Elevate Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork LLC

I get this question all the time, and I love it because we can use our time so creatively to achieve your goals!

Did you know you can totally ask for work on specific areas for your entire massage? I have so many clients that only want upper body work, or only want neck and shoulders. Some only want their back worked on, some only want their low back and hips worked on, and some want a little bit of everything! Every session looks different, because every body is unique. When you book, you’re not getting a standard and rehearsed session, it’s tailored to you because your care should be individualized. 🫶🏻🌞

Have you been hearing influencers talk about “nervous system regulation” a lot? Same. Let’s talk about what that means and what it doesn’t mean ➡️
First we have to dive a little deeper into what the nervous system is beyond our brain:
It is split into multiple categories, but we’re going to jump straight ahead to the system that “regulation” is referring to: the autonomic nervous system (ANS) which is responsible for involuntary activities like organ and gland functions.

Within the ANS there are two divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic-most commonly known as fight or flight, and rest & digest. Now we’re getting to our topic that might sound a little controversial at first, but hang in there with me!

What I’ve noticed about what I hear and read online, is when people are talking about needing to “regulate”, they tend to use it in the context of being calm, or being calm all the time, and making fight or flight sound like the enemy.

I could go into a whole rant about the glorification of being stressed all the time, but that’s not the point. Yes, we want to engage rest & digest more often than we do now, because we have very high amounts of people running around in fight or flight most of the time; but let’s not get confused about the important role that fight or flight plays in the body’s innate instinct for self preservation. It isn’t the enemy, it’s just had some bad PR.

As a whole, our nervous system never lands entirely in one camp or the other, parasympathetic and sympathetic are always working together and adapting to stimuli 24/7, and they take turns being dominant, all for the purpose of keeping you safe. So the goal of regulating your nervous system is not to stay in parasympathetic rest & digest, and never step foot into sympathetic fight or flight ever again. The goal is to be able to flow easily between the two; the more regulated you are, the easier that transition is!

Your nervous system wasn’t designed to be managed and optimized, it was designed to be lived in! 🌞🫶🏻

I’m so excited to participate in my first Massage is for EveryBody week with ABMP! 🌞

From now through the end of July, I will be donating 10% of all sales to A Better Way. This local organization provides shelter and trauma-informed services for survivors of domestic violence, as well as transitional housing, counseling services, homeless resources, and so much more! Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own body, and receiving necessary help in times of crisis is the first step to healing. 🫶🏻

If you would like to contribute without purchasing bodywork services or gift certificates, you can Venmo me at Lily_Phenis to be included in the lump sum that will be donated at the end of July, or you can donate directly to A Better Way at https://abetterwaymuncie.org/donate/online/ 🌞🫶🏻

It’s been a minute since I introduced myself, and in that time, my resume has grown and more people have found my page! So-welcome! Get a cup of tea, and get ready to chat: your self care advocate is here 🫶🏻🌞🦋