More about massage...

Procedures...
You will be asked to fill out our brief information form and then shown to a treatment room. Soft music is playing and candles light the room Your therapist or technicians will leave you momentarily to undress down to your comfort level. While you relax underneath a fresh drape exposing only the area that is being worked on as you listen to relaxing music, you will slip in to a peaceful state. Your job is to breathe, relax, close your eyes, and allow your Therapist's hands to locate all your areas of tension and melt them away. Allow your body's natural energies to rejuvenate you.


Why massage...
Bodywork offers a drug-free, non-invasive and humanistic approach based on the
body’s natural ability to heal itself. Massage has many physiological effects,
such as:

• Increasing circulation, allowing the body to pump more oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs.
  

• Stimulating the lymph system, the body’s natural defense, against toxic invaders. For example, in breast cancer patients, massage has been shown to increase the cells that fight cancer.

• Relaxing and softening injured and overused muscles.

• Reducing spasms and cramping.

• Increasing joint flexibility.

• Reducing recovery time for strenuous workouts and eliminating subsequent pains of the athlete at any level.

• Releasing endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller. For this reason, massage is being incorporated into treatment for chronic illness, injury and recovery from surgery to control and relieve pain.

• Reducing post-surgery adhesions and edema and reducing and realigning scar tissue after healing has occurred.

• Improving range of motion and decreasing discomfort for patients with low back pain.

• Relieving pain for migraine sufferers and decreasing the need for
  medication.

• Providing exercise and stretching for atrophied muscles and reducing shortening of the muscles for those with restricted range of motion.

• Contributing to shorter labor and reduced tearing for expectant mothers, as well as lessening the need for medication, minimizing depression and anxiety, and shortening hospital stays.

It’s important to note that there are some conditions where massage is not recommended. For example, massage is contraindicated in people with:

• Certain forms of cancer
• Phlebitis
• Some cardiac problems
• Some skin conditions
• Infectious diseases

Your practitioner should ask you about your specific health conditions and determine if massage, bodywork therapies are a good idea. In some cases, the practitioner may need your doctor’s permission before providing services.

Treating the spirit...
Massage also provides another therapeutic component largely absent in today’s world: tactile stimulation, or, more simply, touch. In 1986, the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami published groundbreaking research on the effects of massage on premature babies. The preterm babies who received massage therapy showed 47% greater weight gain and six-day shorter hospital stays than the infants who were not receiving massage. But is this study evidence of what loving touch can do spiritually, or rather what massage can do on a physiological level? Regardless, babies are not the only benefactors.

Many adults have reported cathartic experiences on the massage table. As a therapist carefully unwinds a client’s stressed and tired muscles, the therapist may very well be unwinding the taut, pent-up emotions that one doesn ’t always have time to process in the middle of the day. And the feeling of being touched in a safe, caring, compassionate manner can be a very powerful experience, reminding the client that she or he is not alone in the world.

Did You Know...
... that massage is one of the oldest healing arts: Chinese records dating back 3,000 years document its use; the ancient Hindus, Persians and Egyptians applied forms of massage for many ailments; and Hippocrates wrote papers recommending the use of rubbing and friction for joint and circulatory problems. Today, the benefits of massage are varied and far-reaching. As an accepted part of many physical rehabilitation programs, massage therapy has also proven beneficial for many chronic conditions, including low back pain, arthritis, bursitis, fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, immunity suppression, infertility, smoking cessation, depression, and more. And, as many millions will attest, massage also helps relieve the stress and tension of everyday living that can lead to disease and illness.


Massage is the key...
Massage therapy addresses a variety of health conditions, the most prevalent being stress-related tension, which, experts believe, accounts for 80%-90% of disease. Massage has been proven beneficial in treating cancer-related fatigue, sleep disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, low back pain, immunity suppression, spinal cord injury, autism, post-operative surgery, age-related disorders, infertility, eating disorders, smoking cessation, and depression, to name just a few.


How often should I get a massage?
As a measure to conserve or improve one's health, keep in good shape, increase energy or just relax, a massage every week to ten days is suggested. Preferably, use massage as a preventative "Tune-up" and health addition to one's well being. Once a Day being the ULTIMATE and Once a Month a MUST.

Will my insurance cover it?
The services of a bodywork professional may be covered by health insurance when prescribed by a chiropractor or osteopath. Therapies provided as part of a prescribed treatment by a physician or registered physical therapist are often covered.

Please note: Massage, bodywork therapies specifically exclude diagnosis, prescription, manipulation or adjustments of the human skeletal structure, or any other service, procedure or therapy which requires a license to practice orthopedics, physical therapy, podiatry, chiropractic, osteopathy, psychotherapy, acupuncture, or any other profession or branch of medicine.