One of the biggest treatment categories here at A Thousand Paths is massage. We love it. Our clients love it. Did you know that it is also SOOOOOO good for you? Here’s why.

Massage has been shown to help a wide variety of issues and conditions as well as boosting your immune system & helping to relieve stress. That said the key to long term benefits is in regular massage as opposed to only where you are desperate and in pain already.

 Here’s a list of some issues massage has been proven to help with:

• Stress
• Insomnia
• Muscle Tension
• Recovery from exercise
• Injury recovery
• Improved flexibility & Joint mobility
• Improved circulation
• Stimulating the lymphatic drainage system
• Support Chronic back pain
• Aids Anxiety & Depression
• Help High Blood Pressure
• Improves Skin tone
• Headaches & Migraine treatment & prevention

How often should you get a massage?

The answer to this is a bit different for everyone but our generally advice is this. If you’re first starting a massage treatment program the best way to get long term benefits is to book in for one massage/week for about 4 weeks & one massage/fortnight for 2months. After that it will depend on your conditions & needs. For the most benefits you probably want to be getting one about once a month.

What type of massages are there?

There are so many different types of massage out there in the world it would be impossible for us to name them all but here’s a few we know of:

• Relaxation (AKA therapeutic)
• Hot Stone
• Remedial
• Thai
• Chinese
• Swedish
• Kahuna
• Deep tissue
• Shiatsu
• Aromatherapy
• Sports
• Pregnancy
• Reflexology
• Chair

We do a range of massage from a gentle relaxation massage to remedial & trigger points. If you’re having trouble working out which massage is right for you, please contact us, tell us what you’re looking to treat & we will recommend what will help most. Here’s a little extra info on the ones we offer here:

Remedial massage

Essentially this massage is used to remedy an issue that you’re having whether it’s an old injury, headaches or general pain. A massage using medium to firm pressure, to relieve tight or sore muscles. We use a range of deep tissue techniques, trigger points & stretching to help heal from & prevent injuries, or pain. The best starting option if you have an ongoing issue you’d like support with.

Energetic massage

An advanced therapy working with both your muscles & your energies. By working with both your physical & energetic bodies you get a deeply relaxing, healing massage experience. This massage is generally light to medium pressure, and may include sound healing, aromatherapy & energy work.

Hot Stone Massage

Hot Basalt stones are used in this massage experience to help get a deeper muscle relaxation. The warmth of the stones allows pain, anxiety & tension to melt away. Light to medium pressure, a deeply relaxing massage where the hot basalts are used to “melt” the tension from your muscles.

Essential oil (aromatherapy) Massage

By combining aromatherapy & massage you get the additional benefits of therapeutic essential oils with your chosen massage. We will guide you through the selection of one or more oils specific to your needs & add them to the oils for your massage. A fantastic way to ramp up a desired benefit.

Facial Massage

A Beautiful treatment entirely focused on your face. In facial reflexology we learn that the entire body, its emotions, its organs, its muscles are all present on the face. With a good facial massage you can improve the state of your whole body. This treatment is designed with these principals in mind combined with massage to give you a luxurious, & relaxing boost. Possible benefits may include, better facial circulation, more even skin tone, reduced dark circles, bright glowing skin, reduced wrinkles and imperfections, more relaxed facial muscles, whole body relaxation and rejuvenation.

So all in all… It’s no secret that we love our massage at A Thousand Paths. For a lot of therapists (ourselves included) massage therapy is a doorway into spiritual healing, a starting point. For others it is purely practical & about knowing how to fix a physical problem.

We also hear a lot of things from our clients during massages, rest assured anything said on the table stays on the table, unless you tell us otherwise. That said here are a few tips from us to you, so you can get as much out of your treatments as possible.

Massage tips:

• Be open with us, the more information we have about you & your body, the better we are able to support you. This includes telling us if you’d prefer the massage more gentle, or firmer. If you have injuries let us know. If you have any condition come up since you filled out your history form please let us know as it may affect how your treatment will work.
• Eat a light meal beforehand, especially if you’re massage is around a normal meal time. You’re probably going to be lying on your stomach for part of your treatment, so don’t eat anything too heavy, but we don’t want you starving either.
• Wear something comfortable, that’s easy to get on & off. You don’t want to be struggling back into tight or complicated clothes after you’ve just gotten all relaxed.
• Undress to your level of comfort. We require that our clients wear underwear on the table but if would rather leave pants on for a back massage. We can unclip your bra when you get on the table, whatever makes you comfortable.
• Don’t stress about tummy noises. It is completely normal for your stomach to make noises during a massage, especially after doing the legs and arms. This is because massage stimulates the lymphatic drainage system which is strongly connected to your digestive system.
• You don’t need to apologise for hairy legs or a spikey chin. Don’t worry about whether or not you have shaved – we don’t.
• Drink plenty of water after your massage, especially if you’ve had a deep tissue or remedial massage. This will help clear out any lactic acid/ toxins that we have released from the muscles & help prevent you being sore the next day.
• Book your next appointment at the end of your massage, don’t let it get to the point where you’re desperate. Make sure you are booking that time for yourself regularly. We tend to put off things for ourselves & booking tends to become an afterthought.
• Talking – If you want to talk to us, we are generally happy to chat, or to be silent throughout. Don’t feel you need to keep up conversation, or need to be completely silent if you are wanting to chat. Sometimes we will lead the way if you are needing time to just be by encouraging you to just relax & focus inwards, others we will try to draw you out to release what you need, make you comfortable with us or get to know you better. If you’re really feeling the need to talk or you’re really wanting to just switch off, don’t be afraid to tell us.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us & we’d love to answer them for you. See you in the treatment room X

Love & Light,

Michelle, Alana & Steph