- Relaxation/Deep Tissue ($59.00 per hour)
- Pregnancy/Maternity Massage ($69.00)
- Medical/Rehabilitation Massage ($59.00)
- Oncology Massage ($59.00)
- Hot/Cold Stone ($79.00)
- Neuromuscular ($79.00)
- Myofascial Release ($79.00)
- Craniosacral Massage ($79.00)
*Workman’s Compensation Certified
*All massages include heat therapy, aromatherapy and lymphatic stimulation
*Add a 30 minute infrared sauna treatment to any massage for only $12.50! (50% off)
General Benefits Of Massage Therapy
What exactly are the benefits of receiving massage or bodywork treatments? Useful for all of the conditions listed below and more, massage can:
- Alleviate low-back pain and improve range of motion.
- Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
- Ease medication dependence.
- Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system.
- Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
- Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
- Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.
- Increase joint flexibility.
- Lessen depression and anxiety.
- Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
- Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
- Reduce post-surgery adhesions and swelling.
- Reduce spasms and cramping.
- Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.
- Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
- Relieve migraine pain.
Hot Stone Therapy
Traditional hot stone therapy involves placing and gliding various sizes of basalt stones along the spine, shoulders and neck to promote deep relaxation and trigger the natural healing process. Hot stone therapy is typically performed as part of a Swedish or deep tissue massage service, and it offers several health and wellness benefits.
Significance
Deep tissue massage has been used as a natural relaxation and healing method for hundreds of years, and the effects can be enhanced with the use of heated basalt stones. These stones are strategically placed on various pressure points in the body to release tension and improve the massage experience. Hot stone therapy can be enjoyed simply for relaxation or can be used to reduce the effects of certain health problems. The primary goal of hot stone therapy is to open up the energy channels in the body, eliminate tension in the muscles and promote deep relaxation.
Function
Hot stones are placed on certain points of the body to increase circulation and reduce inflammation. The heat relaxes the muscles before and during a massage treatment, enhancing the effects of a deep tissue massage and promoting deeper relaxation and a sense of calm. The stones can be turned and pressed into the skin and muscles throughout the massage treatment to stimulate the nervous system and relieve stress.
Key Benefits
Hot stone therapy offers several health benefits, and it can be integrated into a complete wellness or pain management program. Key benefits of hot stone therapy include improved sense of well-being; a release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers; improved arthritic conditions; a release of stored stress and tension; improved circulation; and a decrease in aches and pain in the joints. In some cases, hot stone therapy may also have positive effects on people suffering from depression, insomnia and anxiety.
Types
The trademarked version of hot stone therapy is called LaStone Therapy; this type of massage was created by Mary Nelson, a massage therapist in Tucson, Arizona, in 1993. This specialized technique has been adopted by many medical spas, day spas and wellness centers around the world. In this treatment, a combination of hot and cold stones are used. Many spas and wellness centers offer their own form of hot stone massage therapy, and this may not involve only basalt stones. Some hot stone massages are performed using a combination of colored gemstones and basalt stones, shells with basalt stones and only heated basalt stones. Many hot stone massage treatments also integrate hot oil treatments or reflexology into the session to enhance results.
Effects
Most people feel calm and relaxed during and after the hot stone therapy session, as the masseuse works her way through the body’s most tension-filled areas and opens up the “chakras,” or energy channels. The heat from the stones has a calming and soothing effect on the skin and muscles, and the pressure applied to the muscles helps promote circulation and relieves congestion between the joints and tissues. Some people may experience slight swelling or redness immediately after treatment, but these effects typically subside within a few hours. The therapeutic effects of hot stone treatments can be experienced for days and weeks after a single session.
Lymphatic Drainage Therapy
• Reduced edema (swelling) and lymphedemas of many origins
• Detoxification of the body
• Regeneration of tissues, including burns, scars, (pre- and post-surgical), wrinkles and stretch marks
• Relief of chronic subacute inflammations, e.g., sinusitis, otitis, bronchitis, acne and allergies
• Reduction in the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia
• Improvement of venous conditions
• Relief of chronic pain
• Deep relaxation to aid insomnia, stress, loss of vitality and loss of memory
• Antispasmodic actions to relieve conditions such as muscle hypertonus and some forms of constipation
• Alleviation of adipose and cellulite tissue
What is Lymphatic Drainage Therapy?
| Lymphatic Drainage Therapy (LDT) essentially activates the fluid circulation and stimulates the functioning of the immune system and parasympathetic nervous system. It is an original hands-on method of lymphatic drainage developed by Bruno Chikly, MD, of France. Created out of his award-winning research on the lymphatic system, LDT takes traditional lymph drainage techniques and adds a new level of precision. |
| Using exacting anatomical science and distinctive manual processes, LDT enables practitioners to detect the specific rhythm, direction, depth and quality of the lymphatic flow. Recent scientific discoveries on the physiology of the lymphatic system verify that these enhancements offer the precise rhythm and gentle pressure needed to activate optimal lymph flow. As a result, therapists can achieve profound outcomes in shorter periods of time, and clients find the process more pleasurable to receive. |
Myofascial Release
How Does Myofascial Release Work?
Myofascial Release targets the muscles and the fascia. The muscles of our body give the body form and, by expanding and contracting, they enable movement. The fascia is the connective tissue that covers and connects the muscles, organs and bones. It is located between the skin and the underlying structure of muscle and bone. Muscle and fascia are collectively called the Myofascial system.
The fascia has the ability to stretch and move without restriction. However, in case of physical trauma, scarring, or inflammation, the fascia could lose its pliability. It then becomes tight and restricted. These changes in the fascia can result in pain, decreased flexibility, or restriction of motion. Myofascial Release removes any restrictions in the muscles and fascia and thus returns the body to its optimum functioning.
During a typical Myofascial Release session, the therapist will carefully observe the patient’s posture and feel the patient’s body to identify the stressed areas. The therapist will then utilize a series of gentle, kneading manipulations to stretch, soften, lengthen and realign the fascia. A session of Myofascial Release may last up to an hour and can be administered from one to three times per week, depending on the patient’s condition.
There are two main types of Myofascial Release: the direct, and the indirect method. The direct Myofascial Release method works directly on the restricted fascia. The therapist uses the knuckles, elbows, or other tools to slowly sink into the restricted fascia and stretch it. Thus, direct Myofascial Release removes restrictions in the Myofascial system by stretching the fascia and mobilizing adhesive tissues. In the indirect system of Myofascial Release, the therapist applies a gentle stretch to the affected area and holds it for some time, thereby allowing the fascia to unwind itself.
Benefits of Myofascial Release
Myofascial Release therapy helps people with poor posture, physical injury, illness and emotional stress. It is also used to treat back pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, menstrual problems, incontinence, tennis elbow, sprains, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle spasms, whiplash injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome. Myofascial Release may also be used to treat children suffering from birth trauma, head injuries, cerebral palsy, and scoliosis.
Craniosacral Therapy
What are the benefits of craniosacral therapy?
Craniosacral Therapy has a very high success rate. Benefits can come in a variety of ways:
- Increased sense of relaxation
- Improvement of the symptoms you came to see the practitioner about. Quite simply, you get better
- Improvement of other symptoms. For example, someone coming for treatment for a bad back can find that, as well as their back pain easing, the migraines they have had for years have got better too
- Change in behavior patterns, leading to an improvement in relationships with friends, family, colleagues, etc
- Greater capacity to manage life in general
- Better management of specific disease symptoms
- Reduced stress
- Improvement of psychological issues
- Reduction of effects of past trauma
- Improved sense of well-being
What does it actually feel like?
Most people find cranial sessions pleasant and relaxing. People often talk of feeling as if they have “had their batteries charged”. Sometimes people feel tingling or numbing sensations or they may experience momentary pain related to past events. When this settles the net result is one of feeling better. People often feel as if things are reorganizing inside them or as if a weight has been lifted from their shoulders.
What does a treatment involve?
The client usually lies (or sometimes sits) fully-clothed on a comfortable treatment couch. The therapist makes contact by placing their hands lightly on the client’s body and tuning in to what is happening by ‘listening’ with their hands. Contact is made carefully so that the patient feels at ease with what is happening.
How many sessions will I need?
The number of sessions required depends entirely on the condition being treated. Acute injury and disease states can benefit enormously from 2-6 sessions; with chronic debilitating disease or severe injury, it is usually necessary to work for longer in order to develop well-being and skills of managing symptoms, as well as dealing with symptoms directly.
Will treatments help if I do not have any particular symptoms?
Yes, many people find that craniosacral therapy helps them feel better and enjoy life more. Their energy levels improve and they are able to deal with everyday stress more positively. People often find it easier to fight off minor infections, and regular treatments may help prevent more serious conditions from developing in the future.
What is the interval between sessions?
Initially sessions are usually a week a part. With long-term treatment the frequency of sessions usually reduces.
How safe is Craniosacral Therapy?
The light touch used in Craniosacral Therapy means that it is one of the safest therapeutic forms. It is a non-directive, non-analytical, non-invasive approach – essentially the art of listening and enabling the body to heal itself. When practised by a qualified therapist, it is a very safe method. To ensure that a practitioner is qualified, check that they are registered with the Craniosacral Therapy Association.
Combining Myofascial Release with Craniosacral Therapy
At Serenity, we believe in the research that supports combining Myofascial Release with Craniosacral therapy. There are considerable benefits to practitioners and clients alike by combining Myofascial Release with Craniosacral Therapy. Some clients who have received excellent soft tissue body work get to the point where the treatment plateaus or partially regresses because only part of the fascial system was treated. Conversely, some clients who are just treated with Craniosacral Therapy may experience relief of symptoms only to have them recur. There are logical reasons for these occurrences.
If one narrowly focuses only on the craniosacral system and pays no attention to things like muscular spasm, structural restrictions and fascial constrictions outside of the dural tube (covering fascia of the spinal cord) then these imbalances and restrictions will pull the dural sleeves like powerful anchors, overwhelming and restricting the craniosacral system over and over again.
These distortions of course lead to poor bio-mechanical efficiency, reduced circulation and a reduced nerve impulse conductance or impingement. This has considerable ramifications when dealing with the elite athlete looking for optimum performance, or the client who is looking for answers to painful chronic long term conditions. The fascia has a major impact on the cranial system, influencing cranial tides, fluid movements and meridian conductivity.
One may look at fascial and cranial work as being yin/yang. The craniosacral system as being a tiny delicate system embedded in a larger fascial system-both are mutually dependent on each other for balance of the whole. Thus if one system is affected, this will disturb the other.
Combining Myofascial Release and Craniosacral Therapy has brought a new dimension to therapeutic practice, with an impact and degree of acceptance unprecedented in the history of health care.
There are many benefits associated with this specialized therapy:
| • Auto Injuries• Headaches• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome• Fibromyalgia
• Hip Pain • Restriction in Motion • Knee, Ankle and Foot Pain • Myofascial Pain Syndrome • Shoulder Pain • Stress & Tension Related Problems • Work Injuries • Back Pain |
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome• Elbow, Wrist and Hand Pain• Jaw Pain, TMJ Dysfunction• Neck Pain
• Osteoarthritis • Plantar Fascitis • Sciatica • Scoliosis • Sport Injuries • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome • Women’s Health Issues |
