This is a guest post from Alice, a busy mom with 2 kids and one on the way. She describes herself as a “Frenchie trying not to lose her mind while raising two children, working full time, being pregnant, having a relationship, maintaining a figure and an education.” She can be found blogging over at I am not from your country.

I had my guest blog topic all picked out and I had even started writing the post. Then yesterday morning, I went to the spa in order to get a much needed massage. In the middle of my “prenatal massage”, I decided “What the heck! What mom doesn’t need to relax like this? I’m going to write about massage!”

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist, so I fully know all the benefits of massage, and yet, I haven’t been able to find any time for a massage thus far into my pregnancy. Shame on me! In my defense, I can partly blame the fact that I have been spending so much time doing Physical Therapy for my broken 5th metacarpal… but that is another topic.

So, let’s talk about massage: first off, I thought it would be useful to reiterate all the benefits of massage (aside from the fact that they make you feel so darn god). I would also like to cover the different types of massage you are likely to encounter at your local spa and I also want to talk about a few self massage techniques for time impaired individuals such as myself.

So here you are on the massage table, having your back worked on by your therapist. He/she is your most favorite person right now and you feel so relaxed, you wish this moment would never, ever end.

But why do you feel so good? Well, as I am sure you know, you can credit beloved endorphins. Massage has been shown to help release endorphins which reduce stress and anxiety, help enhance relaxation and bring a sense well being. Your breathing will become less shallow and slower, your blood pressure is likely to go down. Regular massages can actually help with mental and emotional health. I don’t know about you, but being a mom, I can absolutely use all those things.

Massage will also help stimulate your blood circulation and the movement of the lymph fluids. Both those things are very far reaching for your health. The texture and health of your skin will also be improved by a regular rub down. Headaches respond well to massage and tensions in any muscle will be greatly reduced by a good massage.

Massage is extremely popular with athletes as pre and post performance tool. It can help enhance performance, lessen the recovery time due to an injury, it helps increase Range Of Motion (ROM), it is also an excellent post operative tool that will lessen the appearance of scar tissue and adherence.

There are many more benefits to massage, but I feel the ones cited are enough for you to want to get regular massage. If you have any sense of stress in your life, if you workout regularly, if you need a break from the daily routine to take time for yourself, in short, if you are a human being, than you will benefit from massage.

Now that you have decided to make time for a nice hour long massage, you call your local spa to make an appointment and you are presented with a number of options to choose from… some of them you’ve never even heard of… shiatsu what?

Let’s review a few of the different modalities most spas are likely to offer.

-Swedish massage: this is the most popular type of massage and probably the one you have been picturing when thinking about massage.
It is done with oil or lotion and the therapist will use gliding strokes. You will be expected to wear only little clothing (or nothing at all) since your body will be draped, leaving only the body part your therapist is working on uncovered. Keep a couple of things in mind: you get to choose how much or how little you are comfortable wearing during your massage but the therapist might not be able to use his/her full arsenal of strokes if you are wearing a pair of shorts and a sports bra. Pressure wise, you can request anything from gentle to firm to deep tissue. Don’t be mistaken though, deep tissue is not always the most effective. If you end up tensing every other muscle in response to a deep tissue stroke on your calf, you might be voiding any benefits.

-Sports/Russian Massage: this type of massage might not include your entire body but will focus on whichever area of you need specific attention due to your sport or injury. A real sports massage will not be particularly relaxing, it might even err on the side of discomfort, maybe even *gasp* pain. Your therapist will use sports specific massage strokes along with ROM work and some stretches. It is very effective if you are trying to recover from an injury or need to enhance your athletic performance. Note: a lot of spas will list sports massage as one of their options, but will merely give provide you with a more vigorous swedish massage. Real, competent sports massage therapists can actually be hard to come about.

-Reflexology: if you are uncomfortable with the idea of undressing and having a stranger massage you, you might like reflexology. Reflexology is a massage of the feet and/or hands (sometimes face) alone. Your extremities have reflexes points corresponding to all of your organs. Note that most often, Reflexology refers to feet. It can be very relaxing and unintrusive. It is personally one of my most favorite modalities, both to give and receive. If your feet are not very well cared for, the first few sessions might include some discomfort, but the healthier your feet are, the more enjoyable Reflexology will be.

-Reiki/CranioSacral: both of those modalities, while different, are based on energy work. That means that unless you are open and receptive to energy (trust me, I wasn’t for a long long time), you might feel like nothing is happening. Don’t misjudge though, the fact that you might not be consciously aware of what is taking place does not mean it is not taking place at all. Those two modalities are perfect for people who are in a fragile state of health because they are so very gentle. You are likely to walk out of your session feeling re-energized and more balanced.

-Shiatsu: the word means “finger pressure”, it is a Japanese modality. It follows the idea of the meridians and pressure points found in Acupuncture. You will not need to disrobe for your session, which can be a plus for some people. You can expect some gentle finger/hand pressure following your meridians and some energy work to be performed. Personally, I love it. It can be practiced on the floor or on a regular massage table.

I hope you now have a clearer of what you are getting yourself into when you request a deep pressure massage, or decide to be adventurous and pick Shiatsu. Unfortunately, finding time (and money) for a massage is not always easy. While ideally, we would all get massaged twice a month, this might be simply out of reach for a lot of us.

Therefore, I wanted to touch on the topic of self massage. There are a lot of books out there that teach self massage and you might want to pick one up. I really believe that good illustrations will go a long way in teaching people massage strokes, as opposed to lengthy, wordy descriptions.
With this in mind, here are a few links where you will find help to get started right away.

First, check out those videos from Expert Village. They go through a few different techniques and routines and are helpful.
Also, there is a great site called Self Massage for Athletes. I find it very well made. It will explain the The 7 Basic Massage Strokes and also give you Routines for several sports.

Personally, I love regularly giving myself a little Reflexology treatment. I don’t have to contort in order to try to reach my feet, it helps make me feel much more relaxed and my feet look very happy once I am done. If you don’t believe me, give yourself a good foot massage on your right foot and then compare it to your left. See what I am saying?

I am attaching a Foot Reflexology Map of the foot so you know the specific reflex points.
When doing Reflexology, you will be using more pressure strokes than gliding strokes. This will help you pinpoint which area is tender. Make sure not to limit yourself to just the plantar area of your foot, as you can see on the chart, there are plenty of reflex points on the ankle, the heel and the top of your feet.

*Start your session without any oil or lotion.
*Just apply pressure with your thumb, progressing in line (press, move forward, press, move forward etc…) starting from the toes and working your way down to your heel.
*Do not forget any area: the web of your toe, or the shelf formed by the ball of your foot should not be neglected.
*Once your have spent a good 15 minutes working your foot that way, apply some hydrating lotion using gliding strokes and move on to foot number 2.
*If you find any tender spot, and I am willing to bet you will, spend a little more time on it.
There are also a lot of good publications on Reflexology at your local bookstore. If you find that you like the modality and want to know more, pick one up.

Well, now that you are ready, go ahead and schedule a massage with yourself or a therapist.
We all need time to regroup, time to take care of ourselves. Massage can be a fantastic tool when one is seeking to achieve greater overall well being, use it as much as you can.

photo credit: goldberg

photo credit: vastfield

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by workoutmommy at 1:37 am and is filed under links. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.