
Services
I blend a combination of the following modalities into each session, or you may request them individually. Please note that Tui Na Acupressure alone is done fully clothed, while other combinations are done with the disrobed client covered with a sheet and only the area being worked on exposed.
Swedish Massage One of the most commonly taught and well-known massage techniques, Swedish massage is a vigorous system of treatment designed to energize the body by stimulating circulation. Five basic strokes, all flowing toward the heart, are used to manipulate the soft tissues of the body. The disrobed client is covered by a sheet, with only the area being worked on exposed. Therapists use a combination of kneading, rolling, vibrational, percussive, and tapping movements, with the application of oil, to reduce friction on the skin. The many benefits of Swedish massage may include generalized relaxation, dissolution of scar tissue adhesions, and improved circulation, which may speed healing and reduce swelling from injury.
Integrative Manual Therapy This therapy recognizes that each person is more than the total components of anatomy, physics, and chemistry and is instead affected by emotions, thoughts, social interactions, mind, spirit, consciousness, soul, and more. Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) combines multiple therapies to locate and alleviate health challenges through individual body systems. Utilizing a combination of structural rehabilitation (a manual therapy process of normalization) and functional rehabilitation (a therapy to restore functional outcome according to the optimal potential of the client), IMT utilizes the expertise of professionals in many fields--physical therapy, osteopathic medicine, homeopathy, audiology, massage therapy, etc.
Acupressure Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. When these points are pressed, they release muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood and the body’s life force (sometimes known as qi or chi) to aid healing. Acupuncture and acupressure use the same points, but acupuncture employs needles, while acupressure uses the gentle, but firm pressure of hands and feet. Acupressure, continues to be the most effective method for self-treatment of tension-related ailments by using the power and sensitivity of the human hand. Acupressure can be effective in helping relieve headaches, eye strain, sinus problems, neck pain, backaches, arthritis, muscle aches, tension due to stress, ulcer pain, menstrual cramps, lower backaches, constipation, and indigestion. Self-acupressure can also be used to relieve anxiety and improve sleep. There are also great advantages to using acupressure as a way to balance the body and maintain good health. The healing touch of acupressure reduces tension, increases circulation, and enables the body to relax deeply. By relieving stress, acupressure strengthens resistance to disease and promotes wellness. In acupressure, local symptoms are considered an expression of the condition of the body as a whole. A tension headache, for instance, may be rooted in the shoulder and neck area. Thus, acupressure focuses on relieving pain and discomfort, as well as responding to tension, before it develops into a disease—before the constrictions and imbalances can do further damage. The origins of acupressure are as ancient as the instinctive impulse to hold your forehead or temples when you have a headache. Everyone at one time or another has used their hands spontaneously to hold tense or painful places on the body. More than five thousand years ago, the Chinese discovered that pressing certain points on the body relieved pain where it occurred and also benefited other parts of the body more remote from the pain and the pressure point. Gradually, they found other locations that not only alleviated pain, but also influenced the functioning of certain internal organs. (Definition, in part, from the book Acupressure’s Potent Points, by Michael Reed Gach, director of the Acupressure Institute, Bantam, 1990.)
Tui Na Tui Na is an ancient Chinese system of manual therapeutics with a wide range of techniques and indications. While traditional Chinese medical precepts form its theoretical basis, clinical experience governs its application. Tui Na techniques range from those that are light and soothing to those that are strong and invigorating. Refined over the centuries, Tui Na facilitates healing by regulating the circulation of blood and qi (vital energy), which controls body function and enhances resistance to disease. The term Tui Na (pronounced t-weigh na) combines the names of two of the hand techniques, Tui meaning to push and Na meaning to lift and squeeze, which are used to represent the system. Practitioners of Tui Na claim there are more than 365 hand techniques, although they can be generally placed in the category of pressing, rubbing, waving, shaking, percussion, or manipulating. The term “Tui Na” first appeared in the Ming Dynasty text Pediatric Tui Na Classic in 1601.
Trigger Point Release “The Munyer Method™” is an integrated, four-body (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) therapeutic process for the healing of trauma through the movement and release of trapped or compacted energy.
“Trigger Point Massage,” a method developed by Janet Travell in the 1960’s involved a combination of pressure and injection to unlock trigger points of contraction within the muscles and tissues of the physical body. “The Munyer Method™” doesn’t use injections. Instead, the interest is that of an integration of body, mind and spirit.
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Please note that my sessions are: -- at Center for Therapeutic Massage (Pacifica) or StretchWorks (Redwood City) only (no outcalls); and -- strictly professional, therapeutic. | |
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