I talk a lot about movement.  The reason being that movement is essential for all body processes and for tissue health.  It’s also a way for us to bring our mind into our body.

Massage is movement.  

I sometimes overlook saying this, but there is a direct connection between all this movement that our tissues thrives on, and massage.  Massage is the process of bringing movement to an unmoving part of the body. Massage, or touch, also helps us bring our mind into our body.

Because we’re a bodymind, rather than just a physical collection of parts (meaning our bodies contain, not just things like circulation, inflammation etc, but also contain emotions, reactions, and memories) the kind of movement that massage brings, or could bring if done sensitively, is bodymind movement.  

When we acknowledge the layers of mind in the body, and interact with them, without trying to push them around and tell them how they should be.  We allow movement to return to a stuck place in a way that is profound, and can last indefinitely. This kind of movement changes who we are.

I do think it’s possible to do some of this on one’s own, by bringing one’s own mind deeply into movements we do ourselves and feeling how we feel.  But there is something about being in rapport with another person–with a healing intention–that is irreplaceable. It allows us to see what we otherwise aren’t able to see.  And, if we feel safe, to try things that are unfamiliar and potentially scary. Like letting go of our neck, or that other part of us that has had to hang on for so long, so things don’t fall apart.