Transformational Bodywork
Transformational Bodywork is a process that utilizes a variety of massage techniques to re-align the body's structure, releasing old tensions and pains that it has held onto. This allows the psyche to realize new ways of being that are more balanced and centered.
There are three fundamental concepts inherent within this process:
STILLNESS : Much of our lives are spent in a flurry of activity. When we are not doing something, we typically are thinking about what we need to do next, constantly making lists and filling up our time with doing, doing, doing. This constant busy-ness rarely allows us the time to relax, let alone achieve the state of inner peace that can come from stillness.
Brad approaches his work from a deep meditative space. This is communicated through non-hurried touch and the process of gently inviting a deep state of relaxation to emerge within your own body. Brad also uses music composed or carefully selected, as a background to facilitate the bodywork. A place of stillness is created as a result, inviting and allowing you and your body to experience calmness and the release of tension that leads to a genuine sense of peacefulness.
To be touched in peace, is to be allowed to experience peace.
ACCEPTING : For the vast majority of us, the road of life has been filled with a variety of difficulties and pain; Pains, both physical and emotional. And we almost always respond to these pains in the same way. We strive to hold them at bay; putting them on the shelf and locking them away where they can`t remind us of what hurts or confuses us. On many levels, we find self-protective ways to block out what seems intolerable to us.
The problem with this is; it doesn`t work. Experiences that cause pain can still find nagging ways to break through our armor and call for our attention. Sadly, in our attempts to block out painful experiences, we may put up walls that block the very things that could be available to heal or help us. We rarely are given any kind of meaningful guidance on how to selectively choose what we allow into our selves. Instead, we resort to a response that seeks to block out everything, sometimes even the love offered by our partners, families, or caring others; the very love that might nourish us and help us heal, if we could only let it in.
By the simple fact that the bodywork sessions occur from a place of stillness and peace, your body has a chance to recognize there is a "safe place" in which it can relax and accept. As your body is helped to release the tensions that create the walls, you are given the opportunity to take in healing in a safe manner, without demands.
Remembering how to accept is an incredibly powerful moment of transformation.
BODY MEMORIES : This concept is understood within many cultures stretching back throughout history. Recently, it is being explored, as well as given levels of acceptance within modern medicine and a field of study called psychoneuroimmunology.
The idea of body memories holds that the "negative" experiences we have in life become embedded within our physical bodies. These are evidenced in areas of tension, tightness, and pain. They are areas around which we contract our bodies, in order to protect ourselves, physically and emotionally.
Often we can talk about the experiences that result in these tensions, and process the feelings we had in these "negative" experiences; but we still hold the tension in our bodies. When the body still holds these patterns, we continue to feel the active effects within our lives.
With careful manipulation and gentle touch, Brad is able to release these places of tension. Deep sighs, body shivers, and sometimes-actual memories accompany such a releasing process.
Releasing the body memories allows us to approach life in a renewed and healthy way, free of past patterns of guarding and constriction, able to open to what nourishes us.
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Sessions are typically 45 to 60 minutes.
It is highly recommended that you do NOT schedule any significant activities after the sessions.
Transformational Bodywork does not require you to undress, unlike the vast majority of massage techniques currently in practice. There are certain manipulative techniques that require skin contact that can be beneficial, but they are not necessary for the process of transformation to occur. It is strictly your choice as to your comfort level; you can choose to experience a session completely clothed.
After Your Session
The process that is begun in the bodywork can continue over days, and sometimes weeks after the session. Many people find that it is helpful to do further processing of issues that arose during a bodywork session. Here are some suggestions to use for finding greater clarity and integration after your session:
- Get plenty of rest or sleep; take breaks
- Drink extra water; Attend to physical needs and nutrition; Take a warm bath
- Process issues verbally with a therapist
- Make a collage of pictures or journal/write about your feelings or thoughts
- Quiet exercises, such as prayer, meditation, yoga, or relaxation techniques
- Physical exercise or Gentle stretching
- Interact positively with a friend or pet
- Use soothing music or Guided meditation
- Take deep breaths if anxious
- Read a soothing book, poetry, or affirmations
- Don't make any dramatic life changes right after a session; allow time to process
- Avoid alcohol/drugs right after your session; instead, rest and drink water