Services

What is Massage Therapy?

Massage therapy is a comprehensive treatment using manual techniques to manipulate the soft tissues and joints of the body. The purposes of massage therapy are to prevent, develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function or relieve pain health option that achieves undeniable results in the relief of an array of discomforts stemming from stress, muscular overuse and many chronic pain syndromes.

The following is a list of conditions for which massage therapy, when provided by a Registered Massage Therapist, can prove beneficial:

•  Anxiety and depression
• Asthma and Emphysema
• Back, leg, and neck pain
• Cancer
• Carpal tunnel syndrome (repetitive strain)
• Chronic Fatigue syndrome
• Dislocations
• Fibromyalgia
• Fractures and edema
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Headaches
• Inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and bursitis
• Insomnia
• Kyphosis and Scoliosis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Muscle tension and spasm
• Palliative care
• Post-surgical rehabilitation
• Pregnancy and labor support
• Sports injuries
• Strains and sprains
• Stress and stress related conditions
• Stroke
• Tendinitis
• Whiplash

Therapeutic massage is an important part of your health maintenance plan, by:

• Reducing or eliminating pain
• Improving joint mobility
• Improving circulation
• Improving immune system functioning
• Increasing lymphatic drainage
• Reducing depression and anxiety
• Reducing tension within muscles
• Increasing body awareness

Massage therapy benefits people of all ages. While it benefits the injured, the ill and the stressed, the real strength of massage therapy lies in prevention.

What is The Rolf Method of Structural Integration?

Rolf structural integration is a Method of manual therapy that re-aligns and balances the body by lengthening and re positioning fascia (connective tissue) through movement, pressure and education. The Rolf Method seeks to systematically unwind chronic strain and bring the client into easier and more natural ways of moving, sitting, standing and being. Through this powerful process changes occur on the structural, functional and energetic levels leading to a new sense of freedom and ease of being.

 After completing ten sessions with a Rolf practitioner a client can expect to experience a greater sense of allover freedom. Better posture and improved movement can be expected. An enhanced understanding of how the body operates in harmony with gravity will be developed through the sessions. This new comprehension of the self can then be taken forward by the client and further experienced as a process of lifelong learning.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese medicine

2500 years ago, the Indian science of Ayurveda (literally “Life Study”) was prominent in the early Buddhist communities. As Buddhist monks traveled through Southeast Asia, carrying Buddhist meditation and philosophy, they also brought a simple system of health care that involved mindful, compassionate touch, pressure point massage, stretching techniques and herbs. The massage methods of the monks were enhanced and hybridized by the local healing traditions and acquired characteristics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yoga, and special techniques with the feet, knees and elbows. In Thailand, this healing art was preserved in buddhist temples and also became the principle form of health care for the Thai Royal Court.

Today, Thai Massage is recognized around the world as a graceful, dynamic form of deeply relaxing and yet energizing bodywork. Contemporary orthopedic knowledge and principles of anatomy and physiology are incorporated into the old systems, allowing Thai Massage to be very modern while still grounded in centuries of wisdom.

In the session, the receiver is clothed and rested on a comfortable ground-level mat. They will be moved through a series of yoga-like positions with deep stretching and natural body movements in order to help fulfill the body’s potential for movement. Joints are mobilized, circulation is increased and the nervous system is calmed. In the tradition of Thai Massage, although specific concerns can be addressed, the entire body will receive some degree of work in order to ensure the system as a whole is balanced and healthy. For this reason, a 90 or 120 minute session is recommend, although 60 minutes may still be effective if time is limited.

Thai Massage can be either subtle and gentle or deep and vigorous according to the needs of the receiver. It can be safely practiced on those who have a wide variety of health conditions as well as during pregnancy, provided the practitioner is properly trained.