Professor Henry Okazaki, founder of DanZan Ryu Jujitsu. also taught Seifukujitsu, a system of restorative massage, healing, and first aid techniques. His massage practice, which is still open and run by his son, Hachiro, is Kikko
Sanitorium in Honolulu.
Professor Okazaki's style of seifukujitsu utilizes deep tissue massage. This became known as his "famous elbow method" in that 90% of the massage is done with the crux of the elbow. This style of massage is said to
have originated from Hawaiian lomi lomi massage, Swedish massage (popular at that time period) and Japanese massage.
Restoration therapy has been practiced in Japan for over fifteen hundred years, and has proven very successful in the treatment of migraine headaches, nervous tension, general fatigue, muscular aches and pains and other specific
disorders.
Reiki is a Japanese word pronounced "ray-kee" and means "Universal Life Energy" or Chi. Reiki is believed to date back to early Tibetan healing practices. Discovered in the 1800's by a Japanese philosopher and
Christian seminary educator, Dr. Mikao Usui, Reiki was brought to the United States in the mid-1900s.
As an energy healing technique, Reiki involves hands-on touch and visualization applied to the entire body, serving to align chakras and bring healing energy to organs and glands. The practitioner, trained to access and serve as a
channel for the life energy, uses a passive touch which some clients experience with a warmth or tingling.
Swedish massage is also known as the Western or classic style of massage. It is credited to the Swedish fencing master and gymnastics instructor, Per Henrik Ling. It is a scientific system of manipulations on the muscles and
connective tissues of the body for the purpose of relaxation, rehabilitation or health maintenance. Swedish massage therapy is comprised of five basic strokes and their variations: effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement (or percussion) and
vibration. The many benefits of Swedish massage may include generalized relaxation, dissolution of scar tissue adhesions, and improved circulation, which may speed healing and reduce swelling from injury.
BodyTalk is an astonishingly simple and effective form of therapy that allows the body's energy systems to be re-synchronized so that they can operate as nature intended. Each system, cell and atom is in constant communication
with each other at all times. Through exposure to the stresses of day-to-day life, these lines of communication become compromised, which then leads to a decline in physical, emotional and/or mental health. Reconnecting these lines of communication
then enables the body's mechanisms to function at optimal levels, thus preventing disease and rapidly accelerating the healing process. BodyTalk can be used as a stand-alone system to treat many health problems, or seamlessly integrated into any
health care system to increase its effectiveness and promote faster healing.
Since its inception, BodyTalk has been used to successfully treat a wide variety of diseases and to enhance the effectiveness of other treatment modalities. The BodyTalk System is totally safe, non-invasive, and has been achieving spectacular
results in a growing number of health care areas. BodyTalk can be used to address specific health problems, as well as a preventative health maintenance measure. Most importantly, the BodyTalk system does not rely on the practitioner forcing their
ideas or agendas on the patient. The BodyTalk practitioner is guided specifically by the innate intelligence of the patient, thus ensuring that the human body's remarkable healing capabilities are being utilized to their maximum potential.
James Waslaski, past chair of the AMTA National Sports Massage Education Council has pioneered deep pain-free medical and sports massage treatments. James received the 1999 International Achievement Award for educating
medical practitioners towards integrated pain-free healing.
Addresses chronic pain and sports injury conditions with emphasis on knowing the underlying causes and pathology of each condition. Focus is on the entire body, with emphasis on restoring pain free joint range of motion throughout the body and integrating complete structural balance.
Goes far beyond the traditional clinical sports massage training by addressing all the common medical and orthopedic conditions found in most clients. Pain is released by combining sequences of functional assessment,
myofascial release, neuromuscular therapy, frictioning, muscle energy, stretching, neuromuscular re-education, structural balancing, patient home care, and much more. The combination of these techniques obtains immediate and permanent results in
even the most challenging and complicated clients.
Deep tissue massage is also called deep muscle therapy or deep tissue therapy. It
is a term used to describe various massage styles that focus on the deeper muscles and connective tissues of the body. The therapist uses movement and pressure to reshape and realign the muscles and connective tissue, breaking old, habitual holding
patterns. Rolfing, Trager, Hellerwork and Feldenkrais are all forms of deep tissue massage.
Myo means muscle and fascia is the elastic connective tissue wrapped around muscles and other parts of the body. During myofascial release, restrictions (stuck areas) are located and gentle sliding pressure is applied in the
direction of the restriction to stretch the tissues. The stretching of tissues and the heat imparted by the practitioner's hands are thought to help produce a softer consistency of fascial tissues.
Cranio refers to the cranium which is the bony part of the head. Sacral refers to the bony bottom of the spine called the sacrum. In the 1900s Dr. William Sutherland, an osteopathic physician, discovered cranio movement. In the
1970s Dr. John Upledger, an osteopathic doctor, helped to further Sutherland's discovery as both an evaluative tool and a corrective one. Craniosacral therapy is a light touch manipulation of the head and bottom of the spine to restore optimal
cerebrospinal fluid movement. It can be especially useful in treating headaches, eye and ear problems, jaw problems, whiplash, and back pain.
Pregnancy massage is the massage of pregnant women (prenatal) and women after giving birth (postpartum). It address the special needs of pregnant women such as discomforts in the low back, feet, and legs. This form of
massage usually consists mainly of Swedish Massage techniques that are modified slightly to take into account the common aches and pains of pregnancy. Positioning of the client is also modified as the pregnancy progresses and the abdomen enlarges.
Reflexology is a form of bodywork based on the theory of zone therapy, in which specific spots of the body are pressed to stimulate corresponding areas in other parts of the body. Foot reflexology is the most common form of
reflexology.
This comprehensive program of soft-tissue manipulation balances the body's central nervous system with the musculoskeletal system. Based on neurological laws which explain how the central nervous system initiates and maintains
pain, the goal is to help relieve the pain and dysfunction by understanding and alleviating the underlying cause. Neuromuscular therapy can help individuals who experience distortion and biomechanical dysfunction, which is often a symptom of a
deeper problem. It is also used to locate and release spasms and hypercontraction in the tissue, eliminate trigger points that cause referred pain, restore postural alignment, proper biomechanics and flexibility to the tissues, rebuild the strength
of injured tissues, and assist venous and lymphiatic flow.
Sports Massage is the application of various massage techniques to enhance athletic performance.
Sports massage is applied to athletes to help them train and perform free of pain and injuries. Massage
therapists blend classic Swedish strokes with such methods as compression, pressure-point therapy, cross-fiber friction, joint mobilization, hydrotherapy, and cryotherapy (ice massage) to meet the special needs of high-level performers and fitness
enthusiasts. Sports Massage can reduce the risk of injury for an athlete, as well as accelerate the body’s natural restorative processes should injury occur.
Acupressure is a form of bodywork based in traditional Chinese meridian theory in which acupuncture points are pressed to stimulate the flow of energy or chi.
Trigger point massage utilizes ischemic compression of individual areas of hypersensitivity in muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia. These trigger points are defined by their referral of pain to distant locations in muscles,
connective tissues, and organs. Janet Travell, M.D., pioneered trigger point therapy in the United States.
Shiatsu (Japanese for "finger pressure") is a system for healing and health maintenance that has evolved over thousands of years. Shiatsu derives both from the ancient healing art of acupuncture and from the traditional form of
Japanese massage, amma. The goal of each of the different types of Shiatsu being practiced, Zen shiatsu, tsubo point therapy, shiatsu massage, and water shiatsu, is balancing energy flow.
Milton Trager M.D. created Trager.® It is also known as Tragerwork and Trager® Psychophysical Integration. It operates on the principle that one learns to be lighter, easier, and freer by experiencing light,
easy, and free sensations in the body. Practitioners introduce pleasurable sensory information to the soft tissues by steadily, gently, and rhythmically rocking and stretching the body.
Rolfing® is also called structural integration and was developed by Ida Rolf. Rolfing® seeks to reestablish proper vertical alignment in the body by manipulating the myofascial tissue so that the fascia
elongates and glides rather than shortens and adheres. The 10-session series can cause deep changes in the body that are physical as well as emotional.
Chair massage refers to massage given with the recipient seated in an ordinary or special massage chair. Techniques which provide fully-clothed seated massage, bodywork and somatic therapies to clients, generally in a
corporate or business setting. Practitioners utilize Shiatsu, Amma, and/or Swedish techniques.
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