Thank You For The Compliment

I have been closing up the Christmas rush and holiday sales season and was thinking what a nice compliment it is that so many of you have chosen ME as you Christmas gift. All Christmas day, there were cards being opened across Charlotte with gift certificates good for a massage with me. There were a million other options for your gift and you decided that I was just what you wanted for your loved one. Truly a compliment and something I promise will be just as amazing as you hoped it would be when they come in for their massage.

Thanks to all of you who made this year wonderful and rewarding for me and CHEERS to 2009!

The EAST | WEST Center for Wellness

This one is really exciting everyone! I have recently relocated Celestial Soul three blocks down to bigger and better digs. Actually, not only have I relocated, but I have also realized my long-term dream of opening my own wellness center! While it is still in the making, I will eventually be in presence of other allied health professionals. I have been speaking to Acupuncturists, Naturopathic Doctors, Psychologists, Dieticians, Clinical Massage Therapists, Estheticians and even a Hypnotherapist. So, I’m eager to see how it all turns out, as this is the next step along my path.

Please come see me in my new place at The EAST | WEST Center. I promise if you loved my last place, you’ll love this one even better! It’s got a beautiful courtyard, song birds up in the trees, and PLENTY OF PARKING!!! I know...that last one is a BIG one considering my old office on East. :)

So, I look forward to seeing all of you soon, and as always, I am so grateful that you have supported me for the last couple of years. My decision to open my own business two years ago has been one of the best decisions of my life and you have all made it so enjoyable. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Be well. :)

Drumroll please...Top 10 Reasons People Seek Massage Therapy

I was doing some research a couple days ago and came across this Top 10 List. Even after 8 years of practicing massage, I am still amazed at how many ways this ancient therapy contributes to overall wellness. This one’s for your health. ENJOY! (Which, by the way…I do all of these! :) ) www.CelestialSoul.com

Experts believe that 90% of stress accounts for 80-90% of illnesses and disease. As massage is a great stress-reliever, you can see that we can avoid a lot of current, stress-related illnesses via massage therapy.

1. Pain Relief

Massage provides significant reduction in back pain, (including lower back pain), migraine headaches, neck aches, shoulder pain, joint pain, overused or sore muscles, arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and muscle injuries. A regular massage loosens all this unnecessary tension!

2. Stress!

That overworked, overwhelmed, spaced-out feeling. Massage provides deep relaxation lessening your muscle tension and lowering your blood pressure (by reducing heart and pulse rates). Massage increases your mental clarity, heightens mental alertness, and revitalizes your mind. Massage also increases academic performance and ability to focus on calculations.

3. Massage feels great!

Massage can be a wonderful experience for deep relaxation. Post massage leaves your body and mind feeling at amazing ease.

4. Combating age

Massage therapy and bodywork improves immune system functioning while relieving muscle aches and stiffness. Massage also enhances tissue elasticity and joint flexibility; improves blood and lymph circulation; and promotes healthy vibrant skin.

5. Calming Emotions

You’d be surprised at the number of people who receive regular massage treatments as an alternative to ‘dealing’ with depression. . Massage therapy increases self-esteem, improves your mood, decreases depression, reduces anxiety, and quiets insomnia. Massage also can ease PMS symptoms.

6. Accelerated Healing

Massage therapy speeds healing of muscles, tissues, and skin. Thus sports massage is used and great for post-workouts, post-surgery, and muscle soreness in general.

7. Increased Flexibility/Mobility

Massage therapy is perfect for people who workout, are physically fit, those who are athletes, elderly, and even pre/post surgery. Massage is wonderful for improving motor skills. Massage therapy also maintains posture in the skeletal system.

8. Removing built up toxins

Massage flushes away waste products from your muscles, tissues, and skin more easily. This helps digestive disorders (such as spastic colon, constipation and intestinal gas).

9. Improving and Maintaining Skin Tone

Massage therapy stimulates skin gland production, leaving clear, healthy skin. Massage to the skin also helps to reduce superficial scar tissue, improving skin condition(s).

10. Better overall health investment, maintenance of optimal health

In summary: Regular massage will make you look and feel years younger! Massage therapy is so much more than a luxurious way to relax. It is a wise investment in your health and being. Take a mini vacation for an hour or two! www.CelestialSoul.com

Full Circle

It is hard to grasp that it has been a full circle of seasons already. Today marks one year since I opened the doors to Celestial Soul and it has been an extraordinarily memorable year, to say the least. I finally got around to hanging the wind chimes in the tree that’s outside my studio, so I feel officially established on my corner of East and Euclid. I THINK THIS MAKES ME A LANDMARK NOW IN CHARLOTTE!?!? :) The best part by far being that I have the greatest clients in town. You are all amazing and thank you so much for supporting me – it has been such a pleasure getting to know each one of you!

Another full circle is a story I was recently told at a family gathering. Being the baby of the bunch, I don’t always remember everyone’s stories about myself and I promise to deny anything they tell me I did that seems silly and that they don’t have physical proof of (photos or any of the like) – but this is one story I enjoy. Little did I know that long before my professional career as a Massage Therapist, I was Massage Extraordinaire among my family. Not only did I routinely heat pillows on Grandma’s gas heater and massage my cousin with what I will now refer to as the “rollover technique” :) , but I also had the occasional request to *walk* on my Dad, Mom and Sister’s back when they needed a little (or a lot of) TLC. I laughed out loud when I heard this as it did bring back those great and funny memories. Who knew back then that this is where I would be now?

The thing about life is that we are constantly changing and growing. I would venture to say that most things in life could be traced back to a full circle if you thought through the details. I know that’s certainly how I feel now – all of my experiences have brought me right here, right to this moment. Another year and another autumn in Dilworth just feels right – this full circle is definitely where I’m supposed to be.

Celestial Soul: The Story

People often tell me they love the name of my business and ask what the significance is associated with the name “Celestial Soul”. Well, one must go back many years to my time in massage therapy college in San Diego. I was finishing up a business course that required me to put together a *real* business plan – one that required specific details of what my business would be like – from location, to client demographics and even the name of my massage therapy practice. All of the elements were coming along just fine – except for one – and that was what I would name my business. After many months of endless pondering, I realized I wasn’t any closer to a business name than I had been 6 months earlier so I mentioned this to a group of friends/classmates (five women, ranging in ages from 20 to 70) who were also putting together their visionary business plan. They immediately stated that I *must* incorporate my personal name into my business name, and to do anything other would be void of personality. One brainstorming session full of laughs, chocolate and Lebanese food later and the concept was born. As a collective group of women, we felt it was the perfect metaphor for my massage therapy practice.

Today, the name Celestial Soul signifies so many things – the mind/body/spirit connection that I incorporate into all of my massages, my wonderful years spent in San Diego, and of course the friendship of five creative and intelligent women at various stages of their life coming together to bring a unique vision into lovely words. Sure, the name is a bit ‘California’ and a bit ethereal, but that is it’s purpose and I wouldn’t have it any other way…it lends itself to something much more beautiful. :)

Celestial Soul Voted Charlotte's Best Massage 2007

Wow! What can I say??? I am so truly honored and thankful. I feel overjoyed that the community has embraced all the things that make Celestial Soul unique. A HUGE "THANK YOU" to all of my clients...if it were not for you, I absolutely would not be here. This moment is certainly a lesson in what a person puts out in the world comes back to them. I am grateful.

My very first blog...WELCOME!

So here I go…figuring out this BLOG concept and enjoying that never-ending, great big space known as ‘www.’ I will be posting my thoughts, tips, and perhaps even a little humor every so often so check back to keep up with all things massage and all things Celestial Soul!