Tag: massage philosophy

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As you may notice, over the last few weeks in this blog I’ve been focusing mostly on structure/energy, art/science and their integration in bodywork. Bit-by-bit I want to assemble a position paper that helps brings clarity to these things and helps our field take a closer look at integrative healthcare. Thanks for listening and your…

Energy in Bodywork & Massage Therapy

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The broadest use of the term energy in bodywork has been applied to bodywork that consciously aims at more than just soft tissues. The scientific method is empirical. It looks at and works with what is there. In the case of a human, what is there is a body, and certainly mind and emotions as…

Stand By Me! – a song for massage therapy?

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In 1962 Ben E. King recorded the song, “Stand By Me.” In this appeal – to whom? – his lover, God, his massage therapist? – he calls up the courage it really does take to stand up and live our lives each day. It is sad, terrifying, joyous, maddening, inspiring, and mundane to live our…

Muddy Waters on Energy

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“She moves me, man. Honey, now I don’t see how it’s done.” – Muddy Waters The concept of energy in bodywork has historically had, and I think wisely, a wide definition. It retains the mystery Muddy Waters evoked. Yet maybe we can see with a little less muddiness “how it’s done”. In physics, it is…

Energy Work Defended (Against Devotees and Detractors)

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Energy is too important a subject to be, on the one hand, defined only by its devotees – some of whose ideas or practices have been shown to be false or dangerous or with claims made for scientific validity where there is insufficient scientific evidence or disproof. On the other hand, energy work has been…

Energy and Integrative Massage in Recent History

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When I began as a therapist in 1977, Swedish massage, Shiatsu, Rolfing, Aston Patterning, Reiki, Feldenkrais, Alexander work, Polarity, and Cranio-sacral therapy were what one mostly encountered. There was a broad umbrella under which they all easily co-existed. As the massage and bodywork field grew, its proliferation gave rise to new modalities, new educational standards,…

3-D Massage – Disease, Disposition & Destiny

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In my last blog piece, I outlined three realms of massage/bodywork – wellness, orthopedic, and holistic. We can also look at three purposes for massage and bodywork. These relate to the “3 D’s” – Disease, Disposition and Destiny. DISEASE People come to us with dis-ease. It may be a physical disease – an injury or…

Medical Massage is Not the Best Kind of Massage

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Over the last few years, some practitioners of so-called medical massage have implied it represents the highest level of our profession. First problem, most state laws say massage is NOT the practice of medicine. Many therapists persist in blithely ignoring that. Second problem, assuming the superiority of a medical approach ignores the client. The best…

The First French Hippy Gets a Massage?

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In 1785 Claude-Étienne Savary wrote about his experiences receiving massage in Egypt. ‘Perfectly massaged, one feels completely regenerated, a feeling of extreme comfort pervades the whole system, the chest expands, and we breathe with pleasure; the blood circulates with ease, and we have a sensation as if freed from an enormous load; we experience a…

If You Love the Body – poem for massage therapists

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