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I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 23 1. CHAIR MASSAGE To hear Eric Brown tell it, it's a wonder anyone opts for a traditional massage when a chair massage is available instead. "It feels safe because you keep your clothes on," says Brown, the director of BodyworkBiz (www.bodyworkbiz.com). "It's done in the open, not in some small room with a stranger. You know what is about to happen to you. You're not greased up with oils. Your hair doesn't get messy. And it's inexpensive, relatively speaking. It overcomes every obstacle, every reason that people say they don't want to get a massage." 2. BOWENWORK This holistic, soft-tissue technique is a fairly new modality, but awareness of it is spreading quickly, says Sandra Gustafson, a registered nurse, naturopath, and senior instructor with American Bowen Academy (www.bowenworkacademyusa. com). Bowenwork uses a minimal number of light, precisely located touches over tendons, muscles, and nerve bundles. It's so gentle that it's appropriate for the elderly or even newborns, and is usually performed through lightweight clothing. "The practitioner applies certain moves on the body, then waits for a couple minutes for the body to integrate the work," Gustafson says. "In that time, you can be working on a second person, so it allows for multiple client scheduling, and because there's not a lot of continuous contact with the client, you're not likely to develop repetitive strain injuries." 3. ZERO BALANCING Zero Balancing was developed in the 1970s by physician and osteopath Fritz Smith, MD. "It marries Western and Eastern approaches, and is based on the premise that the body has both energy and structure, and we seek to balance the two through touch," says Amanda King, a licensed massage therapist and Zero Balancing practitioner and instructor in Boston. The treatment usually begins with the clothed client seated and involves a good deal of stretching of the neck and legs. "It's used primarily for injury work. I see a lot of people with orthopedic injuries or neck pain," King says. "It's gentle but very deep." Learn more at www.zerobalancing.com. 4. MYOKINESTHETIC SYSTEM This system, developed by Kansas City chiropractor Michael Uriarte, is all about posture and balance. "Posture will never lie," Uriarte says. "You can look at someone's posture and say, 'This shoulder is high, that hip is low,' or whatever, and that tells you there is a problem here. And then you treat all the muscles on that pathway." The soft- tissue technique is performed with the client clothed and in whatever TEN FOR TODAY Clothed Bodywork Modalities By Rebecca Jones