Peace is a Need, So is Work! Massage Combines Peace and Work.

Seth Godin writes a fantastic blog.  Every day he comes up with brilliant tips on life and work.  Here’s his from today – “When is it due? Here’s the schedule. Follow it. There’s your in box. Empty it. When something is imminent, speed up. When you’re off the deadline machine, take a breath and poke…

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Energy in Bodywork & Massage Therapy

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…

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Muddy Waters on Energy

“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…

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Energy and Integrative Massage in Recent History

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,…

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3-D Massage – Disease, Disposition & Destiny

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…

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The First French Hippy Gets a Massage?

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…

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Massage and Faith

Yesterday, I received a good session from a student.  I also received a deeper learning than ever about repetition.  The student did some very lovely strokes down the back and then followed them by more and similar strokes. Each stroke is a communication.  And though we know this on some level, we can forget it…

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Touch Changes Everything! – Massage Your World

– David’s article from the Jan. 2011 issue of Austin All-Natural Magazine live consciously in touch this year… TOUCH CHANGES EVERYTHING Have you ever had a meal and afterwards realized you couldn’t really remember tasting it?  How about touching?  How many times a day do you touch things or people and are unconscious as you…

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Massage and Meditation: Touch Changes Everything

Next weekend I’ll be teaching “Massage and Meditation” a CE workshop which has become a holiday and new year’s tradition at our school. Whether we’ve been doing massage for just one year or twenty, we can always find ways to renew our appreciation for how profound, and sometimes how neglected, touches are in our lives.…

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Massage and the Impact of Touch: Inspiration

This beautiful passage was written by the French philosopher Jacques Lusseyran in his book, And There Was Light. At the age of seven, Professor Lusseyran lost his sight due to a childhood accident. This passage has become a classic in the understanding of the deeper impact of touch. Inspiration When I had eyes, my fingers…

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