Shiatsu is a form of traditional Japanese acupressure that is registered as a licensed medical therapy in Japan.  It has the capacity to diagnose while treating, as the therapist can assess irregularities while using the varied techniques designed to unblock energy flow. 

Shiatsu stimulates the body's natural ability to heal itself by reintroducing the optimal flow of chi, helping to restore normal function to organs, glands, bones, muscles, nervous and circulatory systems. It can also be effective for preventing disease and dysfunction.

Sports massage techniques enables the athlete to work out more efficiently, to prevent injuries more easily, and to recover more quickly from events.  It serves optimum flexibility, improves performance, decreases wear and tear, and increases awareness of the body.

It can also enable more improvement in overall strength, endurance and fitness.  In moving lactic acid through the system more quickly, it also helps to reduce stiffness and soreness. Sports techniques facilitate greater balance by leveling out length-tension relationships in the muscles and reducing joint compression.

This gentle form of osteopathic work is a comprehensive and profound way of releasing stored tensions, energy, fluid, or myofascial restrictions anywhere in the body.  It includes some of the formative areas of more global patterns that originate in the skull and brain, recognizing that some of the boney and membranous connections there impact the entire system.

Cranial work can be done with clothes on or off, as a session on its own or integrated into other forms of massage and bodywork.  Some of the most deep and subtle areas of restriction will only respond when approached most slowly with patience and gentleness, and, as in neuromuscular work, because it addresses origins in the brain, the results can be most lasting.

Lymphatic drainage focuses on gentle techniques that help to flush the lymph nodes of built up toxins and waste.  This method has been practiced since the 1930's and is being included in more and more widespread medical conditions and circumstances.

Besides the most common benefit of strengthening the immune system, lymph drainage can speed the healing of minor injuries involving swelling, or inflammation, as well as shorten recovery time after surgery.  It's being used more frequently to support cancer treatment, can increase vitality and metabolism, improve the condition of the skin, and helps the body to eliminate water weight.

This subtle osteopathic style is more specific and detailed than cranial sacral work. It listens for and tracks the fixations in each segment of the spine, reaching down to the meninges, ligaments, and deepest layers surrounding the spinal cord.  It's very helpful where there has been birth trauma, surgeries, and whiplash or disc injuries.

Since most musculo-skeletal and psycho-emotional responses are mediated by the brain, it is extremely helpful to address stress, distress, and muscle imbalances via the nuclei in the brain that govern and process that information. Sleep issues can also be assisted by calming and settling the 'buzzy', over-stimulated areas in the cranium, and the tissue around the skull.

Developed by Ida Rolf in the 1950's, this form of myofascial release has steadily gained in popularity over the years as one of the deepest forms of bodywork that systematically opens the sheaths surrounding the muscles so that it can glide more freely and return to it's original shape more readily.

The training for this type of bodywork has an extensive coverage of anatomy and kinesiology, in addition to an extensive study of fascial or connective tissue relationships.  It is renowned for improving posture, correcting muscular imbalances, and diminishing pain.

A woman's body goes through immeasurable changes while building a baby inside of itself. Those formative phases of the embryo and fetus are critical in determining the future health and well-being of the child and can be greatly enhanced by pre and post-natal massage.

Not only can the transition be more smooth and less uncomfortable, but the delivery can also be shorter, more easeful, and less painful with reduced complications. This type of support also reduces strain on the new mother during breastfeeding and all the physical demands made while the ligaments are still very loose.

Janet Travell introduced trigger point work to the hands-on community a few decades ago when she suspected that some forms of radiating pain were coming from the irritation of a nerve.  She uncovered a network of points, many being sites where the nerve enters the muscle, others corresponding to acupuncture points, that effectively turn off pain that refer into other areas of the body.

She also provided a map of where these referral areas are located and a system of de-sensitizing those points.  The points can become activated during times of stress, physical strain, injury, or illness, and often take just a few minutes to de-activate.

Milton Trager was a trained therapist who investigated a theory that much illness and patterns of stress or strain arise become stored in joints and bony interfaces which stiffen, lose efficacy of interactions with other organs, tissues, and cells, and eventually form chronic if not acute conditions.

He discovered that gently rolling, shaking, and loosening the joints freed energy, opened its flow, enhanced inter and intra-system communication and resolved many health issues.  He felt that reconnecting was not just a physical phenomena, but saw it as a more global perspective that included one's relationship to the mind, emotions, and larger source of life force.

Although various hand positions are used, the client's body determines how much energy it needs and where it needs it on any given session. The therapist can feel where the 'draw' is, and inform the client of which areas seem to be asking for more support.

Traditionally, like Shiatsu, this style is done on a mat on the floor, but some of the techniques can be adapted to table work.  It is usually done with the clothes on, since a great deal of stretching and positioning is involved, but some of the moves can be incorporated into a massage session using oil.