Issue 9 | Spring 2011
It has been another big year of learning. Two major areas of completion this year have been Oncology Massage and Infant Massage. I have also progressed further with Visceral Manipulation, organ mobilisation, to the point where I have written an explanation of how it all fits into my treatment sessions.
Onoclogy Massage
I have completed the final 2 modules of Oncology Massage, through Oncology Massage Training (www.oncologymassagetraining.com.au) at Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga. This accreditation allows me to work within the hospital wards with people living with cancer.
It was an eye opening fantastic experience to see how western medicine operates in this area of care. It was also a really rewarding experience as not only did the patients value what we were able to give to them, but the nurses, too, were very enthusiastic about having us there as they could clearly see the benefits their patients gained from receiving these treatments.
Oncology Massage differs from Remedial massage as the pressure and speed of the treatment is adjusted to suit the patient. There are nifty techniques that help to stimulate the immune system and all other body circulations, leading to a very deep relaxation healing state.
Baby Massage
The other area of training which I’m hugely excited about is Infant Massage. I’m now a certified infant massage teacher, affiliated with International Association of Infant Massage (www.iaim.org.au). Common comments I hear are: ‘Why would a baby need a massage,?' 'Why would they be stressed,?' 'How could their muscles be possibly sore.?’ Well, the birth process may have been quiet stressful for baby and being curled up in the womb for so many months may have caused a bit of muscle compression. Aside from that, the main aim of these classes is to build the bonding and communication between yourself and baby and to learn ways to help with your baby’s expansive growing.
The classes are 1 hour a week for 5 weeks, mainly so baby is not over-stimulated and has time to adapt to the new feelings. The class size is kept to a small number to allow for individual attention if need be.
Each week a couple of new techniques are introduced and others are revised so to make sure you are comfortable and confident. At the end of the 5 weeks you will know the full massage sequence, covering: feet, legs, stomach, chest, arms, hands, face and back. Detailed handouts are given detailing all the techniques and other useful information, such as understanding baby’s communication cues and how to adapt the massage techniques for the older child.
The massage strokes are based on yoga, reflexology, Indian massage and Swedish massage. There are numerous benefits in giving your baby a daily massage. A few of them are: Massage will help your baby release stress; Relieve muscle aches as your baby grows and becomes more mobile; Learn how to massage the tummy to help ease digestive upsets such as colic; Stroking baby’s chest and face can help to drain excess mucus.
For you, massage is a unique opportunity for one-on-one quality time with your baby. Through gentle touch massage, oxytocin and vasopressin hormones are stimulated which will increase the bond between baby, mother and father. You will learn how to read and respect baby’s body language, the pre-language communication skills e.g. what does it mean when your baby looks you in the eyes or starts to tongue thrust. Massage is not just for baby, you and your partner, allowing big brother and sister to join in is known to decrease sibling rivalry.
These classes are a great idea for mothers’ groups but if you would like private lessons that is possible.
Synapsis of my Treatment Style
If you are long-standing client of mine you would have noticed the changes in the way I do the analyses of your body before I commence the actual treatment. I am shifting farther away from general remedial massage into a treatment style that better facilitates letting your body tell me where to begin and assist your body to unravel on its own accord in its own way.
CranioSacral Therapy is still a big part of my treatment, coming along side it now is Visceral Manipulation, meaning organ mobilisation. Did you know that 90% of musculoskeletal pain stems from imbalances within or around your internal organs? That is a remarkably high percentage, but it makes total sense if you consider the aches and pains that disappear after a general massage but always seems to creep back after a couple of weeks. That tells me there is an underlying strain that has not yet been cleared. That underlying problem, for example, could be stemming from a twist in your dural tube or a ligament that should be, but isn’t, holding an organ in place.
How can an organ get out of place? Surgical scarring, surgical investigations, impact trauma, internal infections and emotional upheaval all have the ability to restrict the surrounding structures or the organ itself. This will inhibit the ability of the organ to function at 100% and will cause referred pains.
So how do I mobialise organs? It involves gently encapsulating the organ in question and giving it a little nudge. Helping the membranous structures of the organ unravel will allow the organ to have greater mobility, room for it to slip and slide against other organs as you breathe, run, walk and laugh. Improving the mobility will improve the function of the organ, allowing for better digestion and hormonal balancing. As a side note, as organs have associations to certain vertebrae a re-alignment of the spine is also possible.
Another subject of our complex bodies I want to highlight is the emotional component, the mind-body connection. Each organ is associated with certain emotions that link into the brain. CranioSacral Therapy and Visceral Manipulation both have the ability to unlock emotions and allow for the letting go.
It is important to realise that in order to release an emotional hang-up the structural side of it needs to be put into balance first. That is where aligning the deep internal structures of your body and the larger outer muscles is essential.
You may have heard of tissue memory or this statement – ‘your issues are in your tissues’. The easiest way to explain this is to imagine you were winded by a soccer ball. It hurts for a few minutes, but you know you will be fine and then you carry on with the game. Your brain/mind knew you would be fine, but at times your body holds onto that feeling of being winded. This is specially so if your mind-body connection is a bit lacking. Strengthening that link between your mind and your body helps to rebuild the communication path from where the soccer ball hit and your mind. When this is complete, your mind is able to say to your body that all is okay (simple version), and you will be washed with a deep relaxation, a feeling of expansion, of freedom, of allowing, of just is.
Letting go of an emotion doesn’t have to be dramatic. It is done by allowing your body to slip into a deep meditative or a subconscious state. As the therapist I’m just facilitating your body's relxation into this state of release in the way it feels most comfortable with.
Do we need to analyse what was recalled? No. That is the beauty of it. Our minds may want to be nosey and know everything that is going on, but if we allow this natural release, our being will be content with just knowing that the ‘junk drawer of memories’ has been cleared.