Monthly Archives: December 2013

Lindy Focus Party / Massage Time!

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There are some events that you spend most of the year excited for. For some of us, it’s Christmas, or New Years, or Halloween, or a birthday, or that first warm day of spring.

And for me, it’s Lindy Focus.

Lindy Focus - credit Jerry Almonte

Lindy Focus – credit Jerry Almonte

Lindy Focus is the best of times, and the better than best of times. And in my crazy way, I decided to combine my two loves — massage and dance — and do them every day, to their fullest extent. My beautiful, lovely, perfect friend Bee drove my massage table down early, and I’m bringing all the things I need to have the sessions I like to share with my clients.

Click here for sign up logistics — ie. (date, time, length of session)! Continue reading →

The Power of Empathy

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I found this video incredibly powerful, both in images and ideas. I appreciate Brene Brown’s every word, down to the last line: “Rarely can a response make something better. What makes something better is connection.”
(Her TED talk about vulnerability hangovers and shame is also amazingly inspiring to me.)

Just doing it. (Iron Aries #2!)

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In my experience, there are three parts of training:

1. Plan it. *

2. Do it.

3. Record it.

Of these three, I am definitely best at the “doing it” part, and I’m starting to see results. (Thanks, in honesty, to Chris.)

The results do not look at all like this. Because I am a human.

Woah.

Continue reading →

Introduction

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Hi, I’m Aries — I’m a licensed massage therapist and I work here in Washington, DC, predominantly at Freed Bodyworks. This is a collection of my thoughts on health, fitness, pain management, injuries, stress management and self-care strategies.

I see most clients in relation to chronic pain and athletic injuries, including issues such as shoulder injuries, headaches, TMJ, carpal tunnel, low back pain, neck pain, and restricted movement. I also appreciate working with clients to foster relaxation and assist in stress management. I use deep tissue techniques (and “Swedish” techniques) to decrease pain, increase movement, and help people feel more at ease in their bodies. I am in the process of getting my personal trainer certification so I can understand more about exercise physiology, stretching, and fitness.

As a massage therapist, I seek to create a safe, non-judgemental space for all people to receive bodywork. I welcome people of all body types, races, ability, ages, ethnicities, sexualities and gender identities. There are many reasons to seek massage, and I look forwards to creating massages that fit your needs and your body.

You can book a session online here (even for a same-day appointment) to find a time that fits your schedule. For more information, you can call or text me (202) 670-3886, or shoot me an email at aries [at] freedbodyworks [dot] com.

The sad season

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As much as I love the holidays, this isn’t always the happiest season. With the days shorter, the light more scarce, and the wind more harsh, most faces around me grow more closed.

I see my friends getting sad. 

This week, a very close friend of mine wrote a powerful piece on depression — Riding It Out — on Disrupting Dinner Parties. I’d strongly recommend reading it all — here’s a section of it:

“I’m scared that my depression will turn me into someone who is not worth loving.

I’m scared of who I become under its influence. Someone who binge-watches vampire TV shows, who never comes out of her room, who can’t bring herself to call her friends or go dancing or write blog posts. Depression strips away all the external markers of my personality. It strips me of my ability to do any of the activities that validate my sense of self-worth, while simultaneously filling my head with a litany of my own worthlessness.

I’m scared that I will ride it out, make it through to the other side, and look around to find that I have lost all of my friends.” Continue reading →