Oh, My Aching Feet…I Wanna Foot Massage

You are on your feet all day.  Those boots weren't made for walking ;) or maybe it was those dress shoes.  Ugh.  You walk in the door and so wish that there was someone just waiting there with a foot bath and ready to massage your feet!  

Well, if you can't have that, you can have the next best thing.  I remember a few years back when we borrowed an electric foot massager for a "spa day" that some of us created for our kids' school teachers.  I must admit I really enjoyed having it.  It was freaking awesome!  I am thinking maybe it is time to check out some new ones :)

Oh, here is an awesome idea.  Would you love to create a special evening for your sweetheart - one he/she will never forget?  How about getting a foot massager…there are so many different kinds (check out relaxingfoot.com to compare)…you could then light some candles, run a hot bath, offer a full body massage (after the initial foot massage), have food delivered, play some soft music or a favorite movie and make your lover feel super special. Do you wish your partner would do this for you?  Well, maybe you should share this post on your FB wall or his/hers?  :)  **Hint hint.

Off to relax,
Janelle and Rob

Photo credit: http://www.bayhealthspa.com

Pulling Hair isn't just a form of fighting

When you hear the words "Pulling Hair", if you are like me you immediately think of a fight. Maybe you think of someone so frustrated they are pulling their hair out. However pulling hair is actually a great newer form of massage. Using the senses in you scalp you can relax and improve the health of your partner. Now we are not talking about pulling hair out of the scalp or pulling hard. What you do is get close to the scalp and gently tug on the hair. You want to use the tug and release technique all over your partners scalp. They will start to feel the relaxation filling their whole body. I must admit I am very impressed with the feeling it gives me. So next time you partner is stress simply pull their hair!

Below is a more detailed account of what happens to help you understand why this is important and healthy. And if you click the title of this post you can see a video on how to do a hair pull massage.

Check out Therapeutic Kneads for more on massaging.

Hair Pulling Scalp Massage

Linda Tellington, a world-renowned animal trainer, developed hair pulling scalp massage. During her work with animals, called Tellington Touch or simply TTouch, Linda discovered that these techniques were also very effective on humans.

Gentle but firm pressure is used to glide from your scalp to the ends of each small section of hair. The resulting pressure at and beneath your scalp is both pleasurable and beneficial. Hair pulling scalp massage causes a release of tension in the micro muscles surrounding each hair follicle, restoring pliability to your scalp, and causing the relaxation response in your entire body. The relaxation response lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, slows respiration, neutralizes stress chemicals, and counteracts the “fight or flight” response.

Seventy percent (70%) of your nervous system is in your head. Hair pulling scalp massage activates neural pathways to the brain, stimulating unused brain cells, and awakening cellular intelligence. This awakened cellular intelligence reorganizes the nervous system, enlivening nerves reminding the cells of their function, and creating cell to cell communication.

Beta brain waves are the normal waking state where logic, thinking, and problem solving takes place. Alpha waves produce a detached awareness and profound relaxation. Theta waves occur in the dream state, and when the subconscious supplies the answer to a problem without a step by step process. Delta waves are seen in deep sleep, in healers, while the body heals, and in persons with psychic/intuitive abilities.

Beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves emerge in both hemispheres of the brain in a pattern known as the optimum brain wave state. This state is creative, healing, and peaceful. Successful people utilize this brain wave patter naturally and more often. Hair pulling scalp massage helps develop and strengthen this pattern.

Because hair pulling scalp massage releases endorphins, your body’s own natural pain killers, it is effective for:

• Headaches (including migraines and sinus)
• Whiplash
• Neck and shoulder tension
• TMJ dysfunction syndrome
• Neurological trauma
• Nerve injury
• Body aches and stiffness
• Mental tension
• Emotional upset

Gift certificates are available in our office, or you can now order a Gift Certificate from our web site. Massage does not replace the need for appropriate medical and prenatal care. Consult your primary health care provider before receiving prenatal massage.

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All content copyright © 2010 Therapeutic Kneads Limited unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.

Hand Massage

A great way to show your partner you are thinking about them in a less then sexual way is to give them a hand massage. We don't realize how much we use our hands. If your partner spends any time at the computer or typing then their hands might need it more then they realize. Hand massages are easier then other areas of massage because you can sit together. You don't have to be over the top of them or sitting with their back towards you. Get some massage oil or even baby oil and gently work the meaty parts of the hand. Most likely you will be meet with a moan of delight as we just don't get our hands worked on very often. Then make sure to work each finger individually. Make sure not to pull to hard or creating pain in any way. Make sure to follow up with the other hand and really work out the kinks that are most likely there but unknown to the receiver. This romantic massage can be preformed anywhere and you can even do it while the two of you are watching television. Touch is such a relationship builder that you should take advantage of any way possible to touch the one you love, and a hand massage is a great way to do that.

Different Bed Times.

If you are like most couples you most likely don't go to bed at the same time as your mate. One of you will retire earlier than the other, while the other sits up and completes a tasks or maybe even just watches a game. This is not as bad as it sound, it gives time for one of you to get a jump on sleeping if you need it and it gives the other person some time to themselves. Both very valid reasons for having different bedtimes. However, my take on this is that those first few minutes when you lay down together are important for your relationship. It is a time to relax and unwind with each other and reconnect. It is my opinion that even though you both might not got to sleep you should snuggle down in bed together for a few minutes each night. I would suggest 15 minutes of time together with nothing but the silence and the two of you touching. Breath in each other for these 15 minutes. I say 15 minutes because that lets the person not wanting to retire yet not get to tired just relaxing and it doesn't take much of the time away from the person wanting to enter slumber. Kiss each other lightly and say I love you as the person exits the bed. Don't be offended by them not staying in bed with you, but be thankful that they love you enough to take the time to hold you as you get ready for your slumber.

Recharge your relationship!

Daily events such as work, shores, school, children take a drastic effect on the relationship of couples. These events can suck your energy out of you without you even knowing. Soon you find yourself at home where you can finally relax and you just want to plop down and do nothing. Then you realize that you haven't even seen your partner yet, how are you going to find any energy to share with them. Well if that is how you feel then I am here to tell you that you are looking at it all wrong. Think about it how do you feel when you have a really good day with your partner? I am sure that you feel wonderful, if you are like me you feel on top of the world. Maybe just maybe you relationship can be a recharging thing in your life. It isn't that secret that being in love has great effect on your mental well being, and sex is wonderful for your health and mind. Hummmm lets think now maybe all these trials of the day could be combated by being in love????? If you start viewing your relationship as a way to reconnect to love, and knowing that love is a supercharger for life, then why would you put off your relationship with the person you love. I think if you put the personal commitment into this thinking you will find that you will have more energy for the next day. Sure this will not take away any of those daily tasks but you will sure be a little happier doing them knowing that your lover is at home waiting to recharge your batteries.

An easy way to keep love alive.

There is a simple way to make your relationship the most important thing in your life. Simply put you need to love your partner everyday like it might be the last time. Now we are not suggesting that you should hope anything bad would befall your partner. What we are saying is that you should appreciate them daily for all they do. What if they were not in your life how much harder would it be? What do they do to make your life easier? Do they get the kids ready in the morning, to they get up early to take a shower so you can sleep longer, do they do the dishes even if it is not their turn, or maybe they give you time to relax. Whatever the reason you should love them for all they do because it is not guaranteed that it will always be there. People that lose someone suddenly always say the same thing, "If I knew this was going to happen I would have done this differently (speaking about the last time they were together)" We don't want you to think about bad things happening to your partner but we want you to appreciate all they do while they are hear with you. Once they are gone you cannot make up the past, plus when you appreciate them they will most likely respond with more of what you are appreciating them for. Life is way to short not to make love a priority, and if you are not you are short changing yourself and the people you love.

Smoothies, fun and enjoyable.

Kitchen chores such as cooking and cleaning are usually not much fun. However making smoothies with you partner can not only be fun but it can be health for you also. Plus the clean up is a breeze. First of all make sure you have a great blender for this adventure. If not you can pick one up on your next step, which is to get your butts to the store. Search the aisles for fruits and juices you enjoy. Things like bananas, pineapple, blueberries, orange juice, kiwi, the list goes on and on but these will be your ingredients for your smoothie. I personally like to make mine with milk or cream, but that is what I like. Now once you get home here is where the fun starts. Cut up your items that need to be downsides for the blender making sure to feed each other a piece from time to time. Now to make this smoothie a couples smoothie you have to take turns adding ingredients. Pick your base, it can be a juice base or my preference milk based. Next start adding the other ingredients one by one with both of you taking turns picking your favorite. Once all items are in the blender, blend away and then pour into some special glasses and enjoy your personal couples smoothie. Oh, I forgot about the easy clean up, open up the door of the dish washer and up in the blender and utensils used to downsize the ingredients and presto you are done.

Underwear don't Forget about it.

One trap you don't want to fall into when you are in a relationship is forgetting to be sexy. One of the easiest ways to forget this is by not caring about the underwear you put on. Tighty whities and Grandma Panties should never be worn when you have someone in your life that you enjoy being intimate with. I have never understood why once people are in a relationship that they let themselves slip into not being sexy for their partner. When you were dating did you wear underwear with stains on them? One of the first thing that people do when they start a new relationship is purchase new under clothes. Part of this is anticipating the first time you get to be together physically, but why should that stop once we get to know each other better? If you want to make your relationship last then you need to pay attention to areas that you might slip up in, like wearing nasty underpants. In my opinion their is no excuse for this action, yes you can wear these items to work or while you out with your friends but don't let the person you want to impress the most see this image.

Women's Orgasms Are Not Guaranteed

As a loving and caring partner you are always concerned that you are making your lover feel great. Sometimes however you may tend to worry a little more about it than you should. One thing that you need to remember is that a woman's orgasm is not guaranteed. Sometimes she might not even have one.  This doesn't mean she doesn't love you or that she doesn't want to make love to you.  It just means the a woman's body is a complex thing and sometimes she just can't orgasm. This doesn't mean she can't have a good time and it doesn't mean she isn't enjoying the activities. Unlike men the orgasm is not a gauge of when you are done.

The trade off is that when she does orgasm she can have several of them compared to guys who typically need a rebooting time. The last thing you want to do when you are making love is ask a woman if she has had an orgasm. It is a real mood buster.

If you have an established relationship with someone, then believe me you will learn quickly when she has one. If you feel compelled to ask, make sure you wait until later after your love making session - wait until you are cuddling or maybe even the next day.

It is important to know that it takes longer for a woman to reach that ultimate point of ecstasy. You have to be willing to put the work into the results. Relax and don't try to force her to orgasm. Let it happen most women will let you know somehow when they are getting close. The best thing you can do is research different techniques for playing with your companion and while variety is good, always keep in your memory bank what works well and don't be afraid to go back to it. With a little trial and error you will soon find a wealth of things that will improve not only her love life, but yours too.

A simple touch can mean so much!

Have you ever stopped to thing about how a simple touch can mean so many different things. Where you touch your partner at, how you touch them, the pressure you put into the touch, and your location can all mean different things. Light touches seem to mean soft things like I would like to kiss you, while grabs and hard hugs tend to mean I would like to get a little more physical with your. When you are out to dinner a lite caress on the arm could mean "I am having a really good time" Do you touch your partner in different places depending on what you are looking for? If you partner is cooking supper and you come up behind them and hug them while they are cooking. Could mean a simple, thank you for cooking supper. Rolling over and laying on your partners chest could mean, take me now big boy. Think about it each and every time you touch your partner. What message are you trying to send them, really.

You drive then I drive

If your like most couples one of your is the dominate driver. That is the person that drives most of the time you go places. It is natural and some people love to drive. Well the next time you go on a trip of even just a long drive. Make sure to bust up the driving time equally. This gives both of you change to relax and enjoy the scenery it also allows both of you to be the gopher and the conversation starter. We have a lot of great conversations driving places and most of the time they start by one of us reading about something and then discussing it. As partners we want to both be refreshed when we get to our destination so splitting the drive will allow both of us down time to sleep of just put the seat back and stretch out. We all have heard about jet lag but car lag can be just as bad.

So you can bust up the time as you like but I suggest stopping or pulling over every hour or two hours to switch drivers. Never let one person drive more than two hours at a time. They will get a stiff neck or just be a little more tense then if they would have not driven that much. Take breaks and stop to see odd things along the way. Get a copy of Weird America and find some of the topic in the book it will make your trip so much more enjoyable.

Sleeping In!

I am sure you have heard about the benifits of sleep. Here is a benifit for the couple. Most days we take turns waking up. One of us gets up and heads for the shower while the other one lays in bed for a little while longer. Well Sundays are a great day to sleep in a little longer together. Now I am not saying stay in bed forever, but spend a little extra time just snuggling with each other on a sunday morning. It will do wonders for your relationship. Most days we are so rushed that we forget to connect with our partner in the morning. These lazy sunday days are great to snuggle and chat. Who knows if the moment is right maybe a little morning romp in the hay would get both your days started out fantastic.