If you are a woman, you may have already found that traditional massage and manual therapy often avoid your sternum, pectoral fascia, and upper midriff. In other words – the areas that surround your breasts.  There seem to be many reasons for this: cultural discomfort and to keep treatments ‘legally safe’. Still today, as I write this in 2026, entire countries allow so-called ‘chest work’ only for medical professionals – not therapists. Others forbid it completely. 

Why is this important? 

It is important because it simply means that if you’re a woman you still cannot always receive the personalised, consented, and safe bodywork treatments that are informed by your personal choice and your therapeutic necessity. In reality, you, as a woman, are therefore more likely to receive incomplete bodywork treatments, even though the fascial lines, lymphatic pathways, and respiratory mechanics are the same in your body as that of a male’s. Because of your gender, such constraining regulations and laws prevent therapists from seeing you as a full-functioning human being. 

With the introduction of our Thoracic Sessions, we at Advaya always aimed to challenge this double standard. By normalising your female breasts as a natural, functional, and treatable part of your body – not an obstacle, not a taboo, and not a region to be avoided – we believe to have successfully created a therapeutic environment where your thorax can finally be treated as the integrated structure it truly is – irrespective your gender.

“We believe that your breasts should not be an obstacle to receiving the same deep, powerful, and typically effective thoracic treatments men receive…”

Consequently, since we launched our initial Thoracic Treatments almost a decade ago, more and more women booked these, knowing that these sessions didn’t just merely worked around their anatomy.

As with all of our bodywork treatments, our Thoracic sessions rest firmly on three pillars: safety, consent, and clarity.

Before sessions we explain exactly why access to your sternum and midline matters – how your pectoral fascia influences your shoulder mechanics, how your diaphragm attaches to your lower sternum, and how your lymphatic drainage depends on unobstructed pathways across your chest. When sessions start, we want you to feel empowered rather than exposed. When you learn that you stay protected and in control throughout these sessions, your nervous system will relax. This allows our work to reach deeper layers of your tension and restriction.

Over the last ten years, our therapeutic transparency has helped many women – like you – reclaim a part of their body that is often medicalised, sexualised, or hidden. In our treatment room, your breasts simply are anatomy and an intrinsic part of who you are entirely – worthy of care, normalisation, proper and professional attention, and therapeutic respect. The philosophy is simple: your chest – and breasts – is not more or less important than any other part of your physique. That shift in perspective alone has been profoundly healing for countless of our female clients for more than a decade.

By offering identical myofascial and lymphatic techniques to all genders, we reinforce the principle that effective treatment should not depend on sex-based assumptions.

Men and women alike benefit from direct sternum work, diaphragm release, and pectoral fascial softening. When women receive the same access, they experience the same transformative results: deeper breath, freer ribs, improved posture, reduced neck and shoulder tension, and a calmer nervous system.

Word of mouth has amplified this impact. Clients describe feeling “finally treated as a whole person,” “able to breathe again,” or “more open through the chest than ever before.” These experiences have made the Thoracic Treatment our most requested session – not because it is novel, but because it is complete.

In normalising your female chest as a treatable region, we at Advaya believe that by improving therapeutic outcomes for more than a decade, for both males and females, we have not just helped reshape expectations of what respectful, effective bodywork can be – but should be.

All Thoracic Release sessions start with Level I, which is the gentlest of the three. Starting with gentle manipulation of your neck and shoulder tissues, this treatment then focuses on releasing the tissues and muscles that are structurally significant to your ribcage, specifically the two large Pectoralis Major muscles, which span between your midriff (Sternum) and outer shoulders. If you are a woman, your breasts lay on top of these muscles.

For Level I treatments we work along your collarbones toward your shoulders to gently releases these muscles. During these sessions you stay fully draped and covered, with only your shoulders exposed. Once released on both sides we may then apply gentle pressures on your lower ribs, synchronized with your breath, to release the entire front of your Thorax.

For any Thoracic Release treatments we will ask you to remove your upper clothing and bra. Most clients prefer to dress down to lower underwear only. However, you may keep lower body apparel on if this keeps you comfortable. Note that you will stay properly draped and covered throughout the entire treatment, excluding your shoulders.

Thoracic Level II Release sessions build onto Level I treatments to give you deeper Thoracic release experiences. Level II sessions follow the same technique patterns as applied for Level I treatments but include release work across your midriff (Sternum), between your breasts. To ensure you stay safe and comfortable we will work on this area through a sheet, which will keep you covered for the duration of the treatment. Note that this work will be performed around your breasts – not on them.

Myofascial release on your pectoralis region – particularly the delicate space between your breasts – and your broader thoracic cage can create a surprisingly wide range of sensations and after‑effects. This area is both structurally significant and emotionally expressive, so when its fascial layers begin to soften you may notice shifts that feel physical, energetic and – typically – deeply personal.

Of course, working between your breasts requires particular sensitivity. The tissue here is thin, richly innervated, and closely connected to the superficial fascia that wraps around your entire thorax. Gentle, sustained pressure can create a ripple effect through your ribcage, collarbones, and even into your upper abdomen. After your Level II sessions you may immediately notice an improved posture, a lighter feeling in your chest, or a sense of openness that makes your breathing and movement feel more natural. You may also feel tingling or warmth as your circulation and lymphatic flow improve.

Level II sessions are designed to amplify and deepen the effects of Level I treatments, provided they are both performed within twelve days.

Note that Level II sessions cannot be selected from our online booking system – only in consultation with your therapist, after the completion of a Thoracic Release Level I session.

The Thoracic Level III Release sessions build onto Level II treatments to give you even deeper Thoracic release experiences. Again, Level III sessions follow the same technique patterns as applied for Level I treatments but include on-skin release work between your breasts. For this work you will need to be comfortable with the exposure of your breasts. As with the other treatment levels, this work will be performed around your breasts – not on them.

Myofascial release along your sternum and upper midriff is most effective when we can work directly with the natural lines of your fascia. This is best achieved best when we can work directly onto your uncovered tissues. When this treatment is performed with your full consent, clear boundaries, and in our safe and protected environment, gentle exposure of your breasts can meaningfully and significantly deepen the therapeutic effects of your sessions.

This is not because your breasts themselves are being treated but because removing physical barriers allows us to access your sternum, costal cartilage, and upper abdominal fascia with uninterrupted, continuous contact.

Your sternum is a central structural anchor for your ribcage. It connects to your pectoral fascia, your diaphragm, and the superficial front line of your body. Clothing or undergarments that sit across your chest can restrict our ability to follow these fascial pathways with the slow, sustained pressure that myofascial release requires. When this area is respectfully and meaningfully uncovered, we can work with precision and fluidity, allowing your tissues to soften more completely. You may hold unconscious guarding across the front of your chest, especially around your sternum, and uninterrupted access to this critical area of your body can support your nervous system significantly.

Our informed, respectful, and professional approaches to these very powerful sessions are always preceded by clear explanations to inform you precisely how each will be performed. Keeping these sessions predictable and safe is respectful to you. It also helps us activate your parasympathetic nervous system, allowing your breath to deepen and your diaphragm to release.

Your diaphragm’s attachments to your sternum and upper abdomen mean that direct, unobstructed work along the midline can create a more profound shift in your breathing’s mechanics. Clients who experienced this treatment often notice profound postural improvements, a distinct widening of their ribcage, a sense of internal spaciousness, and an easier and more satisfying breath.

Level III sessions cannot be selected from our online booking system – only in consultation with your therapist, after the completion of a Thoracic Release Level II session.