Massage and Emotional Healing

[never_say_never]

Greetings all.

I am currently a Massage Therapy student. I graduate in June 2008.

I am doing a research paper and presentation for one of my classes. My topic is Massage Therapy and Emotional Healing.

I am interested in feedback from professional bodyworkers out there about this topic.

What have some of your experiences been with clients' emotional healing? Has it been mostly accidentally triggering an emotional release or have you worked with massage as an intentional method of emotional healing?

I have seen Asian bodywork referred to as being specifically useful for emotional healing. Why Asian bodywork in particular? How does it compare to western modalities of bodywork regarding applications for emotional healing?

Have you noticed particular correlations with types of abuse and physical holding patterns?

How closely do you work with licensed counselors before and/or after bodywork in which a client experiences emotional release?

Anything else you would like to share on this topic is greatly appreciated. For all who respond, thank you very much for your time.

Blessings,
Dervla

 

[Charlotte B]

Dervla,

I can give you information about my experience with CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release. But I'm not sure if that's what you are looking for. Are you specifically looking for massage and emotional release?


Brian

 

[Lis]

Hi Rivertree. Yes, I have found this to be true of massage, especially with Fibromyalgia clients and victims of emotional or sexual abuse, grieving the loss of a loved one too. Also people with poor body image. If it is combined with Reiki it is even more so. I find many women who experience trauma of some kind are "holders" (FMS very much so) and it seems to set into shoulders and neck. In eastern modalities it is the"gateway to freedom" and in western "expression and communication of feeling, thoughts" or the lack there of.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Rivertree,

From a client's perspective, massage has been instrumental in my emotional healing process. My life has completely changed in the last 2 years because of it.

I was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment, and emotional abuse. Most of these abuses were imposed on me by males, and the compassionate care of my male massage therapist has made more of a difference than I can really express in words. I could literally go on for pages and pages, but I'll try to keep it short and give you the highlights.

I received my first massage in February of 2006. A snapshot of my life at that point would reveal that I lived in a fantasy world in my mind while going through the motions of everyday survival. I almost never went out. I didn't drive. I was totally dependent on my husband for most everything.

Anyway, when I began to suffer fatigue and body aches, my Kung Fu Sifu referred me to a massage therapist - one of my classmates. I was terrified to think of getting on a massage table, naked, and completely powerless because this guy outranked me by quite a bit. At that time I also hated my body, and this guy was built like a Greek god, so you can imagine how nervous THAT made me. I told my husband he had to come with me and stay in the room.

The main memory I have of that first massage is that the MT started me supine, cradled my head in his hands and just stayed there for like five minutes. In retrospect, I imagine he was doing a little Reiki, getting a feel for my energy, etc... All I knew is that I felt totally accepted and nurtured like I'd never felt before. Five minutes into the session, my husband got antsy and asked if he could leave. At that point I was totally comfortable, totally at peace. I told him to do whatever he wanted!

That was the beginning. Over the course of the next six months or so, each session brought me more and more into my body, and into the real world. In April '06, my MT did a Reiki session on me that brought me to a crisis point. I got up from that session with a whole new perspective. That work literally brought me down out of the clouds and planted my feet firmly on the earth. And, I had NO IDEA how to deal! I called my MT the next day, bawling, begging him to see me and fix whatever he had done - ha! I tried to describe how I felt - that It felt as if I'd been scattered all over the place, and now all of the sudden I was imploding into myself. Life had come into such a sharp focus, and I really disliked what I saw.

My MT is a life coach as well as a Massage therapist, by the way. He met with me for an hour, told me I'd been letting others live my life for me, and it was time to take my power back! He said, "You can escape back into your altered reality, or you can stand and face true reality and live an life beyond your wildest dreams!" For the first time in my life I realized I had choices. And so when I left that day, I questioned EVERYTHING, from my marriage (still strong, celebrating 10 years this year) to my job to my favorite color and music, even my FAITH (now drastically different). It was quite a process. I'm still going through it to some extent.

Facing reality meant facing the abuse that I had suffered, and that same MT helped me through that. For a long time, we didn't have talk sessions. It was all massage, Reiki, and yoga (did I mention he teaches yoga too? superman! LOL). I went to my sessions with the intention that his kind, compassionate touch would help to heal those emotional scars caused by the wrong kinds of touch by other men. He worked intuitively. Most of my emotional issues were held in my hips, abdomen, and gluteal areas. When he worked there, at first it was a tickle response, then pain that I had to breathe through, then relief (over multiple sessions). I had a lot of memories on the table, emotional releases, epiphanies. Through this, I became comfortable in my body.

In the midst of all of that, I decided that I wanted to become a massage therapist too. I did something totally out of character for me. I went home and told my husband, "I am going to massage school. I don't know how we're going to afford it, or how it's going to work, but I AM going to do it." Hubby was blown away ha ha. Both my MT and my hubby thought it was just a phase I was going through, but it didn't take either one of them long to realize I was serious.

I think that being touched in a healthy, nonsexual way on a regular basis is what kept me present in my life through all of these changes.

I graduated from massage school last august, got my license in September, leased my first office in October. I drive now. I'm independent when I need to be, strong and confident. Totally unlike who I was before. And, last month I leased my very own office. Next month, I'm leaving my day job to do massage full time.

My mind can't quite grasp how far I've come so quickly, but honestly I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for the massage work that was done with me.

...wow that was quite a ramble... I'm going to feel really dumb if that totally wasn't what you were looking for. LOL

I'd be happy to answer any other specific questions if you have them.

Emily

 

[cheznight]

That was nice to read. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Pompal 09.]

I also feel honored for your sharing with us. Thanks!

 

[Farsea D]

You're welcome. I've been a lot more open about this of late. I think that it is part of the healing, and learning to accept and love myself. All of those things that happened are a part of me, and are why I am who I am today.

Emily

 

[emmaloo]

Emily
Just read your post. Thanks you so much for sharing that. I also feel honored to have such an intimate glance into your experience.

Also, thank you for reminding me how truly powerful and life changing our work can be for people.


Now, what's your therapist's name and address? .... :


Brian

 

[Dustfinger]

Emily - Wow! Thanks for sharing! Stories like yours are powerful reading.

Dervla - I focus on musculoskeletal problems, injury care, pain management, that sort of stuff. I am very grounded and do not actively seek to initiate emotional releases or anything approaching "energy work" types of treatment. I coordinate my work with that of any other health care providers my clients are seeing as appropriate, but have yet to work in conjunction with a mental health pro on anything related to emotional releases.

All of that aside, a number of my clients have reviewed experiencing a variety of emotional responses during/after treatments - thus far, all have been ultimately positive. A number of my clients that are into energy-related concepts have reviewed some potent "energetic" benefits from the work I've given them, and some are convinced I have "a healing gift" of a metaphysical nature.

Right now I am reading a fascinating book titled Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert, Ph.D. It gives some biochemical bases for understanding how the mundane and the "metaphysical" are interwoven within the body. I haven't finished it yet, but the text provides some very interesting ways of bridging intellectual gaps between eastern, western, and other alternative perspectives. You may wish to give it a read - it's very reader-friendly.

 

[Fallon]

"The Ethics of Caring" by Kylea Taylor covers this topic thoroughly with a grace that educates and blesses simulataneously.

In my experience, the emotional occurances are spontaneous upwellings; when a celebrant is ready the experiences arise. The author identifies @ 14-18 different levels of consciousness and how to deal with what arises.

Ethically necessary to keep one's own agenda out, have faith in the process and allow what wants to happen of it's own accord.

It may be possible to intentionally elicit emotional responses but what a frighfully dangerous road that would be. .

 

[jee bus]

Massage Therapy and Emotional Healing - Thank for Replies!

Hello again all! I want to thank everyone very much for taking the time to submit replies.

I earned a 100% and a "Well Done!" on my research paper!

I graduate on June 21st. Right now we are in Louisville, KY but are considering moving to California - looking into Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. If anyone has insight to offer on either of these locations, I am happy to know your thoughts. Or if you can recommend other locations on the West Coast, feel free.

Eventually, I want to practice in Hawai'i for awhile. Lomi Lomi will be my first certification.

Thanks again to all!

 

[M W]

Emily;

Thank you for sharing your story. It took a lot of courage to write, and even more to make the journey from where you were to where you are now.........you are pretty amazing!

It's important for people to see/hear/read that not only is it possible to survive but to thrive. I know that someone else will read your story and it will give them the courage to move forward. You just turned around and metaphorically held out your hand to someone else that is struggling.
Pass it on.........life is good!

Namaste' savannah

 

[Pompal 09.]

AND......... d.rivertree - congratulations on your research paper!
Didn't mean to hijack and diminish your effort! That's exciting that you graduate the end of the month! Way to go!

savannah

 

[El Chahusitle]

Massage Therapy and Emotional Healing - Thank for Replie

I earned a 100% and a "Well Done!" on my research paper!

Congratulations!!

 

[Jennifer Babyyy]

Congrats on the good grade!

Right now I am reading a fascinating book titled Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert, Ph.D. It gives some biochemical bases for understanding how the mundane and the "metaphysical" are interwoven within the body. I haven't finished it yet, but the text provides some very interesting ways of bridging intellectual gaps between eastern, western, and other alternative perspectives. You may wish to give it a read - it's very reader-friendly.

Just had to follow up on this recommendation. The book is a very interesting read, but I became pretty frustrated with the author by page 275. By that point, she's making various "intuitive insights" regarding potential ramifications of the sciences she's done... but fails to actually back up those notions with actual science. Though it may be satisfying for those who prefer intuitive explanations, it's weak overall. Her vaguely defined notion of "peptide reaching" particularly bothers me, especially as others have picked up the idea and are running with it because she promotes it.

EDIT to add: Overall, I recommend the first half of this book, but the latter half is pretty much speculation with some interesting anecdotes thrown in.