Any of these modalities can be used as needed in the course of a customized bodywork session.

Myofascial Release – (MFR)
Myofascial release is a safe and effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle, sustained pressure to the restricted areas in the connective tissue between your muscles to eliminate pain and restore a fuller, more dynamic range of motion.

Benefits of the myofascial release technique are:

• Greater ease of movement
• More balance
• Joint mobility
• Better posture
• Pain relief in multiple areas of the body

Swedish Massage
Swedish massage is one of the most common types of massage and is sometimes referred to as a relaxing massage. The pressure can be light, medium or firm, depending on your preferences and needs. Actions such as percussion, kneading, vibration, tapping and rolling may be used in a session to create the most relaxing sensations for each client.

Some of the benefits of Swedish massage include:

• Boosted immune system
• Nerve stimulation or calming
• Mood booster
• Stress relief
• Lymph drainage
• Greater flexibility

Deep Tissue
Deep tissue is a massage technique that is mainly used to help musculoskeletal issues such as strains, sprains and other sports injuries. It involves applying sustained pressure, using slow, deep strokes to target deeper layers of your muscles and surrounding connective tissue. Deep tissue can help with sports injuries, some types of fibromyalgia, shoulder pain, elbow pain, plantar fasciitis, high blood pressure, sciatica, and more.

Some of the benefits of deep tissue include:

• Reduction in chronic pain in specifically worked areas
• Activates and assists the body in its natural healing process
• Deep relaxation and stress relief
• Assists in recovery from sports injuries and active lifestyles

Trigger Point Therapy (TPT)
Trigger Point Therapy (TPT) refers to the treatment of small knots and adhesions that are found in individual muscles fibers or surrounding fascia. Trigger points are one of the most common causes for chronic muscle pain, especially traveling pain, where you push on the point and feel the pain elsewhere. With trigger point therapy (TPT), these trigger points are identified and manually released, typically resulting in pain relief in the specific area the trigger point was in and other parts of the body that the trigger point may have affected.  Trigger point therapy can help with headaches, joint pain, muscle pain, and back pain.

Benefits of trigger point therapy include:

• Trigger point therapy is safe and leaves very little residual pain.
• TPT may offer a real solution for long term pain.
• TPT can be briefly incorporated into any massage and can restore flexibility and increase blood flow rapidly.
• TPT can release entire muscle groups at once, which can help you return to your workouts or active lifestyle quickly.

Percussion Therapy
Percussion therapy involves a percussion device that puts a burst of pressure into a specific area of the body. I use a massage gun for my percussion therapy which is much stronger than the human hand. This device is great for recovery or warm up for athletes or relief from sitting at a desk all day. It is used specifically in the larger muscle groups (such as the glutes), shoulder muscles, arms and legs. This therapy is not typically used for the entire massage but to target areas that would benefit during the customized massage.

Some of the benefits of Percussion Therapy are:

• Deep muscle release
• Increased blood flow and circulation
• Alleviates body aches and pain
• Relieves muscular stress and tension
• Increased range of motion
• Faster workout recovery

Blading
It sounds scary but the technical term – Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation – is way too long to say or remember. The “blade” is the tool used to apply deeper and more even pressure along longitudinal lines of the tissue, which provides deeper penetration of adhesions and scar tissue. The tool is made of stainless steel and is not sharp like a knife blade. Blading can be used for joint pain, injury, lower back, leg, neck pain, among other things.

The benefits of blading can be:

• Removal of scar tissue
• Improved muscle function
• Improved performance
• Pain relief

Assisted Stretching/Sports Massage – (Assisted stretching, sports massage)
Assisted stretching is the use of specific techniques to assist a muscle of joint past its normally restricted range of motion through assisted movement. I will be able to move your body into positions that break through hard fascia barriers that may have resulted from injury, overuse or a sedentary lifestyle, to gain a higher, more diverse range of motion that would be impossible without outside intervention.

Benefits of assisted stretching/sports massage are:

• Greater range of motion than what you can get through stretching on your own
• Less stiffness and greater flexibility in joints
• Increased performance

These massages require a consultation:

Pregnancy and Post Pregnancy Massage- (Pregnancy massage, prenatal massage, Postnatal Massage, Abdominal massage)

• Pregnancy massage can be done after the first trimester (12 weeks.) This is an incredibly stress reducing, pain relieving experience for the mom-to-be. There are so many changes happening in a woman’s body during pregnancy and a great pregnancy massage can help with the new and different pains that occur like low back pain, achy legs, headaches and more.
• Postnatal Massage can help to speed recovery by bringing relief to sore muscles that have been stressed during the prenatal and birthing process.  The mother then can relax more easily and it can only help her be a better and more present mother to her new baby. Because there is less stress and anxiety after a  postnatal massage, mom will sleep more deeply at a time when sleep is deeply appreciated. One of my favorite things to add to a postnatal massage that assists a new mother with the recovery process, is an abdominal massage. Abdominal massage can help shrink the uterus and break up internal scar tissue that may have occurred during the birthing process or including what may have been created during a C-Section.

Pre- and Post- Surgery – (Lymphatic drainage massage, pre-surgery massage, post-surgery massage)

• Pre- surgery massage is a huge reliever of tension and anxiety that most patients feel before a surgery. Pre-surgery massage also prepares the body, specifically the lymphatic system, for the surgery by releasing toxins that may be currently stored in throughout the body which will allow the lymphatic system to be ready to do its job better post-surgery.
• Post- surgery massage helps by reducing inflammation, breaking up scar tissue before it forms too strongly and assist in lymphatic drainage to move toxins and fluids efficiently out of the body.