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Pia Poulsen

Pia Poulsen is educated as a wellness massage therapist at Institut FIGARI in Paris, from where she passed her certification exam in January 2008. Since then she has expanded her skills to become the first Advanced LaStone® practitioner in France as well as a certified LaStone® instructor.
Pia Poulsen has written 184 posts for Massage and Wellness

Cocooning – relaxing with stones

What I call Cocooning is within LaStone called Castle-building. I think Cocooning better covers what it is actually about. To be cocooned within stones and emerge revitalized and relaxed after the treatment. It is in essence a very simple treatment that even children can receive and be part of. Heated stones, and cold ones as … Continue reading »

Effects of hot and cold

Physiotherapists and medical professionals have long used both hot and cold for treating injuries and pains. Sports people apply cold packs on muscles after heavy exercise, they use hot packs to reduce tightness and pain in muscles. Hot and cold is a very effective treatment method of muscles and the body. The effects of heat: … Continue reading »

What is LaStone Therapy

LaStone Therapy is the original hot and cold stone massage. It is a massage and therapy form that includes the use of hot and cold stones, both passively and actively. Some stones are placed to heat and cool muscles, while other stones are used as a massage tool instead of the hands. The stones do … Continue reading »

Massage oils blends

Image by Taunaki via Flickr I use different massage oils depending on who I massage and what extra effects I want added to my massage. Sometimes I mix oils specifically for one client. Most often though, I use one of my standard blends and from session to session pick the one I feel will be … Continue reading »

Renew yourself

Image via Wikipedia As a massage therapist, but this is true for all people, it’s important to renew yourself and regularly learn new skills. If you don’t undertake these challenges, there’s a risk of your life growing stale as well as your craft. It’s healthy for your mind to expand and grow your expertise. Not … Continue reading »

Clothed massage

Image via Wikipedia It’s easy to get the impression that you need to undress in order to receive a massage. This is not true. It’s perfectly possible to receive a good and also therapeutic massage even if you’re clothed. The massage techniques used are somewhat different, and the experience will be another compared to a … Continue reading »

Breathing

Image via Wikipedia When you use the chest instead of with the stomach (diaphragm) to breathe, you can cause trigger points and tensions the upper chest and back. This can result in headaches, numbness and pains in chest, arm, shoulder and hand. For instance the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by tensions … Continue reading »

Communication

Image by BIJI KURIAN via Flickr When you receive a massage it’s important to communicate with the therapist. Let her know if there’s something that’s not to your liking or you’d like changed. It’s very tempting to just let go, float away and not bother saying what you like and don’t like. But by not … Continue reading »

Improving your massage

The aim of a massage is to make the recipient relax so the muscles can be normalized and stress leave the body and mind. There are several things that you can do to improve your massage. Move slowly. Keep in mind that you want the other person to relax completely, so slow smooth non-jerking movements, … Continue reading »

Massage and waste products

As massage therapists we’re taught that massage releases toxins and that we have to recommend our clients to drink plenty of water so those toxins can be washed out. But when you do research, it’s hard to find specific studies supporting this notion, if you define toxins as poisons in your body. What you can … Continue reading »

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