FREE Bach Flower Remedies with Your Massage

Hi there! Michelle - massage therapist, naturopath and qigong instructor - is running a sweet deal at the moment. Through Wednesday, 31 July, every massage with Michelle comes with a complementary Bach flower remedy!

Just book your appointment at least a day before the time you want, and Michelle will prepare one of the popular homeopathic remedies for you. Bach flower remedies were developed in the 1930s by Edward Bach, an English bacteriologist, pathologist and homeopath. These dilutions of flower material provide healing support for a number of conditions. If you have any questions about their use, just ask Michelle during your session. She also has the Suzanne Auberts Maori Rongo - NZ native bush herbal extracts for sale.

P.S. Michelle's five-week qigong course starts on Thursday, 4 July!

Helping Your Body Remember: Reconnective Healing with Algernon Williams

You may already know Algernon Williams as a great massage therapist, energy healer and coach. But he also offers a form of energy work known as Reconnective Healing. Here, in Al's words, is a taste of what it has to offer.


Your body knows how to thrive. It knows how to heal and how to be at peace. However, it's all too easy to override this innate knowledge with the hustle and bustle of modern life. The deadlines, long hours and often competitive nature of our lives all tell us, deep inside, that the world around us is not safe and that we must be on guard.

When the body is in this fight-or-flight state, our survival instinct takes over and directs what the body needs and does. When this situation becomes chronic, when we "live" from this place, there is no energy left for healing, no attention to ease and definitely no peace of mind. Of course, this state is necessary for our survival. It is what stops us from walking in front of a bus. But when it switched on 24 hours hours a day, seven days a week, we begin to suffer for it. For many of us, even our rest times are filled with thoughts of what we've done and what we still have to do; our brain is still working and we are still in survival mode, leaving nothing for recovery and rejuvenation.

Reconnective Healing quickly takes you out of survival mode and puts you into rest-and-digest mode. This is where your body can finally relax, recover, rejuvenate and heal. This is where you thrive. At times, seemingly amazing healings can occur, but this is really a process of reconnecting to your body's natural healing mechanism. It says: "Remember this state, you can let go, there is no need to worry." As the body remembers, you naturally become less stressed about life, you feel healthier and you become more at ease.

"Work has begun to get easier and life has begun to get easier. The trivial things that would have bothered me before have become just that - trivial - and no longer have any effect on my life as I now know it." - Jeff McIntyre

If you'd like to learn more about Reconnective Healing, visit Al at Healium for a chat. He's here 8.30 am to 2 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

Michelle Wood, Healium's New Massage Therapist

A couple years ago, while on holiday in the South Island, we stayed in Hanmer Springs since we wanted to enjoy the hot springs. On our way to the facility, however, I spotted a sign advertising massage and something called "whole body harmonizing," and that sounded good to me.

I met the therapist, Michelle, and immediately liked her fun, playful manner. I chose to have a massage featuring joint articulation therapy. This involves some stretching and even spinal realignments if necessary. The experience is nothing short of amazing. There's something downright shamanic about how Michelle seemingly takes you apart and puts you back together - only much, much better. It was exactly what I needed, and I can tell you: never once have I regretted missing out on the hot springs.

Michelle and I stayed in touch, and to our great fortune she decided to move to the Big Smoke! Funny how sometimes things come full circle. And this means that now you can experience her brilliant joint therapy too. She also offers pregnancy and deep-tissue massage, as well as half-hour Indian head massages - great for a relaxing getaway. A dedicated student of she calls the "laws of life," Michelle also provides her clients with instruction in qi gong exercises.

Michelle is currently available on Wednesdays from 2 pm until late. To book a session, just email us or give us a call!

Services and Pricing at Healium

From time to time we are asked just what we offer at Healium and what these offerings cost. Fair questions. The latter is covered on our website, but we've opted not to post the former there simply to minimize updates to the website.

We also have two new offerings you should know about:

The 45-minute massage. This is a great option for you busy professionals who want some bodywork but also have tight schedules. In 45 minutes you'll receive a substantial treatment but still be able to get to Healium and back to your office in under an hour. All of our massage varieties are available in the 45-minute option. Of course, if you're not pressed for time, there's still the 60-minute option; and if you want to focus on just one area (say, upper back or calves), then the 30-minute massage is a great way to go.

The 30-minute private yoga lesson. This is a great option for the busy person who can't squeeze the scheduled classes into their lives or the perfect "touch up" to explore a specific posture or area of the body and take that information back into your regular classes. It's $65 for the half-hour lesson, with package rates available if you'd like to commit to a series of these lessons.

Here, then, is our current pricing scheme:

Yoga & Movement Classes (All Yoga classes + Chi Power + The Feldenkrais Method)

$12 drop-in for 45 min. or

• 1 class per week for 4 weeks: $40;
• 2 classes per week for 4 weeks: $72;
• 3 classes per week for 4 weeks: $96

Yoga Private Lessons | Thai Yoga Massage

$100 for 60 min. | $65 for 30 min. (packages available)

Acupuncture

$75 - initial consultation for 60 min.
$60 - follow-up session for 60 min. (ask for pricing on Qi Gong)

Breath Repatterning | Hands-on Energy Healing | Process Work

$80 for 75 min.

Massage Therapy (Deep-tissue, Pregnancy, Relaxation, Tension-release, Trigger Point Therapy, Tui Na)

$80 for 60 min. | $65 for 45 min. | $50 for 30 min.

The Feldenkrais Method - Functional Integration (One-on-One Session)

$70 for 60 min. (waged) | $60 for 60 min. (unwaged)

Flower Essences | Homeobotanical Therapy | Homeopathy | Rongoa

$80 for 60 min. | $45 for 30 min.

Intuitive Coaching

$80 for 60 min. | $65 for 45 min. | $50 for 30 min.

Prices valid 16 July 2012 until further notice.

Recipe for Relaxation: The Therapeutic Bath

Today's blog is by Jocelyn Stringer, who offers several kinds of massage - tension-release, relaxation and deep-tissue - and Reiki at Healium.

One of the best ways to relieve tension and aches is a therapeutic bath. I mean the old-fashioned type that our grandmothers used to do!

The ingredients are inexpensive and available from the supermarket. Mix together the following ingredients:

1 cup epsom salts (magnesium sulfate)

2 tablespoons sea salt

2 tablespoons baking soda

Dissolve in a deep, warm bath and soak for an hour, if possible. The secret is to have the water warm as opposed to hot. Too hot a bath makes you feel woozy and faint when you get out, not a positive experience at all. When you get out, wrap yourself in a warm towel or robe and lie down for a half hour, or longer if you can.

Regular old saltwater works pretty well, too!

If you want to make your bath extra relaxing, add some lavender essential oil. This is available from health food shops. use a maximum of 10 drops as any more can have the reverse effect! The best way to add this oil is to mix it into 2 tablespoons of milk. The milk has to contain some level of fat, as the essential oil attaches to the fat molecules in the milk and then disperses through the water instead of floating on top - as oil does.

Don't have a bathtub? Try a footbath! Just use 3 tablespoons of the epsom salts mixture in a large bowl obtainable for around $5 from a large red store near you!

Recently, I mixed up the therapeutic bath for a friend who was overcommitted with work and so stressed and run down she ended up with the 'flu. She had the bath and felt great - her only problem was that she actually fell asleep in there. Now that is real relaxation!

So, for a deeply relaxing experience - have a bath! You may become addicted . . .

Get Your Groupy On!

As part of our commitment to community, we have joined a rather exciting new one: Groupy!

Groupy is a group-voucher system that offers a new deal every day. I love a good deal, and I look out for my email deal every morning. But Groupy inspired us, as well - Healium will be offering ongoing specials through this system so that anyone can afford health and well-being!

Our first offer starts today - a one-hour massage for only $45! And, just about every kind of massage you can imagine is available: relaxation, remedial, therapeutic, pregnancy, deep tissue, sports, Tui-Na, traditional Indian massage (Ayurvedic), Shiatsu and massage with energy healing!

Our next offers will include acupuncture, Ayurveda, yoga and Feldenkrais, energy work and - well, you name it! We're really excited to be able to offer these special deals to you, and we look forward to seeing you!