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A short update

On By awdishingerIn massageLeave a comment

I posted a shorter version of this on my “about” page today.

If you’ve been following along, or even if you haven’t, you’ll notice that I’ve been quite conservative in my re-opening plan for summer 2020. While other folks have bravely forged ahead, and seem to be doing all right so far, I’ve been hanging back, observing, and continuing to learn about how coronavirus impacts massage therapy.

I am learning quite a bit. Lately, we’ve been informed that the likelihood of someone developing the disease from touching surfaces is probably less than we had originally imagined. That is heartening! But, we are also learning about the circulatory effects of the disease, the blood clotting effects, and that is disheartening. Massage therapy is contraindicated when there are blood clotting issues. So, the wait goes on.

I am working over the summer to pivot what I can offer to things that work relatively well in an online format. Obviously, massage therapy isn’t something that I can offer over Zoom. While I miss providing healthy touch something fierce, the time off from working has helped me look at what I find essential about my work, and how it can be considered essential when moving forward in times of uncertainty and unrest.

Restorative yoga, my favorite form to teach and do for myself, will be part of the plan. So will yoga nidra. I’ve offered yoga nidra on my booking site for the last 2 years, but haven’t promoted it strongly. It’s an experience all to itself that can be very relaxing and rejuvenating. I will also finish my Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training in early August and be able to roll that out to you. I am particularly excited about that.

Look for a comprehensive overview of my new offerings on this site by the end of summer. I’ll start scheduling Zoom sessions at that time, and hopefully be returning to a very limited in-person practice as well — in a new space, still TBD.

See you in a little while. Stay strong.

Alison

2020: The Sequel

On By awdishingerIn massageLeave a comment

I am so, so close to being able to open my home office. So close!

But close does not mean finished and ready, even though most of society seems raring to go like a pandemic never happened.

The project in the garage has taken months longer than I expected (the bottleneck is currently me, plus a little bit of plumbing, which I can’t do) and I was never able to get the changes to my house done that I wanted to get done. Second bathroom? Pipe dream. Not going to happen.

So…

Working with what I’ve got and making the best of it is still a slow process, even though everything is now opening back up again like the roaring twenties.

I have been doing home calls, but those take much more time than when clients visit me at my office. There are physical and time constraints to doing home calls that cannot be gamed or eliminated. They simply take longer. I’ve calculated them at about twice as long as it takes to set up, effect, and re-set an office visit.

I am still wearing a mask when I work, even though I and my clients are all fully vaccinated and in spite of the newest updates from the CDC. I’ve found working in a mask to be not a big deal at all, and it staves off one of my own pet peeves — being breathed on when getting a massage. The mask means I don’t breathe on clients! Yay!

I am convinced that masking helped reduce the spread of other contagions this winter and spring as well. That and heightened sanitation and hand washing. While I have always practiced good sanitation and hand hygiene as a massage therapist, masks add one more level of courtesy and protection. It may turn out that I keep wearing mine, even when clients do not.

So, what’s new that’s actually working? Something exciting is in the works!

I am helping host a return to nature and gatherings mini-retreat south of town this June. It will be a great way for folks to get back into the swing of attending classes in person, I think. We’ll be outdoors, and I’ll lead a mindfulness meditation class in which I teach the meditation techniques that I work with. You won’t find a better deal on this specific meditation instruction, plus we will have all sorts of other wonderful classes and activities going on that day.

Look to this blog and for further information and our social media contacts, but save the date now: Sunday, June 13th.