More pressure.  More pressure.  No, less pressure.  Back off, dammit!

There are a number of factors that make a massage good or bad.  Did the therapist pay attention to me?  Were they 'there' during the session?  Were the movements smooth?  Was the pressure correct? 

Massage is a form of healing that relies on touch.  If the touch is too heavy, it is bad.  If it is too light, it is like not being worked at all.  A therapist's touch has to be caring, healing, appropriate with the proper intent, and it has to be 'just right'.  And it is the latter that usually makes or breaks the massage. 

Depending on what type of massage is needed (and that has to be agreed upon between the client and therapist), massage can be pleasant or painful.  Sometimes, the problems someone has can only be worked out by deep massage which could utilize trigger points in very tight muscles.  Sometimes, what someone needs is fascial work (work on the connective tissues) which can hurt at times and is not what people think of when they think massage.  The plus side on these styles is that a person will generally feel much better afterwards, and that feeling will increase over the next couple of days.  The effect can be more permanent as well.

But for most 'normal' style of massage, someone is looking to relax and loosen up muscles.  The right type of pressure here is important.  Pressure that is too light makes one feel like they were not worked on at all.  Too heavy makes one feel 'beat up'. 

A survey a few years back said that the most requested style of massage in the state of Florida is Deep Tissue.  And most massage places charge more for that.  But most people don't realize what deep tissue truly is.  Deep Tissue can be killer deep.  It employs lots of pressure, and most people don't want that.  But people request it because they have had massage previously where the therapist used too little pressure (what we in the industry call 'Fluff and Buff').  These people walk away thinking that regular massage is too light so they must need Deep Tissue work. 

In truth, most people just want to feel their massage, and most (intuitive) therapists should be able to gauge the pressure that is appropriate.  However, if you are receiving a massage and the pressure is not right, feel free to tell the therapist what they should do.  If they do not listen to you, that is another issue.  But, they should change to give you what you need.  They key is that you need to speak up and let them know. 

So, what pressure is right for you?

• May 7 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm  Confirmed
• June 4 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm  Confirmed
• July 9 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm
• August 6 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm
• September 10 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm
• October 8 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm
• November 12 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm

The following is a list of currently scheduled classes.  This class is a two-day class worth 12 CE hours for Florida massage therapists.  Each class (unless otherwise marked) currently has a status of 'Scheduled'.  This means that a date has been set, but no one has signed up for it yet.  Once a deposit has been received for a class, the status will be 'Confirmed'.  The current schedule is as follows:

• May 14th - May 15th  (Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm)   Confirmed

• August 13th - August 14th  (Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm) 

Note: Check with the hotel for special room rates.  

Maximize your results with less effort. Utilize the science of martial arts and apply it to massage. Body Mechanics and Advanced Techniques for Massage Therapists is designed to reconnect the massage therapist with proper body mechanics and techniques showing how to work without hurting oneself and how to apply deep pressure with little effort.  The class being part lecture, part hands-on practice uses theory, stances, centering, and the proper use of body strength from martial arts and applies them to the art of massage therapy.  Students will learn how to focus their energies and use their body to do deep work with less effort and not get hurt.  This class will help anyone to work deeply with less effort no matter if one is 90 pounds or 250 pounds.  This class is for both the seasoned therapist and the new therapist.  It will show moves everyone is familiar with, but in a new light as well as moves many people may not have seen before (which have been taken from Lomi Lomi, Esalen, and other styles).  The idea is not to dictate how to practice, but to show better body mechanics which the therapist can adapt to what they do.  This is true whether they adapt all of it or just part of it.

A friend pointed me to an article written by a Reiki master that quoted this line.  I remember the line from an old science fiction TV show where one person was trying to ready another for a fight.  But the line originally, "Be Like Water" came from actor and famed martial artist Bruce Lee.

Lee was talking about doing martial arts with such a flow that it resembled the smoothness of water.  But the comparison does not stop there. 

The first thing to ask is.... What does water do?  Water is a substance that bends, moves, works around things.  It is very strong (look at how it erodes land and smoothes rocks).  But, while it moves around denser objects, it never goes away.  If you move your hand through water, you can move unimpeded as water moves around to make way for you.  But when you take your hand out of the water, your hand is wet.  The water may give way, but it does not go away.

As the article mentioned, when we learn something, we learn basics, a routine, by rote if you will.  For example, massage therapists may be jerky at first.  After time, and practice (lots of practice), routine turns into skill, then (hopefully) into intuition.  That is the point that it becomes flow.  That is the point that one becomes like water. 

This is the case for healers of all types.  Massage therapists blend their motions until it is just one motion.  Lightworkers (energy workers) open to their intuition to where they are listening to the energies of the person they are working on, and adjusting what they do to meet the needs.  It is a point where healers of all types become one with the person they are working on.  It is where they feel themselves and their motions combine with their subject's to create a dance of energy, of healing, of flow.  It is a symbiotic relationship of balance, of giving and taking, of matching and meeting needs.  And when it is done, the healer has made their subject feel better. 

Flow is also about our approach to life.  Do we go charging through life, bashing things out of our way as we go?  Do you walk through the mall that way?  Or do we move around objects, blend with them in this short dance and then separate?  Do we charge, or do we flow? 

Think about that the next time you are out.  And as you do, move like water.

At Caring Palms, we pledge to do the best work we can at every session.  We not only do this to continue to earn your business, but because we believe that you deserve the best care possible every time you are here.  This is true whether it is massage, or energy work, or classes.  This is our promise.  This is what we will continue to do.