DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE

I seek to facilitate increased awareness into the client’s body. My yoga practice has taught me much about mindfulness. By focusing on the breath and quieting the mind, the client can relax even more into the present moment. The client is feeling instead of thinking. From this place of being grounded and centered in the body, we discover a deeper connection, and the transformative, healing energy intensifies.

My bodywork is meditative and focuses on the quality of the touch. As the client becomes centered in their body and surrenders to the experience of simply receiving the healing touch, my creative energy increases and becomes more intuitively guided. The massage session becomes a dance with the receiver and the giver engaged in a communication of movement, and the greatest degree of relaxation and healing is achieved.

With Myofascial Release Therapy I am focused on inducing change in the body. And I don’t mechanically hack at the body with brute force. Because I know the body deeply – anatomy, structure and function – I am able to engage the body with full consciousness, and work with great strength and power in a relaxed and flowing manner. This allows me to take the practice of deep tissue massage to a deeper level of connection and lasting transformation.

The therapy I perform allows your body to literally transform during and after the treatment session. This deep bodywork releases restricted myofascial patterns and removes the physical blocks to vibrant health. Harmony and balance are integrated back into the body structure as techniques appropriate to one’s condition are applied.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

For those of you that are interested in more of a technical description of the work I perform, here is an Assessment and Statement of Treatment that I wrote for one of my client’s doctors and her insurance company:

[The client] describes a “constant clenching pain” and a “real tightness” in the neck which she experiences running down the middle and to the right side of her neck. My assessment revealed a massive knot of restricted myofascial tissue centered around the transverse process of the third cervical vertebra on the right side. The second cervical vertebra was found to be severely restricted in its mobility. This lack of motion causes the third cervical vertebra to compensate through hypermobility which exacerbates [the client’s] condition in that area. [The client’s] range of motion for her head is severely limited by the myofascial restrictions in her neck and the tension running into her shoulders.

The therapy we perform focuses primarily on the fascia and the following muscles in the neck and shoulders: Trapezius, Splenius capitis and cervicis, Semispinalis capitis and cervicis, Spinalis capitis and cervicis, Longissimus capitis and cervicis, Scalenes, Levator scapula, Rhomboideus minor and major. And, especially, the deeper Interspinalis cervicis, Multifidus, Intertransversarii cervicis, Obliquus capitis superior and inferior, Rectus capitis posterior major and minor and lateralis.

The techniques employed are primarily slow, deep compression with the fiber of the muscles and also cross fiber friction. Some pressure point techniques are used but the main intention is to stimulate movement into the restricted fascia and muscles. Deep stretches and joint mobilization techniques are also employed in the cervical region to mobilize the articulations and affect the fascia and ligaments.

The therapy we perform relieves the restricted myofascial tissues in the neck and shoulders, and improves range of motion and function. The treatment allows dammed up blood, lymph, and gases to be released from the affected tissues and allows fresh fluids and oxygen to flow into the previously restricted areas. This brings immediate relief but also aids the healing process in the long term. Our goal is to provide relief from pain and stress and to restore normal range of motion for the head, and in the neck and shoulder areas.

[The client’s] condition seems to stabilize with more frequent visits which allow her to function better and engage in light physical activity with only moderate discomfort. After working with [the client] for over six years, it is obvious that massage therapy, when applied at more frequent intervals, is extremely successful in ameliorating her painful condition for a sustained period of time. [The client] requires massage therapy once a week in order to effectively assist the healing process and support her in pursuing a normal life. Treatments every other week should prove effective as well. But the most we can hope for by treating her condition once a month is temporary relief from pain, muscle tension and stress, and a steeper up hill climb toward total health and normal functioning. If [the client’s] Doctors concur, I recommend that she receive massage therapy on the affected areas for one hour every other week, if not every week, for the next year. At that future point in time, we should reevaluate [the client’s] progress and the frequency of treatments.

TRADITIONAL THAI MASSAGE

While Thai massage has greatly influenced my work, I no longer offer it as a stand alone treatment.

Traditional Thai massage is also known as “Nuad Boran” by the people of Thailand. Nuad Boran literally means “ancient massage” and it has a history that goes back to the time of the Buddha, when this form of treating the body spread across Thailand along with the teachings of the Buddha. But you don’t have to be a Buddhist, or be from Thailand, to enjoy Thai massage!

In Traditional Thai massage, you are fully clothed in loose-fitting, comfortable clothing, and no oil or lotion is normally applied. Thai massage is traditionally performed on a mat on the floor. The treatment consists of passive, yoga-like stretches, with rhythmic compression along specific “Sen” energy lines and muscles in the body. We also make the use of precise acupressure points along these “Sen” lines. The Thai massage treatment flows beautifully along the body with profound healing effects.

The intention of the treatment is to open up the body and free it of restrictions. This not only brings new vitality to tight or tired muscles, but the Thai treatment also balances the life force energy, and allows it to move more freely in the body. Thai massage can be a very relaxing treatment, or it’s effects can be therapeutically corrective when more pressure is applied. It all depends on your needs and desires.

The human body is malleable. In other words, the human body can be reshaped and molded by the efforts of an experienced therapist. And there is no bodywork on the planet that does this more profoundly than Thai massage. The therapist uses not only his hands when delivering the treatment, but also makes use of his feet, knees, elbows, and overall bodyweight to apply the techniques. The amount of effort that is used on the client’s body has just enough power to achieve the desired result. However, great care is taken to not over power the body with too much force which would leave the client feeling injured.

Thai massage is delivered in a tranquil meditative state. In this treatment, we allow the client’s body to open in a profoundly relaxed manner. This leads to even greater relaxation as we work deeper into the structures of the body. As this process unfolds and tension is released, the body opens not only structurally, but also energetically. We are working with an intention to improve the health of the body and adjust, or balance out, it’s energetic constitution. Thai massage integrates the whole body into balance and harmony.

The Thai massage treatment is dynamic. It treats the entire body structure from the toes and feet to the top of the head. The client’s body is systematically moved around the table and therapeutically manipulated to work deeper into the structures and joints of the body.

Performed properly, there is nothing superficial about Thai massage. Because no oil or lotion is typically applied, there is never a moment wasted in superficially appling some agent across the surface of the skin. Every stretch, every palm, foot, or thumb press is intentional and specific, with immediate results.

The techniques employed in Thai massage have been tested true in Thailand though approximately 2500 years of practice and direct experience. The Thai people have refined this healing art into a comprehensive system for treating the entire body, not only on the physical level, but also on the energetic level. Thai people believe that good health and freedom from pain result from the unhindered flow of vital energies throughout the body.

I had been practicing Thai massage for a number of years, but when I studied Traditional Thai massage in the heart of Chiang Mai, Thailand for thirty days in the summer of 2008, my treatment dramatically improved! I spent two days of training at the Loi Kroh Thai massage school. I spent seven days training with Homprang Chaleekanha and one of her assistants at their amazing center, Baan Hom Samunphrai. And I received fourteen days of advanced training with Pichest Boonthumme. You can read about some of my experiences on my Thai Blog.

I also attended a Traditional Thai massage, five day workshop with Richard Gold at the Esalen Institute, in August of 2009.

You can learn more about Traditional Thai massage history, and read what Pichest Boonthumme has to say about the Sen Sib lines and the benefits of Nuad Boran.

ASHIATSU ORIENTAL BAR THERAPY

This treatment is not currently offered as I do not presently have bars on my ceiling.

With this innovative method, I work on you using my feet instead of the Western method of hands, forearm, and elbow. Deepfeet Bar Therapy is incredibly effective with profound results. I encourage everyone to experience this type of deep tissue massage. You will be completely amazed at how effective it is. And you won’t even be able to tell that you’re being worked on with my feet! I especially recommend this treatment for athletes and larger people who need a stronger touch.

One Deepfeet Bar Therapy session can give the same result as two or three consecutive Western style massages.

The forces from the broad pressure of my foot spread the body open and allow us to work deeper. Any blockage or stiffness in the muscles, joints, or spine releases. Your body feels lighter with more freedom of movement, and freedom from pain. The Deepfeet Bar Therapy works systemically on many body systems – the myofascia, the lymphatic, the nervous, the cardiovascular, and perhaps the endocrine system. We are working on the whole body, at the same time that we’re focused on any one area of the body.

Deepfeet Bar Therapy was also known as Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy. Pronounced “ah- she- hot- sue“. “Ashi” in Japanese means “foot.” “Astu” means “pressure.” Deepfeet Bar Therapy uses gravitational force from the therapist’s feet, instead of the hands. Parallel bars, attached to the ceiling, are used by the therapist for balance and proper weight distribution. The larger size and padding of the soles provide a push-pull-pump technique that is not only deeper, but more comfortable than traditional hands massage. Feet, compared to hands, have a greater affect on the client’s parasympathetic nervous system, which allows the client to dive deeper into relaxation.