Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1299745
C h e c k o u t A B M P P o c k e t P a t h o l o g y a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / a b m p - p o c k e t - p a t h o l o g y - a p p 85 For More Learning • More about Robert Schleip and his work can be found at www.somatics.de/en and www.fasciaresearch.de. • Listen to Til Luchau and Robert Schleip's entire conversation in Episode 13 of the Thinking Practitioner Podcast, which is sponsored by ABMP at www.a-t.tv/ttp. Watch Til's technique videos and read his past articles in the Massage & Bodywork digital edition, available at www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com, www.abmp. com, and on Advanced-Trainings.com's YouTube channel. Watch Til's ABMP video playlist on YouTube, where all his videos have been compiled. some people die with that life script. I have had very lucky experiences, in the last 10 years or so, in which I realized: If you become a better networker, people support you. That principle has become a driving aspect in my life. If you wanted to choose the pathway of an unsung hero, saying, "I told you for 20 years, and nobody listened to me—I'm one of the biggest overlooked heroes in the history of bodywork," that is (of course) something you can go to the grave with. That pathway is still a valid option for some. Our small fascia research group at Ulm University recently formulated the following slogan for ourselves: If you want to understand fascia as a networking organ, it works best if you work on your own personality—like on your information sharing or your communication style with your colleagues—such that you become a very good networker yourself. In science, competition is often the name of the game. You don't share your insights until the right moment because other people could steal them, and protection of intellectual properties is very important. In some ways, our group and many other fascia-inspired researchers are partly doing the opposite in the past five or 10 years. We tend to display all our valuables, all our jewels, and people can steal them—which will definitely happen—but the disadvantages are outweighed (at least 10 times) by the joy and exaltation of receiving so much support and inspiration from like-minded colleagues who feel motivated to give you something back in return. If you want to understand fascia, if you want to become a good therapist or good scientist, then you don't say, "I have the answer, and everybody else is an ignorant asshole." You say, "I have a tiny contribution to make. What do you think? What can I learn from you?" People appreciate that. Therefore, I would reformulate your initial question for myself the other way: "Where have I misunderstood things in the past, and where am I learning to be a better networker in the present?" TL: That's fantastic. Thanks for the reframe. RS: You're doing that very well too, Til, in how you communicate within the bodywork field! Also, you're doing this podcast with me. That's a very nice learning thing for all involved, which I will copy from you in the future. As a therapist, it is sometimes not so easy to stay humble because clients often favor full-of-themselves evangelical therapists who say, "My method works simply, and it always works. I know with complete certainty what's wrong with you, and I'm sure I can fix it in three sessions." If you say instead, "Honestly, I don't know how your pain is created. I don't know how my therapy works. It has been helpful in 78 percent of cases in similar situations so far, but I don't know why I couldn't help in the rest of them," then these types of clients may not respect and admire you as much. TL: Well, I'd say the same forces are true as an educator. The market encourages us to make big claims, and people respond to certainty and to dramatic claims. People don't get as excited when the answer is, "Well, it's actually pretty complicated. And we're still learning." But that's the honest answer, and it actually opens up even more possibilities. RS: Yeah. But maybe 10 years later it looks almost the opposite. My experience is that the majority of your long-term colleagues tend to respect you much more if you are humble in your claims, keep an open mind, and have had a curious attitude all along. Note 1. Til Luchau, "When does the TISSUE matter, in manual therapy/massage/bodywork/SI etc? (& brain tissue doesn't count:-)," Facebook post, January 2, 2020, www.facebook.com/til. luchau.profile/posts/10157832891968252. Til Luchau is the author of the Advanced Myofascial Techniques books and training series, a Certified Advanced Rolfer, and a member of the Advanced-Trainings.com faculty, which offers online learning and in-person seminars throughout the United States and abroad. He and Whitney Lowe host the Thinking Practitioner Podcast. Luchau invites questions or comments via info@advanced-trainings.com and Advanced-Trainings.com's Facebook page.