Elément

Because practicing Pilates demands from your body a deeper kind of workout,

brings you massage.

Massage is a form of care in itself, but, for a long time, due to its leisurely image, its great number of therapeutic virtues have been underestimated or even ignored.

After intense physical effort, massage allows, for example, the evacuation of toxins accumulated in muscles by encouraging the flow of oxygen into the blood. In case of injury, it helps heal damaged tissue.

Massage can also alleviate stress, erase muscular and nervous tension, regulate emotions, help you reach greater clarity of mind, enjoy a deeper sleep.

offers you a large range of massages (Swedish, hot stone, shiatsu) whether relaxing or energizing. They are done with the help of essential oils chosen according to your body's needs.

All our massages use Doux Me organic essential oils.

This type of massage, called " Swedish " in the USA and " Californian " in Europe, practiced with the use of essential oils, is both powerful and invigorating; its goal is to relax the muscles and the articulations.

Swedish massage involves brushing over, moulding, rubbing and hitting muscles through stimulating gestures done with the fingers, the palm and side of the hand, the fist or the elbow, in order to gently stretch all parts of the body.

Especially effective for untying the back and the neck, Swedish massage makes muscles firmer, stretches tendons and boosts vitality.

Shiatsu is an ancient massage of Chinese origin whose guiding principle is similar to that of acupuncture : action is exerted on all points of the body where our organs' " energy endings " are located.

Instead of using needles, shiatsu uses finger pressure on the acupuncture points located along twelve meridians to bring energy to those organs which need it or drain excess energy from others.

The most frequent method of shiatsu in the West is zen shiatsu, a school developped in Japan early in the 20th century which combines traditionnal oriental teachings with occidental medicine.

To identify parts of the body in need of help or the meridians on which work needs to be done, zen shiatsu uses the abdomen, the pulse, body temperature and certain zones' responsiveness as diagnostic tools.

Zen shiatsu operates deep down, it allows for the correction of imbalances before they become illnesses and proves very useful for treating digestive problems, hormonal imbalance, as well as boosting the overall tonicity of the bones and muscles.

Using the masseuse's hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet, this massage harmonizes the body's internal functions through the stimulation of external zones, the goal being the balance of the 4 functions: Earth (bones, muscles), Water (blood, secretions), Fire (digestion, metabolism), Air (breathing, blood circulation).

Working quickly and energetically on the body's reflex and pression points, Thai massage ("Southern Nuad Bo Rarn") helps to attain a feeling of unity through the fusion of mind and body.

The concept of the meridian is a key concept of Eastern medicine, present in some form in Tai Chi Shuan, Reiki and Shiatsu. Meridians are lines or sets of points located on the surface or inside the human body. Vital energy, named "Qi" in Chinese, circulates through these meridians which are connected to each other. Each meridian is somehow linked to a bodily function or organ.

Oil-based ayurvedic massage comes to us from traditionnal Indian medicine, which goes back hundreds if not thousands of years. This type of massage is especially adapted to the West because it preserves one's vitality and harmonizes all three levels (physical, mental and cosmic) through stimulation of the chakras. When activated, these energy centers boost the lymphatic system to act against stiffness, insomnia and depression.

It is practiced on the floor, either nude or in underwear.

Behind this massage is the idea that our life and environment influence our health. It helps prevent and better manage stress and lack of concentration.

Hot Stone massage is borrowed from the traditional cultures of North American Native tribes, it is an extremely gentle type of massage which is aimed, amongst others, at people who are extremely stressed-out or have difficulties with physical contact.

This massage is not done with a masseuse's hands but through the heat released by basaltic stones precisely positioned on muscles and on the body's different energy points according to principles close to those acunpuncture.

It is the heat of the basaltic stones, heated in a water bath at 60Â° C/ 150Â° F, which by penetrating the body slowly and deeply wipe out muscular and nervous tensions.