A simple dictionary of massage

• Aromatherapy: Uses aromatic plant essences ("essential oils"), often mixed with the base massage oil, to create a variety of pleasing moods and other specific intended effects.
• Ayurvedic: Gentle surface massage aimed at calming the nerves and stimulating blood flow.
• Chair: A massage where you sit fully-clothed in a specially designed, portable chair.
• CMT: Certified massage therapist.
• Cranio-Sacral: A technique used to find and correct cerebral and spinal "imbalances" or "blockages".
• Deep tissue: Slow strokes and heavy finger pressure applied to areas of chronic tension.
• Effleurage: A two-handed Swedish-massage technique using a smooth, gliding stroke to relax soft tissue.
• Esalen: Like Swedish massage, it is focused on the muscles of the body but usually involves long, lengthening strokes, stretching, and rocking.
• Four-handed: Two massage therapists working on one individual at the same time.
• Full-body: Back, arms, legs, feet, hands, head, neck and shoulders.  It can also include your buttock muscles and abdomen if you wish.  Most practitioners stop there, but others may go further as may be appropriate with client's consent.
• Hakomi: Body-mind awareness and touch are used to explore the body as a deep source of information, empowering the client to change attitudes.
• Hellerwork: A series of sessions involving gentle deep-tissue techniques with the intent to restore the body's natural balance and posture.
• Healing Touch: Any form of "touch" intended in some capacity to heal and/or promote health and well-being.  Although many people assume the word "touch" means physical touch, physical touch is only one of many possible forms of touch.  Though many healing touch practitioners may use physical touch, not all do or it might not be the focus or main approach of their practice.
• Hydrotherapy: An intense massage performed while the body is suspended in water to lessen the pain and discomfort of the deep pressure.
• Incall: A massage performed at the provider's location.  Compare with outcall.
• LMT: Licensed massage therapist.
• Lymphatic: Gentle pumping and light raking to drain pockets of water retention and release toxins trapped in lymph nodes.
• Myofascial release: Uses long, stretching strokes to release muscular tension.
• Myotherapy: see "Trigger Point".
• Neuromuscular: see "Trigger Point".
• Outcall: A massage performed at your location rather than at the provider's location.  Compare with incall.
• Petrissage: Squeezing, rolling and kneading.  A Swedish method that usually follows effleurage.
• Reflexology: Stimulation of points on the hands and feet that are thought to correspond to other areas of the body.
• Reiki: A "natural healing" technique for stress reduction and relaxation in which the therapist simply places his/her hands on the client's body at various points.
• RMT: Registered massage therapist.
• Rolfing: Uses pressure, varying from surface to deep, to break down abnormal connective tissue formed as the result of defective posture and induce realignment of the body along its vertical plane.
• Rosen method: Tender touch coupled with verbal communication to help release suppressed emotions as well as muscle tension.
• Seated: see "Chair".
• Shiatsu: An ancient Japanese healing art incorporating gentle manipulation, stretches and pressure techniques with a pattern of finger-thumb-palm movements along acupressure points, done without use of oils, to balance the flow of "chi", or vital energy.
• Sports massage: Focuses on the use of massage to assist training, prevent injury, reduce recovery time and aid healing in cases of soreness or injury.  Typically of Swedish style, and popular among both professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts.  More brisk and rigorous than a full-body massage, a sports massage is adjusted to meet the demands of the athlete's body before and/or after a workout or competition.
• Stone therapy: The application of smooth, heated rocks.
• Swedish: A system of long strokes, kneading and friction on the surface layer of muscles.  Also involves movement of the joints.  The most common form of Western massage.
• Tantric: A tantric massage focuses on what are described to be the 7 "chakras" (Sanskrit for "wheel"), specifically: (1) the root (base of spine), (2) sacral (abdomen, genitals, lower back, hips), (3) solar plexus (just below the ribs), (4) heart (chest area), (5) throat, (6) brow and (7) crown (top of head).
• Tapotement: Executed with cupped hands, fingers or the edge of the hand with short, alternating taps to the client
• Thai: Called "yoga in action," Thai massage uses not only the fingers, but the thumbs, palms, elbows, knees and feet as well in a series of stretches assisted by the therapist.
• Trager: Gentle cradling, jiggling, rocking and stretching of the body to promote feelings of lightness, effortlessness and well-being.
• Trigger Point: A therapy using concentrated finger pressure to painful areas in muscles called "trigger points".

Some other words people have inquired about:

"Bodywork" vs "Massage": For simplicity, the word "massage" is often used to refer to all aspects of massage and bodywork.  "Massage" itself commonly (but not always) means something along the lines of application of pressure, friction or strain (as by rubbing, stroking, kneading, tapping, compression, vibration, rocking or other methods) with the hands or other instruments to manipulate the muscles, joints and/or other tissues of the body for therapeutic, holistic, or yes, even affectionate physical, emotional and/or mental responses.  On the other hand, the dictionary reports "bodywork" as meaning "therapeutic touching or manipulation of the body by using specialized techniques".  As such, the term "bodywork" might refer to specialized methods, therapies or techniques (e.g., Shiatsu, Rolfing, Trager, Reflexology, Reiki, etc.) that might be used alone for their own purposes or combined with massage.

The terms "massage" and "bodywork" as used by various providers may also have other broader or more specialized meanings that might include yoga, exercise, relaxation and/or other methods, therapies and/or techniques for promoting physical, emotional, mental/intellectual, social, recreational and/or spiritual well-being.

One-On-One: One provider in a session with one client is an example of "one-on-one".  A four-handed massage which uses two providers simultaneously working on the same client may or may not be be called "one-on-one", but most such providers also offer their services "one-on-one" too.

Physical: With most (but not all) massage and bodywork, the provider makes physical contact with your physical body.  There may also be some providers who work on or interact with your physical body but only indirectly using "energy" or "spirit".  And there may be yet other providers whose focus is not on your physical body at all but instead on some other level or dimension of your person, perhaps purely energetically or spiritually, or mentally, emotionally, artistically, etc.

NOTE: People use words differently, and we do not speak on behalf of any provider.  If the meaning of words is important to you, you might always ask the provider to be sure.