Swedish/Deep Tissue

Massage therapy is always approached by moving from the superficial to the deeper layers of the muscle tissue and from more broad to more specific areas. The superficial layers must be warmed and softened first in order to access the deeper layers.

Swedish massage addresses the more superficial tissue layers. Commonly referred to as “relaxation massage,” Swedish massage involves gentle strokes that include gliding, kneading, tapping, stretching, rocking, and still touch. This type of massage promotes circulation, relaxation, stress reduction, and general well being.

Deep tissue massage addresses the deeper tissue layers. It involves slower, more focused and penetrating strokes including deep glides, compressions, and cross-fiber friction. Deep tissue work is especially helpful for those who need relief for persistent areas of muscle tension, soreness, spasms, or “knots” related to posture, stress, or physical over-activity. When muscles are stressed, the flow of oxygen and nutrients becomes blocked, leading to inflammation and a buildup of toxins in the muscle tissue. Deep tissue massage helps to loosen the tissue by un-sticking the muscle fibers. Proper circulation is then restored. Toxins are flushed out of the tissue and replaced by a fresh blood supply carrying oxygen and nutrients.

Swedish and deep tissue techniques are often combined in a full-body massage.

Healing Stone Massage

Experience the benefits of this ancient art of therapeutic massage. Several techniques—Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Trigger Point Therapy—are blended in combination with deeply penetrating hot and/or cold stones to bring about certain healing responses.

• Relaxing, meditative massage …
  
  Water-heated smooth basalt stones are used in combination with aromatherapy essential oils and various massage techniques to effectively relieve stress and tension and to relax your mind and body at its deepest level. Hot stone massage induces a state of deep relaxation, softens and relaxes muscles, improves blood circulation, relieves pain in muscles and joints, and creates a feeling of well being and peacefulness.
  
  
• Deep tissue massage …
  
  Hot and cold stones are used in combination with various massage techniques to address deep-seated tension. Deep tissue stone massage addresses the superficial tissue and the deeper, underlying sore areas. The cold stones serve to break up and release toxins trapped in the tissue. The hot stones then pave the way for a newly oxygenated blood supply to replace the cellular waste products. This increase in circulation can aid in healing.

Pregnancy Massage

Pregnancy is a time of massive change in a woman’s body: physical, mental, and emotional. Gentle, nurturing massage during any trimester can contribute to a healthier pregnancy and to the relief of common discomforts.

Massage enhances circulation, which supports the work of your heart and increases the oxygen and nutrients delivered to your baby. It helps with reducing stress, promoting relaxation, and improving the quality of sleep. Pregnancy massage can also aid with the common discomforts of pregnancy, such as backaches, stiff neck, headaches, swelling, muscle fatigue, muscle and joint strain, and heaviness and aching in your legs caused by swelling.

Chair Massage

Chair massage is performed on a specially designed, portable chair that is quick and easy to set up almost anywhere. The chair allows maximum comfort for the client and provides me with easy access to common areas of tension such as the head, neck, shoulders, back, arms, and hands. Massage is given while the client is fully clothed. Sessions can last anywhere from 5 to 20+ minutes per recipient.

I provide chair massage at parties, wedding and baby showers, schools, health and wellness fairs, company picnics, offices, sporting events, and more.

Common benefits of chair massage include relaxation and relief from stress, aches and pains, muscle tension, headaches, and fatigue. It is energizing and feels great!

People can benefit from this type of massage even in a very short period of time!

Reiki (pronounced “Ray-kee”)

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Loosely translated, the word Reiki means “universal life energy.” The practice embraces the belief that life energy flows through the body, deeply affecting our entire being. The treatment helps to balance and align the body’s energy and energy field, addressing the whole person including the body, emotions, mind, and spirit.

The Reiki treatment feels like a warm, glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Sessions can be given with the client fully clothed and consist of a series of hand positions, on or off the body, that begin at the head and systematically work toward the feet. A pressureless touch with no movement or stroking is used.

Reiki can be integrated, also, into any kind of massage session. Recipients find it calming and nurturing. It can help to alleviate pain and stress and to promote restful sleep, healing, and relaxation.

More and more hospitals and nursing practices are beginning to incorporate Reiki and other alternative ways of fighting stress and pain, such as acupuncture and massage therapy, as part of their services.

Massage for People Living with Cancer

Massage and energy healing techniques such as Reiki can serve to enhance the quality of life for people affected by cancer whether you are in treatment, in recovery, or have a history.

Although not a treatment for cancer, massage can help to relieve some of the side effects from the disease and its treatment. Massage been shown to reduce fatigue, pain, nausea, and insomnia, which cancer patients often experience. Additionally, massage reduces muscle tension, restores energy, and enhances emotional well-being. The healing effects of touch can help to allay feelings of stress, anxiety, isolation, and depression.

Clients who are in recovery or who have a history of cancer have described to me that massage has brought a strong sense of “re-integration” to their mind and body.

Massage can also benefit women who have undergone mastectomy. Breast surgery may cause swelling or edema, as well as contribute to sore, achy muscles in the neck, shoulders, and back. Massage can help to ease these conditions as well as prevent and reduce scar tissue, increase range of motion and mobility of the shoulder, and boost the immune system. Massage helps to reconnect a woman with her entire body, and it is a natural way to help promote the healing process. And, it feels great!

Massage plans are designed according to the client’s needs and requests. Plans are based on medical histories and the physician’s input, when needed. Specific adjustments are made to work around the side effects or complications of radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, and medications. If you are currently in treatment or have been in treatment over the past year, then I would require permission from your physician before your first session.

Hospice/End-of-Life Massage

In-home massage therapy is offered for chronically and terminally ill patients with the approval and guidance of a primary care professional. The goal is to provide comfort and to help reduce pain and stress.

Gentle, compassionate touch can improve the quality of one’s remaining time. The warm, one-on-one experience of massage and Reiki can bring about calmness and comfort. Also, it can help the person to focus on staying alert in the present moment, if that is what he/she wishes.

The massage plan is adapted to the client’s needs and sensitivities in the moment, which can vary tremendously from day to day.

“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.”

—Marcus Aurelius