BODYWORK BEYOND MASSAGE - SOARING SPIRITS GROUNDED BODIES
THERAPEUTIC BODY WORK
Bodywork That Soothes Body, Mind, and Spirit
"It brings forth what is deep inside the spirit; it awakens what we scarcely know was there, so buried it was by the clutter of our daily living, our cloaks of self-protection." J. Marillier
________________
BODYWORK BEYOND MASSAGE'S SIGNATURE SESSION: DYNAMIC REBALANCING
As with all Bodywork Beyond Massage's therapeutic bodywork sessions, this session will help relieve pain and restrictions, and increase feelings of well-being, soothing body, mind, and spirit.
A Dynamic Rebalancing session is a combination of techniques, primarily Fascial Release Therapy and Zero Balancing, usually with soft tissue manipulation (which is basically massage), and always working from the perspective of Dynamic Balanced Movement.
As with all of my sessions, focus is on how the patterns of energy and weight transfer and use, combined with "holding" patterns, have created pathways in the body.
Working with these patterns/pathways, using various types of skilled touch, brings deep release and increased ease into the body and psyche.
Many people find the release and sense of ease they experience after a Dynamic Rebalancing session is deeper and longer lasting than what they feel after massage.
During this session, I will contact your body with different "types" of touch - my contact may be quite light, or it may be heavier; I may gently traction an arm, leg, or your neck; I may massage certain areas.
I may work with you standing, seated, lying on your sides, stomach, or back; and I may ask you to walk during your session, to integrate the work being done.
I may use verbal cues to draw your attention to certain areas/ sensations.
Sessions are received while clothed, and no oils/lotions are used.
(See Blog Post, 4/18/23, "How Can There be Anything Better Than A Nice, Relaxing, Massage?"
Dynamic Rebalancing sessions are also available via Telehealth (phone or on-line)
ZERO BALANCING
Zero Balancing works with key foundation and semi-foundation joints, assessing energy flow across the joints. The work we do at these joints quickly promotes release of restrictions, both at joints and in musculature. Release from pain, and increased freedom, ease in use, and range of motion, follow. Developed by an osteopath/acupuncturist, Zero Balancing works very gently yet very deeply. Because Zero Balancing contacts the body "at the level of bone", a gentle contact can have results similar to those of deep tissue work.
Releasing held energy at this level can encourage us to leave behind habitual patterns, both physical and thought, that may be keeping us locked into repeating loops of behavior/injury.
Zero Balancing seeks to balance energy with structure. Change that comes with Zero Balancing is often long-lasting and profound.
The client is clothed while receiving the session, and no oils/lotions are used.
The person receiving Zero Balancing from me will first be worked on in a seated position. Then they will lie on their back for the rest of their session, and will experience gentle traction at arms, legs, and spine; gentle pressure as my hands reach upward from underneath their bodies; joint mobilization; and perhaps some soft tissue manipulation, passive stretching, guided breath/imagery work, etc., all culminating in a deeply felt sense of inner expansiveness and peacefulness.
During a Zero Balancing session, the practitioner will at times pause, with hands off the body of the person receiving the session. This pause allows the Body/Mind/Spirit to integrate the changes that are occurring.
People receiving Zero Balancing treatments often feel a truly deep sense of relaxation and release on all three levels of Body/Mind/Spirit. After a session, people often say that they feel "lighter", taller, "more space inside", slowed down, calmer, or more patient.
Zero Balancing is wonderful for dancers and athletes, as well as for people who are recovering from surgery or injury, are beginning an exercise program, are in chronic pain, are sitting at a desk all day long, or are looking to increase a sense of ease and well-being in their lives.
The Zero Balancing Touch Foundation has recently completed two limited EEG studies, and found, among other things, that:
"...Initial evidence indicates a change in brain waves where the subject drops into deeper states during a ZB session that are different from those manifest during a rest period."
Some commonly asked questions about Zero Balancing:
~ What sorts of things can Zero Balancing help with?
Chronic pain; physical injury recovery/restriction; pain upon use; anxiety or stress; increasing wellness; personal growth and transformation; insomnia; etc....
~ Who developed Zero Balancing and how come I haven't heard of it?
Zero Balancing was developed by an osteopath/M.D./acupuncturist, Dr. F.F. Smith. Dr. Smith took great care in refining his teachings before opening his trainings to other practitioners and marketing this technique. For more information, please contact the Zero Balancing Health Association at 410-381-8956, or go to www.zerobalancing.com.
~ Why would one chose Zero Balancing instead of Massage Therapy, acupuncture, or any other technique?
Different techniques offer different benefits. As a licensed Massage Therapist since 1985, I am continuously impressed with how easily Zero Balancing can release deeply held tissue. Because Zero Balancing focuses simultaneously on both energy and structure, Zero Balancing works within us at a very deep level, and I have seen positive changes occur quickly and readily with Zero Balancing.
Most people feel deeply peaceful after a session, and that feeling often lasts far longer than the sense of relaxation lasts after a massage.
For people who might not be comfortable taking their clothing off to receive body work, or who don't like the oil/lotions that are used during massage, Zero Balancing offers a wonderfully effective alternative.
Overall, it has been my experience that Zero Balancing sessions offer the opportunity for very deep, lasting, and profound change to occur. Plus.....a Zero Balancing session feels really good!!!
~ How long do sessions last, and how often should they be received?
Generally Zero Balancing sessions last 30-40 minutes, but sessions of 45 and 60 minutes are available.
How often you should have a session depends upon your needs. If one can find the time and the money, it is a good idea to receive a session two-four times a month for the first month or two. Some people come once or twice a month, some come once every two or three months.
A Zero Balancing session can be a treatment in and of itself. In my practice, Zero Balancing is more often integrated into a Dynamic Rebalancing session.
FASCIAL RELEASE THERAPY
Within our bodies, we have a network of fascia. This network can be compared to Saran wrap: when it gets "kinked" or twisted or torked, it releases more readily with a gentle encouraging touch rather than a vigorous bombardment.
Fascia is everywhere in our bodies - it surrounds/encases our organs, it weaves through our muscles, and it melds into our bones.
Due to trauma/postural use patterns, the fascia can become torqued/shortened, etc., creating pulls on various parts of the body.
Fascial restrictions can produce pressures of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch, and this does not show up in many standard tests (x-rays, myelograms, CAT scans, electromyography, etc.).
Imagine how much restriction/pulling this can create within our bodies, and imagine how much relief can be felt when release occurs within the fascial system.
There are numerous techniques that help to release these fascial imbalances.
Ultimately, it is the practitioner's ability to see the whole picture, and to determine which of these, and any other, techniques to use, and how to combine techniques, that is important.
As with Zero Balancing treatments, the Fascial Release Therapy work that I do is received with the client clothed, and no oils/lotions are used.
I may work with you standing, seated, lying on your sides, stomach, or back; and I may ask you to walk during your session, in order to integrate the releases that are occurring.
A fascial release may occur within 5 seconds, or may take 5 minutes to occur. Some people do not notice anything, others may notice something that they may or may not have words for, including some of the following: a sense of internal shifting, a muscular release, a spreading of warmth or ease.
My hands will mostly contact the client's body with a fairly light, gentle touch, although occasionally my touch may be heavier. I will be following certain movements of the fascial system; the movement of my hands may/may not be noticeable. I will generally work on most/all parts of the body, even if the client's main complaint is limited to a small area.
When receiving a session, it can be hard to tell the difference between one fascial release technique and another - you don't have to concern yourself with those details! I will chose the techniques that I feel would be of most value to you.
Fascial Release work can be experienced within a Dynamic Rebalancing session.
THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
My 35+ years of experience guide me to reach deep muscles in a gentle yet thorough way, relaxing deeply held tensions. Because what many people think of as "Deep Tissue Work" may not be the appropriate form of treatment for everyone, I will use various techniques to contact the areas desired by the client. A session will draw from many of the different types of techniques I have learned over the years.
If you have not had a massage before, here is what you can expect:
I will ask you some questions when we speak on the phone. You may fill out an intake form before you come for your appointment, or else at the time of your appointment. When you arrive, I will ask you some more questions, and then I will leave the room while you undress (some people prefer to leave their underwear on, or to wear a bathing suit) and get under the sheets on the massage table.
I will return to the room, and begin your massage. I will keep areas that I am not working on covered, or "draped".
Using oil, I will massage the areas that you and I have determined will be worked on (most clients prefer to let me make that decision).
When I have finished your session, I will again leave the room, allowing you to get dressed in privacy.
COMBINATION SESSION
This type of session will begin with either a Dynamic Rebalancing or a Zero Balancing session, which will be followed with a
therapeutic massage.
When Dynamic Rebalancing/Zero Balancing/Fascial Release Therapy is given immediately prior to a massage, the rewards of all are amplified greatly. The benefits of each treatment in this unique combination are woven together in a way that is readily and deeply taken into the Body/Mind/Spirit, often creating a profound sense of peaceful expansiveness.
Dynamic Rebalancing /Zero Balancing help to "warm up" the body. Deeply held areas of restriction are then more pliable, and readily accessible. As in any Dynamic Rebalancing session, Fascial Release Therapy partners with the Zero Balancing work to promote gentle, deep, and long lasting release in restricted areas.
The length of time for the Dynamic Rebalancing or Zero Balancing portion and the Massage Therapy portion of this type of session can vary- sometimes the Dynamic Rebalancing or Zero Balancing portion can be much longer, with the Massage Therapy portion being brief, and focusing on one area of the body; sometimes the Dynamic Rebalancing or Zero Balancing portion can be brief, while the Massage Therapy portion is much longer; sometimes they can be fairly equal in duration.
Many clients prefer to let me make that choice, based upon what I am finding as I work.