Massage question

Hi All,

I am looking into massage therapy.  I was wondering how many have tried it, and what type of massage therapy you have had.  I have a school near me that offers massages at a discount rate (performed by the students).  They offer deep tissue, swedish, and lymphatic massage.  Any suggestions or comments.

Thanks, KO

I am a current massage therapy student at Mueller College. What kind of info/suggestions are you looking for? There are a lot of different kinds ranging from relaxing to therapeutic, to being able to treat illness and disease.

-Deep tissue is stressful on the body, but normalizes muscle problems & muscle pain over the long run. This will make you want to sleep when you get home.

-Swedish is gentle, relaxing and promotes self-healing in all systems of the body. This tends to energize you afterwards.

-Lymphatic is great for detox and relaxation. It is slow, and extremely light and gentle. Focuses on supporting the immune system.

-Tui-na, Chi Nei Tsang, and S h iatsu are (often intense) healing arts that combine muscle normalization techniques, relaxing and stimulating movements with engery-work to promote self-healing and assist the body in maintaining health. They usually incorporate Chinese/Oriental Medicine principles. Focuses on the whole body and all the systems. These can be used as alternatives to acupuncture. Also works with emotions.

- Thai massage is with clothes on and is a relaxing and gentle pressure massage with stretching that often incorporates Oriental Medicine and promotes self-healing.

- Reiki and Craniosacral are popular energy-work modalities. They work with all systems of the body to normalize them. Also works with emotions.

Post Edited (MoralAnimal) : 12/8/2010 12:58:05 PM (GMT-7)

I've been struggling with lyme for 10 years. I'm finding that Swedish is about the limit of my detox abilities. I have not tried lymphatic, but i would imagine it would be too much given the amount of junk in our bodies. If you were to get massages often (2-3x a week) and do lots of detox baths you could work your way up to a lymphatic massage. I personally think that lymphatic is, in an ideal world, the ideal massage type for us lymies for maintenance of good health. It was founded in France a few hundred years ago for the purpose of treating chronic, deep infections.

I would give Swedish a try (and let them know you want lots of "effleurage" and that your goal for the session is detox- that way they should focus more on long, smooth strokes that boosts the immune system and gets circulation going better). From there, you could explore other types. Swedish is kinda like the "intro to massage" type. Lymphatic is kinda like an advanced Swedish.

I personally get a lot of benefit out of energy work since I haven't been able to work up to lots of swedish and lymphatic massage. Its really really gentle, and works with your body at the pace that it is ready to, without having to worry if it is "too much". Its can be surprisingly effective and does some rather amazing things for my health and for many of my clients. I practice energy work (including aspects of Chinese Medicine- ie: working with meridians and acu-points, etc) on myself and with my clients with chronic health issues. Traveler started an thread on Chinese/Oriental medicine about a week ago here.... https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=1967629

When I am able to (I have PTSD issues) I prefer Tui-na and Chi Nei Tsang, or "synergistic massage" (its a specific type of massage that combines eastern and western massage theory and techniques), because it is an excellent combination of the gentle work like Swedish, energy work for balance, and muscle manipulation that just honestly feels good.

Post Edited (MoralAnimal) : 12/8/2010 4:52:01 PM (GMT-7)