. Pregnancy itself seemed comical. An early ultrasound revealed that I was having twin boys. Later, the techs changed their mind and my due date shifted from August 10th to July 26th. Somewhere in the middle of that time frame, they decided I had been pregnant long enough and that the baby needed an eviction notice. Having gained over 70 pounds during the pregnancy, I was fine with that plan. I got hooked up to an IV and they gave me petocin to induce me. Either the baby didn't get the memo or the petocin didn't work because, after 12 hours, nothing had changed and I had to stay overnight for monitoring. The next day, I played cards with Shaun while the machines kept drawing lines on a chart. According the machine, I was having contractions. I kept waiting for the pain to start. My mother would come in and check on us then go report back to the friends gathered in the waiting area. Nurses would wander in, make a note on my chart, then wander out again. At one point, my mother and the nurses started talking to each other in the doorway. I registered this in my peripheral vision but ignored it. The pain hadn't kicked in yet, which told me labor hadn't actually started, and I had a card game to win. We never did finish that card game. Shortly after that hushed conversation, my mother told Shaun that he may want to leave for awhile. He, also absorbed in the game, took a few minutes to realize what that meant. Labor had started without me; the expected pain still hadn't hit me. [A side note, Shaun didn't meet his niece until three days later.] The doctor gave me something to help me sleep and I entered a bizarre cycle of snoring then waking up for each contraction. I don't remember much but my mother said it was hilarious. Once I had dilated sufficiently, they switched me from the hospital bed to a birthing stool to let gravity help with the process. Shortly after that, the baby slid out followed by placenta and childbirth had ended. I remember saying That's it? I'm done? because the pain still hadn't reached my expectation. The nursing staff seemed surprised and amused that I found childbirth almost anticlimactic. Six hours after labor started, I held my perfect baby. Honestly, my first impression of my daughter was less than flattering. She looked like an eggplant. Her was head squished up, her face purple from yelling. She had little tufts of hair on her ears like an elf or a troll. Today, my little eggplant turns thirteen. She finds these descriptions of her newborn self funny. She jokes that she got to pick her birthdate, not the doctor. The second time around, I knew what to expect so it went even easier. I went in with a git'r'done attitude. Three hours later, I held my second child. My purpose in sharing these stories is not to brag or to irritate those who had difficulties in childbirth but to reassure those who are being told the same horror stories I was. It seems that those with a bad experience share the loudest, scaring women who are going through this for the first time. A woman's body is made to reproduce. Some have an easy time, some do not. To the best of my knowledge, having a difficult labor is NOT a genetic trait that gets passed on from your mother. Childbirth should be a time of joy, not fear. What is your birth story?
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by Pallas Hutchison
Massage school gave me an education on pregnancy that personal experience couldn't provide. My own experiences with pregnancy were mildly uncomfortable. Towards the end of my nine-month sentence, I felt gigantic and couldn't see my feet. My back ached from the extra weight and my boobs leaked constantly. My job, as a massage therapist, is to relieve those discomforts for other expecting mothers. I am very good at my job. One thing I do during a pregnancy massage stands out. Because I don't have the expensive body pillow system, the pregnancy massages I provide are, by necessity, sidelying. Halfway through the massage, they need to turn over so that I can massage the other side of their body. It's the turning process itself that makes a huge difference to the majority of my pregnant clients. I ask them to turn under, not over. The natural inclination to roll over in bed is to turn over, keeping your chest facing the ceiling. This has you fighting gravity to heft the baby belly and puts strain on the lower back, one of the common areas of complaint for pregnant women. Instead, let the weight of the baby fall towards the bed, go to all fours, then roll to the opposite side. As part of every pregnancy massage, I explain this process and assist my clients as they awkwardly go through this motion for the first time. Then, as they settle themselves for the second half of their massage, a look of astonishment crosses their face. They just successfully rolled over without hurting themselves. With one small trick, life just got easier. Do you have a pregnancy tip you wish you had known sooner? Comment below to share! 7/1/2015 0 Comments Learning Empathyby Pallas Hutchison
As a massage therapist, I specialize in pain management. I enjoy the challenge of identifying the specific muscle(s) involved and find fulfillment in removing that pain for my clients. No one should have to live in pain. I believe that statement to the very core of my being but sympathy for my client's pain is not empathy. As with many things, I learned empathy the hard way. In January 2015, I ended up in the emergency room with unexplained and excruciating pain. I didn't cry or scream during the birth of either child; I did both now. Despite the care of the EMTs, I screamed and passed out when transferred from their gurney to a hospital bed. After multiple tests, three different doctors prescribed different sets of medication but none could explain the source of the pain. Minor issues popped up but none should have left me completely debilitated, even when combined. Through all of this, fear permeated every cell of my body. I couldn't follow logic through the maze of pain. I had not injured myself; I simply woke up unable to move. Despite the doctors' willingness to prescribe medication, they kept asking if I was a junkie. Their insistence filled me with anger and embarrassment. The fear had intensified. If I couldn't find a cause, how could I fix it? The pain would never go away or I would become dependent on painkillers to function. For the weeks following, I needed help to walk. Using a walker at 30 brought feelings of shame and humiliation. I felt pathetic. Thankfully, this occurred during brutal snowstorms so client's were snowed in and school was cancelled. I had an excuse not to leave the house. The few occasions I did venture to a store, I felt the young clerks eyes following me. I don't know if she felt pity or disgust. Inwardly, I cringed, imagining she felt both. I had not realized how much pride I had. Since the doctors offered only pills and no answers, I turned to what I knew: alternative medicine. A friend and colleague used a combination acupuncture and massage to reduce the pain. A month and eight sessions later, I could move without a walker or a cane but the cause remained unknown. Next came physical therapy to help strengthen weak areas in hopes of preventing a relapse; it is still ongoing. After receiving a crash course in chronic pain, I am surprised to discover that pain is not my biggest problem. The feelings of helplessness, anger, fear, and shame are harder to combat. What I feel I should be able to do doesn't align with what I am actually able to do. Accepting my physical limitations will take time. Eventually, I may be able to return to martial arts but most days I'm happy to be able to carry laundry up the stairs or weed my garden. by Pallas Hutchison
Reiki is a Japanese energy therapy that, at first glance, may seem a bit out there. As someone without a strong base in traditional religion, it's hard for me to believe in something I can't see or touch. This modality is far outside the comfort zone of my science and research-based massage practice. My instructor used electrons and electricity as a parallel concept, which I easily got on board with. With each attunement, I will share my experiences. What is Reiki? The literal translation of Reiki is universal life energy. Once attuned, a Reiki practitioner may channel the energy that surrounds them through themselves and into a client or patient to promote healing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. This can occur through a laying on of hands, through pendulum work, or through chakra balancing. Similar concepts of universal energy or life force energy exist in most eastern philosophies. In Thailand, prana flows along the sen lines. In China, qi flows along the meridians. As with many things, there are different levels. My mother has received two Reiki attunements, allowing her to channel more energy than I can with only one attunement. I think of attunement as wattage for a light-bulb; the higher the level, the brighter the light and the more energy involved. She jokingly refers to the practice as "beaming" people. Why get Reiki? Reiki has been used to manage chronic pain, to mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy and other medical treatments, to speed up recovery from surgery, and to enhance a sense of well-being and spirituality. One of the many benefits is that there are no contraindications, meaning no risks; the energy goes where it's needed. People that have severe medical conditions that may not be able to safely receive other types of bodywork may safely receive a Reiki treatment. What to expect during a treatment? As a massage therapist, I practice Reiki by going through a series of hand positions with my client on a massage table. Clients remain fully clothed. Actual touch is not required; sometimes I simply hover my hands over an area. What does it feel like? A few people have seen colors, similar in description to an aura, during a treatment. Some have reported a buzzing or tingling sensation. The most common sensation is heat from the practitioner's hands. When I'm giving a Reiki treatment, my hands get warm and tingly. Sometimes I feel a pulling sensation similar to if I put my hand over a vacuum hose; that tells me that the body needs focused work there. I still don't feel that I can truly explain Reiki. Science has not yet proven its efficacy with research. However, countless stories of miraculous events make it impossible to truly discredit. My personal experiences with the miraculous are limited to one client; I helped to restore pain-free movement to arthritic hands. With time, I hope to add more stories. References: by Pallas Hutchison Last March, I introduced two product lines to my business. They both integrate easily into a massage practice. Becoming a distributor means that Oasis Massage earns commission on product sales, which provides an additional income stream. Low initial cost makes them even more attractive. I’ve hit a snag with this however. Retail products need to promote what I want my business to promote. To know if a product is a good fit, I have to spell out what I want my business to represent. The first product line is Young Living essential oils. Objectively, they provide an easy up-sell opportunity as an add-on for services and a retail item for clients to use on their own to improve their health. Subjectively, I have been studying and experimenting with essential oils since 2005; selling them at my business gives me access to wholesale pricing for personal use. I look forward to introducing classes on essential oils to share their uses and benefits as well as teach people to make their own products. Clients have shown interest and overall, I consider this a successful endeavor. The other product is the ItWorks body product line. Over the years, I’ve had many people ask about skinny wraps or cellulite treatments. I’ve always been hesitant to offer them. For one, they seem pretty hokey. For two, I’m not sure they fit with my business. The simplified concept behind the body wrap product, the most popular item in the product line, is botanicals remove waste products stored in fat calls resulting in a slimmer target area. I like that they aren’t intended as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle; rather they enhance one. To my surprise, they actually work. I tried one on my “mommy-tummy” and saw enough results that people began commenting. My concern isn’t in the product itself. It’s in the message that the product seems to be sending. It’s taken two months to fully identify why I haven’t been comfortable promoting this product. Other distributors kept offering suggestions on how to use other products in the line to create new services or promotional ideas to let people know that Oasis Massage was offering this great new product. The word ‘skinny’ kept coming up. Skinny is not synonymous with healthy. The other distributors appeal to vanity, not health. I’m not comfortable selling ‘skinny.’ I’ve mentioned previously that my sister had a hard time with body image as a child. Society, the media, the ballet community, and her siblings taught her that her body was not beautiful, that she was not beautiful, because she was not skinny. These two photos are of my little sister. The first one shows us together (she’s on the right) in Oregon in 1989. The other was taken in California in 2009. I won’t speculate as to her current feelings about body image but I will say that she has grown into a beautiful and outwardly confident woman. Promoting this product line makes me feel like I am passing judgement, like I am saying to my friends and clients “You’re fat; you need to lose weight.” Additionally, I am teaching my children this lesson indirectly as well. I want to heal people, not bring them down, not add to whatever insecurities they have. The question becomes how can I, as a business owner, promote a product that could put someone in that same head space? I can’t. I won’t.
What started out as a practical business decision, income diversification, has turned into a moral and ethical dilemma. What do I – and, by extension, my business – stand for? Writing this blog has reinforced my certainty. I won’t sell ‘skinny’ to my clients. Health isn’t a number on a scale or the size of a waistband. Health is the body working, as it is supposed to, to achieve homeostasis. Health incorporates all aspects of life and includes the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of the being. By teaching my clients about self-care and promoting self-awareness, they can make informed choices about their lifestyle. The links below are provided to show how body image gets distorted for men and women. Most links are videos that show some inspiring projects about self-image. Recommended Links: |
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Pricing current as of January 1, 2024 ; subject to change without notice.
Pricing current as of January 1, 2024 ; subject to change without notice.