A Review in Vital Juice for Soma Get Fit

Check out our most recent press in the daily healthy online magazine Vital Juice.

We hosted the LA editorial team here for one of our weekend retreats and they absolutely loved it.

Click below to read the full review and save 20% off your next retreat.

http://vitaljuice.com/entry_detail/la/1037

This entry was written by scrawford, posted on January 13, 2010 at 8:16 pm, filed under Bodywork, Experiences, Fitness, Food, Green Lifestyle, Hiking, Life is Fitness, Lifestyle and Spa, Los Angeles, Meditation, Nutrition, Outdoors, Press, Retreats, Santa Barbara, Stand Up Paddle Surfing, Yoga and tagged Bodywork, California, Exercise, getway, health, Jamie Kiffel Alcheh, Los Angeles, Outdoors, Retreat, Santa Barbara, SOMA GET FIT, SUP, Vital Juice LA, wellness. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

THE PROGRAM

Part II: The Program

by Janet Rifkin, Ph.D.

So Scott began to work with me. He started by asking me to articulate the goals I had for myself. I had a lot of trouble answering his questions. I knew a few things: I wanted to stand up straighter, lose what I saw as the “humpification” in my upper back and lose the 8 pounds I had gained during the 8 years I was working as Dean of a College in Massachusetts. However, what I really wanted to talk about were my fears-my fear of not having a professional identity, my fear of looking like an old bag and my fear of falling into the abyss of the Grand Canyon where I was going in 10 days time.

Clearly, my most immediate need was to get ready for my upcoming rafting trip which involved a 7 ½ mile hike down the Grand Canyon carrying a 30 pound pack and daily hikes climbing over boulders and traversing narrow ledges. Scott had his work cut out for him. His first challenge was to stop me from chatting incessantly. People tell me I ask too many questions. My sons call me “the interrogator” and given that I once was a trial lawyer, cross-examination comes naturally. During our first two sessions, Scott let me chatter. Maybe it helped him to get to know the person, as well as the body he was training? Maybe it was to make me feel comfortable with him? Maybe it was because he was entertained? Whatever it was, by session three, he began by telling me that I wasn’t allowed to talk so much. I laughed but he was serious. More importantly, he was right. I needed to focus on what he was trying to teach me. Talking too much was a way to protect myself from feeling awkward and uncomfortable.

So Scott worked with me to open my hips-to move them front to back, side to side and to “twist.” I did this as I was stretching my calves and my Achilles tendon. Remarkably, the bump I had in my right Achilles got smaller and the pain that I was feeling abated. Every session with Scott ends with body work which “opens” the tight areas. To be honest, the work he did on my sore Achilles wasn’t a barrel of laughs. It hurt-a lot. But it worked and I now look forward to the end of every session when he works on me, finds tightness I didn’t even know I had and releases areas of tension and strain that have building for years.  But we also did more than this. He started me on a regimen of lunges, of abdominal crunches, of pullies, of push-ups and more. He even let me start talking again-of asking questions most of which he answered. He gave me a plan for what I should to on the days that I wasn’t working with him, most of which focused on building up cardio-vascular capacity.

After 10 days, I felt mentally prepared for my rafting trip. I was excited and no longer felt I was going to fall into the depths of the Canyon. My husband I left LA early on the morning of September 26 and got to Flagstaff 8 hours later. The next morning, we met our group and headed to the South Rim where we would begin our hike the next day at 4:30 am and where I was eager to start putting Scott’s program to the test.

This entry was written by scrawford, posted on November 16, 2009 at 10:40 pm, filed under Bodywork, Experiences, Fitness, Hiking, Life is Fitness, Outdoors, Pilates, Santa Barbara and tagged Bodywork, Cardio, Pilates, rafting, SOMA GET FIT, training. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS: TO WORK, BODY AND MIND

Part 1: The Beginning

by Janet Rifkin, Ph.D.

On June 30, 2009, I retired from a 35 year career at major public university. I started my life there at the age of 27 and left at 62. While I can say that I accomplished many good things during my professional life, I felt tired and cynical and found it harder and harder to believe in what I was doing. I had been the Dean of a big college for 8 years, I had helped many people start their academic careers, I had taught many hundreds of students, built relationships with faculty, students and alumni, raised money, built interesting programs and more. But I was finding it harder and harder to believe that what I had done and was doing had much value. I had seen too many people get to this point in their careers, but couldn’t let go because of fear of loss of status, power and fear of a future without the professional identity that had given their lives meaning and security. I knew it was time to make a change, but like others before me, I was uneasy and conflicted. I had several things going for me that helped me embrace this moment of change. I have a husband who wasn’t conflicted and wanted us to change our relationship to work and place and pursue adventures that we had imagined; we have a son, daughter-in –law and 15 month old granddaughter who were living 3000 miles away in Los Angeles and even though another son is in NYC, the pull was strong to come out west; and we are lucky enough to have the means to live more than decently. So on August 20, 2009, we packed up our car and headed to LA.  While we were both feeling a sense of liberation and excitement, we also realized that we had no idea how we were going to organize our lives on a daily basis. We did however know two things. First, we had signed up for a 9 day rafting trip down the Colorado River which would require us, among other things, to hike down the Grand Canyon with 30 lbs packs for 7 and ½ miles. Second, that while both of us were relatively active, we wanted-and needed to find trainers who could help us get ready for this challenging adventure.

I found Scott Crawford.  I don’t think Scott knew exactly what he was getting into when you started working with me. What he did know was that I had two and one half weeks to prepare for the trip. What he also saw was a woman who couldn’t touch her toes, whose hips are extremely tight, whose right Achilles tendon was swollen and sore, whose hamstrings are like concrete and whose shoulders were hunched over and knotted. What I knew from the moment I started working with him is that he believed in my ability to change my body. Maybe more importantly, he was intent on helping me to change my attitude.

This entry was written by scrawford, posted on November 10, 2009 at 12:53 pm, filed under Bodywork, Fitness, Life is Fitness, Pilates, Santa Barbara and tagged Bodywork, Cardio, Experiences, Fitness, Personal Training, Pilates, SOMA GET FIT. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Tummy Love

By Katherine Stewart

In spite of the fact that I am still fully clothed, in yoga pants and a T-shirt, I haven’t felt this exposed since childbirth. I’m twenty minutes into an abdominal massage, and my therapist ventures an analysis I’ve never heard before: “Your diaphragm is loosening up,” he says with satisfaction. “It’s softer and more pliant. Do you feel it? Much better.”

Strangely, I do. When I opted to sample bodywork in the abdominal area, also sometimes known as Visceral Massage or Visceral Manipulation, I was expecting my therapist, Scott Crawford of the southern California-based custom wellness program SOMA Fitness, to take a fairly benign approach—gently rubbing the belly in a counter-clockwise direction in order to facilitate digestion and elimination. Little did I realize that he would spend the hour massaging my internal organs through my belly wall—kneading them gently to relax muscle fibers, break down adhesions, release toxins, and increase blood flow.

However, despite the benefits, I understand why many people shy away from receiving this type of work—the belly is the softest, least-protected area of the body, and lying here on the massage table, I feel very vulnerable.

“The abdomen is the seat of the emotions, and visceral work can bring up a lot of feelings,” says Crawford. On cue, I feel a flash of alarm. Reality check! A strange man is reaching for my liver!! What was I thinking?? But Crawford’s professional demeanor soon reassures. “There it goes,” he comments with satisfaction. “It’s releasing nicely, sliding back and forth.”

Advocates of abdominal massage extol its health benefits. It can improve the digestive processes and balance the hormones. It stimulates the gall bladder, the liver, and the pancreas, improving absorption of oxygen and nutrients and helping release waste. Abdominal massage breaks down adhesions, and enhances the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluids. It helps align the pelvic bones and strengthens abdominal muscles. And for the stress-prone, abdominal work can release deep muscle tissue spasms.

With benefits like these, it’s no wonder that the abdominal area is a focus of traditional Shiatsu massage. At the Spa at the Lodge at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California, therapist Natasha spent many months studying the principles and practice of this distinctive Asian bodywork.

“Shiatsu places a strong emphasis on diagnosis through touch,” she explains. “Experienced practitioners learn how to ‘listen’ with their hands, feeling the subtle qualities of the abdomen, or ‘hara’ to discover information about the organs and energy channels. In this way, they diagnose and treat disease.” Natasha doesn’t perform such diagnostic work in the spa setting, which is, after all, not a medical environment. “But,” she points out, “the Shiatsu massage we offer in the spa relaxes and invigorates the whole body, assisting the flow of energy.”

During a shiatsu treatment, Natasha and other practitioners at the spa typically avoid the energy points located in the abdomen unless specifically requested to do so by the guest. According to the Torrey Pines’s Spa Manager Kim Cogswell, that’s because most guests are uncomfortable with it— perhaps due to widespread cultural taboos. “However,” she says, “massaging the abdomen can benefit the whole body, increasing blood flow in all areas.”

Early Asians were not the only ones to understand the benefits of abdominal bodywork. The ancient societies of the Americas had their own understanding of the practice. The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage was founded by Dr. Rosita Argo, a Chicago-born Naprapath who spent 12 years as an apprentice to Don Elijo Panti, said to be a Mayan shaman living in western Belize. Her studies with Panti, as well as with local midwives, prompted her to document the ancient bodywork and wellness techniques she learned. While she is the first person to have introduced them to North American and international audiences, they are said to be over 5,000 years old, passed down from generation to generation.

The Arvigo Technique is based on the idea that if a woman’s uterus is off-balance or otherwise out of place, it can restrict the flow of blood and lymph, disrupting nerve connections and causing numerous health problems throughout the body, such as constipation, fibroids, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. By repositioning a uterus that may have “tipped” or dropped, as well as manipulating other internal organs that have become displaced, the body is restored to a state of wellness.

The Arvigo Technique is said to be especially helpful for women experiencing fertility challenges. “There is a spiritual component as well,” says practitioner Ariane Amsz, who studied with Dr. Rosa Arvigo in Belize and whose New York City-based clinic, Wall Street Wellness and Physical Therapy, offers the technique. “It brings you in greater tune with your body. The abdominal pelvic region holds a lot of emotions, and any traumas from the past can be brought up during the session.”

During the session, Amsz presses her fingers in a scooping motion into the perimeters of the belly, from pubic bone to diaphragm, stroking toward the navel. She incorporates various techniques unique to the Mayan healers, such as a twisting motion in parts of the abdomen and a hip-shaking move that Dr. Arvigo named “The Blind Midwife” in honor of the sightless woman who taught it to her.

Ancient Hawaiian populations also performed a form of abdominal massage known as Opu Huli. A component of the traditional Hawaiian massage Lomi Lomi, “Opu” means stomach and “huli” means turn. This type of bodywork is used to help digestion, elimination, and peristalsis of the large intestine. It can relieve lower back ache and facilitate proper functioning of the nerves. Opu Huli was traditionally performed when a keiki—Hawaiian for child—had colic; it was also appropriate for a variety of upset stomach conditions of adults.

At the Spa at the Mauna Lani Bay on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii, the Opu Huli treatment begins with a foot massage. Afterward, warm oil is slowly poured into the navel, and the abdomen is rubbed in a circular motion.

Of course, abdominal massage isn’t for everyone. “People with any health concerns should consult with their doctor first,” advises Cogswell. In general, abdominal massage should be avoided if a person has inflammation anywhere in the abdomen or reproductive organs, and should not be performed on anyone with kidney stones, ulcers, excessive bleeding, or hypertension. And finally, common sense dictates that it is best performed before a big meal, rather than after.

This entry was written by scrawford, posted on October 17, 2009 at 7:46 pm, filed under Bodywork, Lifestyle and Spa, Santa Barbara and tagged abdominal massage, Bodywork, Massage, Scott Crawford, SOMA GET FIT, spa, visceral massage. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.