February 2013: Bodywork and Relationships - Columbia Natural ...

Like Moon, Roth has studied and incorporated other adjunct
therapies and modalities, such as craniosacral therapy
and myofascial release. From her perspective, bodywork differs
from massage in that it requires more involvement from
the client.
“I tell my clients that with a veritable village of treatments
available, there is always help for anyone that suffers
with aches and pains, regardless of age,” says Roth.
Shiatsu
Shirley Scranta, owner and director of the International
School of Shiatsu, in Doylestown, PA, discovered The Book
of Shiatsu: The Healing Art of Finger Pressure, by Saul Goodman,
in a health food store. She subsequently researched the
school that Goodman founded in 1978, based on the theories
of masunaga Zen shiatsu, kushi macrobiotic and his own
shiatsu shin tai.
In 1996, Scranta became one of Goodman’s clients. “I
drove a round-trip of 240 miles for weekly treatments because
each session made me feel better and stronger. After
five sessions, I enrolled in classes and graduated later that
year,” says Scranta. She believes the widely known form of
acupressure helped her body reestablish its own intelligence
system, which had been distorted by childhood trauma.
“This gentle technique applies varying degrees of pressure
to release tension, strengthen weak areas, facilitate circulation
and balance the life energy that flows through the meridians
in the body,” she explains. “In my case, it helped me connect
with my body so that I could honor it and do what it needed
to rejuvenate itself.”
Craniosacral Therapy
Chiropractor Lisa Upledger is vice president of The Upledger
Institute, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. A craniosacral therapy
(CST) practitioner, educator and wife of CST developer Dr.
John Upledger, she advises that tension-related problems are
a growing complaint in our modern world. Fortunately, such
issues are among the myriad conditions that respond quickly
to the gentle touch of this modality.
In a 2007 Massage magazine article, she advised that the
positive effects of the therapy rely to a large extent on the performance
of the body’s inherent self-corrective mechanisms.
“CST works through the craniosacral system to facilitate this
function and thereby normalize the environment in which the
central nervous system functions,” she noted. “As this is accomplished,
a wide range of sensory, motor and neurological
problems are improved.”
CST practitioners listen with their hands to the slow pulsations
of the craniosacral system. With a soft touch, equivalent
to the weight of a nickel, they explore any fascia restrictions
throughout the client’s body, which rests fully clothed in a
supine position. Effects of the treatment can be wide-ranging,
affecting the musculoskeletal, nervous, cardiovascular and immune
systems as well as organs, connective tissues and energy
systems. It works to release deeply held physical and psychological
patterns held within the body.
A coin with different impressions on each side is still
only one coin, a blend of precious metals. When the coin
is tossed to reveal either heads or tails, the visible symbol
is one interpretation of the whole imprint—an analogy that
may best define the difference between massage and bodywork.
All variations on the theme share the same goal—restoring
health to the whole person.
Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings.
Find other natural living articles at her website,
ItsAllAboutWe.com.
For More Information
International Association of
Structural Integrators, Theiasi.org
International School of Shiatsu,
Shiatsubo.com
Myofascial Release Treatment
Centers & Seminars,
MyofascialRelease.com
Rolf Institute of Structural Integration, Rolf.org
Upledger Institute International
(craniosacral therapy), Upledger.com
HealthyLivingColumbia.com
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