Body Sense

Winter 2013

Issue link: http://www.bodysensemagazinedigital.com/i/233919

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We live in a culture that likes to go, go, go. It's often difficult to find a place to step off and pause for a while, allowing your world to slow down just a little. One of the best antidotes to this constant, frenetic lifestyle is a good, old-fashioned massage. STILLNESS DURING MASSAGE You may come in wound up from the stress of being late, the crazy day you had at work, or just because life happens at ever-increasing speeds. When I have a client come in frazzled and spinning, I think of my massage table as the net that catches her, and my work as the anchor that holds her long enough to activate the nervous system's parasympathetic response—the place where she lets her mind be still and her stresses float away. My suggestion to completely stop has to do with holding clients in stillness, just for a few breaths, a few times during the bodywork session. When clients come in for a massage, they are looking forward to me moving and manipulating their muscle tissue, and I respect this contract. However, I do think there is room in any good massage for all movement to cease, just for a moment, so that stillness can be experienced fully. I think it makes sense to have at least three moments of complete stillness in a massage: right at the beginning, at some point in the middle, and at the end. During a moment of complete stillness, I let my palms rest on my client's body at whatever point I am working. For example, I like to rest at the head, hips, sacrum, knees, and feet. During the moment of stillness, I take three deep, full breaths. My clients pick up on the cue and deepen their breaths as well. Sometimes while my hands are still, I will feel twitches and adjustments in my clients' bodies, and I may also be able to feel more clearly any lines of tension during these same moments. Thirty seconds of complete stillness may feel like a long time to you if you are used to constant movement during a massage, but even if I do this a few times, it Phone Stacking By Darren Buford I've got a game for you that can help promote stopping. Next time you're at a restaurant with family or friends, after you sit down, stack everyone's cell phones in the middle of the table. The first person to pick up his or her phone during the meal must pay the total bill. If you all make it to the end of dinner without picking up your phones, then you go Dutch. Phone stacking can be another way of completely stopping—"stopping" the never-ending barrage of social media updates and personal and professional emails that seem to dominate our lives. Playing the game can help you focus on the people you're with—real people, who are really in front of you—who came to enjoy your company, not to watch you check your phone every five minutes. Darren Buford is publications manager for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals.

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