215-598-7750

Cupping Therapy: Welcoming Back An Ancient Modality

At Newtown Massage and Spa, we are proud to offer the ancient art of cupping. This is an alternative medicine technique in which a therapist places glass, bamboo, earthenware or silicone cups on the skin to create suction. Cupping Therapy is currently experiencing a resurgence, but actually dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the world’s oldest medical text books, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1550 B.C.

Cupping is a “deeper than deep” massage that boasts some impressive benefits:

Manages and reduces pain.
Reduces inflammation.
Improves circulation to promote relaxation and enhanced wellbeing.
Helps treat respiratory issues and colds by clearing phlegm or congestion, and improving the immune function.
Improves digestion.

There are different types of cupping including dry, wet (an ancient form of cupping no longer in use) and medical cupping. During both dry and wet cupping your therapist will put a flammable substance such as alcohol or herbs in a cup and set it alight. Once the fire is extinguished, the cup is then placed upside down on the skin. As the vapor inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. This causes your skin to rise and redden as your blood vessels expand. The cup is generally left in place for three minutes.

A more modern version of cupping uses a rubber pump, instead of fire, to create the vacuum inside the cup. The most recent form uses a medical machine which monitors the pressure being used inside the cup. This pressure mimics the body’s natural rhythm.

Hot Stone Massage: Turning Heat Into A Treat

1. When was the last time you put yourself before others?

2. Recharge yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
3. There are many different massage modalities. Take the opportunity to try a new one.
4. Better range of motion and less tightness result in more effective and less painful gym workouts.
5. Relaxed muscles result in more effective and longer lasting chiropractic adjustments.
6. There’s a massage for everyone: whether your goal is pure relaxation, pain relief, better flexibility or preparing for a sports event.
7. Massage is a much healthier way to relieve pain than popping painkillers.
8. Improve your circulation and skin tone.
9. Massage is a wonderful reward for hard work, a big achievement or after a traumatic or stressful experience.
10 Get your nervous system to relax from permanent stress for improved rest and digestion.
11. You’ve never had one before and always wanted to try one. At Newtown Massage and Spa, your first massage is just $55!

11 Reasons To Get A Massage Now

Here at Newtown Massage and Spa we pride ourselves on offering a modality for everyone. Thai massage is unique in that it offers the dual benefits of being both energizing and grounding. Affectionately dubbed “lazy man’s yoga”, this approximately 2,500-year-old art form is traditionally performed fully clothed on a padded mat, but can also be performed on the table.

The client wears loose and comfortable clothing such as sportswear to facilitate the assisted poses, stretches and compressions. The practitioner uses forearms, elbows, knees and feet to increase flexibility, energy (by opening the body’s energy/sen lines) and improve postural alignment.

We are proud to be among the few in the area to offer this unique therapy. Thai is a much sought after modality due to its multitude of benefits:

Deeply relaxes and quiets the mind.
Increases energy.
Enhances the body-mind connection.
Improves circulation and lymphatic flow.
Improves flexibility and range of motion.
Rejuvenates body and mind.
Relieves pain and muscle tension.

Thai can also be blended with deep tissue massage and other modalities for a customized massage experience.

Here at Newtown Massage and Spa we are equipped to work on a wide variety of conditions. Many of our clients benefit from corrective massage, e.g. athletes striving for improved range of motion, chronic pain clients, clients with physical disabilities and physical therapy clients.

The defining feature of corrective massage is that it works each muscle or muscle group from origin to insertion. It is composed of a variety of techniques, including myofascial release, trigger point therapy and deep tissue massage.

Corrective massage is beneficial for a wide variety of conditions:

Chronic or acute headaches.

Lower back problems such as sciatica, sacroiliac joint pain, hip imbalances and spinal muscular restrictions.
Neck and shoulder pain and rotator cuff tears.
Knee tendonitis and restrictions.
Chronic pain.
Fibromyalgia.
Scar tissue restrictions.
Contracted and shortened muscles, as well as restricted tissue due to injury.
Dehydrated muscle tissue, resulting in imbalance and other restrictions.
Edema.

Corrective massage clients experience improved blood and oxygen circulation, more effective detoxification and nutrient absorption and enhanced physical alignment and flexibility. In turn, providing your body with a more stable structure protects it from injury.

You Deserve A Massage!

Thai Massage:

Lazy Man's Yoga

Last weekend was Valentine’s Day, and at Newtown Massage and Spa we feel this is a great opportunity to remind you of the importance of self-love. Perhaps one of your New Year’s resolutions was to take better care of yourself, but when is the last time you truly took time to relax? In today’s society, we live in a world of non-stop tasks, responsibilities and activities. But does it ever occur to us if we don’t take time to slow down now and again, we may at some point be unable to live life to our full potential? I’m here to tell you that burnout is a very real syndrome, and it taught me some valuable lessons. Not least the fact that whole-body (holistic) health involves not just a balanced body, but also a balanced mind.

As someone who has been through her own healing journey – as both a sick person and a healer (or rather facilitator of healing) – I can honestly say what truly stuck in my mind is how much conventional medicine neglects our emotional and mental wellbeing. What strikes me with certain massage clients is that some of them seem to think of massage as a “guilty pleasure” where they need to “sneak away” to get one. Many of them live busy lives with their high-powered jobs and children who keep them on their toes, and so massage is not always their first priority. Indeed, we often put others before ourselves, while foolishly forgetting the analogy of “putting on your own life vest before you help your neighbor”. After all, if you burn yourself out, you won’t be able to help anyone, least of all yourself!

If we take time to calm our mind through practices such as massage, medication and yoga we are able to perform our daily jobs more effectively and with less stress. The fact is that, thanks to today’s “go-go-go” mentality, many of us are stuck in “fight or flight mode”, where our body’s sympathetic nervous system is running in overdrive. This means that we are constantly on edge and ready to go, but the flipside is that our parasympathetic nervous system is insufficiently activated, and this is vital for us to enjoy proper rest and digestion. Long-term overstressing of the sympathetic nervous system causes elevated cortisol levels. This leads to weight gain and inflammation, and ultimately to adrenal fatigue.

One solution to this problem is to treat our bodies to sufficient rest and recuperation, and this is where massage comes in. Our Licensed Massage Therapists at Newtown Massage and Spa are dedicated to giving you an unforgettable bodywork experience. One effect of massage is that it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, allowing your body to rest and digest, as described above. That’s also why oftentimes your stomach will rumble during a massage.

Being sick taught me that true health and wellness are about the right balance of components. However, I have found that many conventional doctors fail to comprehend this, and are all too keen to prescribe prescription after prescription. What truly helped me was holistic medicine. Holistic medicine takes a whole-body approach, which is precisely what we do at Wrightstown Health & Fitness, where Newtown Massage and Spa is located. Not only do we offer massage, but also chiropractic, nutrition, and personal training It’s a convenient choice for clients who would like all practitioners under one roof. And we offer the added bonus that our practitioners truly communicate with each other to ensure everyone knows the full picture about your health. Furthermore, if you are looking to use multiple services, packages such as our affiliate Inspire Nutrition’s popular weight loss and fitness program, The Blitz, offer a very reasonably priced combo of personal training, nutritional counseling and protein shakes, of which a large portion may be covered by your insurance!

Happy belated Valentine’s! Remember: you don’t need a specific day to practice self-love. It’s important to do so all year round.

Corrective Massage: Restoring Balance And Relieving Pain

Here at Newtown Massage and Spa we enjoy using a variety of methods to enhance our massages. One of these is hot stones, which dates back to when Native Americans warmed stones by the fire and applied them to the body to ease muscle aches and pains. Today’s stones are warmed in a special heater so the temperature can be controlled, and then applied to specific points on the body to impart soothing relaxation.

Hot stone massage boasts some amazing benefits:

Dilates blood vessels to increase blood flow to relax muscles and reduce pain.
The improved circulation nourishes the tissue with oxygen and essential nutrients to accelerate healing.
This enables the massage therapist to work deeper and more specific to the affected area.
A warm and cozy treat, particularly in cold winter weather.

Adding hot stones to your massage can be used in combination with deep tissue massage and for relaxation.