When one thinks about massage, one imagines lying on a massage table for an hour or so, undressed but covered by a drape, and having the pleasing experience of being rubbed with massage oil by a professional therapist: head and neck, arms and hands, legs and feet, and, of course, your back. The best result of such a classic or Swedish massage is to feel relaxed all over, to be relieved of stress and to feel ready to take on the world. Classic massage falls into the broad category of soft tissue manipulation, but there are several other ways to work with your muscles and other soft tissues. These have goals other than making you feel temporarily good all over. Here is a laundry list of some of the more common approaches: deep tissue massage, sports massage, hot stone massage, trigger point, reflexology, craniosacral, zero balancing, Feldenkrais, acupressure, Alexander, Jin Shin Do, Thai massage, neuromuscular, polarity, reiki, Rolfing and even more. These are all effective techniques when applied in the context they address.