Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/108504
body-mind mechanics I was talking recently with my friend, teacher, and fellow Rolfer Art Riggs about the shortcomings of the usual one-size-fits-all prescriptions for "proper" body mechanics demonstrated in many massage and bodywork classes. In a profession that emphasizes the interconnectedness of the body and mind, most instruction on body mechanics for MTs and bodyworkers focuses on physical and structural rules without considering the importance of the mind and mind-sets that determine the ways we use our bodies. Years ago, in an early training practicum, a classmate asked me to "work harder." Like most new therapists when encountering what is perceived as negative feedback, I felt that comment meant I was somehow inadequate. To please my partner, I continued to give essentially the same massage but just began to press harder. After muscling my way through the rest of the session, using an inordinate amount of effort, I was sweating, my wrists ached, I was emotionally drained, and I had serious doubts about bodywork as a career. Luckily, I learned from that experience. Now that I've been teaching deep-tissue and myofascial skills for years, I've seen how one's mind-set is the precursor to the physics of force. Without a healthy state of mind, it is almost impossible to work properly with power and ease, no matter your posture. Don't misunderstand me—of course proper body mechanics are important, but education that only emphasizes physical and postural rules, especially generic rules that don't take into consideration the vast differences in strength and structure of practitioners, is inadequate and oftentimes counterproductive. An example of this is the long-accepted rule that table height should be set at a level where the therapist's knuckles barely brush the surface of the table when standing next to it. Would two therapists whose knuckles 88 massage & bodywork march/april 2013 are at the same level need the same table height? What if one had a longer or shorter torso than the other? I propose that any discussion of this subject expand beyond the usual postural physics to include the cultural, psychological, and physiological aspects of proper body mechanics. The Cultural Component We have come to admire the term hard as it relates to our work and our efforts. When John F. Kennedy made his famous "Moon Speech" he said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." People applauded and cheered, essentially for hard work. Most cultures regard hard work as the stepping-stone to success and fulfillment, but Kennedy might also have added the importance of working smart to his famous speech. If a client asks for more intense or deeper work, the implied message is that the therapist either isn't strong enough or isn't trying hard enough, and all that is needed is to work harder by pressing with more force rather than with more focus and intelligence. Often the culprit is the "no pain, no gain" adage, which can be compounded by our clients' incorrect impression that bodywork should be intense, even downright painful, in order to be beneficial. If we are trying to simply enes s a war