New York, NY (PRWEB) July 18, 2013
Serendipity is a beautiful thing; especially when one steps back and allows the Universe to work its magic. Take, for example, a chance meeting back in 2008 at a wellness seminar at Matthew Corozine Studio Theatre in Times Square. Karina Yanku, a massage therapist and Edya Kalev, a yoga instructor, have stayed in touch; sharing ideas, inviting each other to networking events, and supporting each others endeavors. Recently, Karina Yanku was featured in the MELT, Yoga and Wellness newsletter, and is amazed at how her client base has doubled since this singular article was published just two months ago. Ms.Kalev was so touched by Yankus story of how she overcame a childhood brain injury and took inspiration from her recovery to create OANAMassage to help with coordination, balance and memory.
As the first-born of three girls, Yankus mother was in labor with her for 18 long hours. When she was born everything appeared normal, but as she was developing, her parents noticed that she was having difficulty with locomotion, eye-hand coordination and severe behavioral issues. Her parents went on a painstaking mission to find a doctor who could help figure out what was going on, and it was discovered that she suffered a brain injury – either in utero or because of a long, traumatic birth.
Although Ms.Yankus parents were told by countless doctors that she’d never develop the coordination to ride a bicycle and would remain remedial for the rest of her life, as fate would have it, their best friends had also a son with a brain injury. It was through them that they learned about the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, a cutting-edge, progressive facility that treats brain-injured patients through a unique process called “Patterning”. This Patterning is designed to train the uninjured part of the brain to overcompensate for the part that is injured, thereby “rewiring” a patient’s neurological connections and improving functions.
Until she received this therapy, the only things that would calm her down were rhythm and music. Her father also had a love for music, as well as her grandparents, who would buy her toy instruments so that she could “jam” with Dad. As the oldest child, she also possessed a strong maternal instinct, and enjoyed helping to care for her two younger sisters. As a kid growing up in the 60s, Yanku had two distinct career ambitions: to be a nurse so she could take care of people, or to be one of the Beatles so she could make music.
Fast-forward past an unhealthy detour into the corporate world, she came to an awakening of sorts during a spiritual retreat in Upstate New York in 1996. Through group meditation and chanting, she became reacquainted with her passion for healing. It was at that point that she enrolled in massage school, and she hasn’t looked back since. Becoming a massage therapist has been the most rewarding decision shes ever made.
Wanting to combine her musical talents into her massage practice, four years ago Yanku embarked on a creative mission to develop OanaMassage, the first-of-its kind rhythmic, choreographed massage with it’s own musical score that matches every single massage stroke. The entire session is performed at 60 beats per minute, which, research has proven, assists with right/left brain synchronization, and also mimics the collective rhythm of the Earths Core, otherwise known as Schumanns Resonance.
So, what happens during an OanaMassage? Essentially, a persons right (creative) brain is enjoying the massage and the music, while the left (logical) brain is recognizing the corresponding patterns of the music and the massage in sync with each other. When a person receives OanaMassage frequently, he/she may start to anticipate the musical rhythm and the sequence of massage strokes, thereby enhancing healing on a much deeper level.
Karina Yanku, LMT is a New York-based massage therapist and musician who specializes in touch, rhythm and sound for the body, mind and soul. For more information, email info(at)karinyanku(dot)com or visit http://www.karinayanku.com.