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This foundational session work is a holistic, hands-on approach that treats the body as a whole, working to identify the drivers and adjacent influences of an issue rather than simply attempting to treat only localized symptoms or isolation of independent body systems. It’s based on the understanding that the structure of your body, its bones, muscles, joints, fascia and organs, all influence function. When something in that elegant complexity becomes impeded it can have repercussions on all the other systems and diminish a sense of well-being. There are a multitude of cause and effect scenarios that affect how and why these impediments stack. Therefor, the work emphasizes the relationship between them and the structure and function of the human body as well as its innate ability to self-heal and self-regulate. This is why the protocols associated with these approaches are not the same as a general massage therapist intent on specific modalities but instead are viewed as an informed facilitation to remediate impediments to the body’s natural state. The work addresses the body as the whole that it is through comprehensive engagement of the various systems influencing embodied experience as understood through physiology, affective neuroscience, kinesiology, psyche, and human development. If you come in with localized pain for example, your area of concern will always be met, but its often not just that area itself that needs to treated. To experience relief, results, and ultimately restorative outcomes, all the systems that affect and are affected by the area of concern will be explored. The hips, back, neck, feet, etc all influence each other and so have a role contributing to the salient issue in a client’s awareness, be it the cause of the issue itself, or in addressing the compensations resulting from an issue. By exploring underlying influences the work seeks to stimulate a return to regulated balance and well being. Treatments incorporate a variety of hands-on techniques, that aid in the restoration of movement, function, and circulation while acting to improve overall biomechanics. Treatment can be adapted to the needs and focus of anyone wishing to enhance their well being, engage in self care, or remediate any issues of imbalance, pain, stress, or tension. One does not need to be in pain to benefit, the value of informed touch is always supportive to the human experience. No matter what the issue may be, the governing truths of hands on wellness facilitation are always relevant. These three fundamental concepts apply to all sessions:

 

1: The body is an interconnected whole, nothing happens in isolation

2: Structure governs function, if something is compromised, restricted, or damaged, its ability to function optimally is reduced

3: The body is self-healing and self-regulating, when freed from interference, the endogenous intelligence of the body itself is what creates the healing process.

 

Many people come in for support with:

 

Back, neck, and joint pain

Headaches and migraines

Injuries or post injury intervention support ( post surgery or recovery ) Posture-strain and repetitive stress concerns

Digestive, circulatory or respiratory issues associated with imbalance

Stress-related tension and fatigue

Nervous system or emotional/psychological overwhelm

Or even as is so often necessary, to simply drop into experiencing themselves more deeply.

 

This work is not focused on chasing symptoms, rather the objective is to facilitate intra-systems communication while clearing any remediable mechanical contributors to dysfunction in order to restore balance so that the body can be free to heal itself, as it is designed to do. The foundational concept is that if the body can better communicate between its parts, that will result in an overall improved experience of well being allowing for better function, energy, and health to manifest. Post session, many people report feeling more open, unburdened, with increased freedom of movement, improved bodily functions, more regulated rest/wake cycles, and an improved quality of life, perspective, and capacity. The goal is to support the individual as a whole. People often find themselves feeling better in more areas than the one they first sought help for. While sessions are initiated much the same way a massage might be, the focus of massage therapy is often on working the soft tissues and muscles of the body with the intent of relaxation. Relaxation can be a subjective experience of myoskeletal balancing, but it is not necessarily the point. This work seeks improvement of overall function and goes beyond muscles, to include the bones, joints, fascia, circulation, even organs and considers their mobility and function physiologically, energetically, emotionally and psychologically. It seeks to address numerous influencers of a compromised sense of well being. Where a massage therapist may address a sore back muscle, a myoskeltal balancing facilitator is focused more on why that muscle is stuck in a tension pattern in the first place, with the objective being remedy of the deeper and often more latent driver. Modality specific practitioners often focus primarily on symptom. They can be very skilled at managing something to get specific areas back to a preconceived condition. That certainly has its place. Myoskeletal balancing pursues aspects of those same outcomes, but acts to more fully restore balance in the whole body which allows for improvements in movement patterns that can decrease strain and prevent future repeat injuries. For instance, while a sports therapist may develop strength and conditioning exercises for a knee injury, myoskeltal balancing may find that hip mobility or pelvic alignment is the cause of the knee being over-stressed in the first place, so by prioritizing the interconnected influences, the focus point of the client is often resolved or significantly improved while whole body harmony is also restored. This work does not use machinery, exercises, devices or configured modalities. Instead, focus is on enlivening sensation, circulation and the functional mechanics through a specific system of manual engagement that allows for a person’s optimal state to return. Restoring harmony is the objective. The spinal, pelvic, and cranial systems as well as the shoulders, musculoskeletal, visceral, and fluid mechanics systems are often all addressed to achieve whole body wellness. All of these pieces are linked and benefit from being “reconnected” in sensory communication. Form follows function. Movement and mechanics affect wellness.

This work is not confined to only one type of injury, one system or one method. It’s inclusive, malleable and aimed at soothing the root of the problem, not just treating symptoms. It is also customizable and can be delivered regionally in order to meet anyone’s preference for focus or avoidance of specific areas in order to maximize the benefit of what you the client are intent on addressing.