Tonight we have a special topic to cover in circle. A few students had their first nursing home visit, and we honor their experience by listening and helping them fully process what that meant for them. The visit is never easy, but always rewarding. During this fieldwork project, students are exposed to a particularly fragile and touch-starved population. Gradually, they learn to provide gentle bodywork to the elderly residents confined to beds and wheelchairs.
We also talk about time management. The hour feels shorter and shorter now that the students have so many tools and techniques to incorporate. We are starting to focus on intent, applying strokes in a purposeful, meaningful way. As I talk about this, I reach for - what else? - a food analogy. "You can take a bunch of ingredients, put them in a pot with some water and boil for an hour. You end up with soup. Or, you take a pot of water and add chicken for lean protein, carrots for vibrant color, snow peas for crunch, spinach for nutrition, brown rice for fiber and spices to give it all a nice zing. Which soup would YOU rather eat?" I know my metaphor hit home when a student looks up from her homework folder and sheepishly says:"Oh, wow, I've been boiling my clients...".
The new techniques tonight are tapotement and vibration. I demonstrate a few ways to use them in a session, as well as areas to avoid while working with these tools. Tapotement can be a very invigorating experience for both the practitioner and the receiver, and we make a lot of noise while practicing. Students from Levels 2 and 3 stop by, attracted by the familiar noise, and watch as we do percussion on each other's backs. Forget cooking school, this class should start a band!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Week 10
Ah, stretching...Who doesn't crave that feeling of shoulders opening up, neck becoming longer, arms reaching over head and a deep breath expanding the abdomen? And yet, many of our clients rarely allow themselves a luxury of a deep breath, let alone a stretching session.
Tonight we learn the basics of stretching, talk about many styles of stretching and learn to incorporate some simple techniques into a massage session. Technically, passive stretching is not part of a classic Swedish massage, but we include this component to enrich the experience for our clients and to expand our repertoire.
I demonstrate some simple ways to take a client's body through a series of passive movements, while maintaining that blissful massage trance many people enjoy during a session. My favorite stretches have been borrowed from a variety of sources: a personal session with a physical therapist, martial arts training, Thai Yoga massage certification, Active Isolated Stretching training and students' suggestions over the years. I emphasize the fact that we can easily spend an hour just stretching our clients, but the goal of tonight's class is to introduce this type of bodywork in its most basic form. Some students take notes of positions and techniques, others concentrate on memorizing what I am doing. The fact is, once they get on the tables, these stretching techniques will make sense on an intuitive level, and I remind them not to get overwhelmed.
While the students are exchanging, we walk around and show them the stretches again and again. Our goal is for them to remember a few favorite ones, those they will practice with their loved ones and the ones they are likely to add to their "tool box". I can tell this is something that sparked an interest, because by 10 pm, I am still trying to get them off the tables and out the door. As they leave, they look taller, their faces are relaxed and their energy level is not at all consistent with the time of the day. I wonder how many of them will remember to stretch tomorrow.
Tonight we learn the basics of stretching, talk about many styles of stretching and learn to incorporate some simple techniques into a massage session. Technically, passive stretching is not part of a classic Swedish massage, but we include this component to enrich the experience for our clients and to expand our repertoire.
I demonstrate some simple ways to take a client's body through a series of passive movements, while maintaining that blissful massage trance many people enjoy during a session. My favorite stretches have been borrowed from a variety of sources: a personal session with a physical therapist, martial arts training, Thai Yoga massage certification, Active Isolated Stretching training and students' suggestions over the years. I emphasize the fact that we can easily spend an hour just stretching our clients, but the goal of tonight's class is to introduce this type of bodywork in its most basic form. Some students take notes of positions and techniques, others concentrate on memorizing what I am doing. The fact is, once they get on the tables, these stretching techniques will make sense on an intuitive level, and I remind them not to get overwhelmed.
While the students are exchanging, we walk around and show them the stretches again and again. Our goal is for them to remember a few favorite ones, those they will practice with their loved ones and the ones they are likely to add to their "tool box". I can tell this is something that sparked an interest, because by 10 pm, I am still trying to get them off the tables and out the door. As they leave, they look taller, their faces are relaxed and their energy level is not at all consistent with the time of the day. I wonder how many of them will remember to stretch tomorrow.
Week 9
Tonight the instructors are particularly excited, and the students are a little nervous - well, at least some of them. Each student gets 20 minutes to work on one of us, so that, in addition to observing their work and reading about it in the homework assignments, we get to experience it first hand, pun intended. Practical check-ins are a great way for us to offer personal instruction and feedback, zero in on each student's individual needs and offer assistance to those who are sometimes reluctant to ask questions in class.
I often compare bodywork to handwriting - everyone does the same workbooks in kindergarten, yet eventually develops a unique style of putting words on paper. Tonight is a perfect illustration, because no two sessions are alike. Speed, flow, transitions, blending of various techniques into a coherent solid session - each student makes these decisions differently, which means we accomplished our goal so far. They are creating, thinking, expressing themselves, and our bodies respond gratefully and willingly. Of course, we are not even halfway through the semester, and there are many things that will need to improve before the term is over. We offer feedback on pressure, amount of oil being applied, body mechanics and observation skills, among other things. Overall, though, tonight we learn a valuable lesson - massage therapy requires a lot of training, but even an "imperfect" massage done with the right intent and focus is a pretty powerful thing to behold.
I often compare bodywork to handwriting - everyone does the same workbooks in kindergarten, yet eventually develops a unique style of putting words on paper. Tonight is a perfect illustration, because no two sessions are alike. Speed, flow, transitions, blending of various techniques into a coherent solid session - each student makes these decisions differently, which means we accomplished our goal so far. They are creating, thinking, expressing themselves, and our bodies respond gratefully and willingly. Of course, we are not even halfway through the semester, and there are many things that will need to improve before the term is over. We offer feedback on pressure, amount of oil being applied, body mechanics and observation skills, among other things. Overall, though, tonight we learn a valuable lesson - massage therapy requires a lot of training, but even an "imperfect" massage done with the right intent and focus is a pretty powerful thing to behold.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Week 8
If massage session was a metaphor for a conversation, then tonight we learn the difference between an awkward lull and a comfortable silence. The technique we are working on requires patience, confidence and some palpation skills in order to be effective. I ask the class to consider what it would take to make a dent in a block of frozen butter using only one finger. Time, heat, slight repetitive movement , patience, patience, patience. Poking the butter or pounding on it will do no good. So we practice combining the techniques we already know with this new concept of getting grounded, slowing down, palpating the area in need of relief and taking a deep, meaningful pause there. We talk about creating a better body awareness for our clients and bringing warmth and healing to the tense muscle tissue.
This is not an easy exercise. We have been concentrating on movement so far, and coming to a stop in a massage session is harder than one would think. Remarkably enough, this group of people just "gets it". After the initial reaction of "Yeah, right, I'm not powerful enough to just melt a muscle knot", we get started and turns out they are. Every single one of them. Why am I not surprised?
This is not an easy exercise. We have been concentrating on movement so far, and coming to a stop in a massage session is harder than one would think. Remarkably enough, this group of people just "gets it". After the initial reaction of "Yeah, right, I'm not powerful enough to just melt a muscle knot", we get started and turns out they are. Every single one of them. Why am I not surprised?
Week 7
OK, so here comes the class that was making some people very nervous. We are doing chest work tonight, and for some, "chest" means "breasts", which we need to clarify right away. The chest area of a human body is not limited to the adipose (fat) tissue commonly referred to as "breasts". There are muscles to be palpated and worked on, bony landmarks to be identified, dozens of conditions to be helped and much discomfort to be alleviated. Who benefits from this work? People who wear tight undergarments, those who have undergone heart or breast cancer surgery, people struggling with respiratory conditions or those simply recovering from a strenuous upper body workout at the gym. I've been approached in the hallway the week before by a few students, who were anxious about "that area". Some are concerned about having to touch women "there", others have spouses or partners who find it objectionable.
In the spirit of respecting everyone's boundaries, I start by reassuring the students that no one will make them do anything they are not comfortable with. We would present them with the information:pros and cons, draping techniques and skills. Anything beyond that is their decision.
Instead of doing the demonstration on one of the students, the way we normally do, I ask one of the instructors to get on the table. She is an excellent choice because she loves chest massage, understands the intricacies of it and maintains communication with me during the demo, which helps the students relax and see it for what it is - therapeutic body work. When they go to tables, we are in a place of learning again - no more fidgeting, nail biting and nervous giggles.
Afterward, when we ask for feedback, it's a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "Why would most massage therapists skip the entire area between the neck and the hips?", a students remarks. "I had no idea I was so tight in the pecs, and it explains my posture and my aches lately." "Very few schools teach this work, and many therapists are intimidated by it", I offer to the students who aren't, anymore.
In the spirit of respecting everyone's boundaries, I start by reassuring the students that no one will make them do anything they are not comfortable with. We would present them with the information:pros and cons, draping techniques and skills. Anything beyond that is their decision.
Instead of doing the demonstration on one of the students, the way we normally do, I ask one of the instructors to get on the table. She is an excellent choice because she loves chest massage, understands the intricacies of it and maintains communication with me during the demo, which helps the students relax and see it for what it is - therapeutic body work. When they go to tables, we are in a place of learning again - no more fidgeting, nail biting and nervous giggles.
Afterward, when we ask for feedback, it's a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "Why would most massage therapists skip the entire area between the neck and the hips?", a students remarks. "I had no idea I was so tight in the pecs, and it explains my posture and my aches lately." "Very few schools teach this work, and many therapists are intimidated by it", I offer to the students who aren't, anymore.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)