Massage and Movement

Coming soon

I've been doing energywork for over twenty years ( I just thought back to my first class, and realized its been that long, wow.)  It's a part of every session I do and every class that I teach. But I don't always talk about it. Its simply part of how I work. Some people do not understand it, or are unsure that it exists. Even so, it is an important part of every session. When a client brings up the subject, it is always nice for me, to be able to talk openly about energy--discuss it, answer questions about it, etc. 

Just last week I shared in the exciting moment of a client's first energy experience. Such a simple thing. But so lovely to be a part of. At the end of the session, I had moved to my clients feet, to draw energy downwards, from the head to the feet. Afterwards she said to me,"You know, when you did that, moved to my feet, I felt this wave of energy move through me, I've never felt that before!". I find it a cause to celebrate. Feeling energy in the body, is one more way to be Aware. Growing Awareness equals more embodiment which equals better health in many ways!

My experience is that everyone can learn how to feel energy. For some people, the skill has always been there, or an experience in their life 'wakes' it up. The rest of us can learn. I've taught students how to feel it in dance classes and yoga classes, and have taught friends and relatives how to feel it in crystal shops or just sitting at the kitchen table doing a few exercises. It's fun, it's interesting, healthful, and life enriching.

Especially in NYC, when your bag, is, often literally, your trunk--what bag do we wear?

  Sometimes a backpack will do--the equal force of weight coming down through the body, ensured by the straps being on either shoulder, can make it the more comfortable choice. But a backpack is cumbersome, especially if one has a big coat on. It is difficult to reach wallet and metro card when doing errands and public transporting. Also, it makes you sweat!

Then there are courier wear/biker bags. These bags are easy to wear, easy to gain access to, and its nice to be able to shift them around to different positions. I've used one of these on and off since 1998, but if I wear it across my body, as it is meant to be worn, I usually get sciatica, or some other kind of back pain, or shoulder ache. It's asymmetrical wear, means your muscles and other tissues will respond asymmetrically. Your whole alignment (level of hip etc) will respond in an unbalanced way. Depending on who you are, this may not matter so much in the moment. But my body responds fairly quickly with signals of pain.

Just a quick thought here, on the connection between Authentic and Jung. I guess one  of the main reasons why it is so easy to jump to Jung when doing Authentic Movement, is that we do the movement in a dreamstate. Movement is usually done with eyes closed, and after a few minutes, if not immediately, most practitioners have moved into an altered state. The focus that is active in Authentic Movement, like the focus required in meditation, changes the physiology of the body, bringing one into this trance state.  So naturally, after moving, then writing or drawing, thoughts often go to symbols, to interpretation  of this movement time/this trance, as if looking at a dream.

Go to the Rubin. Museum that is, in Chelsea, here in the city. The exhibit on Carl Jung's Red Book is there for a bit longer, and it is special. For me,  the connection between Jung's work and Authentic Movement is imprinted yet again. In seeing the exhibit I am reminded of how related the two are, and am newly inspired to dive into moving/dancing, with Jung's drawings and work with the unconscious, in conscious mind.

Just to see that book, in the glass case, is worth the trip to the Museum. This large (1 and 1/2 by 2 feet?) leather bound book is nearly 100 years old, and full of what many say are the richest words and images in the history of psychology. It has been locked away in a vault in Switzerland by Jung's family, for decades, and was just unveiled, for the first time ever in public, at the Museum, this past Fall. I was there, and it was a momentous occasion.

This is a book Jung wrote, in 2 hour periods if I remember correctly, in the privacy of his office, during a period, when he was in crisis. Some would say he was going crazy. This is what his family was afraid of, and thus the lock and key. But what Jung was doing, brilliantly, was documenting his process. In large, colorfully illustrated drawings he shows us what he experienced in the journey into his shadow side/the unconscious/the underworld/the rabbit hole. The drawings are amazing. 

A new client, a dancer, just asked me today, "How is a Thai Massage different than a regular Massage?".  We talked about the differences, and the similarities, for awhile, and it strikes me as a totally relevant topic to blog on to you now. 

Thai is different in that it is a three dimensional massage. As you receive you are being moved, turned, and stretched. As the receiver you are feeling many of the ways your body can move. During a regular Swedish table massage you are still/passive as you receive the massage strokes, kneading, and pointwork. Both treatments leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed. The Thai also energizes you. Thai is especially good for the joints, as it mobilizes each one, getting the synovial fluids going. Table very thoroughly moves your lymph and your blood--this is especially good if you are achey before the massage. Of course, then there is that you are fully clothed during a Thai, whereas you are unclothed during a Table massage, covered by a sheet for your privacy.

A Thai massage is a cultural experience that goes back literally 2,000 years to its inventor, the Buddha's doctor.  Swedish Massage, like allopathic medicine, is a more modern field in Western culture, though it also has roots going way back in countries like India.