These techniques make use of how the nervous system works both at the central level and at the local level, emphasizing comfort and safety and your body’s natural inclinations, developmental movements, and reflexes to reset patterns that no longer serve a purpose, restore balance, reduce tension, discover or rediscover efficient easeful movement, and promote functional structure and relaxation. Basically, it's a movement practice that combines intentional awareness and purposeful comfortable movement with facilitated touch for the goal of integrating and moving with ease using your whole self via reeducating your nervous system with novel sensory input in conditions of safety, finding new possibility and range within the structure you have, while creating lasting change.

Our nervous systems are amazing things - they protect us and adapt to variations and injuries so well!!! Unfortunately sometimes our circumstances and lives fail to provide the cues of safety that allow those protective patterns to go away once they are no longer needed. Since our systems learn new things best when they feel safe, this work emphasizes all movements being easeful and all touch being completely comfortable. By providing gentle compressive and proprioceptive inputs through targeted positioning and movement patterns that both follow your body’s reflexes and provide novelty of input and co-regulation, as well as directing your own internal awareness, your body’s control system is stimulated to reset balance and find new opportunities for freedom of movement.

What this work lacks in the in-the-moment intensity of say, a trigger point or deep tissue massage, it more than makes up for in the longevity and profundity of the effects. There is often (but not always) more communication in this type of session - asking for your experience, and directing your attention. The positions and movement should never feel like you are being forced there - everything should feel supported and comfortable.

Your job in the session is to be in your body. To be aware - of how movements in one area affect your whole self - what does rotating your foot do in your pelvis? your shoulders? How does moving your eyes feel in your knees? Sound weird? Try it! Tune in to what your awareness is drawn to, to what parts of your body are less or more easy to focus on, to what is comfortable. Notice what you notice - you will still get benefit if you do drift off, but being present is even better!

Most folks feel a deep comfort and relaxation on the table, but getting off the table is different for every session and every person. Sometimes there is a profound difference in one area or in your global experience of your body getting up. Sometimes, you might notice a difference (or notice that you are NOT noticing something that troubled you) several days later, or have a new awareness of comfort or discomfort in some other area of your body. Longstanding patterns have layers like an onion - if you injure for example, a foot, perhaps after a few weeks your knee might adapt, then the hip, then the ribs, then the shoulder then the neck… and our bodies triage pain - we can really only have one major thing screaming at one time, so if it is the neck… all the other things seem quiet unless provoked, and if the neck becomes quiet, then perhaps the shoulder will be the loudest voice.

While I often incorporate these techniques into “regular” massage therapy sessions, it really shines on its own. It also pairs well with doing your own movement practice of Essential Somatics or Feldenkrais at home if you’re so inclined (see recommended practitioners page for a few starter links on those).

It’s excellent for chronic issues that don’t respond to other treatments, folks with fragile bodies or recent surgeries/injuries who can’t receive regular massage, and for people who want to optimize their performance, movement, and body awareness. I’ve probably gotten too wordy here in my passion for this work - if you have more questions please ask!

© Copyright Bridgetown Bodywork. All rights reserved.