I’ve never written a piece like this…some humour and some real-ness of what my flow is like while I work with you. When I sat down to write this, I couldn’t actually remember what I wanted to write because the inspiration came from a treatment I gave on Sunday and it’s early Wednesday morning…and I thought I wanted to write about breast massage, but as I started to write, I remembered the puffs…and then it allll flowed. So as I start this unravelling of thoughts at 02:22, remembering my angels are here with me…I hope you enjoy this piece. I will share a piece on breast massage soon!
As a therapist, I am actively listening – and although sometimes it might not feel as if I’m moving or doing something, I’m intending…to listen to the whispers of your tissues…holding them…because they are asking to be held…in stillness – to then reveal their next move… their next unfolding/unwinding to then wait for another still moment. | hold.breathe.release.repeat | sometimes that hold can take seconds to minutes…depending on how much is there, how long its been there and how ready the person is to release…how much have they allowed themselves to surrender to that treatment, to relax into a session…that they trust me enough to feel held enough to fall into deep surrender to allow the body to do it’s own healing.
The Puff Puffs
To hear a client’s puffs…at any point in the treatment…is probably one of the best sounds I personally as a therapist, LOVE to hear. If it happens early in the session, that’s great…they’re relaxed (or exhausted, yet gave in to the rest) and ready to receive this treatment. For some, I notice it’s only at the very end…when I finally finish working the neck and work on the cranial fissures (the meeting places of each skull bone)…and when I massage around the ear on the skull, and the ear itself (there is so much magic in these places). Yes, there are specific pressure points and scalp massage techniques that I use, but I find the fissures hold A LOT of stuff…tension is not a great word because it’s so much more. I’ve found that if I have a client who might not have fallen asleep yet, they (their body) are SO ready once I massage the whatever is their ”off” button – which for some, is the hands or feet, or for many, it’s the bones of the skull around the ear, the earlobe or the cranial fissures. This for me, is another moment of being a therapist where I feel “my work here is done’ – I feel complete and happy for my client.
Rest is not an easy thing to allow these days…and I feel a full heart of joy when they are able to let out those sweet puffs of pure surrender.
Yes, it takes training and skill to ‘do’ a practitioners part, but it also takes the skill of surrender and trust (in your own body) for that healing to happen.
I listen and guide the tissues and sometimes remind you to breathe deeply…I’m a true believer that our bodies have the full capacity to heal themselves. I believe we have everything within our being. The healer, the external modality facilitates that healing by creating a safe & comfortable container…by creating a trusting relationship and offering active presence! Presence is key. It is ‘easy’ to massage…but to actively hold space, to actively listen to the body, requires presence and compassion.
Working with you is a deep meditation.
Although it is often said to be a compliment to a massage therapist if their client falls asleep…I personally don’t believe this statement as such. I believe that many of us are experiencing deep fatigue, and extreme sleep deprivation…and above all, severely deprived of deep, full, rest. Thus, when a client falls into a deep sleep on my table, I don’t consider it a compliment, as their body is finally able to do what it needs, plus it is receiving a physical soft tissue manipulation, so there is a lot of movement of fluids & energy for the body to process on top of the already-existing exhaustion. If we weren’t exhausted pre2020, the last two years have either taught us some boundaries or left us more exhausted…which is why I’m noticing more clients falling into a deep sleep faster when they lay on my table. I hold mindful compassion rather than pity anyone for their fatigue.
There is a lot to say about exhaustion and I’ll leave that conversation for others, but I am curious about the healing aspect of sleeping during your massage. I have many clients who don’t want to ‘miss’ the massage and fight their own body’s natural desire to sleep. Some fall asleep and complain a bit that they missed it, but some fall asleep, and I kindly and compassionately reassure them that they probably needed it.
I truly believe that this state of deep sleep, just like a deep meditative state, takes us into that subconscious place…the place where we can access the healing…our powers of self-healing. Just as Alpha brainwave states can take us to a place of reprogramming/rewiring our minds (Dr.Joe DIspenza/Heart Math Institute), allowing yourself to fall into this restorative rest, this restorative state, the in between deep sleep and wakefulness, allows your body to release the stuck energies, the stuck emotions (still energy), the stuck muscle (still energy), stuck tension (still…energy). When this energy is liberated…it is like a reclamation of your power…but like literally…You are reclaiming YOU and then that newly liberated energy is available to serve YOU…where you actually need it. So…(if you feel safe with your therapist), allow yourself to drop into yourself…allow yourself release what is not serving you, even if you don’t know what it is.
All form (matter) is energy…and before we experience a physical manifestation of pain or discomfort in our bodies, there is always first, an energetic imprint of it…in other words, our physical manifestations (always) exist energetically before they manifest physically. Therefore, if we are able to surrender our form/body to a place where it can play with it’s energy, it can soften…it can release…and you can heal. Disclaimer: I’m not saying that by falling asleep on your massage therapist’s table that you can heal anything (you know, perhaps you can), but not everyone can or will…the power of YOUR mind is something to explore yourself…our healing is only as powerful as our mind and our beliefs…Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work talks extensively about this.
Although I prefer my sleep to be uninterrupted by someone snoring, I don’t mind when my clients fall so deeply asleep that they snore. I can tell them a lot of information that perhaps they didn’t know…and also give them any updated timing if they have apnea or any breathing issues to be concerned about. First and foremost, I encourage them to reconsider how much true, quality rest they are getting and if it is serving them…and what habits like a slow, mindful night time routine to permit rest…or working on boundaries perhaps. It will look different for each person.
This year, I have been incorporating the use of tuning forks in my massage practice, specifically doing a short sequence from the longer Biofield Tuning sequence at the beginning of a massage (for those who request it). I have found that the clients that receive this sound balancing before a massage are more relaxed physically when I do the massage. Perhaps they are so relaxed after the 15min tune-up that they are already sleeping as we enter the massage, or that they are able to perceive more about their body and the issues they came in with because of this more relaxed state of being. Inner peace is really a thing…and it is a doorway to this place of knowing ourselves/our cells.
Don’t be afraid to surrender and let out those delicious puffs…it happens to us all…even therapists…
Thanks so much for reading!
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