In my practice, I specialize in deep tissue massage with heated and cooled stones.? My work with the stones has really enriched my life and my practice, and this is what I have been focusing on.? In the future, I would love to teach massage in addition to continuing my private practice.
Education:
Sister Rosalind's School of Massage, West St. Paul, MN
Many struggle with losing weight or when they do lose weight, too many times it just comes back. There may be some hidden factors to consider to help people to become more effective in being healthier. Please refer back to my blogs on “Are you having difficulty losing weight”? and “Pouring Water on a stone”.
The following is a response from Owen Dodge, who is an excellent Myofascial Therapist:
“My reflections on this thread steer away from the focus on emotional considerations with respect to compulsive behavior such as overeating, and focus more on John?s title relating to general difficulty losing weight.
I recently heard glowing feedback from a client I treated with Myofascial Release who had for years tried to lose weight with diet and exercise modifications. She?d lose weight to a certain level, but could never get to her modest target weight.
Adding this aside to her history of neck surgery earlier in life and whiplash from a car accident, I wondered if maybe her thyroid function could have been affected by these traumas and associated scarring.
Several weeks after our one MFR treatment focusing on cervical balance, this client called to tell me how delighted she was to have finally dropped more weight without any special effort than she ever did with diet and exercise regimens.
Of course, this outcome leads to more questions than answers. But, at least in the eyes of my client, it also adds another piece of anecdotal evidence to the growing mountain of favorable treatment outcomes seen worldwide from those who put John Barnes? ?unproven? but straight-foward theories to the test”.
With the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger, the issue of what to call ourselves in the massage profession comes up again. The news media continues to prefer the term masseuse, as evidenced by the many uses of the term in referring to the woman who discovered Mr. Ledger’s body. A few news reports did use the term massage therapist.
In my experience, many people still use the word masseuse, even when referring to a male massage therapist. Masseur and masseuse are French words, and French nouns are gender-specific. Here in the USA, we?ve gone more and more to gender-neutral terms, like massage therapist, wait-person, administrative assistant, etc.
Although most of us prefer the term massage therapist, not all in our profession like that title. What do you call yourself? Do you correct clients, or potential clients, when they use the ?wrong? title for you?
Health Care vs, Health Food ? Where Should the Dollars Go?
If the topic of health food is about getting healthy through nutrition while health care is about managing sickness, doesn?t it make sense to spend more money on quality nutrition than on medical insurance? Some health conscious people do spend more on quality health food in a month than they do on insurance. These are usually the healthiest individuals who need insurance coverage the least.
Others, who base their food choices on cost while ignoring nutritional value, are often those who consume the least quality nutrition. When a double cheeseburger costs less than $2, a family of 5 can eat for $10. Unfortunately, unhealthy food like that has been linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Of course, food is a necessity while health food and health insurance are more like luxuries these days. No one wants to be without coverage if medical treatment becomes necessary, but everyone wants to avoid ever using it. Food, on the other hand is something that people use every day. If everyone consumes quality health food, that could be a deciding factor in the level of health for Americans.
The problem is that if we all get healthy, then how will insurance and drug companies make money? What if we need fewer medical treatments and drugs? Would insurance companies focus on paying more for preventative care such as health food, rather than medical tests and procedures? Would pharmaceutical manufacturers focus on creating health food instead of medicine? The only way to know for sure is to either get sick and use the insurance coverage, or buy the best health food and see how life develops.
Colorado has just passed a regulatory bill (SB-219) for massage therapists that is awaiting the Governor’s signature. Although it started out as a bill for state licensing, it ended up being state registration, with all of the components of licensing, just by a different name. Such is the nature of legislative compromise. Passage of the bill is the result of several years of work by a coalition of AMTA and ABMP. As always when state regulation is on the table, there is a wide variety of opinion about the need or desirability for regulation.
I personally believe that regulation will be good for Colorado. We have many resort towns that have had no regulation at all, and anyone could show up for the ski season and proclaim themselves a “massage therapist”, whether or not they had any training or experience. In my mind, this put vacationing skiers at more risk for receiving substandard, possibly injurious, massage.
I welcome your thoughts on Colorado regulation, or on how things work where you live.
I am a massage therapist/acupuncturist. I have a theory/speculation about how the binding down of the fascia interferes with the integrity of the energy meridians. Would you have any theories/insight, knowledge/research on this subject?
Dear Ramsay,
I believe that you are totally correct. Yes, Myofascial restrictions are capable of compressing the acupuncture meridians with up to approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. This crushing pressure can impede the flow of ?chi? (energy) through the acupuncture meridians.
I learned acupuncture a long time ago. I initially used neuroprobe (electronic acupuncture) and cold laser on the acupuncture points. I then went to Hong Kong to learn as much as I could. In Hong Kong I learned to use my hands to stimulate the ?chi? along the meridians. I then applied the Myofascial Release principles to the ?chi? meridian system, which produced even greater results.
Serving This Special Population: Are Massage Schools in Step with the Times?
Hold still… do you feel it? There is a wave of change underfoot. It seems like EVERYTHING is changing– have you noticed? Most certainly theres a lot of change happening in our profession. I like to think of the changes as growing pains. A big change that we all are aware of is the aging of our population, with the fastest growing segment being 85 yrs and over. Lately I’ve been exploring this question: With so many elders emerging in the United States — are massage schools acknowledging this as an emerging market for our profession? After a little investigating it seems that the answer is mixed. The emphasis schools place on massage for those in later life stages ranges from simply showing a video (quite possibly outdated); to a few hours and visiting a local nursing home; to none at all. While I know there is value in giving massage students a taste of many different approaches I believe what is being overlooked is how important this special population is, and will be, to a successful career.
I want all massage therapists to succeed and have the career dreamed of when they decided to pursue massage school. I think it’s the responsibilty of schools to prepare students in skill sets that are in step with current societal trends and needs to give their graduates a fair shake at success. If more emphasis was placed on the growing need of an aging population, I think more massage therapists might feel a little more confident in reaching out to those potential clients. At the very least, students would understand that serving this special populationis a viable choice.
I’d like ask a favor of you. If any of what I’ve said resonates with you, join me in the conversation with our massage schools. Let them know this is important! If massage schools put just a little more emphasis on this special population we, as a profession, will be there to answer the needs of millions.
My infatuation with form began when I was a child and still is a constant wonder and focus in my work as a CranioSacral Therapy practitioner.
My parents owned a small Chinese antique store in Washington, D.C. A tiny repair room crammed full of damaged objects was in the back of the store. Stuff was everywhere: broken statuary made of porcelain, wood or bronze; stained or ripped paintings; tattered silk robes; fragments of jade; pieces of carved ivory, and dented cloisonné vessels. The floor was taken up with pieces of teak furniture and two huge ceramic foo-dogs so large they loomed over me.
I spent hours with these things. Their shape, color, and texture carried me into a realm of wondering. When I held the woman carved of ivory, I wondered about her, not in a specific way like who carved her or what happened to her. I wasn’t trying to create anything, I’d just wonder and wait… accepting anything that arose in my mind’s eye.
Before I knew it her missing hand would spring forth with its delicately pointing finger, or her smooth face would glisten suddenly, as if illuminated by the moon, pastel colors of pale green and poppy yellow emerging upon her gown. I’d pay close attention and hear stories murmered by water flowing over creek stones. At times her voice whispered sounds that I didn’t understand, yet somehow I felt better, as though wrapped in a warm blanket.
Eventually I became an artist making imagined things into objects drawn and sculpted. Yet something was lacking. I didn?t understand what it was until I began to learn and use CranioSacral Therapy. Then I realized what was missing, it was life?s motion.
Movement characterizes life. While practicing CranioSacral Therapy I am awe struck when feeling the life force within each cell which can be expressed as blood coursing within our vessels, oxygen filling our lungs, nerves conveying information, or particles entering and leaving our cells. This majestic motion is the way form makes itself known to me.
So when I work with clients, a state of wonder permeates each second of time. I feel the human being is majestic and our life force unfathomable, yet somehow palpable. I marvel at the depth of motion within each cell and I wonder and wait. As I wait images arise of cells moving freely, fluids energizing and vibrant. Other images may emerge of brain parts twisted, membrane coiled or stuck, nerves stressed, or vessels congested. I may see the entire body crumpled by a snagged string of fascia. A large part of my work is to gently support shapes as they shift and untangle.
I am constantly amazed how form is a gateway into the ordinary, the extraordinary, the glorious and the therapeutic.
Many times I am asked about using essential oils for autism. There are various theories on how autism presents itself, Some of these are: mercury from vaccinations, allergic reactions to wheat, corn, soy, or high glycemic sugars, and other environmental factors.
The question is will using essential oils help someone with autism?
Essential oils contain powerful constituents that can clean out receptor sites that contain agents that block the body from performing natural hormonal functions. These constituents can help detox the body and regulate proper signals to and from the brain and various organs.
In addition, stimulation of the limbic brain through inhalation of essential oils may help to open up the emotional and hormonal centers in the brain, leading to clearer thinking and greater concentration.
In my practice I have found that using essential oils in combination with massage are very beneficial for autism as well as other neurological disabilities. Essential oils induce emotional responses through their ability to directly access the limbic brain, as well as their vibrational frequencies that work energetically on the whole being. This is a potent combination that can sooth, relax, restore self love and self confidence.
People with autism can tend to be touch adverse, but when you present an oil for them to smell or hold this creates an atmosphere of trust and playfulness. From this base of trust you can then introduce touch, very gently by massaging the feet or hands. I put the oil in the persons hand and then take their hand and have them rub it on their feet. The feet carry the oil through the body providing a wonderful therapeutic effect.
Emotional factors are very evident in people with autism and other disabilities. Working with essential oils that can deliver emotionally healing properties as a lead in to whatever other work you would like to do is not only rewarding for the practitioner, but can be life changing for the recipient as well.
The essential oils used must always be pure, unadulterated, unaltered, therapeutic-grade. Please see my past posts for more information.
My original background and training in Massage and Bodywork was in Asian Bodywork Therapy, specifically Amma Therapy, a very complex and sophisticated form of ABT. I learned through the apprenticeship model, living and studying at the feet of the founder and master of the art in the early 70?s and throughout the 80?s and practiced in a very large holistic health center for almost 20 years. Without going into a lot of detail and story telling, I became involved in the late 80?s with other groups throughout the country practicing different forms of Asian bodywork including several different styles of Shiatsu, Tuina, Jin Shin Do®, etc? and eventually we formed the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of AsiaTM (AOBTA®) which continues to exist today. The AOBTA is a non-profit, professional membership organization representing instructors, practitioners, schools and programs, and students of Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT). You can visit its website at www.AOBTA.org. I became its founding president and served as such for five years until 1995.
So what?s the point?? The organization has been in existence for almost 20 years and by now I would have thought that given the profundity and scope of what is possible to accomplish with clients/patients once expertise is gained in ABT that the various forms of ABT would have by now spread like wildfire and that there would be full scale (minimum at least 500 hour) programs running in schools all over the country. But that does not seem to have happened!? There are several really excellent programs out there but besides those mostly very short courses, tastes, or tracks of ABT forms are being offered as part of a full western based massage therapy program and/or in basic CE courses.
Asian Bodywork is one of the main limbs of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and many of its forms are thousands of years old. It follows the same underlying principle of all the limbs, that the body is capable of healing itself once the proper conditions are provided. Whereas the acupuncturist assesses according to the principles of Chinese medicine and then inserts fine, sterilized needles into acupuncture points in order to achieve balanced energy and heal the system, and the Herbalist employs natural substances such as leaves, bark, roots and flowers to move the energy system towards the same goal, balance and healing, thereby producing an optimum state of health in the physical body, the Asian bodywork therapist assesses the patient and then applies the hands to treat the energy system using specific techniques and manipulations of the body to balance the energy and heal the system.
In my view Asian Bodywork is an incredible opportunity for practitioners of massage therapy who wish to evolve their perspective, knowledge and skills beyond the limits of treating the physical body to include the energy body. While most all massage treatment focuses on the soft tissue, i.e., muscles, ligaments and fascia, Asian Bodywork modalities move things a step further by including (like acupuncture and herbalism) the study and manipulation of the energy system, considered to be the underlying and enlivening layer of the human being complex. A working knowledge of the energy system, its principles of assessment, and skillful manipulation of the channels and points greatly broadens the scope of the kinds of conditions that a massage therapist can learn to treat way beyond those of the neuro/musculoskeletal systems. Although most all massage and bodywork therapies when mastered can be used along with other adjunctive modalities including nutrition, vitamins and supplements and exercise to treat different conditions, training in one of the ABT modalities can, I believe, provide a path to a greater scope of practice. This is because of the expansion in scope of treatment when a comprehensive education of the energetic system is included as part of one?s training and overall perspective.
Discussion: I am not sure I understand why ABT isn?t being taught all over the country at a higher level then it presently is and why students or practitioners already in the field aren?t clamoring to learn it. I have some ideas of course, i.e., it boils down to business and the market and if the market isn?t asking for it, it will not be taught. Or its underlying perspective of energy or qi as the basis of everything is a little strange for people and requires a real mind/paradigm shift to study it and finally grasp it. But I’m looking for feedback and people?s experiences on why this is so. To me right now ABT seems to be the best kept secret in the world of massage therapy and bodywork! Let?s hear what you think and feel!
Thinking about structure vs. function, I?d appreciate hearing your perspective on how Myofascial Release can benefit women?s hormonal changes as they age. Many of my clients are experiencing changes associated with menopause.
Have you been able to determine that Myofascial Release can help make this transition more comfortable. If so, do you have insight on how this occurs?
Thanks for your perspective!
Hi Owen,
Myofascial Release can be very helpful for menopausal symptoms.
From the Myofascial perspective, “Menopause” is a label for unrecognized and improperly treated myofascial restrictions. “Menopause” is an effect, a symptomatic complex created by fascial restrictions in the fascia’s extracellular matrix(ECM).
Recent research has shown that aberrations in the fascia’s extracellular matrix can change the shape of the cell, which can then alter the production and balance of the biochemical and hormonal aspect of a woman’s physiology.
For more in depth information, go to www.massagemag.com and scroll down to the technique box. Then click on my Therapeutic Insight article titled, “Female Problems.”
