Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/70551
CLASSROOM TO CLIENT OPENING AND CLOSING THE MASSAGE Many therapists begin and end a session with a short breathing exercise such as diaphragmatic exercise (page 99) or pursed-lip exercise (left). These exercises support session goals while providing opportunities to develop clients' awareness of how they breathe. All therapists must walk a careful line here. Too much focus on a breathing pattern can disrupt the client's relaxation experience and may cause resentment. Some clients resist breathwork because they just want to "get on with the massage." Check in with your client to determine how you'll proceed. If the client just wants to relax, the breath direction should be brief and to the point. If the client has particular concerns and asks you to address them, you have more latitude and may be able to spend significant time assessing and working with breathing patterns as a means to meet the goals you've both established for the session. The diaphragmatic breathing and the pursed-lip breathing exercises are brief enough to be used in every session (as desired by the client) and can help clients develop greater breath awareness and change poor breathing patterns. These exercises set the client up to breathe more evenly and deeply throughout the session, enhancing relaxation and ensuring proper amounts of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood. THROUGHOUT THE MASSAGE Breathwork is important throughout a session and can be used in a variety of circumstances. Sometimes you may notice that a client is taking a breath, holding it without conscious awareness, and then letting it out suddenly. Some clients regularly hold their breath without realizing it. You might say, "As I massage, try to focus on the even inward and outward movement of your breath. Try to make each breath full and complete. This will help regulate your breathing pattern and help relax your muscles." Clients then become aware of their breathing. You can also match your own breathing to the client's to help pace the massage to the client's natural body rhythms. Alternatively, focus on your own breathing to add intention to a stroke or to ensure that your movements flow in harmony with breathing. Your breathing pattern can also cue a client to breathe more regularly. For example, if you take an audible inward breath at the start of the stroke, you may find that the client joins in. As you exhale during the application of the stroke, the client might again follow along. Clients can be encouraged to release held muscle tissue with their breathing. As a muscle is lengthened, or as you move from the origin of a muscle to its insertion during a stroke, or as you move from distal body areas to proximal body areas, encourage the client to take a full breath and then exhale as the stroke is performed. Your directions to the client should be simple: "Please take a full breath, and now release it." If an area is particularly painful or tense, the client can use breathing to release the area or decrease the sensation of pain. For example, if you are applying a stroke on the back and the client tenses as you approach the rhomboid muscles you can say to the client, "I'm going to drop into this tight tissue. Take a full breath and feel as if you are using your breath to lift up my forearm. Now, take another deep breath and feel the tension dissipate as you release the breath." In certain advanced stretching techniques, like active isolated stretching and postisometric relaxation, the use of breath is fundamental to the technique. Potentially painful methods, like trigger point therapy, require a client to breathe through the technique to better tolerate and accept the therapeutic discomfort of its application. A BREATH FOR YOU Breathwork also benefits you, the therapist, by supporting good body mechanics. Sometimes therapists hold their breath unconsciously during a session, which causes tension to build in the body and lets the chest collapse, leading to misalignment of body structures. Focus on taking deep, even, full, rhythmic breaths throughout the massage session. Proper breathing provides oxygen to the muscles and body, helps you stay relaxed and centered, and helps you maintain correct body alignment during the delivery of strokes. With good body mechanics, exhale when applying a stroke that moves away from your body, and inhale with strokes that come toward your body. As you deliver massage, explore these breathwork suggestions and your own breathing patterns. In your practice, now you will be able to integrate and use breathwork effectively. So, take a deep breath, hold it, let it out slowly, and enjoy the benefits. Anne Williams is the director of education for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals and author of Massage Mastery: from Student to Professional (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012) and Spa Bodywork: A Guide for Massage Therapists, (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006). She can be reached at anne@abmp.com. Celebrate ABMP's 25th anniversary and you may win a refund on your membership. ABMP.com. 103