Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep. # 115 Mind, Body, and Sound: Healing Through Massage Therapy
Carolyn Ingledue brings twenty years of massage therapy expertise and a fascinating personal journey to this enlightening conversation about healing through touch and sound. As the founder of Serenity Fix Wellness, she offers a unique blend of traditional massage techniques and innovative sound therapy that addresses stress at its physiological source.
The discussion takes a deep dive into Kita sound therapy, a one-on-one treatment distinctly different from Tibetan sound bowls. Clients wear headphones while receiving vibrational treatment along their spine, effectively shifting their nervous system from fight-or-flight to a restorative state. This technique gained prominence when Carolyn worked with 9/11 first responders suffering from sleep disturbances and PTSD, creating a full-circle moment in her career journey.
Carolyn's path to becoming a massage therapist is equally compelling – beginning as a professional dancer whose career was saved by therapeutic massage, then transitioning to wellness work after soul-searching following the September 11 attacks. Throughout her practice, Carolyn has evolved her skillset alongside her personal life transitions, from prenatal massage when considering motherhood to pediatric massage when raising young children.
What stands out is how Carolyn's approach addresses modern stress challenges. In a world where we're bombarded by thousands of advertising messages daily, her therapeutic techniques offer much-needed respite and nervous system regulation. Her comprehensive service offerings – from medical massage to infant massage instruction to assisted stretching – reflect her commitment to whole-person wellness across all life stages.
Whether you're dealing with chronic tension, recovering from injury, or simply seeking better sleep and stress management, this conversation offers valuable insights into how skilled touch and sound vibration can restore balance to overtaxed bodies and minds. Ready to experience the healing power of professional therapeutic touch? Visit serenityfix.com to learn more.
Serenity Fix Wellness
Carolyn Ingledue
(917) 439-0189
183 Old Tappan Road Old Tappan, NJ 07675
2nd Floor
carolyn@serenityfix.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, Welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. Today we are joined by Serenity Fix Wellness owner and founder, Carolyn Ingledue. Carolyn, welcome to the show, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, serenity Fix Wellness. It sounds like you're going to Serenity Now. Serenity Now is a line from Seinfeld. We could all use a little Serenity in our lives. Tell us a little bit about the company and when you started it and where you're located. Then we'll get into a bit about the company and when you started it and where you're located, and then we'll get into a bit about your 20 years, plus 20 years of being in the massage therapist world.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you so much. Yeah, so Serenity Fix Wellness is a massage clinic that offers individualized care for all ages and a variety of issues. I'm the sole provider there, so that gives me the luxury of working with my clients one-on-one and giving that individualized attention. My expertise pretty much lies in medically-based modalities. Very often I am supporting people with injury and surgery rehab. I offer manual lymph drainage and pre and postnatal care for mothers. I'm also a certified Kita sound therapist, which is different than the sound bowls.
Speaker 3:I know when people think of sound baths and sound healing think of sound baths and sound healing you think of the Tibetan bowls. The Kita sound therapy is very one-on-one based. The person receiving sound therapy wears headphones and I administer a treatment on the spine with a cushion. That's pretty much. It vibrates. So not only is the client hearing the vibrational tones through audible device, they're also feeling the vibrational tones along their spinal column to kind of really usher that sympathetic, parasympathetic nervous system into into play so that it can bring, bring the the relax and restore hormones and bring that person out of the fight or flight response that we sent tend to spend a lot of time in throughout our day Anyway.
Speaker 2:So I have no. That's interesting because I have had a Tibetan bowl therapist on my show and I've been to her studio in Wyckoff and you know I could see how that is very soothing and healing and just you know, and you're, you take your shoes off, you're kind of grounded, even though it's in a, in a building. I can absolutely sense the, the therapeutic benefits of sound healing, but what you're describing obviously is a little bit. Obviously it's individual. You have headphones on and there's also, as you said, something.
Speaker 3:And the sound baths are awesome, like if you get a chance to go to one. It is a wonderful experience and it's a group, collective experience. But Akita sound healing is a little more. You know, it's one-on-one and individualized. So if you are looking for that sort of personal one-on-one, the Kita sound healing kind of has the same effects as a sound bath without the collective group.
Speaker 2:Right, so let's talk a little bit more about that. Why is sound and vibrations more about that? Why is sound and vibrations? Why is that, uh, therapeutic and and it and is it what you know, tibetan? Obviously it's from tibet, right, your therapy, I think, is the key to this from japan japan, yes, so what is it that the asians have? Have figured out that we have. And and then, what is?
Speaker 3:what is it about sound, it's funny, funny because sound is very primal and if you do look back at many cultures and history of cultures, it's the same as chanting, why certain cultures will use chanting or different keening and calls different keening and calls that vibration in your body really does restore a pattern of calmness and that it's very primal and that is why it's kind of having its moment. Now You'll see sound therapy coming up all over the place. These days it's kind of trending. It's funny because I've been doing this for years.
Speaker 2:And why is it trending? Was it because of some celebrity attached to it?
Speaker 3:I don't really know.
Speaker 3:I find there are different types of sound machines coming out that are very slick, and I think the bowls offer a community sort of approach as well and I think, as our lives become more disconnected and more chaotic as far as devices and information and everything, I feel that the sound therapy is a very easy way to reconnect with what's going on in your body and really kind of bringing you back to a state of calm, a state of homeostasis, and just kind of get that nervous system, because our nervous systems are just going full tilt. Sound therapy is a very easy, efficient, precise way to get that nervous system back into rest and relax mode without a lot of other things involved. It's it's very easy and simple and, in time, timely, like you can easily do it in 10, 15 minutes if you needed to.
Speaker 2:I come to your studio, I go through a key to therapy and then I go back home and I turn on the news and I got to, and then I have to. You know, not me personally. I'm, let's say, turn on the news, and I got to, and then I have to. Uh, you know, not me personally, but let's say, turn on the news. I got to commute into the city the next day. I got to deal with this, that and the other thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right, I felt good for 15 minutes. Now the world is too much with me and I'm back to where I was being overwhelmed and stressed. You can build up kind of like going to the gym.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can definitely. Here's what happens is originally when I was trained on this. I was trained on first responders from the 9-11 attacks in New York City, so I learned this back in 2005 through Kita, the actual designer of this machine, and it was in an effort to offer complementary care to all of these people who were suffering chronic health conditions from being involved with the 9-11 attacks. And what they were seeing is that people who were having distorted sleep patterns and then everything that goes with distorted sleep patterns, with anxiety, depression, stress, post-traumatic stress, all of these things those were getting improved by regular treatments with the sound therapy and it really did sort of bring my whole journey full circle. The whole reason I went back to school to become a massage therapist is because I was living in New York City during the attacks.
Speaker 3:And at the time I was a performer and I kind of did some soul searching and I was ready to change. So I went to massage therapy school and then my first job out of massage therapy school I get trained on this, this device that actually helps the people that were sort of my inspiration to change careers and and change my path. So I kind of have like a little soft spot for sound therapy and its work. But since then, you know, I've used it on my children, I've used it on myself. It's a wonderful. It's a wonderful tool for sort of bringing that rest and relax mode, that rest and repair mode into your system. And with better sleep you're going to have better immune response.
Speaker 3:You're going to have better healing response, better repair response for injury, anxiety, depression all of that gets regulated just from having a better sleep pattern. I do have a client who gets sound therapy often and she has this device. I don't know what it is, but this device gives her a readout on her ability to handle stress. She's got all the fancy things, anyway. It's so funny because every time she has sound therapy she sends me the little readout that says you are like 78% ready to handle stress where before?
Speaker 3:she had been like 38% ready to handle stress. So she's so funny because she always sends me a thing that's like I need to handle stress better and sound therapy always gets her body ready to handle stress better and that's just her everyday stress, like she doesn't have a crazy job or you know dealing with a stressful, chaotic job. That's just everyday motherhood stress stress.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it's funny like we're dealing with stress, right. We've been dealing with it in all different forms. It seems to be something that we feel is unique to our time, right? But I use the words, I use the phrase the world is too much with us, and that was a poem written by William Wordsworth in 1802. So he was writing in England about the first industrial revolution and how the world was too much with us and how we were kind of losing touch with ourselves and nature and we were overly focused on materialism and worldly pursuits. And that was 1802.
Speaker 3:It's not a new theme, is it? No, it's not a new theme.
Speaker 2:It's not a new theme, but I think we always feel like the world is too much with us because there's so many distractions and stimuli. And the truth is and I use this in a marketing sense we are exposed to 5,000 to 10,000 ad messages a day, a day. Yeah, that's crazy. So and I'm going to look this up again because I've used this before how many advertising messages are we exposed to daily? The average person is estimated to be exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 advertising messages daily, so I mean how do you disconnect from that?
Speaker 2:Even if you want to disconnect. So I mean, we can go on and on about this. Maybe we will at another date. You know, there's so many different things we do today from a therapeutic standpoint in terms of helping us deal with stress in our lives, whether it's sound therapy, massage therapy, flotation therapy, Meditation.
Speaker 1:I have meditation.
Speaker 2:I had a business owner in Norwood who installs backyard saunas and cold sponge baths, right. So there's the. You know there's a therapeutic science behind. You know what saunas and cold plunges can do for us. So there's so many different ways that we're reaching as a people to. You know, we build this, this tension. It's like we build this ball of tension. We spend our lives building it, deliberately building it right.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And then we have to go find ways to release that tension, to build it back up again, and then release it and build it back up again. It sounds like you understand why some people get off the treadmill and maybe have these fantasies. Maybe I'm speaking for myself. I'm just saying, god, I just wish I could take a deep breath and go someplace where maybe it's not so too much with us, but I don't know what that would be, to be honest, unless you totally want to go off grid. Yeah, let's start. All right, so keep the sound healing that. We'll have to table that to learn more about that for another episode, I think. But let's go back to some traditionally massage therapy. And so you started off as a massage therapist 20 years ago, or was it more concurrent?
Speaker 3:OK. So what happened is like I didn't, I didn't get into massage in the traditional way, like I didn't graduate high school and then go like now I'm going to school for massage therapy. That isn't what happened. What happened was originally I was very interested in PT and possibly sports, being a sports doctor, because the inspiration there was like I want to be that person that tells you know someone that they can return to their activity, whether they were an elite athlete or just a weekend warrior. I loved the thought of being like we can we can fix you and you can return.
Speaker 3:My 18 year old self, who was a recent graduate, was also um. I had spent my childhood training as a dancer and taking dance classes and I was pretty proficient and, on a whim, I went to a Disney audition and, um, I ended up getting hired and sent to Tokyo Disneyland and the original thought there was like okay, great, this is an insane amount of money for an 18 year old to make. I'm going to take a gap year and pay for college, like that was my little plan, and that gap year turned into a 16 year dance career and early on in that career I had suffered. I had done a show that was really brutal on the body and I thought this was it. I'm like I can't be a dancer anymore because I can't move. I'm on the verge of being terribly injured and I was prescribed massage therapy not like massage therapy that you get in a spa, but like a treatment which I had never had before.
Speaker 3:I was a young like 20 something. Anyway, it changed my life. She saved my career. This was a treatment. It was intense, but it really made me believe in the work, and then I made a point of making sure that massage therapy was part of my sort of preventative care routine and I ended up having a wonderful 16 year career that was injury free. So that was awesome, you know, as a dancer, to have an injury free career career. So when 9-11 happened I had to do some soul searching, obviously in the weeks and months that followed after the attacks.
Speaker 2:Right, you're living in Manhattan now. You're no longer in Japan. You're back, yes.
Speaker 3:I'm in Manhattan. I had been living in Manhattan for a good I don't know five, six years at that point. Anyway, some soul searching had to happen after that. How could you not? And I decided well, you know, sports therapy or sports doctor kind of was you know off my radar at that point, 16 years out of school, and I just was like, well, what about massage therapy? You know, it's kind of in line with PT and you know whatever. So I searched it out and next thing I knew I was at the Swedish Institute in Manhattan and I was going to school full time and, of course, me being who I am, I took the accelerated course. So I graduated in 16 months instead of 24 and started working. And then that's when my first job offered the KIDA sound training. And then we had the people from 9-11 coming in, the first responders and residents of the area, and I felt like that is when I had come full circle, because I had been inspired by these people to change careers. And then here I was treating them.
Speaker 3:And since then it's been kind of strange how massage therapy has sort of evolved and grown with me and my life transitions. Massage has too, like when I decided that I was. You know, my husband and I were talking about having kids. I learned massage therapy for the childbearing cycle and and so now I know prenatal massage. And then, when my kids were little, I became a certified pediatric therapist, so I was trained in how to teach or how to work with children, and also a massage infant massage teacher. So now I can teach parents how to incorporate massage into their parenting routine. And and now, you know, as my parents are aging and I'm having more and more seniors come to my door, I'm like, oh, I guess my next thing is going to be, you know, appropriate care for the aging population, because that's what's happening in my life right now. So massage has given me a wonderful tool that has been able to evolve with my life simultaneously, and I really think it's been a gift for both me and the people I serve.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's great. I you know, I think most people have had a massage at one point or another, whether it's been through those franchise places or it's been, you know, more of a private massage, but you know you always see like on the menu okay, swedish Shiatsu, sports massage, deep massage and I'm always like I don't know the difference between Swedish and shiatsu, and a sports massage versus deep tissue massage. That one sounds like it hurts.
Speaker 3:It does.
Speaker 2:So what type of massage do you typically offer? So you went to the Swedish Institute, so I'd imagine it's not German. Yeah, if there was one, I don't know. But yeah, you get the point. So yes.
Speaker 3:Well, the Swedish Institute would offer two different like tracks you could take like a Western track or an Eastern track, and I took the Western track, which was like Swedish massage. I took the Western track, which was like Swedish massage, sports massage, manual lymph drainage, things that are a little bit more medically based and used in the medical field. A lot of my work and internships were dealing with, maybe, people that were post-surgery or with cancer, and you know the contraindications and indications available to you know patients dealing with certain types of cancer. So I was more medically Western-based and thought-based. But there was an Eastern route that you could take which was more of the shiatsu and the tuina, like Thai massage, so something that comes from more of an Asian approach to massage and massage therapy. They're vastly different and there's respect for both.
Speaker 3:I personally at that time in my life was a very science-based person. I shouldn't say I was, I still am, but it called to me more. The other types of modalities tend to be more energy-based, which at that point in my life I didn't have a real connection with my energy and how it would you know when working with someone else. It was not a skill that I believed I possessed and that got honed over the years. But the more Western approach just sort of called to me, more so, and that's where you know you've got trigger point therapy.
Speaker 3:So all that stuff that you said sounds painful. Yeah, that's in there the myofascial release, the deep tissue. But I would tell people who are seeking massage, for whatever reason, if you found a therapist that you kind of like or connect with or want to know more about, just reach out to them. They're happy to talk to you about what they do, talk to you about what they do. I mean I can do these deep tissue, intense massages and get in there and really work. You know certain areas and I'm perfectly capable of giving a stress, relaxing you know relaxing massage that doesn't hurt and is quite Zen and very lovely you know, compared to like something you'd get in a spa like setting.
Speaker 3:You know that that's perfectly obtainable with just about any massage therapist. You know you just certain people are called to certain things. I don't really do a lot of energetics work, but I do I do. I'll do manual lift drainage if you're dealing with swelling and inflammation and post-surgery I've got that.
Speaker 3:You've got repetitive stress syndrome on anything I'll get in there. You've got sciatica, I'm going in there. So every therapist kind of just has their specialties and I think most of my clients come to me because they do sort of appreciate more deep tissue and pressure but they're very upfront for me on a day where they're just like I. I really just need to be taken care of today and I'll just be like all right, today we're being nice.
Speaker 2:So I mean, yeah, you, you do say that you know there's certain things like a lot of therapists offer, but you mentioned the prenatal massage. I was a fitness trainer and I was certified in prenatal fitness because, just like you, my wife was pregnant and I was, like you know, I'm a personal trainer. I should learn how to you know the proper ways of training a pregnant woman who wants to train and lift weights until they're basically running to the hospital.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And that was a few of women that I so and then. So that's something I think is a little unique. And then this infant massage class. Now you're saying that's really to teach the parent how to have this um, I guess connection with the newborn yeah, well, not so much newborn, I think, um, it's uh.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you definitely want to wait till the umbilicus is is healed before we're teaching parents how to do massage, but um, it's more of a parenting skill than I want to say. Massage it's vastly different. You know, we're not putting babies on a table and putting lotions on them and you know, you know that's not what's happening.
Speaker 3:Infant massage is wonderful because it is. It does give parents sort of an empowerment I shouldn't say sort of. It gives parents an empowerment and helping their baby with certain things that maybe, as a new parent, you feel that you have no control over, Especially with, you know, babies having gas and whatever. We've got some tummy massages and exercises to do with the legs to help facilitate baby's comfort. Also, you know, dealing with teething issues and things to help bring relief with that and, of course, promoting better sleep patterns, because what parent doesn't?
Speaker 2:want better sleep patterns on their child.
Speaker 3:And and it's also mainly about the bonding, because moms always seem to get the bonding opportunities more so than fathers. Just right, sort of out of default, you know. And so when you teach an infant massage class and you know a lot of the things are almost game-like and playful so it's a way for for dad to get that one-on-one time with with an infant.
Speaker 3:And and it's about the skin, contact the skin on skin is a is about bonding and and facilitating that, and so it. It's just a way for dads to get in there and and get that same sort of feeling that moms get when they're having bonding time um.
Speaker 2:So when are you going to offer a pet massage for?
Speaker 3:your dog. It's come, it's come up. Sometimes I'm like maybe I should check it out.
Speaker 2:All right, I mean I give my dog, you know, I'll say give him a massage when I pet him. I'm rubbing my hands long as far and he rolls over and he's got this look in his eye like oh my God, this feels so good.
Speaker 3:They're the easiest clients for sure. They're always satisfied.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So before we go, excuse my crackly voice allergy season time.
Speaker 3:I'm the same. I'm super congested.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, now there's some people that believe massage can help with that right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now there's some people that believe a massage can help with that right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to go through the whole suite of everything you offer Signature massage, which we talked about, key to sound therapy, prenatal massage, infant massage, chair massage, which I guess is more of a quicker.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's easy.
Speaker 3:Especially if you, if you, especially, if you, just if you just want your head, neck and shoulders done you know, that's where you carry tension and you don't have a lot of time and you don't want to get undressed and just come and get chair massage 20 minutes, you know, half an hour. It really will just kind of open up that it's. It's perfect for head, neck and shoulders.
Speaker 2:Before you get on a plane, or before or after, or just had a long road trip.
Speaker 3:Pediatric massage.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of our kids are athletes, even at 12 years old. Yeah, I see the benefit in that.
Speaker 3:I am finding a lot of, I'm getting a lot more requests for kid-related issues, and we do. I mean, these kids are like proficient athletes, like you said, by 12, and they're they're suffering from repetitive stress issues and it's you know, they're a kid and it's sad to say I have a lot of kids who are also dealing with depression and anxiety, who really love the, the sound therapy or just gentle massage. It's, it's. It's. It's a growing industry with me, sadly. I do love that. I do see young athletes and kind of help them along. I also see young musicians because there's a lot of repetitive stress, depending on what instrument you play.
Speaker 3:But again, these kids are becoming proficient in skills. You know, far earlier than kids of my generation became proficient in skills and it's showing in their bodies.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I could definitely see him thinking about my son who's a pitcher. He's 11 years old but complains sometimes about certain things bothering them. So. And then, aside from the lymph drainage, then there's assisted stretching, which is obviously a more popular type of modality. You see these stretch only franchises opening up everywhere, whether it's myofascial or fascial I shouldn't say myofascial, not self myofascial, but myofascial and just stretching. So increased flexibility is key, and you can't all do that by yourself A lot of times.
Speaker 2:Yoga is great, but somebody can open up your hips or your shoulders.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it's nice to have someone who has leverage to give you a hand. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I have hand, as George Costanza said, speaking of Seinfeld and Serenity now. But you know, this is great. I mean, carolyn, I'd love to talk more. Let's just let people know where they can find you. You're in Old Tapan. Yes, go ahead.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm at 183 Old Tapan Road. I'm on the second floor. If you want to check out my website, it is serenityfixcom. You're welcome to email me directly at carolyn at serenityfix. com, and I'm happy to answer any questions and the best way to book is to email you.
Speaker 3:The best way to book is to email me at first and then from there I can usually give you a phone number If you want to call me. I don't always answer my phone because I'm working, but it is 917-439-0189. And I apologize if I don't pick up because very often I'm unable to. My hands are full of lotion and I can't pick up the phone. But if you email me and we set up any sort of consult or first appointment, that's the easiest way to request an appointment out of the gate.
Speaker 2:Okay, and for those of you in the area, so her, her, her spa, her office is upstairs in the little shopping center on Old Japan Road where Boff's restaurant is plenty of parking. It's right before you get to DeWolf Road, if you're going towards New York State, and just a few minutes from Harrington Park and Rivervale as well, or from the border in Japan or Orangeburg, new York. So very convenient, and I think I'm going to come down and check out. I want to try this sound therapy.
Speaker 3:Well, I'd love to see you, Doug.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we're going to have Chuck just say goodbye and leave us with a few parting words and you and I'll be right back.
Speaker 3:Great. Thank you so much. Thank you. A few parting words and you and I'll be right back Great.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen. com. That's gnpbergen. com, or call 201-298-8325.