Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1358392
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 93 Learn More • Learn more about Art Riggs, his work, and his courses at http://deep tissuemassagemanual.com/artbio/ and http://a-t.tv/art-riggs. • Listen to Til Luchau's entire conversation with Art in Episode 32 of The Thinking Practitioner Podcast, sponsored by ABMP, at http://a-t.tv/ttp. • Watch Til's video comments on this article and read his past articles in the Massage & Bodywork digital edition, available at massageandbodyworkdigital.com, abmp.com, and on the Advanced- Trainings.com YouTube channel. Watch Til's ABMP video playlist on YouTube, where all his videos have been compiled. THE SOMATIC EDGE SCAN AND LISTEN "Art Riggs: Aging Well" TL: So why did I think I could ask you for wisdom about taking care of yourself? AR: It's "Do as I say, not do as I do." LISTENING TO THE BODY AR: I fi nd that so many people are really uncomfortable being happy, and I think it is important to see what people are afraid of . . . when they come in with a problem. You're looking at that shoulder, that back, that knee, but behind it all is clients wondering: "I'm getting old. Is this what old age is going to be about?" or "What is this going to do to my athletic pursuits, and the things I do?" If you can clarify those questions with people by asking, "What does this mean to you?" Just listen. You don't have to give them an answer. Since I coached running and athletics (because I had exercise physiology background), Kei, my friend, brought in a client who'd had foot surgery, and he wanted her teacher to look at this. I spent most of my time talking about why he was so sure that on March 15, when the surgeon said six weeks had passed, he wanted to get back to running. And I didn't play psychologist at any deep level, I said, "Your body doesn't give a whit what your doctor or your therapist . . ." TL: . . . or the clock . . . AR: . . . or whomever says. I said, "Look, you've got to listen to your body." And a lightbulb just went on in him. It was like, "Ah" because he was scared to death about going out on March 15, and his foot problem coming up again. I said, "You don't know. And if you do have a little bit of a setback, it isn't that you're back at base one, it's a lesson to you." And those are the gratifying kinds of things that we do. TL: Yes, yes. Well, thank you. I know why I asked you about taking care of ourselves. AR: Well, I don't look at myself as any paragon of wisdom, I go fumbling along through life, and I can sit and talk about all those problems, or I can look at them and say, "Well, here's a learning experience. Let's see how I'm going to deal with that." TL: That's great, thanks Art. Til Luchau is the author of the Advanced Myofascial Techniques books and training series, a Certifi ed 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 are the co- hosts of the popular The Thinking Practitioner podcast, and he invites questions or comments via info@advanced-trainings.com and Advanced-Trainings.com's Facebook page. you've done with me in the sessions we've traded. And it was an eye-opener. TL: Likewise for me. AR: I learn so much from receiving. But . . . I'd say don't be afraid to do that; it's not stealing or plagiarism to expand your skills by getting bodywork. BEYOND "GETTING BY" AR: I think the main thing—just in life, in general—is to not try to just "get by," and yet, not push yourself too hard. I'm not supposed to run, since I've had two knee replacements, but I do a little of that because I think I have pretty good shock absorption. And so a year and a half ago, I ran a half marathon without training at all. TL: You ran a half marathon, in your mid-70s, with knee replacements, and without training. I remember now that you told me this. AR: But I used to go on 50- and 60-mile runs, training for 100-mile runs—you just do this. And I said, "I just want to see if I can get through this half marathon." And I ended up running half the distance of a marathon in three minutes less than it used to take me to run a full marathon years before. And I think I felt better about that half marathon than I did any full marathons I ran.