Why is a Therapeutic Movement session with Bodywork Beyond Massage different?

Why is a therapeutic movement session with Bodywork Beyond Massage different from what you might do with a physical therapist or fitness trainer?

There are a number of reasons.

One reason is that the movements/" exercises "/ verbal and hands- on cueing I use are drawn from the worlds of movement therapy and movement analysis (including Wojciech Cackowski (Zoga), Barbara Clark, Irmgard Bartenieff, Rudolf Laban), developmental movement, Body-Mind Centering (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen), yoga, dance, and traditional fitness exercises.

Another reason is that my focus is different from that of a physical therapist or fitness trainer - I may be looking at /for different things, and I may have different goals in mind, than a physical therapist or fitness trainer.

Among other things, I may be looking at/for the quality (easy, jerky, smooth, hesitant, bold) with which you are moving; how movement is initiated and carried out; movement pathways/ patterns that you are following; " balance" in terms of areas (areas that may not be " participating" that should be, or areas that are over-working) and quality; and what the rest of your body is doing in response.

I may look at micro movements. Paying attention to micro movements, including how we initiate or end a movement, can provide much valuable information for bringing more ease and strength into our bodies.

I try and discern whether movement patterns/ pathways are helping you or hindering you.

If certain micro movements/movement patterns/ pathways seem to be hindering rather than helping you, then we work to create new patterns that are more helpful.

As we work I will be asking you to check in with yourself and notice what, if anything, you are feeling or noticing. This may come more readily to some people than others. I try to be specific (versus, " How are you feeling?") and to pay attention to each person's ability to readily identify what they are feeling, and we work within that.

I will be giving you hands-on and verbal cues to increase both your awareness/ noticing and the ease with which your body is following/ creating movement pathways.

I may watch you do some of your daily routines or some of your favorite exercises - walk, sit, stand, reach for things etc..

I may have my hands on you, actually moving or guiding your body through some of these exercises or movement pathways

I might have you move your body while I have my hands on you, and I am lightly guiding / encouraging your body through some of these movement pathways.

Then I may have you move your body through the same pathways on your own, without my hands moving/guiding/encouraging you.

Working with specific verbal and hands-on cues and with micro movements and slow repetition as your body moves (whether you are visualizing moving or actually moving) is an important way to help break through movement patterns that hinder us, which brings more ease and strength to our bodies and helps us to begin creating new more healthful ways to move.