modalities
Swedish
Swedish massage is a soothing modality that employs long, graceful strokes, rhythm, and gentle kneading to facilitate deep states of relaxation to restore balance in the nervous system, tone the skin, improve circulation, and strengthen the immune system.
Though typically quite gentle, Swedish Massage can be employed in a deep, profound manner as well. It is the first modality I employ on my clients, and its elements are present throughout the session.
deep tissue
Deep Tissue massage is often used alongside Swedish. It’s a much slower, more profound form of massage focused on correcting structural imbalances in the musculoskeletal system in order to improve posture and aid in the recovery of chronic and acute injury.
Lots of folks are a little squeamish about Deep Tissue, but that’s only because their experiences with it have been painful, or at the very least, they fear that it will be; however, on my table, we don’t do torture, and given this is my favorite modality, I’m very careful about ensuring the sensations you feel are “intense”, but never painful!
myofascial
Myofascial Release is a modality concerned with the network of fibrous tissues that surround the muscles and organs of the body. A slow, firm technique that aids in smoothing out the congestion and adhesion often found in these tissues which impede performance and range of motion (and often lead to injury if untreated).
You’ll recognize when I’m employing Myofascial Release when I’ve applied very little oil, move into a deeper, firmer touch, but apply that touch in a broad manner. Clients often feel twitching, unwinding, and release in other areas of their body, as this network of fascia is intricately connected.
trigger point
Trigger Point Therapy is an intense means of addressing highly tense areas of muscular tissue commonly known as “knots”. By applying pressure to these tight nodes in a particular way, TPT encourages release of these knots.
Alongside stretching and tensing the muscle, TPT is intense, but results in long-term alleviation of pain alongside the recovery from, and prevention of chronic pain and injury.
Remember: As my client, I encourage you to verbally communicate with me if you feel any discomfort you aren’t able to withstand. Trigger Point can be quite uncomfortable as it’s being done, but it is highly effective in treating chronic pain, and can often resolve emotional conflict and alleviate the physical manifestations of trauma stored in the body.
Sports
Sports Massage is a modality that focuses on improving athletic performance, increasing range of motion, recovery, and restoring balance to the bodily structure for the purpose of enhancing strength, flexibility, and stamina. It’s decidedly more active, and takes a more rapid pace than other modalities as it’s more concerned with stimulation than relaxation.
If you’re interested in increasing your athletic performance or enhancing your recovery from an injury, I’m happy to implement techniques within this modality to aide you in achieving your goals.
reiki
Reiki is a practice that accesses universal life force energy, an intelligent energy that is driven by the intentions of the practitioner, but also flows in ways that are in the highest good for the healing of he or she who receives it.
To practice Reiki, one must be “initiated” or “placed” in a particular degree, of which there are three. It’s not so much that we are given access to an energy that is inaccessible to others. It’s more so that our placements change us in way that allows us to tolerate a much higher volume of energy flowing through us than an everyday person. Not only that, but we are given access to a spiritual lineage that puts us in tune with the Taoist and Buddhist founders of the practice. Their spirits, and the other ancestral spirits connected to the lineage, allow us access to a force that is exclusively benign in nature, a force that I like to equate with “Agapé”, or love for all things whether they be on the mortal coil or otherwise.
Everyone has the power to heal with energy, and I encourage this exercise as it can bring so much fulfillment and balance into your life. A Reiki practitioner, however, is able to access and channel considerably more of that energy without burning themselves out. So it’s good to have us around!
My Reiki is not a standalone treatment, but something I include in all of my sessions where I feel it is necessary. By booking an appointment with me, you can expect that energy work will most certainly happen on some level.
Chakra balance
Chakra balancing involves laying the hands on (or over) the areas of the body that correspond to the Chakra system developed in India. It’s a form of guided meditation coupled with energetic adjustments on my part that strengthen underactive chakra nodes, soothe overactive ones, and bring overall balance and well-being to the energetic body. It clears out the dross and detritus that so often clogs the meridians of the body and dims the expression of the aura. As with Reiki, this is not a standalone service, but one that I employ as a complementary aspect of our session together.
