Upper Valley Harp Therapist

Jenny Gelfan and PJ Morgan, owners of The Massage Center - Healing Arts Associates in Norwich, are pleased to announce that Pat Stebbins has joined their staff as a harp therapist.

To welcome Pat to The Massage Center and to introduce people to healing harp music, Pat will give a concert on Sunday, November 15th at 5 pm at  The Massage Center, 8 Carpenter Street, Norwich. The concert is free, but reservations are requested as space is limited. Please call 802-649-1149 to make your reservation.

Pat has loved and studied music since the age of three, starting with the
piano. She played French horn throughout high school and college, along
with various elusive Rennaissance instruments, and guitar. She majored in
voice in college and has a BA in music performance.

Patricia Stebbins took up the harp at age 33 after regretfully casting the
Highland Pipes down in favor of a quieter way to celebrate her Scottish
heritage.

Wanting to do more with music, in 2007 she began her studies with Bedside
Harp, a harp therapy certification program based in Bucks County, PA, and
in August 2009 became a Certified Harp Therapist, Hospital Intensive. She
feels this is a way to give back some of the joy and healing music has
brought into her own life.

After the concert, Pat will be available on Fridays at The Massage Center for harp therapy alone or in conjuction with massage or other treatments. Appointments can be made by calling 802-649-1149.

When not harping, Pat still sings for the fun of it, takes much joy in
being a grandmother, and shares her life with her tiny dog and her old
Quarter Horse gelding. She has released one recording, "Heroes and
Friends" and another is in the works. She lives in the Upper Valley, on
the Vermont side of the river.

Cell phones and Possible Cancer - It's true

A study about the safety of mobile phones ten years in the works by the World Health Organization (WHO) is to be released later this year. The sneak preview as reported by the London Daily Telegraph is what many have suspected – that long term and heavy users of cell phones have a significantly higher risk of brain cancer.

Russia, Israel, and Sweden have also done studies with similar results and all warn against the use of mobile phones by children and teens since the studies have found a five-fold increase in the risk of brain tumors in users of this age range. Canada has issued warnings suggesting that children and young adults limit their usage to no more than ten minutes a day.

In light of this it is recommended that people use hands-free technologies like speaker-phones or headsets, but not the wireless headsets, rather the plug in type - see photo.

See the Daily Telegraph story for more details and stay tuned for the full final report from the WHO.

Eat that Curry!

While known in the ancient healing system of Ayurveda for their many medicinal properties, turmeric and its components are getting new recognition in the world of medicine. Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Cork, Ireland have been studying curcumin with exciting results. A component of turmeric, curcumin has been found to kill some cancer cells in twenty-fours.Information about the findings can be found on the Centre's web site, and much of the story can be found at the BBC news link posted today http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8328377.stm.

The Research Centre is also exploring the use of probiotics in colorectal cancer prevention and treatment. The Web site is worth checking out and passing on to whomever is interested in innovative cancer research - the Cork Cancer Research Centre - http://www.ccrc.ie

Curry never looked so delicious.

Indulgence or Health Care?

I highly recommend trying bodywork or spa therapies while traveling as it really gives you a whole other view into a culture. For those of you who follow my Traveling Naturally blog, you might remember my somewhat comical post about a spa-massage experience I had in Provence, France almost two years ago. In Avignon I tried a Hammam-Spa-Massage package which consisted of a steam room, warm Jacuzzi and massage. Since that was so restorative, I decided to try the Hammam + Masaje (Hammam with Massage) here in Valencia, Spain. Thanks to the French spa, I was a bit prepared for the initial part of my spa session. Waiting for me in a neat pile on a bench by my locker was a towel - much larger than its French counterpart, and a disposable thong and slippers. So once again in all my middle-aged glory (or not so glorious as the case may be) I donned my basically non-existent groin-cloth and padded my way into an atmospheric room lit with candles and with soothing music playing in the background. Sweet Laresa brought me a warm infusion (herbal tea) and told me to relax. I sat naked (does a disposable thong really count as clothing? I think not) in a sling chair sipping my unusual and comforting brew.

Laresa reappeared in a short unitard, and instructed me to lie down, face up, on the massage table that was covered with a plastic sheet she had just thrown warm water on....hmmm this was going to be interesting. Indeed, and heavenly - I was basically rinsed, washed, massaged, scrubbed from head and hair to toe with giant piles of bubbles layered on my torso as a sort of cover. Once this luxurious cleansing was complete, Laresa had me move into a large bathtub filled with bubbly warm water. I lay soaking for a few minutes and then she escorted me to the nearby shower where I was told to alternate between hot and cold rinses. This was all divine, and I felt wonderful. I assumed my appointment was complete, having lost all sense of time. When I turned off the water and came out of the shower, Laresa appeared as if by magic and told me to dry off, wrap my hair in a towel, put on a new, dry thong and slippers and her colleague would come retrieve me for my massage. I could hardly believe my ears.

Sure enough, a lovely young woman appeared and led me down a dimly lit hallway into a cozy massage room. Here she massaged my whole body for what seemed a deliciously long amount of time, and spent an extensive amount of time on my head and face which were in dire need as I have taken to some kind of jaw clenching as part of my hormonal changes.

While different in many of the particulars of my French spa experience, the overall effect was quite similar - that is I felt quite nourished, nurtured, restored and rejuvenated. And while part of my brain was thinking of this as an indulgence, the rest of my brain and whole body were feeling the clear and absolute health benefits. This is truly health care - not sick care. This is treating the body well, taking care of it, investing in it, and allowing it to receive.

Imagine if this is what we were hoping to give everyone a right to....... how different the world would be.


This particular experience took place at the Navarro Spa Catala, Arzobispo Mayoral 11, 46001 Valencia Spain; Tel: 963 524 334; www.navarrospacatala.com