Absolute Well Being Website

February 2011 Newsletter

This newsletter has been republished due to unforseen changes that occurred shortly after publication. The first two items on this list have been revised.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Contents:

Services & Prices Available (updated 24th February 2011)
Staff Changes (updated 24th February 2001)
Bullying & your children
Postural Related Muscle Pain
Getting to know Sarah Crisp

Services & Prices Available

Clinic Hours

Massage Therapy

0.5hr consultation $40 - with Sarah Crisp or Breanna Iwaszko
1hr consultation $60 - with Sarah Crisp or Breanna Iwaszko
1.5hr consultation $90 - with Sarah Crisp or Breanna Iwaszko

Breanna & Sarah have been studying a Diploma of Remedial Massage since the beginning of 2009 and are currently qualified with a Certificate IV in Massage Therapy. Studies to complete the Diploma of Remedial Massage have now finished and official graduation will occur early in 2011. It is estimated that Health Fund rebates will be available approximately April/May 2011 - however it is best to keep in touch with us for specific details.

Prices are current for February 2011 and are subject to change.

Kinesiology Consultations

1 hr consultation - Breanna Iwaszko $110
1.5hr Initial consultation - Breanna Iwaszko $155
2hr Long consultation - Breanna Iwaszko $220

Sarah Crisp is currently studying a Certificate IV in Kinesiology as is offering 1 hour consultations for $20. This is a great opportunity to try out Kinesiology and see what it is all about!

Breanna will be on maternity leave until approximately May 2011.

Combination Services

1 hour Kinesiology & 0.5hr Massage - with Breanna Iwaszko $150, with Sarah Crisp $60
1 hour Kinesiology & 1hr Massage - with Breanna Iwaszko $170, with Sarah Crisp $80
1 hour Kinesiology & 1.5hr Massage - with Breanna Iwaszko $200, with Sarah Crisp $110

Combination sessions are available with Breanna or Sarah. If you have never had a Kinesiology session before, you need to book an initial Kinesiology consultation with Breanna or Ivana prior to attending any combination services in order to get the most out of your treatment time.

Breanna will be on maternity leave until approximately May 2011

Coming Soon

Sarah is also studying Reflexology this year and will be offering student Reflexology sessions in a few months. Keep in touch to find out more information.

Clinic Hours

Monday - 3pm - 8pm (Massage & Student Kinesiology with Sarah)

Wednesday - 10am - 3pm (Massage & Student Kinesiology with Sarah)

Friday - 3pm - 8pm (Massage & Student Kinesiology with Sarah)

Staff Changes

Unfortunately Natalie Borg's family commitments have caused her to unexpectedly leave the clinic. Effective immediately, she is no longer available for consultation. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you and wish her well on her journey and her continued studies.

In spite of previous advertisement, Ivana Sicilia has decided not to join the clinic. Kinesiology services will become available when Breanna returns from Maternity leave approximately May 2011. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We are currently maintaining a contact list for clients who wish to be contacted once Breanna starts consulting again. If you wish to be added to this list please send us an email at office@absolutewellbeing.com.au.

Bullying & Your Children

Late last year I was completely taken by surprise to discover that my eldest daughter (7 years old) was the subject of bullying. My first reaction was disbelief, followed rapidly by outrage and then the protective 'mother bear' instinct kicked in! Every cell in my body wanted to sweep in and take control and 'fix' the situation.

Thankfully, years of Kinesiology training and experience took over and gave me enough time to breathe and realise that what my daughter really needed was not a 'saviour' but the opportunity to learn the skills needed to deal with this situation and others that may come up in the future.

So, over the christmas school holidays, I embarked on a journey of self education. I purchased a number of books on bullying, resiliance and parenting (my husband wanted to know if I was starting a book store!) and set to reading and trying out my new knowledge with both my children.

Imagine my surprise and pleasure as I observed better relations developing between my two daughters, as well as my sadness as more and more stories of being bullied came from my eldest daughter. It seems that the problem had been happening for 12 to 18 months, and I had absolutely no idea.

By the time school started I had a plan! We (my daughter & I) have spoken to her new class room teacher and have come up with strategies to deal with the situation. My daughter now has a confidant (her teacher) at school and is showing signs of improved confidence and signifcantly more interest and pleasure in her school day.

I'm not suggesting that every situation is this easy to resolve, in fact I actually feel really blessed that I learned about the problem at such an early stage that it was relatively easy to influence. I also feel really blessed to have a switched on, open and interested classroom teacher helping the situation along.

Contact us if you would like a list of the books I recommend relating to this issue, and remember that Kinesiology can help both the parents and the child become more resilient and release the emotional pain of dealing with such a problem. My best advice is don't wait for it to get better. Get involved now and do whatever you can to influence the situation without 'taking over' and remember that a lot stress in yourself is a reminder of what you went through yourself as a child. This is exactly the kind of thing you want to resolve with Kinesiology sessions.

In health,

Breanna

Postural Related Muscle Pain: Postural Syndrome

Clients will come to see me for all sorts of muscular aches, pains and tension and may also present with restricted range of movement. They may have stiffness in their neck, pain when moving their shoulder or an aching lower back and this is just to name a few of the issues I observe in my massage practice. Many people also ask the question 'why does my body feel this way?'

A lot of what I see can be attributed to poor/incorrect posture habits. How many of you sit at a computer for an extended period of time? What about driving a car? Does your job require you to lift heavy items or involve a repetitive action? And how many of you are employing the correct posture when carrying out these tasks? Incorrect posture can be seen with everything we do on a daily basis whether it be sitting, standing, moving or sleeping!

Postural syndrome affects the whole body and can involve aching, pain and stiffness in the upper back/ shoulder area, back of the neck, at the base of the skull, in the arms, at the front of the chest or in the lower back region. As a result of referral pain from active trigger points or pressure on nerves due to tight muscles in the neck you may also experience tension headaches. Restricted blood circulation reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that can be supplied to the muscles and allows an accumulation of waste by products to build up, contributing to muscle fatigue and perpetuating the cycle.

There are many contributing factors such as slouching, crossing legs when sitting, carrying heavy bags on one shoulder, lack of support from pillows and mattresses, muscle fatigue and over use, poor workplace ergonomics and incorrect lifting techniques. If an incorrect posture is maintained for long periods of time then imbalances within muscle groups can occur, leading to postural problems.

Massage will help to increase circulation to improve muscle function and reduce muscle fatigue, helping to break the cycle in postural syndrome. Massage also helps to improve restricted movement by lengthening and relaxing contracted muscles and decrease pain and muscle spasms. As a Remedial massage therapist I assess postural imbalances and identify weakness in muscles and work together with each of my clients to look at how to correct these issues and ways of reducing contributing factors.

Author - Sarah Crisp

Getting to know Sarah Crisp

MY JOURNEY, MY HEALING

How did I get to Absolute Well Being? What am I doing? And where am I heading? I will attempt to answer these questions in a short amount of time to give you a brief understanding as to who I am and what assistance I may be able to offer you.

First I’ll tell you a little bit about my background as this gives some clues as to how I ending up practicing at Absolute Well Being. My journey into natural therapies and healing began with the desire to improve my own health and well being. 10 years ago I was struggling with a variety of health related issues. Over these past 10 years I have experienced many different natural health therapies such as massage, wholistic counseling, art therapy, spiritual healing, yoga and the list goes on! Each different session/workshop and each practitioner/facilitator I came across had something wonderful and unique to offer me. I learnt about the different aspects of myself, overcame my difficult and undesirable behaviors and realised that I could help others discover their healing potential and who they really were.

About 8 years ago I had started a massage course, even back then I wanted to help others but just didn’t have the confidence, but soon discovered there was so much I needed to do for myself first. I worked in Pharmacy for 9 years which taught me a lot about allopathic healthcare, I feel this knowledge helps me to understand and offer a wholistic view on health, balancing both allopathic and natural therapy approaches.

When the time was right and I found the right school I started the massage course again. I met Bree in this massage class and when she fell pregnant last year she offered me a job opportunity to practice massage at Absolute Well Being. I couldn’t turn down such a wonderful opportunity and since August 2010 I have been working there as a Massage therapist (and loving it!) I completed my Diploma of Remedial Massage at the end of 2010 and since mid semester 2010 I have been studying Kinesiology. This year I will be continuing my studies in the Diploma of Kinesiology and have begun a Diploma of Reflexology!! I am currently seeking people to practice my Kinesiology skills with and I am offering $20 1 hour student Kinesiology sessions. By approximately May I will also be offering $20 1 hour Reflexology sessions, woo hoo!! Health fund rebates for Massage will also be on offer very soon.

I am really pleased with how my journey is unfolding and I am really looking forward to developing my new skills, expanding my knowledge and sharing them with you. I feel that every situation is an opportunity for growth and that we all have something to offer to each other.

Yours in health

Sarah Crisp

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