About last night…..
Last night was the return to our weekly Swedish Massage Trade Workshops at IN TOUCH MEN, after our 2 week holiday break. OH HOW I MISSED THESE HANDS..
It was so wonderful to return to the tables and the touch of the AMAZING men who show up for themselves and for eachother's wellbeing week after week.
We are growing into a happy massage family.
Last night we talked about and explored ideas around pacing ones work, and finding that beautiful balancing point between the strokes we are learning. I have learned over the years that if one uses a balanced, rhythmic, layered approach when applying touch each technique used must be allowed the proper time to work its magic. Getting the sequence and timing correct is the challenge and when done correctly it is the art and beauty of a session.
We discussed the importance of allowing the person on the table time to fully experience one type of massage stroke, in a few phases, before moving on to the next.
Viewed from the receiving side of touch ( A BIG PLACE OF LEARNING AT ALL OUR WORKSHOPS ), when a stroke is introduced it takes our body a moment to get into its flow and find its intention. This is important for the giver of touch to understand.
When our body feels a new stroke it takes a few of them before we fall into a rhythm with the applied technique. Then we need a bit of time with that stoke to feel the benefits, relax into it and allow our body to make its adjustments. When this happens the work being done to us has a lasting effect.
As the giver of touch if we do not have this RECEIVERS MIND, in our GIVERS MIND, and we simply move haphazardly from one stroke to the next, we never allow the body we are working the proper time to find balance. We are then simply pushing people around and getting nowhere.
Finding that balance is the tricky part and is constantly changing under our hands. The only way to do it is with practice, practice , practice.
Those who develop this ability to introduce a touch technique, allow it the time to seep in, continue it as it works its therapeutic effects and move on to the next technique before becoming annoying and repetitive have the ability to truly relax and refresh the people they touch.
We were all in bliss last night as we all found this beautiful balanced point in our work.
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