art of massage

Massage and Yoga and “Medical Gymnastics”

By David Lauterstein Why is it that massage and yoga have become part of the lives of millions of people? This is certainly one of the best pieces of good news in our troubled time! Slow touch, slow movement, and care of the therapist for the client, care of the yoga student for themselves, are primary elements in freeing the body and the mind! Massage is a form of manual yoga. How Massage...
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Are You Considering a Career Change? Consider Massage.

Superb writing from Keith Eric Grant, reprinted here with the author's permission, that discusses some of the many advantages and benefits of a career in massage therapy. Originally published in Massage Today, October, 2001, Vol. 01, Issue 10. -David Lauterstein The Life It Brings By Keith Eric Grant, PhD, NCTMB "Human beings live in bodies and they live in language. When I work with someone,...
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THIS IS MY BOX – REFLECTIONS ON WONDROUS CONTAINERS

Today is Christmas and millions of people will be opening boxes. And they will be looking inside these boxes with excitement. In a figurative sense I’ve begun to be as interested in “boxes” as in their contents. The box “contains” the present. It holds these treasures that we invest with feelings. They are, at their best, vessels for the love of our family members. As a child every year we watc...
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Is Deep Tissue Massage Bad for You?

Deep Tissue massage is often what people request these days. Many massage centers say deep tissue is different than “deep Swedish,” which is an overall massage done with deeper pressure. But what exactly is deep tissue massage really? And is it bad for you? What is Deep Tissue? First, there’s no detailed definition for deep tissue massage - except we can say it uses more pressure than “regula...
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ODE TO THE CLIENT WITHIN

My client walks with a grace in her step. She seems like she's walking on air. She laughs, she jokes, she doesn't seem to care. She is a bit heavy and is working out to improve; at times it does dampen her mood. It's hard not to hide beneath the shield of clothes. Her posture erect with just a couple of flaws, her shoulders, her back, and her foot All due to things that have affected her li...
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SELF-EVOLUTION AND MASSAGE THERAPY

SELF-EVOLUTION AND MASSAGE THERAPY by David Lauterstein Uniquely among animals, humans can consciously initiate enormous changes in our lives. Basically, we are the only species that can self-evolve, sometimes many times, within one lifetime. This incredible capacity is what our society should be organized around – each human’s ability to create a better life for her/himself and our community. W...
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SPACE IS THE PLACE

Suzuki Roshi: ‘Sometimes a flash will come through a dark sky...The sky is never surprised when all of a sudden a thunderbolt breaks through. And when lightning does flash, a wonderful sight may be seen. When we have emptiness, we are always prepared for watching the flashing.’” When I listen to my thoughts, in general or while doing bodywork, sometimes their volume seems softer. And that’s fin...
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BREATHE – THE ART OF MASSAGE #6

Everything must touch!  Send feelers out And love is like a vine, it is connecting us. ~ David Lauterstein   What connects one touch with another?  What role does breath play in the art of massage? In yoga, if we do the postures and movement without full breathing, it is of limited structural and energetic benefit.  If we dance and don't breath fully and naturally, we move in a stil...
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Eternity in the Palm of Your Hand – The Art of Massage #5

Time is what we are made of – in addition, of course to space. Ida Rolf noted “gravity is the therapist” – meaning we derive the sense of balance from our relationship to gravity in space. To say that “time is the therapist” is equally true. Of course we already say time is the great healer – meaning superficially that, given the right amount of time, things will tend to heal themselves. ...
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Accuracy – The Art of Massage #4

Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized Particulars                                                                                             — William Blake   One of the legs we stand on is the knowledge the biological sciences give us.  If we can’t find a love and fascination for anatomy, we probably have no business being massage therapists. All the modalities band...
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