Types of Massage

Your massage should be your unique experience. Some people prefer deep elbow work, some prefer energy work, some love the myofascial release of barefoot Sarga, others say, "No way do I want feet on me!", some enjoy a chat, and others want to zone out. The same person may want one type one day and the opposite the next. Whatever your needs are, whatever you are hoping to get out of your massage, my goal is to listen and to adapt our session into your ideal massage.

In general, I’d classify my massages into two styles. Let's call the first type Relaxation, and the second, Special Focus.

Relaxation Massage

The goal of the relaxation massage is to destress, to calm down the nervous system, and to exhale away your muscle tension. This is a more flowy massage – during the massage, your job is to just drift into peaceful serenity. If you struggle with getting good rest, there are some effective, repetitive insomnia strokes that can make you nice and sleepy; often people tell me that they sleep much better afterwards. As opposed to targeting specific pain points with a pointed elbow, this style reduces those tensions by focusing more on broader, comforting contacts, such as soothing palms and flat forearms. It will often start with the 7 foundational Swedish moves, and melt into some long, slow Deep Lomi massage rhythms. Rather than treating you as an arm, then a leg, then a back, this style treats you as a whole. This type of integrated touch soothes and calms the body in a meditative way, so that the body is shifted into a state where it's able to then heal itself. We can add in some craniosacral therapy if wanted, which subtly realigns the bones in your head to open the restrictions on your cerebral spinal fluid. This vital fluid filters out metabolic wastes, maintains the electrolytic balance, and supplies nutrients to your brain and rest of the central nervous system. This relaxation massage is perfect for those who need a break from it all – who feel burnt out and exhausted. Come spend some time in parasympathetic healing.

Special Focus Massage

This type of massage tends to focus on either a specific issue or include specific modalities. It's great for people who love trying new things! This option tends to draw people who like treatment work, deeper massage, or who enjoy being stretched and moved about. If you would like to focus more time on a specific area, this type of massage can address that trouble spot from many different angles and many different approaches. It'll often include some fancier modalities based on what your body is telling me. For example, your hips and legs might benefit from some deep Thai Yoga stretches to open up the joints, your back may do well with some Phenomenal Touch pulls and twists to improve mobility in the spine, while your pecs may respond best to slow myofascial Sarga frictions to realign any rolled forward shoulders. Since I've been obsessed with understanding the philosophy and specifics of so many different modalities, I enjoy discovering which unique massage moves work best for each person, even for each specific muscle. You'll get your own custom-tailored massage each time you come in! :-)

Here is a 5 minute home video example of my bodywork with some of my favorite modalities shown. Please let me know if you want more or less of a particular style during your massage:

Special Certifications (a few of my favorites)

Tri-level Thai Yoga intensive

Studied in Ko Samui, Thailand

It's rumored that the Buddha himself enjoyed receiving this therapeutic style of bodywork

Full certification of Sarga series

As of now (October 2020), there are only 2 of us in Washington State who are officially certified and trained directly by the wonderful founders themselves, Jiva and Daniel

From Hawaii!

Levels one, two, and three of Phenomenal Touch

Taught directly by the founder, in the beautiful mountains of Colorado

Deep Lomi

Taught by the brilliant and creative Joe Lavin, here in Seattle

I've also taken many of his other classes; he's been a wonderful mentor

Craniosacral

First, I took a few weekend courses in California

Later, I completed a 6 month intensive program taught by the intuitive Dr. Greg Yasuda

Full 780-hour licensing program at Brenneke School of Massage

Including Trigger Point, Positional Release, Deep Tissue, Medical Treatment and so much more!

Graduated 2003