Did you know that 98% (or more) of pains in the body are psycho-somatic?
In other words, areas of tension in the body often have a mental/emotional component, it is rare that we are experiencing a purely physical issue in the body. We are mental and emotional beings, after-all. Our emotions and cognitive awareness are an intelligent system within us, and they are what set us apart from other animals.
Tension in the body, also called "armoring" is an intelligent defense mechanism of the body to protect and guard against painful experiences (whether they be physical/mental/emotional/spiritual).
Trauma informed massage therapy is a client-centered approach to bodywork where the therapist is aware of the potentials of trauma and its effects. The client is empowered to choose (scents, music, areas they'd like massaged, avoided entirely, or approached with sensitivity), creating a safe and collaborative space where the client can experience healing touch and interpersonal connection. In the event there is an area of the body the client would like approached with sensitivity, the therapist checks in and collaborates with the client on how they'd like the therapist to approach the area(s) of the body. The therapist is aware and understanding of responses that may come up during a session (example: emotional release) and provides the space for the client to feel and express, which moves the energy out of the body and allows the cycle to complete. The therapist communicates clearly and engages in active listening, ensures proper draping, and checks in with the client throughout the session.
We know that the body keeps the score. We know that traumatic experiences can happen in our lives and the emotional weight of that unresolved event can hide out in our bodies, generating chronic pain and disease. We also know that intergenerational trauma (traumas that our parents, grandparents, and previous generations experienced) can live in our bodies even if we haven't consciously known of them!
Understanding the principle of hormesis, consistent somatic bodywork sessions give us the opportunity to offer the body an experience of loving curiosity and safety again and again, empowering the body/mind connection with new information. Routine bodywork sessions along with other nervous system regulating self-care practices, enable us to strengthen the neural pathways in the brain that connect to a felt experience in the body that is pleasurable and grounded in the present moment. This increases resiliency and supports the nervous system in down-regulating into a more sustainable parasympathetic state.
This work may be greatly enhanced in it's healing potential when combined with other self-care practices such as; yoga or qigong, seeing a trauma certified talk therapist/counselor, EMDR, journaling, making art, exercise, positive affirmations, meditation, getting the body into new and pleasurable experiences, learning about the effects of trauma, etc.
Presencing is an interactive engagement of tuning into your body and consciously naming the various sensations that may be taking place. It is a somatic dialoguing technique. Any sensation in the body, even pain, is a gateway into the present moment, into Now. When practicing presencing during bodywork, you and your therapist enter into the present moment together, exploring with loving curiosity an area of your body. Your therapist may direct you to focus your awareness into a specific area of your body, and a dance begins involving each of you sharing what sensations you are noticing while exploring that area. When we share non-judgmental awareness about sensations in the body, we are in the Present, when we are in the Present, we have access to the unlimited energy of all things that are possible (example: lasting healing!), change and transformation occurs in the body. This experience of connection in the present moment, through the body, creates a positive impact for both the practitioner and the client.
This technique is an incredibly effective (and gentle!) way to create lasting positive change in what were previously chronic pain patterns.
Developed by Dr. Rosita Arvigo from her years of apprenticing with a Mayan healer in Belize, learning from skilled and experienced midwives, and her years of practice/education as a bodyworker and doctor of Naprapathy.
What conditions would benefit most from receiving Abdominal Therapy?
(More Info on the Abdominal Therapy tab in the Menu)
Myofascial techniques work with the fascial system of the body. The fascial system in the body is an endless web of connective tissue that surrounds and is interwoven throughout our entire body, it also plays a major role in giving us our postural shape.
The fascia serves as a protective layer, contracting and tightening in the face of danger, and it is the fascia in the body that stores memory. If we have experienced a trauma of any kind whether emotional or physical, this traumatic memory can be held in the fascia of the body and can cause chronic pain, restricted movement, and protective/guarding movements and postural patterns.
Myofascial work creates space and allows the body to "unwind" from a bound up, contracted/tightened, protective position or guarding pattern that may have been in place for decades in the body's intelligent attempt to keep us safe.
Myofascial techniques are often applied without lotion and take 3-5 minutes of gentle and static hold for change to occur. This is a great technique to improve mobility, create change in areas of chronic pain, and has also been known to facilitate longer lasting relief after receiving a massage, than that of receiving a traditional swedish/deep tissue massage.
Mindfulness is described as non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, with curiosity. Mindfulness is sometimes practiced during meditation, and it can also be practiced more broadly as a way of life (example: Thich Nhat Hanh). It is an awareness and a playful connection to the Now by way of non-judgmental observing of ourselves, no matter what thoughts, emotions, or life events we may be experiencing. It is a practice that can help us strengthen our ability to respond to ourselves, others, and to life with caring compassion, rather than judging and reacting.
Mindfulness as a practice during bodywork is incredibly beneficial for both the therapist and the client. Without the strong positive or negative (good or bad) charge during a session, we create space for meeting ourselves with love & open curiosity, a powerful healing space of new possibility expands.