Therapy Details
Techniques:
This refers to the various different ways that are used by the therapist to carry out your treatment, such as:
- Effleurage – this is used to warm up and stretch out the muscles. It is the basis for all massages, and is commonly used at the beginning of a treatment. It is very relaxing, and comprises long, slow and lengthening movements with flat hands and fingers.
- Petrissage – These include kneading, and skin rolling – anything that lifts the skin up and will help to break up the tension.
- Friction – the thumbs are used in a back-and-forth motion on a small tight area to increase blood flow
Vibration – using the hand to gently shake an area of tension. - Tapotement – includes hacking (with the sides of the hands in chopping motion) or cupping (making concave shapes with the hands to create a light suction, to increase blood flow to an area)
Kneading:
This is a petrissage technique that involves kneading the skin and soft muscle tissue, almost as if you were kneading bread dough. It encourages blood flow and lifts the muscles fibres to encourage any tension to break up.
Kneading is soft enough to be relaxing, but also firm enough to encourage the start of breaking down the tension, and to prepare the muscles for any further deeper work needed to be done.
Fascia:
Think of fascia as a big piece of clingfilm. This ‘cling film’ covers all your organs, bones, nerves and muscles to protect and hold them in place. When we do a classic Swedish massage for relaxation purposes, we are only massaging the superficial layers of the fascia.
When we do a deep tissue massage, the therapist has to break through the rest of the fascia in order to reach the muscles to where the knots and areas of tension are.
Healthy fascia is flexible and stretchy, which is why when you feel tight, and have limited range of motion, it is an indication that you need to lengthen and loosen it up.
Knots:
Knots are when the muscle fibres form a tight cluster that are tender and painful, and can decrease range of motion, which in turn causes a decrease in blood flow.
Knots, also known as trigger points, need something like a deep tissue massage to help work them out. Trigger point therapy can be used on a knot to help oxygenate the area and increase the blood flow to the area – this is what helps break them down.
There is also a debatable theory that perhaps muscle knots contain lactic acid, and this is what forms the hard like knob that you can feel under the skin. When trigger point therapy is used, this crystallization breaks down, because oxygenated blood can now flow to the area, and oxygen helps to break down lactic acid.
Myofascia release techniques:
Myofascial release can be used on its own or else as an addition to a deep tissue massage.
These techniques are performed incredibly slowly, and when used in conjunction with a deep tissue massage, can be used at the start of the treatment to relax the fascia in order to assist in breaking through it more easily.
Myofascial release helps increase the range of motion, and can help to decrease pain.
Myofascial Release is said to be the missing link in deep tissue massage, and can also be used for people who cannot cope with the deeper and often painful pressure of a full-on deep tissue massage, as it’s non-invasive and actually very relaxing.
However, as mentioned before, this massage is done at a very slow, detailed and controlled pace, and requires a lot of patience, both from the therapist and the recipient.
How does Deep tissue Massage differ from Sport Massage?
Deep Tissue and Sport Massage are very similar in the fact that they both are aimed at reducing pain, tension and increasing range of motion, however they also have slight differences.
Deep Tissue massages usually focus on a larger surface area, such as the back, neck and shoulders, or even the full body, whereas a Sport Massage tends to focus on a localized area, such as an athlete’s calves or hamstrings.
Sport Massage is also most commonly used by people who do a lot of sport related activities. This is not to say that a non-sporty person cannot have a sport massage, but sport massage is generally used for sport related injuries, pre-activity, post-activity and maintenance.
The other difference is that sport massage therapists require more in-depth training to be able to deal with sport related issues.
Pressure points:
These are points on the body that when pressure is applied, may offer relief to a specific area of the body.
Pressure points can be stimulated by using gentle pressure with the fingers, and held for anywhere from 10 seconds – 3 minutes.
Oedema:
This is a type of acute swelling that occurs when there is too much fluid in the tissues. It usually occurs after something like travelling for long periods, pregnancy, sedentary lifestyles or surgery.
Manual lymphatic drainage can help with this.
Lymphedema:
This is a chronic and incurable condition that occurs when the lymphatic system has failed. This results in a build-up of lymph in the tissues, resulting in swelling in most commonly the legs and arms, but can also happen in other areas.
Lymphedema can be caused by illnesses such as cancer, but can also occur in obese people or people who lead very sedentary lifestyles.
Lymphedema can be managed by having regular manual lymph drainage treatments, but a person with this condition needs to be under the care of a lymphedema specialist who can diagnose the condition and help you manage it properly.
Lymph Nodes:
These are your little filtration areas where lymph is drained from. In a manual lymph drainage massage, this is where we direct all the fluid to, where it is ‘filtered’ and cleaned of any waste before being drained back into the bloodstream.
They are composed of white blood cells, which also aid in good immunity.
Blockages:
Blockages are usually a reference used with treatments such as reiki and reflexology. The term ‘blockage’ refers to energy blockage that restricts the free flow of energy.
In reflexology, a certain pressure point in the foot can sometimes feel tender to the recipient and / or, the therapist will feel something similar to grains of sand under the skin.
This can indicate a blockage within that point. Reflexology aims to relieve that ‘blockage’ by stimulating it, and activating the body’s own natural healing mechanism.
In reiki, an unbalanced chakra can be blocked, when this happens, it prevents energy from flowing efficiently, and can manifest as physical and mental ailments related to that chakra.
An example would be a blocked heart chakra, which results in feelings of hurt, pain and grief. Perhaps this person has lost someone they love, or they are struggling to give love or love themselves.
A blocked throat chakra could manifest in someone who has trouble speaking up, whereas an overstimulated throat chakra could be someone who speaks up and gives their opinion too much, or perhaps the person with a blocked throat chakra has a lot of throat related illnesses.
Symbolism:
Reiki symbols are sacred, and are imperative for any reiki session. They are also supposed to be only known by reiki practitioners.
Unfortunately, though, with the internet, blogs and social media, these symbols can now be accessed by anyone, which is a real shame, as they really should remain confidential.
The symbols are used by the practitioner to focus energy and direct energy. Because the reiki practitioner has been ‘attuned’ with these symbols, it allows them to go deep within, and to connect on a deeper level in order to channel the energy. They also enhance the healing process.
In the Usui Reiki system, there are four main symbols, which I’m not going to share on here, but I’d like to tell the story of how these symbols came about:
It is said that Dr Mikao Usui, who while on a spiritual retreat on Mount Kumara, decided to fast and meditate for 21 days, and on the last day, he had a very deep spiritual experience that resulted in him ‘receiving’ these sacred symbols.
He said that the symbols gave him the ability to access the healing energy he was seeking, and thus this is how reiki was founded.
The symbols can be drawn, visualized or chanted.
Attunement:
This is kind of like a spiritual initiation or ritual and is when the reiki student is aligned and allows them to be forever connected to the universal life energy.
This enables the channeling of energy. Attunements can only be done by reiki masters, and special symbols and hand placements are used in the ritual to help link the student for life to reiki energy.
Attunements are very deep and enlightening experiences that can result in the person feeling warm, tingly and very relaxed with a deeper spiritual understanding and connection.
Chakra's:
These are our energy centres and run down from the top of your head to the base of your pubic region.
There are 7 in total:
Crown, third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral and base or root chakra.
They each relate to our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
They also each have their own colours and vibrations, and correspond to foods, sound, and crystals. In order to be holistically healthy, they chakra’s need to be aligned and balanced.
As mentioned before, when one of these is blocked, overactive or underactive, disease and/or ailments can present themselves.
Pendulum:
A pendulum is a tool that can be used in a healing session to help the practitioner see which way energy is being directed.
It can either sway to and-fro, or else go in both a clockwise or anti clockwise motion, and can also be slow or fast in its movements.
In chakra balancing, it can help a practitioner see or rather get confirmation as to the energy the chakra is holding onto. It is also useful in helping us seek answers to any questions we might have.
Crystals:
These beautiful stones come from the earth, and are vast in their colour, shape and texture.
Crystals can be a valuable tool in not just a healing session, but in everyday life as well. Just placing a crystal in your home can change the energy, and they make a fabulous addition to a reiki treatment.
Crystals have their own vibrations, and each one has its own properties that can assist in various types of healing.
When a crystal is placed on the body or in a place with stagnant energy, what we are trying to achieve is to have that energy match the vibration of the crystal.
