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Look here first for special offers, new classes, schedule changes, and news from the healing arts field...
 

  >>>>>Special Offer to Spas in the San Francisco Bay Area<<<<<  Spa owners, directors, managers & lead massage therapists...  See the unique benefits of Radiant Skin Chua Ka and Techtuitive Bodywork first-hand.  >>>"Contact us " now to set up a free demo of either bodywork style and how it can draw in clients and keep them coming back.

Free-lance bodyworkers, check the class schedule page for public bodywork demos.  Schedule is updated periodically.  Or call for more info (707-782-0428).

>>>>>Special Offer to First-Time Clients at Marin County Office<<<<<  First-time clients... Feel the work first-hand. Schedule a session with bodywork maestro Niles Szwed (28 years experience) at Madrona Healing Arts in Kentfield, California and get a $40 Discount.  (First session only; offer good through July 15th.  For hospital personel in Marin County offer is extended through Labor Day). Feel better & look better now.  Try the highly refined Techtuitive deep-tissue work, the anti-aging Radiant Skin Chua Ka, or a combination of the two.  Credit cards accepted.  Series discounts available.  By appointment, 415-233-1806.

Madrona Healing Arts is the creation of Niles Szwed and esteemed colleague Charity Miller.  To find out more about Charity's work, go to: www.bloominglotustherapy.com

Madrona Healing Arts, 919 Sir Francis Drake, Suite 203-B, Kentfield CA.  www.madronahealingarts.com  Street parking available.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Come see us at the San Anselmo Art & Wine Festival, July 17th & 18th.  We'll be offering high quality Shea Butter, the all-purpose natural skin care from Africa, by A Body Beautiful!  See Laura's Page for more info on shea butter.

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*     Two new testimonials for Niles Szwed and the Radiant Skin Chua Ka/ skin rolling work, from enthusiastic clients!  Here are a couple excerpts...

"...His touch was very precise as I felt he was accessing different layers...  Going deeper on each roll, always checking in with me & my comfort level...  I recommend the skin rolling technique for people who want more out of a massage both relaxing & therapeutic."

Coleen Lindstrom DC

"He is everything you would want in a massage therapist and more.  ...technically superb, but in addition, he is highly intelligent and intuitive...  ...the Rolling Technique... is very invigorating... and then a feeling of total relaxation afterwards.

"...I strongly urge you to retain his services; I guarantee you will not be disappointed"

 Michelle Min-Walker, Designer/Owner, Bryn Walker

Or you can click on "testimonials " for more detail.

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*     Laura Scott is adding something new to her bodywork practice.   Since her brother-in-law Traoré Souleyman returned from the Ivory Coast with a thousand pounds of shea butter (also known as karité).  The latest addition to her line of shea butter products is the whipped shea body chiffon, which has an absolutely lovely texture, and is currently available in lemon and geranium.

She has been experimenting with this venerable balm, both in her skin rolling practice, and in packaging the butter as a general skin care product.  In addition to being an excellent and lasting moisturizer, shea butter also has anti-inflamatory properties.  In Africa it is commonly used in the treatment of injuries.  We've found that in small quantities, it creates an excellent firm texture for the rolling work.  And unlike various lotions out on the market, it is completely natural & pure, containing no petrochemicals & other gobbledygook.  

If you'd like to contact Laura regarding her bodywork practice, or if you'd like to try her pure shea products, click on "Laura's Page ".  And PS...  She continues to carry the always excellent Benedetta skin care products.

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*     An open letter to all bodyworkers & healers...  Originally written to the lead massage therapist at a spa I've been negotiating with re: spa trainings, but I think this has a lot of relevance for all of us.

"Hi (name withheld)!  I don't know if this is useful to you or not, but I've been doing a lot of thinking about what makes bodywork & the spa experience relevant in people's lives in the current times.  I think many of us in the healing arts are pondering this very question, as to stay relevant is to stay viable.  No doubt, many clients just plain don't have the money, as they've fallen on hard times.  However, there's a large population of folks out there who have the money, or at least enough money, but are choosing not to spend it on our services.  The question is how to reach them.

"I don't know what kind of publicity/ outreach you folks do there at (spa name withheld), but I think one of the keys is to de-emphasize  the "massage as pampering" sort of marketing, and emphasize massage as a support for a sane & balanced life, a bulwark against the stresses of the times.  In my own practice, the only people still standing (or laying down, as the case may be) are those who truly get how relevant bodywork is to their overall sanity.  IE, it's an important ingredient in their strategy to keep balanced amidst the un-balancing turmoil of the world.  In this light, it's easier for them to justify (to themselves) the expenditure and the enjoyment.  Otherwise, either the fear of sudden misfortune (in which case they'd kick themselves for spending all that money on "fru fru" stuff), or austerity (based on either guilt or solidarity with others who are having a harder time than themselves) kicks in and precludes them from coming to our door.

"So there has to be some way to put the word out, to show our work in the light of what we really have to offer.  We are afterall, in a deeper sense, advocates for and guardians of our clients' well-being.  This can be a time when we as a profession can and perhaps must shed the window-dressing we've had to adopt to market ourselves to the broader population over the last 20 or so years, and speak directly to the heart of the matter. 

"In any case, I'm offering this to you, one bodyworker to another, to use as you wish.  Pass it on if you feel inspired.  Obviously, in the most pragmatic sense, I want you all to do well there to increase the chance that you'll be able to bring in some of my classes.  But in the bigger picture, we, the mass of talented and experienced healers, have been like ripe fruit that's not being picked, these past several months.  If this message helps any of us to break out of these doldrums, then it will help to raise up all of us. "

"Blessings, Niles"
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(This page is revised & updated frequently.  Please check back again soon!) 
 
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