Want to really understand the health and wellness benefits of massage? Interested in practising massage at home or considering taking a course? Let this book be your guide on everything from effleurage to epineuria. Annotated anatomy and physiology illustrations show you how different levels of pressure work the muscles, and the profound effect massage can have on the nervous system and on cardio and lymphatic health. Learn how to prepare physically and mentally, and get the lowdown on oils and massage beds, diffusers and candles. And if you're receiving a massage, find out why drinking water before and after is important and how focusing on breathing enhances muscle relaxation. All the core strokes and massage techniques that form the foundation of massage practice are shown photographically with detailed annotations and integrated arrows showing the direction and application of pressure. Learn about the key disciplines, from Swedish to shiatsu, reflexology and hot stone therapy. Access over 30 bespoke massage sequences, tailored to treat specific complaints and special client groups, such as pregnant women, babies, and those recovering from surgery. Become an expert in the simple but profoundly effective power of touch and share its miraculous health benefits.

Reduce the signs of aging with Eva Fraser's easy facial workout. ___________ Facial Pilates is THE non-surgical way to achieve a facelift. These straightforward exercises step in where your face cream stops, to eliminate dark circles, firm your jaw line, tone your neck, plump cheeks and so much more . . . leaving your skin with a natural, youthful glow. 'Facial exercises may significantly reduce signs of ageing' New York Times For nearly 40 years, Eva Fraser has been practicing her facial workout techniques - and the results are remarkable. Now 89, Eva's youthful looks are testament to the results that can be achieved through easy daily exercises. The premise behind Eva Fraser's Facial Workout is simple: that the muscles in your face, if left inactive, will become as saggy as those in any other part of your body. In order to tone them up, they need to be exercised. This book includes information on why the face ages, how skin works and what can be done about it, as well as the exercise plan that Eva swears by. The original facial fitness classic that will help you look 15 years younger! ___________ What do readers think? 'They really do work!' 5* Reader Review 'I have only been doing them for 4 weeks and they have made a difference' 5* Reader Review 'Eva Fraser gives a fool proof method to a younger face' 5* Reader Review 'A chemical free way to firm up those looks!' 5* Reader Review

Are you looking for renewed energy, relief from stress, improved sleep, and much more? It's time to start your Ayurveda wellness journey. Practised in India for millennia, Ayurveda means life-knowledge - it reveals the path to ultimate wellbeing by identifying your individual characteristics and patterns of health, and showing you how to bring balance to your life. Find out Ayurvedic body type (prakriti) through a simple self-assessment questionnaire, and learn how to adjust your diet to suit your body type using recipes and ingredient lists, stretch and energize your body through yoga, and focus and relax your mind with meditation and positive thinking exercises. You can also look up home therapies and remedies for a variety of common ailments. Whether you're adopting this ancient lifestyle practice of self-care yourself, through your yoga practice, or as an alternative therapy, use Practical Ayurveda to apply its wisdom to your modern lifestyle.

The Little Book of Massage is an excellent introductory guide aimed at the beginner

Embrace holistic health and prepare natural health remedies for common ailments with essential oils, herbal remedies and pure foods. Neal's Yard Remedies: Complete Wellness delivers a head to toe guide to self-care for every part of your body. Targeted instructions allow you to tap into the restorative powers of herbs and plants and their therapeutic essential oils and use tried and tested, centuries' old herbal remedies to treat a raft of common ailments. As well as healing remedies, the book explores the key building blocks for optimizing health and wellbeing in each part of the body, pointing you to the top herbs, nutrients, and essential oils each area needs not only to stay well, but to reach the very peak of wellness - whether to boost circulation, enjoy glowing skin, balance gut flora, or maximize energy levels. Guidance is given on incorporating ingredients into everyday regimes, helping you to stay in tip-top health. Guided by the experts at Neal's Yard Remedies, follow step-by-step demonstrations on how to blend your own teas and tinctures; concoct all-natural-ingredient creams; create therapeutic aromatherapy oil blends; discover delicious recipes for sustainable wellness; and master a range of other practical techniques and tips for lifelong wellbeing. Make the most of nature's resources with Neal's Yard Remedies: Complete Wellness.

THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOUR BIRTH BETTER. IT IS FOR EVERY WOMAN AND EVERY TYPE OF BIRTH. 'Siobhan manages to completely demystify hypnobirthing, making it accessible and relevant to all women and all births. This book will be a complete game changer and I will be recommending it to mums-to-be from now on' Sarah Turner, author of The Unmumsy Mum Expert hypnobirthing teacher and founder of The Positive Birth Company Siobhan Miller has made it her mission to change the way women around the world approach and experience birth. Through her teaching she seeks to educate and empower women - and their birth partners - so that they can enjoy amazing and positive birth experiences, however they choose to bring their babies into the world. In this book, Siobhan debunks common myths about hypnobirthing and explains why she believes it can make every type of birth a better experience - from a water birth at home to an unplanned caesarean in theatre. So, what is hypnobirthing? Essentially, it's a form of antenatal education, an approach to birth that is both evidence-based and logical. Hypnobirthing certainly doesn't involve being hypnotised; instead, it teaches you how your body works on a muscular and hormonal level when in labour and how you can use various relaxation techniques to ensure you are working with your body (rather than against it), making birth more efficient and comfortable. Siobhan's advice and guidance will change your mindset and enable you to navigate your birth with practical tools that ensure you feel calm and in control throughout. By the time you finish this book you'll feel relaxed, capable and genuinely excited about giving birth.

The Theory and Practice of Therapeutic Massage (5th edition) is the classic text in the massage industry including the essential knowledge and skills needed to become a successful, professional massage therapist, plus the essentials of anatomy and physiology. Essential topics to the industry such as ethics, hygiene, communication skills, and body mechanics are discussed. Full-color illustrations and photographs clearly illustrate techniques and procedures. Classical massage is expanded with clinical techniques including neuromuscular and myofascial techniques, and lymph massage, combined to better serve the client by following therapeutic procedures. Numerous career tracts are explored including massage in a spa environment and athletic massage. A new chapter discusses massage for special populations including pre-natal, infant, elder, critically ill, people with cancer, and hospice. The final chapter has been revised to cover business practices for finding employment or successful self-employment. Benefits: NEW New chapter on massage for special populations including hospice, pre-natal, infant, elder, critically ill, and people with cancer plus lymph massage and clinical skills such as trigger point therapy, neuromuscular techniques and myofascial techniques. Written in a style that is easily understood by the nontraditional reader. Includes full-color photos of techniques. Includes essential anatomy and physiology. Accompanying workbook has exercises in multiple formats to enhance learning. Contains topics to prepare the reader for the National Certification Exam or the State Massage Board exam. NEW New chapter on massage for special populations including hospice, pre-natal, infant, elder, critically ill, and people with cancer plus lymph massage and clinical skills such as trigger point therapy, neuromuscular techniques and myofascial techniques. NEW Now features all full-color Illustrations and photographs, including techn

Do you feel like connecting emotionally with your partner while giving them a massage? Are you looking to improve your techniques to give your partner a bette rmassage? Does your back hurt from not knowing the best posture to get into when giving a massage on the bed?

In 5 easy steps, Hakim La Rocca addresses these crucial points so that you can feel strong and confident about your ability to give a great massage to your partner.

Having been in the massage industry for well over 8 years, Hakim has identified key points that can transform you into a master and lover of touch. He has worked with a wide range of clients from all different types of backgrounds in sports, dance and business.

Theory and Practice of Therapeutic Massage, 5th edition is the classic text in the massage industry including the essential knowledge and skills needed to become a successful, professional massage therapist, plus the essentials of anatomy and physiology. Essential topics to the industry such as ethics, hygiene, communication skills, and body mechanics are discussed. Full-color illustrations and photographs clearly illustrate techniques and procedures. Classical massage is expanded with clinical techniques including neuromuscular and myofascial techniques, and lymph massage, combined to better serve the client by following therapeutic procedures. Numerous career tracts are explored including massage in a spa environment and athletic massage. A new chapter discusses massage for special populations including pre-natal, infant, elder, critically ill, people with cancer, and hospice. The final chapter has been revised to cover business practices for finding employment or successful self-employment.

This practical guide presents simple and effective massages for busy people. The full-length sequence, which benefits the whole body, and lasts just over an hour, is divided into sections for each area. Each section begins with a diagram of the relevant part of the body to show which muscles are stimulated. The massage strokes are clearly illustrated throughout. If your partner requires a specific type of treatment, chose one of the shorter sessions. There is a 30-minute one to de-stress, concentrating on backs of the legs and the back, a 20-minute one for aching hands, and a 30-minute one for a stimulating body massage. All these are ideal for when you are short of time and need a quick fix. The jacket folds out to form an at-a-glance wall chart for quick reference.

Being massaged makes babies relax and cope better with stress, improves their muscular coordination and flexibility and helps them straighten tightly flexed hands and legs. And who better to teach parents how to acquire these essential skills than Peter Walker, the world's best-known baby massage teacher. In this fully revised edition of his bestselling guide, he demonstrates vital new sequences essential for very young babies, which can be done while a baby is clothed.

"Soft Tissue Release "is a clear, concise, and practical book that guides you in understanding and applying the three types of soft tissue release (STR): passive (clients do not help), active assisted (clients and therapists work together), and active (clients do it on their own). Rather than focus on the specific purposes of soft tissue release, this text provides basic information about the therapy and prepares readers to perform the techniques. The result is a text that professionals and students in massage therapy, physiotherapy, and osteopathy will find invaluable.

"Soft Tissue Release" thoroughly explains the differences between the three types of STR by providing step-by-step descriptions on performing each type along with the key holds, moves, and stances for various muscles. The descriptions are accompanied by handy reference charts indicating the types of clients and situations in which each technique is particularly useful. Complete instructions explain how to apply STR to various parts of the body--the trunk, the lower limbs, and the upper limbs--and detail the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Numerous full-color photos depict the locks and stretches.

The book also explains how to use alternative options--such as massage tools and forearms, fists, and elbows--to protect the hands and thumbs from overuse. Tips sidebars provide short, practical comments on applying the techniques, while Client Talk boxes share the author's experiences and provide insight on situations that a therapist is likely to encounter. Each chapter ends with Quick Questions to test knowledge of the information, and answers are provided at the end of the book. A quick-reference photo index allows readers to look up techniques based on the client's position--prone, supine, sitting, or side lying--and find the page number for the complete instructions for that technique.

Finally, "Soft Tissue Release shows "how to incorporate the proper techniques into a treatment program. The book guides readers through the consultation process and provides examples of initial questions to ask clients and various assessment forms that therapists can use in identifying clients' needs. Using case studies and comparisons, the book shows how the data gleaned from clients can guide the design of an effective treatment program.

"Soft Tissue Release" will help the STR techniques come alive through its clear, detailed instruction and the numerous photos showing the techniques being applied by professionals. Whether you are a student or a professional, Soft Tissue Release will help you gain proficiency and confidence in these techniques.

This is the perfect introduction to using massage, yoga and acupressure to balance the body's natural energies, with easy-to-follow techniques shown in 400 photographs. It is a unique approach to unlocking your inner energy using a combination of yoga stretches and pressure-point work. You can gain greater awareness of your body and mind, to improve your physical health and find a new spiritual stillness and strength. It includes a complete body routine to follow for a total in-depth treatment, plus shorter routines to concentrate on specific areas of the body. It features bodywork specially devised for pregnant women and older people. It provides bodywork to ease everyday complaints such as headaches and an aching back. All techniques are illustrated with step-by-step photographs, with more than 400 photographs in total. This powerful form of body work uses the body's own energy lines, combining gentle yoga stretches with massage techniques and also introducing elements of other popular healing approaches, including acupressure and reflexology. The book begins by outlining this ancient healing therapy, its origins and objectives, and then explains and demonstrates the elements and requirements of a typical session. The core of the book is a comprehensive full body treatment, working through each area of the body sequentially. With over 400 specially taken photographs, this is the perfect guide to the subject, providing absorbing background information and clearly illustrated step-by-step routines.

Practical exercises help you prepare for success in exams and in massage therapy practice! Corresponding to the chapters in Muscolino's Know the Body: Muscle, Bone, and Palpation Essentials, this workbook includes review activities to help you learn and apply muscle, bone, and palpation knowledge. and Exercises cover muscle identification plus attachments, actions, stabilization functions, nerve innervation, palpation, and treatment considerations for each of those muscles. You'll also review and study bone identification, bony palpation, basic kinesiology terminology, the skeletal system, and muscle function. Exercises range in complexity from simple memory problems to more difficult critical thinking activities. Chapter-by-chapter, comprehensive review covers all of the content from the Know the Body textbook to ensure that you are prepared for exams and for practice. Photos of joint movements provide a better understanding of movement and range of motion, as compared to simple drawings. A wide range of fun, interesting review activities includes structure identification and labeling, coloring, matching, true/false, multiple choice, short answer, crossword puzzle, jumble, and mnemonic fill-in-the-blanks. High-level exercises help in developing critical thinking abilities and understanding how to apply muscle, bone, and palpation knowledge in the treatment room. Perforated pages make it easy to remove exercises from the workbook and hand in for grading. Answers are included at the end of the workbook, to help you pinpoint strengths and identify areas that need further study.

The leading sports massage expert Mel Cash now publishes this indispensable guide to the human muscular and skeletal system. It contains all the most relevant information needed to understand how the human body moves and maintains posture, drawing together knowledge from several different areas of medical science and presenting it in a clear and simple style. There is nothing similar available on the market, and the book is essential for all students of human biology, medicine and physical therapy (orthodox and complementary), and anyone involved at any level in sport, exercise, or dance. The 40 specially commissioned colour illustrations, plus 25 line drawings, provide a full picture of the human muscular and skeletal system, and the accompanying text explains how they may become injured, and the various other causes of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.

This is the definitive reference book on massage as a remedial therapy for sports training and injuries. It covers all practical and theroretical aspects of the subject, ranging from the basics through to the treatment of soft tissue injuries;and it gives guidance on how to work in a support role with medical practitioners treating more serious injury. It offers innovative new ideas like 'working posture and the psychology of injury of treatment. This book goes beyond the conventional idea that massage is just a pleasant luxury, and shows it as a vital component in an athlete's training. The therapy offers effective relief for muscular problems, with practical advice on how to achieve permanant solutions for better performance in sport.

Lymph drainage massage is a technique utilized by massage therapists to provide relief from edema, an accumulation of fluids in the tissues that causes swelling. This book provides a scientifically-accurate explanation of the lymphatic system, the theory behind lymph drainage massage, and explains when it should be performed. Also provided is an explanation of the application of lymph drainage massage to the needs of well clients, rather than focusing on pathology, since most massage therapists and estheticians will not be treating lymph edema disease in their work. The book offers step-by-step procedures for facial and upper and lower body massage, giving you practical information that can be applied immediately. With an aging baby boomer generation and the population at large increasingly focused on well-being, technicians - whether beginners or those looking to review and broaden their skills - are increasingly interested in learning about lymph drainage massage and how it can enhance their clients' experience as well as their own careers. Milady's Guide to Lymph Drainage Massage can play a vital role in accomplishing all of these goals.

The sensitive pressure points on the bottom, top and sides of the foot are the key to balancing energy and enhancing healing. Using the art of reflexology, this book shows how to press, knead, and glide along various areas in the foot to improve circulation in corresponding parts of the body. This comprehensive guide teaches the European method of reflexology. Included are: step-by-step instructions for a head-to-toe reflexology session; secrets to spotting imbalance and illness; charts for locating pressure points and stimulating its reflex; Chinese medicine, tai chi exercises, and other treatments that complement reflexology for dozens of health problems; and steps for eliminating toxins and impurities from the body. About the Author Judith Sachs is a health and medical writer, and has served as adjunct professor at the College of New Jersey, teaching stress management and runs workshops and seminars in alternative and complementary medicine. Judith Berger was director of the New Hope, Pennsylvania, and now maintains a private practice in pressure point healing in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In this full-colour illustrated guide, Michael Gienger, along with contributors Hildegard Weiss and Ursula Dombrowksy, details the energetics and healing properties of more than 50 crystals and gemstones for use in massage. The book explains how to select the proper crystal or stone to aid healing of a specific condition as well as for relaxation and stress release. It illustrates specific massage techniques with crystal wands, crystal spheres, and polished stones that best utilize the crystal or stone's properties and shows how to perform a full-body massage that works on several levels--physical, ethereal, mental, and spiritual--depending on how the crystals are applied. Explaining how crystals absorb energy and information during a massage, the guide shows how to cleanse and recharge their energetic fields so energies are not transferred from one person to another. It also details how to rebalance and replenish your own energy after giving a massage. The book also includes a detailed chapter on the harmonizing effects of amber massage, complete with a step-by-step illustrated massage sequence. Amber's unique electromagnetic vibrations make it especially conducive to creating homeostasis in the body and thus a beneficial addition to any crystal or stone massage practice. With this complete illustrated guide, anyone can enhance their massage practice or self-healing through the powerful effects of crystals, gemstones, and amber.

Combine the ancient secrets of Chinese medicine with hands-on treatment One of the most unique healing techniques ever, tui na, or Chinese massage therapy, works as effectively as acupuncture without having needles invade the body. With this comprehensive program, you'll understand the principles behind this miraculous medical system and how to apply the teachings yourself to cure general or specific problems. Locate the meridians as well as 57 common points, and see how they affect the body and the symptoms connected to each. Health guidelines show you how to get ready for the massage, and the equipment needed. Twenty different techniques are described and illustrated in color photographs. Diagnose and treat a variety of common ailments: common colds, headaches, insomnia, menstrual pain, constipation or diarrhea, stomach ache and indigestion, joint problems, stiff neck, lower back pain, and sciatica. Bonus: recipes for safe herbal remedies.