Massage and Bodywork

[1984]

Hi everyone,

I saw that Thai massage was mentioned in the beginning of the thread but not again. Does anyone have any experience with Thai and is Rolfing still the recommended route?

I had a Thai massage yesterday. I liked it a lot. I think my practioner was very good but I'm very emotional today, crying a lot, and just not feeling well. I've never had that come up with other massage modalities before.

Thanks.

I have Thai massage regularly in addition to (and sometimes in combination with) regular massage body work. The only difference I've noticed is the intense stretching (similar to yoga moves) from Thai work and the effect felt from such movement.

 

[salinafaerie]

I you keep reading through the whole thread, you'll see more information about Rolfing and other people sharing their experiences with it. Rolfing can be a very intense form of bodywork and personally I only recommend it to people who already have experience in receiving deep massage/bodywork. That way you'll get the most of the Rolfing sessions, imo.

I think any modality that is done correctly by a competent therapist can bring out emotional "detoxing". It's a very personal thing. Based on my experience as a bodyworker, different people react different to different modalities. For example, some people go through a deep and intense unwinding and emotional release when just doing subtle crainiosacral work, while others are not effected by it at all. Then for others deep structural work like Rolfing works best, while for others it may be too much for where they are at. Maybe in your case Thai Massage works really well. When it comes to finding the right modality in bodywork for what works best for you, it really comes down to this, imo:

“The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.”
- Carl Gustav Jung

Thank you Spiral Out. I've been sick for 4 days with heaviness in my body and head and allergies appeared after years of none. I have had lots of deep body work in the past and never had days of unwellness like this afterwards. It's been interesting to observe.

I have experienced every type of body work except Rolfing so I think I will go there next.

Thanks for your work and comments.

 

[Aya]

I had another great rolfing session today. It was my 9th session. My rolfer worked on my upper body with her hands and elbow. It was painful when she pressed my sensitive spots especially right underneath my arms. I have kept all my tensions in my shoulders, so it felt like my shoulders were burning when she massaged my shoulder issues. And for the first time, I zoned out during a session. I was doing three stage breathing for whole time – lots of breathing! At the end, not only I felt very dizzy but also I saw flashing before my eyes.

I noticed that my sharp pain that I used to get every time after being on a computer or playing the piano for so long, magically went away, which it was the main reason I started taking rolfing session. Also, my rolfer pointed out to me that I have a tendency to put my head down, in regards to that I have probably accustomed to do it culturally, grew up looking down and bowing all the time. So it is great to be able to feel more comfortable keeping my eyes straight and my head upright.
It is just so wonderful to open up to the sky and to experience the sensations of having a "space" inside of my body, physically and mentally. :)

 

[gottathink]

PLease may I ask if someone could point me in the direction of finding information on energy healing systems? I have just been on a energy medicine training weekend called Accunet and I would like to examine the training, philosophies and principals to ascertain its value and purpose. I am cautious of being hoodwinked into false beliefs but would like to apply some critical thinking of my own to assess this. I just need a starting point. As I am going round in circles. I am a massage therapy practitioner but my work is changing in very dramatic ways. I guess I feel a little afraid.

 

[Seppo Ilmarinen]

I had my first body therapy session few days ago and I'm really impressed how it went. It started out with breathing exercises, that were quite similar to baha breathing. About halfway the session I started to feel tingling sensation in my hands and mouth, that started to intensify. This felt bit scary but I was able to release these strong emotions and energies during the session, because my bodyworker was so professional: he gently guided me throughout the process and couraged me to express myself. End part of the session was more meditative. Can't wait for next session!

 

[aragorn]

Hi Seppo, glad to hear you had a great session with the body therapist. What was the name of the therapist?

If it's the same guy who I went to (Kari P.),and who later was my teacher in Reiki and body work, then yes - he is very good and gentle.

 

[Seppo Ilmarinen]

Hi Seppo, glad to hear you had a great session with the body therapist. What was the name of the therapist?

If it's the same guy who I went to (Kari P.),and who later was my teacher in Reiki and body work, then yes - he is very good and gentle.

Yes Aragorn, it was him. I actually first time heard about him from your topic about bioenergetics here:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,13905.msg105795.html#msg105795

So thank you also for introducing him :)

 

[Seppo Ilmarinen]

I had my second bodywork session last monday. This time there was less emotional release but I felt physically afterwards like I'd done a gym workout. During the session the energy was quite intense, especially in my hands. My wrists even locked inward position after halfway the session. My body therapist uses rolfing, bioenergetics and holotropic breathwork techniques. His bodywork has same elements as EE program: breathing exercises, body awareness and meditation.

Interesting is that yesterday I did EE and the experience was very similar from midway of BAHA till end of PotS to my last bodywork session. I felt same intense energy in my body and the detox effect was stronger than usually. After maybe 15minutes the EE ended, movement in my hands started to return and even then, I hardly could lift anything heavy. Normally my EE sessions aren't anywhere this intense. The inner feeling I had after both EE and bodywork was peaceful and grateful.

 

[lainey]

PLease may I ask if someone could point me in the direction of finding information on energy healing systems? I have just been on a energy medicine training weekend called Accunet and I would like to examine the training, philosophies and principals to ascertain its value and purpose. I am cautious of being hoodwinked into false beliefs but would like to apply some critical thinking of my own to assess this. I just need a starting point. As I am going round in circles. I am a massage therapy practitioner but my work is changing in very dramatic ways. I guess I feel a little afraid.

This website has been recommended before by a few people:

www.aetw.org

Is that the sort of thing you were looking for?

I had a look at the Accunet site and from what I gather it uses tapping techniques? It reminded me of something I learnt in an introduction to shiatsu course where we carried out a "Do-In" which involved applying pressure and tapping various points on the body to stimulate nerve endings and meridians.

 

[gottathink]

Thank you Lainey,
Yes I eventually found that site. I have since not bothered with more accunet work as sacred geometry was also a big part of it and which I look at more critically after reading more and basically don't bother. I have returned to my earlier focus on Reiki which many years ago did the level one initiation of the USUI system. And sticking with that, the energy has been ramping up recently. I feel much more settled and trust this now.

 

[lainey]

Who did you learn from? I just did my level 1 a couple of weeks ago in Scotland from a lady called Joy Fraser. Such a strange sensation giving reiki to someone. I'm really enjoying it. I don't have any psychic gifts as such so it's nice to be able to feel something that lets you know the energy is there.

 

[gottathink]

Cool Lainey, it is an honor to work on people or rather with them. I have been in this field for 15 or so years and mastery of the self is so important to enable actual healing assistance to come through in ones work. I did Reiki initiation from a Usui Master in New Zealand, name irrelevant ,more the lineage is important. The important thing is 'healing intent' when working on others. The discipline is to offer the channel of healing and not expect a result. I find this is a mental discipline and gets/has become easier. Otherwise the ego wants to prove to itself how good a healer it is. And it just isn't helpful for the person or for the practitioner.

 

[gottathink]

I need to add that this is something I have had to work on myself and so do not wish to imply that automatically applies to anyone else or your own work for that matter.

 

[lainey]

I need to add that this is something I have had to work on myself and so do not wish to imply that automatically applies to anyone else or your own work for that matter.

I think it is probably a stumbling block for a lot of people. Sometimes when I work with people I can hardly feel anything and I think "oh dear maybe it isn't working!" then I get afraid that whoever I'm giving it to doesn't feel anything either and that they will just think I'm this loon that likes to go around putting her hands on folk. Obviously I can see all sorts of programmes at play here, self importance, anxiety, confidence; but these are the very things I am working to overcome. I have spent most of my life distant from others, somewhat cold and ferociously independent. Sometimes lacking in emotions, compassion and empathy are something I find difficult to express because I have always been "the strong one". So my life seems to be taking a turn towards learning skills that directly help others; taking reiki 1 and beginning to learn shiatsu. Very hands on skills which is something I would normally be very uncomfortable with. I'm never one to initiate touch with another person. I think this stems back to my childhood. I can't remember my mother hugging me when I was a child. Sure it probably happened but I can't recall a single instance of it happening. So I guess I am angling towards touch based therapy now to be able to give people a sense of peace and safety through touch that perhaps I didn't experience as a child.
Sorry I rambled a bit but it's cathartic to be able to share these thoughts and writing them down helps me to connect up the dots.
Anyway as you were saying, yes I believe the intent is the most important thing. The lady who taught me reiki is part of the love and light crowd and told us to imagine ourselves entering the light to protect ourselves before we give reiki. This just seems to be a bit ritual based for me and doesn't feel right so I don't do it. Do you think grounding yourself is a ritual?
http://glossary.cassiopaea.com/glossary.php?id=648&lsel=
"In general usage, a ritual is a formalized sequence of actions, often ceremonial or symbolic, performed according to a fixed format in a fixed circumstance. Rituals most often relate to religious or spiritual contents and seek to mark something or to obtain something from the spiritual world."
A couple of people have told me to imagine my feet are roots going into the ground or to imagine energy going into the ground down to the centre of the earth and wrapping round a crystal. Now is this a ritual do you think? I can't quite decide. I mean the energy is real, it flows through me but do I really need to imagine it interacting with crystals in the ground? What happens if I'm not grounded? Is grounding a made up concept? It's something that has been bothering me for a while. I read about it in books and they say it's important to be grounded but they don't say why or what the process is. I has left me feeling confused over the whole matter. I don't suppose you can shed some light on it for me? Am I performing a symbolic action and seeking to obtain something from the spiritual world by asking it to ground me?

 

[gottathink]

Yeah good point, I have grappled with this also. I do think something becomes a ritual when it is a prescription, whether decided by ourselves or others. The problem is when we expect the ritual to do the thing it represents. For example we expect that we are protected because we have done the ritual instead of feeling and being, again here the importance is on the intention and creative power not relying on the ritual because then we are vulnerable or not staying aware. And if its not about the actual ritual then we don't need it anyway. Staying grounded is important but that comes from our awareness and senses and using our creative minds to re ground, no ritual required. I have been told alot of 'you should be doing this or that to protect yourself' it doesn't make sense to me. Staying awake is the important thing being able to adapt and adjust our energy flow, not sure if that makes sense at this point. But it comes from years and years of work and practice, I do not consider myself gifted or psychic in any way but others would say I have 'a gift' what they don't realise is the years of focus and directing my attention and intention. No gift just training.
Also feeling something is completely unimportant , the giving something is important and when you give to someone that has asked for your help and you do it by offering them your healing intent , pow you are giving, your sensitivity will develop it is just being able to quiet the other things and when your awareness develops you will then be able to move and adapt to where it is most needed in a person. Just realise that you are doing it already when you are in the right mind. Just remeber how wonderful it is to feel kind touch. I have practiced alot with animals to develop my awareness they will give you immediate feedback and you will certainly make some new furry friends.
Does that help? And what do you think?