Massages
Swedish: This is classified as a circulatory style of massage. Its broad, sweeping strokes promote increased blood flow through muscle tissue which facilitates metabolic efficiency. The Swedish style is also quite effective at inducing relaxation in the body by enhancing parasympathetic nervous system activity. It is often performed as a full-body massage, which helps to bring a sense of wholeness, continuity, and intragation to the recipient.
This type of massage increase white blood cell productivity in those with autoimmune disorders and those with cancer. It does not effect those with sufficient white blood counts.
Cranio-sacrial: This is soft-tissue-oriented, fluid-oriented, membrane-oriented,
and energy-oriented. Palpation (touch by the practitioner) is used both to
observe and treat dysfunctions in the craniosacral system, which includes the
head, spinal column, and sacrum in one continuous membrane sheath. This
system has its own pulse for circulating the cerebrospinal fluid (six to twelve
cycles per minute) and the practitioner can feel the rate, ampliture, symmetry,
and quality of the rhythm - somewhat analogous to pulse diagnosis in Ayurveda
and Chinese medicine. Corrective pressure of only about five grams (weight of a
nickle) is applied to various areas to promote the re-establishment of a normal
symmetrical pattern of pulsation throughout the system. This in turn allows
more efficient functioning of the entire nervous system throughout the body.
Reports of success in treating chronic pain, chronic brain dysfunctions when
there is no structural problem involved, endogenous depression, migraines,
learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, autism, hyperkinesis, spasticity in serebral palsy, strabismus (cross-eyes), Meniere's disease (vertigo), and many other conditions.
Sports: Athletic massage, also called sports massage, is the application of massage techniques that combine sound anatomical and physiological knowledge, and understanding of strength training and conditioning, and specific massage skills to enhance athletic performance. Athletic massage enables athletes to attain their highest potential by accelerating the body's natural restorative processes, enabling the athlete to participate more often in rigorous physical training and conditioning. Massage helps to reduce the chance of injury by identifying and eliminating conditions in the soft tissue that are at potential risk of injury. When injury has occurred, massage helps to restore mobility and flexibility to injured muscle tissue, while reducing recovery time. Athletic massage, when done correctly, can improve the athlete's ability to perform while reducing the incidence of lost time due to injury and fatigue. Regular athletic massage may extend the athlete's career.
Deep Tissue: The primary function of deep tissue therapy is to reduce the level of stress imposed on the body by chronically shortened muscles and to return the body to a state of ease and balance by eliminating the uneven pulls on the skeleton caused by contracted muscles and constricted fascia. In deep tissue therapy, muscle groups are also freed in layers, from superficial to deep. Movements are directed across the grain fo the muscles (cross-fiber) using the fingers, thumbs, or elbows. This is applied with greater pressure and a deeper layers of the muscle than Swedish massage and that is why it is called deep tissue.
It is also more specific. For example, in the case of someone with a sore shoulder, the practitioner may focus on the trapezius and the rhomboid underneath, trying to work in all the layers of muscle that might be involved. Deep tissue massage lends itself to being more focused on a problem area.
Neuromuscular Massage: This is a form of deep massage that applies concentrated finger pressure specifically to individual muscles. This is a very detailed approach used to increase blood flow and to release trigger points, intense knots of muscle tension that refer pain to other parts of the body (they become trigger points when they seem to trigger a pain pattern). This form of massage helps to break the cycle of spasm and pain and is often used in pain control. Trigger point massage and myotherapy are varieties of neuromuscular massage.
Another type is latent pain, pain that is felt only upon pressure application.
This is caused by lack of circulation to the muscles due to toxins in the body.
Face and Scalp Massage: Face massage benefits the skin by stimulating blood to the tissues, thereby nourishing the skin. Massage promotes the production of collagen which helps to tone the skin and keep underlying muscles firm. It also helps to keep sebaceous (oil) glands and the sudoriferous (sweat) glands functioning normally. The cleansing procedure removes surface as well as deeply embedded soil and helps to prevent problem blemishes such as blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples.