Sports Massage

Special form of massage developed to help athletes reach their peak perfomance, to assist in their recovery afterwards and to facilitate the healing processes after injuries as well as prevention from injuries. It utilises techniques similar to Swedish and Therapeutic Massage but usually is appropriates for young and fit individual and is adapted to the athlete’s current needs. For this reason we can distinguish four type of Sports Massage:

• Training Massage to prepare the body for peak perfomance. It is very vigorous and deep, almost painful. It should be done at least a day before the competition.
• Preparation Massage just before perfomance. It should be slow and light, pleasant and stimulating.
• Break Massage during perfomance to accelerate change of fluid in the muscles thus restoring and rebalancing their energy. It is slow, not painful and short lasting.
• Antifatigue Massage after a perfomance to drain the wastes away and restore a proper level of oxygen in the muscles, and promote relaxation. It is very vigorous and deep, sometimes painful.

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Structural Integration

Structural Integration, developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in the mid-sixties, is a scientifically validated body therapy. Unlike massage, Structural Integration focuses not on the muscles but on their protective layer, called fascia (also known as connective tissue). Muscles are contracting tissues that give the body and organs physical movement. The fascia surrounds the muscles, bones and organs in the body. The fascia gives muscles their shape and the body its structure.

Structural Integration is performed in ten sessions of one hour each. The ten sessions are administered progressively; each session builds upon the last until complete integration of the body is achieved. The process of Structural Integration includes balancing the body in segments and achieving vertical alignment from balancing the body from front to back, side to side, top to bottom and inside to outside. Read more...

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Sun Mu-Zen Dance Therapy

The purpose of Korean Sun (Zen) Buddhism is to find one's true self to attain enlightenment and to end the suffering of mankind. Sun Mu-Zen dance, more than just expressing aesthetic beauty, is a preparation for attaining the goal of enlightenment. As such, Zen dance has adopted the basic disciplines of Buddhism along with the basic techniques of enlightenment exists beyond words and concepts, a number of very definite and specific exercises have been developed to give people the correct mind/ body alignment to enter the enlightened state. In this book, the author discusses the philosophy and principles of Sun Mu; the basic techniques, including tanjun breathing, emotional control and improvisation, the yin-yang theory in Sun Mu; the attitude of a Sun Mu dancer; and Sun Mu dance therapy, which in addition to being beneficial to good exercise, serves as a rehabilitation practice for those with spinal problems as well.

From the book:
Sun Mu-Zen Dance Technique & Therapy
by Son-ok Yi, Sun-Ock Lee
Jimoondang International (November 20, 2001)

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Swedish Massage

Swedish is the basic form of all Western modern methods of massage. It was developed by Per Henrik Ling in Sweden in the 1820s. Ling who is also the father of Swedish gymnastics and a pioneer of modern physiotherapy rediscovered massage, forgotten in the West for centuries since the collapse of the Roman Empire. He combined ancient Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Roman techniques with the modern physiology. Berghman and Helleday in 1870's further developed and structured this method into four main phases: Effleurage (long gliding strokes ) Petrissage (kneading ), Friction and Tapotment (beatings).

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