Here is a link to an article by Dr. Frank Lipman, a South African practicing Integrative Medicine in NYC. I first heard of Dr. Lipman while researching Integrative Health, and stumbled upon his work with Functional Medicine. I also had the pleasure of hearing him lecture with Gabrielle Roth on "the Rhythm of Healing" at the Integrative Health Symposium in February 2009 in NYC. It was hilarious to see these two work a room full of well-dressed doctors and health professionals into a dancing frenzy. This article highlights an approach that is redefining the future of medicine and has influenced how I do my work specifically with respect to the idea of "total load". Enjoy:
2 questions To Ask That Are More Important Than a Diagnosis
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Why We Need a Massage...
So easy, so obvious, yeah? Most folks thinking goes as far as "I'm so sore," or "I've had this injury that just won't heal," or"healed but it still hurts," or the biggest, "I've got so much stress in my life." Now while all of these are very valid reasons, they are just the tip of the iceberg... an iceberg which I might say that we are stranded on, floating away from our best selves every day we continue to ignore, or try to cope with these things in ways that don't directly address them. "Is it really that serious or important?" you might ask. Most definitely.
In the process of a massage as I have come to know it, being able to let go and let someone work out every bit of soreness and stagnation not only allows your physical structure to refresh itself, but it allows for reintegration on a much deeper level. Before I go spouting off about that "body, mind, soul" connection let me break it down in a very practical way for the very Western medicine-oriented folks out there who would tune me out before I started. (Forgive me, please for writing like I know something, when really this is just a humble hunch, backed up by sciences of various cultures I suppose. There are obviously many people with conditions for whom this writing won't apply.) I will put forth that in many of the cases that I have seen, which I would approximate in the low hundreds, the soreness, the slow to heal injuries, and the stress are symptomatic of a greater problem, our forgetfulness.
While some people refer to it as disconnection, usually following that with a rant about the woes of this modern world, I chose to call it forgetfulness, because of how easily we remember things once reminded. Every touch of massage, when we relax and breath enough to allow it in, applies a pressure to some soft tissue, nerve, bones, what have you, directly or indirectly from angles we can't apply to ourselves while staying relaxed. This allows for a feedback that reorients us to the full spectrum of what is happening, and that new attention, that new full attention to our whole body, riding on the back of that freshly oxygenated blood. We have an internal physician that can do everything we can ever need it to do, however if we chose to operate at less than our best, than we are withholding pertinent info which our physician needs to heal us. Think of how often you have gone to the doctor and forgotten to mention something, or you remember once they start looking at something else.
Sometimes I put off getting a massage myself, thinking that my yoga will relieve my stress, or the gym workout will balance my posture, or a few hours of dancing my ʻōkole off & a good nights rest is all I need. All of those are partly true, but unlike exercise, or other activities that allow us to chose which parts of which muscles we are using, thus programing the muscle memory. During a massage however, the receiver is not the doer, thus the physical must surrender, allowing the mind, and the soul to get back to your whole body.
Simply put, the most mindful that we can be about the most of our bodies, the more of ourselves we can be. Massage helps us remember those parts of ourselves that when remembered will communicate what we need to know to stay whole and balanced. Whole and balanced means no stress that can't be handled, and the life we live will be perceived through the full capacity of our senses and achieve our full potential. Aloha, namaste, and cheers!
In the process of a massage as I have come to know it, being able to let go and let someone work out every bit of soreness and stagnation not only allows your physical structure to refresh itself, but it allows for reintegration on a much deeper level. Before I go spouting off about that "body, mind, soul" connection let me break it down in a very practical way for the very Western medicine-oriented folks out there who would tune me out before I started. (Forgive me, please for writing like I know something, when really this is just a humble hunch, backed up by sciences of various cultures I suppose. There are obviously many people with conditions for whom this writing won't apply.) I will put forth that in many of the cases that I have seen, which I would approximate in the low hundreds, the soreness, the slow to heal injuries, and the stress are symptomatic of a greater problem, our forgetfulness.
While some people refer to it as disconnection, usually following that with a rant about the woes of this modern world, I chose to call it forgetfulness, because of how easily we remember things once reminded. Every touch of massage, when we relax and breath enough to allow it in, applies a pressure to some soft tissue, nerve, bones, what have you, directly or indirectly from angles we can't apply to ourselves while staying relaxed. This allows for a feedback that reorients us to the full spectrum of what is happening, and that new attention, that new full attention to our whole body, riding on the back of that freshly oxygenated blood. We have an internal physician that can do everything we can ever need it to do, however if we chose to operate at less than our best, than we are withholding pertinent info which our physician needs to heal us. Think of how often you have gone to the doctor and forgotten to mention something, or you remember once they start looking at something else.
Sometimes I put off getting a massage myself, thinking that my yoga will relieve my stress, or the gym workout will balance my posture, or a few hours of dancing my ʻōkole off & a good nights rest is all I need. All of those are partly true, but unlike exercise, or other activities that allow us to chose which parts of which muscles we are using, thus programing the muscle memory. During a massage however, the receiver is not the doer, thus the physical must surrender, allowing the mind, and the soul to get back to your whole body.
Simply put, the most mindful that we can be about the most of our bodies, the more of ourselves we can be. Massage helps us remember those parts of ourselves that when remembered will communicate what we need to know to stay whole and balanced. Whole and balanced means no stress that can't be handled, and the life we live will be perceived through the full capacity of our senses and achieve our full potential. Aloha, namaste, and cheers!
E komo mai! or Welcome!
Many mahalos (thanks) for checking out my blog which I created to share what I have learned and who I have learned from on my path. The work that I am licensed, certified, bonded, and insured to do is massage therapy, specifically Mana Lomi®. Mana Lomi® is work that I chose to specialize in after being introduced to many different modalities during my basic 500 hour training at the Maui School of Therapeutic Massage. While I still draw from some of these other modalities such as, Sports Massage, PNF Stretching, Shiatsu, Craniosacral, Neuromuscular Therapy, Aromatherapy, Thai, Myofascial, & the old stand-bys Swedish and Deep Tissue, it was Mana Lomi that proved itself to be the most sustainable for me and the most healing for the people I work with. So what is it?
Mana Lomi® is a form of lomilomi which is Hawaiian Massage, that comes from a distinct Big Island lineage, which in this generation is represented by Dr. Maka'ala Yates. Before him came the modern matriarch of lomilomi, Aunty Margaret Machado, who as the story goes recognized Maka'ala at age 6 as being a lomilomi healer. While I never had the experience of studying with Aunty Margaret before she passed on, her spirit is still reflected in the stories and the work, and I am eternally grateful for her wisdom and her bravery.
This lomi work "uses a clinical, problem solving approach based on Hawaiian concepts of working with the body, mind and spirit. It is gentle yet deep, and gives immediate and long term results." Lomilomi symbolically means "to communicate energetically deep within the bones of the individual and thus with the soul of the person." As many people who have experienced the work would say, "it is the best massage I have ever gotten." But still, many people want to know, what is it?
With respect to my teachers, I would like to share my New England understanding of this Hawaiian way with New Englanders. Think back to the last time you reconnected with a loved one in person, maybe at the airport, and you ran to each other and embraced. In that hug, that small moment where two people squeeze the tightest and it feels almost as though something is crushing in that big love way, that is the translation of lomilomi as I've come to know how to explain it. Now when you stretch that moment out over an hour, directed with that pure intention of aloha and healing with the Hawaiian understanding of the body, mind and spirit... that is it. Otherwise you can just think of it as a chance to lay down on a massage table, completely relax, and allow yourself to receive the "best massage ever" and perhaps listen to a quiet oli or mele (chant or song) during the process. I use only organic oils or lotions that your skin will find delicious.
I hope this demystifies this enough that you will recognize how this work can be of service in your life. Whatever is going on with your body, or in your life, feel welcomed to call me and converse about how you can best invest in your optimal health. Aloha!
Mana Lomi® is a form of lomilomi which is Hawaiian Massage, that comes from a distinct Big Island lineage, which in this generation is represented by Dr. Maka'ala Yates. Before him came the modern matriarch of lomilomi, Aunty Margaret Machado, who as the story goes recognized Maka'ala at age 6 as being a lomilomi healer. While I never had the experience of studying with Aunty Margaret before she passed on, her spirit is still reflected in the stories and the work, and I am eternally grateful for her wisdom and her bravery.
This lomi work "uses a clinical, problem solving approach based on Hawaiian concepts of working with the body, mind and spirit. It is gentle yet deep, and gives immediate and long term results." Lomilomi symbolically means "to communicate energetically deep within the bones of the individual and thus with the soul of the person." As many people who have experienced the work would say, "it is the best massage I have ever gotten." But still, many people want to know, what is it?
With respect to my teachers, I would like to share my New England understanding of this Hawaiian way with New Englanders. Think back to the last time you reconnected with a loved one in person, maybe at the airport, and you ran to each other and embraced. In that hug, that small moment where two people squeeze the tightest and it feels almost as though something is crushing in that big love way, that is the translation of lomilomi as I've come to know how to explain it. Now when you stretch that moment out over an hour, directed with that pure intention of aloha and healing with the Hawaiian understanding of the body, mind and spirit... that is it. Otherwise you can just think of it as a chance to lay down on a massage table, completely relax, and allow yourself to receive the "best massage ever" and perhaps listen to a quiet oli or mele (chant or song) during the process. I use only organic oils or lotions that your skin will find delicious.
I hope this demystifies this enough that you will recognize how this work can be of service in your life. Whatever is going on with your body, or in your life, feel welcomed to call me and converse about how you can best invest in your optimal health. Aloha!
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