Have you ever wondered how you, as a client, can get more from your massage session? Have you ever wondered why your clients keep coming back for the same ailments? One of the causes could be a lack of body awareness.
Our medical society is relied upon to tell us what is wrong with our bodies, rather than allowing our inner senses to tell us when something is wrong. The maxim, "If it hurts, don't do it" is simply not an option. To whit, the athletes that compete and win in events such as Ironman Triathlon, Iditarod, and the Tour de France just to name a few. These individuals push their bodies to the extreme. In order to do this, a person must be well versed in the use and care of their body.
By reflecting on the aches and pains that nag us, we are able to stave off further injury down the road. By asking a client to make a before and after assessment of their body, I am opening the door for them to find words for their sensations. If they are able to make the connections about what changes have happened on the table, then they will have greater access to the changes off the table.
Whenever a client presents to me with a specific problem, I ask for a great deal of feedback. I want to know how their body is responding to the work and I want them to follow the internal changes that are occurring over the course of the session. While the changes may seem more profound if they get to explore only at the end of the session, the client loses out on the process of change. This process allows them to connect their issue to their life (That reminds me of when I ...) and their experience beyond that of the table.
Your clients may just surprise you if you offer them these chances on your table.
Showing posts with label somatics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label somatics. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Cross-pollination of principles, continued
Further reading of Thomas Hanna's "The Body of Life" has proven to be very enlightening and is sparking further interest in his form of work. At the Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training they offer more information how to study his work. Additionally, a colleague of mine is acquainted with a local instructor who was one of Hanna's early students.
In the descriptions of Hanna's work, one common theme that I have noticed is the gentleness and directness by which he describes the sessions.
This story reminds me very much of Lawrence Jones', D.O. discovery of positional release, which he developed into Strain-Counterstrain. When a long-time patient of Jones' arrived at the office with a bilateral psoas contraction on a busy day, Jones had little time to spare for the man who professed that the pain was so severe that he was having great difficulty sleeping. Jones took the time to find a comfortable position for the man, propped up on his back, knees up. Once in this position of comfort, the man fell asleep. Upon waking later, the man found that his contractions had released and his pain was dramatically improved.
Jones was intelligent enough to pursue the rationale for this event and discovered that he could release tight muscles and bring spinal misalignments back into place by placing the patient into a position of comfort.
Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O. studied with Jones briefly and built upon Jones' work, eventually creating Ortho-Bionomy. Arthur continued to teach Ortho-Bionomy in the US, Europe and Australia until his death in 1997. His work is very alive in the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International.
In the descriptions of Hanna's work, one common theme that I have noticed is the gentleness and directness by which he describes the sessions.
"Having him lie down on his side, I proceeded to press on his vertebrae, making
comfortable movements [in the direction of least tension]...After twenty minutes
of movements designed to release the extensor muscles on the sides of his lower
spine, Richard was sound asleep."
This story reminds me very much of Lawrence Jones', D.O. discovery of positional release, which he developed into Strain-Counterstrain. When a long-time patient of Jones' arrived at the office with a bilateral psoas contraction on a busy day, Jones had little time to spare for the man who professed that the pain was so severe that he was having great difficulty sleeping. Jones took the time to find a comfortable position for the man, propped up on his back, knees up. Once in this position of comfort, the man fell asleep. Upon waking later, the man found that his contractions had released and his pain was dramatically improved.
Jones was intelligent enough to pursue the rationale for this event and discovered that he could release tight muscles and bring spinal misalignments back into place by placing the patient into a position of comfort.
Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O. studied with Jones briefly and built upon Jones' work, eventually creating Ortho-Bionomy. Arthur continued to teach Ortho-Bionomy in the US, Europe and Australia until his death in 1997. His work is very alive in the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Posture and the cross-pollination of principles
Several years ago, I purchased Thomas Hanna's books "Somatics" and "The Body of Life: Creating new pathways for sensory awareness and fluid movement" and I am just now having a chance to look at The Body of Life". One of the things that I found that is so similar to my training in Ortho-Bionomy(R). "When muscle are painfully contracted involuntarily, the last thing one should do is to attempt to pull the muscles and force them to release and lengthen; they will not do so. If one forces the muscle to lengthen, the immediate result is pain and increased involuntary contraction of the muscle."
Much of what my clients seem to expect is a treatment will be painful and will be forceful. However, according to Hanna and the teachings of Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O., this is the worst thing that can be done. Instead, as Hanna continues, "I did not try to correct this curvature, but, instead did the reserve. I lightly encouraged the curvature of the low back by softly pressing down on it... As soon at I began doing the work of these muscles for them, a curious thing automatically occurred: They began to relax, because they had no work to do; it was being done for them, so their program of contraction became superfluous."
I look forward to exploring this topic further and seeing what else Hanna has to say. This "unwinding" or "moving into ease" is so pivotal to how I work and what I see as effective bodywork for the resolution of issues instead of a sensation in a given area.
Much of what my clients seem to expect is a treatment will be painful and will be forceful. However, according to Hanna and the teachings of Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O., this is the worst thing that can be done. Instead, as Hanna continues, "I did not try to correct this curvature, but, instead did the reserve. I lightly encouraged the curvature of the low back by softly pressing down on it... As soon at I began doing the work of these muscles for them, a curious thing automatically occurred: They began to relax, because they had no work to do; it was being done for them, so their program of contraction became superfluous."
I look forward to exploring this topic further and seeing what else Hanna has to say. This "unwinding" or "moving into ease" is so pivotal to how I work and what I see as effective bodywork for the resolution of issues instead of a sensation in a given area.
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