Last week a client asked me, “what is integrative massage, anyway?”

Great question.

There are so many terms out there related to massage therapy, and it seems everyone has their own definition of each one. Some practitioners use terms like deep tissue, or neuromuscular, or Swedish, or relaxation, or myofascial, or trigger point, or acupressure, or sports massage. The list goes on. And clients come in asking for a type of massage style and technique, because they have heard it works or because they have had that type of massage before and they enjoyed it.

A massage therapist with a solid, foundational education, one who is well-practiced and a life-long learner, knows how and when to use each of these techniques, and more.

When you engage with a massage therapist, you are not simply hiring someone who can apply certain techniques to your specifications. You are partnering with a professional who can listen to your wellness goals and your aches and pains and concerns, assess the soft tissues of your body, and then apply an appropriate combination of techniques that are known to be effective for your condition(s).

I integrate various techniques in my practice, many of those listed above, plus Asian bodywork assessments and techniques I learned in my Zen Shiatsu practice. So, I simply call what I do “integrative massage.”

But here’s the important thing: outcomes are more important than the techniques used to affect those outcomes. So, when you are looking for a practitioner, find out: do they have experience helping folks achieve goals similar to your own?

• Are you in pain?

• Do you have a specific type of injury that you are recovering from?

• Do you need to rest your body, so that it feels safe enough to engage in a healing process?

• Do you need to slow down enough to even know what your body is asking for?

These are the questions that keep me up at night, as a massage therapist and mindfulness teacher. So, reach out and let’s find out if I can help.