Monday Morning Work Stretch?

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Kivaadmin

After weeks of holiday gatherings full of overeating and over-socializing my back is sore and my shoulders are stiff. It could be that I spent the majority of Sunday which happened to be New Year’s Day playing video games, watching movies and surfing the internet; generally avoiding all sorts of responsibilities and priorities that currently fill my time. Or maybe it could be the binging on homemade chocolates, pies, cookies and other sweets that seem to find their way into my kitchen during this time of year ( The Holidays). I try to be selective in my sweets, I even have a bowl of delicious Mandarins in a bowl next to the store bought chocolate ornaments and the bin of homemade holiday goodies, but I am not always successful in choosing healthy sweets. Who is perfect?

My body craves a few things this morning: water, exercise, massage and heat, I am not sure what will help it the most…most likely a combination of the four. Water is an easy gimme, I just need to get up from my chair and go get it! Any type of strenuous exercise is out of the picture being that I am in the office. I can do a few stretches that will ease my discomfort by getting the blood moving however. Here is a real easy routine one can do at their desk while catching up on morning emails and such.

Posture
Reposition your bottom so your sitz bones are evenly placed on the chair; your feet pressing evenly into the floor. Sit back in your chair and press your shoulders into the back support. Feel the firm pressure against your shoulder blades. Allow your arms and shoulder to relax into the arm supports. Breath into the top part of your chest and neck trying to focus on expanding the individual ribs. Stay here for the neck stretch your about to do.

Neck
Still seated upright, find the middle ground for your neck. Crane your head forward and pull your head back a few times. Then tuck your chin in like you are holding a delicious orange and then lift the chin few times. Feel how your head bobs up and down and how the neck muscles start to warm up and loosen around the vertebra. Now rest your head on your chair if possible and rotate your head from side to side as if you were saying no. Allow the front of your neck and chest to relax. Imagine your neck is a long balloon sausage shaped balloon and your can deflate and inflate it with your breath.

Shoulders
Bring your head back up to a neutral position and keeping your elbows bent- put your arms into the air like you are about to do a chest fly at the gym- or as if somebody is pointing a gun at you and tells you to put your arms into the air, with elbows bent. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, stretching the front pectoral area of your chest. Now squeeze your chest and arms together leading with your bent elbows. This time stretching the area between your shoulder blades. Alternate back and forth between the two. Keep your neck and head neutrally aligned over your shoulders while doing this shoulder stretch.
Draw your right arm across your body and place your right hand on your upper back. Stretching along the outside edge of your right arm, gently squeeze/rub the upper shoulder. Here is the massage part! Switch sides.

Pelvis
Cross your left leg over your right leg. Twist your torso to the left, placing your hands on the outside of your left leg. You can use your arms to pull yourself deeper into the rotation. Be sure to sit tall when doing this rotation and draw your head, neck and ribcage up and out of your pelvis. Breathe into your body while stretching. Use your breath to encourage your muscles and nervous system to relax.
Switch sides.

Back
Fold yourself over your legs, stretching along both sides of your spine. Rest your body on your thighs and let your hands dangle by your feet. Allow your tongue to float to the roof of your mouth and your spine to elongate from head to toe. Be forewarned. This stretch is uncomfortable in tight fitting pants or with bloated bellies!

All together this is about a 5-Minute routine. Perfect for a day where you have to get a lot done in front of the computer.

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Kiva Therapeutics Day Spa

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Kivaadmin

Kiva Therapeutics Day Spa and Massage is Now Open and accepting new clients! Kiva Therapeutics specializes in Orthopedic and Medical Massage and offers a wide variety of treatment options such as InfraRed Lights, Paraffin Wax, Clothed Massage for your comfort, Hot Stone Massage and more. Massage Therapy is beneficial for treating muscle spasms, pain from arthritis, pre and post surgical conditions, headaches, digestive issues, depression, insomnia, sports injuries, pregnancy, herniated discs and pure relaxation! Kiva offers a variety of spa treatments depending upon the season. Come in for a skin wrap or a paraffin treatment to increase moisture in chapped skin or decrease inflammation with an InfraRed or Castor Oil Wrap.

Jenny Eggers, the owner of Kiva Therapeutics, is a Licensed Massage Practitioner. She had a successful medical/therapeutic massage practice with three locations in Seattle, Washington before moving to Priest Lake, Idaho. She has been working closely with Medical Doctors, Naturopathic Doctors, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors and other health care professionals for over seven years in order to help her clients gain better mobility and less pain. She combines a strong foundation of Anatomy and Physiology, Muscle Kiniesiology, Alternative Health care treatments and Relaxation methods to cater to the specific needs of each client.

Kiva Therapeutics offers special packaging for cost effectiveness, will host a Spa Day for your wedding party or family outing and will travel to your special event! Call today or peruse the website to find out more details.

Follow Kiva Therapeutics on facebook for daily and weekly specials!

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Insomnia

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Kivaadmin

Many people suffer from insomnia at some point in their lives. Approximately 30% of adults suffer from insomnia more than three nights a week for six months or longer. For these people their insomnia stays around like an uninvited guest.

There are many potential causes to insomnia. Fluctuating hormones, eating heavy meals too close to bedtime, exercising too late in the day, inactive lifestyle, low levels of melatonin, stressful lifestyle, excessive computer work, too much caffeine, drug use, worry, frustration, disrupted circadian rhythms and many others not listed here. Many people go to the doctor and get a prescription for a sleep aid but what if you don’t want to take anything for your insomnia?

For many people who suffer from Insomnia it is hard for the mind and body to find a deep state of relaxation. Creating useful relaxation methods and fitting them into the daily and weekly routine is pivotal to creating better sleep patterns. Three methods that I recommend are exercise, diet, and deep relaxation through meditation and massage.

Many studies support exercise as a useful method to reduce whole body tension and increase blood flow. Bringing about greater energy and mental capacity throughout the day allows better performance all around. For those with a busy lifestyle accomplishing more and having greater mental capacity is definitely stress reducing. Physicians recommend at least 30 minutes a day of cardiovascular workout for a healthier heart, mind and body. This might seem too much for you at first but it is an attainable goal if you start at 5-10 minutes per day and build up gradually. This could be as simple as speed walking to the end of your block and back to your front door!

If you suffer from insomnia it would behoove you to examine your dietary habits. Not only are we what we eat but also how we eat it. Common bad habits amongst insomnia sufferers are over-eating, eating late at night, eating an excess of spicy, sweet and greasy foods which are stock full of hard to digest fats and empty calories and eating while stressed or under duress. Irregular eating habits can wreak havoc on our digestive system and cause our whole body to respond in an inflammatory response. These poor habits and rich foods take a long time for your body to repair and digest. Thus your body is busy processing food when it should be resting or repairing itself. The less your body has to digest late at night the better sleep you will get while you are resting.

Think about feeding yourself like you would a small child for a duration. You wouldn’t give a fifteen month old a bunch of spicy meats, potato chips and a coke for their lunch. You would have them eat on a regular schedule and not too close to bedtime. You would give them a variety of cooked vegetables (fresh and lightly cooked), whole grains, only small amounts of animal protein and plenty of room temperature/cool water. Also, try eating nut butter, turkey or dates in the evening to increase your levels of tryptophan an essestial amino acid. Tryptophan is used to produce melatonin which helps to regulate circadian rhythms and promotes regular sleep patterns.

Another good way to achieve better sleep is to gain better self-awareness through meditation and massage. Through these techniques you will begin to understand where you hold tension in your body and grow better at letting this tension go. Massage can reduce over-all muscle tension and can be used to stimulate acupressure points associated with insomnia. Many people report less stress and deeper sleep after receiving a massage. Massage also increases levels of serotonin which greatly influences and mood and levels of concentration throughout the day. The body can use serotonin to produce melatonin, as I stated above, the regulator of your circadian rhythms. Meditation is useful to gain deep relaxation in your mind and body. There are many methods that can be utilized; the key is finding the right one for you. Don’t be afraid to explore the differing meditation techniques.

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Kiva offers Yoga!!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Kivaadmin

We are now offering an Absolute Beginner’s Yoga Class at Priest Lake Elementary School. The class will go from October 4- November 22nd at 5pm. This sessions fee is $5/ class. Please bring a yoga mat or blanket to practice on. Rumor has it that it is cold in the gym so I suggest we all dress in layers to ensure proper body heat!

The focus of this class is developing strength, flexibility and balance. We will utilize traditional yoga poses and breathing techniques (pranayama) with Pilates and Physical Therapy influenced strength training activities. We want to have fun and will cater to varying fitness levels and abilities.

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Relieving Sciatica- Butterfly Stretch

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Kivaadmin

If you are a sufferer of Sciatica try the Butterfly Stretch. It helps to align the pelvis, shortens the outer hip muscles that are in spasm, and lengthens strong and hyper-toned muscles of the inner thigh and groin. Be sure to feel both of your sitz bones equally on the flat surface on which you are sitting. Many people have the tendency to shift their pelvis and spine in order to get more range of motion. Just focus on getting the pelvis to sit evenly and letting the legs fall out to the side evenly. By contracting and relaxing the outer hip muscles you might achieve greater range of motion.

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Depressed?

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Kivaadmin

More and more people are suffering from depression these days. Some people turn to anti-depressants for relief. Others turn to more natural remedies. Regardless of your choice make sure to do your research. Collaborate with your health care team to ensure you have the right remedy for your unique experience. Some people are sufferers of depression due to a chemical imbalance while others are depressed because of their situation in life. Knowing the cause is half the battle for many people.

Sufferers of Depression complain that it is hard to think rationally and clearly. This is why it is important to work with a team of health care providers to help you make the right choice. A good addition to that team is a trusted friend or family member. Recovery from Depression can be slow and arduous and it is good to have feedback from your loved ones that you are improving; your personal cheerleading squad. If you decide to choose anti-depressants it is good to have a friend or family member gauge the effect of the drugs on your personality. I recently watched an individual go on a round of anti-depressants and was amazed at the effects of anti-depressants on her psyche. The woman became manic and inappropriately robust in social settings causing discomfort and concern for all attendees.

The following methods/activities are all good ways to combat depression:
Daily walks
Meditation
Yoga
Cardiovascular Exercise
Laughing
Hobbies
Join a social network
Massage Therapy
Acupuncture
Mental Health Counseling
Self Examination
Examining day-to-day living–Is it in balanced? Are you following your dreams? Are you working
towards a better future or living in the past?
Examination of Personal and Professional Relationships
Tai Chi
Dancing
Creative Projects

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Marketing the Business of Massage

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Kivaadmin

My main area to practice massage is in Priest Lake, Idaho. Because it is a resort community the busy season is July 4th to Labor Day. Knowing that my business would be slow in the fall, I did some marketing footwork in Spokane earlier this summer. I went from business to business, introducing myself and dropped off marketing materials for their perusal. I wanted to get my brand out into the market. When fall arrived I planned on getting some call backs on this energy output. Come July, after two-three months of this activity I started to get busy in my home territory and gave up on going into Spokane to get new massage clients.

Now it is the end of September and certainly my business has slowed down at Priest Lake. I am again starting to look at Spokane and closer communities such as Priest River, Newport and Sandpoint. This time I will focus it a little differently. Coming up with a plan and then following up on the leads immediately before they dissipate into thin air is optimal. I learned that just plastering my cards and flyers around does not get me very far in the gain of new clients. Out of the two-three months of marketing I have gotten three responses. One was another business person trying to get me to buy into their pyramid scheme, the other was an injured runner I offered a free massage to, and the third was a cold call from a neighborhood hotel. The method was very un-focused; as you can see from the types of response. If I had focused a bit more, perhaps I would have generated a greater percentage of interest in one arena. I did not have a specific market I was trying to reach. I only wanted to reach the market. Focusing in on a particular market will allow me to re-use marketing materials and really solidify my message.


I have narrowed down the above process to the following target points:
Determine the target market.
Research the needs of the market.
Are there enough customers in the target market?
Check out the competition.
Develop market materials and get to work!

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Beets

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Kivaadmin

Beets-

Why would anyone want to eat beets you wonder? I thought the same thing before I actually ate a fresh beet. Previously I had only seen them come out the can, the ripples of the still imprinted into the beets. Oh wait, that is cranberry relish I am remembering. No beets come pre-sliced in little 2-inch sized saucers. They were reminiscent of a slice of cured salami in size and shape.

Foods have all sorts of healing properties. One of these properties is their thermal nature. Some are cooling, like the cucumber, while others are warming like a pepper. Beets are neutral in thermal nature. In general they are a very balancing food. They strengthen the heart and sedate the spirit. By improving circulation the blood is purified, benefitting the liver. If you suffer from constipation due to dehydration they moisten the intestines and relieve those symptoms. They are also rich in silicon, which increases calcium absorption.

Recently somebody gave me a paper bag full of beets. I love beets, but I was a little overwhelmed with 25-30 beets staring up at me in their glory of garden soil; freshly picked from the garden. I imagined they would be delicious roasted when their earthy sweetness caramelizes.

So I scrubbed them up, cut the ends off, brushed them with a little olive oil and salt and into a 378Ëš oven they went. Mid-way through I flipped the beets and waited patiently for them to be done. At the end of their cycle I pull them out and cut into one after the appropriate cooling time and ymm…delicious…sort of. I didn’t think about the skin of the beet and how that would respond to the roasting part. Like a roasted pepper the skin bubbled and lifted up from the meat of the vegetable…only it didn’t quite peel off like a pepper’s would. Either I didn’t roast the beet long enough or it got too gooey from the olive oil. Eating the skin turned out to be an okay endeavor when it came to taste but the texture of it was not pleasing to the palette at all. It was as if there was a piece of wax paper left over on the piece of candy you just put in your mouth.

I am thankful for a sharp paring knife. Even though the beets didn’t turn out how I imagined with a little creativity and flexibility I can still enjoy their earthy goodness. They now sit in a small dish waiting for me to slice them up and eat them cold with a dollop of yogurt and freshly crushed rosemary on top.

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Facial Massage

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Kivaadmin

Front of the neck massage:
Imagine you are giving yourself a facial.
Apply lotion to your hands and front of neck.
Drawing upward from your collar-bone, smooth the tissue up towards your jaw bone. Here we are
massaging the Platysma muscle.
Use the heels of your hands and push the neck tissue back towards your shoulders and ears.
Allow the front of your neck to relax and your spine to lengthen towards the ceiling.

Outer Jaw massage:
Rub lotion into the hinge of your jaw.
Working upward to counteract the effects of gravity on our facial tissue
Tap cheekbones to stimulate collagen production and improve circulation
Press firmly into jaw muscle- the one we use to clench our jaw- and open our jaw; here we are
pinning and stretching the Buccinator muscle.

Inner Jaw massage: (This one someone may have to show you-don’t be afraid to explore)
With clean hands or a gloved finger insert your finger on the indicated side.
Follow the gum line of the indicated side with your finger until you finger reaches the back of the line-
just above and a little further back to where your wisdom teeth are located.
Press outward with your finger; your nail should touch the inner section of your lateral jaw bone.
Search around gently for tender points.
Move your jaw from side to side.

Under the jaw massage and Stretch:
Press your thumbs into the soft space under your chin-massage outward and in circles.
While your fingers are there move your tongue around and feel the connection.
Stretch your tongue inside your mouth while it is closed.
Move your head up and down and side to side and move tongue around.

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Castor Oil

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Kivaadmin


Castor Oil is a pale yellow liquid that is extracted from castor seeds (Ricinus Communis). It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant oil which has been used for centuries for its therapeutic and medicinal benefits.
Use castor oil packs to reduce scar tissue, detoxify tissue, reduce lymphatic congestion resulting in a reduction of muscle spasm and emotional holding. It is believed that most of castor oil’s benefits are derived from its high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids. Although it has a strong and rather unpleasant taste, castor oil is used in cosmetics, soaps, textiles, medicines, massage oils and many other everyday products.

Castor Oil Packs:

Wool Flannel
Castor Oil
Plastic Covering(a plastic grocery bag works well)
Heat Pad/Pack
Zip Lock Bag (Quart sized)
Bath Towel

Soak the wool flannel with the castor oil and apply to area being treated. Cover with plastic to protect your linens and heat pad. Apply the heating pad and relax for 60 minutes and longer; a longer treatment is more therapeutic than a shorter treatment.

Castor Oil has been used both internally and externally for thousands of years due to its many health benefits. Castor oil strengthens the immune system and is considered a great remedy to treat the following major illnesses and ailments:

Multiple Sclerosis
Parkinson’s Disease
Cerebral Palsy
Hair loss
Pain from Arthritis and Rheumatism
Yeast Infections
Constipation
Gastrointestinal Problems
Menstrual Disorders
Migraines
Acne
Sunburn
Athlete’s Foot
Ringworm
Skin Abrasions
Inflammation

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