Massage Therapy Hall of Fame (and Self Horn-Tooting….awkward 🙂
Today I'm being inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame. Thank you to Mike Hinkle, the World Massage Festival, and the world of massage therapy and bodywork for this recognition. So many people spend their whole lives teaching and/or working with clients with...
The Serrated Edge! Massage and the Shoulder Girdle’s Deepest Secret…
You can lift your arm parallel to the ground – but no higher!!! “What!?” you may say and then show me that you can raise your arm over your head. But you’re not lifting your arm! Wait a minute! What are you doing? Here’s what happens. Your shoulder blade tilts its...
Advanced Massage Training: “Joys of being a Bodyworker”
A few years ago I wrote a blog piece and got this response from Stacy Liddle, massage therapist and physical therapy assistant. “I wish to thank-you for this eloquent reminder of one of the joys of being a body worker. Sometimes it starts with that knot that just...
Re-Making Faces with Massage Therapy!
The face is the most expressive part of the person. That’s partly due to our anatomy. The face is the only place in the body where muscles and their tendons do not attach to bones! Unlike other voluntary muscles whose insertions and origins are on bone, the facial...
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...
The Evolution of Slowness – Massage Helps Thoughtfulness
Deliberation is born of joy. -- Rumi Andrew Taylor Still, Osteopath's founder, said the body contains all the healing substances it needs. And indeed humans have within their nervous systems equally the antidote to the social epidemic of excess stress. The autonomic...
What are Energy and Structure? Clarity will Help our Massages!
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...
Animal Massage
Animal massage has become quite popular of late. Dogs, cats, horses...really, most animals can experience dramatic health benefits as a result of skilled touch. This is largely human massage performed on animals other than humans. However, animal massage at its...
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...
Stand By Me! – a song for massage therapy?
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...