I found that massage came quite naturally to me. One of the hardest struggles for a new therapist is mastering palpation (“seeing” with your hands). Once I started applying what I learned – I was hooked. I knew this was my calling.

I’ve been working on my mom my whole life – but I never really knew what I was doing. I’d find a knot and roll it around until it disappeared. She is actually the one who suggested I pursue this field in earnest. Thanks mom!

My instructors were subject matter experts – some 50+ years of experience between them. Through their mentorship, I learned techniques like:

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) – a corrective application meant to restore range of motion and resolve compensatory patterns.

Muscle Energy Techniques (MET) – a guided resisted exercise applied to muscles to resolve chronic shortness/tightness.

Trigger Point Work – trigger points are believed to be overly tightened areas of a muscle belly that refer pain somewhere else (similarly to how hitting your elbow makes your whole forearm and hand hurt).

Myofascial release – there is an intricate network of connective tissue that permeates, suspends, and encases every muscle and organ in the body called fascia. This can become overly tightened, resulting in muscular restrictions. 

Deep tissue – deeper doesn’t mean firmer! Deep tissue work literally refers to working musculature that is closer to the skeleton. This work can be uncomfortable because these tissues are not manipulated often. Through various positions and techniques I am able to work deep tissue without needing to be very firm (though I am by nature).

I am not the therapist you see to relax – I can refer you to several great colleagues who specialize in this work. If you have chronic muscular issues, I’m your guy. See you soon!

<p>The post Never In A Million Years first appeared on Body & Mind Mending.</p>

My Reiki Master is exceptional. I have learned a great deal about the world around me from her unique perspective – and I truly value the friendship and mentorship that we are building. We met while I was in massage school (more on how massage school came about in another post) and she quickly became a good friend. Just one of those people who makes everything alright – if that makes any sense. She offered to share Reiki with me, and I’m thankful I allowed myself to say yes.

(Shameless plug for her – https://oversoulfw.com)

Let me start with her energy, because that is how this was all introduced to me. I’ve never been into energy or vibes or any of that (formerly known as) nonsense. You can tell she’s seen ugly, like real ugly. You can tell there are scars. But there is also this *radiance* about her – she’s one of those people that you just know are good people. If Reiki had anything to do with this – I had to know more. She was compassionate and kind even when it seemed she shouldn’t be. That really resonated with me.

I have been collecting crystals and wearing them for about a year now. It started with black tourmaline. Anyway – that was about as energetic as I have ever been, but I knew that this person, this beacon of light had something that I wanted.

Reiki, in essence, is this concept of an eternal limitless love that transcends material limitations and boundaries. It’s learning to be a vessel for this energy, and allowing it to flow through you to others. It isn’t in and of itself a religion. I have to share though, that it’s everything I had been looking for in religions – it was compassion and empathy for the sake of compassion and empathy.

Reiki is the laying on of hands that is referenced in almost every major religion throughout history – at least a flavor of that. Personally, I found a lot of ego in some of the definitions and explanations, as did my Reiki Master. To really understand what this is, you have to first understand that our perception of the world is limited to a finite color scale, frequency range, and what we can taste/touch/smell. Our ability to describe what we have observed is limited further still by language and shared experiences required for communication to exist.

Realizing that there is so much that we can’t possibly begin to describe or understand was fundamental for me – this is where my journey begins. I am still quite young in my Reiki journey, the skeptic is alive and well – but so is hope. That’s new.

<p>The post Reiki – and my take on it. first appeared on Body & Mind Mending.</p>