Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1481961
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 57 their left side than in their right. My hands instinctively want to turn toward that left side. But I don't follow that instinct. That would mean my hands would get ahead of my body, and soon I would start muscling. Instead, I first shift the direction of my feet; I swivel on the balls of my feet so my toes turn toward that tight side. With that small shift of my feet, just a 20- or 30-degree rotation, my legs and trunk rotate too. Then, when my hands move in that direction, toward their tense muscles, that stroke—same as the initial eff leurage along the erectors—is merely the extension of my whole body leaning. I am not pushing or pressing that tense area, which would just add to the tension already there. Instead, I can simply pour my body weight, from my feet all the way into my hands, into that tense area. My upper body does not create the pressure; it merely is the conduit of what my lower body is doing. That tiny shift in the direction of my feet enables me to continue to work in a way that feels good for the client and feels good for me. But remember, along with direction comes position. In this case, as I pivot my body and sink into that tight area, I feel a sudden, sharp inhalation in the client's rib cage. Typically, this means I have come across an area that is more tender or tense or sore than the client expected. I want to adjust my pressure so the client doesn't tense further, but I want to do so in a way that is as effortless as possible, both for their sake and my own. The solution? Change the position of my feet. I slide one foot a few inches closer to the table, and then do the same with the other foot. Without disrupting my stroke, or even moving my hands at all, I have lightened the pressure: Shifting my feet further under my body means more of my body weight has come into my feet, and less of it is pouring into the client. These changes in direction and position are largely imperceptible to the client—it doesn't seem like I am doing much of anything at all—and yet the client is very aware of the results. Now that I have lightened the pressure, the client's breathing begins to slow and deepen once again, and I know I am doing useful work in this tense area of the back. In fact, after a few seconds, I am confident I can deepen my pressure once again. But instead of simply doing the default and pushing down deeper with my arms, I adjust my feet, this time reversing what I did a few seconds earlier. Then, I shuff le my feet closer to the table to decrease my pressure; now, I shuff le one foot, and then the other, a few inches away from the table. Same as before, the position of my hands doesn't change. But now, with my feet farther back, more of my body weight is poured into the client's tissue, thus deepening my pressure. In this tiny moment we have a microcosm of the session as a whole. I will shift the direction and the position of my feet again and again across the next hour. And with these tiny shifts, multiple times every minute, I can give the client exactly what they need, while also taking care of my own body. FUN WITH FEET Paying attention to your feet is not a panacea for all the difficulties of being a massage therapist. Your feet can't solve all your problems. And indeed, it is possible to pay attention to your feet and still overuse the muscles of your upper body to push and dig into the client. No single change is going to save us from our counterproductive habits. But paying attention to the roots of your body does have the potential to alter the roots of your work. I think it is inevitable that each of us will develop counterproductive habits over our careers. Using our lower body too little and our upper body too much is one of the most pervasive habits I find true in almost every therapist who comes into my classroom. These counterproductive habits tend to snowball, building on top of one another, growing so big that doing things differently starts to seem impossible. Even though our bodies might hurt, and our brains might be unsatisfied, sometimes it's just easier to stay stuck and continue to do what we have long done. But the opposite is also true. If you let yourself experiment with a simple new habit, then that new habit has the potential to snowball. Challenge yourself to check in with your feet, to shift the direction of your feet with each stroke, and to shift the position of your feet each time you need to adjust your pressure. As your body remembers how satisfying it can be to give a massage, this new habit will grow and grow. If you give your lower body the chance to move more, and allow your upper body to work less, you'll find the same ease in your whole body that you try so hard to give your clients. David M. Lobenstine, LMT, BCTMB, has been massaging, teaching, and writing for over 15 years. He designs and teaches his own continuing education workshops, both across the US and online, at Body Brain Breath Continuing Education. He is a co-author of the third edition of Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy, and a regular contributor to Massage & Bodywork magazine. For more information about the author, visit bodybrainbreath.com. VIDEO: "FEET FIRST" 1. Open your camera 2. Scan the code 3. Tap on notification 4. Watch!