Visceral manipulation

Visceral manipulation

One form is Mayan abdominal massage which is practiced in many countries in Latin America. This type of massage was developed by Elijio Panti of Belize and brought to the United States by Rosita Arvigo. Even though Panti was a respected and well known user of Mayan massage, he did not develop this modality. "Mayan Massage" techniques have been used since before the spanish conquest and is still practiced today by many Sobadores or Hueseros.

Watsu

Watsu is the combination of hydrotherapy and shiatsu developed by Harold Dull. The work is done in skin temperature water with both the therapist and practitioner in the water, usually a pool which is between 3.5 ft to 4 ft (100–120 cm) deep. The work entails much movement in the water and practitioners believe that it incorporates the activation of the energy lines derived from shiatsu.

Meso-America

In Meso-America as in other areas of the world an indigenous form of soft tissue and structural work was devised. Today this art survives thanks to the many Sobadoras/es or Hueseros/as that have been handed these techniques via oral tradition. In the book "Wind in the Blood" there is an instance where a yucatec maya was treated by an illiterate sobador for a broken arm using the Meso-American techniques and when he was X-rayed months later the arm had only miniscule signs of damage.

Associated methods

Many types of practices are associated with massage and include Bodywork (alternative medicine), manual therapy, energy medicine, and breathwork. Other names for massage and related practices include hands-on work, body/somatic therapy, and somatic movement education. Body-mind integration techniques stress self-awareness and movement over physical manipulations by a practitioner. Therapies related to movement awareness/education are closer to Dance and movement therapies. Massage can also have connections with the New Age movement and alternative medicine as well as being used by mainstream medical practitioners.