How Louiza cures her whole family

‘My two sisters and my mother were on daily medications. They tried everything to get rid of the pains’, says Louiza Kritikou. ‘I am so happy I could help them with massage.’

When Louiza told me her amazing story, I immediately felt like I needed to share this. Because giving massage treatments to your parents, siblings and kids is not so much integrated into our daily lives here in the west.

Actually, it is hardly done at all…

How many people do you know who are giving massage treatments to their families? I am sure that after reading this inspirational story you are with me that this needs to be changed.

So here is her story:

Louiza:

‘It is not in the lifestyle of most people I know to get a massage to improve health. This was also the case for my own family. My parents and sisters did not get massage treatments, because they did not know how beneficial massage can be.

During my massage study, I needed to practice for my exams. I followed the massage programs in Amsterdam and then I went back to my home in Cyprus. So I kept on nagging my family to let me massage them because I knew that they would see a big difference. And they did. They were so impressed.

SEVERE CONSTIPATION

My sister who is 38 years old suffers from severe constipation. She tried so many things. She tried detox. Then herbal pills to help with the movement of the bowel. She did treatments with a nutritionist. And her regular doctor subscribed medicine. But nothing worked for her.

When I was practising for my Thai yoga massage exams, I just started to massage her belly and she immediately after the massage was able to go to the toilet. That was such a relief for her.

IT IS AMAZING!

And when she went on holiday for 10 days and I didn’t massage her, she didn’t even go to the toilet. Not even once. When she came back I massaged her again and then she went to the toilet the same day. It is amazing!

She then told some other friends and they have the same problem. And they asked me to massage their belly a bit and I did it and then it gets stimulated and then they go to the toilet as well.

So I am giving massage treatments to my sister for three months now, around 2 to 3 times per week, and it works perfectly for her. She is so relieved.

PAIN IN TEETH

My other sister works at the bank and because she sits in front of the computer every day she gets a lot of tension on the neck and shoulders. This causes her a lot of migraines and it even hits her on the teeth,’ says Louiza, while pointing out the pain from the forehead, above the eyes, going towards the jaw and teeth. All signs of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome, for which massage can be a perfect treatment to combat the problem.

BAD POSTURE

Louiza continues: ‘When my sister told me about the pain in her teeth, I convinced her that I could massage her. The only time she got a massage was once at a Spa during her honeymoon. And that was a really soft one. So she didn’t really know anything about massages. I insisted that she could get a massage. I told her it is all connected, the neck, shoulders, her jaw and her teeth. It can come because of stress or bad posture. And if there is tension there, we can find it and release it.

MIGRAINE-FREE

Finally, she was convinced and I massaged her head, neck and shoulders for like half an hour. After she left, she texted me that her migraine was gone and then she didn’t take any pills for like 3 weeks or so.

When the pain started again, she came and asked me to massage her again. So I did. So now every time she feels like it is starting to get there, she comes and I massage her. And then it gets her by, so she doesn’t need to take pills.

ADDICTED TO PAINKILLERS

She used to take pills every day. She took painkillers. And at some point, she got addicted to some painkillers. So then she started to take some that were weaker, that didn’t have the addictive thing in them and then they didn’t work. So she had to take more and more.

Eventually, she was taking painkillers every day. And now, now she just comes to get a massage when she feels it is going to start again. She does not need her painkillers anymore. She is very impressed.’

MASSAGING MY 5-YEAR-OLD NIECE

And that is not all… Louiza shows me on her phone a video of her 5-year-old niece. The little girl lays on her belly on the massage table while Louiza is massaging her neck, shoulders and back. The girl giggles and keeps saying how much she loves the massage.

WHEN SHE IS A GOOD GIRL

‘She loves it so much, that we made a deal. Whenever she is a good girl, when she is not naughty, she gets a star. And when she gets five stars, she comes to get a massage by me. She is five years old and she feels that it is her biggest reward she can get. She doesn’t care about toys, or whatever, she just wants a massage every 5 stars,’ laughs Louiza.

11 YEARS OLD CUSTOMER

Louiza took various massage courses with us. While she was still in Amsterdam, she started to work immediately as a massage therapist right after the Deep Tissue and Sports massage course and even became the Spa manager. Now she is back home in Cyprus setting up her own practice. Her youngest customer is 11 years old. She was brought by her mother because she had a lot of pain on her neck and shoulders.

TEENAGERS WITH TENSION

‘When I massaged her, the neck had a lot of tension and the shoulders as well. So I asked her if she spends a lot of time on the computer or on her tablet or on the phone. First, she said: ‘Eh why is this relevant?’ And after she said: ‘Yes, I spend a lot of time when I go home I just sit and be on my phone or I watch stuff on my iPad.’ So then we realized it was because of that so I told her to just lay on her belly when she uses her devices.

BACK PAIN FROM WATCHING TV

She also had a lot of tension in the middle of the back, so I asked her about her posture and the way she sleeps and how she lays down when she watches TV. She said she doesn’t really pay attention so I told her to try and watch her posture more because that is probably why she has these tensions. The next day that she had come, her mom called me and she said: ‘She loved your massage and she went to school and she told all her classmates about it, and they all got so excited and they all wanna come and get massages by you.’ Louiza laughs, but then immediately becomes serious as she addresses the problem.

NECK PAIN FROM PHONE ADDICTION

‘I have another girl who is also 11 years old, and a girl of 14 years old coming for the same reason. It is really terrible that they start to have so many ailments from that age, from watching on phones, iPads and TV.

The one who is 14, does a lot of gymnastics actually, so I did not expect that she had so much tension as well. Because she does some really nice stretches and stuff like that while doing gymnastics. But because she is so addicted to her phone and the iPad that she has so much tension as well. And I noticed that, because when she was waiting outside for the massage, she was constantly watching her phone, sitting like this,’ Louiza shows me while bending forward with the neck looking down while sitting.

PARENTS MOVE MORE THAN TEENS

When I ask her if she also massages her parents, she confirms. What strikes me is a big contrast between the teenagers she describes with their ailments caused by constantly sitting while watching a smartphone, iPad or TV. And that of her father, who is 61 and very fit, because he moves a lot, he is active. He plays a lot of football.

DIFFICULTY TO RELAX

Louiza: ‘My dad enjoys deep tissue massage. He can take the pain. When he has tension, he feels a lot of pain when I massage him, but after he feels so much lighter. So he comes very often. But sometimes it is hard for him to relax because he thinks a lot and finds it difficult to let of control easily.

So sometimes it takes more time to get him to clear his head and just relax. I start with the head then it is easier for him to relax and then he just surrender. He is not very flexible so I do give him Thai yoga massage to make him more flexible, but then I take it easy with the stretches, I stretch less, and for him that works already, because that is what he needs.’

And then, there is Louiza’s mom, who she massages as well. The result is very remarkable!

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Louiza: ‘My mom promotes my work so much because she has seen the effect it has on her. She was going to get an operation for her hands because they were getting really numb. She often was not able to hold a pen anymore. And she could barely sleep because of the pain. She got MRI-scans and she tried many things, but nothing was working. The doctors diagnosed her for carpal tunnel syndrome and told her the only option was having an operation.

AVOIDING THE OPERATION

My mom told her doctor: ‘My daughter is coming back and she is a massage therapist and she suggested that to massage me because she thinks that we can make it work and can avoid the operation.’ The doctor agreed and said: ‘Just give it a try and see how it works, if it doesn’t work then you just come back and get the operation.’

IT WORKED

So Louiza was right, she impressed her mom and her doctors: ‘It was so great! When I massaged her, only the hands and arms, she could sleep from the first day on. And she couldn’t feel the pain anymore. Then, of course, the pain got back again, but I massaged her again, again and again. And now because it has been a few months already, now she barely gets numb. So she does not need the operation anymore.’

I tell Louiza: ‘Wow, how great that you cured your whole family. What a great job you did!’ She looks humble at me and is modest about her accomplishments.

REALLY NICE FEELING

Then smiled and she ends the conversation with: ‘People were always telling me, why you don’t have a real job and do this as a hobby? But I kept on saying that I want to be a full-time massage therapist. Because it is a very rewarding job. I changed so many jobs in my life and I never felt this pleasure. But with this! Seeing how much you can help people, even your own family gives me so much satisfaction. I feel like I am really doing something good. It is amazing. It is a really really nice feeling!’

Thank you so much Louiza for sharing your story with us. We hope it will inspire others to do the same!

Create a healthy and happy day!

Nicole (& Manel)

PS: On the picture you see Louiza giving a massage to her sister in her hometown on Cyprus.

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