One of the most common massage found in Western-styled spa and massage centers is Swedish Massage. Swedish massage is also known as classic or therapy massage and is one of the most basic and fundamental massage certification that a new therapist would need to qualify for to work in a spa or health center.Swedish massage is a set and variety of techniques or methods that help to achieve relaxation of the muscles and to help achieve a better and increased rate of circulation. The main use or purpose of Swedish massage is to:
* help to release toxins from the body’s muscles
* help to increase oxygen flowSwedish massage utilizes techniques that apply stokes with pressure applied in the direction as the blood would flow as it returns to a person’s heart. The pressure is applied to bones and muscles with various types of techniques. These techniques are:
* Shaking motions
* Tapping
* Friction
* Effleurage
* Vibration
* Kneading
* Long strokes

Each of these methods or techniques of massage has a stroke that can offer benefits in different ways. And these can be further defined as 5 main strokes such as:
* gliding which is called Effleurage
* rubbing which is called Friction
* kneading which is called Petrissage
* pounding which is called Tapotement
* shaking which is called Vibration

First, the therapist would attempt to concentrate on relaxation which would utilize gliding the palms, fingertips, or thumbs. This would be the Effleurage stroke. Further they would use kneading with the fingers, thumbs, or hands and this would be the Petrissage stroke. Along with this, the therapist would use lotions and or oils to help the process. The process usually involves a body massage covering the whole body that ranges from between 1 hour to 1.5 hours.

With the Effleurage stroke, the goal is to find the muscles that are tense and this gives a person time to get comfortable as they lie face down and are massaged from the neck all the way down the back to the end of the spinal column.

While with the Petrissage stroke, the therapist is striving for the achievement of a deeper relaxation and works to Warm-Up the person body for more intense massage. This technique will involve the muscles being moved or lifted away and upward from the bones. This will help to figure out how much or how deep the pressure applied will need to be. This will possibly lead to other massage strokes that will allow for various benefits.

The many and various benefits of utilizing Swedish therapy are:
* lowers blood pressure
* increases circulation
* relax the mind and body
* helps with digestion
* helps to relieve colic
* helps clear up congested lungs by breaking up mucus
* helps to stimulate a slower breathing pattern
* improves muscle flexibility
* helps to improve the durability of the muscles
* helps to ease tension and stiffness within the muscles

If you are new to massages or just want a relaxing, uncomplicated massage, then a Swedish massage would certainly be an ideal choice.

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