Relaaaaaaax

From being so relaxed your consciousness nearly slips away, to feeling as if you’re suddenly in a torture chamber, massage is one of the most popular ways to be healed, invigorated or pampered.

Massage is the practice of soft tissue manipulation of the body for a curative effect. It is possibly the oldest and simplest form of medical care and its use can be traced back to ancient civilisations including Rome, Greece, China, India and Egypt. These days the range of massage treatments is very expansive, meaning it can get confusing trying to separate Swedish from Shiatsu.

Swedish is the most common kind of massage.  It applies medium pressure through long strokes, kneading, and vibrational tapping. It relieves muscle tension, stimulates circulation, increases serotonin levels and promotes total mind and body relaxation. Despite its name and the tendency for fictional massage therapists to be called ‘Sven’, this massage didn’t originate from Sweden.

Aromatherapy massage uses techniques from Swedish massage, while incorporating the use of essential oils. The oils are mixed depending on the desired effect of the massage, which ranges from relaxation to stress relief.

Remedial massage is a deep tissue massage that treats specific areas of muscle tension caused by stress or injury. Therapy is holistic, based on the principle that an individual is a whole organism and everything is connected and related, therefore injury to part of the body will actually affect the whole body. Tissue is manipulated through compression and passive stretching/shortening.

Shiatsu sounds like a martial art or exotic breed of dog, but in fact means ‘finger pressure’ in Japanese. Shiatsu is an intense massage where in addition to thumbs, palms, elbows, feet and knees are used to apply pressure on specific points in the body to clear the flow of ‘chi’, or energy. Stretches, joint rotations and manipulations are also used.

Thai massage is not for wimps. The body is stretched into yoga-like positions and stepped upon in the name of relaxation and pain relief. Thai massage helps to increase flexibility, relieve muscular and joint tension, stimulate internal organs and balance the body’s energy system. 11/10 on the pain scale, yet strangely energising.

Pregnancy massage is a gentle massage that aims to relieve pain associated with pregnancy, such as muscle cramps, muscle spasms and aches in the lower back, neck, hips and legs.

Hot stone massage involves placing smooth oiled and warm stones on the body to release tense muscles and sore joints. Swedish massage techniques are used while the therapist applies smooth stones and essential oils to ease muscle tension. Don’t be shocked when you see the frightful marks hot stone therapy leaves you with – after all you’ve just had heated stones placed on your skin.

Image by LDCross.

Sources;
http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/massage
http://www.healthandbeauty.net.au/types-of-massages/
http://www.hand2body.com.au/types.htm
http://www.contoursrelaxationcentre.com.au/massage_history.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massage
http://www.changeforlife.com.au/therapies/remedial_massage/