Massage & Bodywork

MARCH | APRIL 2016

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C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 31 TABLE LESSONS best practices How the Light Gets In The Precious Process of Touch By Douglas Nelson To have a life by design and not by default, it is important to periodically revisit why we do what we do. Years ago, at the genesis of this column, Massage & Bodywork Editor-in-Chief Leslie A. Young and I agreed that every massage session is a learning opportunity—for the therapist, the client, or often both. For the last several years, I have chosen isolated sessions that represent an important principle or clinical pearl. I am convinced, however, that every session could be a viable column (of course, at seven or eight clients per day, that's a lot of stories to tell!). To test this concept, one morning I arbitrarily decided to write about the third appointment of my afternoon, no matter what the content. I had no idea who was on the books that day or what the purpose of the treatment might be. If every session holds a lesson, let's let chance decide. While this column is vastly different than previous Table Lessons, the message is quite profound. I hope you agree. "What you do is so important," my client said. This statement came after a long silence, during which I had been intently releasing restriction in her hips. "Thank you," I replied. "So many people hurt, and they don't know that precise soft-tissue work could really help them." "That's true," she said. "But that's not what I am referring to. Just the act of touch is immensely important and often underestimated. Touch alone is a very powerful force."

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