Athletes and sports enthusiasts get great benefits from neuromuscular bodywork. For example this bodywork can restore range-of-motion (ROM) to the shoulder-arm complex allowing for better sports performance. Perfect for avid tennis and golf players.

• If you want to reduce stress and/or pain and aches or improve your range-of-motion you will need to actively participate in your therapy. By following my instructions you will be moving your body (arms, legs etc.) while I work deep to stretch your muscles and tendons. This is a very rewarding experience and my clients love it!

Ask me about the results that I've had with my previous clients. Traditional Thai Massage

The theoretical basis of Thai massage is the existence of the "energy body," which includes 72,000 "sen" or energy lines through which life force flows. In Thai massage we address ten main sen using compressions, pressure on specific points along these lines, and stretches to release blockages to restore the free flow of life energy. These stretches, as you will observe, benefit the body in many ways. You may think to yourself, "why, what a nice way to lengthen the hamstrings," and you would be correct, but the intent of the work is to facilitate the movement of energy. The fact that the hamstrings get a good stretch is an incidental benefit.

Thai massage is a branch of Traditional Medicine of Thailand, which also includes herbal treatments, nutrition, and spiritual practices. The focus of my work is exclusively the manual manipulation that we refer to as Thai massage. At one time, Thai massage was used as a medical modality for the treatment of gallstones, liver disease, whooping cough, paralysis and even daydreaming, to name only a few. There is a specific protocol for each of the ten sen to address disorders according to the area of the body affected. With the current availability of modern medicine, few patients seek out Thai massage for the treatment of serious illness or disease, but it is a popular and valuable modality for the treatment of sore muscles, joint limitations and other soft tissue dysfunction. Many recipients seek out Thai massage for its restorative qualities, reporting increased energy and a feeling of balance and well-being.

Thai massage is performed fully clothed on a nice firm mat. Secrets of Lean People
By Stephen Gullo, PhD

Institute for Health and Weight Sciences

Do you know people who never gain an ounce and yet don't seem to have to watch what they eat? Good genes play a role-if your parents were lean, more than likely you will be, too. But in helping thousands of patients slim down, Stephen Gullo, PhD, author of The Thin Commandments Diet, has found that though most of us assume lean people never give their weight a second thought, they actually rely on a number of strategies to keep the pounds from accumulating. Here, the secrets of lean people, which can help anyone who is trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight...

Lean people don't skip meals. They don't allow themselves to get so hungry that they become compulsive eaters rather than selective eaters. lean people have structured eating habits. They eat three meals and one to two healthful snacks a day to keep blood sugar stable and prevent the body from secreting large amounts of insulin, the hunger hormone. Stable blood sugar levels also help the body metabolize calories efficiently and prevent cravings for sweets.

Lean people eat the right breakfast. The National Weight Control Registry, which monitors people who have lost weight and successfully kept it off, found that 78% of those who have maintained their weight loss eat breakfast every day. But the wrong breakfast isn't helpful. A breakfast high in simple carbohydrates, such as a sugary cereal, stimulates appetite. That's because blood sugar is low in the morning. If you eat a sugary breakfast, blood sugar levels rise and then crash rapidly, making you hungry. A breakfast that contains protein and fiber-such as oatmeal and skim milk or low-fat yogurt with fresh fruit-is better. It satisfies your appetite, keeps blood sugar levels on an even keel and helps you feel full longer.

Lean people act quickly. If they gain a few pounds, they immediately cut back on portion sizes and exercise more. I tell my patients that a mark of a winner at weight control is to own only one size of clothing. When lean people think their clothing is getting too tight, they don't buy larger clothes. They change the habits that are creating the problem. It's far easier to lose three or four pounds than it is to lose 20.

Lean people weigh themselves regularly. Most people who have lost weight and kept it off weigh themselves at least once a week. A gain of even two to three pounds motivates them to shift into a more restricted eating plan for a few days. I weigh myself on Monday, right after the weekend, when my eating habits tend to be more liberal, and again on Friday. If I don't like what I see on Monday, I make changes in my diet. I eat lighter meals, such as broiled fish and chicken, egg white omelets and steamed vegetables without oil or butter, and I don't eat sweets. I weigh myself again on Wednesday to see if my weight is coming down.

Lean people don't deprive themselves. They devise creative strategies to limit consumption of high-calorie foods. They don't stock the house with them. When they do buy them, they select individual portions or serve them only when they have company or on weekends. A patient of mine only buys her children cookies containing peanuts because she doesn't like peanuts. Other people eat desserts only in restaurants.

Lean people get enough sleep. Being sleep-deprived stimulates the appetite, especially carbohydrate cravings. Researchers at the University of Chicago studied young men who got only four hours of sleep per night for two nights. The researchers measured levels of the hormone leptin. An increase in leptin signals the brain that no more food is needed.. .a decrease triggers hunger. The sleep-deprived men had an 18% decrease in leptin. The researchers also found that levels of ghrelin, a hormone that causes hunger, increased by 28%. The sleep-deprived men were not only hungrier, they also craved carbohydrates, such as sweets, and salty foods, such as chips. They may have wanted sweets because of lower blood sugar levels. The salt cravings may have been because sleep-deprivation lowers blood pressure. Salty foods raise blood pressure and may have temporarily made the young men feel more energetic.

Lean people move a lot. Studies show that people who lose weight and keep it off exercise regularly. They may not work out in a gym or have a structured program, but they walk a lot, garden or take the stairs instead of the elevator. The National Weight Control Registry found that people who keep off weight burn about 11,830 calories per week through physical activity-the equivalent of walking more than 20 miles. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have reported that lean people expend about 350 more calories per day, on average, than sedentary obese people-and not just through exercise, such as walking. They fidget, tap their toes and so on.

Lean people exercise portion control. They know which foods they can eat in generous amounts, such as lean protein, fruits and vegetables. If they overeat, thev do it at a special restaurant or on a holiday. There's nothing wrong with overeating on Thanksgiving, but there is something destructive about consuming a pint of ice cream every night. Lean people also consider how food is prepared. They know that a healthy, low-calorie filet of sole, for example, is neither healthy nor low-calorie if it's fried in oil or sauteed in butter.

Lean people don't use food to deal with emotion. Many of my patients don't really enjoy the foods that are making them heavy. They use food to cope with anger, depression and stress. People who stay trim over a lifetime don't use food as therapy. They also don't eat because of boredom or out of habit, such as when they go to the movies or they're watching TV. Instead, they have other ways to deal with their emotions. They may go for a walk, take a bath, play a computer game or browse in a store. Mental diversion turns off the food switch. If they associate watching television with food, they chew on a stick of gum or eat cut-up vegetables. Or they allow themselves a sensible portion of a low-cal snack, such as a small bag of low-fat popcorn.

Stephen Gullo, PhD, is a health psychologist and president of the Center for Healthful Living at the Institute for Health and Weight Sciences, New York City. He is former chairman of the National Obesity and Weight Control Education Program of the American Institute for Life-Threatening Illness at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and author of The Thin Commandments Diet (Rodale)