SECRETS OF STRENGTH

What is Bodywork?

    

Bodywork is a term ascribed to any combination of manual therapy, massage therapy and physical therapy techniques. Body-workers use this description to differentiate their work from spa massages, which are generally for the sole purpose of relaxation and whose therapeutic value is typically limited. In its most prime function bodywork spreads awareness of tension, imbalances, and blockages. By bringing attention to them we create an opportunity for change within the tissue. Every body-worker is different depending on the training and experience they have as well as their innate talents. My personal approach is about working with the body and its innate desire to be whole. All the power to heal is already inside of you, and as a practitioner help facilitate states of receptivity and stillness while encouraging your body towards greater alignment and mobility.

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The modalities I draw upon in my work are; Esalen massage, Trigger Point therapy, Myofascial release, Structural integration (Rolfing), ART (Active Release Technique), MAT (Muscle Activation Technique), Active Isolated stretching, Craniosacral therapy, Thai Massage, Shiatsu, Reiki, IET (Integrative Energy Therapy). All these techniques meld into my own personal style of intuitive healing work.

 

                                       "There's different strokes for different folks."

           

Every "body" is different and because of this there is no one style of massage that is effective on everyone. People have different needs, different sensitivities, varying pain thresholds and unique relationships to being touched. It's my goal to find the most effective way to engage your tissues, relax your nervous system, encourage receptivity and affect changes in the structure of your body.  
     

I generally approach my sessions with one of two goals in mind: Systemic De-stressing, or a Focused Area Treatment. Systemic De-stressing is necessary for everyone.  We all accumulate stress from a myriad of places and today there are more things to think about than ever before.  Not all stress is bad- short burst of intense emotional or physical conditions followed by calm and relaxation nourish the system by releasing floods of endorphin and strengthening the endocrine system.  Imagine the thrill of narrowly escaping a hungry tiger's pursuit... phew! This is the sort of stress all animals live with. Though intense it helps the animal adapt and grow.  Modern stresses are nothing like this however. Today it's financial woes, bills, ceaseless digital communications, relationship troubles, societal expectations, diet induced stress, intense or prolonged physical exertion and sleep deprivation. The list could go on but you get the point. This sort of stress is like a drought or famine, which continues relentlessly breaking you down piece by piece until there isn't any will left to go on. Unchecked, stress tightens muscles, raises blood pressure, suppresses the breath and leaves us susceptible to injuries, illness, and negative attitudes. Sound familiar? Needless to say this type of stress is undesirable. Bodywork can dial back the stress-o-meter greatly in your life by opening the flood gates of stored emotions within the tissues and creating an opportunity to express them physically either through movement, sound or breathing. This can make all of the challenges seem more manageable and perhaps even enjoyable. Like having a weight lifted from your shoulders.  The lightness you will experience from my work is physical as well as emotional, experiencing your body moving more fluidly and without restrictions will encourage a positive attitude toward your body and movement practice. Having a regular Systemic De-stressing bodywork session is a great way to keep your mind, body and emotions in check.
       

With Focused Area Treatments I leave no stone un-turned, imagining that I'm taking apart a structure and putting it back together, assessing and treating everything that could possibly have an effect on the area in question. Chronic pain gets in the way of living our lives the way we want to, and if you're active and physically oriented, pain can be a constant reminder that things could be better. In most cases soft tissue manipulation, muscle activation, and release of traumatic holding patterns can do wonders to reduce pain, restore function to the body, and ease the mind. Understanding the injury and how to treat it yourself with exercise and self massage can also be very empowering. I strive to educate my clients about the nature of their imbalances and offer strategies for regaining the function they desire. Aside from injuries many athletes come to me to improve a specific range of motion in their body and a focused session or two can accomplish what months of stretching has not. 

Traumatic holding patterns are the patterns of movement or tension which take hold in the physiology after a physically or emotionally traumatic experience. Perhaps while in a car accident your shoulder elevated out of fear and was injured from the impact of an oncoming car jamming the steering wheel into your arm. Afterwards the shoulder has a natural inclination to be elevated. This is a traumatic holding pattern. Subconsciously the fear associated with this accident lingers and is present in the body, changing the position or movement of the structure. Generally people are unaware of these patterns and usually don't remember the accidents that caused them, or at least they don't consider them as relevant. Though car accidents are common, the potential sources of trauma are innumerable and highly varied, many of which occur when we are too young to comprehend the situations that have shocked us. Releasing these patterns requires a gentle and supportive touch as well as a feeling of complete security. The patterns can be released without resurfacing of memories though sometimes they do come up. In either event, the holding relinquishes and there is a feeling of lightness that permeates the new experience of being.  Everyone has theses patterns, though they affect some more the others.
 

                                     Awareness: The knowledge of a situation or fact.

 

Bodywork spreads awareness within the body. It shows us where we are hurt, where we are limited or blocked and by bringing this into focus can help it resolve. If nothing else it can show us the door that we need to walk through. At the core of this process is the awareness of breath in which the healing potential rests. The breath is our moment to moment expression of how we feel and unconscious suppression or holding of the breath is a pronouncement of our fear and anxiety. When we consciously let the breath go we surrender to the present and show our acceptance of what is. Breathing consciously opens us up to  the  feeling of embodiment and being unable or unwilling to do so tells us their is something uncomfortable about being in our body. This discomfort is precisely what drives people out of their bodies and into their heads, thinking about life instead of living it.  Though this strategy may seem to spare us from the raw and sometime painful realities of our physical and/or emotional situation, in the end it is this method of avoidance that is precisely the issue. The unresolved emotional baggage we carry with us will not get any lighter through ignorance, but instead will hinder our ability to find the pleasure (or breathe fully) in any moment.  Bodywork then is a means of discovery, an unveiling of the restrictions within our body. By bringing these areas into our awareness, breathing into them, and then fully expressing what we feel, we can release pain, discomfort, and trauma and live more fully within our bodies.    

 

As my bodywork evolves I find myself more and more coaching breath and vocal expression during treatments as a means of enhancing the work. The better the breath work the more effective the bodywork. Is breathing not the most principal expression of the human body?  Furthermore, when fully relaxed our bodies produce sound while breathing. We are sonic instruments with resonance chambers and vocal chords. When we are tense the instrumentation can not vibrate, and sadly many have become ashamed of their own primal utterances.  Accepting things like the very sounds we make when we breath as well as empowering our voice through primal expression is an important step to freeing the body from the mental restrictions of self-judgment and stepping fully into the seat of embodiment.