Four Types of Swedish Massage Therapy

Series Summary

Swedish massage is one tradition of massage therapy that was adapted from common Asian forms of massage by Per Henrik Ling in the early 19th century. Ling was a professor and gymnast who believed regular exercise could restore bodily health to those with chronic ailments. His “Swedish Medical Gymnastics System” was further adapted and reduced by Johan Georg Mezger, who trimmed down the gymnastic system into only its massage elements, coining the term “Swedish Massage.” After Mezger trimmed the fluff and padding from Ling’s exercise regimen, it was much easier to see just how much of the massage techniques were borrowed from standard Asian traditions.

In this free educational video series, our massage expert Jinilee Reavis leads us through the basics of Swedish massage, including the four basic forms of Swedish massage, tips and suggestions for avoiding common mistakes, and explaining how massage benefits the body. Jinilee demonstrates as she speaks, giving us an eye witness vantage point from which to study her technique and learn about the art of Swedish massage. She also talks about using the techniques she demonstrates on full body massage, particularly for pregnant women.

Video Transcript

"Hello my name is Jinilee Reavis and I'm a massage therapist here at Veronika's Color Salon and Spa and I'm here on behalf of Expert Village. Hello today I'm going to show and explain the benefits of massage therapy. There are 4 different types of massage therapy one is relaxation massage. The second one is deep tissue massage, the third is stone massage and the forth is chair massage that I provide here at the salon. I'm using just a basic lotion, I prefer lotion over oil just for the fact that I'm able to group them to the muscle and really work the muscle out verses with oil it has a oily substance to it for the client and for my self so I'm not able to really work the muscles out into group it and afterwards the client is kind of oily, sticky and also my hands feel just a little weird also. So I prefer lotion and it is actually best for the client as well because they don't feel like that have to rush home and take a shower right afterwards. "