Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. A person who was professionally trained to give massages was traditionally known as a masseur (male) or a masseuse (female), but those titles are outmoded, and carry some negative connotations. In the United States, the title massage therapist has been recognized as a business norm for those who have been professionally trained to give massages.
Rolfing is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf (1896–1979) as Structural Integration. It is typically delivered as a series of ten hands-on physical manipulation sessions sometimes called "the recipe". It is based on Rolf's ideas about how the human body's "energy field" can benefit when aligned with the Earth's gravitational field. Practitioners combine superficial and deep manual therapy with movement prompts. The process is sometimes painful. It is not known whether Rolfing is safe.
The Feldenkrais Method is a type of exercise therapy devised by Israeli Moshé Feldenkrais (1904–1984) during the mid-20th century. The method is claimed to reorganize connections between the brain and body and so improve body movement and psychological state.
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in Western countries such as Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States.
In alternative medicine, bodywork is any therapeutic or personal development technique that involves working with the human body in a form involving manipulative therapy, breath work, or energy medicine. Bodywork techniques also aim to assess or improve posture, promote awareness of the "bodymind connection" rather than the "mind-body connection", or to manipulate the electromagnetic field alleged to surround the human body and affect health.
Tui na is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine and as such is often used in conjunction with acupuncture, moxibustion, fire cupping, Chinese herbalism, t'ai chi or other Chinese internal martial arts, and qigong.
Breema is a holistic system that includes hundreds of partner bodywork, self-care exercises (Self-Breema), and universal principles. Breema and Self-Breema exercises express the Nine Principles of Harmony upon which they are based. These principles claim to be distilled from the universal laws that govern life, and consequently, the body, its health, and its relationship to the energetic and physical aspects of the universe. The philosophy of Breema is derived from these same laws.
Thai massage or Thai yoga massage is a traditional healing system combining acupressure, Indian Ayurvedic principles, and assisted yoga postures. The idea of Shen-lines alias energy-lines was first used is "Thai yoga massage". These are similar to nadis as per the phylosophy of yoga by Gorakhnath.
Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it mostly includes kneading and manipulation of muscles, joint mobilization and joint manipulation. It's also used by occupational therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, athletic trainers, osteopaths, and physicians
Myofascial release is an alternative medicine therapy claimed to be useful for treating skeletal muscle immobility and pain by relaxing contracted muscles, improving blood, oxygen, and lymphatic circulation, and stimulating the stretch reflex in muscles.
The stone massage is a form of alternative medicine massage therapy and bodywork involving the placement of a number of either heated or cooled stones to the body for the purpose of pain relief, relaxation and therapy. There are a manifold of variations and techniques used in the application of stone massage therapy, deriving from a variety of traditional practices. Stone massages are primarily used to alleviate physical pain issues, however, are also used to promote emotional and spiritual wellbeing in practice.
Jin Shin Do is a therapeutic acupressure technique developed by psychotherapist Iona Marsaa Teeguarden, beginning in the 1970s.
Pulsing is a rhythmic, movement-based somatic therapy that can be classed as a form of post-Reichian bodywork. It uses a very gentle and nurturing approach in an attempt to increase body awareness and sensitivity.
Qigong, qi gong, chi kung, or chi gung is a centuries-old system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed by the Chinese and throughout Asia as a practice to cultivate and balance qi, translated as "life energy".
Postural Integration is a process-oriented body-based therapy originally developed in the late 1960s by Jack Painter (1933–2010) in California, US, after exploration in the fields of humanistic psychology and the human potential movement. The method aims to support personal change and self development.
The Grinberg Method is a method of teaching that focuses on using the body, specifically body attention, perception and the individual's direct personal experience. The goal is for people to learn to be attentive to themselves and their surroundings, and stop automatic limiting habits in order to increase their ability to recuperate, and attain personal goals and well-being. The method was developed in the early 1980s by Avi Grinberg.
Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork used for deep relaxation and passive aquatic therapy. Watsu is characterized by one-on-one sessions in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep warm water.
Chua K′a is a three-part bodywork approach developed by Óscar Ichazo.
Somatics is a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and experience. The term is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, or "the body as perceived from within," including Alexander technique, the Feldenkrais Method, and Rolfing Structural Integration. In dance, the term refers to techniques based on the dancer's internal sensation, in contrast with "performative techniques," such as ballet or modern dance, which emphasize the external observation of movement by an audience. Somatic techniques may be used in bodywork, psychotherapy, dance, or spiritual practices.
Harold Dull (1935-2019) was an American aquatic bodyworker and poet best known as the creator of Watsu, originally developed in the early 1980s at Harbin Hot Springs, California. He is also known for his poetry, as founder of the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA), and as creator of Tantsu and Tantsuyoga. Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep warm water for deep relaxation and aquatic therapy.
