What is Swedish Massage?

Swedish massage is the best-known and most popular type of massage therapy on which all other massage styles are based.

Swedish massage therapy involves mild, moderate or deeper strokes on the back, arms, legs, neck and other body parts to target tissues and muscles for maximal pain relief, stress release and relaxation.

Swedish massage helps promote healing while targeting pain, injuries, stress and stiffness using gliding, kneading, tapping, friction and light shaking—designed to ease back pain and help relaxation.

What is Deep Tissue Massage?

Deep tissue massage therapy takes Swedish massage one step further to address chronic pain and injury. This soothing, therapeutic, treatment releases toxins, eases chronic muscle tension and promotes relaxation.

A favourite amongst athletes and massage therapists, deep tissue massage helps release resistant knots, with a specialized and unique massage technique. It helps with chronic pain & injury and can enable better range of motion.

What is Hot Stone Massage?

Hot stone massage therapy is an age-old treatment with the addition of heat for a modern twist. Water-heated, smooth stones are placed strategically on the body on key points—with or without pressure—for the ultimate in relaxation and pain relief.

This treatment helps relieve tension, eases muscle stiffness, and increases circulation. How? Hot stone therapy promotes healing by targeting the deeper layers of muscle through the use of heated stones. Combined with regular massage, this treatment delivers a wealth of benefits, including:

Relief from chronic pain, including fibromyalgia, arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS)

Reduced stress and tension

Better joint mobility and flexibility

Muscle pain and spasm relief

Improved circulation

Insomnia support

Warm and soothe your body with this specialized, unique massage. Whether you’re looking to help ease chronic muscle tension or just completely relax, hot stone massage is for you.

This therapeutic treatment focuses on damaged tissue and knots with its precise, deep tissue massage techniques. It uses appropriate pressure to promote the healing of scar tissue as well as relief from the pain of soft tissue injuries, chronic conditions, stress and tension.

Caution: Although there are many benefits to Hot Stone Massage there are some conditions that need consideration before treatment.

The most common contraindications are; pregnancy, any condition that impacts the immune system (such as Lupus, Cancer, Mononucleosis to name a few), any conditions that impact the skin such as severe bruises, burns, shingles and/or any condition that results in a loss of sensation (examples include diabetes, Neuropathy and Peripheral Vascular Disorder). If you have a specific condition that is not listed, please make sure to discuss it with Debby prior to treatment.

What is Prenatal Massage?

Pregnancy brings with it an array of aches and pains, as well as extra strain on the muscles and joints of moms-to-be.

Enter prenatal (pregnancy) massage – and the relief that comes with it. Prenatal massage helps ease tension to help with relaxation and pain relief – while keeping mom and baby safe and comfortable.

Prenatal massage can help alleviate pregnancy back pain and increase blood circulation, which can provide more oxygen and nutrients to the baby.

What is Sports Massage?

Sports massage goes beyond promoting relaxation and pain relief.

It can help improve performance and prevent injury – in addition to helping the body recover from injuries associated with physical activity.

Sports can be repetitive, especially for runners, cyclists, racquet sports players and weightlifters. Sports massage helps release that muscle tension and promote tissue repair and muscle balance for a safer next workout.

DID YOU KNOW? You can customize your massage based on your sport/workout of choice.

What is Trigger Point Therapy?

When an area of the body is tight and tense, it can cause referral pain in another area. That headache? It may actually be referral pain triggered by stiffness in your neck and shoulders.

Trigger point therapy uses massage and deep breathing to help alleviate tension and discomfort at the source.

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle and noninvasive bodywork technique.

It focuses on relieving compression in specific areas of the body, including the bones of the head, sacrum and spinal column.

Here are some key points about craniosacral therapy:

• Purpose: CST aims to release tension and promote relaxation by gently manipulating the bones and tissues in the skull, spine, and pelvis.

• How It Works: Practitioners use light pressure on the head, neck, and back to alleviate stress and pain caused by compression. By doing so, they aim to normalize the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the central nervous system, which may enhance the body’s ability to heal.

• Conditions Treated: CST can be beneficial for various conditions, including:
  • Headaches and Migraines
  • Constipation
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Disturbed Sleep Cycles and Insomnia
  • Scoliosis
  • Sinus Infections
  • Neck Pain
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Recurrent Ear Infections or Colic in Infants
  • TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) Issues
  • Trauma Recovery (including whiplash)
  • Mood Disorders (such as anxiety or depression)
  • Difficult Pregnancies

• Side Effects: The most common side effect is mild discomfort following the treatment. 

Cranial Sacral Therapy

Osteopath Dr. William Sutherland developed the modality we call Cranial Sacral Therapy (CST) in the 1930s when he realized that there is a small degree of motion allowed by the beveled cranial sutures, allowing them to move or “breathe,” pulsing with the body. This motion occurs in relationship to the tissues and cerebrospinal fluid in the central nervous system, the membranes surrounding the central nervous system and the sacrum.

The Craniosacral System

The craniosacral system includes the structures of the central nervous system including the skull, the cranial sutures, the cerebrospinal fluid, membranes of the brain and the vertebrae, spinal cord and the sacrum.

The craniosacral system is connected with the musculoskeletal system through the vascular system as well as the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Trauma anywhere in the body may impact the craniosacral system, restricting normal movement and inhibiting the pulse of the fluids. It is believed that the normal rhythm can be interrupted by all kinds of trauma, including:

• during birth
• childhood injuries
• repetitive motion injuries
• car accidents
• falling accidents
• injuries
• and even from stressful events.

CST uses a series of gentle techniques to remove blocks and restore this subtle movement, or pulse, in the central nervous system. CST uses gentle digital pressure and does not involve the manipulation or chiropractic “adjustment” of the skeletal system. The pressure used in CST is very light, about 5 grams of pressure or less – about the weight of a nickel.

The term Gua Sha is derived from its root meanings of “Gua,” which means to scrape, and “Sha,” which refers to the reddish rash that often appears after the treatment is administered.

How does Gua Sha Work?

This process is said to stimulate the immune system, increase circulation, and help detoxify the body by drawing toxins to the surface where they can then be eliminated through the skin’s natural detox pathways.

Reported Benefits of Gua Sha

There are a lot of success stories associated with Gua Sha. Proponents of Gua Sha have reported the following benefits:

• Increases blood flow and microcirculation in soft tissue, therefore decreasing pain.
• Has an antioxidative effect in cells
• Reduces neck and lower back pain
• Treats and prevents respiratory issues such as the common cold, asthma, and bronchitis
• Releases toxins
• Provides a decrease in muscle pain
• Helps to increase skin elasticity and firmness
• Reduces stress and fatigue
• Has a relaxing effect on the mind and body

Understanding and Interpreting the “Sha”

The color and intensity of the rash that appears after performing this treatment can provide some insight. A light-colored Sha may indicate a blood deficiency; a purplish Sha can point to blood stagnation while an intense red color can signify an acute condition. The severity of the skin discoloration correlates to the level of toxicity or stagnation inside the body and should diminish slightly with each subsequent treatment.