The
massage menu has been designed to give you a starting point for telling
your massage therapist what you want. Please feel free to mix and
match.
APPETIZERS
Deep
Breathing Exercises
Meditation
Yoga
Yoga utilizes such methods
as deep rhythmic breathing, physical postures that serve to tone and
strengthen various body parts, promote calmness, increase circulation, and
includes relaxation methods and vocal and concentration exercises.
ENTREES
FULL
COURSE
TBM
Like
a seafood platter, includes many different techniques from different
massage philosophies to treat the whole person on all levels.
Deep
Tissue Massage
Uses
deep and intrusive techniques to release poisons stored deep inside large
muscle masses. DTM is very
uncomfortable at first, but deeply refreshing and reinvigorating.
Shiatsu
Shiatsu is a Japanese word:
"shi" meaning finger, and "atsu" meaning pressure.
Shiatsu is a balance – sometimes called a dance of two - between
practitioner and receiver, in which the healing power of both builds to
clear and balance the vital life force known as Qi.
It was developed in Japan as a harmonizing therapy to promote
health and well being and has its origins in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Swedish
Massage
The Swedish form of massage
is perhaps the most common and widely recognized. The purpose of a Swedish
massage is to reduce and relieve stress and to promote relaxation. This is
accomplished by gently kneading and massaging the muscles, often with
various oils. This massage is commonly known as the luxury massage. It is also commonly called Circulatory Massage since it targets circulation. Toxic debris, which is
normally moved through the body with normal circulation, can become lodged
in the cells and connective tissue of the muscles, impairing muscle
health, thereby causing premature aging.
Done with firm but wide pressure with long powerful strokes, it is
comfortable, relaxing, and refreshing.
Neuromuscular Therapy
Maximizes the speed of
recovery and the prevention of future muscular skeletal injuries by deep,
specific manipulation of soft tissue
Sports Massage (the good, old fashioned, Rub Down)
Loosens, warms and readies
the muscles before and after insensitive use. Helps prevent injury,
improving performance and endurance in the long run
Rolfing (a.k.a. Structural Integration)
This massage technique was
pioneered by Ida Rolf to release chronic tension by direct manipulation of
the connective tissue of all the major muscle groups in the body.
Rolfing is very deep and invasive.
In the beginning, it is very uncomfortable, both physically and
mentally because it directly addresses the muscular armoring described
above. Excellent results are
usually obtained quickly, but at the cost of much physical suffering.
The Rubenfeld Method
Ilana Rubenfeld perceives
every human being as a unique psychophysical pattern, possessing a
distinct emotional agenda with an expression of its very own. According to
Rubenfeld, the body serves as a functional metaphor and practical tool for
reaching hidden levels of discord and revealing them to the client's
awareness. The Rubenfeld practitioner assists the client to re-enter the
original experience of an intense emotional event, rather than search out
reasons for stress and disease. This is accomplished through subtle touch
and non-intrusive collaboration with the client, where the practitioner
intuitively helps to unleash negative emotions and guides the individual's
inborn self-healing abilities. "Disease is but a message revealing a
more subtle, inner message," claims Rubenfeld.
Rubenfeld maintains that once we learn to focus our awareness, we
are able to more spontaneously modify habitual behaviors, as well as
release and access stored memories.
Reichian Therapy
Reichian therapy is based on
the work of Wilhelm Reich. Reich
proposed among other things that neurotic character structure and
repressed emotions are actually physiologically rooted in chronic muscle
spasms. Each emotion involves an impulse to action. For example, sadness
is a feeling that involves an impulse to cry, which is a physical event
involving a certain kind of convulsive breathing, vocalizations, tearing,
and facial expressions in addition to effecting the limbs. If the urge to
cry is suppressed, the convulsive muscular impulses have to be suppressed
by means of a conscious effort of holding or stiffening. One must also
hold one's breath thus not only suppressing the sobs but also lowering the
energy level by decreasing oxygen intake.
Suppressing these automatic psysiological responses eventually
results in what termed "muscular armoring". "Muscular
armoring" serves to defend individuals against both external and
internal impulses. "Muscular armoring" is the physical aspect of
our defenses, while character armoring is the psychical. These two defense
mechanisms are inseparable. Reich
developed a variety of techniques for dissolving the muscular armoring.
It is an active massage, requiring activity on the part of the
client to follow the directions of the therapist.
The Deep massage used in this therapy are uncomfortable for most
people.
LIGHT MASSAGE
Vascular
Pumping Massage
A
specific therapy for injuries. Alternately
using hot and cold compresses with pressure and some mild massage.
Reflexology
Reflexology refers to the
stimulation of reflex points on the feet and hands, as well as other
usable reflex points throughout the body.
A pleasant and stimulating massage requiring little removal of
clothing.
Hot
Compress Massage (also known as Castor Oil Massage)
Using hot compresses.
SPECIALS
(EASY TO LEARN YOURSELF)
Massage
for Babies
Massage
for Children
Massage
for Pregnant Women
TYPES
OF ARRANGEMENTS
THE SURFACE |
CHOICE OF LOCATION |
The
Massage Table
|
Indoors
|
(Recommended)
|
Outdoors
(as weather permits) |
The Bed |
|
The Floor |
|
*
All may use padding and/or pillowing.
SIDE
ITEMS
Choice
of Lighting
Music
Candles
Incense
DESERT
Deep
Breathing
Meditation
Hot
Shower
Hot
Bath
A
Hot Tub Session
A
Good Nap
Cool
Water
A
Cup of Herbal Tea
THE
WINE LIST
(TOOLS & TECHNIQUES)
The
Hands
Hands
are used extensively throughout all massage.
Hands are used to feel, press, rub, pull, pinch, and pummel.
The
Wrists
The Wrists are used to press, rub, and pummel.
The
Forearms
The Forearms are used to press, rub, and pummel large areas of the
body.
The
Elbows
The Elbows are used to penetrate large muscle masses during DTM.
The
Shoulders
The
Shoulders are used to generate pressure over large muscle masses and large
areas of the body.
The
Feet
The Feet are used to generate deep pressure on large muscle masses.
The
Knees
The
Knees are used to generate wide, deep pressure on large muscle masses.
Knees are also used for skeletal realignment.
The
Back
The
Flat of the Back is used to perform a technique know as “Great Hand
Technique.” This technique
is used to generate wide, flat pressure on a large surface area of the
body.
The
Chest
The
Flat of the Chest is used as a contact point for Cradling Massage, and
during bear (hug) techniques.
Various
Other Tools
Metal
Rods; Wooden Sticks; Metal, Stone, or Rubber Balls; and Scrapers may be
used on specific areas for specific purposes.
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