MASSAGE MODALITIES
SWEDISH MASSAGE
Swedish Massage is the foundation of many of our 60 – 120 min offerings at The Body Bar. Its aim is to promote relaxation by releasing muscle tension. This intention is accomplished with long, gliding strokes along the muscles, as well as techniques of light touch, kneading, rhythmic tapping and compression.
Swedish massage benefits the recipient with reduced stress, increased blood flow and flexibility, pain management, rehabilitation of muscles, and improved immune function. All of these benefits contribute to emotional and physical balance and harmony of all of the systems of the body.
What to Expect: Your level of undress for Swedish massage is based on your own comfort; you will lie under a blanket and your therapist will expose the area with which s/he is working. We use natural, high-quality massage creams and oils to lubricate the skin for Swedish massage. Please let us know if you have any sensitivities to certain products. To aid in relaxation and comfort, we also utilize calming music, essential oils, and warming pads. Please feel free to request any preferences you may have that will increase your comfort.
DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE
Deep Tissue massage treats chronic and acute pain and musculoskeletal issues using slow, deep, strokes to target the deeper layers of one’s muscles and connective tissues. It can serve to break up scar tissue and muscle adhesion, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, restore range of motion and relieve chronic pain and stiffness.
What to Expect: Your level of undress for Deep Tissue massage is based on your own comfort; you will lie under a blanket and your therapist will expose the area with which s/he is working. Less lubricant is generally utilized for this type of therapy so that depth can be achieved. Working with sore tissue requires a clear line of communication between you and your therapist. There may be more verbal interaction in a Deep Tissue treatment than in a Swedish Massage. If you are receiving a 30 minute Deep Tissue massage at The Body Bar, your therapist will likely target a particular area of concern. However, if you are able to stay for a longer treatment session, your therapist will employ this level of depth and specificity to your whole body.
PRENATAL & POSTNATAL MASSAGE
Congratulations on this new chapter of your life! The changes your body is going through during this extraordinary time can stir up new aches pains, and staying relaxed and mentally and emotionally healthy is of benefit to both you and your baby. Typically, this work blends swedish and deep tissue massage and is tailored to the transforming needs of your individual body and baby. Special attention is often paid to the lower back, hips, and legs.
What to Expect: Your level of undress for Prenatal and Postnatal massage is based on your own comfort; you will lie under a blanket and your therapist will expose the area with which s/he is working. This type of massage is offered on a table for women in all stages of pregnancy or post-pregnancy, with special bolstering and positioning to provide maximum comfort for these special clients. Please note that, due to the extra time required for bolstering, clients need to schedule sessions of 90 minutes or longer.
HOT STONE MASSAGE
Nothing like hot stones to melt away muscle tension! Using stones as massage tools on the body adds a comforting weight and depth to the work in addition to heat. And when it comes to relaxation time, hot stones set in certain placement patterns on the body can take you remarkably deep into your body and into the moment. Hot stone massage can be beneficial for relaxation, injury rehabilitation, and energetic grounding. Many people end up leaving a hot stone massage feeling as relaxed as if they’d been on vacation for a whole week!
What to Expect: Your level of undress for Hot Stone massage is based on your own comfort, though the stones will do their job best on exposed skin. You will lie under a blanket and your therapist will expose the area with which s/he is working. Your therapist will carefully manage the temperature of the stones and be in communication with you about your comfort level throughout the session.
HIMALAYAN HOT SALT STONE MASSAGE
Himalayan salt stones have 84 natural minerals that generate positive health effects. They also include negative ions, which facilitate uplifting emotional effects.
Other benefits include deep relaxation, exfoliated, glowing skin, improved circulation and sleep, and soothed muscles and joints.
Myofascial Release
Myofascial tissues surround and support the muscles throughout your body. Myofascial Release techniques release superficial taut skin that holds muscles in restrictive positions, contributing to pain and tension.
If you have lost flexibility or function following an injury or have tightness of the tissues that restricts motion or pulls the body out of alignment, Myofascial Release may serve you well.
What to Expect: Your level of undress for Myofascial Therapy is limited to the area/s where the therapist is working. No lubricant is used to address tension in the fascial layers and there is a consistent line of communication between you and your therapist. This therapy can also be incorporated into a longer custom massage.
Neuromuscular Trigger Point Therapy
Neuromuscular Therapy works with releasing trigger points by putting static pressure on pain points that often create symptoms in other parts of the body. The goal is to improve nervous system function, restore range of motion and reduce pain and tension. Your therapist may also use resistive muscle stretches to reset old muscle patterns.
What to Expect: Your level of undress for Neuromuscular therapy is limited to the area/s where the therapist is working. No lubricant is used to perform the work and there is a consistent line of communication between you and your therapist. This therapy can also be incorporated into a longer custom massage.
TMJ Massage
TMJ massage is a focused session that addresses the three muscles that control the temporomandibular joint. It involves cross fiber friction, joint mobilization and compression of these muscles. The benefits of this massage are to relieve pain and restore mobility in the joint, which is a result of clenching the jaw.
What to Expect: A thorough TMJ massage includes work inside your mouth as well as around the jaw and temples. When working inside the mouth, your therapist will be gloved.
Abdominal Massage & Visceral Manipulation
Visceral Manipulation applies gentle, soft manual manipulations that can improve the functioning of individual organs, the systems the organs function within, and the structural integrity of the entire body. This aids in healthy digestion, relieves pain, helps regulate healthy bowel movements, and assists in the detoxification process. Just like our muscles, our organs can become hardened, form trigger points, and adhere to each other or to other bodily structures. This inhibits blood flow, causes (and refers) pain and tension, and restricts normal movement. Harmony and health exist when motion is free, not labored, or conflicting with neighboring structures and their mobility.
Foot & Hand Reflexology
Reflexology treatment of the hands and feet is actually a treatment for the whole body! Reflexology is the act of applying pressure to the feet and hands with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques. It is based on a system of zones and reflex areas that reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands such that stimulating these areas effects a physical change to the body.
The benefits of reflexology have to do partly with the reduction of stress. Because the feet and hands help set the tension level for the whole body, they are an easy way to interrupt the stress signal, reset the body’s equilibrium, improve circulation and reduce pain.
What to Expect: The client will remain clothed for a Reflexology session, and will relax on our comfortable, warm treatment tables. One can receive quite a bit of benefit from a shorter 30 minute session with this type of treatment, so this is a good option for you if you are short on time and big on impact.
Sports Massage
Sports massage relieves muscle tension, improves circulation, and reduces lactic acid build up in the muscles resulting from athletic exertion. It is often targeted on specific parts of the body that need relief. The therapist’s primary goal is to mobilize the tissues, and they will employ many different techniques and a vigorous touch to achieve that goal.
What to expect: Sports massage can be clothed or unclothed, with draping, depending on the areas that need attention.
Energy Balancing & Polarity Therapy
Energy Balancing is a broad term, and there are many techniques that may be applied during an Energy Balancing session to affect relaxation and the free flow of energy through light touch, sound and vibration.
The premise of Energy Balancing work is that we are matter made up of an energy field. This vital life force energy fuels our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being. When energy is blocked or depleted, it leads to disease that shows up as measurable symptoms. With this healing, your full life force energy works in your favor, and you may find that you have a greater ability to eradicate stress, pain, and illness, and that you can more freely experience your life with joy.
Energy Balancing is beneficial for all people, but also caters to those who cannot or do not want to receive pressure or depth of touch during their treatment and/or want to remain clothed during their session.
What to Expect: Energy Balancing can be combined with other therapies. If an entire session of energy balancing is requested, the client may remain clothed. For specific requests for a type of energy balancing work, please inquire as you book your appointment. Some examples of specific Energy Balancing Therapies include Polarity Therapy, Reiki, Quantum Healing, Zero Balancing and Chakra Balancing, to name a few.
Cranialsacral Therapy
“BCST is a healing art that works with the energies that create and maintain health in the human system. While not a manipulative therapy, it has its roots in osteopathy and has evolved to include influences from human development, pre and perinatal psychology, trauma resolution, and recent advances in neuroscience. BCST supports nervous system regulation and allows the resolution of conditions resulting from stress and trauma. Practitioners use an educated, gentle, non-invasive touch to engage with the expressions of health in the system.” From Craniosacraltherapy.org.
What to Expect: Clients remain clothed for Craniosacral Therapy. Prepare to be deeply relaxed. This therapy appears simple, but it is potent and has noticiable affects on the nervous system.
Shiatsu
Shiatsu utilizes pressure applied with palms, fingers and thumbs along points on the body to promote energy flow and correct blockages and disharmonies in the body.
Shiatsu regulates the nervous system and stimulates the circulatory, lymphatic and hormonal systems. Poor posture, joint problems, sprains, arthritis, sciatica, acute and chronic neck and back pain, sinusitis, and bronchitis are treatable with Shiatsu.
What to Expect: Shiatsu treatments are delivered with the client fully clothed, either on a treatment table or the floor.
Hot Bamboo Massage
Bamboo sticks are heated and applied to the body for a warming deep tissue massage. Hot Bamboo or “Bamboo-fusion” massage incorporates different lengths and diameters of bamboo sticks and stones. Warmed smooth bamboo, is integrated into a flowing Swedish massage. It easily brings the warming, soothing effect of hot stone into massage. Bamboo holds the heat longer than stones do. The bamboo sticks are wrapped in a heating pad to warm them. The bamboo is easily cleaned and sanitized with antibacterial wipes.
Jin Shin Jyutsu
Jin Shin Jyutsu, the art of harmonizing and unblocking the vital life energy of the body, is an ancient modality from Japan. Jin Shin Jyutsu is the art of clearing blockages and revitalizing energy flow throughout the body. When the energy pathways of the body become blocked, this stagnation may lead to symptoms like pain. If ignored, stagnation can eventually disharmonize further, leading to disease. Because Jin Shin Jyutsu activates the healing capacity of the body, the benefits are wide ranging depending on the client. However, it is deeply relaxing, and therefore a good therapy to ease anxiety, depression and emotional overwhelm. One study also shows it facilitated a significant drop in acute and chronic pain among patients with backaches, headaches, fatigue and in cancer treatment.
What to Expect: The client is clothed. The therapist applies gentle holds, as in acupressure but lighter, to various points throughout the body.
Intuitive Energy Healing
Energy Healing is a large umbrella that encompasses many different modalities, but its primary aim and experience for the client is consistent. Its aim is to open the flow of energy in the body to remove stagnation, as well harmonize and balance the client’s physical, mental and emotional being. Stagnation presents as pain, swelling, inflammation, tension, discomfort, irregular cycles, headaches and even emotionally as “stuck” feelings, inappropriate anger, depression, etc. Energy Healing is supported by quantum physics, which asserts that molecules, made up of atoms, are 99.9 % energy. So our bodies are less “material” than the Newtonian model of an atom would suggest. An Intuitive Energy healer works with that energy, synthesizing and alchemizing all their “tools” to meet your highest good. A wonderful modality for all clients, but also specifically for those in which deeper touch is too much (ie… active headache, elders, other trauma) and for those who want the ease of leaving their clothing on for a session.
What to Expect: The client is fully clothed and gentle touch is applied to certain points, and held for a few moments at a time. Tapping, brushing and work above and around the body may also be utilized. In a longer 90 minute session, the practitioner may also offer guided, easy movement prompts for the client to explore as well. This therapy can also be incorporated into a longer custom massage.
COUPLES MASSAGE
Most massage modalities listed above can be booked for a couples massage, depending on the therapists’ availability. Please inquire about available therapists, modalities and pricing when booking. Couples Massage pricing starts at $200 for two 60-minute massages. You can also book 75-, 90-, and 120-minute sessions. A Couples Massage Session can be booked in our Wellness Center, or as an in-home service for an additional $85 per therapist.
IN HOME MASSAGE
Our massage therapists will come to a healthy home to provide massage therapy sessions. Massage is an effective way to reduce stress, and stress compromises the optimal functioning of the immune system. This service is recommended for people who are healthy but may be a high risk individual, or are in contact with high risk people such as seniors or immune compromised. Providing in home service requires an $85 travel charge in addition to regular massage rates and a mileage fee if over 10 miles from our office.