Massage Therapy

» Tulip50 - Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences

When I had my first ever massage in my late 40's, I was surprised at how this was more of an "emotional healing" experience for me than it was a "physical healing" experience. I truly thought there was something wrong with me and was embarassed that I almost started crying. That was 3 years ago and I have been searching for information about what I can do to enhance and support the healing process that somehow begins or is "unlocked" through massage therapy. This response only comes out with certain therapists and I can usually tell within the first 30 seconds of a massage if this will happen to me. (Does that have to do with "energy?") I truly don't understand this and the therapists I have talked with about this are aware of this and know that it is normal, but beyond that, cannot offer any other information. A recent session in reflexology (which I was not a great believer in)ended up being the most powerful SER experience I ever had.
I'm just looking for people to share their own SER experiences and help shed some light onto what WE as recipients of this can do to support healing that begins on the massage table.

-- posted by Tulip50

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» Sylvia Carlson - Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences

In response to Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences posted by Tulip50:

Hello Tulip50,

Thanks for sharing your experience and insights here. Without really knowing you and your history, I just have to say that it's hard for me to make comments on your experiences. I can only provide you with a general perspective, and my own experience with emotional release.

This is a really big subject and perhaps this discussion can be on-going. I will try my best to answer your questions.

First of all, when I use the term emotional release, I mean the actual release of emotion such as sadness, fear, anger. When you add the term, somatic, it means that the emotional release is related to the body. I think the emotional experience is directly connected to the physical experience. Have you ever read Candace Pert's "Molecule of Emotions"?

I hope you have found a massage therapist who won't make you feel embarrassed by the tears that come because it isn't easy to hold back when you are ready to let go.

I have my own theories about why the emotional release only happens some times and with only certain therapists. This has so much to do with your connection to your therapist, the level of trust, the level of emotional regulation of the therapist, the intent of the therapist and the client, as well as the willingness of the therapist and the client. I don't believe there is any one reason why it will or will not happen.

I don't know if I am an advocate of seeking out emotional release experiences as I believe your healing will occur at a time when you are ready, and you will find the right therapist shows up when you are ready. If you try too hard to rush the process of healing, you might find yourself in a state of overwhelm.

I am not sure how many massage therapists are really trained to deal with emotional release. When I was trained, I must say there was little in the way of discussion on the subject. What I learned is that we all need someone to bear witness to our hurt. We need someone to help validate our feelings and experiences and often times this person is a therapist, and some times a massage therapist. What comes up often is unresolved hurt and the feelings associated with certain experiences from our past that were not processed at the time.

I believe a massage therapist's job is simply to be present, compassionate and caring and non -judgemental. It isn't an every day occurrence to have someone give you permission to release your emotions, nor is it an everyday occurrence to have someone just be there without having to fix it.

Reflexology is no more a catalyst for emotional release work than any other form of bodywork. You might want to discuss what happened with your Reflexologist. What is their training and experience with emotional release?

There are some theorists and therapists who believe that a cathartic release is something to be encouraged. I am not of this belief. I have found that the less traumatic the emotional release, the better. Check out http://www.cftre.com/srt.php - Self-regulation therapy or http://www.traumahealing.com/ - Somatic experiencing for more information on non-cathartic therapy.

Like I said, this is a really big subject and there is so much that we don't even understand about the way the body and the mind communicate.

I hope this helps? Thoughts?

Sylvia

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» Tulip50 - Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness.

In response to Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences posted by Myrica:

Hello Sylvia,
Thank you for the resources and your insightful response. I do have a massage therapist who is in tune with "energies," is aware of what emotional release is, but really is not trained in any way in that direction. The three things that really came out at me in your response were:

1.This has so much to do with your connection to your therapist, the level of trust..

2. We need someone to help validate our feelings and experiences and often times this person is a therapist, and some times a massage therapist.

3. a massage therapist's job is simply to be present, compassionate and caring and non -judgemental. It isn't an every day occurrence to have someone give you permission to release your emotions, nor is it an everyday occurrence to have someone just be there without having to fix it.

Really, in today's world, there are few "safe places" or places that one does not have to be "on guard" at some degree. For myself, I think that a good therapist provides that space that I lack to let my guard down and that in turn is very healing. People go to psychologists for healing through "talk therapy" but I also see, for me, healing take place through "massage therapy" ....a healing without words, so to speak.

I read something about "energy cysts" and it was very interesting. I do believe that muscles hold memories. For example, there is an area on my shoulder, that everytime it is touched or I brush against it, I recall my son tapping me there and joking with me. The sensation of that muscle being touched automatically goes to that thought. That happens to be a funny, good memory, however, if someone was maybe slapped abusively on that same muscle...maybe a massage therapist working on that muscle would bring out the memories of fear and sadness..negative emotions-causing them to cry. THEY may not consciously recall the incident, but the muscle does and touching it creates the emotion.

I believe there is a whole field out there waiting to evolved that can bridge the gap between muscle memory and conscious memory where massage therapists could specialize in. Like a combination of pyschologist/massage therapist. I can see this field emerging in the future. The body, mind, emotion, and soul are too intertwined...and achieving healthy balance in all four should be the ultimate goal.

Right now, our society is set up with experts on body health, experts on mind health, experts on spiritual health, and experts on emotional health. We are scattered to the wind, yet we have all these components withing ourselves that need balance.

Where can we find mentors who bring all three together? I think massage therapy has potential for at least bringing body health and emotional health together and moving us one step closer to wholeness.

-- posted by Tulip50

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» Sylvia Carlson - Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness.

In response to Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness. posted by Tulip50:

Hi,

Thanks for your insightful comments. In response to your question: "Where can we find mentors who bring all three together?"

Typically, these people fall under the heading of Mind-body medicine where they focus on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior, as well as the way our emotional, mental, social, and spiritual behaviours affect our health

Here is a link to the National Center for Complimentary Medicine http://nccam.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/...

Also, check out this Alternative and Complementary Medicine Resource Guide http://www.amfoundation.org/mindbodymed....

I agree with your statement that "our society is set up with experts on body health, experts on mind health, experts on spiritual health, and experts on emotional health."

You and I both know that one affects the other and vice versa though it's not an easy task to bring balance into our lives, particularly in the 21st century.

Sylvia

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» Angela England - Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness.

In response to Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness. posted by Myrica:

I've been a massage therapist for years and while most of that time was spent in a very clinical setting, mostly working under a doctors supervision with specific treatment plans and such for acute cases, car accidents, rehab patients, etc. I did find a few clients who had an emotional experience. Sometimes it was in the form of tears, sometimes they would laugh "for no reason", or just sign periodically. Often times I had to educate clients how to RELAX. They would say "I'm relaxing" but until I pointed out a specific muscle and how they were holding it tight they didn't understand how to truly surrender that tension.

And I think that's a huge part of it: surrender. Because in a massage situation there IS a sense of giving up some control of yourself and allowing someone else to work on you and that, in and of itself, can bring up unique and strange emotions.

I often found clients became more and more aware of their own bodies as they continued coming. Instead of saying "I just am here becuase the doctor said to come" they would have real insights into how they were hurting, and why. "My sister and I got into a fight on the phone two nights ago and I've had this tension headache ever since."

Usually I just handed them a tissue and asked them if they were comfortable with me continuing the massage and just went on. Most clients didn't feel like talking about what prompted the tears - and always thanked me afterwards.

One time it was a client who was a hairstylist. She said later that she had seen that with two different clients of her own in the ten years she'd been styling hair. She said "I never understood why they had done that but now I do". :-)

Angela, RMT

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» Sylvia Carlson - Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness.

In response to Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness. posted by AngEngland:

Hi Angela,
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
Your response made me think about some of the most difficult cases I have came upon. I remember one client came to me who had had no relief for many years despite trying many different methods to relieve her pain. I was a little ambivalent working with her because she had literally seen every type of traditional and alternative health care practitioner prior to coming to see me. While I was working with her, I asked her to talk about what was going on in her life at the time this pain came on. I saw her weekly for several weeks. Several weeks later she called and told me she was without pain. Years later, I received a card from her that attested to the fact that the pain never returned. What I didn't tell her was that I truly believed the pain went away because we were able to bring everything together - the feelings, the situation and the physical sensation that it had produced in a very gentle and non-invasive way. It changed the way I practiced bodywork.

Thanks again for your insights.

Sylvia

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» Tulip50 - Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness.

In response to Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness. posted by Myrica:

I come back here from time to time to see if new comments have been added. For me, the most valuable benefit to receiving massages is the emotional healing that takes place. I believe that there is much more to good therapy than what most people are aware of. I have noticed something over the years about people I have run into that tend describe massages as enjoyable VS not. There are extremes to both, as in any sitiuation. In general though, acquaintances who would not even consider receiving a massage tend to be very outgoing and fiercly independent. I have heard comments from them such as, "I can't stand someone touching me for that long...it drives me nuts." One such friend even has a daughter who is a massage therapist and she never allowed her daughter to practice on her while she was in school. The other type of personality, the extreme of shyness, the quiet type who keeps things bottled up inside and rarely expresses feelings and has few close friends, tend to have "never had a massage," usually out of fear of being embarassed or just "being judged." It is these people, if they are able to finally bring themselves to experiencing massage therapy with a good therapist, will come to benefit the most in healing. The most difficult part is STARTING the experience, and for these people, I would recommend beginning by going to a school where weekend clinics are available. The reason for this is that you see clients come and go and therapist come and go and this alone, diminishes the possibility of "being embarassed" because you are just one client of many AND the therapist you get is just one of many. If this type of client SHOULD become embarassed, the next time they go to the clinic, it is highly likely that another therapist will be assigned as clinics just work this way. So, experiencing different therapists weekly over a period of time would help de-sensitize this type of client. I remember the first time I went for a massage. I was over 40 years old and it was on a dare.

Once the fear is taken care of, these types personalities should start searching out a regular therapist that they can trust and feel comfortable with and arrange for regular sessions. Once this is established, I believe that some of the most profound inner growth can take place for this type of client. It is not so much about the physical healing, but more about the emotional healing for these individuals that takes place...possibly the nurturing they never received as a child, or the simple caring touch of another human being, where in their lives they don't allow opportunity. I believe that the healing that takes place becomes the catalyst for this person that allows them to transition into better relationships with others around them and increasing inner self confidence. This angle of massage therapy, I believe, has not been properly studied or explored and has powerful implications for the future of massage therapy.

I read something last night written by Cathy Ulrich. It was an article called "Freedom for Feelings" from the Body Sense August/Winder 2005 Magazine - Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. It touched on this, so I know there is knowledge about this out there, but fefw use massage therapy for these purposes. The article can be found in full here (copy and past site): http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/i...

Well, I did find a massage therapist who comes to my home once per week, and will be here soon. I look forward to these inner healing sessions that bring me great strength for the week ahead.

Bless you all!

-- posted by Tulip50

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» Sylvia Carlson - Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness.

In response to Massages, more than 'body work"..start to wholeness. posted by Tulip50:
Thank you for your interesting and insightful comments.
I agree that massage therapy can be very healing. I am glad that you found the right massage therapist for you.

I know am always cautious when it comes to discussing emotional release work because most massage therapists are not really trained in this realm. I have seen and heard from many people who have had very strong emotional release episodes that left them feeling very overwhelmed rather than healed. There are some experts in the field of self-regulation therapy and somatic experience therapy who would argue that emotional release must be titrated, so to speak. The client must feel empowered not overwhelmed by the experience and the release should not overwhelm the individual. Imagine an individual who has spent a lifetime emotionally suppressed and then one day it all opens up. It would be too much and too scarey for them to continue.

What I have experienced, is that if the intention of your massage therapist is to help you to relax and ease tension, the process of integrating body and mind experiences will be very gentle and very healing in and of itself.

Having a massage greatly facilitates the connection between body and mind, but when it comes to a focus on emotional release, I really believe it has to be done with great care.

Sylvia

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» butterfly10 - Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences

In response to Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences posted by Tulip50:

Hi Tulip50,

I've had similar strong reactions reflexology sessions and the emotions have run the gamut from laughing to crying. It's definitely more intense for me than with a full body massage. I'm not sure why this is the case, but I've very curious about it and was surprised when I saw someone else who has had similar intense emotional reactions.

-- posted by butterfly10

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» Angela England - Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences

In response to Massage emotional release? Please share expenriences posted by butterfly10:

butterfly

Sometimes I think reflexology work is so surprising becuase we don't EXPECT it to effect us so much. :-) As a therapist I always reinforce to my clients that one area of the body can effect all of the rest of the body - for negative and for positive. I emphasize that working this particular part will help to effect a positive change in the whole body.

Blessings, Angela

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