Swedish massage applies gentle techniques consisting of long fluid strokes (effluerage), tapotament (tapping, cupping and beating) friction, kneading and vibration. To release muscle tensions, deminish pain, improve blood and lymphatic circulation. Strokes generally are performed in the same direction as the flow of blood returning to the heart.
 
Swedish massage reduces stress, both emotional and physical, and is recommended to become a part of a regular program for stress management. The main purpose of Swedish massage is to increase the oxygen flow in the blood and release toxins from the muscles. It also just simply feels good.
 
Swedish massage shortens recovery time from muscular strain by flushing the tissue of lactic acid, uric acid and other metabolic wastes. It also has specific clinical uses in a medical or remedial therapy. The strokes and manipulations of Swedish massage are each conceived as having a specific therapeutic benefit. Swedish massage techniques include:
• Petrissage: Kneading movements with the hands, thumbs and/or fingertips.
• Effleurage: Gliding strokes with the palms, thumbs and/or fingertips.
• Friction: Circular pressures with the palms of hands, thumbs and/or fingertips.
• Vibration: Oscillatory movements that shake or vibrate the body.
• Tapotament: Brisk hacking or tapping.
• Passive and Active Movements: Bending and stretching.
 

What is Deep Tissue Massage?   Deep Tissue Massage is a general term covering a range of strategies that deal with assisted muscle release at a deeper level.
 
Neuromuscular massage techniques are employed to detect muscle tissues that have become distressed. Effective manipulation of stiff or painful musculature using specific hand positions, strokes and specifically developed techniques, bring about relief from muscle tensions and increase flexibility. Treatment for low back and shoulder pain, sciatica, headaches, knees and neck are amongst the common complaints that Deep Tissue specialists treat.
 
Micro scarring is caused by injuries and often surgery. This ailment is commonly benefited from this type of therapy. Often the treatment and pressure begins gently and can gradually escalate to points of temporary discomfort. Treatment ranges from generally therapeutic to corrective in nature. Deep tissue massage can cause an increase in muscle strength and length appreciably and rapidly.
 
Deep Tissue Massage therapy usually involves warming the skin and superficial soft tissue of your body prior to the therapist using greater pressure to access the deeper connected tissue underneath.
 

About Trigger Point Therapy - What is it?

Trigger point therapy is a bodywork technique first developed by Dr. Janet Travell in the USA in the 1940's. Trigger Point therapy involves applying pressure to tender muscle tissue in order to relieve pain and dysfunction in other parts of the body.
 
Trigger point therapy is also called myofascial trigger point therapy. Muscle knots are an example of this phenomenon.

What are Trigger Points?

Trigger points refer to the areas of tenderness in a muscle. There are two basic types of trigger points: active and latent. Active trigger points cause muscular pain. Active points will often refer pain and tenderness to another area of the body when pressure is applied. Latent trigger point's only exhibit pain when compressed, they do not refer pain to other areas of the body. Latent trigger points are likely to be one of the causes of stiff joints and restricted range of motion.
 
Trigger points are different from acupressure points. Acupressure points are concentrations of energy or blockages of the body's energy pathways. Trigger points are physical phenomena that can be felt by touching.

What Causes Trigger Points?

Trigger points have several causes. Some common causes are: birth trauma, an injury sustained in a fall or accident, poor posture, or overexertion.

What is the Purpose of Trigger Point Therapy?

The purpose of trigger point therapy is to eliminate pain and to re-educate the muscles to perform pain-free habits. After several treatments, the swelling and stiffness of neuromuscular pain is reduced. Range of motion is increased, tension is relieved, and circulation, flexibility and coordination are improved.

Interestingly, the pain caused by trigger points is an especially significant cause of disability and loss of time in the workplace. Trigger point therapy and other massage technique are often performed together within a treatment. Specialists in trigger point therapy can help you improve your natural ability to maintain an active lifestyle.
 

Manual lymph drainage massage (also called lymphatic drainage and lymph massage) is a form of massage that encourages lymph flow in the body. It is particularly good for detoxification, edema, pre- and post-plastic surgery and post-liposuction. It can also help with cellulite treatments, scar tissue, spider veins, redness and acne.
 
The lymph system is a slow-moving system of vessels and lymph nodes that is supplementary to the body's system of blood circulation. The lymph system both delivers nutrients to the cells and carries away excess water, cellular waste, bacteria, viruses and toxins.
 
By stimulating the lymphatic system, the therapist helps drain puffy, swollen tissues, supports the body's immune system, helps the body heal from surgery, and aids in the body's natural waste removal or detoxification.
 

What is Sports massage?   Typically, sports massage is utilized to alleviate and promote healing of specific complaints. The Massage Therapist performs massage techniques based upon knowledge of anatomy, physiology and personal experience. It would be hard to imagine a professional team or program anywhere that does not employ the services of a qualified sports massage therapist.
 
However, one does not need to have a serious physical complaint to greatly benefit from sports massage. To the contrary, it is now more common for athletes of all ages and level of play to seek the services of a trained sports massage therapist. There are typically five time periods when sports massage is appropriate:
 
• Pre-event
• Inter-event
• Post event
• Rehabilitation
• Maintenance
 
Specific sports are known to habitually affect particular muscles or groups of muscles, tendons and ligaments that are used excessively. By concentrating on the specific muscle groups most used in a given sport, a massage therapist can help an athlete increase mobility, range of motion, oxygen supply, blood flow and help maintain higher performance.
 
How is Sports Massage Different?   A Sports Massage differs from Swedish Massage because the client's relaxation is not the primary objective. Accordingly, the sports massage therapist may employ a number of massage modalities including Swedish Massage strokes, Trigger Point Therapy, Acupressure, Deep-Tissue Massage, active and passive stretches, Lymphatic Massage, Hydrotherapy and others.
 
What Does the Process Involve?   As in most massage therapy you will fill out a medical history form complete with disclosure of any conditions or complications that have arisen as a result of sporting activities or other causes. Together, you and your therapist will discuss your sports activity agenda and what you wish to get out of your massage therapy. An effective treatment plan will be devised that deals effectively with your condition. The frequency of your visits will vary according to your needs. Your therapist may also recommend specific exercises to be performed at home.

What is Energetic Healing?
Energetic Healing is an umbrella term for any therapy that manipulates the energy circuits in our physical or subtle bodies to regain balance and facilitate our body's innate healing mechanisms.
 
Some of the more well know therapies that could fall under the heading 'energetic healing' include Reiki, Reflexology, Kinesiology, Thought Field Therapy and Acupuncture. However, energetic healing also encompasses lesser known natural therapies such as: Aura and Chakra balancing; Flower and Vibrational Essences, Crystal Healing, Colour Therapy, Spiritual Healing, and other forms of bodywork. Energetic healing practitioners are usually trained in a number of modalities and will combine these in their own unique way. Many combine intuitive skills with their practical and theoretical skills.
 
Energetic healing takes a holistic approach that looks beyond the physical to manipulating the subtle energy systems (meridians, auric bodies, chakras, nadis) where the cause of the disease can be located. Trauma, emotional and mental stress, false belief systems, physical distress, environment stress, and other blocks to our personal growth can be stored in the energy fields of our bodies, impacting our ability to function at our full potential.
 
Energetic healing facilitates the healing process by clearing blocks in the energy fields, repairing and rebalancing the energy so that the body can move to its optimal level of balance from where it is able to access its inherent ability to heal itself.
 
What is energy & how is it connected to ill-health?
 
Quantum physics has acknowledged that we are all made up of energy, as is everything around us. It is the most basic building block of life, but like the air we breathe most people can't see it. Energy flows through everything and creates everything. Even our thoughts and emotions are energy. It is just a difference in the vibrational frequency of energy that gives us the illusion of substance and separation, rather like water moving from solid ice at slower vibration, to fluids and then to steam at higher vibrations.
 
Our personal energies are delicately balanced and we can become sick or feel 'not quite right' when our energy flows are disturbed or blocked. Energy imbalances can result from both internal and external factors.
 
Internal factors impacting our energy system include:
 
• trauma
• phobias
• anxiety & stress
• childhood programming
• limiting beliefs
• neurological, biochemical, and structural imbalances
• existential fears and limiting spiritual beliefs
• remaining in situations that are not fulfilling or in harmony with our needs
 
External factors impacting our energy systems include:
 
• environmental stresses & toxins
• geopathic phenomena
• astrological phenomena
• nutrition
• exercise
• posture
 
By working with the energy system we can access all levels of the mind, body and spirit and achieve a holistic healing. Knowing the connections and energy relationships means the nature of the disease and its location can guide us to where an energy block or imbalance is occurring, as well as what we need to do energetically to clear that block.
 
Disease is our body's mechanism of telling us that our energy is not flowing harmoniously and that something is not working in our lives. If we don't pay attention to the initial messages, the warnings will become increasingly severe until we take are forced to take notice. Once we are aware of this "law", we can regard illness in a more positive light, so long as we then act upon it and make appropriate changes necessary to heal.
 
Energy is within and around us all the time, but our consciousness enables us to activate it and make it vital. I usually need to reiterate to people that just because we can't see something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We can't see air, but we know we breathe it to keep us alive. We also can't see electricity, atoms, electromagnetic fields, sound, radio waves or the weather, yet we can see or hear the indirect results of these in physcial form. Everyone's perception differs and an increasing number of people are able to perceive things using 'extra-sensory perception' that others may not. Today, more and more people are able to perceive energy in some way and know it as a very 'tangible' phenomenon. Following your intuition is a simple way to start.
 
What to expect
 
During the treatment stage, the client may sense the flow of energies with feelings of warmth, coolness, tingling or relaxation. It is quite common for clients to fall asleep or drift off during a treatment. This is normal and allows for deep healing to occur at an unconscious level.
 
Clients may experience some form of emotional release during a session. This may be anything from a fit of the giggles to tears! Again, this is perfectly normal and should an emotional release occur, it is important not to suppress it. Releasing the emotion enables healing to occur. Emotional releases may also be experienced after a treatment, and again should be allowed to occur without suppression.
 
On rare occasions, depending on what is going on for the client at the time, they may experience restlessness or resistance to the healing work. It is important to honor this, while recognizing it as a final barrier that the subconscious is putting up to prevent healing occurring. It usually means the client needs to face something or have awareness around something that has been deeply held, but that needs to be released before the client can move on.
 
Following a treatment, it is very important that the client drinks the recommended daily consumption of water for several days afterwards to flush away any toxins that may have been released. Otherwise it is possible that clients could experience headaches or feel very tired after the treatment. It is similar to the process that occurs with dietary cleanses/detoxes.
 
Some clients will immediately feel an improvement, while for others the integration of the energetic change may take several days. In the latter case, the client may experience varying emotional states, memories of past events or changing physical symptoms. When this occurs the client is actually "processing" and clearing "stuff" as a result of the energetic changes. This is sometimes referred to as a healing crisis, but it is just the body's way of releasing what needs to be cleared and to bring our awareness to what we to be let go of and what is no longer benefiting us.