Massage & Bodywork

November | December 2014

Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/398416

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 83 of 133

F r e e m u s i c d o w n l o a d s f o r C e r t i f i e d m e m b e r s : 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 81 CST that I used to help him, but I truly believe his other therapists could have been effective with their modalities if they had come from a more neutral place, one in which they focused more on paying attention to his body's cues than on bolstering their assumptions. When you're working, do you ever notice a guarding response in your clients? Have you considered, beyond just the amount of pressure you're applying, what else might cause that? In her book Full Body Presence, Suzanne Scurlock-Durana writes, "Most of us naturally do lean into whomever we are trying to help. But what feels safest to someone in need is a caregiver with full-body presence that is wide, diffuse, and not highly focused on them." Scurlock-Durana pioneered the Healing from the Core curriculum to help therapists develop their own inner resources and support their therapeutic presence. What might happen in your own practice if you tried to relax into what you are doing and became more aware of yourself? THOUGHTS AND BIASES It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work and that when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. —Wendell Berry Physical neutrality allows us to meet our clients' bodies with contact that is comfortable and effective. It's equally important to work toward a neutral approach in our thoughts and opinions. Recall my client Michael: his therapists' comments revealed their opinions, which were then translated into less-than-neutral— and less-than-helpful—bodywork. Knowing our innate biases can keep us from mindlessly reacting to our own thoughts. When we focus on our idea of a good outcome, we may miss something important. It's also good to remember that by focusing on alleviating symptoms, we align ourselves solely with the part of the client that wants to change, and distance ourselves from any part that doesn't. Another client of mine, Angelica, assists child welfare workers with their most difficult cases. The nature of her work is emotionally draining, and her travel schedule is physically demanding. She came to me complaining of frequent, debilitating migraines. As I made contact with the tight band of tissue at the base of her skull, she spoke about how much the headaches limited her, keeping her at home in a quiet room for days at a time. I was very conscious of a pull in me to want to eradicate her headaches, and an impulse to tighten my hold to try to soften the muscles there. I chose not to align with that. Instead, I kept my contact steady and asked her, "So, what about these headaches?" As I sat with her, meeting the tension in her tissues, she found an answer that surprised us both: the headaches kept her from working beyond her capacity. She was so dedicated to her work that if the headaches didn't make her take time off, she might never rest. As she spoke, her fascia began to lengthen, and I followed that movement. Recognizing the protective nature of her migraines allowed Angelica to prioritize self-care. She scheduled rest periods in her week, and her headaches began to subside. Over several sessions, the tightness in her tissues resolved. She hasn't had a migraine in nearly a year. When we think we know all about an issue, and how it should be resolved, we may close ourselves off to information that doesn't fit our assumptions. Mary Ellen Clark's story illustrates this. An Olympic diver, she developed vertigo that threatened her career. She saw an array of specialists, all of whom focused on her inner ear, assuming the cause was there. Then she came to see John Upledger, DO, OMM, the developer of CST, who found a slight fascial pull in her right knee and ankle from an old injury. It was putting enough torque on her system to affect her sense of balance. He helped her release that tension, and she went on to take her second bronze medal in diving. CULTIVATING NEUTRALITY Our clients come to us with goals: they want to stop hurting, move more easily, have a better quality of life. We can want that for them, too, but when we decide how that's going to happen, we've prioritized our own opinions and done them a disservice. Cultivating a more neutral approach means aiming to introduce as little of your own bias as possible, keeping the focus on your clients and their process of healing. The results your clients experience will speak for themselves. Robyn Scherr is diplomate-certified in craniosacral therapy, the highest level of certification in that field. A frequent teaching assistant for all levels of the Upledger Institute curriculum, she's also the editor of From My Hands and Heart (Kate Mackinnon, Hay House, 2013). Find out more at www.livinginthebody.net. CULTIVATING NEUTRALIT Y

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Massage & Bodywork - November | December 2014