Bodywork 101 and what is most important for your session.
I’ve been learning, teaching, and practicing now for about 3 years. The most critical thing that I’ve found so far to help clients is understanding their goals along with if I’m the right professional to help either short term or long term with their needs. I ofter get ask, “What do you do?” or “What kind of bodyworker / therapist ( sometimes masseuse lol) are you? While I seldomly correct the term masseuse being not only outdated and referring to a female therapist, I often have a hard time succinctly being able to describe what I do because it really depends on the client. I can give a great relaxing medium pressure massage that is more relaxing and calming which most would see as a “Swedish Style” massage though this is not my forte or what I think is the best use of my skills, qualifications, and tools.
The term "intuitive deep tissue massage therapist" sits well with what I think I do best, though some clients may think deep tissue is going to hurt. Sometimes it does based on the client's nervous system, past experience, and cadence getting massages. The more you are used to bodywork and firm pressure, the more your body is generally able to receive in terms of pressure and certain techniques including trigger point and even hydrotherapy. Your neuroreceptors also know what to expect and the brain is a powerful machine for getting us ready for what it’s already experienced—and the opposite is true as well. Meaning we can tense up, have anxiety, or stress out over the unknown.
This is true with bodywork and I see it all the time. With my clients who have seen me countless times, they know what to expect and the body is generally more at ease and muscles don’t guard, contract, or tense up as much. With first-time clients especially who have experienced little skilled bodywork, muscle guarding, squirming, and deep, anxious breathing is common.
There is a middle ground here that I like to try and obtain with all clients. A thorough intake and understanding of the goals of the session is critical. I do not jump right in to any session even if I’ve seen the client multiple times. I always like to understand how their body is feeling and if any areas need more time and attention. I’m not a miracle worker and also have to set expectations for new clients that have heard or read that I’m great at what I do.
I recently had a first time skeptical client (their words not mine) ask me at the end of the pointed session on a rotator cuff injury if he thought he should go ahead with a cortisol injection the following week. First, this is out of my scope to say and refute other primary care practitioners or specialists recommendations. Though I will give my advice and usually it’s based on how the client is feeling ~48 hours after the session. We should trust our intuition and know our body better than anyone else no matter how many letters are behind that person’s name. I’m a fan of more holistic techniques and remedies before invasive procedure or costly surgeries that do not guarantee pain relief. Sometimes surgery or other western modalities / medicine may be best though many times there are other options. Usually the client has to buy in and also do exercises, stretches, change postural habits / body mechanics, potentially invest in a new bed / mattress along with muscle strengthening and healthier diet to get the full life altering improvement they are after. There are so many steps to us reaching our Peak Vitality! It can not happen over night nor with one bodywork session.
The right LMT and or integrative health care professional knows their limits and has a network of other providers that may be able to help address certain pathologies or injuries that I can not. This is key for supporting a healthy client therapists relationship. I have recently listened to the audio book “It Doesn’t Have to Hurt” by Sanjay Gupta MD. This is a well written book based on his personal experience as a surgeon and investigative journalist. He gives many reasons and potential ways of treating pain. I like the approach bc of how well rounded and thoughtful it is pulling from a lot of different research from many millennia ago to the present. It’s a great read / listen if you are intrigued by the array of different treatments and schools of thoughts surrounding healing!
