Mothers Day

By: Maggie Palmer

The modern Mother's Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in May, as a day to honor mothers and motherhood. It was nationally recognized in the United States as a holiday in 1914 after a campaign by Anna Jarvis. In some countries, it follows the old traditions of Mothering Sunday. Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the concept in 1910, after listening to one of the early Mother's Day sermons.

Mother’s Day has now become a day that sneaks up on you- when most people run to the store at the last minute to grab a non descript card with the impersonal words of “You’ve done so much for me Mother, today I say I love you,” and other typical Hallmark greetings. But the bigger picture of Mother’s Day is taking the time to say I love you to the mother figure in your life in your own unique way. Whether it is your wife, your mother, grandmother, or other female figure in your life that represents to you a “mother.”

Our New Venture at Portland International Airport

We've gotten off to a great start at the new airport location!

Passengers are very excited to have a beautiful oasis to take a break during their travels. We hear people exclaim every day as they walk by "Wow, a spa! What a great idea!" It's been gratifying to see what a difference even a short treatment can make in the day of a stressed out traveler. Our clients have enjoyed our abbreviated menu including chair, foot, scalp, hand, swedish, deep tissue and head, neck and shoulder massage. We also offer facials, waxing, foot baths and scrubs. Sometimes we even have people who don't have enough time for a full treatment just sit for a few minutes with a hot neck pack and some tea. It's been a real blessing to be able to provide people with even that small amount of relief from what can be a very trying experience for so many. It's also been fun to have such a variety of guests come through our doors everyday.

In addition to the services we offer we also a great selection of retail products in the spa. We have a wide range of carefully selected herbs and supplements for the health of travelers. We also carry Livia facial products, Giovanni body care, Pacifica candles and body products and much more! We're having a blast settling into our new airport home and encourage you to come visit us the next time you are flying out of PDX!

- Traci Herb (PDX Spa Director) and Rachel Camp (PDX Assistant Spa Director)

The Benefits of Massage on our Minds and Bodies

By: Maggie Palmer

I recently had lunch with Heather, most recently the Marketing Director at The Dragontree, who will be taking on more of a part time role at The Dragontree in order to continue her scholastic studies. As we discussed passing the torch to me to handle the marketing and PR for this lovely spa, I asked her, "why do you love your job, and why do you love massage? What is the fundamental message I need to know to promote this amazing spa to our community?" Heather shared with me a very personal story about her experience of bringing peace and pain relief to a dear friend who was dying of cancer a few years ago, and it made me stop and realize that a spa day to a healthy person is relaxing and luxurious. But to some, a massage can be life changing, with health benefits we can only begin to imagine. Though her friend did eventually succumb to the disease, Heather told me it was an amazing experience to bring peace and relief to her friend through gentle touch in her final days.

We all know we live in a stress-worn world, and understand the amazing relief we feel after an all over body massage. This is because our body and mind communicate with each other, which means mental stress manifests itself as physical tension. Some people don't even know they're stressed until it comes out in a physical symptom such as a headache, a twitching muscle or eye lid or something similar. The calm we feel after a massage is not just the muscles relaxing, but our emotions and mind calming as well. People who receive regular massages experience decreased anxiety, depression and fatigue. This is because gentle forms of massage can affect the nervous system and help to release endorphins, or your body's natural "feel good" chemicals.

As Heather demonstrated on my hand by gently moving her two fingers in an upward motion from the back of my hand, up my wrist and toward my elbow, even a simple touch like this is beneficial to relieving pain due to clogged lymph nodes, which is the relief she brought to her friend. A more rigorous massage tells the body to release endorphins that induce relaxation and reduce the body's production of stress hormones. The reason I have the utmost respect for the therapists who work at The Dragontree is because they are experts in their field. They know what our bodies need, in terms of massage and touch, better than we know ourselves.

Studies have shown that massage helps alleviate the pains of not only cancer patients, but many other diseases as well, including arthritis, gastrointestinal problems, premenstrual syndrome symptoms and the aches and pains of pregnancy. New studies indicate Alzheimer's patients and kids with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also benefit from massage.

Massage does much more than relieve everyday stress, and studies continue to prove it. As a community, we will continue to look to the experts at The Dragontree not only for a day of pampering or an hour of bliss, but to ease our aches and pains, center our minds, and help us live a more stress free life.

 

National Yoga Month

Every month seems to have its theme, and in this case, September is National Yoga Month. It's also National Coupon Month and Mold Awareness Month, among such other notable events as Labor Day and Patriot Day. But Yoga is likely the only one recognized as an official health observance.

Yoga Month is about much more than Yoga alone. The purpose is to raise awareness about healthy living and taking responsibility for your own health. Yoga is a great way to learn about your body and it also helps reduce stress, increase flexibility, and improve brain function. Plus, anyone who practices yoga or has even taken a single class can tell you it makes you feel good and alert all day. Yoga, as most of us know, aims to unite the mind, body, and spirit.

Yogis view the mind and the body as one, and believe that given the right tools and taken to the right environment; the mind can find harmony and heal itself. This is why Yoga is considered therapeutic. It helps you become more aware of your body's posture, alignment and patterns of movement. This leads to more energy, a happier outlook and a more relaxed way of dealing with life’s every day stresses. For those of us who can’t get a wonderful massage every day, yoga provides a kind of internal massage for our organs and gets us back in touch with ourselves. Yoga is a science that has been practiced for thousands of years. The ancient teachings talk about the health benefits that are now being acknowledged by modern medicine. Yoga, combined with healthy eating and regular sleep patterns, will do wonders to reduce stress and make you more productive in everyday life.

So in celebration of September as National Yoga Month, breath a little slower, stretch a little longer, and give your body some much deserved love by practicing a little yoga this month, and always.

- Maggie Palmer