If you want to learn to give a great massage, then you have to do it the right way: go to a good massage therapy school, do your best and get a degree. There are online massage therapy schools that don’t cost as much as the real ones, but we don’t really recommend them. The Denver school of massage therapy is really well rated, and so are the Arizona school of massage therapy and the Nevada school of massage therapy. Today, we’re going to take a look at 10 massage techniques that massage therapy schools will teach you.
10. Trager 
Trager massage uses gentle, rocking massage to help relax the body. The body record all the damage it was done to it and Trager massage will help restore it to its former glory. People who practice this massage technique employ very light and shaking techniques that will make people aware of their bodies and free them of emotional stress that leave its print on the body.
9. Deep tissue massage 
This type of massage will target the chronic tension in your muscles that lie below the surface of your body (hence deep tissue). Swedish massage will just help your first couple of layers, but the deep tissue massage targets the deep layers of your tissue. It’s done with the use of fingers, thumbs and even elbows.
8. Feldenkrais 
This type of massage treats your body as if it were a unique piece of art. The massage therapists will gently massage you and teach you the body’s ideal patterns. This type of massage therapy is usually designed to expand a person’s range of motions, thus making it great for stroke or accident victims who have lost some or all movement.
7. Sports massage 
Sports massage will help you train better and recover from intense training. The techniques are very similar to those of Swedish massage and deep tissue massage. It’s great not just for athletes, but also for people who train at the gym and often experience sore muscles.
6. Swedish massage 
Swedish massage is the most common type of massage in the world. It uses soothing and kneading strokes to work your whole body and relieve muscle tension and treat sore joints. There are five basic strokes that lay at the foundation of Swedish massage: effleurage, which means stroking, petrissage (grabbing and lifting of the muscles), friction, tapotement (tapping and beating strokes) and vibration.
5. Neuromuscular massage 
This massage technique is a form of deep tissue massage that is only applied to individual muscles. It will increase blood flow and thus reduce pain and release pressure on nerves caused by trauma to muscles. You know those tight and tense knots that we all get in our back or other muscles? Neuromuscular massage is aimed at releasing them and making us feel relaxed and knot-free.
4. Craniosacral therapy 
This type of massage focuses on the spinal column and the skull and spinal column. The therapists will gently massage just the bones, fluids and membranes that support your skull and spinal column. These manipulations of the tissues and bones will reduce tension and heal any trauma the patient might have experiences over the years.
3. Animal Massage
Yes, there is such a thing as animal massage and you can go to school to learn about it. The most common is equine massage. Race horses need massages after they compete, but these days, animal massage is gaining a lot of popularity. Cats and dogs are getting massages and if you find it hard to believe, we suggest you take a look online and see for yourself.
2. Rolfing
Rolfing is done to re-educate your body about its posture. Poor posture can reflect itself in a number of health problems, such as headaches, backaches and joint pain. Rolfing will realign your body and straighten it by working the connective tissue that surrounds your muscles, called the myofascia. Also, it’s quite painful, and not a walk in the park.
1. Hellerwork
Hellerwork resembles Rolfing, as it too, re-educates your body. Hellerwork is done in a series of 11 sessions and it will break bad posture habits by focusing on muscles and tissues. Hellerwork works so well, that after the sessions a person can grow taller by 2-3 inches. It does this by increasing the spaces in your joints.
We’ve scoured the Internet and we’ve read the comments and the reviews and we found that the best accredited massage therapy schools in the US are in Denver, Texas, Florida, Ohio, California, Austin TX, Colorado, Arizona, Las Vegas, Atlanta GA, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Miami, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Jacksonville NC, Columbus, Oahu, Iowa, Seattle, Maryland, Boulder, Aurora, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, NYC, Oregon, Utah, Orlando, San Diego, Tampa FL, Kansas, Michigan and Houston.
Is there a good massage therapy school in the city where you live? How do you like your massage?
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