“Regardless of their chosen specialty, a good Massage Therapist will master a wide-range of modalities to meet the individual needs of their clients”, said Harmony Curtiss, Director for Healing Hands School of Holistic Health (Healing Hands). “That’s why Healing Hands offers over 80 Massage Therapy and related Holistic Health courses. Our Mission is to ensure that all our students receive a well-rounded, broad range of specialized skills and knowledge in the Holistic Healing Arts”, she added.
Before any legitimate therapeutic massage, a client should be given a brief intake questionnaire and range-of-motion movement test. During the assessment, the Practitioner asks questions and searches for dysfunctional anatomy, physiology or movement. The process helps identify the source of discomfort, pain, stiffness, referred pain, numbness or tingling and allows the Practitioner to discern the best therapeutic approach.
During the massage, the client can expect to have his body draped with a sheet for privacy and extremities manipulated for access. A conscientious Massage Therapist will encourage open lines of communication throughout the massage, to ensure the client’s comfort and ease.
After the massage, the Therapist may reassess the client’s range of motion to measure improvement. He or she may prescribe self-care practices the client can do at home and discuss the goals for future massage therapy sessions.
To help first time ‘Massage Experiencers’ select the best massage for their needs, the Faculty at Healing Hands offers the below summary of three popular types of massage and their therapeutic benefits. Review each to discover which type of Massage Therapy treatment resonates most with you.
Wellness Massage – Focus on Relaxation and Stress Reduction.
As new research supports the fact that stress negatively impacts our emotional and physical health, the demand for Massage Therapy continues to grow. When your mind perceives the world to be threatening, which occurs frequently in today’s demanding and fast-paced world; your body responds with the ‘Fight or Flight’ response. This response creates tremendous internal tension. Its impact can be evidenced by clenched fists, tightness in the neck, shallow breathing, stomach distress and headaches. Worse still, chronic stress adversely impacts blood pressure, de-stabilizes blood sugar, and wreaks havoc on our Cardiovascular, Digestive and Immune systems.
Modalities such as Swedish Massage and Lomi Lomi (Hawaiian) work especially well to reduce this internal tension. They offer rhythmic, flowing strokes of varying pressure to encourage deep relaxation. Benefits include a reduction in Cortisol, (stress hormones) and increase in Dopamine, Serotonin (good feeling hormones) which dissipate tension and allow the body’s natural healing to occur.
Note: Watch for Part 2 of this Blog – coming soon!
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