Bodywork can serve as a complementary discipline to our hatha yoga practice and bring about greater health and well being on many levels. In this article, several ChicagoHealers.com and other Chicago-area practitioners share information about different types of bodywork. Each is unique and may contribute something truly special to your yoga practice.
Swedish Massage
A swedish massage austin is the most common type of massage. Swedish massage uses a variety of techniques for relaxation and to calm the central nervous system: long gliding strokes, kneading movements or circular pressure using the palms, thumbs and/or fingertips; movements that shake or vibrate the body, tapping movements and techniques that bend or stretch the joints. 
As with any bodywork or massage session, prior to receiving the massage/bodywork session the client is asked to fill out a health form and discuss his or her goals with the massage therapist.
Sessions will take place in a comfortable, warm, quiet room. Many therapists use soft lighting and/or candles. Oil or lotion is used on the body to prevent excessive friction. During the session the client is fully or partially undressed according to his/her comfort, and is completely draped except for the area being worked on. Swedish massage is great for relaxation; it increases circulation, improves recovery time from muscle strain, decreases muscle and stress tension and improves range of motion.
Reflexology Reflexology is an ancient form of “pressure therapy,” which involves a gentle, but firm pressure to various “reflex points” in the feet. These points correspond to all parts of the body including the organs and glands. Reflexology dates back at least 5,000 years with ancient texts, illustrations and artifacts found in China, Japan, India, Russia and Egypt.
Reflexology can be used to relieve stress, headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, allergies, sinus problems, sciatica, constipation, PMS and can also ease women’s labor pains. In a reflexology session, the client is comfortably seated or may lie on a table. Soft music and lighting may be used to help the client relax. An average session can last between 30 and 60 minutes.
Shiatsu Shiatsu, which means “finger pressure,” is a traditional Japanese healing art. Shiatsu differs from Western massage therapy in that it considers the overall energy system of the client, rather than working only on localized areas. In Oriental theory, bodily energy flows through invisible routes called channels or meridians. Specific points along the meridians are related to bodily organs, functions and systems.
Shiatsu uses a variety of techniques to move the energy along the channels. These techniques may include holding, pressing with palms, thumbs, fingers, elbows, knees and feet and may also include rotations and stretching. If you have a specific point that is causing your aches and pains then you can get something like this Calf Shiatsu Massager to help you out. It will use the Shiatsu method to help relax and relieve pain. The session usually takes place on a padded mat or futon on the floor and the client remains fully clothed. Soft music may be used. A shiatsu session lasts typically one hour. Common conditions which can be helped by shiatsu include back pain, digestive problems, headaches, migraines, menstrual problems, sports injuries, depression, stress, joint pain and reduced mobility and high blood pressure.
Deep Tissue & Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy Sharon Sauer, CMTPT, LMT MYO Pain Relief Center www.ChicagoHealers.com
Have you ever had a massage and found yourself wishing the therapist could press a little harder? You probably needed a deep tissue massage. One form of deep tissue massage that is particularly effective for pain relief is myofascial trigger point therapy. 
Trigger points are irritable tight spots that are painful when you press on them and which activate pain and dysfunction in nearby muscles. During trigger point therapy, the therapist presses on and stretches the muscles to ensure full range of motion, thus preventing them from referring pain to other body regions. Trigger point therapists rely on referred pain patterns to guide their treatment. Therapy also includes customized self-care training on muscle compression, range of motion and posture muscle strengthening techniques. Trigger point therapists are sometimes called upon to treat patients who injure themselves when pushing beyond their physical limitations or moving improperly.
A yoga instructor and dancer came to my office after participating in a yoga retreat. She felt fabulous after the retreat; however, a few days later, her muscles started tightening up. I discovered deep pelvic muscles with trigger points that were referring pain to her groin. After a few weeks of therapy, she no longer experienced pelvic pain. 
We teach our patients to deactivate their trigger points by compressing specific muscles with a body therapy ball, a large rolling pin or other tools and pressing on those spots using an “ironing” motion. These techniques help prevent pain by improving the probability that all the muscle fibers are correctly being used during yoga or any other activity. Also, these techniques can help those who feel pain over their entire body (as in fibromyalgia).
Acupressure
Acupressure is one of the methods of preventing and treating illness used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Research has shown that acupuncture points are a part of a network of electrical current in the body. Needles, acupressure, heat or light (laser) can be used to stimulate the points and affect all other body systems.
A typical acupressure session is like a massage done at very specific points designed to improve health, relieve pain or both. One of the best things about acupressure is that you can do it yourself! Chinese elementary school students are taught acupressure for vision, and they practice it every day. Studies there have shown that in many cases it can prevent nearsightedness and relieve eyestrain. Some people would prefer to do it themselves but are unsure how to do it. This is where the acupressure mat Australia comes in useful because they can spend 15-30 minutes a day using it to see a lot of health benefits. Some acupressure therapists teach their patients points to do it at home to extend the benefits of the treatment. Acupressure helps relieve stress and pain and improves circulation and general health. It can help improve a yoga practice by relieving pain and increasing flexibility.
Bioenergetics Malinka Radeva-Coppi, CMT, ABMP
www.ChicagoHealers.com Bioenergetic psychosomatic therapy is an advanced and integrated approach to the body/mind connection. During the session the therapist combines body (soma) and mind (psycho) therapy to assist in achieving the client’s goals. A bioenergetic session is collaborative and crafted to the individual needs of each client.
A typical session may include the use of bioenergetic techniques, holistic psychology, bodywork, kinesio-reflexology, body and barefoot acupressure, polarity acu-yoga and kinesio-reflexo balance, Japanese alignment modality, brain integration and breathing education. The therapist may also recommend vibrational repatterning using several techniques including aroma on body Qi meridians, tuning fork harmonization with acupressure points, auricular phyto-stimulation, candling, hypno-acu-facial lift with craniosacral release, colors and music chakra balancing and cosmic dance meditation.
Bioenergetic Psychosomatic Therapy may prove helpful for relieving health issues (such as fibromyalgia, insomnia, migraines, obesity, sinus or allergic conditions, asthma, TMJ, carpal tunnel, sciatica, neck, shoulder or low back problems, Attention Deficit Disorder [ADD], diabetes or infertility) as well as psychological issues (depression, anxiety, stress, or anger). This type of therapy will assist your body in returning to its vibrant, harmonious and energetic mode of functioning.
Traditional Thai Massage By Chuck Duff
chuck@thaibodywork.com 847.869.1861 Traditional Thai Massage, also known as Thai Yoga Therapy, is an ancient form of bodywork with diverse influences from yoga, ayurveda, Chinese medicine and indigenous healing practices. The Thais fondly call this form of bodywork “lazy man’s yoga.” Performed on a floor mat in comfortable clothes, Thai massage is a therapeutic “dance” incorporating rhythmic motion, stretching and pressure along energy lines to invoke emotional calming and deep relaxation. For more than 1,000 years, Thai massage has incorporated techniques similar to acupressure and trigger point, making it highly therapeutic. 
A session typically begins with the client in savasana (lying on their back) as the therapist enters a brief meditative process to create sacred space. During the session, the client is encouraged to be passive and let the therapist guide them through a series of poses, which may include supine, side-lying, prone and seated variations. A skilled therapist is able to use thumbs, elbows, knees, hands and feet with equal dexterity, inducing muscular release and relaxation with ingenious combinations of stretching and pressure. Most clients find that Thai massage is both energizing and relaxing and often evokes a deep, trancelike state in which healing can occur. Clients of all ages, physical condition and body type can benefit from Thai massage treatments. A properly trained therapist can adjust any Thai asana to the needs of the client, whether “flexible” or not. Yoga practitioners, athletes and other physically active individuals can enjoy Thai as an enhancement of their practice, while those struggling with stress or chronic pain might focus more on its profound therapeutic benefits. The myriad postures of Thai massage have a unique ability to bypass the mind and bring balance and harmony to the recipient.
Integral Bodywork™ By Everett Ogawa
www.integralbodywork.com Integral Bodywork™ is about re-connecting to the truly infinite nature of Being. It can be used as a tool to aid in the unfolding of human consciousness. 
Integral Bodywork™ is a 10-session program of structural integration, which draws upon the influences of Western bodywork pioneers such as Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, Lauren Berry and Dub Leigh in addition to the insights of yoga, zen and the martial arts. This method focuses on releasing physical restrictions in the body, which cause pain, suffering and imbalance. Special attention is given to the body’s pelvis and core, seat of our deepest emotional and energetic blocks. Each of the ten sessions begins with light stroking of the neck before moving into the deeper portions of the work.
Techniques include spreading actions to free connective tissue as well as focused trigger-point work. Through the course of the sessions the entire body is worked from head to toe. Session one initiates a flow of release, and each subsequent session furthers the process, which migrates throughout the body/mind until session ten when the cycle is brought to completion. Integral Bodywork™ can be highly effective in contributing lasting relief to many kinds of body/mind pain. It can also aid in a deepening yoga or meditation practice. In fact, Ida Rolf, founder of Rolfing® and a pioneer in structural integration bodywork, was a lifelong yoga practitioner. Consequently, structural integration and yoga share many common perspectives. When combined, they can create a powerful synergy to move the individual deeper into direct experience of the Self.
