|
FREE!
Holistic Health Newsletter!
Subscribe
Natural Weight Loss
Program recommended by The Share Guide
learn more
About
Share
Guide
Holistic Health Articles
Health Directory
Reviews
Advertise
Links
Contact us
Do
you have a
Holistic
Business?
Get listed in Share
Guide's Holistic Health
Directory for only $9.95 per
month. For more info Click Here
|
There
is no one right path to health or healing. Often alternative healing
techniques will work when the conventional methods of drugs or surgery
do not. However, these alternative practices may work for some
individuals and not others, and the level of training and expertise of
health practitioners can vary greatly. That is why it is important, no
matter what bodywork method you choose, to learn as much about the
therapy and your practitioner as possible. Some of the bodywork
therapies listed here are traditional healing practices that have been
used for centuries, some are more contemporary, and a few have only
recently been developed. The list provided here is strictly
informational. The Share Guide does not endorse any specific
modalities.
Alexander Technique®
The Alexander Technique is a
powerful method of psycho-physical
re-education, developed at the beginning of this century by Australian
actor F. Matthias Alexander. Alexander Technique is not a system of
exercises or physical conditioning, but a learning process in which the
student becomes able to identify faulty habit patterns, consciously
inhibit them and then initiate action by engaging the correct
head/neck/back relationship. Treatments are recommended in a series of
20-25.
Amanae
Founded by Christine Day,
Amanae is hands-on, emotional release
bodywork that focuses on removing barriers from our cellular body and
receiving our light and remembering who we really are. Sessions take
place on a massage table with the recipient fully clothed.
Aston-Patterning®
Aston-Patterning is a form of
"movement reeducation" developed by
Judith Aston in the 1970's. It's designed to teach people how to live
optimally in their bodies. One of its postulates is that the body wants
to move in an asymmetrical spiral. This therapy offers a systematic
method of assessing and analyzing each body as a whole and unique
ecological system.
Bowen Therapy
Bowen Therapy, originally
developed by Australian Thomas Ambrose Bowen
(1903-1982), utilizes cross-fiber muscle movement in specific areas of
the body. The "moves" are performed in categorical sucession with
waiting periods incorporated during the session. This resting time is
very important because it appears to have the action of allowing the
brain to assimilate, correlate and create a positive response in the
area being treated. When these moves are placed precisely across muscle
and connective tissue, they alleviate a multitude of physical ailments.
Breema
Effectively practiced for
centuries in India, Breema treatments use
gentle yet firm movements and postures which support recipients of any
level of flexibility to experience health benefits. Breema activates
the body's self-healing forces, thereby increasing physical vitality,
mental clarity, and emotional balance. Treatments are done on carpets
with the recipient fully and comfortably dressed.
Craniosacral Therapy
Pioneered in the 1970's by Dr.
John E. Upledger, Craniosacral therapy
involves gently guiding and releasing tensions through very mild
pressure on the different cranial bones near the sutures of the skull,
where one bone lies next to another. Using a light touch generally no
greater than the weight of a nickel, the practitioner uses this therapy
to improve the functioning of the central nervous system, eliminate the
negative effects of stress, strengthen resistance to disease and
enhance overall health. Craniosacral Therapy is reported effective in
treating headaches, chronic ear infection, deafness, sinusitis, facial
pain, lower back pain, and more.
Deep Tissue
This type of massage focuses
on reaching the deeper muscles and soft
tissues in order to release chronic pain and tension. Deep work
requires more time to release the tension in specialized areas, and is
often slower than regular massage.
Feldenkrais Method®
Russian-born Israeli educator
Moshe Feldenkrais based the Feldenkrais
Method on the importance of awareness in human functioning. Feldenkrais
consists of two branches, Awareness Through Movement® and
Functional Integration. Feldenkrais believed awareness had to be
experienced, not taught verbally. To that end, participants accomplish
movements and postures they thought unattainable, producing greater
vitality. Functional integration involves treating the nervous system
primarily through the skeletal structure, by using hands-on, painless
manipulation.
Hellerwork
Founded in the 1970's by
Joseph Heller, the major components comprising
Hellerwork include: deep-tissue bodywork affecting the nervous and
muscular systems; movement re-education training to learn how to
experience the full manifestation of spirit; and video feedback to view
how we accomplish simple acts of daily life. Treatments are offered in
an 11-session series, with each treatment consisting of one hour
bodywork and 30 minutes movement.
Hot Stone Massage
This is a form of bodywork
that involves the application of heated
stones (thermotherapy) to the body during massage. The use of materials
of different temperatures on the body to bring about healing is an
ancient technique.
Jin Shin Jyutsu
A gentle, hands-on ancient
healing art, Jin Shin Jyutsu allows the flow
of energy to be restored by releasing blockages through touch. Jin Shin
Jyutsu's origins are in Japanese Kojiki documents of the 7th century.
Master Joro Maurai popularized this technique in the early 1920's. In a
typical session, lasting about one hour, the client remains fully
clothed, lying on the back. The practitioner identifies energy blocks
by listening to the pulse and then holding two points in combination to
release blockages.
Lomi Work
The Lomi School was created in
1971 by Richard Strozzi Heckler, Ph.D.,
Alyssa Hall, M.A., Catherine Heckler, M.A. & Robert Hall, M.D. Lomi
Work has been influenced by Polarity Therapy, Reichian Breathwork,
Structural Integration, Deep Tissue, Principles of Aikido and Vipassana
meditation. This modality teaches the practitioner to contact the
deeper areas of the client's body, instead of just "the tension." In
the actual practice of the work, concentration is the most important
tool that the practitioner employs.
Lymphatic Massage
While the venous system is
responsible for delivering oxygen and some
hormones throughout the body, it is the lymph system that plays a far
more active role in the removal of wastes and the health of our
auto-immune system. Lymphatic Massage increases lymphatic circulation
through the body's natural filtration systems, thereby detoxifying the
body and supporting our health and immune system. Normal massage
pressure affects venous circulation but not lymphatic circulation.
Lymphatic massage also relieves pain due to nerve inflammation,
adhesions and poor circulation.
Marma Therapy
Marma Therapy is a form of
Ayurvedic massage developed in ancient
India. It stimulates what are called "marmas," which are107 vital,
epidermal, invisible junction points between mind and matter.
Myofascial Release
Myofascial Release, developed
by the physical therapist John F. Barnes,
is a therapeutic treatment utilizing a gentle form of stretching the
fascia, producing a profound healing effect upon the body tissues,
eliminating pain and restoring motion.
Neuromuscular Reprogramming®
NeuroMuscular Reprogramming,
developed by Jocelyn Olivier, utilizes a
form of kinesthetic conversation with the body to imprint new learnings
in the motor control center of the brain, replacing damaged imprints
created through trauma, injury, operations, or repetitive strain from
ergonomically inefficient use patterns. The results achieved by
challenging and re-educating the motor control center through
NeuroMuscular Reprogramming are longer lasting than traditional rehab
and truly re-educational for the client.
Ortho-Bionomy®
This system of bodywork,
homeopathic in principle, was developed in the
1970's by Arthur Lincoln Pauls, a British osteopath. Ortho-Bionomy
loosely translates from the Greek as the "correct application of the
laws of life." Gentle, relaxing movements and comfortable postures are
used to ease the body into positions that unblock tensions and release
stressful muscular patterns. This technique is non-intrusive,
non-forceful, and encourages natural structural realignment and
balance.
Polarity Therapy
Founded by Dr. Randolph Stone
in the mid 1920's, Polarity is based on
the belief that positive and negative poles exist in every cell. The
body is gently manipulated to balance the positive and negative
energies. Emphasizing "energy flow" in the body, emotional tension
and/or pain is released when the flow of energy is restored. In
addition to physical manipulation, blockages and toxins are eliminated
by following a cleansing and building diet and simple exercises.
Treatments are suggested in a series of four.
Pranic Healing®
This is a form of energy
healing originally developed by GrandMaster
Choa Kok Sui from China and now being taught in the USA by Master
Stephen Co. It is based on the fundamental principle that the body is a
"self-repairing" living entity that possesses the innate ability to
heal itself. This highly developed and tested system of energy medicine
utilizes prana to balance, harmonize, and transform the body's energy
processes.
Reflexology
Reflexology focuses on the
reflex points of the feet. It was developed
by William Fitzgerald in the 1900's in the U.S., but has been known in
China as a healing therapy for thousands of years. By applying firm
pressure with the thumb to specific nerve endings in the foot and/or
ear, an impulse is conveyed causing a reflex response. This stimulates
body organs such as the pituitary glands, lungs, bladder, kidneys,
stomach and spleen to return to optimal functioning. Treatments vary
with each individual.
REIKI
Reiki is a very ancient
science hidden for thousands of years, until
Dr. Usui rediscovered it in the Tibetan Sutras. Reiki energy enters the
healer through the top of the head (or crown chakra) and exits through
the hands. The amount of energy emanating from the hands increases
during treatment. Reiki not only can affect change in the chemical
structure of the body, it also helps create balance on the mental
level. Reiki is not a belief system, therefore no mental preparation or
direction is needed to receive a treatment, only a desire to receive
and accept the energy.
Rolfing
A technique to re-order the
major body segments, Rolfing was originally
founded by Swiss-born Biochemist Dr. Ida Rolf in the 1940's. Rolfing
utilizes a deep-tissue massage technique to bring head, shoulders,
thorax, pelvis and legs into vertical alignment. It allows more
efficient use of the muscles with less expended energy by lifting the
head and chest and lengthening the body's trunk. A sense of lightness
and greater mobility often result. Rolfing treatments are offered in a
10-session series, as well as optional additional advanced sessions
thereafter.
Rosen Method
This technique was created by
Marion Rosen, who began her career in the
1930's studying relaxation and breath, and then worked as a physical
therapist and health educator for over 50 years. The theory of Rosen
Method starts with seeing the body's tensions as symptoms of holding
our true selves at bay. This stopping of our natural expression most
often results in an inner holding that can be felt as muscle tightness
and tension. Rosen Method, through light touch and talking, can provide
the connection between muscle and joint tensions and our emotional and
unconscious life. A typical session lasts 50 minutes, with the client
lying on a table, either clothed or unclothed.
Shiatsu/ Acupressure
Utilizing traditional Chinese
acupuncture points, this ancient Japanese
technique uses thumb, finger and palm pressure rather than needles.
Also known as Acupressure, Shiatsu massage is applied at the
acupuncture points, reinforcing joints and muscles. Shiatsu focuses on
the efficient flow of energy throughout the meridians and autonomic
nervous system, and also incorporates stretching & movement.
Treatments vary with the individual. Training in Shiatsu is generally
part of certification in massage therapy.
Swedish Massage
Named for Swedish massage
pioneer Peter Ling (1776&endash;1839),
Swedish Massage emphasizes that all strokes go toward the heart. This
is the most popular form of massage, and incorporated by most massage
therapists. The technique uses five main strokes to stimulate the
circulation of blood through the soft tissues of the body. Through
stroking and kneading the body with warm oil, the body's metabolic
processes and blood circulation are stimulated, enhancing one's sense
of vitality.
Thai Massage
This method of massage can be
traced back thousands of years from
Thailand, and has recently gained popularity in the United States. It
is performed on a mat in a choreographed series of techniques, much
like a martial arts, with the participants wearing loose, comfortable
clothing.
Trager Work®
A bodywork therapy developed
by American medical practitioner Dr.
Milton Trager in the 1920's, Trager Work makes extensive use of
touch-contact, and encourages the patient to experience the "freeing
up" of different parts of the body. The technique consists of simple
exercises called Mentastics and deep non-intrusive hands-on work. The
idea is to use motion in the muscles and joints to produce positive
sensory feelings which are then fed back into the central nervous
system. The result is a feeling of lightness, freedom and flexibility.
Treatments vary with the individual.
Trigger Point Therapy
This is a therapeutic
technique used for the relief of soft-tissue and
myofascial pain and muscle dysfunction. The application of pressure on
tender trigger points in the muscles relieves pain and tension and
helps people to overcome chronic body/muscle pain.
Watsu®
Watsu is a bodywork technique
developed by Harold Dull that
incorporates the moves and stretches of Shiatsu while the client is in
water. This is a powerful and relaxing form of bodywork which can
alleviate a wide range of physical and emotional conditions.
 MORE
HEALTH
ARTICLES
Shop Music & Products related to Bodywork
& Massage
FREE!
If
you liked this article, you'll
love The Share Guide's
Holistic Health
Newsletter. Click
here to
subscribe for
free!
Home  Health Directory Articles Index Interviews
Shop Links About Share Guide Contact us
|
