503-705-4762

Author: Anne

Cran-Nutty Green Beans

By: Laura Ruben

Is your garden teeming with beans?  My buddy Laura’s is so she offered this month’s recipe.  You could sub coconut oil for the olive oil if you prefer.  Try this and let me know what you think.

 

3-4 cups fresh green beans, trimmed

1 cup of onion, large dice

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup almonds, cashews or walnuts

*optional – 2 Tbs Hormel 50% less fat real bacon pieces

olive oil

sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Add onion and sauté for 5-10 minutes until just starting to soften. Add green beans and continue to sauté for 5-10 minutes (add a dash more olive oil if necessary). Add a few tablespoons of water, turn heat to medium-low and cover with a lid, stirring occasionally for another five minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Keep only enough liquid in the pan to keep vegetables from sticking to the pan. When the water has almost evaporated, stir in cranberries and nuts (*and bacon), salt and pepper, cover and simmer for five minutes until beans are crisp tender. Delicious!

Sellwood Pilates Training | Southeast Portland Pilates Studio

If you suffer from tight shoulders and lower back pain, or you just don’t recover from your usual hiking, running or biking activities like you used to, Pilates can help you.

At Fluid Movement + Massage, we specialize in Pilates training to reduce pain and improve strength. Located in Southeast Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood, we provide neighborhood and new client discounts, so the time has never been better than now to sign up with us for Pilates strength training!

Pilates exercises use a combination of movement and breath work to strengthen your body from the inside out. Your core strength and overall flexibility can be improved in just a few custom sessions at our studio.

With a consistent Pilates practice, you will notice:

  • Improved balance
  • Stronger lower abdominals
  • Improved muscle strength and coordination
  • Increased range of motion and spinal mobility
  • Decreased lower back pain

We offer beginner to advanced Pilates training sessions built around your fitness level and goals. We also offer a variety of small group classes – check our calendar for current times.

Want to get started now? Try our monthly Fluid 5, quick and easy ways to tone up and improve your core strength in just minutes a day.

Massage Therapy in Sellwood | Massage Therapist in SE Portland


Would you like to escape to a quiet, peaceful and warm space removed from the ringing of cell phones, returning of emails and answering of questions? A place where you can truly relax? Fluid Movement + Massage in Southeast Portland is your place.

We specialize in many types of massage and offer Pilates and yoga training from our Sellwood studio.

Massage is viewed in many cultures as part of a preventive health program. Although one massage will be enjoyable, the lasting effects of massage are cumulative and regular massage treatments are the best way to experience the positive health benefits.

At Fluid Movement + Massage, you can enjoy massage as a standalone service or in addition to strength sessions centered around yoga, Pilates and improving your core strength.

Looking for a gift? Treat your bride to be or birthday girl to some well-needed pampering. Want to reward your employees? Corporate chair massage available in 10 minute increments using no oil and working the head, neck, shoulders, back and hands.


Massage Menu

* Gift Certificates – available for thirty, sixty or ninety minutes. Ask about movement + massage packages
* Single session: $80
* Movement + Massage starter package: A six week intensive that includes five private Pilates or Yoga sessions plus a reward massage and home equipment (yoga mat, ball, or band): Call for pricing
* Corporate chair massage – call Anne for rates
* Fluid Tropical Vacations – join Anne in paradise for a relaxing week of Pilates, yoga, good food and fun.

Remind your body of how good it can feel! Contact us today to schedule your therapeutic massage.

Low Back Pain Study finds Massage Therapy is More Effective than Conventional Treatments

According to this WebMD story a recent study shows massage therapy to be a more effective treatment than traditional therapies.

The study randomly assigned 400 adults with moderate-to-severe low back pain lasting for at least three months to either weekly relaxation massage sessions, weekly deep tissue massage sessions specifically focused on the lower back and hips, or usual care.  After 10 weeks, participants in both massage groups reported reduced pain and improved function compared to those in the usual care group.

Participants reported benefiting from both relaxation massage as well as site specific deep tissue massage.  The researchers can’t explain this but I would guess that any form of positive touch encourages relaxation and reduces pain.

“I think this trial is good news in the sense that it suggests that massage is a useful option that helps some substantial fraction of these patients,” says study researcher Richard A. Deyo, MD, a professor in the department of family medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

One physician who was interviewed for this article spoke of the importance of exercise in combination with massage therapy.

“Certainly, it’s not going to hurt,” says Fredrick P. Wilson, DO, director of the Cleveland Clinic Solon Center for Spine Health, in Ohio.  “But it’s a short-term improvement, and it’s certainly not a fix,” says Wilson, who reviewed the study for WebMD but was not involved in the research.

“When we see patients, we push them toward active exercise rather than passive natural therapy kind of a thing. If they can have stronger core strength to support their spine, they’re going to be better off in the long run. So we’re trying to fix, rather than ease, their pain,” Wilson says.

Stronger core strength to support the spine.  I like the sound of that.  What can massage, or better yet the combination of movement + massage do for you?  Call Anne today and she will happily customize a movement + massage program just for you!

Council Crest Hike this Sunday June 19th!

 

We are headed to Council Crest this Sunday (Father’s Day) June 19th.  Join us for this almost 6 mile hike to Portland’s highest point.  We will meet at the Marquam trail off  Terwilliger at 9 am.  Here’s what portlandhikers.org has to say about this trail:

Winding its way through a patchwork of city parks and green spaces, the Marquam Trail stretches over five miles through peaceful, secluded forests in Southwest Portland. As part of the city’s 40-Mile Loop trail system it connects the Terwilliger Trail in the south with the Wildwood Trail to the north.

This will be my first time hiking this trail.  To get to the trail head I plan on following the directions on the Portland Hiker’s Field Guide:

From SW Terwilliger and Sam Jackson Park Rd (by Duniway Park) drive 1.4 miles south on Terwilliger to the trailhead. From Terwilliger and Capitol Hwy drive north 1.0 miles to the trailhead. There are small parking areas on either side of Terwilliger just south of the trailhead.

If you are interested in riding with me from the southeast please call or text me by Saturday night 503-705-4762.

 

Thanks Lisa for these photos!