Massage in Indianapolis

When massage therapist with more than 30 years of experience Lolita Knight traveled to Fiji looking to soak up the sun and native culture, she wasn’t expecting to discover what would become the signature tool in her therapeutic arsenal. While living in a remote village on one of the nation’s smaller islands, however, Lolita had the good fortune of running into Simonis, a village doctor who had been healing sore muscles since the age of 7. A consummate giver, Simonis happily instructed Lolita in the methods that had been handed down to him across generations—methods that center on the feet and were unlike anything she had seen in her career.

Though her journey as a therapist has taken her to locales as far-flung as New Zealand, Lolita now devotes herself to the art of Fijian massage within the relaxing, tropical-themed confines of Islands Massage, which she founded in 2007. Fijian sarongs hanging from the walls and seashells scattered about evoke a distinctive island vibe as eclectic music wafts through the air. The soundtrack ranges "from Led Zeppelin to ocean sounds," says Lolita, who can find a kernel of relaxation in almost anything.

Aside from her specialty Fijian massage, in which she uses the pads of her feet and gravity to drive out tension, Lolita and her staff perform traditional table massages and healing sessions that utilize touch, such as Chinese acupressure facials and Indian head massage. To aid in relaxation, the therapists sometimes employ island-themed tools such as aqua heating pads or hurl coconuts at backs to break up clumps of tension.

Restore Inc. president Thomacine Haywood makes it her mission to share her expertise in reflexology, a therapy that manipulates pressure points in the foot that correspond with afflictions throughout the body. Approved as a continuing educator by the American Reflexology Certification Board and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, Haywood shares her knowledge with anyone from practicing professionals to individuals who want to start a new career or find safer ways to tickle their pet tiger's feet. Haywood also unties knotted musculature herself with services that include hot-stone massage, aromatherapy massage, and reflexology facials.

At Simply Serene Massage, certified massage therapist Leslie Carpenter dedicates herself to helping relaxation-seekers boost wellness and vanquish maladies through an array of massage techniques and holistic services. During a signature therapeutic massage, Leslie integrates relaxation and deep-tissue massage techniques with stretching to alleviate soreness, promote circulation, and help athletes recover from strenuous exercise. Her aromatherapy and raindrop massages incorporate essential oils to court olfactory glands and instill a sense of peace and relaxation only replicated by a nap with Buddha.

Muscles are in every person's body, and those muscles need occasional maintenance. That's where the fully licensed massage therapists at Massage Advantage come in. Pretreatment consultations tailor bodywork to the needs of each client and help to target particular areas of discomfort with techniques drawn from deep-tissue, Swedish, and trigger-point modalities. Patrons slip beneath warm sheets, clad according to their own comfort level or wearing clothes borrowed from an embarrassed-looking emperor.

Licensed massage therapist and reiki master Andrew Garde brings bodily energies into balance and harmony with custom massage sessions. Treatment can involve the relaxing strokes of Swedish massage or the deeper probing of deep-tissue or targeted therapeutic massage, urging muscles to release long-held tension and resentment at being picked last for dodge ball. Reiki sessions redirect and rebalance energy flow through light or no touch and visualization techniques.

Like any other licensed massage therapist, Sara Caldwell of Layflat Massage welcomes patrons into her second-story studio to ply their tense muscles with strokes from nearly 10 types of massage modalities. But unlike other therapists, she also goes mobile, traveling to clients' homes or offices to render similar services. Sara loves the challenge of massage and accommodates virtually any ailment with customized massages fit for body types ranging from expectant mothers to NFL football players and professional Statue of Liberty impersonators.