Holistic Massage and the Body-Mind

By Katie Mickey, Body Therapy Institute

"I feel like I've come home. I feel like I've been away for a long time. There's a lot of sadness around that for me. It feels really different inside, like it's safe now to be in my body".These words are echoed by many that are on a personal path of self-healing. In my work as a holistic massage therapist, instructor and school owner in Santa Barbara, these words speak powerfully of the need and longing in our culture to heal our split between body and mind. At best, words can only point to the connection between body and mind. However, within the laboratory of one's own body, the intelligence, wisdom and energy inherent in every cell and fiber of the body becomes a living, unfolding reality.

Engaging in a personal practice of holistic methods such as massage, gentle movement, meditation and deep breathing offers extraordinary physical, emotional and mental benefits. Not only do these methods feel good, they can profoundly shift our perceptions regarding our health and wellbeing."I've been having hives for three weeks now. I've come to realize that I have been holding back my emotions. So I've started to express them and the hives have been going away. This morning I felt angry and I actually expressed it. I haven't done that in a long time. I didn't get hives today for the first time in three weeks."From the body/mind split perspective our health is predominately influenced by genetics and outside stressors beyond our control.

From the holistic perspective our health is a function of our life force, or vibratory field. We influence our vibratory field moment to moment through our daily life practices, thoughts and emotions. The health of our physical body, our response to outside stressors and what may seem to be our genetics have the potential to change as we bring our physiology and vibrational field into greater harmony. When our energy is in motion we experience health in the body/mind as a spontaneous capacity to self regulate, self-express and self heal. Children are a beautiful example of this. When my four year old is tired, he sleeps. His soft belly rises and falls. Every so often he moves a body part, or wiggles to a different spot. In activity his body/mind is engaged in ongoing movement. When he is amused he laughs with his whole body. When he is sad, he cries and shakes his body. When he needs contact he plops himself in the middle of my lap. As we grow, the expectations and modeling of our culture and family often teach us to suppress our "e-motions" (energy in motion), limiting our capacity to self heal.For many, holistic massage is the wellness treatment of choice for harmonizing the physiology and vibrational field.

Holistic massage activates the parasympathetic nervous system, slowing the heart rate, the breathing, relaxing the muscles and allowing tissues to repair. It also stimulates the release of numerous healing chemicals latent within the skin that: vasodilate the circulatory system, strengthen the immune system, stimulate growth in children and retard aging in adults.Holistic massage can release blockages held in the vibratory field in the form of undigested feelings, trauma, and limiting beliefs. As the tissues release they may physically vibrate or unwind, emotions may surface, and the recipients' state of awareness may alter considerably. The vibratory and physiological effects of holistic massage are greatly influenced by the techniques used, the harmony within the field of the therapist and the safety established within the client/therapist relationship.