Welcome 2021!

 What a year it has been! 

If I am thinking back I feel like nothing fun or interesting happened 2020, but when I scroll down my Instagram feed, I remember so many good things! Please, do the same.

In January and February I still went to theatres for great shows and concerts. In the beginning of February the trees were in full bloom anticipating a great spring and I was volunteering with immigrants. I miss that! I also got flocked with these hilarious flamingos on my front yard by Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and got to trouble with our HOA... not the first time. 

My sister was visiting us and we made trips to museums and even Atlanta right before the covid19 stay at home hit. Luckily she was able to get home without trouble and I got bored with stay at home order in March and April. But, I did a lot of studying and even a couple of videos about how to move yourself. Check my Instagram!

I also hope that you have made your acquaintance to my dear owl Harry. His wife,  by the way, is called Meagan, and they both live in the area between my house and Blakeney Shopping Center. I was able to catch a great pics of them this summer. 

In summer I was allowed to get back to work, so I still haven't finished all the great, and thick, books that are waiting to be studied... but I did study a lot of Ortho-Bionomy and hopefully will finish my first step - associate degree - this year. Changing your way of living, eating (duh!) or working seems to be pretty tricky: I tend to slip back to my old habits all the time.

I obviously haven't been traveling this year a lot, but I have truly enjoyed taking a few trips to Asheville, Wilmington, Kure Beach and even to Savannah. Mainly to have some alone time; the ways of Finnish introverts are peculiar. I seem to need to spend time in isolation with my computer to do some writing. And computer it has been: in August I got a second job as a Finnish teacher which has been wonderful! That's where I come from and my soul is happy to be teaching - and using - my mother tongue. And I will keep teaching as much in the beginning of 2021. 

One big step was also the ability to donate blood: the restriction around mad cow disease was lifted and I am officially a Red Cross Donor! That makes me feel like I can do something to help in this many ways helpless state of pandemic. 

We all struggle a bit at the moment, right. My way of keeping myself sane and running is the Nature. I am so happy to have been able to enjoy the miracles of trees, roots, ocean, mountains, deer, owl, waves, flowers, changing colors and sparkling blooms here in North-Carolina. We have a beautiful Mother Earth to comfort us and give us strength. Go out and enjoy! Hopefully with a cup of coffee. 

2021 has had a good start and for me it will a bit more teaching and somewhat less working with bodies. Make sure to make your appointment ahead, my working hours are Mondays 10-4, Wednesdays 9-6 and Thursdays 10-4. Pricing will remain the same as 2020. 

My motto for 2021 is Don't Push, Let It Flow!

Welcome to Kata's Way, where Balanced is Painless. 

Covid-diary: July

Oh my, what a summer this has been! I have been trying to gather my thoughts and allow some guidance about the future to come up. This summer with covid-19 hanging above our heads has been exhausting, so that a couple times I have been thinking about taking a real break and finding another job. Really, I am also a teacher, so in the beginning of  'this era of uncertainty' I took and passed an exam to teach English as a Second Language. 

But here I am, still seeing clients, and that is only because I love my clients, and YOU ALL bring me so much strength and lighten up my workdays! Thank you for that. Still, I have been struggling with my inner momentum and I feel like I have lost the inner knowing of when to push and when to let be. Those of you who know me, also know that I strongly tend to push forward whenever I feel even a little bit uncertain. 

And there is no adamantly pushing  forward when we have a worldwide health crisis on our hands! Every time I open my door to a client, I also crack open my (and my family's) safety and chance to get the virus to sneak in. I am very aware that this virus will not kill us all, and in some ways we should be more worried about the coming flu-season, which might be fierce since we all have been isolating ourselves for such a long time; but in the business of touching people, the spreading is the biggest enemy. I don't know how I would handle the situation, if it came to the reality that I have been spreading this virus among my clients. I am grateful to have stayed pretty much untouchable by it so far, but that could change any time. Literally: any time.

In the past few weeks I needed to cancel a bunch of my commitments because of my health issues. At some point I developed almost all the covid symptoms in my head (I kept smelling my coffee about 70 times a day to make sure that I can still smell, and I think that was the only thing that kept me sane), but 'fortunately' the reason of my feeling so ill, ended up being  my front tooth. Yes, you read it right, one probably infected tooth made me crazy, so that I frenzied around my house thinking my last will and testament. 

The anxiety was what made me jump over my head, and I accumulated a symptom after another. When I finally managed to make an appointment with my dentist (I really did not want to bother her in this time), I spent a sleepless night making up scenarios about the first woman that has been killed by the version of covid that ate up her brain (you see, straight root canal to the amygdala). After the (first) dental appointment I felt 2 things: 1. that I just survived from a near death experience, and 2. all my covid-related symptoms had disappeared. Just like that. 

This tooth has been bothering me quite some time, and we still don't really know if there is anything wrong with it. (It has had a root canal, it has a crown, it has been bite-adjusted like 10.000 time and I do have a night guard to keep it safe.) So why all of the sudden the things evolved out of my reach? I simply got too anxious, my mind was not able to understand and make peace with the current situation and because I am too stubborn to read between the lines, the pain attacked to my weakest spot. I have been giving, caring and releasing my clients anxieties all the while forgetting the amount of self-care this situation needs. And I have never been taking more care of me than this summer; it just wasn't enough. 

To emphasize the importance of my teeth's wisdom, I will also tell you that the worst time with my teeth I had right before we moved to the States, like a week before the flight I urgently needed a new bridge (to replace one we had built like 6 months ago)... or the fact that when I am scheduled to have a 2 hour crown procedure, it normally takes 4,5 hours. The assistants in my dental office have learned to ask to schedule me as the first client in the morning, because they don't like staying after hours. So, I am pretty humble in front of my teeth and deeply grateful to my awesome dental crew!

At the moment I don't know what to think about the fall that's coming pretty soon. Should I pre-screen my clients, have everybody sign an extra waiver, make my clients wear a masks at all times in my house? I don't know. I personally don't feel threatened, but I can now see and feel how the big picture affects us all. I am not immune to the big scare (of uncertainty, financial threat, political atmosphere) and I am willing to serve my clients, but not in cost of my own health! I simply don't understand how the front line workers are managing, AND I also want to be there to support them with my skills when the time to unravel all this comes. 

I am taking some time off next week, and will schedule at least one week off each month until the end of the year. Make sure to schedule ahead of time, since I can not guarantee all of your regular spots. I am also planning something new for 2021 even if my studies probably won't be in the phase I wanted them to be by that time. My work is evolving, my practice is changing and I am my first priority. I love my work, but that can not be the reason to neglect my own health. I give up now: I can't do it all, I don't need to do it all and I refuse to do it all. Please remember that this is Kata's Way and in my way Balanced is Good, because Balanced in Painless. 

P.S. If you are interested in what happened to my tooth, I can tell you that it needed an acupuncture session to calm down the nerve and the channel. I have no idea how it worked, but 2 hours after my session I felt the huge weight lifting from my shoulders and the pain in the tooth shifted. It is still a bit painful, but this pain is reconstructive, not threatening and invasive any more. It will be fine. 

Here; ask them more if you need an excellent care: Art of Acupuncture 

Post Covid-19 Diary

We are definitely not over covid-19 yet, but I wanted to tell you where I am at the moment, since I am allowed to go back to work with clients who have medical massage referral from their medical or naturopathic provider.

What is changing? 

I have always disinfected my room, all the door handles and guest bathroom several times a week, but now I will be doing it after each and every client. I will be spacing out my clients, so that nobody will ever meet anybody else in my house. I will also greet you at the door so, that any guest will touch as few surfaces as possible during their visit. I will also have disinfection wipes and clean towel for you in the bathroom and hand sanitizer for everybody to use.

I do not require using gloves or facemask, but feel free to use them if you wish. I will put my mask on when I will be touching your upper body or head, but I won't be covered all the time. I will NOT be using gloves when I touch you, but will wash and disinfect my hands several times an hour.

I will cancel, and I require you to do the same, if I get any flu or cold symptoms, and that might happen even in the same day. So same day cancellations will be okay until the end of the year.

With all that I am certain that we will be safe and comfortable to start working with your pains and aches again.

I also want to emphasize that the time off have had a deep impact in me and my work! I have deepend my listening skills, learned new relaxation techniques and changed my understanding about psoas major (and other hip flexors) muscle quite a bit. This will also change my work, which is an evolving learning process. The more I learn, the more I believe that it is not what I can do for my clients, but what and how the client can help themselves in guiding the body towards more ease and comfort! My body is changing, your body is changing, so what worked last year, maybe won't help anymore.

I am deepening my listening skills and learning to be quiet. I will demand you to do so too, since my goal is Balance, because Balanced is Painless. Balance of the mind, body, myself and my willingness to help you depends on how much you are willing to help yourself. I am in the right path and that is Kata's Way. I welcome You back whenever you are ready, but don't expect things to be the same.

P.S. I had such a good results with Zoom-sessions that I will be continuing those! 60 mins and $30 one-on-one Zoom-treament is a valid option if you wish to meet me between the real treatments, or if you are hesitant to leave your house.

The Big 2019

It looks like the year 2019 is a BIG ONE. In so many ways. Let me tell you.

Right before Independence Day 2019 it will have been seven years since my family, including me, moved to the United States. SEVEN years. In the mysterious life of mine, and so many others, seven year cycle is an important and meaningful period of time that marks change, renewal and (self-)reflection. That is how it has always been for me. As many of you also have been reminded (not that I have been complaining too much, right?) that I just had a big birthday, which really didn't go as planned, yet I survived. I'm not saying that I feel old, but I am experiencing that this life of mine has brought me so much more understanding and maybe even wisdom, but it sure has introduced me to some stiffness, longer recovery time and funny hormonal changes. But let's not get too deep into that this time.

Most of you know me as an energetic and straightforward, but also creative and enthusiastic person, and those of you who are close to me, also know that I can be pretty introvert at times. But, more than anything, I do need something to be excited about, to be able to thrive and go forward. That excitement has been missing for a couple of years and I have been trying to tell myself, that this period of calming down is desperately needed. Maybe it was; I needed my time cocooning and gathering my thoughts, since something strong and powerful is evolving.

I need the change to stay alive! That's the truth, so I'm happy to be in the beginning of a new cycle. I am creating a new, better, less sustainable way of living and working. It will include some self-reflection, but even more recilience and perseverance towards me and my own ways. I know what I'm doing and I will learn to do it in a less wearing way. My inner turmoil and learning process will have some effects to my clients: I will upgrade my skillset this year and raise my rates next year. I will bring more ease to my work, lessen the pressure I have taught myself to use and be more perceptive to my clients needs. That will not work for some of you, so I truly won't mind if you decide to find an another therapist (I will recommend one for you if needed).

I need to do this for me, to keep learning, to find the passion that was lost for awhile. I want to keep some variety in my work (like extremely interesting neuropathy work and frozen shoulder protocol), but my style of working will definitely lighten up and have more and more pieces of Ortho-Bionomy. Some of you won't experience any changes since I already have changed some pieces of my protocol, some of you will experience the big shift in their treatment plan, an all this happens because I can't physically keep working the way I have been past years. I just can't!

With my new style there's going to be some days that nothing seems to be working, and there will a lot of explaining what I do. It's actually pretty funny; I need to talk myself through some pieces where I usually tend to start pushing and forcing the tissues, verbalizing seems to help me keep focused at this point of learning process. Feel free to tell me if you need your relaxing time on my table to be quiet. I promise to do my best.

I will definitely explain more later, there is so much to learn! I feel like my whole belief system needs to be changed in a way. But nothing will change, that's the beauty of this treatment. I will always do my best to help you in your issues and aches. This is Kata's Way and that means Balanced is Painless. Let's make it painless for me too!

See you in July, I'm off to Finland for a month.

Some changes that happened 2018

Most of you know, that last summer I was forced to move out of my office pretty suddenly. Since I had no time to search for a new, reasonable priced space, it was an easy decision to move back to my home office located behind Blakeney Shopping Center. I am honored to keep working with all of you at my house and the space is all ready and comfortable! I still have my Chi-machine for your convenience and on 'cold' winter time I will be also offering an Infra Red Heating Pad as a part of your treatment.

My work hours are Tuesdays 9-4, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9-6. Yes, that means that I will NOT be working on Mondays any more. This wasn't an easy decision, but it was necessary. 2019 I will most probably bring some Mondays back to my schedule, but that's still depending.

I have also started new studies in Happy Body that is located in Asheville. I'm constantly working on making my life, and work, easier, so this is part of that. I will be posting more about Ortho-Bionomy, when I learn a bit more.

For some of you it has come as a surprise that I also teach my language, Finnish! That is actually my original profession and I am so pleased  to keep up with that too. At the moment I have 5 eager students who I meet weekly, so freeing Monday is giving me another weekly day off. Which I need.

I wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season! I will be working until 12/20/2018 and then again 1/2/2019. On Christmas time me and my family will be enjoying a staycation with books like How Brain Works, What is Neuropathy, Movements of the Skeleton and A Practical Manual to Ortho-Bionomy ... sounds fun!

Remember that it's still Kata's Way and that means that Life needs to be Balanced because only Balanced is Painless.

New office 1/8/2018!

I will start in my new office January 8th! Check the previous post if you want to check the address and instructions how to get there. I will be texting everyone the new address by phone in the first few weeks.

I am also taking a part of our office's online scheduling system and here´s the link for my scheduling: online scheduling. The system works under Effie Spurlin name, but just click Kata´s Way Treatment and the rest is self-explanatory. You won´t be able to pay my services online, but now you have a possibility to make or change your appointments easily! You can still give me a call or text, and I will be pleased to make your appointment for you like I have always done.

If you want do add our Infrared Sauna session after my treatment, you need to use it´s own link:
Infrared Sauna. Or you can ask me to do it for you! This is one of the great advantages of my new office. Here's a link to read more about InfraRedSauna.

I have also done quite a bit of research about Therapeutic Massage sessions´ pricing around south Charlotte and it´s now clear to me, that I need to raise my pricing accordingly. I do have an extensive training both in NC and in Europe and over 10 years experience. I have been working in North Carolina over 3,5 years. I am also back in paying a monthly rent, so I will have new pricing in the beginning of March. Please, plan accordingly, and purchase your 3 or 5 session series before that! I do not demand a monthly membership, I am flexible with scheduling (please, ask me if you need to schedule outside the timetable on online system) and I do offer a significant discount if you purchase 3 or 5 sessions in advance, and I´m not changing that. Kata's Way is therapeutic, goal oriented and in my treatment 60 minutes is actually 60 minutes treatment (undressing and dressing is on your own time).

I am so excited about this new year and new beginning! Here's what You will get:

• Online scheduling
• Cozy environment with other therapists
• Possibility for semi-private Pilates classes to support our physical health goals
• Spine Flexibility Session by CHI-machine (10-20mins) before or after your treatment for $10
• InfraRed Sauna Session (45mins) for $30
• Great location at Ballantyne

 I hope to see you soon at Kata´s Way where Balanced in Painless. 

P.S. Our OpenHouse will be February 14th, stay tuned.

One more pic from Finland's Centennial Celebration.

BIG NEWS!

Happy Holidays for everyone!

As you have noticed, I have been slowing down for a past couple of months. I am so grateful for all my wonderful and patient clients, who have been following me at my house - not so perfect setting, but doable for awhile. Now you can guess my big news, right?

I have found a new office and will be moving sometime in January! 

I am pleased to announce, that I will be working in very cozy setting with my dear mentor, Effie Spurlin (http://effiespurlin.com). She has been a massage therapist for a long time and I have already learned so much from her, and the best thing is that learning will continue on a daily basis. I am so happy to be surrounded by other professionals again. We will be sharing a condo with 3-4 therapists with different specialities in bodywork with some adds on (Pilates instruction as aa addition to Kata's Way therapy, Infra Red Sauna Sessions, Chi Machine, Essentian oils etc.).

All this means some changes, so please be mindful and double check with me if you don't get any notification about your appointment (I have been manually sending a text message one day before). I will be gradually joining in Acuity Scheduling System, which will send you a confirmation via email and/or text, and this system also allows you to book or reschedule on-line. I'm doing my best in the transition process.

The new office is at Renaissance Gardens with entrance from JONHSTON ROAD between Carmel Road and Highway 51 (Pineville-Matthews). GPS will probably take you to Devince Circle, so DO NOT turn to Carmel, but straight from Johnston. Our building is first on the left and there is 3 parking spots right in fromt of number 7818B! The address is 7818B Renaissance Court, Charlotte, 28226. I will send these directions in every confirmation email!

I’m so excited about the year 2018 and we will have AN OPEN HOUSE with refreshments etc. on Valentines Day, although I will start in the new office already in the middle of January! I can’t wait the new opportunities and co-operation this office will bring to Kata’s Way, which still is Painless, because Balanced is Painless and that’s Kata’s Way!