Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Science and The Touch

As a Massage therapist, every time I read a Massage magazine two voices in my head chirp up. One says "Oooh, you should know all these muscles and nerves and medical names.  You should know them inside out because they were in your A&P module. And if  you don't know them you must be a bad therapist." The other says "Wow! More stuff to learn! I should go out and buy myself medical text books and immerse myself in the cutting edge developments of medical science because the body is a fascinating thing!"

 And today, a third chirped up: "Medical science is fascinating. But I don't want to be a doctor, or a nurse, or a diagnostician. My intellectual interest has been piqued, but my passions on a day to day basis have meant thus far I have yet to translate this piquing into a doing. And I'm seeing some wonderful results with clients - using good old fashioned Touch."


I have a scientific background and coming to NO HANDS Massage was a real struggle for me on many levels. The only way I truly began to learn about NO HANDS as a client and as a practitioner was to put aside my "science head" and really feel NO HANDS in the whole of my being, letting go of any previous assumptions about what should or shouldn't happen. Inhaling the new experiences of what happens in the real world. As a client and as a practitioner.

I'm really saddened that Touch as a therapy in and of itself seems to have list the respect it deserves. These days it seems only to be taken seriously when applied under a complicated therapy title while talking about anatomy and physiology which often even the scientists are still beginning to understand fully. In fact, I feel for me to talk about the body in terms of "now I'm stretching this specific muscle" is an insult to those in the medical profession who have spent years studying the human body and are still learning. My knowledge barely scratches the surface.


I dream of the day when there is a Massage magazine, not just for professionals but for clients, which is filled with stories of client experiences. Of practitioner experiences of how they felt IN THEIR BODY after treatments - what is affecting the results they are getting with their clients. And overall a place to chew the cud about the amazing power of Touch.