F r e e S O A P n o t e s w i t h M a s s a g e B o o k f o r A B M P m e m b e r s : a b m p . u s / M a s s a g e b o o k 109
Watch Til Luchau's technique videos and read his past articles
in Massage & Bodywork's digital edition archives. The link is
available at www.massageandbodywork.com, www.abmp.com,
and on Advanced-Trainings.com's Facebook page.
"Floating Sacrum
Technique"
Begin by making sure your client
understands why you propose working
in this potentially personal area. Once
you have clear agreement, ask your
client to lift the hips just high enough
so you can place your hand squarely
and comfortably under the client's
sacrum (Image 3), as described for
the pelvic lift on page 108. Your other
hand can rest on the client's knees,
abdomen, or elsewhere (Image 4).
Rather than immediately hooking in
or applying traction to the sacrum,
simply allow the sacrum to rest on
your hand. Let the sacrum come to
you, like a boat settling into the water.
Be sure you are comfortable and easy
in your own body; this will ensure
your touch is as receptive as possible.
Rather than move the sacrum, feel
for whatever movements it is already
making. In most cases, the breath
motion will be clearly palpable here;
by waiting, quieting, and listening
even more, you'll become aware of
other small, slow motions of this bone.
It's not uncommon to feel the slow,
longitudinal rocking of the sacrum
within the pelvis (the craniosacral
pulse), which is said to have both longer
and shorter cycles. You may also feel
other motions: slow drifting, dropping,
swiveling, or side-to-side motions.
Don't let your ideas of conventional
physics or joint biomechanics limit
what you feel. Likewise, resist the
urge to exaggerate, resist, correct,
or manipulate these sacral motions
for now; simply follow whatever
motions you feel, or think you feel.
Supporting the sacrum in this way
can be profoundly relaxing for your
client and will often produce a much
deeper experience than more pushing,
pulling, massaging, or manipulating.
In the Floating Sacrum Technique, the practitioner's hand is centered under the client's sacrum. The upper
hand can lightly rest on the abdomen as pictured, on the hip bones, or steady the client's knees. Once
in position, the practitioner follows the subtle movements of the sacrum, such as breath rhythms. Image
courtesy Advanced-Trainings.com.
3
You'll know enough time has passed
when you notice one or more of these
things:
•
A shift
in your client's movement
rhythms (typically a slowing
down or a moment of stillness).
• A sign of autonomic change (such as a
twitch, deep breath, eye flicker, etc.).
• Your own sense of finality (though
it's usually best not to use your
own restlessness as the only guide
to timing your techniques).
Remove your hand, either by having
your client reverse the process of lifting
the hips off the table or by using the
traction described above to end with
a sense of length in the lumbar spine,
and be sure to allow your client time to
savor and soak in the restful quiet this
gentle technique can engender.
Notes
1. C. H. Th. Schreger, Synonymia anatomica.
Synonymik der anatomischen Nomenclatur.
Fürth: im Bureau für Literatur (1805); J. Grimm
and W. Grimm, Deutsches Wörterbuch,
University of Trier, accessed October 2015,
www.woerterbuchnetz.de/DWB/?sigle=DW
B&mode=Vernetzung&lemid=GK13393.
2. Frank P. Foster and William C. Ayres, An
Illustrated Encyclopædic Medical Dictionary (New
York: D. Appleton and Company, 1891–1893).
3. Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed
October 2015, www.etymonline.
com/index.php?term=sacrum.
4
4. Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine,
ed. Anthony Chila (Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins, 2010): 575.
5. Stephen W. Porges, The Polyvagal Theory:
Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions,
Attachment, Communication, and Self-
regulation (New York: WW Norton, 2011).
6. R. Upadhyaya and G. Sharma, Awake
Kundalini (Lotus Press, 2006): 99.
7. Mary Bond, "The Pelvic Lift: Theme and
Variations," accessed October 2015,
www.healyourposture.com/wp-content/
uploads/2012/02/pelvic-lift.pdf.
8. Thomas Myers, "The Pelvic Lift: A Rolf-
Approved Session Finisher," Massage &
Bodywork, January/February 2013.
Authors note: an expanded version of
this column will appear in my upcoming
book, Advanced Myofascial Techniques
Vol. 2, to be published early 2016 and
available at Advanced-Trainings.com.
Til Luchau is a member of the
Advanced-Trainings.com faculty, which
offers distance learning and in-person
seminars throughout North America and
abroad. He is a Certified Advanced Rolfer
and originator of the Advanced Myofascial
Techniques approach. Contact him via info@
advanced-trainings.com and Advanced-
Trainings.com's Facebook page.
