Glowing Review: Integrative Fascia Massage - Chapelboro.com

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Welcome back to Glowing Review, a column written by a very regular, non-influencer person embarking on a discovery of local self-care and wellness trends. Now that we’re into those dog-days of Summer, where the weather every day is something resembling soup, I’d like to remind everyone that sometimes when it’s this hot and sticky outside, self-care means turning off your phone and enjoying a cold beverage in the air conditioning.

Monarch Brow and Facial Studio is the very wonderful and generous partner that makes Glowing Review possible. Monarch was recently awarded three different “Best of Chapel Hill” Awards, and while that is a fabulous achievement, I am not even a little bit surprised. (Probably because this is her fourth year winning at least one of these awards.) Angela provides thoughtful, knowledgeable and expert care to all of her clients, and I’m thrilled that our community continues to recognize that.

This month, I am taking Glowing Review down a slightly different path from the outer beauty based self-care, to more rehabilitative care to help with previous injuries I’ve sustained. I recently visited Carole Pope for Integrative Fascia Massage Therapy. Before Enya begins softly playing in your head and you light any imaginary candles, Fascia is unlike any massage I’ve experienced before — including the results.

According to Carole’s website, Fascia “covers us everywhere beneath our skin.” This spiderweb like muscle generally “flows freely but due to injury, trauma, repetitive motion, growth, pregnancy and sometimes emotions, it can become thick and cause pain or limited motion.” Carole is one of two licensed massage and bodywork therapists in all of NC qualified to offer this highly specialized massage. She will spend the session using experience and intuition to search for inflamed or attached Fascia, and work her way through it, ideally relieving you from pain or discomfort.

I think anyone can benefit from an experience like this because except for that one neighbor who only eats salmon and kale and runs marathons on Thanksgiving, almost all of us unfortunately have some kind of persistent pain that we deal with on a regular basis. What was so interesting about working with Carole is that she could feel injuries I had sustained or issues I experience just based on working through my Fascia. From this 1-hour massage alone, she figured out I clench my teeth at night, type and text too much, (that might be a no-brainer) and explained that my lower back pain is actually caused by a fractured ankle that didn’t heal properly seven years ago. I didn’t tell her about any of these things — she felt them for herself.

If you sit at a desk all day and it’s starting to cause mobility issues, you want to supplement the existing bodywork you already do, or you are suffering from lingering pain from an accident or injury and you want to find new and unique ways to heal, you should give Fascia Massage a try.

As a reminder, in an effort to manage everyone’s expectations with self-care investments, I use the “Self-Care Scale” in each edition of Glowing Review so you can choose what to try based on what matters the most to you.

Experience: Integrative Fascia Massage with Carole Pope

Relaxation Level: 7. I wasn’t there to relax, I was there to learn. However, in the quiet and peaceful space tucked into Carole’s cabin, it was bound to happen.

Painful Meter: 5. Similar to any massage I’ve gotten in the past, the only time I felt any pain was when Carole discovered a spot that needed to be worked on. I knew going into my appointment this was an opportunity to work on lingering issues, so I was prepared for whatever shape that would take.

External Results: 4. You can’t help but shine a little brighter when you feel rejuvenated. While Fascia Massage isn’t designed to change anything on the outside, you’ll definitely notice some pep in your step!

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It’s very important for me to share that Carole never once discussed my weight. I am a plus-sized person, and if you are currently, or ever have been overweight, you know that it’s rare to leave any kind of wellness appointment without your weight being the main topic of conversation. Would I like to lose weight? Sure! But do wellness providers need to meet me & other plus-sized people wherever we are on a health journey? Yes! Carole took the time to try and discover why I was experiencing back pain, rather than taking the easy way of assuming it’s because I’m plus-sized. She actually told several times that my body felt strong, with lots of muscle definition. (Obviously, I reacted the very normal way by crying on the table.)

Meeting with Carole Pope for an Integrative Fascia Massage was such a unique and informative experience. She bring years of expertise to her incredibly special approach to caring for your body.

I’ll see you next month for the next edition of Glowing Review, thanks to Monarch Brow and Facial Studio!

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As an accomplished painter and sculptor, Angela Hugghins brings an artist’s eye to her work transforming how the world sees her clients’ faces. A professional aesthetician since 2000, Angela launched Monarch Brow & Facial in 2016, providing expert skincare treatments, organic facials and lash and eyebrow tinting. After intensive training under Francek Prsa and the pioneering Serbian Master Microblading artist Branko Babic, Angela is one of only a handful of professionals in North Carolina fully certified in PhiBrows microblading.

The Monarch studio is an intimate space, designed for private, personal attention. She uses only organic, hypoallergenic and sustainable cleansers and makeup, providing treatments and simple-to-follow guidance to achieve great looking, healthier skin with a minimum of regimen at whatever budget you can manage.