HEALING Rocks
As my love and knowledge of yoga and holistic healing grew, I developed a deep connection to Thai yoga therapy and table massage. I enjoy instructing yoga, but knew in specific circumstances, that hands on manipulation of the body was the only way my students would get to the next level of healing and Self-understanding. I learned to see places in my students' bodies where they had “energetic leaks” and found it profoundly helpful and rewarding to aid their healing through hands-on bodywork.
the body is a puzzle
I practice strong massage, paying attention to where my student's body guides me - working intensely on trigger points. The tension held in your body can be physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual. Hours and hours of study and hands-on learning has led me to believe these layers to be exquisitely connected. Each person’s body is one big energetic puzzle of tissue, emotion, mind, and spirit to be unwound and re-aligned. As the session unfolds, we can find ourselves working at one or more of these layers, trusting that what needs to heal will be revealed.
TABLE MASSAGE
DEEP TISSUE
IDEAL FOR SORTING OUT TROUBLE SPOTS, HEAVY PRESSURE.
Deep tissue massage is best for giving attention to certain painful, stiff “trouble spots” in your body. Slow deliberate strokes are used that focus pressure on layers of muscle, tendons, or other tissues deep under your skin. Though less rhythmic than other types of massage, deep tissue massage is very therapeutic. It relieves chronic patterns of tension and assists with the healing process of an injury.
SWEDISH
RELIEVES TENSION, RELAXING AND ENERGIZING.
The most common type of massage is Swedish massage therapy. It involves soft, long, kneading strokes, as well as light, rhythmic tapping strokes in the topmost layer of muscles. This is also combined with movement of the joints. By relieving muscle tension, Swedish massage can be both relaxing and energizing.
THAI
ELIMINATES TOXINS, NOURISHES THE ORGANS, AND PROMOTES A HARMONIOUS STATE OF BEING.
Yoga enthusiasts will readily identify Thai massage concepts as yogic in origin. Thai massage is based on the nadis, the channels through which life energy, or prana, flows. These nadis form the energy body, the pranamaya kosha. A disturbance in the flow of this energy results in an insufficient supply of prana which in turn leads to illness. By working on these energy lines, blockages are removed, stimulating the free flow of prana, and restoring health. The goal of Thai massage, therefore, is not to massage stiff muscles, but to nourish the organs, eliminate toxins from the tissues, and promote a harmonious state of being. Massage could reduce swelling, diminish pain, help manage stress, increase range of motion, detoxify soft tissue as well as bring a feeling of nurturing and general health.
Not only the hands are used, but also elbows and feet to facilitate the opening of the nadis. Stretching and supported yoga poses are part of the process. While working on the client, the practitioner, too, receives benefit. The giving of massage was understood to be a physical application of metta, the Pali (and Thai) word used to denote loving kindness. Devoted masseurs still work in such spirit today. In Thai Massage the client lays on the floor atop a Thai Mat and should wear comfortable loose clothing.
CUPPING
Increases blood flow, relieves muscle tension, and reduces inflammation.
During a Cupping session, a combination of massage movements and negative pressure with the use of a suction device/ cup on the skin are utilized. A cup is positioned at the area to be treated and, depending on the type of cups being used; a vacuum is created within the cup to draw the skin and underlying tissue into the cup. The produced vacuum creates a suction effect that increases blood and lymphatic circulation systemically and to the local area, relaxes muscle tissue and support, draws stagnation, pathogenic factors and toxins out of the body and releases a myriad of pain causing factors.
Depending on the needs of the client different cup will be used. This application of some cups will be feel similar to Deep and Swedish Massage while other cups will be put on the skin and left in place.
Benefits of Cupping include:
Clears stagnation
Drains & moves fluids
Relieves Inflammation
Nervous System Sedation
Expels Congestion
Stretches Muscle & Connective Tissue
Loosens Adhesions
Nourishing Blood Supply to the Skin
ENERGY WORK
Clears, energizes, and balances both the human and environmental energy fields.
Energy work can be a session unto itself or can be infused into any of the above sessions. If the session is solely an energy session, then please note that the client remains fully clothed. An energy work session uses the gift of touch to influence the human energy system, specifically the energy field that surrounds the body, and the energy centers that control the flow from the energy field to the physical body. This is a non-invasive technique that employs the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields, thus affecting physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. It is based on a heart-centered, caring relationship in which the practitioner and client come together energetically to facilitate the client's health and healing. The goal of an energy work session is to restore balance and harmonies in the energy system, placing the client in a position to self heal.