When many people think of “deep tissue”, they think of a massage with very deep pressure. However, true deep tissue massage is a specific set of techniques used to target the ‘deep’ layers of muscle and fascia - AKA those underneath the topmost layer.

Mainly used to address chronic maladaptive patterns or injuries, this work can be firm, but it doesn’t need to hurt! It also tends to be much slower than a typical Swedish massage, so getting a true full-body deep tissue massage isn’t really possible — it would take hours!

Myofascial release is another approach to massage, with a specific set of techniques targeted at addressing the fascia, or connective tissue that surrounds each muscle and eventually joins together to form tendons and ligaments. Myofascial work is slow and steady, often using little to no oil or cream, and the results can be profound.

I often use myofascial techniques when addressing nerve impingement, migraines, breathing and postural issues, as well as neck and shoulder pain.

Trigger point therapy is a technique used to alleviate localized spasms or ‘knots’ in the muscle fibers that can cause diffuse or referred pain in related tissues - for example, pain in the elbow may actually be referred from a spasm in the bicep, etc.

Techniques used to treat trigger points can range from static compression with a thumb or an elbow to cupping or gua sha, and while it may be temporarily uncomfortable, it should not be painful.

Cupping can take many forms! In my practice, I use dry vacuum cupping — no fire or blood-letting involved — and I apply it from a myofascial perspective rather than a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective.

Depending on your needs, I offer static, range-of-motion, facial and abdominal cupping.

In static cupping, safe and sanitary plastic cups are applied to the skin and the tissue is drawn up into the cup and held there for 8-10 minutes. This not only feels great (signaling to the brain and the surrounding tissue that it’s okay to relax), but it helps to hydrate the tissue and increase local circulation, as well as helping with the reintegration of metabolic byproducts that may be hanging out in the interstitial fluid - the stuff between your cells. The affected muscle groups can also be taken through their range of motion while the cups are in place, which greatly increases the healthy input to the nervous system.

In facial and abdominal cupping, soft silicone cups are used in a sliding or plucking fashion. This creates suction that can penetrate several inches under the surface, allowing for the manipulation of not only the fascia (connective tissue) of the superficial layers, but the lymphatic fluids and organs underneath. This can help with sinus drainage, TMJ disorder, constipation/diarrhea, acid reflux, and painful or irregular menstruation.

Often, these cups will leave marks that fade in a few days to a week. While these marks may look like bruises, they aren’t! Bruises are a result of trauma to the capillaries; but with cupping, the red blood cells are drawn out by decreasing the pressure outside of the blood vessels (like a hickey!), and areas of chronic inflammation tend to have more fragile and porous blood vessels (making for darker marks), creating a localized immune response to bring healing to the tissues.

Unlike static cupping, these sessions do not leave marks! Facial cupping has numerous benefits from increasing vocal resonance and collagen production to reducing sinus congestion and puffiness from travel.

Abdominal cupping can be helpful with many common digestive issues, ribcage and diaphragm expansion, scar tissue release, and more.

Thai massage is a form of bodywork dating back thousands of years. Traditionally it is performed on a mat on the floor, with the client fully clothed; however, many of the techniques can be used during a table session. Thai massage combines compression, acupressure, and stretching to leave you feeling both relaxed and invigorated (and a little taller)!

While I no longer do full traditional Thai sessions on a mat, I use lots of Thai in my table massages - most of my work is ‘Thai flavored’ :)

Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique that can be incorporated into sessions or practiced on it’s own. It can be beneficial for stress relief, immune support, injury recovery, and emotional processing. Full sessions typically last one hour, but reiki can be given anywhere, any time, for as little as a few minutes in one specific area.

As a person who values evidence-based approaches, I was initially highly skeptical of reiki - until I received a session myself.

Also known as ‘scraping’, gua sha looks intense, but it feels amazing! A specialized tool is scraped across the skin, creating microinjuries underneath the surface. Much like static cupping, this stimulates the body’s healing response in areas of injury or chronic inflammation. Studies have shown that this method can also help reorganize the cellular matrix in the connective tissue.

Personally I have found gua sha extremely helpful for soft tissue injuries and inflammation like tendinitis, nerve entrapment like carpal tunnel syndrome, and fascial restrictions leading to tension headaches and migraines. If you’ve got a repetitive motion injury, gua sha is your friend.