Interview with Aaron Zweig, from Aloha Magazine
The beauty of massage lies in its ability to climb into your energy field, below the level of thought, ambition or agenda. The artful massage therapist brings into focus the first language we ever spoke–years before we could mouth our first words we were fluent in the communication of touch, and it can take us back into the lulled hush of weightlessness in a loving pair of arms. It can also kindle a connection with being, that first place of ground that reminds us we are here, safe and well, pulsing with life, simple and present to the unfolding moment.
When you take the opportunity to let massage rock your stress pattern, whatever game you are running falls away. Deeper touch can bring you into relationship with the core of your structure, your organs and bones, deeper muscles… lighter smoother long strokes can get you into an alpha brainwave generating state, and you can unfold layer by layer from the outside in. Specific bodywork can adjust your posture, and provide relief from pain and limited motion, as well as free up inflammation, which reduces muscles to the consistency of soggy, wet newspaper. Circulation improves and sensation of numb areas comes back bit by bit. Energy modalities such as shiatsu, reflexology, polarity, Reiki and craniosacral work each affect a different functional system, as subtle as the auric field to as deep as cerebrospinal fluid. Not much in the world of massage has been left out, and new sub-modalities are invented every year, to meet the advances made in health, wellness and current neuroscience.
What passes for an okay massage could be enhanced so easily by strengthening the rapport between client and therapist. Most therapists ask their clients to communicate in order to get the best treatment possible for themselves. Strangely, few clients ever do, feeling it is likely good for them to put up with discomfort; or tolerating less than adequate pressure because they don’t want to impose; or that the therapist might not appreciate the direction from a client. The client’s body is the terrain of the session and they’re the expert. But clients often believe they don’t know enough, that the therapist is the expert, or they don’t feel they can ask for exactly what they need. Feeling worthy of receiving the perfect massage, of being that valuable–such a vital part of good living—helps the client fine-tune the session to bring out the best in every therapist. The relationship deepens, and the sessions get better and better.
After every massage, schedule as little as possible, to receive the gift that was just given…life’s pace depends on each of us taking responsibility to slow down, become present and act with consciousness.
