You probably know about the Thai massage, oil massage, and foot massage. But do you know about the bamboo massage? How about the candle massage? These and other unique massage styles are available on Koh Phangan. Read on to learn about them, their benefits, and where you can get them on the island!
A candle massage is the latest fad for healthy skin. It replaces oil with candle wax. The therapist lights the candle and applies the melted wax to your skin, massaging your muscles with the wax.
Candles are soothing elements, so their presence alone may help those with stress or anxiety. However, the candles used here are not your typical candle.
Massage candles combine a candle, massage oil, and moisturizer. They are organic and made from pure essential oils that provide aromatherapy benefits. For example, Lavella offers candles in jasmine and lavender. A jasmine candle massage helps with depression and sinuses, while a lavender one relieves headaches, hypertension, and sunburns.
In addition, candle massages can relax the mind, ease muscle tension, and help treat dry skin.
Wax heat can increase blood flow and circulation, aiding in healing. Better skin blood flow boosts skin radiance and eliminates beauty and skin issues. It may even reduce pregnancy stretch marks!
Bamboo massage uses heated bamboo instead of hands to roll and knead the tissue to provide Swedish or deep tissue massage. The therapist can knead deeper and firmer with bamboo than with their hands. The length and width of bamboo can vary for accurate gliding strokes.
Bamboo massage therapy is less common but rivals deep tissue and trigger point massages for health benefits. Bamboo massage may be able to reach knots in your joints, muscles, and ligaments that a deep tissue or trigger point massage missed.
Bamboo massage therapy uses deep tissue massage to reach lactic acid and other tension-causing knots. But the treatment can improve more than just mobility and pain.
Bamboo massage also improves skin. Bamboo extract contains silica, which helps your body absorb calcium, potassium, magnesium, and other essential minerals. In addition, bamboo's anti-irritant and antioxidant properties may help relieve psoriasis and eczema.
Additional physical and psychological benefits of a bamboo massage include improved joint stiffness, sleep quality, clarity of mind, and lymphatic drainage.
Furthermore, it promotes the release of endorphins which enhances your mood, hence why it is used to prevent everyday stress and relieve physical and emotional problems.
A hot stone massage uses heated heat-retaining basalt stones as an extension of the therapist's hands or on the body. The heat emanating from these smooth, flat volcanic stones relaxes tight muscles, allowing the therapist to work more deeply. It also heals damaged soft tissues.
Heat relieves muscle tension and pain. It also improves local blood flow. Thus, it may reduce muscle spasms and increase flexibility.
A hot stone massage promotes relaxation, reducing stress and anxiety.
Since a hot stone massage helps you relax, it can also help you sleep better. In fact, the massage could be an alternative to sleeping pills for adults with insomnia.
Hot stone massage relieves chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia.
Rheumatoid arthritis patients also may benefit from hot stone massage, according to other research. One month of massage therapy reduced pain, increased grip strength, and increased range of motion for the study participants.
A hot stone massage may boost immunity. And you can reap these benefits from just a single massage session. This is because arginine-vasopressin, a hormone that regulates blood pressure and water retention, decreases after the massage.
Bottom Line: Anyone with muscle tension, pain, stress, or insomnia can benefit from a hot stone massage.
Warmed, flat stones are placed at key points - energy centers - to rebalance the mind and body.
The same benefits apply to the foot massage as the full body massage.
According to Thai history, these magical balls with therapeutic benefits have been used as a medicinal hot compress to relieve aches and pains for hundreds of years. Buddhist monks first used this massage treatment in the 14th century to treat injured soldiers returning from battle.
The massage involves hot herbal compresses being pressed onto the body. The heat and moisture from the compress relax muscles and the mind.
It relieves muscle aches and tension, stimulates the lymphatic system and internal organs, and increases blood flow and circulation. How? The heat from the compresses loosens tight muscles and eases pain, while the herbs provide various benefits. Meanwhile, the herbs boost circulation and reduce inflammation; some promote relaxation and sleep.
The herbs' aroma alone can also help relax.
The herbal compress massage is an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, and astringent.
It can help with alignment and posture issues by easing tension.
It helps with fatigue by relieving stress.
This massage is traditional Thai medicine's favorite therapy (the herbal compress) combined with the pleasures of the classic Thai foot massage. This therapy is deeply warming. Hot herbal packs are pressed on nerve and energy pathways.
The same benefits apply to the foot massage as the full body massage.
Aromatherapy massage uses essential oils to relax, relieve stress, manage pain, and increase circulation. This version takes it a step further, using oil infused with 24-karat gold to improve skin microstructure, enhancing its complexion and texture.
This massage is an incredibly rejuvenating and relaxing experience that improves your mood and overall well-being.
The gold-infused oil is pressed and stroked over the body, so your skin absorbs it and reaps the benefits such as improved circulation, reduced anxiety and stress, and eased muscle tension.
The scents of the essential oils further help instill a feeling of tranquility.
Gold oil can brighten your complexion, making your skin look young and healthy. This is because it increases blood circulation, giving your face a glow.
Gold stimulates body cells and nerves, which improves blood circulation and skin cell metabolism, preventing premature aging.
Gold-infused oils or serums reduce acne because it is antibacterial. In addition, gold helps blemishes and other skin flaws.
Gold-infused oil treats sun damage like tanning and sunburn. In addition, gold oil can help lighten sun-darkened skin by reducing melanin production.
Gold-infused oil reduces collagen depletion while nourishing the skin. Thus, it hydrates and prevents sagging while firming and toning the skin.
Gold activates basal cells, increasing skin elasticity and reducing fine lines and wrinkles. It heals age-related damage, strengthens mature skin, and nourishes and hydrates it.
Regular treatments can reduce dark spots and even skin tone. In addition, it reduces melanin production, lightening the complexion for radiant skin.
This massage uses heated, aroma-rich plant oils to relax, comfort, and relieve stress. Hot aromatherapy is fantastic for relieving pain or pampering yourself.
Hot oil heals skin. The heat opens pores, helping the body absorb the oil's potent compounds.
Hot aromatherapy oil massage relieves headaches and muscle pain. In addition, the hot oil can ease muscle tension, improve circulation and flexibility, and calm anxiety. Meanwhile, the scent of essential oils can boost mood and promote well-being. Lavella offers lavender, jasmine rice milk, almond, lemongrass, and lotus.
Indian head massage focuses on relaxing the head, face, neck, and shoulders. In so doing, they can relieve fatigue, insomnia, headaches, and sinusitis. Furthermore, the deeply relaxing experience boosts energy, and concentration, leaving you revitalized and focused.
It promotes hair growth. Massage increases nourishment and oxygen to the hair follicle, stimulating hair growth. In addition, kneading the head during a massage opens the scalp's blood vessels and improves the absorption of healing compounds in the massage oils.
It stimulates lymphatic drainage and circulation, bringing cells new nutrients and oxygen. Thus, an Indian head massage can be used to treat facial swelling after bruising, fracture, or surgery.
It helps to relieve migraines. Mid-back, neck, and head tension can cause headaches and migraines. Thus, the masseuse will massage the mid-back, shoulders, and arms to reduce muscle tension and the neck and head to reduce headache-causing blockages.
The Indian head massage is a sleep aid and fatigue fighter. Its relaxation and stress relieving effects improve sleep quality.
It boosts your memory. Our brains are overloaded with disorganized thoughts, making it hard to 'log' and collect those thoughts and occurrences. Indian Head Massage slows us down, increases sensual awareness, and quiets our thoughts.
It recharges energy levels. An Indian Head Massage uses the Ayurvedic concept of balance beyond healing. The masseuse will work on the chakras to balance the body's energy.
Head massages increase brain oxygen, which reduces anxiety and elevates mood, reducing depression too. Exercise and oxygen both boost creative thinking. Therefore, this massage can also improve creativity.
Balinese Massage involves locating pressure points along the body's meridian lines through kneading and manipulating soft tissue. Skin rolling, gentle stretches, stroking, and kneading stimulates blood, lymph, and energy flow. Thus, this massage can prevent sports injuries, treat existing injuries, improve performance, free the body of toxins, and reduce stress.
This massage type stretches muscles, relieving your body and joint pain.
Balinese massages use essential oils to support skin health, especially against dryness.
It boosts blood circulation by using upward pressure point strokes.
It improves sleep. Proper blood circulation helps the brain function and fixes sleep problems.
Balinese massage, like all massages, helps relieve stress. In doing so, it boosts energy.
It improves immunity through the use of special massage oils and pressure points.
The Swedish massage isn't necessarily new to those coming from the western world, but it is a less common massage in Thailand. It's a core massage technique that led to other forms. The masseuse uses friction, kneading, and gliding strokes to target muscles and relaxes the body and mind.
This massage increases circulation and metabolism and releases muscle tension.
Swedish massage can help manage chronic pain from conditions like arthritis. Tell your massage therapist your pain points so they can target them and reduce muscle tension.
Stress from being overworked causes muscle tension and pain, and anxiety. The Swedish massage relieves this stress by calming the nervous system and relaxing muscles.
The Swedish massage increases range of motion and flexibility by stretching. Thus, it can ease movement, elongate muscles, open and lubricate joints, and reduce swelling.
Since it increases circulation and reduces stress, it can boost energy.
It improves posture. Swedish Massage helps ease the muscular holding that underlies postural imbalances caused by overworked muscles, overcompensating muscles, prolonged sitting, or injury.
It increases blood flow. This massage dilates blood vessels and widens membrane pores, improving blood flow to muscles and organs.
It promotes endorphin release, which improves mood. Studies show that massage recipients have elevated levels of dopamine and serotonin following a massage, resulting in an enhanced feeling of emotional well-being.
Pain can increase mental stress, and environmental stress can manifest in muscles. Resultantly, this stress can cause immune deficiency. Thus, a Swedish massage supports a healthy immune system by promoting relaxation and reducing body tension.
This massage increase serotonin levels, so you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
It also relieves headaches by improving circulation and reducing tension.
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