Massage & Bodywork

November/December 2012

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true story Margaret invited me to her home to help with relaxation. When I arrived, she was having shoulder pain. She expected me to massage her shoulders and was surprised when I suggested that I work with her feet first. About 20 minutes into our session, she became very sleepy. I asked her about the shoulder pain, and she replied, "Oh, that is gone!" MAPPING THE BODY'S ENERGY When we practice polarity reflexology, we are also working with the longitudinal energy lines. The interplay of our positively and negatively charged currents creates energy centers, or chakras. (The word chakra means "wheel.") The chakra centers spin and throw off lines of force up and down the body. Our fingers and toes represent the margins at which the lines of force turn and are drawn back to the energy centers. The chakra centers contain related mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual qualities that arise from the nature of energy expressed by that center. Our hands and feet can be mapped to show how this wireless energy pattern can be stimulated to reflex back to the chakra centers, and thus to the organs and glands related to those centers. POLARITY THERAPY PROTOCOLS FOR THE HOSPICE CLIENT I use two methods when performing a polarity foot reflexology treatment. The first is gentle massage to work out tender, tense, or flaccid areas on the feet. The second is to hold points to polarize the energy patterns. This simply means gentle contact with two hands on two different points while waiting for the energy pulses to equalize, or pulse together. Polarity foot reflexology may be performed by a therapist, family member, or hospice staff member. Be aware that muscle tissue is often decreased in a hospice client and deep-tissue contact is generally not appropriate. WORKING WITH THE DYING One of my mentors in hospice care was a heart-centered physician who sat quietly on the edge of the beds of his dying patients. He would say to the anxious families, "Your loved one is letting go of his body. Now is the time to nourish not the body, but the spirit." I watched the tension drain from the room; families may not know much about medicine, but they know a lot about spirit. Hospice care at the end of life allows families and clients to spend their time nourishing one another. The polarity practitioner can play an important role in offering that nourishment. Approaching the client without an agenda gives permission for the client to have her GENERAL POLARITY FOOT REFLEXOLOGY SESSION Massage the following areas: • General, gentle, full-body massage. • Massage up and down the tendons on the tops and bottoms of the feet. • Massage between the toes. Massage the following corresponding areas on the bottom of the feet: • Diaphragm Area (lower margin of transverse arch). • Shoulder Area (upper margin of transverse arch). • Kidney Area (medial central area). • Colon Area (up lateral right foot, across foot at arch, and down lateral left foot). • Hips and Pelvic Areas (heel girdle). • Sacrum (base of heel). 112 massage & bodywork november/december 2012

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