It’s a Matter of Touch

A few weeks ago we had an introductory shiatsu class taught in our dojo by one of our black belts. A number of students and friends attended. The instructor covered massage for the neck and shoulder areas and demonstrated both self-massage and massage with a partner. In the course of that class I was reminded of the value and power of simple touch.

None of what we learned was very complicated – it was very user-friendly and do-able whether or not the person knew aikido or had much mind/body training. The shift in the energy in the room as we practiced was profound. We all became quieter, more relaxed, and more focused upon our actions.

After that class, I surfed the web a bit and found a couple of books on self-massage. The one that I liked best was Healing Self-massage by Kristine Kaoverii Weber. It includes over 100 simple techniques that you can do to yourself. Kristine is eclectic and borrows from Swedish massage, reflexology and acupressure so there are a range of options for any problem area (i.e. tight shoulders, headache). She also lays out a general ‘tune-up’ routine for your body that you can do daily to keep yourself healthy.

I am sure that the more mind/body training you have and the more centered you are, the more powerful will be the results of any of the exercises. Taking the time to first do some meditation and breathing will increase your sensitivity to your body. But there is a basic message in all this that I would phrase as ‘something is better than nothing.’ Simply following the directions in the book and massaging your own arms, legs, head, neck and shoulders can have astounding results.

The question then becomes whether we are willing to take the time to take care of ourselves. That’s a great question and the answer is pretty revealing. We all know that it is a symptom of today’s society to cram as much in as possible to every waking moment. Unfortunately, what tends to get crammed in is not as likely to be more meditation, more centering, more relaxation and more attention to our mind/body needs. Typically those that need to read a book like Three Deep Breaths (Thomas Crum) are exactly those people who do not have the time for that sort of thing. We have all either known or heard about someone who lived exactly the sort of life I am describing until that fateful day when something catastrophic happened to them or a loved one. And, then they changed and began to take time to ‘smell the flowers.’

Self-massage is one of those things that we all can easily do. And, it can impact upon our quality of life immediately. So, I encourage you to take the time to explore and discover what a few minutes of attention to those tense, tired muscles can do to the quality of your day!

Judy Warner