bodywork and Integrative Bodywork
What is 'bodywork'?
The last two decades has brought a renaissance of touch therapies. An ever-growing list of forms, such as Alexander Technique, Breema Work, Craniosacral Therapy… to Zero
Balancing, are on offer to patrons of the healing arts. In places like
my native California there has been an explosion in the number of
ostensibly highly differentiated systems all working through the body
to achieve their not-so-various aims – personal growth, health and
wellbeing. The word ‘bodywork’ is a simple means of grouping these
various psycho-somato-emotional therapies together.
For an outstanding explanation of the word 'bodywork' and its usage, I turn to Job's Body: A Handbook for Bodyworkers by Deane Juhan. This was written in 1987, and I believe it is still relevant and accurate, even in a culture which has evolved as radically as that of the healing arts:
There are some respects in which the term "bodywork" does not please me. It conveys well enough the idea of the body being touched in a deliberate fashion for specific results, but it does nothing to evoke the powerful emotional responses and shifts in mental attitudes which often accompany these physical manipulations. And it has the additional drawback of sounding like something one does to dented automobiles. However, I confess I am hard put to find a term which, on the whole, serves better.
The
word "massage" covers a number of styles – Swedish, Esalen, sport
massage, and so on; but it does not include many approaches, such as
Trager, Rolfing, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, Craniosacral
Manipulation, Zero Balancing, Reichean and Non-Reichean work, to name
but a few, which are quite different from "massage" in any of its
guises. And the term "massage," alas, still seems to be tainted by in
many quarters by its common associations with touchy-feely parlors, and
even with disguised prostitution. This is an unfortunate situation...
and is a present condition of language usage that probably cannot be
effectively erased...
The
term "[physio]therapy" avoids these associations, but it is also too
narrow in the scope of its normal usage. It refers to an official
medical discipline, one which is licensed only after protracted and
highly specific studies, prescribed only by physicians, and applied
through fixed procedures. Such academic rigor certainly does not count
against it as a responsible therapeutic practice, but it does
effectively partition "[physio]therapy" off from many other useful
kinds of touching and manipulation. In particular, it typically
eliminates a good deal of the intuitive element which seems to be such
an important part of other approaches, and which in fact many
[physio]therapists have confessed to me that they wish they could use
more freely in their clinical practice. So I have settled upon the
term "bodywork," because it seems to include fewer of the elements I
wish to avoid and exclude fewer of the elements I wish to consider.
BODYwork
I would add to this my experience that every experience, be it physical, emotional, mental, spiritual… manifests in the physical body. The body is the vehicle and the repository of every life experience and, for better or worse, the obvious constant in every human’s existence. In this system of Integrative Bodywork, full embodiment, that is full awareness, acceptance and embodied expression of our various aspects of being, including mind, emotion, spirit… represents the fulfilment of human potential. My experience is that any conscious movement towards ‘full embodiment’ is for most people an intense, inevitably painful, and often frightening movement into the unknown. Equally, the ‘finding’ and ownership of oneself and the accompanying realisation of being can be deeply empowering and blissful, even as an ephemeral or momentary experience. As a physical metaphor, the body is a gross reminder of this ‘being-ness’ and through it is the only path to the realisation of being. The Integrative Bodyworker works to support and facilitate this powerful process through conscious practice.
BODYwork
I would add to this my experience that every experience, be it physical, emotional, mental, spiritual… manifests in the physical body. The body is the vehicle and the repository of every life experience and, for better or worse, the obvious constant in every human’s existence. In this system of Integrative Bodywork, full embodiment, that is full awareness, acceptance and embodied expression of our various aspects of being, including mind, emotion, spirit… represents the fulfilment of human potential. My experience is that any conscious movement towards ‘full embodiment’ is for most people an intense, inevitably painful, and often frightening movement into the unknown. Equally, the ‘finding’ and ownership of oneself and the accompanying realisation of being can be deeply empowering and blissful, even as an ephemeral or momentary experience. As a physical metaphor, the body is a gross reminder of this ‘being-ness’ and through it is the only path to the realisation of being. The Integrative Bodyworker works to support and facilitate this powerful process through conscious practice.
bodyWORK
In IB, ‘work’ is defined simply by invoking the words of Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet,
‘When you work you fulfil a part
of the earth's furthest dream,
assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour
you are in truth loving life.
Work is love made visible.’
of the earth's furthest dream,
assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour
you are in truth loving life.
Work is love made visible.’
It
is the stimulus of contact that brings the awareness of bodyworker and
partner to the body. It is the stimulus of contact that allows the
body to become aware of itself – initiating the process that we call
‘healing’. The work of the bodyworker is to invoke this space of
awareness, facilitate relaxation, witness the unwinding and spreading
of bound fascia, negotiate the lengthening of tight and held muscle,
guide the body, as we are guided by it, towards balance and alignment.
Along the way, we invite a felt sense of spaciousness, suggesting new
ways of moving and being in the world. The essence of this form is
practice and play, embodied.
The work of ‘therapy’ is done by the body itself
and the work of ‘healing’ by the consciousness embodied therein.
and the work of ‘healing’ by the consciousness embodied therein.
When
we know this, we realise there is nothing that must be done. As this
knowing is integrated into practice, the bodyworker becomes fully
responsible to the healing process, while realising that it is
impossible to assume responsibility for the health and wellness of
another. As a healing art form, each session is the manifest
expression of the artist/practitioner’s relationship to his or her
media – the human body and being. What emerges is a living, organic,
dynamic work of art.
What is ‘Integrative Bodywork’?
I am aware that definitive forms can often fixate the practitioner and fix the practice. As far as an encompassing form or path of practice, 'Integrative Bodywork' is the most nebulous, unrestrictive, non-trademarkable, servicemarkable, or copyrightable term I have found that can easily and accurately be applied to what I do and have to share. A Google search of ‘integrative bodywork’ will result in over 10,000 hits – practitioners and schools, mostly in the US, that have chosen this term for, it seems, much the same reason that I have.
It is, as the name implies, simply an inclusive practice that works particularly with the body. The principle of integration refers to the conscious and seamless blending of various bodywork forms, as well as to the intention to facilitate the full embodiment of mind, emotion, spirit… Integration also points to the movement of this practice into the life of the practitioner. Simply stated, whether or not Integrative Bodywork is a professional practice, it is certainly a personal one.
So the word ‘integration’ speaks to inclusiveness. It indicates the space and permission to include all of our self in this practice and the invitation to our client/partner to do the same. As barriers break down between disparate, warring aspects of being, life ‘de-compartmentalises’, and a realisation comes. ‘Yes, I am! I am all of this! And this, too, and this, too, and this, too… and that’s okay.’
All that is required for what we call ‘healing’, ‘health’ or ‘wellbeing’
is the space to realise it… in this moment… in the flesh.
Integrative Massage
As a ‘Massage Therapist’ by original training, I consider Integrative Massage to be the deep heart and deep art embedded in this system of Integrative Bodywork. By definition, IM is a form of bodywork that includes any variety of somatic and energetic therapies blended into a massage-based session. The essence of IM is fluidity, connection, breath, and flow. The principle of integration applies not only to the seamless transition from one technique to another, but also from one region of the body to another and one level of awareness (mind, body, emotion, energy...) to another. By its nature, Integrative Massage is eclectic, spontaneous, sensuous, intuitive, and fun. The style of this work is largely derived from Esalen® massage, undoubtedly the foundation form of modern holistic massage therapy practiced in the UK and around the world. The content is as varied as the many practitioners who have been touched by and have influenced this heartful and meditative practice.
space...