Services

 

Swedish

Swedish massage is well known and has been performed in the west since the late 1850s.  It became known as the Swedish massage since it was developed at the University of Stockholm, Sweden by physiologist and gymnast Per Henrik Ling.  The technique he discovered blended massage and physiology which was in its infancy at the time.  This led to development of massage for medical purposes and eventually the physical therapy profession. Swedish massage is the most well-known and asked for massage for first time users.

Swedish massage manipulates the body’s soft tissue and through that improves blood circulation, increases the level of oxygen in the blood, helps the body removes toxins, improves flexibility, eases tension and helps with pain management. There are five movements employed in Swedish massage. You can find these described in the Wikipedia database. Effleurage, Pétrissage, Friction, Tapotement, and Vibration.  Any of these movements can be used on a client.

 

Lomi

A Lomi Lomi massage is a special type of massage with historic significance.  It has a spiritual and healing mode and was regarded as an honor to receive. Hundreds of years ago in Hawaii shamans performed these massages in order to promote better health, or in passage rites or rituals. As in American Indian history these “medicine men” were highly regarded for their knowledge and experience. The Hawaiian shaman believed that muscle tension and stress were related.  Belief in a higher power helped the shaman to help others through techniques of releasing tense muscles to create an overall healing of the mind, the body and soul.

The Lomi massage then is a step above other massage types for relaxation and stimulation.  The entire body is massaged at the same time, compared to other massage types that concentrate on one area at a time. The Lomi experience removes both tension and the stress.  Lomi is performed using long flowing strokes that move continually from the head to the feet in a rhythmic motion. The therapist uses hands, elbows and forearms to create the experience.  Generally Lomi is performed on a client with less covering than typical massages to allow the hands and arms to move under and around the body.

 

Stretching

Stiffness and loss of flexibility are regarded as one of the inevitable results of the aging process. More important than your actual age is how you feel--mentally, emotionally and physically.

Muscles become shorter when they are tense. This occurs through overuse, misuse, not using them enough or due to emotional stress. The result of muscle atrophy is progressively more restricted movement, stiffness, and aches and pains. Next we may discover that we accommodate this limited range of motion--we learn to restrict our movements and activities. Back pain, neck pain and headaches become an "expected" part of our daily life; and these issues become compounded when the spine has to absorb the continued stress of tight muscles. People turn to drugs to mask the pain which further deadens the nerves and muscles.

Stretching a body in a regular schedule can help alleviate many of the symptoms above. Professional athletes use trainers to assist them with stretching so they have less chances of being injured during competition. For some stretches it's not possible to maneuver the body in the correct way to achieve intended results without assistance. In addition stretching involves touch, one of the best medicines. Stretching reduces tension and stress while improving your mood.

Regular stretching by a professional will make a difference in your life. Try it and see the benefits. Many people report a rejuvenated feeling and a reduction of pain. Stretching will put your body in the zone of relaxation.

 

Trigger Point

A trigger point is a knot or rigid zone typically found in a muscle, but trigger points can also be found in tendons, ligaments, periosteum and fascia. They are classified as latent or active, depending on whether they are causing symptoms or are not. Trigger points in muscles are neurochemical events causing fibers to stick together.  Proper balance of chemicals in these fibers are a classic issue of modern society.  However, all trigger points cause pain & discomfort when compressed but active trigger points cause pain even when a body is at rest.

An active trigger point can prevent the affected muscle from lengthening and make it feel weak. Generally an active trigger point refers pain to an area different from the spot compressed. Secondary trigger points can develop and make acute conditions chronic and cause chronic conditions to worsen. A latent trigger point has the same characteristics but goes unnoticed by the client until pressure is applied.

One can find trigger points on their body with a good chart.

But this is not the whole story. Your pain in your lower back might be referred from a trigger point in your shoulder.  So the therapist finds the source through mapping the pain, releasing the knots--in various locations--not necessarily at the site of the pain.  That’s why traditional medical approaches continually miss client’s issues of pain.  They do not address how pain can be referred.

 

Pregnancy

The childbirth experience--pregnancy, birth and postpartum--takes a woman’s body through tremendous changes. Many of these changes are uncomfortable and physically taxing. Her uterus expands to 20 times its previous size, breasts more than double their size, her pelvis widens and ligaments slacken, blood volume increases 50%, and her breathing rate increases. These are just a few of the many changes. Often the stress that accompanies pregnancy can complicate the process and cause problems during childbirth. Massage can relieve much of this stress.

Massage during pregnancy has many benefits for mother and baby, some of which are: relieving fatigue, reducing headaches, helping prevent stretch marks by keeping the skin supple, reducing & relieving muscular discomfort, helping control blood pressure, reducing stress, anxiety & depression. It has been found that maternal stress can have a negative effect on the baby by producing higher fetal heart rates. Keeping the mother's stress level low is good for baby.

Deep Tissue

Deep tissue massage is a style of massage that is designed to get into the connective tissue of the body, rather than just the surface muscles. When a massage therapist performs this type of treatment, he or she uses a variety of techniques to deeply penetrate the muscles and fascia, loosening them and releasing tension. Many clients have a more intense experience with a deep tissue massage. 

Deep tissue work should not be painful and can be very beneficial and nurturing. The idea is not to create a painful experience for the client. Using hands, knuckles, elbows and forearms I can perform deeper penetration into the muscles.  It is good for releasing knots or for deep seated muscle problems.

 

Reiki

Reiki is a Japanese art of healing with Tibetan roots.  Rei means “universal.”  Ki means “life force energy.”  In Reiki a transfer of energy occurs from the therapist to the client to facilitate healing in the body.  Clients report that they experience a profoundness of relaxation that gives them a passage to other times and places. Reiki also opens a person’s ability to heal themselves.

Chi is the life force energy that flows through our body. A chakra is a rotating center of Internal Life Force Energy, a junction where energy can enter and leave the body or be transformed into a different level of energy.  There are seven major chakras in our body. When our chakras become blocked and the chi can't flow through the body illness occurs. Reiki helps to open our chakras so the chi can flow.