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Therapies we offer

Our therapies offer a break through in chronic pain relief through years of professional education and practice.

Our massage therapy is unlike any massage you've ever had. We work together with a special technique to create muscle balance and tissue health, relieving and correcting the underlying problems associated with most chronic pain. Our clients usually begin to get relief right away and by the third session it’s clear what the solution to your problem is. Though relief does not always require continued maintenance, many of our clients still return to achieve enhanced relaxation as well as physical and emotional well being.

We have studied many therapies over the years and have integrated into our repetoires what we've found to be most useful from each. We specialize in NMR and Reactive Triads and integrate into any given session other therapies as needed. If you are only looking for a particular therapy listed below you may want to contact a practitioner who specializes in it alone, however, our clients have most often found our eclectic blend more effective than one specific modality.

List of our therapies:

1. Postural corrective bodywork definition
2. NeuroMuscular Reprogramming (NMR)
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3. Reactive Triads
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4. Relaxation Massage
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5. Energy Work
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6. Lymphatic Drainage
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7. Moving from the Quiet Within
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8. Teens and Children
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9. Deep Relaxation/The Zone
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10. Mind-Body-Spirit Integration (Somatic Bodywork)
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11. Reiki definition
12. Energetic Attunement and Neurolymphatic Triads with Jolts
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13. Swedish Massage
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14. Sports Massage
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15. Deep Tissue
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16. Spinal Postural Stabilization definition
17. Acupressure
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18. Shiatsu
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19. Polarity definition

Definitions of our therapies:

1. Postural corrective bodywork

Integrates our original education with our continuing education and our original work.

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2. Neuromuscular Reprogramming (NMR) (originated by Jocelyn Olivie

A muscle balancing technique that involves kinesiological muscle testing to determine which muscles are working too hard and which muscles are not working hard enough. Muscles need to be able to contract and relax as needed whether they are working isometrically or in complement to one another. With NMR, muscles learn to appropriately activate and deactivate; pain is relieved, posture improves, range of motion increases and the ability to relax is enhanced. This often takes more than one session.

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3. Reactive Triads (originated and developed by Ann Watkins)

Reactive Triads are three elements that when activated in the body cause muscle pain, nerve pain, limited range of motion, and muscle weakness due to a lack of connection to the brain. Reactive Triads integrates work with muscles, lymphatic drainage techniques, and jolts. Reactive Triads was developed to correct chronic muscle discomforts that had been unresolveable.

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4. Relaxation Massage

Relaxation Massage typically does not include Neuromuscular Reprogramming even though including it can be deeply relaxing. When Relaxation is specified we will typically use more Swedish, Pressure point (acupressure, shiatsu), and other more typically familiar forms of massage. If we find a muscle area that is not responding to other more typical modalities we will ask you if you mind if we do some testing. If you specifically do not want the testing to be included (ie NMR) we will honor that request. Typically muscles relax more deeply with NMR where other modalities don’t do the trick.

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5. Energy Work

Energy work may include Acupressure, Shiatsu, Brain Gym, Energy Balancing, work with chakras/Reiki, or organ massage- as done in Lymphatic Drainage, and is typically integrated into the whole massage as needed by the body. Organ work is more massage and less energy although there is an energetic component to it. Although we may do a full session if requested with one of these modalities, we do not specialize in them and you may want to consider going to a practitioner that does, if that is what you are specifically interested in. Our clients rarely find a single modality to be more effective than our integrated approach.

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6. Lymphatic Drainage

This is a technique used to reduce inflammation in the interstitial tissues. The lymphatic system cleanses a third of your blood at a time. It transports molecules too large for the circulatory system to places in the body in need of healing. In the case of toxins it transports to the excretory system. Mostly a light touch technique, because most lymph fluid is located just under the skin, it increases the volume that circulates through the body by about 20x.

Bruno Chikly’s method of lymphatic drainage was originally developed to deal with lymphodema after cancer surgery. Ann Watkins has worked with pre and post cancer patients in relieving lymphodema and uses it for general health in many of her clients as needed. Reactive Triads incorporates lymphatic drainage into its method in order to speed the process of reducing inflammation with the action of the muscles (see Reactive Triads DVD). This is especially important if you have Fibromyalgia or other chronic inflammation – migraines are often accompanied by chronic, residual inflammation. You will be less sore or no longer sore.

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7. Moving from the Quiet Within

This is a work in progress developed out of Ann’s experience with various derivations of Authentic Movement, her training as a Dance Movement Therapist, as a Certified Expressive Therapist and working with such things as Contemplative Movement and Interplay. It may include vocalization. MQW is a tool for personal growth and development that encourages us to begin to create or to strengthen our connection with our “authentic” self in an environment of personal creativity and exploration; and, ultimately, it allows us expanded choices as we discover we can move electively through the world.

Geared toward personal awareness and creative development, in this simple format one moves from the inside out after having the parameters laid out before hand. Small classes and individual sessions are available on an ongoing basis. Please call for more information.

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8. Teens and Children

When working with teens and children, the sessions are usually shorter and the kids wear a bathing suit or shorts and an undershirt or something similar. It tends to take fewer sessions because even if the problem is systemic it is not deeply ingrained. This does not necessarily apply if there are mitigating problems, like CP or MS or other such problems, although Neuromuscular Reprogramming can be correctional for scoliosis and is very helpful in the cases of Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis. Parents may stay in the room.

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9. Deep Relaxation / The Zone

We have often had people fall asleep on the table or enter into the realm of the Zone – entering a place of deep relaxation but being cognizant at the same time- like a daytime dream state; it is a place of deep integration yet there remains the ability to follow directions when engaging in NMR (Neuromuscular Reprogramming). This is an amazing place to be in and is exceptionally healing.

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10. Mind-Body-Spirit Integration (Somatic Bodywork)

Somatic Bodywork is based on the assumption that we carry memories in our muscles. When deep-seated muscle tension is released, muscle memories can surface. Because of this, chronic pain can have associated emotional content that must be resolved for complete healing to occur. Through pain relief and postural correction, although old traumas might surface, with them can come resolution, new awareness, new understandings and a more comfortable in-your-body experience. Occasionally, a "healing crisis" might occur: a flooding of old issues and associated physical pain for a limited time as your body integrates the plethora of new information and insights. It might be important to be aware of your balance if your body needs more time than the session to get used to the new muscle patterns being introduced. (see NMR )

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11. Reiki

Reiki is usually an off the body energy technique that brings balance to the energy body. The practitioner is initiated in various techniques to open the chakras to allow the healing energy utilized by Christ to flow through and bring comfort and healing to the receiver.

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12. Energetic Attunement and Neurolymphatic Triads with Jolts (Reactive Triads)

A combination of acupressure and massage to facilitate a deep release across the joints. The integration of NMR with Lymphatic Drainage and jolts create an even more effective bodywork for relieving pain and correcting posture.

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13. Swedish Massage

One of the most common forms of massage, Swedish relaxes the muscles and eases aches and pains. It is frequently integrated into other forms of bodywork.

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14. Sports Massage

Developed specifically to treat the athlete, sports massage techniques are utilized at all stages of an event: pre-event to bring health and wellness to the tissues; post- event to enhance recovery; during training to maintain the muscles and enable peak performance and, at any appropriate point, to expedite rehabilitation after injury

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15. Deep Tissue

A technique that works slowly and deeply through the layers of muscle and fascia, it lengthens tight or shortened muscles, stretches scar tissue and releases adhesions that have resulted from trauma, injury, operations, or repetitive strain. This work helps to improve posture, range of motion, function, and strength.

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16. Spinal Postural Stabilization

You learn exercises that increase strength, mobility, endurance, coordination, and balance. As the stabilization of your back increases, movement without pain is supported and your pain is much more likely to “just go away”.

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17. Acupressure

Granddaughter to Shiatsu, Acu means finger. In Acupressure two points are held until they begin to pulse consistently and strongly together. This tunes up your energy body system and relieves pain and discomfort. Unlike Shiatsu, it doesn’t necessarily follow a meridian. In fact, it tends to cross meridians, characterized by “strange flows”. Can be very effective in relieving chronic problems involving an energy component.

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18. Shiatsu

Another way to say finger pressure, Shiatsu has a long history in the Orient. Using various digits, the practitioner follows the the body’s meridians (the physical lines of the energetic body) using thumbs frequently or fingers as needed. Like Acupressure it tunes up the energy system and can be used at various depths to the muscle to create a strong pressure, a medium pressure, or a light pressure depending on what your body calls for. Older people especially find it to be very grounding and centering when other bodywork leaves them feeling disoriented.

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19. Polarity

Polarity is also an energy work that uses finger pressure. Essentially, it locates two correspondingly sore points on the body and uses alternate circular motion to relieve the knots and muscle discomfort.

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