Love Your Guts!

I am happy to announce that I am the very first Certified Practitioner in Texas of the new LOVE YOUR GUTS! program, so well received in California and Washington state, and now available here in Houston, Texas. This is a new form of massage therapy that focuses on the health of the abdominal organs, and in turn brings the individual to better health. Whether as a support to general well being, or in conjunction with treatment for a specific ailment, LOVE YOUR GUTS! (LYG) has a tremendous impact with just the first treatment. We recommend a series of 4, done weekly, for general health. For something more specific, like indigestion or hiatal hernia, more treatments may be needed. This will be determined during first meeting with the client.

Sessions begin at $110; prepaid series of 4, $425

Wear t-shirt and elastic waist pants (or shorts) for treatment.  You may eat up to an hour prior to your appointment, but keep food on the lighter side so that the abdomen isn’t focused on digestion and can enjoy its treatment! (Smoothie, soup or easily digested greens)

7 GOALS TO A HAPPY BELLY

Manual therapists frequently miss the belly when working with various body aches and pains, and many bodywork consumers do not know that massage and physiotherapy can actually create change here in our most "core" body zone. With regular attention and care for the belly organs, the following goals can become a reality. Ask yourself how many people you know experience belly pain, digestive and elimination problems, have had belly surgery, reproductive system problems, or just plain do not like the way they look and feel here. These folks all need belly massage!

Here are LOVE YOUR GUTS! 7 goals for a happy belly

1. Decrease tension in the belly wall - contrary to popular belief, a chronically hard belly wall creates difficulty standing up straight, supporting the spine, breathing and massaging the organs with each breath. The hard belly wall can also contribute to a decrease in overall fluid and energy circulation to the abdominal organs. "Rock hard abs" - a strange cultural goal to say the least - can actually be a sign of tension and stress, anxiety and fear, pain, inflammation, and decreased abdominal organ function.

2. Easy penetration through the layers of belly organs - your massage practitioner or physiotherapist should be able to move through the belly wall and into organs with little or no discomfort. Yes, this means all the way to the front of the spine! Pain upon touch at any of the abdominal tissue layers from skin to spine is a sign of tension.

3. Decrease pain in the organs of the belly - both upon touch and walking around in your life. This is especially true after you eat. Food allergies, bloating and gas, constipation and that feeling that things just sit too long are signs of dysfunction that should not be ignored.

4. Decrease cramping in the belly organs - both after meals and during the rest of the day. Different than #3 above because the nervous system is making a bigger "message" to the rest of the body. Cramping and pain are the first things that generally change after belly massage because the nervous system is not so "on guard."

5. Efficient transit time and easy bowel movements - this means food moves along the gut tube at a pace that does not create cramping, bloating, or tension and allows for 2 - 3 easy bowel movements per day - usually after meals. We should all shoot for a "bronze medal" daily - meaning one bowel movement after breakfast or in the early part of the day. A "silver medal" then is something moving after lunch, and the elusive "gold medal" is reserved for those that can move their bowels a third time after dinner. Anything short of a bronze medal is constipation and slow transit time. Belly massage certainly helps, as will other lifestyle changes.

6. Reproductive system ease -

For females: regular and predictable menstrual cycles without hormone intervention minimal or no uterine cramping or painful, swollen breast tissue with menses minimal or no PMS / menopausal symptoms no cysts, endometriosis, or fibroids in the pelvis easy access to sexual energy

For males: no nocturnal urination - you stay asleep all night without getting up to urinate, easy erections with no pain or premature ejaculation, little or no prostate swelling, easy access to sexual energy. These reproductive symptoms which are so prevalent and "normal" in our culture are actually signs of pelvic congestion, hormone imbalance, inflammation, and unfinished emotional / energetic business. All of these can play a role in fertility problems and other health issues.

7. Ease and grace with your own belly - instead of hating or fearing your belly, you enjoy feeding it, looking at it, massaging it, hugging it, and knowing that it serves you well. This is the broadest and most encompassing of all the 7 goals.