Movement and Assessment
“More movement is more life.” Ida Rolf
The body has an optimal position in order to have optimal health and wellness. Our everyday lives and activities cause problems with this position and create dysfunctions in our bodies. Stress, holding patterns, improper body mechanics, bad posture, lack of exercise and movement, and muscle compensation all contribute to a compromised body structurally.
It is important for a massage therapist to be able to visually asses the body they will be working on in order to provide optimum benefits to the client. This applies to everyone and for every type of massage. For example, we will be able to see tense neck and shoulder muscles causing elevated shoulders and slouching causing pain and stress. This will be addressed during the massage to provide the most benefit to those muscles.
We can provide a full body viewing assessment and inform you of slight or major muscle dysfunctions and restrictions.
Deep Tissue Therapy
Deep Tissue is a technique used to relieve chronic tension patterns in the muscles. It involves slow strokes with deep pressure to be able to reach the deepest muscle layers, tendons and connective tissues of the body. The therapist will first warm up and work on the most superficial muscles with lighter pressure strokes. Then the pressure will gradually increase as those top muscles soften and allow access to the layers of muscle below them. The pressure should not cause pain to the client. Most people describe it as a ‘good hurt’ because they feel the tension releasing from the muscle, but it should never be unbearable pain. It is important to take deep breathes in order to allow oxygen to the muscles and benefit from a deep tissue massage.
Sports Massage
Sports Massage is the application of certain techniques in a timely and systematic way. The strokes are more deliberate and more focused on a specific goal. The goal can be to stimulate or to sedate the muscles.