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Integrated
Massage Therapy is a unique combination of the techniques that I learned through 20 years of training and hands-on experience.
It really developed itself as I came to understand two basic principals: a) that although all modalities may work, they
work best when the body is ready for that modality and b) that a pre-programmed routine or single focus usually does not serve
all clients well. Therefore, Integrated Massage Therapy is a customized, often moment-to-moment intuitive experience,
drawing on the appropriate aspects of the following modalities:
✧✧✧✧✧✧ MASSAGE THERAPY is a system of structured palpation or movement of the soft tissue of the body. You are
covered by a sheet and blanket and kept warm on a heated, padded table, with only the area being worked on exposed. The many
benefits of massage may include generalized relaxation, dissolution of scar tissue adhesions, and improved circulation, which
may speed healing and reduce swelling from injury. Massage enhances your general health and well-being.
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DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE utilizes deep-tissue/deep-muscle
massage techniques that affect the sub-layer of musculature and fascia. It helps with chronic muscular pain and injury
rehabilitation. I generally integrate it with other massage techniques.
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MYOSKELETAL ALIGNMENT TECHNIQUE encompasses both
preventative care and chronic conditions by addressing imbalances that distort body structure and function. Many of
the modalities listed here are used to realign the body to proper posture. Present in the Myoskeletal method is the
recognition of certain tight muscles that inherently overpower weaker structures creating a distortion of our skeletal framework. Recognizing and
addressing these myofascial patterns as well as skeletal strain patterns is the foundation of the Myoskeletal method.
✧✧✧✧✧✧ MUSCLE TESTING involves finding a muscle that is unbalanced and
then attempting to determine why that muscle is not functioning properly. Various corrections, including myofascial
therapies, cranial techniques, meridian and acupuncture balancing, nutrition, dietary management, counseling skills, and evaluating environmental irritants can bring a muscle back into balance. (See www.icak.com.) ✧✧✧✧✧✧
TOUCH FOR HEALTH combines methods and techniques that include acupuncture principles, acupressure,
muscle testing, massage, and dietary guidelines. Muscle testing determines which muscles are strong or weak, indicating if
a physical problem or organ malfunction exists. A variety of methods are used to strengthen weak muscles or otherwise
correct imbalances, including chemical/nutritional or emotional factors.
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POSITIONAL RELEASE is a noninvasive treatment that helps decrease
protective muscle spasms and alleviate dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system. By properly positioning you for ninety seconds,
I can help restore pain-free movement. After resuming the original position and pressing the trigger point, the referred pain
is gone.
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MUSCLE ENERGY is a direct manual therapy used to normalize joint
dysfunction and increase range of motion. I evaluate the primary areas of dysfunction in order to place the affected joints
in precise positions that enable us to perform gentle isometric contractions. These directed movements help correct neuromuscular
and joint difficulties.
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LYMPH DRAINAGE THERAPY developed by Bruno Chikly,
M.D. is unique in that his system, in addition to manually moving the lymph, taught me how to palpate and identify the rhythm,
direction, and quality of the lymphatic flow. This allows me to access more specific lymphatic clearing. Lymph
Drainage Therapy helps to build the immune system, clear inflammation from organs, muscles and cells, and maintain breast
health often clearing cystic breasts and stretch marks.
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CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY
is a gentle method of evaluating and enhancing the function of the craniosacral system. This manual therapy enhances
the body’s natural healing process and has proven effective in caring for a wide range of problems associated with pain
and dysfunction. Since this system influences the development and function of the brain and spinal cord, any imbalance
or dysfunction in the craniosacral system could cause sensory, motor, or neurological disabilities. Craniosacral Therapy encourages
the body’s natural healing mechanisms to improve the functioning of the central nervous system, dissipate the negative
effects of stress, and enhance health and resistance to disease.
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HANNA SOMATIC EDUCATION
is a system of sensory-awareness and neuromuscular training making it possible for you to recognize, release, and reverse
chronic pain patterns resulting from injury, stress, repetitive motion, or habituated postures. Somatic exercises relieve
tension quickly, lengthen and relax muscles, reduce pain, and help you regain comfort.
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ESOTERIC HEALING is
a healing performed through the energy field (which flows through and around us) and the chakras, or energy centers of the
body. Each of the seven major centers vitalizes its related endocrine gland(s). It is possible to map and measure this field
and to assist in the restoration of good health through working to rebalance the energy field. This work is performed in your
energy field, without touch, and works variable distances from the body.
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MATRIX ENERGETICS is
a complete system of healing, self-care and transformation. It is powered by intent, which has a physical and observable effect.
Matrix Energetics starts with a gentle light touch and the power of focused intent and can be used to heal, to transform and
to create new possibilities. It's very much about transforming your beliefs concerning healing, disease and the structure
of reality. Matrix Energetics sometimes appears magical in its expression but is based on the laws and expression of
subtle energy physics and the concepts and laws of quantum physics. (Adapted from www.matrixenergetics.com)
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FIRST LINE THERAPY
is a comprehensive program that provides you with the knowledge you need to make healthy lifestyle choices each day going
forward. Therapeutic lifestyle change programs are based on the premise that many of the chronic conditions associated with
aging—e.g., hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis—are not inevitable consequences
of the aging process. Instead, these conditions are largely preventable simply by making sound lifestyle choices. Symptoms
that many view as signs of aging—such as low energy, poor memory, low libido, chronic pain, and weight gain—are
not signs of aging, but rather signs of illness. Simple lifestyle changes can help bring balance to the body and the
body heals itself. Linda is a
Certified First Line Therapy Lifestyle Educator.
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TBM, using muscle testing and reflex points,
helps eliminate the roadblocks to health by turning on the healing ability of the body and letting your natural energy do
the work to correct imbalances. By integrating a series of tapping and breathing techniques, TBM helps the body synchronize
and balance its parts so they communicate effortlessly and heal themselves. It strengthens the body’s innate knowledge
of how to repair itself. TBM is used to address a range of health issues including fibromyalgia, parasites, chronic fatigue,
allergies, sugar addiction and cellular damage.
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AROMATHERAPY is the use of essential
oils (extracted from herbs, flowers, resin, woods, and roots) in body and skin care treatments. Used as a healing technique
for thousands of years by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, essential oils aid in relaxation, improve circulation, and help
the healing of wounds. Aromatherapy diffusers are often utilized to fill the massage room with the healing scent of the specific
oils.
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CONTINUUM is a visionary
inquiry into our capacity to innovate and participate with the essential, generative, and biological movement processes of
life. Continuum explores the idea that what we call a body or a brain is actually a creative, nonlinear, unfolding event.
Movement is something we are, as well as something we do.
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BRAIN GYM (or Educational Kinesiology) is a sensorimotor program based on research by educational therapists, developmental
optometrists, and other specialists in the fields of movement, education, and child development. Brain Gym consists of targeted
activities similar to those performed naturally by young children as part of the process of brain development. Brain Gym prepares
learners with the physical skills they need to read, write, concentrate, organize, and otherwise function effectively.
Linda's experience is that Brain Gym also helps the elderly population.
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