Massage Therapy—A Return To Ancient, Proven Healing

With so many modern medical advances, it has been easy to lose sight of many proven, natural, old-world techniques like massage therapy; as those advances continue to move forward, as a culture we often revert back to the more natural, well-proven techniques for health management and healing. On of the most proven methods of boosting health and healing is massage therapy.

What Is Massage Therapy?

Massage therapy is an umbrella term that is used in reference to a number of bodywork techniques which promote healing and relaxation (and healing through relaxation). Massage has roots in ancient cultures (as far back as 3,000 years ago in China); due to the extensive benefits of Massage therapy, it has become a mainstay of many mainstream medical and physical treatments. Massage is no longer considered “quack” therapy, and is gaining in popularity by the day.

Massage, in its most general sense, refers to rubbing and manipulation of the body. It may be performed on target areas of the body, or a session may include the whole body.

The basic techniques employed in massage therapy include:

• Rubbing of muscles, soft tissues, and joints
• Manipulation of joints, muscles, and soft tissues
• Touch therapies, re-patterning, and movement of body structures
• Stroking
• Kneading
• Tapping/light thumping
• Compression
• Vibration
• Applying pressure

Each of these techniques are used in different ways and combinations, comprising the more than 250 types of massage therapy. These therapies are known by many different names, including Swedish massage, bodywork, touch therapy, reflexology, sports massage, somatic therapy, acupressure, sports massage, and neuromuscular massage. Some massage therapists will specialize in one specific type, or modality, of massage; others are capable of performing a range of massage therapies. Each massage therapist will tailor therapy sessions toward the specific needs and goals of a client to achieve the optimal result.

Massage therapists use a number of products and supplies to further enhance the benefits and comfort of a massage therapy session. These include tables, oils, creams, and lotions, as well as aromatherapies. The most effective tool of all used during a massage is the skilled set of hands of the massage therapist.

Massage has proven an incomparable physical therapy with far-reaching medical and physical benefits. The benefits of massage have been linked to numerous health conditions ranging from circulatory dysfunctions to stress related illness and sports injuries. As medical professionals and individuals have increasingly come to realize that pharmaceuticals are not the only option for treating ailments and injuries, the demand for skilled massage therapists has grown dramatically. Today, massage therapy is being recognized as both a supplemental and independent health treatment as well as a means of preventing illness and injury.

The Ida Rolf Rolfing Technique

The Ida Rolf Rolfing Technique evolved over the span of many years. It is interesting how Dr. Rolf’s life work has continued on and evolved even after her death in 1978. Dr. Rolf graduated from Barnard College in 1916. After graduation she earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Dr. Rolf developed some back problems after being kicked by a horse on a camping trip soon after graduating from college. She was not satisfied with the medical treatment she was getting, so she sought treatment from an osteopathic doctor instead. What she learned from the osteopath would lead her on to make her own discoveries that would become the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique.

For 10 years Dr. Rolf studied Tantric Yoga and applied this knowledge to helping people with disabilities. She used the postures of Yoga in her practice, and as she learned new techniques she incorporated them into her practice which evolved into what she called Structural Integration, but later became known as the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique.

Over the course of 50 years she studied and taught that through structural integration the changes that gravity makes on the body could be corrected over time. The body would come into balance with the planet’s gravitational field. Dr. Rolf learned through her studies that gravity is a constant force that is either pulling structures down or holding them up. Gravity’s effect on the body is that the body shape changes just like the body was a piece of plastic that could be molded. The connective tissue that encases every muscle, bone, and organ of the body is affected by the force of gravity, but can also be restructured through the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique.

Dr. Rolf started teaching in California at the Esalen Institute at Big Sur. She taught that the body is changeable, and that the imbalance of poor posture can be replaced by the balance of good posture. She called her work body education, and later changed it to Structural Integration. Her work caught on so that Boulder, Colorado became the headquarters for her work and was called The Guild for Structural Integration.

As the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique caught on in the 1960’s, the term Rolfing was coined and later became a registered trade service mark. Only Ida Rolf Rolfing technique certified practitioners are allowed to display the Rolfing service mark in their company logos. Licensed practitioners are now commonly known as Rolfers.

The Ida Rolf Rolfing technique evolved from the work of Dr. Rolf. She discovered that just as gravity can change a body from a state of balance to imbalance, her techniques could use gravity to assist the practitioner to put the body back into balance. She taught that the connective tissue could be stretched over time to reshape the body and promote not only balance with gravity, but also improvement in health.

Reiki Massage

Reiki Massage – The Hands On Relaxation Mode

The term reiki massage is a bit of an oxymoron when it comes right down to it simply because in reality reiki is NOT massage. However, some regard it as “massaging” the energy field. But to mention reiki massage is confusing, as this is nothing like a conventional remedial massage therapy from a licensed massage therapist.

In most instances reiki healing (not reiki massage) is the use of spiritual energy to heal a person’s aura or situation. Massage on the other hand is the process of rubbing or kneading different parts of the body for therapeutic reasons or purposes. Now having said this, there are indeed many massage therapists who are trained in reiki and who combine the two disciplines to get an even better result for the client. In instances like that, then you could aptly describe what you are receiving as reiki massage.

Licensed massage therapists who take reiki are learning how to better use their already existing healing energies to promote the spiritual well-being of their clients, as well as their physical well-being. Their treatments then become a blend of reiki massage – but this is really the only instance where those two things go together in the same sentence. So keeping this in mind, when we refer to reiki massage in this article, we are referring to a massage therapist giving reiki using the usual hand positions.

The usual treatment of reiki massage starts at the head and then works down the front of the body and down the back of the body through the seven different chakras. Where the hands are placed coincide with your seven major chakras or in other words, the energy centers of your physical body. Reiki massage helps you manage pain, deal with stress and relaxes you on a very deep level. The hands of the reiki practitioner will either be laying on you gently or working just a few inches above your body. The healing energy is sent through/channeled by the practitioner into you.

There is no need to be nervous about a massage treatment combined with reiki at the same time. The reiki will not hurt you in any way. It is actually used to help treat conditions such as lockjaw, muscle pain, tension, stress, injury healing and well over 60 other types of ailments. In the Western world you will discover there are four areas/chakras used for treatment – the head, body, legs/feet and back.

It is safe to say that reiki treatments are one hundred percent safe and do not have any side effects, nor do they incur injuries. Some will experience sensations like warmth, tingling or cold during their session, but these sensations will not hurt you. Depending on the patient, Reiki treatments have been known to show results immediately or at a later time.

Using Massage Therapy Clip Art

Clip art has quickly become an acceptable usage for sound concepts, high-quality illustrations, and the quality of its execution. It has to say what is wanted and how it needs to be represented–immediately. Massage therapy clip art represents a new field of healing and stress reduction, with the massage practitioners using it to promote their business. Business people are not usually professional artists, but they need to grab the attention of prospective clients into the massage area.

The massage therapist needs to inform the public they are knowledgeable about their profession, what type of skill level they have, and inform the general public of their accessibility. Using quality massage therapy clip art along with quality educational and advertising programs can do just that, if it is done properly. Well-conceived and carefully implemented marketing devices have the potential to help a business grow.

The average person who goes to a massage therapist for medical benefits or even relaxation purposes, do not realize that they can specialize in over 80 different types of massages. And that massage can last as long as two hours on down to five or 10 minutes, depending on the needs of the client. Massage therapy clip art needs to represent this in a simplest of ways, with the most quality and accuracy as possible without imitating similar products and services. And actually, the only difference in marketing methods is the method used to win over a new client.

In order to achieve a qualified response from a prospective massage client, using words with power and unique phrases are good, but used in combination with massage therapy clip art is better than good–it is excellent. People do not pick up an ad and say, “Hmmm…I wonder what this says?” But they do respond immediately to some form of artwork, whether it is an illustration, photograph, or graphic design. And this will depend on the targeted marketing field.

Those with limited imagination will use mediocre sales gimmicks, using bold and large brightly colored letters to “slam” the mind with force–making a person READ their ad. This type of ad is used through un-requested pop-up Internet ads, Spam mail, or whatever can forcibly be used to an unsuspecting audience in a mass scale. But a quality ad with massage therapy clip art pertaining only to the message, can also be an extremely forceful ad.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the newly developing massage field has competitive advantages. Instant profits can only be successfully achieve if they are marketed accurately and with style, with that style representing the general mass or a targeted audience. An ad for massage therapy would not be received well by someone who is campaigning against different natural health fields. But it can be received well by those already in the natural field, or by a high stress industry that is seeking ways to reduce stress in its business. Using massage therapy clip art and the power of quality words toward a particular target are an art field in itself, achieving success on many levels.