What to Expect from a Massage Session

By Joel Curry, MSW, CMT, Pathways to Health

What happens in a massage session?  You and the practitioner will discuss what you want from the session and this will determine which parts of the body will be the focus of the massage and what form of bodywork will be used.  If basic relaxation and stress relief are the focus of the work, Swedish massage will be employed.  If  you are experiencing pain to the point of discomfort while lying on the massage table, pressure point applications may also be used.

 Swedish, the most prevalent form of bodywork, relaxes muscles, reduces stress and eases minor aches and pains.  It involves broad, flowing strokes and the use of oil, which requires some disrobing. You, as the receiver decide the extent to which you disrobe.  The practitioner will leave the room while you undress. You will be properly draped at all times with a clean sheet or towel. Only the area worked on will be exposed. At the end of the session, the practitioner will again leave the room while you dress.  
 For chronic or acute pain, Acupressure or Shiatsu may be called for and can be incorporated with Swedish massage.  Bowen Therapy may also be used but is not usually combined with other methods. Pressure point work is done to relieve pain or areas of tension. Reflexology is another pressure point system where the feet and hands are worked to stimulate corresponding areas of the body.
Communication is a key in getting what you want from a massage or bodywork session.  Do not hesitate to let your therapists know how you are responding. Throughout either relaxation or pain relief sessions, it is recommended that you give your therapists feedback regarding your response to the work.  If the depth of the work is causing you to tense in response, this can be counterproductive and it  is important that you tell the therapist to ease the pressure. 

PHEF: Press Release

The Placer Hills Education Foundation Grants $91,250 to

the Placer Hills School District!

The Placer Hills Education Foundation (PHEF) is a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization that formed six years ago to build support and provide resources to preserve and enrich education in the Placer Hills School District which includes Sierra Hills School, Sierra Hills Arts and Science Charter School in Meadow Vista, Weimar Hills Elementary School and Weimar Hills Arts and Technology Charter School.  The 2011-2012 fundraising season proved to be the best yet.

Each year PHEF holds a dinner auction as their primary fundraiser.  This year the auction raised over $70,000 for the schools!  As part of the auction this year, SunPower© donated a residential solar system to be auctioned off for the schools.  In addition, the foundation was awarded a $5,000 grant from the United Auburn Indian Community to help support library services in the district.  Numerous donations from parents, community members and local businesses raised the total award to the schools to $91,250.  The largest grant PHEF has ever awarded to the Placer Hills Union School District.    In total, PHEF has raised half a million dollars for their school district since 1995!

The money granted to the school district this year will be used to support library services, technology and counseling programs in the district.  In the past, PHEF grants have supported art, music, physical education, field trips, new curriculum, computer software, hardware, art docent, and many other areas of education that most districts have seen suffer in the tight economy.

Meadow Vista Community Center Update

Upcoming Fundraisers to Help During the Holidays

Submitted by Etta Gross for the Meadow Vista Lions Club & Friendly Neighbors

Meadow Vista Lions See's Candies fund raiser will start on Nov. 16, 2012.  We will be in front of Holiday Market on the weekends after Thanksgiving.  Making purchases early allows the opportunity to get your FAVORITE See's Candies!

 You will find the Meadow Vista Area Lions club helping out Santa on Saturday Dec. 8, 2012. Our local Girl Scouts will be assisting Ms. Claus with baking all those tasty and gorgeous cookies.  The Girl Scouts will be serving those cookies too! 
 Your Meadow Vista Friendly Neighbors Club (TMVFNC) will be at work on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 with a Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Meadow Vista Christmas Basket Program.  The Meadow Vista Lions will be cooking delicious pancakes, sausage and eggs. Donations of cash, canned good or a new toy ($5 value) are happily accepted.
 Holiday ornaments will be available at the M.V. Wells Fargo starting in November. Please return your ornament with wrapped gift by Dec. 10th.
 We will assemble the Christmas Food Baskets at Sierra Hills School on Dec. 14 at 4:30pm. We invite you to come out and help. Baskets will be delivered needy families in our community. See an extended version of this article online at meadowvistaview.blogspot.com for more info.

The Positive Energy of 2012

By Tonya Elliott-Walker, LMFT, University of Phoenix Lead Faculty Area Chair I, Morningstar Counseling & Wellness Center

There has been so much media attention focused on the doom and gloom of 2012 and yet it is Fall and we are still here and relatively intact. The Mayan and Hopi prophecies suggest that time will end as we know it. Many people thought this meant that our world was coming to a violent end.  Indeed, there have been natural disasters and difficult economic and political climates, however, our planet still spins. So what did the ancients mean when they said that time would end as we know it?  Perhaps the key phrase here is “as we know it”.

 Maybe what the ancients meant was that our relationship with time would change. Does your life feel as if you are going 90 miles an hour with no way to slow it down? With cell phones, computers and the speed of information, people feel like they are “on” all the time. They are texting or emailing colleagues, family and friends. They have very little down time.  Maybe the ancients understood that our relationship with time would become imbalanced. Just because we have better technology and can accomplish more in less time doesn't mean we should. What about quality of life and relationships? What about our health? We know that stress is the number one common denominator in all major life threatening diseases. Think of the word:  disease. Our global health is a reflection of our consciousness of dis-ease, being ill at ease, or completely stressed out on all levels for way too long. 
 Maybe the ancients knew that there would come a time when we, as a human race, would have to choose to slow down consciously to avoid becoming worker drones living to pay off our credit card debt and slaving at work so that we can support our shopping habits. Maybe they knew that there would have to be a tremendous shift in consciousness as a mass collective to avoid some of the doom and gloom scenarios that are associated with those types of lifestyles that bring dis-ease to ourselves and our planet.  Maybe they understood that we would need to choose to attend to our spiritual values and family values again on a mass level to rebuild the foundation.  Love, connectedness, peace, tolerance, faith, trust; these are the qualities of a sustainable world and the energy that 2012 brings.  A wise spiritual master once told me that just before the attribute manifests the counterfeit shows up to be healed and released. Maybe all of the war and economic crisis and political tension is the counterfeit showing up. Whether we respond in love or fear is the real determiner of our future.

Events: Placer Hills United Methodist Church

Used Book Sale at Meadow Vista Library

The Friends of the Meadow Vista Library Winter Book Sale will be held on Tuesday December 4th from noon until 4 PM and on Wednesday December 5th from 2 to 6 PM at the library, 16981 Placer Hills Road, Meadow Vista.  Great used books to give as holiday gifts, used CD's, VHS tapes, audio books and DVD's will be offered at bargain prices all $1.00 or less.  On Wednesday shoppers may fill a bag with paperback books for only $1.00.
 The Meadow Vista Library is one of the community's jewels.  Years ago, if one wanted a library book, a trip to Auburn's Carnegie Library on Almond Street was required.  As Meadow Vista grew in population the county saw the need for a branch in Meadow Vista, so in 1951 a small library was opened on Placer Hills Road in what is now a real estate office.  Space was limited and circulation low.  In keeping with the community's rural nature, a hitching post provided a place for the children who rode their horses to the library.  This small library closed in 1964.
 In more recent years the county's Book Mobile had scheduled stops in Meadow Vista until the current library opened in December 2002.  The library is located in the lower floor of the Holiday Market.  The library is open Tuesday through Saturday with varying hours of operation. 
 In 2003 the Friends of the Meadow Vista Library, a non-profit fund raising organization, was founded.  This organization solicits gifts of used books from the public and then sponsors twice-yearly book sales in the spring and fall.  Monies raised support library programs such as the summer reading and craft programs and to purchase needed library materials. Contact Virginia Parker 878-7804 for information.