By: Tim Riley
Magic Hands Massage, located through the main entrance of Arbor Hall, 14040 Arbor Street, believes massage therapy is acknowledging the connection between your mind, body, and spirit. "We are more than just bodies," said Mary Ann Schmieding, Licensed Massage Therapist. "Massage therapy is an important aspect of healthcare and wellness." Schmieding says she always had an interest in the healing arts and using natural means, and decided to pursue massage therapy because she wanted to do more to help her ailing mother. "When I would give her a backrub I would wish there was more that I could do for her," she said. She wants to help people understand that massage therapy is not a cure but it will help you utilize your own inner strength for healing. "A massage not only affects the body but also the mind and spirit," Schmieding explained. "It helps clear your mind, which helps your thought processes; hence its connection to the spirit." Every day we are bombarded with toxins from car exhaust to the cleaners and chemicals we use to clean our homes. We breathe them in and absorb them through our skin. Shmieding says, "A regular massage improves your body's circulation and reduces stress, which releases these toxins that build up in your body cells. It also helps relieve lower back pain, arthritis, improves the condition of your skin, increases flexibility, enhances sleep quality, relieves migraine pain and lessens depression and anxiety." She stressed that drinking water after a massage is also important because it helps flush out those toxins from the body. Schmieding specializes in full body massages or what most recognize as a Swedish massage. If you are having lower back pain, she will perform a Swedish massage or deep tissue massage to help relieve the pain but spend more time on your lower back or wherever it is you are experiencing pain. Another form of massage therapy that she performs is Reflexology. Reflexes and pressure points in your feet and hands that can have a direct effect on other parts of your body. "Applying massage therapy to pressure points in the feet and hands can effect changes in other parts of the body, improving circulation and relieving tension," she said. Although she acknowledges the benefits of someone regularly massaging your back or shoulders there are definite differences and advantages between a licensed therapist and someone who is not. "A licensed therapist will know why your muscle is tight and the other parts of your body that muscle is affecting," Schmieding explained. "Some muscles are superficial but others are deeper and require different techniques. Your superficial muscles may be relaxed but the deeper ones are tight and only a licensed therapist is going to know that." According to Schmieding, your hands are the only affective tool when it comes to performing a massage. "Some therapists might use tools but I only use my hands," she said. "It's important to only use the hands because you get the feeling of what is going on in the person's body. You can feel the muscle, whereas if you use some kind of tool you have an object between you and the client. When you are working on a muscle, you can feel when it releases." Magic Hands Massage is open Monday - Thursday. Schmieding will give you the best massage ever as attested to by some of her clients: "I've been getting a massage for more than a year and I have never felt this relaxed before." For more information please call 350-8398 or email Mary Ann Schmieding at matcs4@hotmail.com.
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