The Marsh
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As if a good rubdown weren’t relaxing enough. You’re oiled and kneaded until you surrender all worries—all thought, really—and move out of your head and into your body.
But spas and wellness centers are adding luxe treatments and alternative medicine to their massages, the better to bring on not just a mental escape, but a physical escape from muscle tension and accompanying twinges and aches.
Therapists at the Marsh in Minnetonka like to pair massage with body polishes and wraps: sea salt scrubs that exfoliate the skin, and wraps of seaweed or Dead Sea mud that refresh it. The result is a luxurious additional hour in the deep-comfort zone.
“Body wraps detoxify and pull out the impurities of the body,” says the Marsh’s Stephanie Olson. “The wraps are a like a heated blanket, so soothing and relaxing.”
Charles Johnson, co-owner of Praxis Healing Arts in Minneapolis, combines shiatsu massage with an acupuncture session. Shiatsu (see the “Feel-Good Glossary” below) is based on the same Eastern approach to medicine that acupuncture and acupressure are. Relying on an ancient understanding of where the body’s energies are channeled, shiatsu works at improving the energy flow.
“I can get in there with my hands and feel what’s going on with a muscle” before the acupuncturist works on those points, Johnson says. “Once clients start pairing massage with acupuncture, they’ll be able to rebalance the body’s energy in ways they hadn’t previously been able to.”
Similar principles are at work in Thai yoga massage. You wear loose, comfortable clothing, and the practitioner manipulates your body with stretches then works on pressure points and energy channels. (Shiatsu also includes gentle stretching.)
“Thai yoga massage has a profound mind-body connection because of the amount of breath and trust involved,” says Olson. “Breath is the end-all, be-all of a successful massage.”
Water, too, is adding another dimension to many types of massage. Suzanne Rubenbauer is the “watsu” (water shiatsu) practitioner at the Marsh, and works on clients in a 94-degree pool that provides a near-weightless environment. “Because of the water and the temperature, the body can relax in ways that it doesn’t usually,” she says. “Many people experience what they call a ‘conscious unconscious’ experience that’s very relaxed and safe.”
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Do Try This at Home! Praxis Healing Arts offers a couples massage class, $45 for a one-and-a-half-hour session limited to three couples. You’ll learn a basic routine of Swedish massage combined with other techniques, and get tips on how to work comfortably on a bed or couch. Call to register, 612-822-3454. |
Practitioners usually combine several kinds of massage during a 30- or 60-minute session, based in part on asking you where you hurt or feel tense and what you’d like done.
“I often incorporate different techniques, depending on what the person needs,” says Shari Pfeifer, owner and practitioner at Touch of Heart in Crystal. “It’s never the same. I just feel that the body is responding.” Here are a few basic techniques you might request or recognize.
Swedish
Charles Johnson of Praxis Healing Arts calls
Swedish massage
“flowy”—an application of lotion or oil and smooth
strokes and kneading to relax
the muscles. Probably the most familiar
style of massage in the U.S.
Esalen
Lighter than Swedish, Esalen emphasizes long,
flowing strokes.
Deep Tissue
Targets sub-layers of muscle and fascia, the
deep-level
connective tissue that holds muscles together. Especially
helpful for those with
chronic muscle pain and for recovery from
injury. It’s always combined with
other techniques, as the top layer of
muscle must be relaxed for deeper layers
to be affected.
Shiatsu
Shiatsu is an Eastern modality guided by the
body’s
meridians, or energy flows. The practitioner uses gentle
stretches and light
pressure on meridians to improve energy flow and
balance.
Hot Stone
Smooth, heated stones, usually made of basalt,
are laid out
on the skin so the weight and heat can relax muscles. A
practitioner may also
use stones in his or her hands during the
massage.
Cranosacrial
Light touches to open blockages in the
membranes and fluids
surrounding the skull and spine. Used to relieve
chronic neck and back pain,
migraines, depression, and anxiety.
