Swedish Massage Therapy

Over centuries, massage in various forms has been practiced in different civilizations for its medicinal, therapeutic, soothing and invigorating effects on the body. Ancient book records and hyroglyphics on cave walls prove that the science of this healing therapy was known years ago in China, Japan, Egypt, India and to many other civilizations such as the Romans, Greeks and Persians.

Today, this same knowledge has been rediscovered and infused with modern knowledge and techniques, has given rise to a new era of ‘Alternate Medicine.’ Among the most popular therapies today, is the Classic/ Swedish Massage which is a soft tissue, gentle and soothing full body massage (excluding face and head).

It is not clear who actually was responsible for development of this type of massage. It was generally believed that a Swede named Henri Peter Ling developed Swedish Massage in 1812 at the University of Stockholm. However, a Dutch practitioner, Johan Georg Mezger is generally given credit for coining the French terms for the basic strokes used during the massage.

The basic strokes used in Swedish Massage are:

1. Effleurage: Long soothing, stroking movements with the palms of the hands.
2. Petrissage: A number of movements including kneading and rolling of skin.
3. Friction: Penetrating circular movements which involved deep pressure to one particular site of muscle tension, using the thumb, fingertips and knuckles.
4. Tapotement: Which include fast and stimulating movements including cupping, hacking, pounding, etc.

The strokes used in Swedish Massage form the basis of all other massages. There are many other massages that are a combination of Swedish Massage techniques and other deep tissue massage techniques and therapies.

Swedish Massage has shown amazing results in terms of physical, psychological and spiritual health. It is especially useful for:

·       Relaxation

·       Stimulation

·       Rejuvenation

·       Healing skin

·       Relief to tense muscles

·       Improved sleep patterns

·       Stress relief, etc.

It is now widely known that stress and mental strain is the main cause of around 85% diseases. By providing a much needed relief and relaxation in today’s day and age of hurry, worry and curry, Swedish Massage proves to be beneficial to your overall wellbeing.

However, there are certain contraindicatons to this massage. A therapist as well as client needs to be aware of these. Thus, the therapist must perform a detailed client consultation before commencing treatment and a client must be forthright about any medical conditions he/she may be suffering from. Pre-massage consultation is of utmost importance and it is irresponsible on any spa/ salon/ therapist’s part to commence treatment without it.

Some of the contraindications to massage are:

·       High Blood Pressure

·       Heart Disease/ Stroke

·       Pregnancy

·       Cancer

·       Fever

·       Varicose Veins

·       Oedema

·       Headache/ Migraine

·       Physical Injury

·       Osteporosis

·       Acute Infectious Conditions

·       Inflammation of any kind

·       Bruises

It is not necessary that if you have the above mentioned conditions, you cannot have a massage. The massage treatment can be modified accordingly, or the consultation of a doctor might be required by the therapist.

Finally, a detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology, medical conditions and correct massage techniques is required to perform Swedish Massage. So therapists, make sure you choose the right school which includes this in the curriculum and clients, make sure you are going to a certified and well trained massage therapist.

Stay Well!

Essential (Aromatic) Oils

It is believed that the ancient Egyptians were the first to discover the theraputic use of plants and their oils. Romans and Greeks were also aware of this science. Pure essential oils extracted by steam distillation, etc. were used in medicine between the 17th and late 19th century. Later their uses were confined to perfumes.

The medicinal properties of essential oils was rediscovered in the 1920s, when a French chemist, Dr. Maurice Gattefosse, burned his hand and successfully treated it with the essential oil of Lavender. 

Aromatherapy Essential Oils are highly concentrated, pure, extracts of plants and plant material like leaves, twigs, berries, bark, wood, root, flowers, and the peel of citrus fruits.

They are highly volatile and readily evaporate into the air. Theraputic pols have many beneficial properties and can affect the body through inhalation and through the skin. It is found that certain scents stimulate the senses and thus the brain, triggering healing. Essential oils not only affect a person psychologically, but also physiologically. 

Essential oils have the power to calm, stimulate, help balance the hormones, improve digestion, energy levels, immunity and can even prevent and combat infection and kill bacteria. They have proven useful in healing muscle aches and pains and even flu. 

Essential oils belong to different families and have different uses based on the properties of their plants. By knowing the plant family to which the oil belongs, we can better understand its nature, properties and effects as the oil properties will follow the common properties representative of their plant family.

The families of essential oils are:

·       Burseraceae (Resin Family).

·       Compositae (Sunflower Family)

·       Pinaceae (Pine Family)

·       Gramineae or Poaceae (Grass Family)

·       Lamiaceae or Labiatae (Mint Family)

·       Lauraceae (Laurel Family)

Aromatherapy can be applied in many creative ways to heal others and yourself. You can use some of the oils in a bath, scrub, inhalation, on pillow or clothes and can even be applied on to the skin. The best way to enhance any treatment like a massage or reflexology is to add aromatherapy to it. 

In aromatherapy massage, essential oils are mixed with a carrier oil like sweet almond, apricot kernel or grapeseed oil. The combination and concentration of the oils depends on the requirement for the client and the properties of the oils. 

Some of the essential oils used regularly are Peppermint, Blood Orange, Lavender, Champaka, Rose, Chamomile, Geranium, Rosemary, Coffee, Apple, Bergamont, Frankincense, Myrrh, Eucalyptus, Jasmine, Sandalwood, etc.

Inspite of the amazing uses of essential oils, they can prove to be counter productive if used in the wrong way by an untrained therapist. It is very important to know the properties, nature and exact uses of essential oils before trying them out. So if you wish to add an essential oil or combination of oils to your treatment, make sure you know what you are doing. For your benefit, we will talk about the uses and individual properties of each oil in future posts.

Hope you will enjoy reading them. 

Happy Healing!

Article in 'Life Positive' September 2011 issue.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge and read.)

It Takes Time to Heal

Alternative Medicine is not magic, it is a science based on hundreds of years of experience and experimentation. It helps heal the body naturally, without any use of chemicals that bring about strong and instant reactions in the body. For this very reason, it takes time to bring about healing.

No disease occurs suddenly. It manifests slowly and if the signs are recognized at an early stage, preventive measures can be taken. However, not everyone knows how to read the signs and they finally realize only when they really feel unbearable pain or sickness. At this stage, they might come to you for healing and look for immediate results after the first session itself.

As therapists, it is our responsibility to first explain to them how healing takes place. In any kind of alternative medicine, energy channels are cleared up and healing is stimulated. Toxins come out in natural forms like sweat, mucous, urine, etc. Since the elimination process is natural, it will take time and will depend on the regularity of the treatments. 

You can even include this information as a clause in the consent form the clients will fill and sign. They are welcome to take a trial session first, and if they like it, advice them to book the next session (it is up to you to judge how often they need treatment). They are likely to ask how long it will take to heal. Inform them that recovery time depends on the nature and intensity of the problem, the reaction of the client's body to the treatment, frequency of treatment, etc. It is different for everyone and can be gauged with regular treatment. You can take notes and record the progress of each client for a better study.

However, remember that alternative medicine is not a replacement for medical treatment. Make sure clients with serious problems have a doctor's written approval. 

After each session, ask for client feedback on how they feel. Call them the next day to see how they are progressing. But emphasize on regularity!! Otherwise all efforts on both parts will be void. 

Work hard and keep healing!!

Flexibility Brings More Business!

Did you know that the more flexible your body is, the more flexible and adjusting your nature becomes? In fact, in Palmistry, it is believed that if the thumb is flexible and you can bend backwards almost to 90 degrees, you are of flexible nature. Try it and see what your nature really is like!

But no, in terms of business I don't mean you get more customers if you do gymnastics...

Flexibility in service- customization, is the one thing a customer looks for when going in for any kind of therapy, may it be a foot massage, hair treatment, or even just applying nail polish.

People love being pampered, but they want to be pampered in their way, not yours. Whether we believe it or not, having a fixed package or style of doing things will not bring you more business.

For example, a customer is coming to you for a foot reflexology treatment. However, he is having shoulder pain and would like to also have a short neck, head and shoulder massage as the icing on the cake. It is true that foot reflexology alone can help in relieving most of the pain, but isn't it relaxing and oh so satisfying to have a last minute (complementary) surprise addition to your treatment?

It shows that the therapist cares for what the customer feels, needs and wants, and is not only after making a quick buck.

When sitting in the waiting room in one of the foot spas, I came across one such a customer who requested something additional for his pain but was told, "Sorry, we have only these and these treatments. We cannot help you." It is sad to see that even spas, made for pampering the clients, claiming to 'give you a most satisfying experience' are so inflexible when it comes to your needs.

If you charge by the hour and are going to the client's house to treat them, make it a point not to have other appointments too close to each other. Some clients find it easier to open up to you after a treatment and share their feelings. 5-10 minutes more will not kill you. It will only build a stronger image of you in your client's mind. Of course, some people have a habit of going on and on, but a therapist must have the skill to be able to wind up the talk on time.

This time for emotional release is very important for clients, because most problems result from those emotions, which are released with therapy. During the therapy, it is better to not talk, so the only time one can talk is after.

The client is the most important person. If they feel they are being cared for and are getting real quality service, they will tell others about you. Soon you will have a long list of clientele without even much of marketing on your part. Your business will grow, only by spending a few extra minutes with each client.

Do share your thoughts, comments and experiences when it comes to serving the client in your own special way. What else do you do for increasing your clientele without much expenditure on marketing?

Stay Well !!

Reiki Healing

About Reiki

Dr. Mikao Usui

Reiki is fast becoming a popular healing therapy. As awareness of alternative therapies increases, people are resorting to this amazing energy healing technique.

Reiki, in Japanese means Universal Life-force Energy. Some form or other of energy healing has been practiced since ancient times. There are many stories of healing powers of Saints and Yogis. There are also stories of Jesus Christ healing people, in the Bible. However, one can say that this secret to healing was rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan.

Passed on from person to person, this knowledge and ability to heal has been spread to many practitioners today over the world.

How Does Reiki Work?

There is a very powerful, positive healing energy in the Universe. An attuned practitioner of Reiki becomes a channel for this energy to flow through them, to the patient/ client via their hands.

This energy is sent to every Chakra (Energy Centre) of the body. It is said that most diseases and imbalances in the body are due to blockages in the energy flow of the body.

This is also explained in Yoga when talking about Pranayama. In Yoga, Prana is the bio-energy that is responsible for functioning of the body. Through Pranayama, this energy is channelled correctly and harnessed, and that leads to longer lifespan and good physical and mental health.

In the same way, Reiki is that positive life-force energy that flows into the body, healing you, removing your toxins and opening up the channels.

Jesus Christ Healing the sick

Reiki Treatment Procedure

Many people find the concept of Reiki strange and unbelievable, but after a therapy session, I have found many people raise their eyebrows incredulously and claiming that, “It really worked!” To those who doubt Reiki, I’d just say, try not to judge something without knowing about/ trying it properly.

A typical therapy session would involve clearing negative energies from the room first. Then the client lies on the back, relaxed, with eyes closed. The therapist starts from the head, spends some time on each chakra and moves down to the feet. Then the same is done with the client lying face down. It is possible that the client may fall asleep during the session, which is quite common and it does not affect the healing.  

Reiki can be used for local healing eg. small cuts and wounds, and can even be sent over a distance eg. the practitioner from his/ her own home can send it to the client who is at his/ her home.

Benefits of Reiki

Reiki is a very safe technique. It has been found to help cure almost all problems under the sun, including physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual. There is still a lot to discover when it comes to the potential of Reiki in healing. It has been found useful in curing sleeplessness, breathing problems, stress, pain, swellings, emotional and past issues, etc. to name just a few. Of course, a note of caution, it does not mean that you do not take medical treatments if your body requires it.

It has almost no side effects. However, some people experience a little increase of pain/ problem before they are healed. This is because Reiki leads to removal of toxins in the natural way. So, the body tries to remove through the usual methods – urine, cold, cough, faeces, sweat and even some emotional release like crying. These all differ from person to person and don’t necessarily occur.

After Reiki

During Reiki, one generally feels warm in the part being healed. In my experience, there have been many people who feel vibrations, waves, tingling sensation and even cold. Some even claim to have seen some visions. They feel relaxed and positive after the session and sometimes in just the first session or after regular healing sessions, see a marked improvement in their condition.

So if you’re looking for a natural way of healing, do try Reiki. You may be surprised, like many others before you.

Stay Well !!

-          ­Ankita Shah

Reiki Master, Yoga Teacher,

Reflexologist, Massage Therapist.

Article in Life Positive Magazine, July 2011

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