STRESS RELIEF & RELAXATION THERAPY
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STRESS RELIEF THERAPY:
Chronic stress exists in our lives and frequently is associated with physical pain. Even if we can’t eliminate life’s stress, Stress Relief Therapy seeks to understand the physical manifestations of our stress and keep them in check.

Jaw muscles, diaphragm muscles, shoulder muscles, and pelvic floor muscles are examples of areas that commonly tighten up under stress. Add lack of proper exercise and/or poor posture from sitting, driving, or keyboarding too much, and we can include core back and abdominal muscles along with neck muscles to the list of stressed-out muscle sets.

Stress-sensitive, traumatized areas contribute to muscular dysfunctions that travel beyond themselves. A Stress Relief Therapy session will identify the area of pain, assess its source, and resolve the pain with techniques which work on a physiological level. For example, tensed up shoulders from job stress can cause terrible pain between the shoulder blades due to pinched nerves. Stress Relief Therapy can identify and correct the stress-related movement pattern that is pinching the nerves and treat to control or eliminate it.

Manual therapy can’t actually make your job better! However, once you understand the pain syndrome that your stress creates, you can work to maintain the battle against it with proper stretch, exercise, hydration, diet, and breath. And, understanding the physiological, stress trigger often helps to better identify the external, psychological source of stress. In the context of a whole, stressful day at work, sometimes it’s hard to identify the part that is killing you between your shoulder blades!

Relieving pain, understanding how to combat pain, and using your identified stress trigger to define or qualify external stress can lead to a psychological improvement of stress and stress related pain. With a psychological shift, comes more physiological improvement, and the pain begins to permanently dissipate.

If a client is already receiving psychological therapy or is open to exploring the relationship between their emotional stress and physiological pain, Stress Relief Therapy combines Neurokinetic Therapy® (see the treatment tab) with awareness techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Touch for Health’s Emotional Stress Release (see treatment tab) for powerful, pain relieving results. This type of therapy is especially helpful for past stress and trauma that persists in our subconscious or muscle memory. Call for further information.

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE: 
The power of touch, through soothing, relaxation massage provides profound benefits to both our power movement muscles and our autonomic nervous system.

The Autonomic Nervous System is defined as the part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes.

A calming, studio environment sets the tone for beginning to relax. For Swedish style massage, you may undress to your comfort level and be draped between the massage table sheets. If undressing is physically a hassle for you or in any way undesirable, you can still benefit from relaxation massage by wearing light-weight, comfortable clothes and experiencing the therapeutic pressure and massage through the fabric and on areas you are comfortable having exposed.

Letting your mind drift with minimal conversation is part of the relaxation massage process.  Music you like can help this process. If any position on the table is uncomfortable for you, we’ll avoid that or use the many props I have to make you comfortable. We can tailor a session to emphasize any muscle groups or tension areas that you feel need extra attention.

Relaxation massage is for you; to relax your mind and body for 60-90 minutes and trust someone else to sooth your muscles and calm your autonomic nervous system; one of the rare therapeutic and pleasant health care practices!

SPORTS MASSAGE: 
For maintenance or recovery after an athletic challenge, sports massage may be a deeper pressure level of relaxation massage designed to flush out muscular, metabolic waste build up, or it may be a combination session of NKT®, ART®, and deep-tissue massage.