Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1078860
HOW IS SARGA BODYWORK DIFFERENT? Ashiatsu, as we know it in the West, is a modality characterized by practitioners' exclusive use of their feet to deliver deep, broad, flowing manual therapy techniques with oil or cream for lubrication. It is usually practiced on raised massage tables in treatment rooms with overhead support therapists use for balance, such as parallel bars mounted to the ceiling. Ashiatsu is a relatively new modality pioneered by Ruthie Hardee and her team in the early 1990s. Hardee's Ashiatsu Deepfeet Bar Therapy developed standardized protocols that train massage therapists in the specific technique, safety, sanitation, and equipment considerations relevant to Ashiatsu. While Sarga Bodywork is a barefoot massage method that uses the feet as primary tools for manual therapy techniques, and while its instructors have background in Ashiatsu, Thai massage, barefoot shiatsu, and Chavutti Thirumal, Sarga Bodywork is none of the above. "We draw inspiration from these methodologies, and we honor our teachers and the rich lineages that inform and inspire our work," says Sarga Bodywork cofounder Jivatma Massaguer. Just as there are many methods that use the hands as manual therapy tools, Sarga Bodywork is a new addition to the growing world of foot-based massage. There are three elements that make Sarga distinct from other types of barefoot massage: 1. The use of tensional force via Sarga's proprietary equipment 2. Myofascial technique and the sparing use of lubrication 3. Directionally oriented myofascial technique There are many schools of thought around fascia and the manipulation of fascia; however, myofascial technique is defined here as manual therapy characterized by sustained, oblique, and high-friction contact with the aim of stimulating a stretch response in the fascia associated with muscle ("myo") tissue. Sarga Bodywork celebrates the broad, densely innervated surfaces of the feet as incredibly effective and intelligent tools for this purpose. THE EVOLUTION OF SARGA The word sarga has meaning in both Spanish and Sanskrit. In Spanish, sarga refers to a tapestry woven from many different threads. "This is a fitting concept for us, since Sarga Bodywork synthesizes techniques and teachings from many different traditions," Massaguer says. "It is appropriate that this metaphor of a tapestry is connected to the fabric that we hold in our hands for balance and support." In Sanskrit, the word sarga can refer to "creation" or "origin energy" made manifest into form. This idea sustains Sarga Bodywork's mission to provide techniques and materials that help inspire bodyworkers to resource their innate creativity in ways that are mindful, safe, minimally strenuous, and efficient. "Adding tensional force to your barefoot massage practice opens up an entirely new biomechanical relationship to your work," Massaguer says. One of the traditions that has influenced Sarga Bodywork is structural integration and the work of Ida Rolf. While Sarga Bodywork is in no way a form of structural integration, it employs directionally oriented myofascial techniques, or techniques applied in specific directions that aim to encourage patterns of structural efficiency in the body. More broadly, Sarga Bodywork techniques seek to align with the gravitational and tensional forces expressed by the principles of tensegrity. Tensegrity, a concept coined by architect Buckminster Fuller, is the pattern that results when "push" and "pull" have a synergistic relationship. Tensegrity is that sweet spot between push and pull. It is the fundamental "one-point" on which Sarga Bodywork is founded, discernible by its qualities of ease, focus, and presence. SARGA CONTRAINDICATIONS While Sarga Bodywork aims to stay on the soothing, parasympathetic side of manual therapy, it does wield some heavy-handed tools (barefoot massage, myofascial techniques, tensional and gravitational force) that if misused or misrepresented could be (or appear to be) invasive, aggressive, or even injurious. As manual therapists, it is our responsibility to be actively engaged in the dialogue of client consent, safety and trust, and boundaries in our practices. No matter how longstanding the client-therapist relationship, consent needs to be reestablished in every session. In addition to checking in with clients about contact, pressure, and comfort, perhaps the best way to maintain trust, communication, and consent with our clients 72 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 9