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Archive for April, 2011
Guide to Making It on the Spa Industry
Just because spas offer its customers full relaxation and respite from the daily stress and hustle and bustle of the metropolis, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the people working behind it are on Zen mode 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, managing a spa or taking on a spa career comes with as many guidelines and technicalities as the average Windows operating system. While it may seem odd that we compare something deemed stress-relieving to something a little stress-inducing, this is the reality. A spa is considered a place for rest—but this only applies to the customer. For the people behind it, a spa is busy one-way street.
If you’re thinking about entering the spa world and taking on a career as an aesthetician, therapist, manager, or whatever, do not be disheartened just yet. Sure, while it’s true that running a spa is quite stressful, it can also be very rewarding.
A Growing Industry
Statistics shows that the job opportunities in the spa industry are among the fastest growing in the world. This is not a surprise especially with the rising population, growing consumer demand for physical excellence and beauty and quadrupling personal incomes all over the world. This is what globalization has done to most industries and, luckily, the spa world is among those that are likely to reap the greatest benefits.
It is for this reason that a lot of people are entering training programs to become manicurists, massage therapists, cosmetologists, barbers, electrologist, skin care specialists, and the like. Schools offering such courses are popping up everywhere, each offering a distinct style that when put together have only one thing in mind, that is, customer satisfaction. A spa’s greatest goal is to make each one of its clients happy when they step out. A spa is every distressed urban jungle hound’s wonderland and nirvana.
Easing the Worry Out
As mentioned, a spa’s goal is provide pampering. Thus, if you are seeking a career in this industry, you must also have this goal in mind. Sure, while the job opportunities in this industry is growing at an alarming rate, you must also know what you’re getting into and, at least, enjoy what you’re doing. For how can you ensure complete customer satisfaction when you yourself are not having fun in the process?
You see, working in a spa entails a job that entails touch and personal interaction with the client. Hence, a sunny or at least serene disposition is required of people who hold spa-related jobs. When customers go to a spa, they expect to be treated like royalty and positive energy. That’s why even if you’ve had a huge fight with your significant other right before you went to work, this should never reflect on how you perform your job.
Indeed, it is probably safe to say that spa employees are the best actors in the business industry, next to sales people, because their work requires them to temper their feelings and set aside their personal lives while they’re doing their jobs. As an effective spa therapist, you must be able to ward off the negative and wear the positive while you’re on your shift. This is quite challenging. However, if you do want to succeed and thrive in this industry, you should be prepared to do this once in a while. Otherwise, don’t have this job at all.
Service is Key
If you love what you’re doing, it will be easier for you to become good at it when the time comes. While money is key motivator to performing well, it should not be the only reason why you’d want to work in a spa. You can channel all your negative energy into taking additional spa-related courses and, instead, challenging this negativity by trying to advance in the field. For instance, if you’re the resident hairdresser, you might want to vent your frustration by enrolling in advanced hairstyling classes to further your career.
The key is to channel all your doubts into something that’s productive and constructive, and toward something that would help you grow further in your chosen field. This is not exclusive to spa careers, though, as you should practice this with any situation in your life.
The sooner you decide that you want a career in the spa industry, the better, because you will get an early headstart in terms of training and getting the right mindset. Just because working in a spa entails working in a quiet environment that doesn’t seem to have known conflict during its lifetime, it doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on the preparations. Again, because the spa industry is turning global faster than you can say, well, ‘global’, you must learn to ride with the times and get all the training you can get your hands on.
Of course, as with any career, you should know what you’re getting into before you ‘decide’ that a certain job is right for you. A spa career is no walk in the park. It will stress you out. However, if you find that this is your calling, that you are meant to be in the service industry, then you should exercise all means possible to get it done and done well.
If you need more advice on whether a spa career is perfect for you, assess your personality first or seek the advice of a career counsellor. You never know what’s best unless you take an outside looking in approach to your career options. Or you could go visit a nearby spa and observe how its staff and crew operate, and note how well they keep their composures and energy despite the entire day’s backbreaking work load. After that, if you still think that you’re fit for the job, then by all means, go for it. Good luck!
Josh Stone
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/about-spa-careermanagement-55272.html
Cutting-Edge News Room
Manual therapy has always benefited humankind. There are massage therapists that provide this form of therapy in many different specialty areas. Many work in private practice while others work with other specialists including physical therapists and more often, chiropractors.
Lets learn how massage therapy and particularly lymph drainage massage can benefit a raw food enthusiast from a health perspective.
Who Benefits And Why
Massage therapy is a form of manual therapy that helps heal the body in many ways. It can benefit all types of people; adults, elderly people, infants and children… all can benefit from various forms of massage therapy. There are forms of massage therapy that target certain parts of the body just as there are different techniques in massage therapy.
For example, some people train to work on athletes specifically. Their training may involve specific training in the art of sports massage. Others may work in the healing arts and may want to focus their training on a technique known as Shiatsu.
Still others may want to learn a technique often used in the healing arts known as lymph drainage massage. Sometimes this is also called LDT or “Lymph Drainage Technique”.
What Exactly is Lymph Drainage Technique?
The lymphatic system consists of tiny nodes located throughout the body. The lymph nodes absorb all manner of substances from tissue in the body, including toxins and waste products. Substances in the body, natural substances also filter through these lymph nodes.
Sometimes the flow of substances through the lymph system gets backed up, kind of like the plumbing might in someone’s house. Why would this happen? There are many reasons. Inflammation is one reason. Too much swelling in the human body suggests a person has too many toxins in the body or experiences too much stress. A person could also have a chronic illness related to theses conditions.
Stress and ordinary fatigues can also cause problems with the flow of the lymph system. Other reasons for a stagnated system may include:
- Aging, which can cause the body to process substances slower than normal
- Lack of physical activity which causes everything in the body to become sluggish
- Clothing that is worn too long or too tightly, including bras (especially those with wires)
- Clothing that compresses the body and is worn around the clock
When the lymph system is not in constant action it tends to slow down so cells in the body are not regenerating as quickly as they would ordinarily. This works kind of like the plumbing in the excretory system. If you don’t eat enough fiber and drink lots of water you may become constipated, and with time this can cause fecal matter to become impacted.
Raw foodists tend to avoid this problem because they eat lots of fiber and drink lots of water. Many also find regular colonic and enemas tend to help prevent this problem.
The lymph system is no different. When you drink lots of water and eat well, and exercise, usually your lymph system works well. This helps bolster your immune system, which in turns helps your body maintain homeostasis.
The good news is massage therapists trained in lymph drainage technique can help restart the lymph system and release blockages much like a colonic practitioner would help unstop the bowels. They can help the muscles along the lymphatic pathway contract which can help stimulate the fluids in the lymph.
Some therapists are able to improve circulation at many layers in the body enhancing the removal of toxins and improving the flow of lymph in many areas including around old scars, fractures and even around blemishes in the body to improve the texture in skin. Some people use lymph drainage massage as an anti-aging tool.
You might even consider using lymph drainage technique as an exercise enhancing tool, because the body also expels certain fats through the lymphatic system’s vessels. These occur throughout the body, in the places fat would ordinarily grow.
Lymph Drainage Exercise
There are many exercises you can perform to help drain the lymph. For example, you can lie on the floor with your legs pressed up against the wall above your head or even perform a headstand.
When To Avoid Lymph Massage
There are instances where lymph massage is best avoided. These include:
- In cases where an individual has an infectious condition that is contagious.
- When an individual is feverish; it is best to work with an individual after the fever is gone.
- Anyone that has severe circulatory problems because the person may accidentally free a clot which could result in a heart attack or it could result in a pulmonary embolism.
- Anyone with serious cardiac problems as massages can cause heart attacks.
- Any malignant disease including an undiagnosed growth although the reasons for this are arguably questionable. Some healthcare providers suggested it may be possible to encourage metastasis of cancer in patients that may have cancer especially when a patient had a lymph drainage massage. However when one researches carefully, they will probably find that there is little evidence to suggest this would happen or is common. It is more likely that individuals that already had metastasis lying dormant might experience a surge in their condition or status.
Sincerely yours,
Omid
Omid Jaffari
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/massage-therapy-and-lymph-drainage-massage-710684.html
In the past, people who enjoyed a massage were mainly looking for relaxation. In this stressful times we live in, nothing is more welcome than a back massage. Whether it’s a simple shoulder rub or a deep massage of the upper and lower back, a back massage relieves stress and optimizes relaxation. It seems that back and neck massage is joining the medical establishment as an effective treatment.
Having a shower before the session and lighting up aromatherapy are the basic way to create a relaxing atmosphere. While a massage is best done without a shirt on, putting loose fitting clothes are an alternative, and apply edible oil, they are friendlier to the body than a petroleum-based one.
Have the person receiving the massage lie on her belly on a firm, comfortable surface, such as a floor mat or firm bed. Make sure you can reach her whole back without straining your own.
Stand or kneel by her side. Place one hand on the lower back and one hand between the shoulder blades, over the heart.
Warm up the back by applying thumb pressure along both sides of the spine simultaneously: Start at the lower back and knead gently with your thumbs up to the neck area. This will also promote relaxation.
Use a smooth, delicate stroke (effleurage) to apply massage oil. In one long stroke, slide your palms down either side of the spine to the pelvis; scoop out around the hips and back up the sides to the shoulders. Maintain contact with the back. Glide your hands over the back to start a new area.
Continue up both sides of the neck to the base of the head.
Start at the spine and slide your palms in opposite directions outward to the sides of the back, starting with the lower back area and moving up to the shoulders.
Knead the fleshy muscular areas at the top of the shoulders, the mid-back area and the buttocks to loosen tight muscles and fascia (the connective tissue).
Use your thumbs or fingers to apply pressure to areas that feel hard or tight, often called knots.
Perform clockwise circular friction with your fingertips along the muscles that are close to the spine and around the shoulder blades.
Rotate the arms gently, one at a time, to loosen the shoulder joints and enhance blood flow.
When going for a massage for back or neck pain, it is wise to ask a series of questions of your therapist first. Your task is to find a qualified, ethical therapist, with whom you feel comfortable, and whose skill earns your confidence. One advice that has been repeated is drink lots of water after a massage because a massage releases toxins and regulate circulation, it is better to keep the body cleaner and healthier. And never rub directly over the spine to prevent fractures, as this is a very vulnerable area.
Everyone should have their massages, not only for their health benefits but also basically for the comfort and relaxation that they give us.
Emma Hardy
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/how-to-give-a-relaxing-back-massage-102108.html
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