Chicago Massagerie

Guys, I found this excellent article on relaxation and because it is so deeply related to massage therapy I had to share it with you here. I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Here are a few easy meditation techniques that you can quickly and simply integrate into your day to day life. These techniques have been taught to people all over the world in practical courses and were instrumental in assisting me to shift into a far more focused state. I am an actor, writer and, after much trepidation and hesitating, a healer and teacher.

When I was introduced to this work on a course about ten years ago I went, hey this is what I have been looking for all along, but no one knew how to tell me. So I hope these little techniques will assist you, as they have me, in finding the joy, adventure and wonder that is life.

Seven easy Meditation Techniques

1. The first is to ensure nobody and no thing can disturb you. Make sure all possible forms of distraction are miles away. There is nothing worse than reaching a deeply calm state only to have your cellular phone go off and startle you back into tension and anxiety. Or even worse, being half-way through a guided meditation when a cat jumps through the window and promptly jumps on your face. Not cool at all.

2. Next is the question of sitting or lying. In terms of your basic requirements for meditation it is best to either sit in a chair with a good back support, or to sit in the lotus position on a comfortable cushion. Most people are not flexible enough to sit in the lotus position so rather just find a comfortable chair with good back support. If you are sitting, avoid sitting in a normal cross legged position as this affects the natural energy flow of the body. Alternatively you can just lie down. However I would recommend that you create a particular place where you lie down, do not use the bed you sleep in. The reason being you have programmed your mind to fall into a very particular state when lying in bed and falling asleep. If you use your bed it is highly likely that you will just fall asleep and this will defeat the objective of meditation.

3. The next technique is around the question of posture. Ensure that if you are sitting that you hold what is called the magnetic posture. This means that the spine is lengthened, relaxed and straight. The best way to find this is to imagine stretching the top of your head towards the roof, whilst keeping your bum firmly on your chair. Then also ensure that your feet are not touching, and your hands are also not touching each other. Place your feet in such a way that the souls of your feet are in full contact with the ground, and as best you can ensure that your legs create a 90 degree angle, creating a square between your legs, the floor and the chair. If you are lying down, again do the best to feel your back and spine lengthening and relaxing along the floor or sofa. Again make sure that you legs are no touching each other and that your hands are just gently lying by your side.

4. Now for your eyes and your breath. Most beginners to meditation have a tendency to snap their eyes shut. This is counter productive. Before shutting your eyes, first gently gaze at an area in front of you on the wall or ceiling. Of all the easy meditation techniques that can be learnt this is the most important. Do not stare at a fixed point, as this takes you into a hypnotic state. But rather gently gaze at an area in front of you. Now, whilst keeping your eyes open bring your attention to your breath. Do the best you can to engage what is know as the three part breath. This means breathing in first with your diaphragm. To practice this is easy; just breathe focusing on your tummy. When the diaphragm is drawing in breath your tummy pushes outwards. Then breathe into the lower part of your chest and finally up to the top of your chest. This becomes easier with practice. Then you breathe out with your diaphragm first, allowing your tummy to deflate, then the mid-chest and finally the upper chest. Do this as slowly, deeply and easily as you can. When you have found the rhythm of breath turn your attention to your eyes. Over three to four deep breathes allow your eyes to gently close. Do it slowly and smoothly, as if your eyelids were blinds slowly dropping down over your eyes. When you first practice this your eyes may flutter a bit, but with practice the fluttering will stop.

5. Now with your eyes closed you are going to begin a very particular sequence of relaxation. And added to this is another very important and easy meditation technique: pretend that you are a child. Do not focus on being childish. I know a lot of adults who are childish and petulant. This makes it very difficult for them to access that wonderful state of childlikeness. As the saying goes: many grow old without growing up. One of the objectives of a metaphysician is to grow up as quickly as possible. When this is achieved, growing old physically is an option, one that most metaphysicians rarely take. So enter that special state of curiosity and wonderment. The childlike state. And from this space reach for the big toe on your right foot. And as you reach remember how as a child you used to talk to your body. Say hello to that big toe and then casually ask it to relax. Now go through each toe on you right foot and then start with the big toe on you left foot. And then allow the relaxation to move all the way up your feet, shins, knees and up to your thighs.

6. The next of these seven easy meditation techniques is to make a special effort to relax the long bones of the body. What this does is takes you into a deep alpha state, verging on the theta state. From this space your body is deeply relaxed and your mind becomes incredibly clear. This was discovered in relaxation research at U.C.L.A. If a person makes a special effort to relax the marrow of the thighs it is far easier to reach deep states of physical relaxation accompanied by profound mental clarity. So as you move up to your thighs make a special effort to relax the very marrow of the bones.

7. From here move up into your hip joints, the pelvic girdle, your anus and your genitals. When you pass over the anus and genitals again make a special effort to relax these organs as there is a lot of emotional tension and blockages placed in these areas due to social programming. From there move up the lower back, then the abdomen, then the upper back followed by the ribcage and chest. Then start with the hands, arms, elbows, upper arms into the shoulder joints. Move up your throat into the jaw, the facial muscles, the eyes and eyelids, over the scalp and right round to the nap of your neck.

And that is that. Once you have relaxed the whole body you can then take a few minutes to be present in that deeply relaxed state. You can, if you wish, ponder on the solution for things that you are addressing in your daily affairs. From this space it is far easier to see solutions as you are removed from the situation and you are not being interrupted. Most geniuses have done their greatest work or been most inspired during alpha and theta states. At first this exercise will take you roughly 30 minutes as a full process. But as you practice you can do this in 15 minutes or less.

When you are ready to come back from that space once again do not just snap your eyes open. Rather imagine yourself gently, casually settling back into your body and become aware of your surroundings before opening your eyes. Once you feel yourself back and present in your room and body, then casually and easily open your eyes.

Happy meditating and relaxing

Simply Love John Gamble

If you consider yourself to be a citizen of the universe, like myself, why not pop by the site http://www.adventure-learning-initiatives.com/ they have great stories and lessons about the adventure that is life. Not only that but they welcome submissions from people who consider themselves to be mentors. The Pay it forward program is focused on paying forward the greatest human assets of all: knowledge and time.

Thanks for visiting Chicago Massagerie, the premier source for difficult to find massage therapy in Chicago. When we realized how tough it can be to find some of the more specific and rarified massage services in this city, we knew somebody would have to do something. After all, the people want their massages, right? That somebody was us, and that something was this. So here we all are!

Chicago Massage Therapy Locations & Reviews

On this web site, we’ll be providing complete instructions for locating the specific type of massage service you’re looking for in Chicago, as well as in-depth reviews of individual masseurs, masseuses, and massage parlors. A comments section is available for every article on this site in order that you can give back to the community by sharing your own experiences. If you’d like to write a featured review, request that your own services be reviewed, or submit an article about your personal experiences with massage in Chicago, we’d be very glad to work with you! Simply e-mail your article or proposal to [editor at chicagomassagerie dot com] for consideration.

We’ll be spending a lot of time on this site talking about different types of massage, their physical health benefits as well as psychological health benefits, individual service providers, massage parlors, massage spas, and all manner of massage service related topics. I’d like to begin, however, by talking in somewhat more general terms. I want to discuss the overall history and benefits of massage so that we all have a good frame of reference to look back on. Since we’re really only focusing on Chicago massage here, I’ll try to relate everything I bring into this discussion back to the good old windy city. Because, honestly, the Chi has a million reasons to want a good massage

Massage Therapy & Chicago Winters

As of this writing, we’re just getting over a seriously old-fashioned winter in Chicago. It snowed, it rained, it hailed, and it did all of this pretty much constantly. We saw hurricane force winds driving snow in off the lake in record quantities, and all of had chapped lips and hands, and aching feet. Aha, our first occasion for a very nice Chicago massage: the aching winter foot. This winter I started out with a great new pair of croc shoes that I thought would be absolutely perfect for the cold wet days of sloshing through the greasy puddles in the loop. They’re the ones that look like full-on shoes, and even have a kind of faux leather stitched onto the top. Totally waterproof, comfy soft rubber; how can you go wrong. The problem I ran into was that when the shoes got very cold, the rubber stopped being so very soft. In fact, the little nubs on the inside of the foot bed turned into hard little abrasers that rubbed the soles of my feet raw, even through thick winter socks. I think they put holes in my socks as well. To compensate for this I ended up walking all crooked, trying to keep my feet from sliding around in the shoes. And of course, it was freezing cold so the muscles were stiff anyway. The end result was tired, aching feet. Boy I could’ve used a foot massage.

For that matter, the Chicago winter tends to make just about every part of your body a little stiffer. Because you walk out into the cold and your muscles tense up in order to try and generate warmth. Of course, the problem with this is that tense, tight muscles actually constrict the blood-flow out to your skin, causing you to feel even colder and to get those cold, stiff hands and feet that are so common. A good back rub or neck rub can work wonders for restoring the circulation that allows you to keep your hands and feet warm and loose.

Massage Therapy & Chicago Heat

Then the springtime comes, and it’s all hot and humid, and you’re riding around on the El, crammed in with a thousand other sweating, stinking people, and you’re trying to conduct business over your cell phone for some reason, and you’re super stressed and your blood pressure is rising and the veins in your forehead are popping out and your neck and shoulder and jaw muscles are all so tight they might a swell be made of steel. What a great time to pop off at the next train stop for a soothing massage. But where can you get some massage therapy in Chicago on short notice these days?

But massage isn’t all about curing tension and tightness; sometimes a Chicagoan is just out to have a good time! You can get a massage for relaxation, for stimulation, for physical pleasure or for spiritual enlightenment. Different massages for different days and different purposes. One of the things I hope to do on this site is to turn you on to new types of massage experiences so that you can really get the most out of your body and the wonderful techniques that exist for manipulating your body.

Chicago Massage Therapy For Intimacy & Pleasure

A massage is a very intimate experience. You submit your body for manipulation by another person; you get pushed and pulled and prodded and kneaded and worked over in all kinds of different ways that you might never otherwise experience. Sometimes we give or receive massages from people we already know quite well or are getting to know, but often a massage is an experience we share with a complete stranger. Some people enjoy a sense of deep emotional connection by putting themselves out there for something like this, while others enjoy a sensuous or even dirty thrill! The main thing is that it’s okay to enjoy whatever feelings arise for you during a massage, and I hope you will even use the information here to seek out the other kinds of Chicago massage experiences that are available to you in order to experience more and different kinds of physical and mental stimulation.

Since Chicago is the gayest city in the Midwest, I’ll spend a lot of time here talking about Chicago male massage parlors, Chicago gay massage therapists, and gay massage escorts in Chicago. But if you’re not gay or aren’t looking for an f2f or m2m massage experience, don’t worry! You’ll find plenty here for the straight crowd, including all kinds of Chicago Asian massage therapy offerings and even some far-out exotic experiences tantra massage Chicago.

For each type of massage I talk about here I’m going to give you a full background about the techniques involved, their origin, some of the history involved in developing that types of massage, what kinds of experiences you’re likely to have, and also where to find them! I’ll do my best to clue you in to both large reputable organizations and independent Chicago massage escorts. Each masseur or masseuse that you work with will have a totally unique style and personality. Some folks will enjoy finding a single massage therapist that is really great for them and with whom they feel intimate and connected, while other folks will have fun trying out as many different spas, massage parlors, and individual massage therapists and escorts as they have time for! It’s all about what you enjoy.

Massage Therapy in Chicago’s Neighborhoods & Suburbs

I’ll also try and focus in a bit on what the city’s geography: maybe you want to head to Andersonville or the Ukranian Village in search of some Chicago European massage, or maybe Uptown or Chinatown sound like tempting spots for some oriental massage parlors in Chicago. Everything is within reach in this here lovely city, so I’ll do my best to provide information about parking and CTA-accessibility wherever possible too. Like I said, just let me know if there is anything at all you want to know about Chicago massage opportunities, because I want this to be your ultimate resource for massage in Chicago.

A quick search for reviews of massage parlors in Chicago will reveal that there are a very large number of massage parlors of various shapes, sizes, and specialties spread around the Chicago area. However, it can be extremely difficult to find reliable reviews of the massage services available within and around the city. It is difficult to say why this may be.

General Massage Therapy Reviews vs. Chicago Massage Therapy Reviews

There are a number of sites that offer customer reviews in general that have sections for Chicago massage therapists, but often these are just a tiny portion of what the sites offer rather than a central focus. That is actually precisely the reason that Chicago Massagerie was born, out of the necessity for reliable and informed opinions about the massage artists that you can find in this city so that you will be able to select the venue that is most convenient based on your location within the city of Chicago, Illinois and also based on your preferences for massage.

For example, you might be looking for an Oriental massage in Chicago but feel uncertain about Asian massage parlor etiquette or about the types of services that it would be appropriate for you to ask for or expect at a particular parlor. Maybe you’re just looking to hear about some Chicago Asian massage parlor stories, to see what other people have experienced in certain parlors in your area.

Post Your Chicago Massage Therapy Trip Reports

So one of the main purposes, if not the main purpose, of this site is to provide ready access to that type of massage story or “trip report” so that you can know what to expect and also just to have some interested reading material available about something that you enjoy. We would also love to see our readers contribute their stories about the Chicago massages that they have had, whether they have been exactly what you were looking for, total disasters, or anywhere in between. That way we will have an entire community set up around Chicago massage parlor experiences and descriptions of services and styles and qualities so that everyone will benefit.

Please be sure to keep your eye on this page and the rest of the site for growing numbers of high quality reviews of Chicago massage parlors that will give you a good idea about what to expect in your neighborhood or suburb and know where to go to get what you’re looking for. This is a huge city with more options available than you could possibly try, so there is no reason why you should have to blindly spend your money on the uncertain hopes of getting what you are hoping for when Chicagoans can all pool their resources and come together with some really fantastic massage stories and reviews.

Massage Therapy: Chicago Has Something For Everyone

I really don’t think that we will ever be able to point to a single business and say “This is the best Chicago massage parlor” because it is a matter of taste and everyone is looking for a different type of experience. So our entire goal is just to help everyone find what they’re looking for, not what’s “right” for everyone but just what best fits your own needs and wants.

You can begin by posting a brief account of an experience you’ve had or a request for the type of information you are looking for in the comment section below. If you have something longer that you would like to post, like if you want to write a full review of a massage parlor that you have had an experience with, or if you would like to place an advertisement for a massage parlor that you are responsible for, please visit our contact page for instructions on getting in touch with us so that we can share Chicago massage parlor information and come to an agreement about what will appear on the site.

Reviews of Chicago Massage Therapy Parlors

Our own people will be out on the prowl receiving undercover massages from parlors all over the city within a short amount of time, so if Chicago massage reviews are something that you could benefit from please be sure to bookmark this page and come back often to see what’s cooking at the old Chicago Massagerie.