Majestic Massage & Day Spa

In soothing rooms with warm wood accents, clients arrive at Majestic Massage for a roster of stress-relieving services. While sessions can include facials, waxing, and other body treatments, the therapeutic massage sessions are their signature service. Here’s a sampling of the types of massage you’ll choose from:

Lomi Lomi Massage

In Hawaiian, lomi lomi has several meanings, to knead, but also to shift as a result of healing. This restorative technique has the therapist use not just the hands, but the forearms, elbows, sometimes even feet, in long, yet strong strokes to ease tension.

Hot Stone Massage

Volcanic stones are used in this spa’s iteration of hot stone massage. Once heated, they’re used to aid to unwind tight muscles in traditional massage strokes.

Thai Herbal Compress

In these sessions, the therapist eases pain with steamed compresses made from healing herbs wrapped in muslin. Fragrant and potent, these herbs are known to decrease inflammation and reduce muscle aches.

Types of Massage

To help clear up any confusion when you’re looking at a menu of massage options, here’s a rundown of the most popular modalities.

Swedish Massage

Characterized by long, gliding strokes and gentle pressure, this modality is meant to relieve superficial muscle tension. It’s best for those new to massage or sensitive to deeper pressure.

Deep Tissue Massage

For this method, therapists use firmer and stronger pressure to try to reach tension in the deeper layers of muscle. If you’ve got chronic tension, try this technique.

Trigger Point Massage

If you’ve got pain that radiates from specific areas, this modality might be the one for you. The strokes will, like deep tissue massage, aim for below-surface tension, and can help with issues such as sciatica.

Thai (or Yoga) Massage

Some call this “lazy man’s yoga” because the therapist also guides the client’s body into deep stretches, often using not just the hands, but elbows and feet. You’ll definitely get closer to your therapist, but you’ll be fully clothed while it happens.

For more information on other types of massage, click here.

Tao Massage Therapy & Bodywork Spa

Here, the decor is simple: plain white walls and minimal art on the walls, a leafy green plant placed here or there. This leaves the focus on the bodywork, which is calibrated for every client to ease aches and pains. To this end, for this spa’s signature massage, the therapists draw together tui na (also known as acupressure massage) with Western techniques, while an ashiatsu massage has therapists using their feet to relieve especially stubborn tension.

What Is Ashiatsu Massage?

Today’s ashiatsu massage is better known as ashiatsu oriental bar therapy. It’s based on an ancient form of massage rooted in Asia and adapted for Western massage sessions.

If you’re in an ashiatsu massage room, look up; you’ll see two bars hanging from and parallel to the ceiling. It’s with these bars that therapists keep themselves balanced as they use their feet to target muscle tension. The bars also help the therapist control how much pressure and weight they’re using—so their whole body weight isn’t pressing down on the client.

While this is beneficial for the client, especially in cases of chronic tension and pinched nerves, it’s also easier on the therapist’s hands and back.

For more on ashiatsu massage, click here.

Adam & Eve Day Spa

You should definitely make a reservation before visiting Adam & Eve Day Spa—they’re often so busy they can’t take walk-in clients for its services, including massage. North Myrtle Beach has been this spa’s home for over 15 years, where it’s pampered clients with facials, body scrubs, and of course, luxurious massage sessions. Best of all, massages can be packaged with other equally relaxing treatments, such as reflexology, invigorating body scrubs, and soothing seaweed wraps.

Hot Stone Massage, Explained

You’ve seen the photos: a spa-goer lying facedown on a massage table, blissful smile on the face, and on the back, an artfully arranged row of shiny black stones. But just what is the power behind those stones?

What Is Hot Stone Massage?

While a massage can certainly be stress-reducing, sometimes the therapist’s hands aren’t enough to ease the pain. This is where the stones come in with an assist. They’re typically smooth black basalt or river rocks heated to a tension-easing temperature.

How Are the Stones Used?

Placed strategically along muscle groups, the heat starts to melt away pain. Even better, therapists will rub them into and across muscles as they work. They can even be used (at a lower temperature) during facial massages.