Deep Massage, Yes or No?

by Therese M. Rog, NCTMB

People frequently ask me if I "do deep massage".  The answer is yes--and no.  Yes, Massage Movement gets into the muscle tissue; but no, one does not have to brace oneself to endure someone going deep into the muscle.  Muscles are only so deep.  Imagine wanting to open a door.  Do you pound and push?  Or turn the doorknob which magically opens it?  Massage Movement unlocks the body's innate ability to sense so the focus is on feeling, not force, always sensing how your body is responding to the touch.  As you sense the tension, the tension sensations subside or disappear.  And the massage becomes a deeper felt, deeply relaxing massage.

I draw the muscle away from the bone (always sensing this underlying structure and allowing you to feel it) then move through the tissue following its natural pathway to include working the attachments. The benefit to you is having as much of the muscle worked as is possible without bearing down on the skeleton causing you to brace or have the sense that the massage is "too deep".

The foundation of Massage Movement is that one touches a person and massages a body.  It is important to allow a person to sense touch so that I can sense the condition of the muscles and their attachments, their flow and fluidity and direction, and communicate that information back to the client through feeling.  This involves moving the muscle away from bone and in the direction nature intended while simultaneously going through the tissue.  I can sense when the client is feeling what's there without them tensing up in response to the massage work.  It's amazing how different one can feel with Massage Movement!  Once a client of six years who lived in Schaumburg decided to try a massage therapist in her building.  After two months she returned to her every other weekly massage with me.  Of course, I had to ask why?  She said it was because I knew her body and I was consistent.

People rush to work their muscle through weight training and machinery. Massage Movement lets you know what condition your muscles are presently in and better prepared you to take exercise.