March 8, 2012 in Massage Therapy, Wellness, Women's Health by empoweringwellness

Breathe Into Your Massage

My clients lead very busy lives. And when they come in for a session with me, they bring the stress of their lives into the room. So, how do you, as a client, let go of that stress, so that you can enjoy and receive the benefit of healing, supportive touch? One way is to breathe into your massage. I’ve written about the importance of proper breathing before. Today, fellow ABMP colleague Cathy Ulrich shares her insights on how to make the most of your massage session through mindful breathing.

Mindful Breathing Enhances Bodywork Benefits

During her massage, Elaine was having trouble relaxing, continually talking about all of the stressors in her life. I took a deep breath and asked her to do the same. Suddenly, her body relaxed and I finally felt her respond to the work I was doing. So, what shifted with that simple suggestion?

In The Moment
Elaine was thinking about the stresses in her life instead of where she was at the moment. She was in a safe space, receiving gentle, supportive bodywork. And yet she couldn’t relax. By simply asking her to be mindful of her breath, she immediately felt her body and became present with me in that space.

Many meditation traditions use the breath to quiet the mind. With mindful breathing, we’re suddenly thrust into an awareness of our inner spaces and a feeling that we actually do live in a body.

Reduce Pain
One of the first things expectant mothers learn in natural childbirth classes is breathing techniques to help control labor pain. By consciously breathing during contractions, they learn to shift the feeling of pain to just sensation.

Elaine came to see me because she had chronic pain in her foot, knee, and hip. Often chronic pain sets up as a vicious cycle of muscle tightness, impaired blood flow, and more pain, even in areas distant from the original problem. When I asked Elaine to send her breath to the foot, she changed her feeling of pain to simply sensation and this opened a door that allowed me to change the holding pattern in her tissue.

Of course she couldn’t physically breathe into her foot, but the imagery of sending warm, healing breath into her foot from the inside while I worked on it from the outside changed her relationship to the pain.

Try this simple technique yourself. As you tune into your breath, notice your body. Is there discomfort or pain? Breathe in, and think of filling your lungs with healing oxygen. Now breathe out, and imagine sending this warm, healing oxygen directly to the place that hurts. Continue gently breathing into the area for a few minutes. What does it feel like now?

Relieve Stress
When I worked with Elaine, I noticed that the more she talked about her stressful life, the shallower her breath became. She was breathing high in her chest in short, rapid breaths. Her mind had transported her back to her stressful life, even though she was in a place where she was supported and encouraged to take a break from that stress, putting her body into a fight-or-flight response.

One clear manifestation of this is rapid, shallow breathing. While stress can produce this breathing pattern, the good news is that we can consciously change the breathing pattern and reduce the stress. It works both ways.

As I asked Elaine to slow her breathing and take deeper breaths, the tension in her face softened. Her body relaxed on the table as if she were sinking into the padding. Her feet became warmer, a sure sign that her circulation had changed and that her nervous system had switched from fight or flight to the calming mode of rest and digest.

Try this for yourself. The next time you’re feeling stressed, stop for a moment and notice how you’re breathing. Is your breath high in your chest? Is it fast and shallow? Now, gently invite your breath to slow down. Start to pull breath into your lungs by letting your belly relax and expand as you inhale. Spend a few moments with yourself and your breath and look at the stressful situation again. Does it seem so bad now?

Your Massage
Receiving a massage does involve participation on the client’s part. While the practitioner is the expert on the bodywork, the clients are the experts on their bodies. In our culture, the client/therapist relationship is often a check-your-body-at-the-door affair. But so much more can happen when the client works with the therapist.

The next time you go for a massage, try these suggestions to achieve mindful breathing and enhance the benefits of your session:

- As you settle onto the table, feel the weight of your body on the table and begin to notice your breath.

- Feel your breath moving of its own accord. Where is it most noticeable? Bring into the spaces that feel less full (without effort–just invite).

- When your therapist starts working, notice the pressure and rhythm. When your practitioner lets up on the pressure, breathe in. When she/he applies pressure, breathe out.

- If your practitioner comes to a tender area, pay special attention to your breath. Work with the tenderness on the exhale, imagining that you’re breathing out the pain.

- As your therapist works on different areas, imagine your breath moving there to meet her. Send your breath wherever she is working. Let her work on the outside, you work on the inside.

- Notice the changes as the massage progresses. Notice your thought patterns. Notice your comfort level. Notice your stress (and how it melts) as you send breath to the various areas of your body.

- When your session is complete and you sit up, notice how your breath feels. What do you notice about your body, the room, the light?

Why not use the life giving force of breath to make your next massage an even more beneficial experience.

Just breathe.

Give yourself the gift of healing, loving touch. Schedule your next massage session today!

September 12, 2010 in Mindfulness and Meditation, Wellness, Workshops by empoweringwellness

Sacred Breath and the Art of Forgiveness, Love and Gratitude

I am very pleased to announce our latest workshop, Sacred Breath and the Art of Forgiveness, Love and Gratitude.

Date: Saturday, September 18, 2010

Time: 10AM PDT – 2PM PDT

Where: Kat Troyer’s house, 4 miles North of Half Moon Bay in El Granada, CA

Cost: $50

To Register: Contact Fred Krazeise at 703-623-5889, or by email at fred@empoweringwellnessnow.com, or call Kat Troyer at 415-290-4249

Join Fred Krazeise (nationally certified massage therapist, Intrinsic Coach®, Reiki Master) and Kat Troyer (Reiki Master / Teacher) for an introductory workshop designed to reintroduce basic breathing techniques, mindfulness, and the are of self-forgiveness, love and gratitude to your life.

Breath is the source of our life – it is where our spirit lives. The first thing we do when we come into the world is take in a breath. The last thing we do when we leave this world is let out a breath. The quality of breathing is linked to the quality of our interaction in life. Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. The process of Hoʻoponopono helps to correct, restore and maintain good relationships.

In this 3-hour course participants will learn:

o Three useful physical relaxation techniques that can help you reduce muscle tension and manage the effects of the fight-or-flight response on your body
o A basic introduction to the Ho’oponopono process which will help each participant release past resentment and anger, and leave them more balanced, peaceful and complete.

Workshop participants should wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing.

This seminar is limited to 6 participants, so register early!

June 18, 2010 in Emotional Healing, Energy Work, featured, Massage Therapy, Mindfulness and Meditation by empoweringwellness

Learning to Breathe

I wrote this post originally for Owning Pink, and it was first published there on June 9th, 2010. I am republishing it here to share it with my clients and readers.

It’s amazing what children can teach us.

Recently, I had the pleasure to work as one of more than a dozen or so caregivers participating in a “Day of Pampering” for the women of an organization that operates an undisclosed 200 room safe house in Northern Virginia for female domestic violence and sexual assault survivors and their children. The Day of Pampering was being held at a local church. The congregation there had graciously offered to open their doors to the volunteers and survivors. My job that day was to give Reiki, Cranial Sacral Therapy and bodywork to survivors who had signed up for the day.

My first “client” of the day was Najya. That is not her real name, but we have to protect her identity. She came to me on that day to receive energy work. Reiki and Cranial-Sacral Therapy can be very effective methods to re-introduce nurturing touch to survivors, as they are very non-invasive techniques.

I always ask for permission before I begin the session and before I apply touch. It’s the client’s session – in this case, Najya’s session – not mine. She needs to set the tone and the pace. Permission is always required.

Breathing

While I do not have a set protocol when working with survivors, I often like to begin with a deep breathing exercise. It’s a safe exercise, and it helps to bring the client into the moment, helps her to relax, and helps re-connect her with her body.

It’s fascinating. We don’t think about how we breathe, we take breathing for granted and many of us have literally forgotten how to perform this basic act. We have lost our ability to breathe naturally, in the way in which our body was designed. Our lungs are teardrop shaped, and they are meant to be filled from the bottom up. That means breathing from deep within the belly, engaging the thoracic diaphragm, and filling our lungs with air from the bottom up. However, most people fill their lungs from the top down. They engage chest and neck muscles when they breathe. It’s called “chest breathing”, and this is often the source of neck and shoulder pain, and the cause of headaches.

As I began the session, I guided Najya through a typical breathing exercise. I usually do variations of this exercise.

But, Najya was definitely having trouble with this. Try as she might, she just couldn’t seem to get the hang of engaging her belly muscles, engaging her diaphragm. And I just wasn’t doing a very good job guiding her through this.

“I can’t get a full breath,” she said frustratedly.

“No worries,” I replied. “Let’s just move on.”

Calming

So, for the next 10-15 minutes I performed gentle massage, Reiki, and some Cranial Sacral Therapy. I focused my attention on her head, neck and shoulders – gentle, very subtle manipulations, in a very nurturing way. I checked in with Najya throughout, always asking permission to move on. It was her session, and she was in control. And as progressed through the session, I noticed that she began to relax and become more present and in the moment. As that happened, her breathing began to subtly shift from her chest to her belly and diaphragm. And in the end, she was breathing deep from her belly.

Her head was in my hands, and I was about to end the session. I asked her, “How do you feel?”

She took a few seconds to reply and said, “I feel calm.”

I don’t know what made me ask, but I said, “Do you have any children?”

She looked at me, smiled and said, “Yes, I have a baby boy. He’s 8-months old.”

“Have you ever watched him breathe?” I asked.

She thought about it for a second and said, “Not really. No.”

“Where is he?” I asked in hopes that she had brought her young son to the daycare center that the safe house volunteers provided.

“He is here. He’s in the nursery,” she replied.

And then I quickly answered, “Let’s go see him.”

Connecting

I helped her off the massage table, and we walked down the hall together to the nursery. As we entered, Najya walked over to a volunteer who was holding a very big baby boy in her arms, rocking him as he slept. He had a dark head of hair, and a gentle smile on his face as he slept in the arms of his caregiver.

Najya smiled at the volunteer and whispered, “Let me take him.” The volunteer gently handed over this plump baby boy to his mother.

“What is his name?” I asked.

Najya replied, “He is Bahir.” She looked down lovingly at this beautiful baby boy.

Najya cradled her son in her arms. He was sound asleep, and as she held him, she broadened her stance and began to sway slightly, mimicking the rhythm of his breathing.

“Put your hand on his belly,” I whispered as I moved closer to both of them. “Close your eyes and feel the sensation of his breath.” She placed her left hand on his belly, and then closed her eyes, searching for the rhythm of his breath.

“Feel his breath and make it your own,” I said. As I said this, I could watch this little baby boy extend his belly, breathe in through his nose, and ever so slightly breathe out through his mouth.

We stood together in silence for several minutes and Najya began to connect with her son.

After a few minutes I asked, “May I hold him?”

Without a word, she slipped her son into my arms. I quickly said, “Place your hand on his belly, and place your other hand on your belly and mimic his breathing.”

Then, the three of us were just stood there in silence, swaying gently. There was a gentle rhythm to his breath and I was able to count Little Bahir’s breathing patterns. His belly filled to the count of five, and he exhaled to the count of eight. He was sound asleep and just doing this naturally.

“Feel his breath and begin to breathe as one,” I said.

And so we stood there for several minutes. I’m not sure how much time really passed. But, I could see that her breathing patterns had changed. She was now taking deep full breaths, in a very relaxed and natural way. She was breathing as her body was designed to do.

I also noticed subtle changes in her posture. Her shoulders were no longer up around her ears. Tension lines had disappeared from her face.

“Continue to focus on the breath,” I said and I returned her son to her arms.

Returning

When we were born, we all breathed like babies. And then somewhere in the transition from baby to “little person,” we forgot how to breathe. We lost the connection to our belly, and to that place that grounds us to the earth.

But, we can definitely recapture this feeling. We want to breathe this way. It only requires training and desire.
Najya, Bahir and I stood together in the silence for a few more minutes.

“How do you feel now?” I asked.

She replied, “Wonderful!”

“Practice this,” I said. “Mimic the way your son breathes and let him teach you,” I said.

I stood there for a few minutes more and then quietly slipped out of the room.

It was a wonderful day. One of my favorite parts of the day was to walk around and watch the children rolling in play doh, making jewelry, playing on the play ground or in the nursery, so content and being rocked and played with by a volunteer care-giver.

I saw nearly 20 “clients” that day. But Najya was the most memorable. As I packed up my table and supplies at the end of the day and carried them to my car, I noticed Najya from across the parking lot. She glanced up and saw me. She placed her hand on her belly, and I could see that she took a deep breath from all the way across the parking lot. She closed her eyes and smiled.

It’s amazing what children can teach us.

Breathing,