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Swedish Massage in Great Barrington

A Swedish massage is a good way to alleviate stress levels and help detoxify the body. The Swedish body massage improves circulation, skin tone and elasticity, boosts immunity and encourages better sleep. It has also been proven to be helpful in reducing pain and joint stiffness. 

The five basic strokes of Swedish massage are effleurage (sliding or gliding), petrissage (kneading), percussion (rhythmic tapping), friction (cross fiber) and vibration (shaking). These five strokes relax the muscles by applying pressure to areas of the body. 

Therapists use massage oils to facilitate effleurage, a series of circular massage strokes made with the palm of the hand to promote relaxation, ease muscle tension and warm up the muscle before deep tissue work using petrissage. Effleurage can be firm or light – do not hesitate to state your preference for pressure - and works as a pump on the body to encourage venous and lymphatic return. Petrissage are massage movements that include some deeper work - kneading, wringing, skin rolling, pick-up-and-squeeze and (sometimes) tapping - on areas of specific muscle tension, a session usually lasts for 60 minutes.