Whenever I get on an airplane, I usually ignore that safety information speech I’ve heard so many times. The part I do take notice of is the reminder to secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others. We give to our children, we give to community, we work hard at what pays the bills. This post is a gentle reminder that you can walk or ride to a little massage studio in the center of Sunnyside and allow yourself an hour of peace.
Dana Buhl’s passion is bringing people more peace through massage. With all her training and belief in the power of positive touch, she has plenty of ways to reach out to the world including the types of massage she does for adults, pregnancy massage, teaching baby massage to parents and giving couples massage lessons. Then there is one of her biggest passions, practicing CranioSacral therapy.
Doing what I do to reach out to so many people, I simply have to take care of myself well so I am no stranger to massage. Still, I had to ask Dana a lot of questions to understand CranioSacral therapy. It intrigues me that, with a gentle form of manipulating the membranes and fluid that support the brain and spinal chord, she can ease migraines and tension headaches, jaw tension and dysfunction, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, sinus issues and even low back pain.
Dana was fortunate enough from an early age to see the inner and outer peace that professional touch can bring. Her mother’s massage therapist reached out to her during those impressionable adolescent years. As a girl who was already tall and getting taller, she learned the power of well-placed hands for making it all better.
Of course there were plenty of interesting detours in Dana’s life before she arrived in Portland 10 years ago to be professionally trained in massage and therapeutic yoga. One of these days when she and I have more time I want to hear some of her stories about running a hot springs and working as a river guide on the Rio Grande.
For now, I’ll stay focused on describing the trade offs and investments each of us can make to have a professional like Dana on our side in 2010.
Her rates, $65 for one-hour and $90 for 90-minutes, are right in the mid range for what healing touch practitioners charge. She is a wealth of knowledge on fair trade as well. Most of the trade arrangements she has done so far fall under the category of hour for hour (hours of graphic design for hours of massage) or dollar-for-dollar (which is how she first got massages for herself with a day of babysitting for an hour of professional massage.)
I know massage often gets treated like a luxury, but, just like you can take your car to Hawthorne Auto Clinic for regular maintenance or only when it really breaks down, Dana’s third story massage studio at the corner of 30th and Salmon allows her to welcome you as a neighbor in need or a regular client. She really enjoys being the neighborhood massage therapist. So, to help encourage us all to live local, she offers $5 off for anyone who can walk or ride to her studio. She has appointments available Mon – Thurs noon – 8 and Fridays 9:30 – 4 (all hours that you could have a friend watch your kids at the Swap Shop and stroll over for some great self care).
If you are wondering if you have a skill or service that she would be open to trading for, she is looking to convert her web site to a self editing system and could use some coaching in that area. She needs some landscaping/gardening help and is always open to trades for other forms of healthcare. She is also looking for some guitar or violin lessons.
Big thank to you, Dana, for being a Roost sponsor (and also one of our very first Swap Shop members). We’ve grown a lot since Dana’s daughter Zola first came through our doors thanks in big part to a strong community spirit that lives inside us all.
If your community spirit inspires you to trade the services you have for the services you need, hop on our Yahoo list serve (search for Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-Op under “groups” if you are not yet connected and send a request to join) and then let us all know what you do best and what you’d like another professional or willing friend to do.
To reach Dana for her services:
Dana Buhl, LMT danabuhl
gmail
com danabuhlgmailcom
503 807 6697
Appts. Mon-Thurs noon – 8, Fridays 9:30 – 4
I’ve been seeing various chiropractors and massage therapists over many years and have always felt like I was treating the symptoms but never fully addressing the cause of ongoing shoulder and neck stiffness. In just two sessions with Dana, I can really feel the results and I’m looking forward to even more progress as we continue to work together on my overall health. She has helped me roll my shoulders into a better position and the new-to-me techniques of CranioSacral Therapy are also working wonders to “reset” my body posture. I feel the tension, tightness and pain in my neck and shoulders most in my NIA dance exercise class and was just delighted to dance pain free for the first time in years after my last session in Dana. Thank you Dana for all you do to help keep your neighbors healthy and relaxed. What a beautiful gift to community!
Karen Hery – Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op facilitator/coordinator and busy mother of two rambunctious girls.