Alyssa Coulter, LMT

Hi social media friends, it’s been a while!

I wanted to share a little personal update with you. As some of you may know, my dad passed away this May. After his death, I took some time to lighten my massage schedule and embrace some moments of quiet.

As it turns out, my grief did not agree with quiet lol. With the encouragement of a friend, I instead poured myself into a creative endeavor: creating ASMR massage content. And to my surprise, it really took off! In just five months since launching my channel, ZenHeads ASMR, I’ve gained over 600K followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. It has been such a wild journey!

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this crazy new venture and feel inspired to bring this experience into the real world - so I’m working on making that happen!

What does this mean for you, my lovely headache clients? I’ll be pausing appointments from November 26 until the New Year. This break will allow me to recharge with family and friends and celebrate the winter holidays while I flesh out these new services.

Though I’ll be focusing on this new brand, I’m not ready to move on from my headache treatment work, which is very close to my heart. I plan to resume appointments for returning clients in January, with a reduced schedule.

Additionally, the studio will receive a little makeover to reflect this new business!

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take on new headache clients at this time. However, once the ASMR services are up and running, I’ll be excited to welcome everyone. I think you’ll find these services will offer a unique blend of my headache techniques and ultra-relaxing sensory work.

Thank you all for your continued support! If you’d like to stay updated on my journey and see what these new services will look like, please follow on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. I hope to connect with you there!

Wishing you all happy holidays - Alyssa

Feeling cute might delete later

I was surprised by these results! 😲I’m (obviously) an advocate for the power of manual therapies when it comes to treating headache pain.

But this study makes a strong case for targeted and specific soft tissue techniques ✨OVER✨ general massage for the purposes of relieving migraine pain.

One important thing to keep in mind when considering the results - this study only includes participants whose migraines originate from myofascial trigger points in specific muscle groups. In the words of the authors, “the results shouldn’t be generalized to all individuals with migraine”.

Do you have sensitive points in your neck and shoulders that recreate your migraine pain? If so, trigger point therapy might be worth a shot!

Check out the article (linked in bio) to see the specific techniques they used to get these results. Should I make some videos about how to adapt these for self massage? 💆🏻‍♀️ Let me know in the comments ⬇️

💭I’m curious, did any of these muscles surprise you? I hadn’t heard of the last 2 muscles until I became a massage therapist… 😅

If you suffer from tension headaches, jaw pain, or tension migraines, you might find some relief in these self massage techniques!

Swipe left and visit my blog (link below) for more hands-on headache tips like this.

https://www.coultermassage.com/blog/4-self-massage-techniques-for-tmj-disorders-a-guide-to-at-home-jaw-relief

⬇️ This post is a bit consumerism-heavy. If that’s not your jam, feel free to skip this one. Happy holidays!

The elves were working overtime this month (it’s me, I’m the elves) to bring you a list of all of Santa’s (I’m Santa too🎅) favorite headache gadgets and home care products!

There’s now a page on my website where you can…

🎁 Shop the massage tools and supplies I use in the studio
🎁 Browse products me and my clients recommend for headache home care
🎁 Purchase digital gift cards to spread massage cheer to your friends and family

I’ll drop the link to the shop here.⬇️ Check it out!

https://www.coultermassage.com/shop

If you have any recommendations or suggestions for headache-care products to add, drop a comment below. I want to knowwww

Thanks so much for all of your support ❤️ Happy shopping

Does TMJ massage hurt? What should I wear? Is someone going to stick their fingers in my mouth?? 🤯

Ever wonder how a TMJ massage differs from a normal massage? Well… sometimes it doesn’t!

Don’t get me wrong, *usually* there are some differences in the time spent on the head, neck, and shoulders, the techniques used, etc. But protocols can vary wildly from practitioner to practitioner.

🎯Across the board TMJ massages share one thing in common - providing targeted relief for those grappling with jaw pain and dysfunction.

If you want to learn more, check out my blog post (linked in bio) where I demystify a lot of the aspects of TMJ massage including intraoral massage, dress code, and more.

If you’ve had a TMJ massage before, tell me what things surprised you in the comments!

If you’re a TMJ massage practitioner, let us know what makes your work special!

Happy anniversary to my biggest hype man 💋💋❤️❤️❤️😘😘😘😘

The ONLY reason why I recommend cupping:

✅ I think it feels good

There are a lot of claims that cupping rids toxins, increases blood flow, relieves stagnation, etc.

But, (like most manual therapy techniques), these claims have yet to be proven in peer reviewed settings.

That said, I still recommend cupping! Why? I think it feels really good, especially if you like the sensation of deeper pressure. I’m also a fan of any modality that saves my hands 🙌

If you’re a massage client, do you like cupping? If you’re a therapist, do you offer cupping? Let me know in the comments ⬇️

‼️God-tier cervical pillow appreciation post:

So I'm dreaming up ways to enhance the massage experience for my clients dealing with headaches, and then – flashback to a physical therapy session with this iconic blue pillow.

Cervical support, gentle traction, a shoulder cushion… it was the. perfect. pillow.

Therapist gives me the tea, I plan to check it out, immediately forget, and 7 years later I’m combing through pages of search results for "squishy blue physical therapy pillow" in desperation.

Guys I FOUND IT. Enter the Omni Cervical Relief Pillow, straight into my cart it goes.

Fast forward, my clients love this pillow. I’ve purchased at least 3 more for clients who wanted to take one home. I bought one for my mom. It's the hero of the massage session.

Found it on both Massage Warehouse and Amazon. Pro tip: Massage Warehouse ends up being a little bit cheaper (even with shipping) if you have an AMTA account.

… this is not sponsored. I just REALLY like this pillow 🤣

📚Another CE in the books!

I had been eyeing this online course for a while and finally decided to take the plunge. I’m so glad I did! Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about soft tissue manipulation for TMJ treatment.

We learned how to…
☝🏻Assess TMJ Dysfunction
☝🏼Perform advanced TMJ techniques
☝🏽Provide post treatment exercises & tips
☝🏾Work on the deep fascia of the neck

And we explored…
☝🏻The role of fascia in the body
☝🏼The emotional/physical causes of chronic jaw and neck pain
☝🏽The relationship between the hips and TMJ
☝🏾The spiritual dimensions of bodywork
☝🏿The body/mind split

Here are the deets if you want to learn more:

Course Name: TMJ Massage Therapies Level 1 Online CPD Course
Instructor: Helen Baker
NCBTMB CE Hours: 12.0

Thank you Helen and Lisa!