Melding Eastern and Western Bodywork ― Massage for Trauma, Recovery and Wellness

This book is groundbreaking in two areas. It is the first book that truly integrates Eastern and Western bodywork. Second, it is the first book that focuses on working with trauma victims and clients in recovery. Palpation is a universal language that does not alter in a different hemisphere. What is different is what our minds notice or fail to notice; how our minds interpret what we notice, and how we decide to respond. Just imagine the possibilities if we are able to combine and integrate Eastern and Western approaches. The core intuition of Chinese medicine is the existence of the flows in energy pathways. Health is indicated by free, unimpeded flow. Anything that improves the flows promotes optimal well-being and anything that impairs the flow will eventually lead to disease. Once you can sense the flows you have a tool to evaluate what is going on. It is in some ways comparable to muscle testing in applied kinesiology but far more efficient because working a channel and evaluating the channel can occur simultaneously. By combining awareness of the flows with our western creativity we can transcend the usual dichotomy of eastern or western modalities. This book explains how that can be done. It is not necessary to discard all you have learned before, though with the insight afforded by a newfound awareness of the flows it will now be possible to see which methods are most effective. You may even opt to employ some of the traditional oriental styles, but only when they are more effective. Western emphasis on pragmatism and expedient means coupled with traditional forms refreshes the old ways. It is not necessary to learn the many hundreds of acupoints with their multiple names and functions in order to benefit from the Chinese wisdom when doing your bodywork once you get the "feel" for the flows. This book essentially provides a shortcut and simplification of a very complex system by simply developing a sensitivity to the core intuition underlying the system. This approach is particularly effective for those who have the greatest energetic dysfunction. Victims of severe trauma and addicts are almost always deeply in need of this kind of help. This book describes a number of these cases and applies the approaches previously described. The value of this new model of bodywork is not limited to those clients. It can be used with almost all kinds of clients with good results. By optimizing the flows more serious dysfunctions never develop. The emphasis is more on facilitating wellness and less on rehabilitation after problems have developed. I believe you will find more original and practical insights in this little book than can be found in standard massage textbooks. You will only know how true this is once you have tried this and applied your beginner's mind.