Championship category
Oil
The mainstream of Western table massage: oil as the medium, muscles and circulation as the target. Swedish massage is the trunk from which deep tissue, aromatherapy and lymphatic drainage branched.
Practices related to this category
Bali (Indonesia)
Balinese Massage
バリニーズマッサージPijat Bali
A name used for oil massage in Balinese spas and other settings, often combining long strokes, kneading and scent. Local everyday care and tourism-spa menus should not be treated as identical traditions.
Oil · Pressure · Herbal
Traditional massageSpa treatmentView →Kerala (India)
Ayurvedic Massage (Abhyanga)
アーユルヴェーダ・マッサージ（アビヤンガ）अभ्यङ्ग (Abhyaṅga)
Oil-based manual work within Ayurveda, involving the spreading of oil, stroking and kneading. Its role differs in household routines, specialist facilities and spas. Concepts such as dosha are presented as explanations within that tradition.
Oil · Herbal · Heat
Traditional healing systemView →Tibet
Ku Nye (Tibetan Massage)
クニェ（チベット伝統マッサージ）བསྐུ་མཉེ་ (bsku mnye)
Ku Nye is the manual therapy of Sowa Rigpa, Tibetan traditional medicine, in three stages: ku, anointing with warm medicated oil or butter; nye, kneading, pressure and joint movement; and chi, wiping the oil away with flour. Recorded in the Four Tantras (Gyud Zhi) compiled between the 8th and 12th centuries, it uses heated stones and herbal compresses alongside the hands, on a theory of balancing the three humours (lung, tripa, beken). It is taught today in Dharamsala, in Tibet and at schools in Europe.
Oil · Herbal · Stone · Heat
Traditional healing systemView →Hawaiʻi
Lomi Lomi (Hawaiian Massage)
ロミロミ（ハワイ伝統マッサージ）Lomilomi
A name for manual practices carried forward through families and communities in Hawaiʻi. Some use hands and forearms, with accounts emphasising aloha, place and relationships. Practice, including prayer and sequence, varies; a single spa form cannot stand for the whole tradition.
Oil · Breath · Stone · Abdomen
Traditional healing systemTraditional massageView →Turkey
Hammam (Turkish and Moroccan Bath Massage)
ハマム（トルコ式・モロッコ式浴場マッサージ）حمّام / Hamam
The hammam is the steam bath-house that developed in the Islamic world from the Roman and Byzantine public baths, and the sequence of body care performed there. In the Turkish form, the tellak (bath attendant) scrubs the skin with a coarse kese mitt and kneads the whole body in foam (köpük) on a heated marble platform (göbek taşı). The Moroccan form uses black soap (savon beldi), a kessa glove, ghassoul clay and argan oil. It carries both the religious meaning of purification and the role of a social gathering place.
Steam · Water · Heat · Tool
Traditional massageSpa treatmentView →Sweden
Swedish Massage
スウェディッシュマッサージKlassisk massage
Swedish, or classic, massage was systematised in Europe and spread through varied educational and spa settings. Terms such as effleurage and pétrissage describe gliding, kneading and friction. This vocabulary is not a universal framework for describing or judging every massage tradition.
Oil · Pressure · Percussion
Modern bodyworkClinical massageView →Denmark
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)
リンパドレナージュ（マニュアル・リンパ・ドレナージュ）Manuelle Lymphdrainage
Manual lymphatic drainage uses light movements of the skin and is taught in systems including the Vodder method. Clinical decisions should be distinguished from use of similar names on beauty menus. Suitability for a medical condition requires assessment by a qualified clinician.
Lymph
Clinical massageView →France
Aromatherapy Massage
アロマテラピーマッサージMassage aromathérapique
Massage combining manual techniques with preparations such as appropriately diluted essential oils. Training includes effleurage (gliding) and petrissage (kneading). Techniques and scent choices vary, with the recipient’s preferences respected.
Oil · Herbal · Lymph
Spa treatmentModern bodyworkView →Finland
Sports Massage
スポーツマッサージSports massage
An umbrella term for manual work in sport and activity settings. Touch and timing are discussed around training, events and the person’s preferences. The label does not guarantee better performance, injury prevention or faster recovery.
Pressure · Stretch · Fascia
Sports massageView →United States
Esalen Massage
エサレンマッサージEsalen® Massage
Esalen massage is a style of bodywork that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s at the Esalen Institute, founded in 1962 at Big Sur, California. On a foundation of Swedish strokes it emphasises long, slow strokes that treat the body as one whole, rocking, passive joint movement, and the practitioner's presence and synchrony with the receiver's breath. Shaped by the human potential movement, Gestalt therapy and Sensory Awareness, it aims at relaxation and a deepening of self-awareness.
Oil · Breath
Modern bodyworkSpa treatmentView →United States
Deep Tissue Massage
ディープティシューマッサージDeep tissue massage
A name for manual work that attends to muscle and fascia through slow movements and sustained contact. Explanations vary by school and practitioner. Deep does not mean a contest of strength or that enduring pain is desirable.
Pressure · Fascia · Elbow
Modern bodyworkClinical massageView →United States
Hot Stone Massage
ホットストーンマッサージStone therapy
A format using warmed smooth stones, held or placed during a session. Local traditions involving heated stones should be distinguished from modern spa systems. Temperature, skin condition and the recipient’s ability to sense heat require careful attention.
Stone · Heat · Oil
Spa treatmentView →Brazil
Body Shape Massage (Modelagem and Maderotherapy)
ボディシェイプ・マッサージ（モデラージェムとマデロテラピー）Massagem modeladora / Maderoterapia
An umbrella term used for manual work in appearance-related beauty settings. Examples include Brazilian modeladora and forms using wooden tools, but these are not one system. We do not judge body shapes or promise fat loss or lasting change; the person’s wishes and boundaries come first.
Oil · Wood · Tool · Lymph
Beauty massageView →
How it is judged
Competition scoring is separate from the value of a culture or practice. Check the official rules for each edition and category. This encyclopedia does not invent judging criteria or award advantages to particular traditions.