Types of Massage, Bodywork , Movement Therapies, Energy Work and Somatic Therapies

and other healing and non-healing therapies...

(Special Notice: This list of different types of massage and other healing modalities is provided to bring awareness to the various types of healing and massage that are out there. I have tried to be as accurate as possible but there is already so much mis-information out there that it brings more confusion. You can further add your comments on each section when you click on each link or adding your articles and comments in the form below to help create the most accurate directory of services available. Adding your article or comments will help to clear up the many confusions about the different types of work being done.)

There are over 250 different types of massage, bodywork, somatic therapies, movement therapies, awareness building modalities and new types of healing using touch are being created all the time. As people learn and study different types of massage (healing), they start integrating what they have learned together with their unique experiences to create new methods.

The main type of massage that most massage schools will start training you in is Swedish Massage. Swedish massage is basic relaxation massage but it also can be very therapeutic and used to treat various conditions.

Some other popular types of massage and bodywork include:

• Structural Integration - Rolfing, Hellerwork, Zentherapy
• Orthopedic Massage - Includes Strain/Counterstrain, OMERI,
• Cranio-sacral therapy - using lighter touch to balance the cranial and sacral bones and joints
• Pregnancy Massage and infant massage
• Myofascial Release

• Deep Tissue Massage
• Triggerpoint Therapy
• Energy work such as Reiki and Polarity Therapy
• Neuromuscular Therapy
• Eastern Massage Therapy - includes Acupressure, Shiatsu, Anma, Amma and others usually based on the Meridian System and energetic healing
• Equine Massage and other animals such as dogs, zoo animals, exotic animals etc.
• Mind-Body therapies
• Sports Massage
• Medical Massage - A very controversial and growing sector of the massage profession
• Chair Massage - Seated massage for offices, parties, building your business and airports.
• Reflexology or Zone Therapy

The type of massage (or other healing modality) that you choose to practice will really have little to do with your success or lack of success. There is no one type of massage therapy that is better than any other. What will make the difference in your success is your beliefs about your self and your confidence in yourself. It is also important that you love what you are doing.

When thinking about becoming a massage therapist, it it important to start learning about various methods for a few reasons:

• You may want to skip massage school altogether and study something else like the Alexandar Technique or other non-massage disciplines.

• You may want to study some of the other disciplines in detail to set yourself apart from all of the other massage therapists and become an expert in one area.

• You will also be working with many clients who have also had other types of work so it can help in knowing what they have done already to find out what is working and what is not.

• You may also want to develop a network of other types of services for your clients to help them on their healing path.

So learning as much as you can about the many types of massage, bodywork and other healing disciplines can help you in every stage of your career.

If you are an expert in one of these areas, please share your information by clicking on the link for each area and write your article or comment to help educate others as to what this type of work can do to help educate the public as well as massage therapists. My goal in having this section is to create the most comprehensive directory with the most accurate info on each topic. Please help me in creating this by sharing. It is also good for your own website, business or school to get other sites to link to you - not only for traffic but for improving your search engine rankings. (See more on Article Marketing)

You can learn more about the various types of massage and other healing methods from www.thebodyworker.com

If you have a type of massage to add to this chart please let me know.

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