Yomassage
What is Yomassage?
Yomassage is a transformative mind-body experience that allows you to relax in restorative yoga positions while receiving hands-on massage therapy and practicing mindfulness meditation - all in a single 90 minute session.
Yomassage sessions are only open to 5 people per session, allowing your therapist to customize the session to meet your specific needs. This is the perfect experience to add to your self-care regime, or to indulge in with a friend or loved one.
The only requirement for Yomassage is that you need is the ability to get up and down off of the mat. You don’t need to be “flexible” or have yoga experience. You also don’t need to have a regular meditation practice or get frequent massages. Yomassage is for everyone! And we want everyone to feel 100% welcome and comfortable when they are experiencing a Yomassage session.
The combination of these 3 proven healing modalities - restorative stretch, mindfulness meditation, and therapeutic massage - create an opportunity for a deep state of relaxation and union of the mind-body connection in each Yomassage session.
What are the benefits of Yomassage?
Release muscle tension like in a regular massage.
Get deeper into the connective tissues without accessing pain receptors.
Activate more sensory receptors than in a normal massage because of the addition of restorative stretch.
Empower the client to continuously release tension during and after the session.
Relax and release earlier in the session than in regular massage because of the inclusion of breath and mindfulness exercises in the beginning of the session, as well as during and at the end of the session.
Maintain a deeper state of relaxation throughout the session with the balance of restorative stretch, therapeutic massage, and breath and mindfulness exercises.
Ability to maintain a balanced nervous system after the session.
Yomassage FAQs
What are the requirements to attend a yomassage session?
NONE! All you need is the ability to get up and down off of the mat. You don’t need to be “flexible” or have yoga experience. You don’t need to have a regular meditation practice or get frequent massages. Yomassage is for everyone! And we want everyone to feel 100% welcome and comfortable when they are experiencing a Yomassage session.
A few things to know:
You don’t need to bring ANY props! We will have everything set up for you.
Please arrive 10 minutes before the session starts. We need to look over your intake form and make sure everyone is settled so we can start on time.
Wear comfortable clothing. Yoga pants, comfy sweatpants, and a t-shirt or tank are always a good choice.
How often should I book a Yomassage session?
Research shows that we start to see a positive impact when we receive 10-15 minutes of safe touch each day! Try to book a Yomassage session at least once a month and try to be intentional about incorporating safe and positive touch into your daily life to help improve your sleep, feelings of connectedness, and mental health.
Why do we crave therapeutic touch?
We all know that after a massage we feel better… but why? Why do we look forward to the yoga instructor’s adjustments or light touch at the end of class, or feel better after receiving a hug?
Research shows the right kind of touch can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels, stimulate the hippocampus (an area of the brain that is central to memory), and drive the release of a host of hormones and neuropeptides that have been linked to positive and uplifting emotions. The physical effects of touch are far-reaching. To sum it up:
Touch is essential to the human experience.
Touch can impact anxiety, depression, stress, and the nervous system.
Infants can have developmental delays associated with touch deprivation.
Massage decreases symptoms of PTSD among military veterans.
Touch trains neural pathways – safe, therapeutic touch re-trains the brain to predict safe interactions.
While yoga has been shown to be extremely beneficial for both the physical body and emotions, adding the powerful element of touch has the potential to exponentially increase positive effects for the mind and body.
Meditation can be hard…
But it doesn’t have to be. There are so many positive benefits of incorporating mindfulness and meditation into your routine. But it’s easier said than done. In our Yomassage sessions we take a beginners approach to mindfulness and meditation. Through guided breathwork and themed meditation prompts, you will forget you are meditating as you enter into a deeper state of relaxation.
What is restorative stretch?
Yomassage positions are inspired by restorative yoga. In restorative yoga, you relax in gentle, restorative stretches supported by props that allow you to slowly lengthen muscles and get into the deep connective tissue over 8-15 minutes.
Gentle stretching is similar to massage in that it increases dopamine (the happiness hormone) while decreasing cortisol (the stress hormone) and the body's stress response.
The restorative positions we use in Yomassage are accessible to everyone who can get up and down off of the mat. You don’t need to be “flexible” at all or have any prior yoga experience to enjoy and benefit from Yomassage.