Baby News!

If you haven’t heard the clinic,well ok Nicole, had a baby boy Aug 29th at 9:55 am weighing 8lbs and 2oz and he was 21″ tall! Unfortunately nobody won the baby pool,he was a little late getting here,so everyone guessed early,but we’ll be donating the money,we’ll update you on that when it happens

Spring into Health with Summer around the corner

Finally we’ve had some good weather,Vancouver is notorious for rain,rain and more rain. But we’re also notorious for how beautiful it is,and on a sunny day you can’t beat it. With summer around the corner us girls at the clinic have getting in shape on our minds,as do a lot of people,and as you know a good way to stay on track when you’re working out and eating healthy is to balance it out with massage which decreases healing time for muscles to bounce back so you can hit the gym or outdoors again quickly. As well it helps flush out toxins that we have in our system and that gives you that great glow of health,because when your healthy on the inside it shows on the outside!

Mothers Day Gift that really gives

So we all know mama’s do so much for the ones they love,and that’s why they are so special to us. What could be more perfect than a gift that gives them peace and relaxation? We have gift certificates in any denomination available,and trust us,this is one gift that won’t fall short!

Greener Cleaner

So at the clinic we do our best to be ‘green’. Recycling and using green products that don’t harm the environment are part of that,and recently we’ve been introduced to a new Green line called ‘Chartreuse’. You probably have noticed in the washroom,new great smelling hand wash and lotion. We’ve had a lot of comments lately on the handwash which is lemongrass scented. Lemongrass is not only yummy in thai inspired dishes at home but has wonderful natural skin soothing qualities from calming acne and skin rashes, to helping with athlete’s foot and other skin irritations! And best of all it has a great citrusy fresh smell.
Anyways we’ve also implemented other great products from the chartreuse line, we use their ‘paperless’paper towel,household cleanser and bathroom cleanser which all work great,haven ‘t you noticed the clinic looking a lot spiffier lately?! Another great product you may have heard about are ‘soapnuts’ literally a little berry that produces suds to clean your clothes naturally and gently. To check out more great products check out this link
www.eco-chicboutique.ca.

Infant Massage

Infant Massage is a great way to relax and soothe both parent/caregiver and baby. It helps deepen the bond between them.Helps baby sleep better and a number of other health benefits such as :

Increase awareness/alertness

Improve Immunity

Decrease the stress hormone

Increases the release of oxytocin,the nurturing hormone

relieves colic,gas and constipation

aids in digestion

enhances development of the nervous system

Come in and join Nicole Stratton RMT here at Elements of Balance for a hands on workshop on March 12 at 9:30-11:00 am

Cost is $30 incl HST and you will also get a take home booklet and small oil bottle

To enjoy Expert instructions and hands on learning  with your baby ( age newborn to 6 months or not crawling) call Nicole at

604 576 9996 or email her at Nicole@elementsofbalance.ca

Happy Healthy New Year!!!

Ah January, time to re-enter normalcy after the holiday season. Also cold/flu season. Did you know Massage can help prevent those bugs from taking hold?

In the Journal of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, the authors recruited 53 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 45 and divided them into two groups: one that received a traditional Swedish massage, and another that received a session of light touch meant to simulate a massage but without any actual massage-therapy techniques. The Swedish massages were all performed by certified massage therapists to ensure uniformity. Each participant had an IV inserted into one arm for the duration of the massage and for a few hours afterward, and blood was drawn at various intervals to measure levels of various hormones and immune system markers.

The authors were working under the theory that massages increase the body’s levels of oxytocin, or “the love hormone,” which itself helps regulate levels of hormones related to stress. Yet, they found that wasn’t the case. People receiving the “light touch” treatment actually experienced higher levels of oxytocin than the massage recipients. But unlike the light touch group, the massage recipients saw significant decreases in stress hormones and increases in the body’s production of various cells that boost immune system response.

What it means: A single massage could help boost your immune system and help you better cope with stress, even if you’re not sick or stressed out. “I’m really intrigued by our findings,” says Mark Hyman Rapaport, MD, professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who adds that he was an “incredible skeptic” about the benefits of massage therapy before doing this study. “I always wondered, what does it do that so many people claim to feel better afterwards?” he says. “We’re finding that biological changes do occur as a result of even a single session of massage, and that these changes may benefit even a healthy individual.”

So that massage you keep meaning to call and book in for just might save you from being sniffly and bed ridden Hope to see you soon!

Merry Christmas

From all of us at Elements of Balance,we wish you happy holidays and a healthy new year! We look forward to seeing you all soon

Tis the season to give

This time of year we know we are fortunate and think of those who are less fortunate. We were able to join up with a great giving effort through Fraser Valley  Pulse which enables you to donate and be entered in a draw to receive some wonderful gifts including one we donated for a massage therapy treatment and some take home goodies to keep you feeling relaxed and calm. As an all women driven clinic we went with a charity that seemed fitting, the surrey women’s center society,

www.surreywomencentre.ca

To learn more and donate,please go to:

http://fraservalleypulse.com/thisnthat/12-days-of-christmas-in-the-fraser-valley/

New and not so new therapists!

Fall has brought us some great additions, we now have two more therapists to help those sore muscles,wonky joints,and frazzled minds!
Let me tell you a little about the gals;
Nicole Stratton is a wonderful therapist who on top of helping out the regular aches and pains,has some extra training in womens health issues. So if you are trying to get pregnant,pregnant,or post op c-section or those days are way behind you and you’re feeling a bit on the warm side,she has some great techniques to help re balance your body.
Massage can help address some issues when you are trying to conceive,such as reducing stress ( we all have heard that one before,it happens when you aren’t stressed, unfortunately when you are ‘trying’ its a little hard not to get wrapped up in it and feel a bit stressed) and decreasing adhesions around the the uterus and other structures that help balance the reproductive health. We aren’t promising babies here,but we can certainly help support your well being on the path towards one.
Pregnant? That ‘glow’ making you feel more sweaty and irritable? Your back killing you with the extra weight from that bundle of joy sitting on top of your bladder? Massage has been proven to help reduce stress and increase the health of mama to be. Women who have regular massage during pregnancy are often less stressed going into delivery, which can help the outcome of the actual delivery.
That being said,having a baby never goes quite like you expect,and sometimes it just needs intervention to get that little bean out of you,C-sections are sometimes necessary. And once you’re feeling up to it there are a lot of reasons you could use massage after a C-section. Organs after c-sections sometimes dont’ get back in place as quickly, there are techniques to help with this.Also to decrease scar tissue massage therapy is proven to break those adhesions down.
And when you’re having you’re own ‘personal summer’ as my aunt calls it, massage therapy can help with that too.
So if any of those sound like you,come on down and see Nicole,but come on down even if you dont’ have a uterus or just need something unrelated to womens’ health,she’s got the gambit covered.

Christa Olson, sound familiar? That’s because she did a stint working her magic with us earlier this year,before she left for a whirlwind of travels in Europe. We loved her so much we begged her to come back,and she complied! Christa has worked in many clinics and spa’s fine tuning her repertoire of therapy, picking up great techniques along the way and now she’s here to share them at our clinic. Not only is she a fantastic therapist but she’s got a ton of travel stories to share. For more about her travels go to

http://strictnomadicjoy.blogspot.com/

or just come in and while having therapy,just ask her about her adventures.
We are so excited about our fantastic team and know you’ll be just as happy seeing one of them,so come on down………..

Ms Amelia

Here’s a pic of Amelia enjoying herself in the okanogan