Taking time for a Massage

 

This blog begins on a tangent, though brings in some aspects that could apply to massage.

There is Parkinson’s ‘law’, which is more of an adage really. This is from Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909-1983), a British naval historian, and says that ‘work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion’.  Which is worse – having too much to do, or too little to do? There are other similar sayings, some bringing in algebraic formulae. We won’t go into those here, you’ll be glad to know!

 

The masseur could be doing the ‘work’, and it could be that leisure, such as having a massage, waxing, liposuction, etc, will expand so as to fill the time available in your treatment session(s). Or if ‘time goes quickly when one is enjoying oneself’, it may seem as though the time goes faster than you think.

 

It’s good to leave enough time for things, even if it’s make time for things, whatever one’s daily matters may be. Some examples are: time in and out of part time or full time jobs; tending to family; getting children to and from school; going shopping; visiting relatives; and countless other things.

 

If not setting enough time, one may under-estimate the minutes or hours that some tasks may take. This can lead to stressful situations. We cannot really multi-task in the sense of doing one thing with one’s left hand while trying to do something else with one’s right hand at the same time.

It can be that we, as people, co-operate with time, though time is not a living entity. Neither can we go back or forward in time, unless one has a time-travelling machine or Tardis! Though a part of Horsell Common, by the Muslim Burial Ground, was the inspiration for ‘War of the Worlds’. It’s quite atmospheric and a bit spooky there.

 

Pass by that way if you wish, if you come along for a massage or other treatment. Aim to spend some time enjoyably, and based on what you are able to afford. One can capture each moment of it with hopefully pleasant experiences, and happy reflections or musings on it.

 

 

Beneficial Massage

 

The fees that are charged for massage or other treatments by masseurs are one type of capital. This also appears in accounting records.

There is social capital, which is a type of capital relating to society, interactions between people, etc, of a beneficial nature. We may be practising it without even knowing of the term. 

It is shown in examples such as opening a door for someone; returning a lost item to someone; giving someone directions; loaning something, not necessarily always financially, without a contract. 

These and many other things may be between people we may or may not know. If the term sounds a bit business-like, we could say it means being kind, helpful, loving one another, even in the simplest ways.

 

The ‘capital’ part, in a simplified and informal way, though dated, can be in saying ‘That’s splendid. Capital!’ That may sound a bit high-brow, or as an alternative to ‘How jolly’ or ‘How spiffing!’ It is used to express approval, satisfaction, or delight, all of which you will hopefully experience in a massage.

Massage can contribute to social capital, and our response to it, or to other treatments such as waxing, threading, liposuction, etc, may not be of upper-class expression, such as ‘spiffing’ or ‘top-hole’, but of ‘excellent’, ‘first-rate’, etc, which are equivalent meanings.

 

One could expand on the ‘language’ of capital, such as investing time and money in massage or other treatment, and of reaping rewards such as having positive experiences.

The masseur will be interested in the financial type of capital but will promote social capital also. You won’t be just clients from whom a business wishes to take money, though of course a massage service is a business.

There will be the ‘people-person’ aspect also, of any worthwhile masseur. You will get your ‘money’s worth’ and will hopefully benefit holistically in areas of body, soul, and spirit – a somewhat frequent claim in recent blogs, but true. Not that masseurs and therapists claim this is so with no back-up, as there are testimonials from clients which show and comment on the positive benefits.

 

Come along sometime, or for another visit, to see for yourself, and have a massage or whatever you may wish to socially capitalise on, i.e. take the chance to gain advantage or benefit from.

Positive Peacefulness with Massage

You can see your friendly masseur under ‘Surrey Family Mediation’, though not doing massage there, of course! If it was appropriate, if someone seemed stressed in mediation, he might take an opportunity to mention that he does massage too, and give the person(s) his business card – maybe!

A comment on the mediation site refers to Daniel as kind and peaceful. You would (or have) hopefully find this so. Whether you met him for mediation, massage, or both. As a client, I find that those qualities are conveyed in massage sessions. I hope you too have found (or may find in the future) that this is true.

It is surely difficult if we were to come for a treatment in a strained and stressed atmosphere. If unkind, you might be treated as an object or thing.

 Also, negative, as well as positive ‘vibes’, if we call them that, can be ‘transmitted’ in some way. If negative, it could make treatment sessions not go as well as we wish them to go. If positive, it can be a truly enjoyable experience as you relax in the session for massage, or suitably relaxed for treatments involving a bit of pain. Just a little! Though with sports massage, waxing, etc, it is aimed to keep pain at a minimum.

But there is genuine co-operation and interest shown to you as a person. I unhappily had a non-massage situation where a professional seemed to find me tiresome, and as if to say in so many words ‘That’s it, time is up, end of your appointment; it’s the end of a busy week for me, don’t you know?’ You might guess that I parted company from him, as in ‘And it’s goodbye from me permanently!’

 In some things we may persist with more than one attempt. Hopefully you will enjoy the ambience, pleasantness, every good thing towards your well-bring, of a first visit for massage or other treatment, or continue to enjoy it if you are a returning client.

 Come along for massage or whatever treatment as you wish.

Is Massage Cool?

 

Written from a layman’s, not a scientist’s background.

You may be cooled in some massage services, though not in a cryosauna, as in a previous blog. Or you may be warmed sometime, depending somewhat on what treatment you have, such as hot stone or hot oil massage.

You can be ‘cool’ physically and culturally. One example is in painting your roof, or outside of your house or block of flats. It will then be albedo – from the Latin for ‘white’.

This can help, in the complexities and intricacies of tending to climate change, where it is considered that urban albedo, or whitening, can offset climate change, in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3%. Then again, snow is truly ‘the white stuff’, as some research shows it to be 0.85% white. I don’t know what makes up the other 0.15% of it.

The 1.3% reduction may not seem a lot, though if water levels rise only 0.5mm per year, that is a lot of water for all the oceans, seas, rivers, etc. of the globe.

It will be worth you coming along for a treatment, even if you might feel you contribute only 1.3%, as it were, to the masseur’s ‘trade’, e.g. not able to make many visits for one reason or another.

The whiteness helps in reflecting the sun’s energy, whereas darker surfaces absorb it more. Wear lighter coloured clothing too, to stay cool, and when you have super massage, in the warm or warm-ish Spring, and warmer Summer – we hope!

There are some seemingly odd things relating to climate change. Here are a couple of examples. One is to cover 1.5% of the Earth’s surface in a perfectly reflective mirror, to balance out doubling of carbon dioxide emissions. Another is to cover the Sahara Desert in silver foil to reflect more of the Sun’s energy!

You won’t be required to do odd things in your treatments, but look in a mirror afterwards if having an aesthetic treatment such as waxing or threading, to see wonderful results, we trust.  Also, maybe make a start, covering your garden sand-pit, if you have one, with foil when not in use. There is method in the seeming madness.

 Come along for a massage or other treatment. You choose the method, selecting what treatment you wish.

Do you have time for a Massage?

 

Do you have time for a massage?

While researching this, we came across a German physiologist called Karl von Vierordt, who lived 1818-1884:

 

He developed what has come to be known as Vierordt’s Law: a short duration of time tends to be overestimated, e.g. ‘you’ve only 5 minutes left in this short massage session’, while a long duration of time tends to be underestimated, e.g. ‘you’ve still got 30 minutes left in this long massage session’.

This relates to the duration we perceive or estimate in doing something, compared to the actual duration in doing it. It can also vary depending on how easy or difficult a task may be, e.g. ‘that’s a snip, it will take me 5 minutes’, when it may take more time actually; and ‘that’s a whole lot of work, it will take me hours’, when it may take us less time actually.

We may find, as in massage, that time goes quickly when we’re enjoying ourselves, as the saying goes, and we may find things ‘easy’ in this case. 

Yet we may have a treatment such as a Sports Massage requiring more pressure and which may be uncomfortable. We may not enjoy this as such though it will be beneficial, even if we find it ‘difficult’ and the time may seem to go slowly. 

Vierordt was involved with medicine, and created the sphygmograph: 

This is a contraption used to estimate blood pressure. It is taken to be the forerunner of the modern sphygmomanometer: 

Come and have a massage or other treatment. Whatever amount of time you may book. It will, we trust, be time well spent.

 

How do your Senses improve a Massage?

 

We shall use our senses in massage or other treatments, as well as using them wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

This is not a repeat of the blog of 31 August 2021: ‘Just A Minute. Or Two’, though it could be sub-titled ‘Just A Minutiae’. In some psychological and medical research it was found that our sense of hearing causes the fastest response time in humans. 

Then it is the senses of sight and touch, followed by the senses of taste and smell being the slowest response times. It is minutiae and splitting hairs terribly, as our reaction time with any of the senses is less than one second. One could think of Internet searches, and about 5 million results found in 0.65 seconds, for example. By the way, you will find Daniel’s massage services at the top of the list hopefully!

The sense of touch is often the most recognised sense in massage or other treatments, though all the senses may be involved in varying degrees. So taking the order of the ‘speed’ of senses as above, we may not, and need not, experience each of them in this exact order. 

As an example, whether hypothetical, or real, we may first sense any background music that we may have in a massage. Then actually see the masseur and the surroundings, and experience touch. Though of course we shall see the masseur firstly, upon our arrival. 

Then use senses of smell with any fragrant candles, oils, etc, and possibly taste, in having a glass of water, if water has any taste!

As I said earlier, with the reaction times of our senses, we react to each of them within one second. You won’t need a stop-watch measuring hundredths of a second, nor even whole seconds, to time your sense reactions! Well, not unless you are counting every second of your appointment time. That’s extending the blog of 31 August 2021 a bit (as above), but going to extremes.

 A lot of it happens subconsciously. You won’t be fiddling with watches, but having enjoyable massage or other treatment as you choose.

 

 

Is a Massage Stressful?

 

What might go on within, inside of you, when you have a massage? How might stress be part of this, for good?

There appears to be ‘good’ stress, as in eustress – also see the ‘Eu’ blog of 18 May 2021. This is from the Greek eu=good, as in, e.g. euphoria. There is also ‘bad’ stress, as in distress, from the Latin dis=bad. 

We need not be Greek or Latin scholars with this, thankfully. An endocrinologist, Hans Selye (1907-1982) researched stress. See the blog of 18 August 2021 for ‘endo’ and ‘exo’ prefix explanations.

It seems that stress of whatever sort has some effect, or affect, or both, on us from within ourselves. This is somehow expressed outwardly in some way or ways, whether consciously or unconsciously. The stress may also sometimes be depressed in us, causing us to feel, as its description, depressed. Not that stress is the only cause of depression. Or stress may be suppressed, or repressed (repression is deeper than suppression).

 Also, in cells making up our human bodies, there are electrical charges. Some are positive and some are negative. See also blog of 24 February 2021 of some electrical matters in this context.

 For a massage or other treatment, we do not need to understand all that may go on inside of us when we have treatments. 

We may know of some of the more well-known bodily chemicals such as serotonin, called the ‘happy hormone’ or ‘feel-good hormone’ which is released in us. 

This will be so when, for example, you have a massage. You will hopefully feel good, though not needing to know all about the why or how or whatever of it, the ‘whatever’ maybe being the literal ins-and-outs of it.

 

Just a Minute. Or Two

 

Written by a customer of Daniel Beauty.

 

We all know ‘Every little helps’, whether we dash off to Tesco or not. We may also know ‘Every minute counts’ in various contexts. including massage.

But – oh no! – looking up one massage service in my local area, not Woking, it shall remain anonymous so as not to give it poor publicity. The details showed pricing as more expensive than Daniel  Beauty, and time before and after the actual treatment showed as 5 to 10 minutes included in the session booked, depending on what treatment is required, e.g. you get 50 or 55 minutes treatment, but pay for 60 minutes. Though at least this is explained beforehand.

 

It’s disappointing to read, and then possibly say ‘Oh, I didn’t realise preparation time was included in the sessions’. Also, it’s sneaky to shave off a minute or two before and/or after an actual treatment. In these cases you won’t be experiencing your full shave, waxing, or whatever treatment you have. It will have been shaved off time-wise though!

 This seems poor practice. It never happens at Daniel Beauty, and there are probably many other places too where it never happens. But every minute definitely counts, with, to spell out the costs, the rate in some cases being over £1 per minute. It is necessary nitty-gritty. We wouldn’t bother about 5 minutes if it only cost 5 pence!

 

Anyway, it advertised as "preperation" time, whatever that is! You want the best, and will hopefully find, or have found, Daniel and other colleagues at the same venue now and again, of excellent repute, as you enjoy your full allocation of the minutes you book. 

You won’t find any minutes ‘unjust’, in the sense of them being non-existent due to having less than your full time, so you won’t be short-changed for your massage either.

What makes you desire a Massage?

 

This is not a discourse on making sure you attend your massage appointments or give enough time if you need to cancel them. But please read on!

In part of the brain’s workings there is Selective Attention. It is, in simple terms, the ability to select certain things to give attention to in daily life.

This can be endogenous, ‘from within’. An example is that when we feel hungry, have empty tummy rumbles, etc, from within ourselves, and give our attention to preparing a burger or whatever we choose to eat.  Or it can be exogenous, ‘from outside’. An example is that we see an advertisement for burgers, or other food, and give our attention to that, though we may not be hungry at the time.

 This could apply to massage. If we feel like, wish for, or desire a massage or other treatment, we act endogenously, and may make an appointment with a masseur.  If we see advertisements, videos, etc, of massage or other treatments, we act in an exogenous way. The images remind us of massage, and so we may make an appointment, though not having previously been thinking about massage.

Thankfully we don’t have to consciously trace whether we are acting endogenously or exogenously each time. The endogenous, ’from within’ things may happen more consciously, where we use our wills, make decisions, choices, etc. The exogenous, ‘from outside’ things may happen more subconsciously, where we had not been previously, thinking, mulling over, etc.

 Whether endogenous or exogenous, where your selective attention may turn to massage or other treatments, come along for another visit. Of course, you don’t have to know and understand all the workings of the brain (phew!) of which this is but one area. 

We hope you will be ‘selective’, maybe including being choosy, preferential, what takes your fancy, wanting more of a good thing, etc, and give ‘attention’ to Daniel’s massage services.

The perfect Massage

 

We may come across people, hopefully not very often, who may not be as ‘people-people’, or as heard more in the singular, ‘people-person’. This could apply in various areas, such as employment, education or socially. Though socially you may not want such people in your mix of friends, and they would be unfriendly anyway.

With relating to employment, if you unhappily have a manager or worse, more than one, who is not a ‘people-person’, there can be a tendency that employees are treated as things or objects, and hardly as human beings. If assertive enough, we may say ‘Look, it’s me; I am human; I am here; I exist’.

 

In the area of massage and other treatments, customers or clients are surely seen as human, and there is friendly interacting and relating between masseur and customers.

There is always the risk if there is a feedback option after customers have experienced a service, from whatever customer service we may have experienced, masseur or non-masseur. 

A masseur (or other business) can trust they have given and done their best for customers. The feedback is then hopefully seen in testimonials, positive comments, by word of mouth, online, etc, that are wonderful, glowing, ‘all good stuff’ sort of things.

If, for example, there are star ratings that customers can give, it can be detrimental or even disastrous if not maintaining a 5-star level. Some customers may think a little less of a service if it has even a 4.9 average. Sometimes it is entirely variable though. 

A customer may give a 1 rating, and some other customers may give a 4 or 5 rating, knowing from experience it is at least better than a 1. But no-one wants to receive any zeros! Though in all this, there does not HAVE to be feedback. Some business may not ‘do feedback’ for whatever reasons.

 Your massage or other treatment may be 100% perfect – we hope it is! But it will be good, we trust,  whatever you have, as you can read in our Massage testimonials. 

 

Can a Massage help with my aches and pains?

 In life, though this is not a thesis on the human condition, there may be various ailments, maladies, troubles, etc. These may be of body, soul, or spirit, or a mixture of these, as human beings. Aches and pains, troubles, illnesses, etc, may be short-term, medium-term or long-term. Some may be temporary and some may be permanent.

Massage and other treatments can play a role in helping to alleviate adverse or negative conditions we may have, whether to remove them partially or completely. It may depend on each individual, their openness to particular treatments. Or it may be just massage or whatever treatment for a treat, luxury, or pampering of oneself.

 

When we do not have something for a while, whatever duration of time we may be without it, it is sometimes only at those times that we miss it.

Though we might not have intentionally taken things for granted, but had been in a settled and agreeable state when we did not have it, e.g. we may have enjoyed good health, but then had some ache or pain that we did not always have, or never had before. But now we find we have the ache or pain, for some reason or cause, that may be known only to ourselves, or not know why we have it.

In this area, massage or other services provided by a masseur can hopefully be of genuine help to bring ease, freedom, lessening of troubles, etc. Or just to bring peace, relaxation, and pleasantness, if not affected by anything adverse or negative. 

There is a phrase ‘captatio benevolentiae’, meaning ‘seeking of good will’. We can recognise ‘benevolent’ in part of this phrase. This can surely apply to massage and related treatments that clients experience. Come along to experience it for a first visit, or for your ten thousandth visit - high hopes that you’ll find it that good!

 

Contemplating Completion for Massage

 Are you contemplating a massage treatment, or a completion of a treatment you may have started? If so, it will be completed after the required number of sessions, or in some cases after a one-off session.

We can think of Franz Schubert. How does he link with massage?! See pictures of him, age 30, without spectacles; and age 28, with spectacles, painted by separate artists. 

He lived 1797-1828, and was the author of The Unfinished Symphony, which he started. What happened? He only composed two of the usual four movements of this Symphony. Admittedly, he developed an illness, and only had a short life, dying at nearly age 32. Though when writing this Symphony he lived on for a further six years afterwards.

 

Symphony (a little Greek again!) is derived from symphonia, with one meaning being ‘agreement or concord of sound’. Symphonia is derived from symphonos, meaning ‘harmonious’.

You will hopefully experience all these in your massage treatment – agreement, concord, harmony. It won’t be that things are left unfinished, but that you will progress to completion, satisfaction, well-being – whatever your musical preferences!

Massages during the Covid Pandemic

 

Hopefully now that massage will continue with its momentum again, we may come for a massage or other treatment ‘for business or for pleasure’ purposes, as it were. Whatever the reasons, we can surely find sessions as enjoyable experiences.

If for pleasure, it may be a seasonal or non-seasonal treat, just to relax in the atmosphere and surroundings; to be calmed in body, soul, or spirit, or in all three of these. It can be giving oneself some time-out, plus helping the masseurs ‘trade’ at the same time.

After a hopefully pleasant time, one will be full of praise and admiration for the masseur, though not to the extent of flattery, which may get us nowhere! Yet one may have no hesitation in recommending the masseur to others, and so give him/her positive publicity. This causes two-way benefit, to clients and to the masseur.

Then one may look forward to more of the same, or other variations on massage or other treatments. 

Come along, try a first session, or another session, finding release or at least easing of any stresses and strains, particularly with the various ways that Covid has affected you over the past, or at present, or in uncertainties of the future. 

Not that it claims to be a magic wand waved over the situation, but massage and the other treatments doing what they can to contribute to health and well-being, as some of the many good things in life.

Why should I have a Massage?

In the hustle and bustle often of everyday life, if you get a chance, make time for a massage. It can be beneficial and therapeutic.

It can be true that there are experiences and feelings beyond the literal ‘surface’ massage, where one can relax and be eased of strains and stresses. 

These could be psychosomatic - something of the body affecting the soul or spirit, or vice versa, where aches and pains of the body may be due to some strain or tension within. These can arise from the soul or spirit, in the complexity of each human being.

So a hands-on massage can ease surface tensions, and also more deep-seated matters. The peace, comfort, good feelings, etc, of a good massage can be retained after the actual massage session, or at least to some extent.

It helps to give oneself enough time, and to plan around the massage appointment, such as not being heavily dependent on time constraints. For example, if dashing off immediately after the massage to catch a bus or train, making a tight schedule for oneself, it could mean that the beneficial aspects of the massage are soon lost. This is a pity, as something positive, healing, helpful will likely have taken place during the massage or hopefully not too long after it.

It may be that a masseur has ‘healing hands’, though this is not only a one-way thing, if we do believe he/she has healing hands. 

There is also the client’s receptivity too, and their openness for the massage to be, to a good degree, what they wish it to be. 

They can bring their expectations to the massage session, and so find it as a two-way process between the masseur and the client, in co-operation, so covering psychological (soul, spirit) as well as physiological (body) aspects, for a truly wholesome massage.

Marcio: Beauty Therapist Qualifications

Here is a very proud Marcio with his new Waxing and Massage qualifcations:

Marcio has an ITEC Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy, a VTCT Level 3 Certificate in Swedish Massage, a VTCT Level 2 Certificate in Wax Depilation and a VTCT Level 3 Advanced Waxing Techniques from Omni Beauty in Walton-on-Thames.

Marcio has been a Beauty Therapist since 2014.

Will having a massage help my back pain?

Have you ever gone to you GP suffering from a bad back and then just been sent home and told to rest and take painkillers?

I bet you - or someone you know - has had just that!

By just relaxing at home, you are getting relief from the pain but not actually treating the cause of the pain

                                Good Masseur also required 

Lower back pain is such a common condition - almost always caused by bad posture - but so many people put up with it for years, without realising there is another way.

And that other ways is Massage.

Lower back pain can become a chronic condition which will cause you a lot of unnecessary suffering if you don't get treatment.

                                    Towels are provided

So how can a Massage help your back pain?

Massage can help you to relax

Massage can lengthen your shortened muscles that cause the pain in the lower back,

And you won't need painkillers!

Would you like to become a male Beauty Therapist?

Recently Marcio and I did our Level 3 Intimate Male Waxing practicals at Omni Academy of Beauty in Walton-on-Thames (formerly ISIS Beauty - I can't think why they wanted to change their name!)

Anyway, we got talking about the lack of potential male beauty therapists. And how few men are interested in training to do male waxing, male massage, facials etc.

The academy wanted to know how to attract more would-be beauty therapists to their training courses. As there are so few male beauty therapists in the industry - and few men go beauty salons - maybe there is a huge potential for growth. Or maybe men are just not interested.

Or maybe salons should change their marketing to be less feminine and be re-branded as Grooming Parlours (unless that sounds too much like it's intended for dogs!)

Maybe it is just a difficult cycle to break. Lack of male therapists means the salons can't attract male clients. Lack of male clients means there is no work for male therapists. How do we break this cycle?

And if young men don't apply for courses like this, how do we get them to even consider it?

Here at Daniel Beauty we are doing well - and maybe that is just due to a lack of competition in for male waxing in Surrey.
 

How massage can help with neck pain

Neck pain is a general term to describe any pain felt in the neck and surrounding area. The cause of the pain will vary from person to person as will the type of pain felt. Many people who work on computers all day and other things that can put pressure on the neck as one of the most common causes.


If your neck pain is caused by stress on the neck then you may want to make changes to your lifestyle to reduce the pressure on the area. In addition there are a large number of alternative therapies that can help with neck pain. For example you could consider body work therapies like swedish massage, indian head massage and shiatsu massage.

Daniel
http://www.danielbeauty.co.uk/

Our new Phone Number

We now have a new Woking phone number for our home massage and male waxing salon should you wish to use it.

It is:

       01483 779997

If you don't get to speak to me you may get to speak to my Marketing Manager/Receptionist Ricky:

My mobile still works though so you can still use that

07902 716499

How good are my competitors for Massage in Surrey?

From time to time when I get the chance I like to check out my competition for massage, Laser Lipo and male waxing in Surrey.

I know there are a few other home-based male masseurs in Woking – I even have one of them work for me from time to time. But this latest foray into checking out other beauty therapists was prompted by Groupon offers.

(As an aside Groupon does not allow me to participate as I am home-based; I looked into it to give discounts for my Laser Lipo treatments but the business must have a registered business address – although I don’t really know why.)

The first of visits to check out massage in Surrey was in Weybridge. I thought that this one would be fantastic – it is Weybridge after all. Not so. They had looked at installing fish pedicure tanks and the place was awash as they had gone wrong and half the floor had come up.

The massage I received was pathetic. In fact I wouldn’t call it a massage – some young girl just rubbed oil on my back and asked – in the way that is normally associated with hairdressers who ask you if you are going away anywhere nice this year – “do you often get back massages”. Hmm. Yes. But obviously not today.

To read about my experience of a massage in Woking click on my next blog.