Joyfully Checking In

Hello Treasured,
I pray this finds you and yours are doing well and staying safe in these current times. Whether you are in a position of being temporarily laid off, telecommuting, isolation, or in a position of working as normal; I know the entire world feels upside down right now.
As you are aware, per Oregon’s Executive Order 20-12, Healing Treasures Massage is currently closed to appointments in order to ethically participate in lessening the curve of this virus. The collateral fall out being that with all of the stress and changes, you are probably feeling that chronic ache and stiffness creep in. It is an unfortunate present circumstance for sure. I care deeply about your health and well being, and personally I greatly miss being part of your wellness and self care journey. To help in that avenue, if you have not subscribed to my business facebook page, may I invite you to do so. You can find me by typing this into the search 
@HealingTreasuresMassageTherapy
 I will be posting helps and tips and checking in every couple of days while we are encouraged to shelter in place. If there is a specific aid or technique that you would like help with, please let me know and I will see what I can do. We all deserve to feel good and as mobile as possible in our bodies.
Some of you have asked about purchasing Healing Treasures Massage gift certificates for future appointments. I know the finances of these days can be weighted, but if you feel you would like to do that now to provide for later, then it would be a huge blessing on your end as well as mine. To that aspect, I have activated a convenient "Gift Certificate" button on my web page. You can access it by going here:
HealingTreasuresMassageTherapy.com 
I also want to share the beautiful information that I have placed below in this letter. A wonderful colleague of mine wrote this out and I think it is a great reminder of the things we need.
Skin hunger is a real thing and can lead to increased feelings of anxiety and depression as well as other health concerns. We produce a hormone called oxytocin that relieves stress and makes us feel good. The easiest way to get oxytocin is from safe skin on skin contact. Even a friendly handshake can create a spike of this hormone, but hugs produce even more. Other ways of creating this feel-good hormone can be:
*Petting and snuggling your pet. Don’t have a pet, but always wanted the free time to train/acclimate one? The Oregon Humane Society, the Pixie Project, and other nonprofits would love for you to contact them!
*Taking a hot shower or bath, then taking the time to put on lotion/cream afterwards.  Not just a luxury, lotions help us maintain a healthy barrier to minimize entrance of pathogens (remember 6th-grade Science class? The biggest organ in the body is the skin).
*Eating a warm meal. Why the focus on warm? From Eastern medicine, we learn that warm foods can dispel the influences of “damp" and “cold" (lots of this in cooped-up stressful times).
*Laughter. Watch your favorite “funnies" with ZERO guilt. It’s now medically necessary!
*Seeing pictures of fond memories. Memory can be stored at the cellular level, releasing pleasant memories can alter our physical experience.
*Giving and sharing of ourselves—financially to a nonprofit, if you can, yet also offering a smile and wave to a stranger as we keep our social distance on walking paths/at the pharmacy/etc., can have a mood-boosting effect for both the recipient *and* you! It’s called the feel-good hormone for a reason. So, even though we cannot touch, we can connect to others and ourselves, to feel a little bit better.
*Fresh air and movement. If pain and disability is not allowing you to “take a hike", put on your favorite music and wiggle your toes, your ankles, wave your hands, shift your hips (even in your seat!). Open a window. Sit on your patio, if you have one. If you do have the ability to move (slowly, quickly, no one’s judging), get out there! While social distancing, of course…
As always, I am here for you. I pray encouraged joy for you and I know we will weather through all of this.  Be safe, be well, and know you are always treasured.

Yours,
Julie Haugen
LMT 24125
Healing Treasures Massage LLC
[email protected]