January 4, 2018

Customized Energy Session

Being a polarity therapist has added a richness to my practice at Munjoyous…Your Neighborhood Oasis. But I wanted more, so I have spent recent months building my body of knowledge by learning new energy techniques.

A year ago I was attuned for Reiki and I spent last winter learning the Heart Lotus Evolution energy techniques. I’ve really enjoyed mixing together all of my energy skills to create sessions that fully support my clients. If a client needs balance I reach for my polarity pathways. If a client is searching or seeking, I like to don my channeling hat. It’s always healing touch and Reiki is my favorite way to activate healing touch.

I have also started integrating essential oils into my healing sessions. Using specific essential oils that align with your chakras, incorporating appropriate essential oils that focus your session to help support you wherever you are in your journey.

All energy sessions are uniquely designed to support you in your amazing journey! Come check one out at Munjoyous.com or BOOK NOW

Give Marcia a call with questions or concerns. 207-956-7780

January 4, 2018

A Solution to Dry Winter Skin

Winter weather. Drying Heat. Dehydration. This time of year brings flakes in more ways than just snowflakes.

Is your skin itchy and dry? Are you feeling like you would give anything to just have someone scratch your back?

Whole body exfoliation using dry brushes or Indian Garshana gloves is a great way to exfoliate, warm up your body and invigorate your skin. The benefits of these techniques include:

Increased circulation: Increasing circulation is a great way to bring needed blood and warmth to those cold extremities like the hands and the feet.

Stimulation of the lymphatic system: Stimulating lymph helps to detoxify the body and prevent sickness by strengthening the immune system. Dry brushing or garshana gloves increase the static electricity which alkalizes the blood and detoxifies the body

Exfoliation of dry, dead skin cells: Removing that layer of dead skin will help to reduce itchiness and also improve penetration of massage oils and other products used on the skin.

Sensory invigoration: Senses become awakened by the stimulating strokes that characterize this treatment.

Your winter Munjoyous ritual can include this delicious add on feature. It can be added to any massage or the Ayurvedic Facial for $30, but this January we are offering this twenty minute exfoliation add-on for half price $15.

Check us out at munjoyous.com or BOOK NOW!  Or Call 207-956-7780 

March 2, 2017

Gifts from the East

 

Marcia takes a selfie with our essential oil salesmen.

Returning from the warm waters of the Arabian Sea to the icy sidewalks of Munjoy Hill have been challenging for us, but we are also excited to return with some great new skills.

While we were in Kerala India we received several Ayurvedic Treatments, including Abhyanga Massage, an amazing Scalp Treatment and the powerful Shirodara Treatment. Over the next couple months we plan to practice, enhance and integrate these wonderful treatments into our practice.

Marcia also amped up her reflexology skills with a mini course at Amritapuri. She learned a few tricks that you will be able to take home with you after your own reflexology session.

We picked up a few new tools as well: wonderful oils like Sandalwood, Jasmine, Saffron and a few others. We got some garshana gloves, which offer a stimulating exfoliation before the Abhyanga massage. Some new crystals and minerals have also been added to our healing space.

But…. the big surprise will be in our backyard patio this summer. Let’s just say that he puts “Baby G” in his place!

December 1, 2016

We’re All About Comfort and Joy!

qtq80-pFen9s

Do you really want to stand in line.. wrestle with mall traffic..battle with your self doubt?

The holidays should be a time of love, friends, family….Comfort and Joy!

At Munjoyous…Your Neighborhood Oasis, we’re all about comfort and joy. It’s what we do best. Your loved one will come to a private, friendly, relaxing sanctuary and receive intuitive and professional care. He or she will experience deep inner stillness. Muscle pain and stiffness will melt away. Stress and anxiety will dissipate. And all of this ease and relaxation will be because of you and your thoughtful, loving gift of a service from Munjoyous…Your Neighborhood Oasis.

Gift certificates are a breeze at Munjoyous…Your Neighborhood Oasis. Just go to this link for online gift certificates. You can print a gift certificate online or send it via email. Or, BEST OF ALL, come treat yourself to a polarity session, massage, facial or our exotic Ayurvedic Scalp, Face and Foot Treatment that clients are loving! Then just pick up a gift certificate before you leave. We also have terrific Munjoyous products, already wrapped and ready to go. They range from $15-$25 and are made with high quality natural ingredients.

Make your holidays more joyful and less stressful. Give yourself and someone you care about some comfort and joy from Munjoyous this season.

Give us a call or email us today to order your gifts or make an appointment for yourself. 207-956-7780

November 10, 2016

New Skin Experiment!

20161107_133218
This is my skin after my experimental six peels.

 

One of the things I love about being an aesthetician is experimenting on my own skin.

My most recent experiment was a peel series that I read about in one of my professional magazines. This series promised improvements in:

  • the look of lines and wrinkles
  • hyper-pigmented spots
  • clogged pores
  • pore appearance
  • skin color eveness
  • skin smoothness and texture.

So I gave it a go and I was delighted with the results. While I will always have the sunspots of my youth, (unless I succumb to laser treatments) they were truly lighter than they were at the start. I also noticed a more vibrant glow to my skin. Most noticeable was the smoothness and texture of my skin. I really noticed this because make-up slid on smoothly and there wasn’t so much caking in skin creases.

A peel series requires some commitment on your part. For two weeks prior to the series, you need to use an 8-10 percent AHA home care serum ( included in this service) and 30 SPF sunscreen. ( I use a BB cream that has 30 SPF in it already.) After the two weeks, you receive six express facials every 3-4 days. We will also need to check for any contraindications to having the series.

An express facial lasts 30 min and includes two short massages. Normally they cost $60, but for the series you will get them for $50. Include the AHA prep serum, and you can get this treatment for $350, saving $60,  . Start now and have glowing skin for the holidays. Or give it as a special gift for the holidays.

Call now 207-956-7780 or email us at [email protected]. Check out our online gift certificates at https://goo.gl/5SrAaS

March 17, 2019

Thai Massage

One of the hardships of being a massage therapist and receiving massages is the difficulty of finding a great therapist. There is a big difference between intentional touch and “just being rubbed”, as one of my massage friends likes to say.

I’m constantly trying to improve my touch awareness. And trying to feel how the muscle, the body and the energy responds to touch.

Practicing intentional touch in my own work, makes me acutely aware of how it feels to have someone not adjust pressure or just endlessly bump over a knot in a muscle.

I’ve received a good share of “being rubbed” in Asia, and in the US. Since Thai massage is very common, (there were literally rows of massage studios on every street we visited) it was not unusual to see a therapist giving a massage while chatting on her phone or talking to another therapist. When deciding on where to go, my trick is usually to selfishly send John first and get a review from him.

After receiving an awesome Thai massage (on John’s recommendation) from Sae at Friends Massage, in Chiang Mai, we decided to take a three day class. We did our research and found a reputable, well reviewed school called, Sabai De Ka.

Our teacher, Na, was delightful and abundant with both humor and knowledge about her craft. The first thing she did was apologize for her English, which I assured her was 99.9% better than my Thai.

Thai massage is performed over loose clothing and involves a lot more stretches and compressions rather than the long strokes of the Swedish technique. It has been used for centuries and was originally taught in the temples. There is no oil used other than the occasional salve for a tight muscle.

The course covered all the techniques for a full Thai Massage, but adapted for a table, since traditionally it is done on a mat on the floor. We wanted to be able to integrate it with our other types of massage, so we opted for the table course.

I really like how Thai massage encourages the therapist to use her whole body to improve stretches. It’s not unusual to use a foot for better leverage for a stretch. Since it uses a lot of stretches, a therapist needs to listen to the body and the client to make sure the stretch is just right. The wonderful massage I received from Sae, at Friends Massage, used experienced intuitive touch to not overstretch my wonky shoulders. Even with a huge language barrier, she was able to feel when a stretch was a little too intense and she easily adapted.

Our teacher, Na, also had to be intuitive about our techniques, constantly helping us to adapt and change for our clients.  A phrase that I heard regularly was, “You no flexible. You go like this” and then she would teach us some adaptation to the technique.

Thai massage involves lots of repetition, so we were taught to use 10-30 repetitions of a particular move. Of course, we had limited time, so sometimes, when we worked on each other, we would shorten the repetitions considerably, which was typically accompanied with my favorite line of all time, “Mr. JOHN, your wife have great body, you no cheat her!” I can assure you that John will be hearing that phrase for a long time to come!

All together, we learned enough techniques to give a 4 hour Thai massage. We obviously have many hours of practice ahead to master these new techniques, but we are both excited about integrating lots of these techniques into our practice and offering our most authentic Thai Massage when we return home.

Keep an eye out at our website for this new offering. We hope to be ready to offer full Thai Massage sessions soon.

April 23, 2018

Got Lymph? Detoxify.

Tired of puffiness? Wondering what is going on when some days you wake up and your face is dull and puffy and other days you look great?

Lymph is what is going on. Our bodies use lymph to remove waste. Waste products are carried away from the tissues and back to the heart where they are then sent to the kidneys and liver for detoxification.

Lymph doesn’t move by itself. It depends on the movement and contractions of muscles to circulate through the body. That’s why the lymphatic drainage massage in the detoxifying Munjoyous facial is such a rich part of the treatment. This gentle pressure moves lymph toward the lymph nodes so that it can be balanced.

The Detoxifying Munjoyous Facial includes:

  • A deep cleanse that includes a facial steam with detoxifying herbs including ginger root, rosemary, allspice, eucalyptus and cloves.
  • A gentle enzyme peel.
  • A lymphatic neck, shoulder and face massage using a lymphatic detoxifying seaweed gel.
  • An acupressure point facial massage using detoxifying ayurvedic oils
  • Finally a rich purified clay mask is applied while you receive a mini-reflexology foot massage.

This healing treatment will leave you glowing both inside and out!

BOOK NOW!  Or get more details. . [email protected]