Aquatic Rejuvenation

Courtnee, Cheri & I got together for a watsu practice session the other day. Cheri attended a Watsu workshop at Breitenbush Hot Springs last month and was sharing her tidbits of new information.

The practice session steadily shifted course away from the more clinical forms that Cheri learned. We started exploring various ways to use our whole bodies during the stretches and different ways to hold someone so that more massage could be done. The "noodles", that have until this point in time only been used to add buoyancy, were pressed into service to hold up the neck, thereby freeing both hands. With this configuration we were able to get more dynamic stretches, massage the body from numerous angles and incorporate more fascial pulls. It was an incredibly informative and fun exercise.

I have been experimenting as people come in for sessions that include watsu and it's unanimous that it is just as relaxing and even more soothing.

We need a new name for this type of bodywork. For a while now I have been using Water Contact Massage as a way to differentiate what we do from the traditional forms of Watsu. Much less of a mouthful would be better. Also, having a name that expressed the flowing and improvisational nature that could give people more of an idea of what they were signing up for would be ideal. Names in the running are in the vein of Aquatic Bodywork. This is much more difficult than I thought.

Amazing opportunity on June 19th.

Kirsten Lauzon, a member of the Little Red Studio troupe, is finishing her degree in Paleopsychology, the study of the evolution of consciousness. She uses a very interesting style of counseling called Systemic Constellations or Family Constellations.

While it is a bit difficult to describe, I can definitely articulate the results. My experience was quite profound. I chose a specific instance with my mother to focus on, and I recruited stand-ins, people who would "be" in the role of key family members,(im my case, my mother, her mother and me) who in a sense channeled what that person would say. I was surprised at how Kirsten's gentle questions unlocked a torrent of strong and deep emotions. Feelings so old and forgotten they seemed unrelated to the issue I had brought up. It was a tumultuous 10 minutes, wherein Kirsten expertly guided us and grounded me through the issue, keeping me from spinning off into other directions. Afterward, I felt a sense of peace around much more of my past and myself than just that issue represented.

If you have any emotional or personal issues that you are dealing with that have a root in your familial history, I would heartily recommend this event.

Adventures in Paleopsychology

Date: Friday, June 19, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: Antioch University Seattle, Room 200A
2326 Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA

Phone: 2068517125
Email: duskfrog@gmail.com
This is a warm invitation to you to attend, share and participate in the culmination of my work as a student at Antioch University Seattle.

I am offering a free public workshop event on Friday June 19th at 7pm until 9:30pm.
I will provide light snacks and beverages.

Please join us!

AGENDA:

7:00 Short Movie: Paleopsychology 101
7:10 Lecture: The Evolution of Consciousness - Paleopsych Methods, Case Studies & Results
~ short break ~
7:30 Experiential Demonstration Facilitation:
Dream Tending
Systemic Constellations
~ short break ~
9:00 Participant Seminar/Open Discussion
9:30 Clean up & Depart

Kirsten A. Lauzon
www.healing-earth.net

Kind words and fibromyalgia

Recently, I was honored to work with a woman diagnosed with Fybromyalgia and her partner. It was an enjoyable and rewarding challenge. Because of her high pain levels, I could not do my default style of massage. After a bit of discussion, we decided that Watsu and Water Contact Massage was the best way of meeting her comfort needs while addressing her therapeutic goals. Taking away gravity and gently massaging her, while her partner gave her Reiki (energy work) turned out to be a beneficial combination.

I received this email from her partner a few days after her treatment.

I'm writing for both D & I to thank you so very much for her session with you! I have never seen her so relaxed before in a "natural" environment (as opposed to medications). She admitted to a bit of doubt with Watsu, but was willing to try it to see how it might work and to hopefully avoid prescription medications. With the results, she is no longer in doubt. She felt great afterwards but the true test was during the night. She constantly wakes up throughout the night in pain, having to adjust herself accordingly, but that night was the first night that she can remember that she slept through the whole night and still woke-up relatively pain-free...her pain level usually an 8+ but was then a 2-3 and she felt rested...until the alarm went off at 5 in the morning..

We appreciated your professionalism, as well as your willingness to be "intimate". You listened to D and were totally there for her and her needs. You made us both feel comfortable with the session, as well as with you. I enjoyed being a part of the session for D with you but have a lot to learn yet as far as holding her while you treat her. She was so relaxed during the part of the treatment where I had my hands on her back and chest that she didn't even know that she was sinking, nor did she care...lol..."

It is always so wonderful knowing that you have helped create a positive change in someone's health. Whenever a partner works with me on their sweetie, even if just by being there and hold and supporting them in the water while I do the massage, it's much more powerful for all involved. There is something special about doing Watsu on your sweetie, even if they don't know any of the fancy moves. That intimacy shared between a couple magnifies all the good of Watsu. I am confident that she would have had a good session if she had come in by herself, but with her partner there, it was extraordinary.

I am looking forward to working with them again.

Self care reminder.

How many of you work on a computer, drive or write for more than an hour a day? These three activities are the biggest culprits that cause forearm, wrist and hand tightness, pain and discomfort.

You can keep every day tension from turning into a Repetitive Stress Injury by performing any number or combination of these self-care techniques.

*Stretch. Take 30 seconds out of every hour you are working at a computer to do one or two stretches. Rotate through various stretches throughout the day. Hold stretches for 10-30 seconds.

Examples:
-Stand up and roll/shrug your shoulders in circles both forward and back.
-Bring your hands together (both palms facing and backs of hands facing) to stretch the muscles that flex and extend the wrists.
-Roll your wrists in slow circles.
-Extend elbows and gently pull fingers back and then fold fingers toward palm and pull gently.


*Strengthen. Making sure that your muscle groups are balanced can prevent the pain that results from one group of muscles becoming significantly stronger than it's counterpart, resulting in the counterpart having to work extra hard to "keep up." It also gives the main muscles you use in your work a much deserved rest.

Examples:
-Wrap a rubber band around your fingers and thumb at the second knuckle. Start with fingertips touching and spread them out so you are stretching the rubber band. Remember to open and close slowly.
-Use a very small hand weight (or water bottle, soup can, etc...) and rest your forearm on your knee or a table. Let your wrist extend from the table unsupported with your palm facing down. Extend your wrist up so that you are lifting the back of your hand up. Always move slowly.

A book I highly recommend is called Save Your Hands! by Lauriann Greene, CEAS & Richard W. Goggins, CPE, LMP. While this book is written with massage therapists in mind, almost all of the stretches, exercises and self-care techniques can be used by anyone who uses their hands for their work.

Dream Work Class by LRS member

At the last Gold Show, Kirsten headed up a project entitled "Lightening Dreamwork" which was a 3 part interactive performance piece. The first part invited guests to share a dream, either recent, old, a daydream, and go through a 5 minute long process of delving into it's meaning. The second part pooled everyone's dream imagery together and crafted it into a "collective dream". The third part was the enactment, or Dream Theater.

I was involved on all three levels and had an amazing experience. What was just as interesting to me as gaining insight about my own dream, was watching other people recognize their dream imagery in the performance piece. One person, who relayed a recurring nightmare, excitedly said "You changed the dream! You gave it a new ending!"

What I like most about this system of dream interpretation is that it relies on you finding the kernels of meaning in your dreams, not someone else telling you what they mean. Every time Kirsten has taken me through the process, I get some valuable insight into myself. I highly endorse her workshops.

Greetings Beautiful People,

As many of you know I am a facilitator of Systemic Constellations and a teacher of Conscious Dreaming. I am writing to invite you to a Facilitator Showcase event sponsored by the Seattle Constellations Network.

From the website:
March 10th - Kirsten Lauzon will be presenting a demonstration of her own unique synthesis of two very powerful experiential processes: Systemic Constellation Work and Conscious Dreaming. She says, “we will be introducing ourselves to the many unconscious archetypes we embody everyday, and that reliably come knocking on our dream doors each night. By consciously acknowledging and exploring the archetypes at play in our lives we just might free ourselves from old destructive patterns and effectively make them our allies. Come participate in healing play in the realm of your own dream world!”

The event is held at the Puget Sound Yacht Club near Gasworks Park in Fremont at 6pm and runs until 9:30pm. Feel free to bring a friend . . . or two. RSVP is not necessary but is appreciated - just reply to this email or give me a call if you have any questions. There is room for everyone - feel free to come and participate fully, or just observe.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Kirsten A. Lauzon
www.healing-earth.net
206-851-7125

Massage with Tuning Forks?!

I had a massage recently by a very good therapist, Sheila Fox, who incorporated Acutonics into the treatment. Acutonics is the use of vibration, rather than needles, applied to acupuncture points of the body's energy meridians. The web site makes it sound a lot more woo-woo than I am comfortable with, but the experience was pleasant enough that I can forgive their hype. I have had quite a bit of energy work in my time. My mother was always a little out there and us kids were often along for the ride. I became quite the connoisseur of woo-woo, picking out the "good stuff" from the "yeah, sure, whatever."

Acutonics definitely falls into the Good Stuff category. I had similar sensations, though much gentler, when the forks were applied to various points along my body as when I received Acupuncture. The vibrating forks were generally pleasant and soothing, something I didn't quite expect. Not only because of my experience with acupuncture being stressful yet extremely beneficial, but I also don't care for vibratory sensations.

She had an array of different sized tuning forks but only ever used 2 at any one time. She would strike the forks on a pad type thing to get them vibrating and then held the tips to various points on my body. This was not as loud as you might think, or annoying having a thump-thump precede each application point. I got used to the sound as it became a rhythm. Once she just held them close to my ears so I could hear and feel them. That was most interesting of all because I felt muscles loosen and shift even though the fork were not touching me physically. She also did some brutal myofascial work on my legs so the gentleness of the forks was greatly appreciated.

Overall, it was a good session. I have not had more than mild improvement of my complaints, but it was very relaxing and enjoyable, so the small amount of change is acceptable to me. I will definitely work with Sheila again. If you would like to experience this treatment, email me and I will gladly give you Sheila's contact information.

Evolving Watsu

I have mentioned before that Cody has taught me some of the Contact Improv dance inspired movement around Watsu. Over time, I have developed a style that is fairly different from traditional Watsu. So different, that I think the time has come to give it another name, as I can't hoestly say I do Watsu any more. Definitely Watsu inspired and containing Watsu elements. I keep rolling phrases like Water Contact Therapy and Floating Bodywork around in my mind.

It's become so much more than just another way to stretch the body and massage muscles. It's a huge dose of human contact and nurturing touch. It's a decadent delighting of the senses via immersion. It's a way to connect with someone that is deeper, yet safer than one would expect when in the vulnerable position of a stranger floating you in the water.

Conversing with Jeff convinced me that it is time to have another classification for this Watsu inspired bodywork. It's right that the Little Red Day Spa, as part of the Little Red Studio family organically and creatively develop new modalities. We will of course still offer traditional Watsu sessions, no worries there. Having options is good, though, and I want people to know that there are options regarding the different types of bodywork the Spa offers.

new session?

I have a friend who is a certified hypnotherapist come in for a watsu session. He was impressed with how comforting and relaxing an experience it was, despite him not being much of a "water person." He likened it to the deep state of relaxation that he had only ever been able to achieve via hypnosis.

We had a brief discussion about how well the two therapies, watsu and hypnosis, could work together. The idea of being able to get someone into a more advanced state of relaxation is interesting to me, to say the least. While he is excited about being able to do accelerate subconscious work with the added benefit of the person already being relaxed via floating in warm water. Perhaps there will be a collaboration in the future.

Yin and Yang

Yesterday I hosted M. Yu of The JadeGate in Austin, TX at the Spa. I shared watsu with him and he shared his blend of bodywork and acupuncture with me. Quite an experience all round.

What was most dramatic for me was the contrast of the energy that each treatment generated. I found acupuncture to be charged, intense and stimulating, with relaxation only entering into the equation when he shifted to manual bodywork. A marked difference from Watsu, where, even as the giver, I am enveloped by the soothing nature of being in the water and gentleness of the movements.

He commented that it was a jump to go between the two. Watsu was the most pure yin modality he had experienced, where as acupuncture is very yang. This concept piques my interest in Eastern oriented healing arts. The idea of being able to create a balance in a spa session appeals to me.

Comfort Touch

There are many different reasons people get massage. Pain relief or management, rehabilitation for injuries, relaxation from physical, mental and/or emotional stress, just to name the most listed reasons. However, I think the more common reason to get a massage is the basic need for touch. In America, we don't get touched enough in our daily lives on a casual basis. Sure, if we have a sweetie or family that we live with there are varying amounts of touch available. But when we get sick, or are having a stressful time, our need for touch increases.

One of the questions I like to ask people is if they have any "comfort touch" places. (I generally save this for those who mention getting over an illness or don't have a specific focus for the massage.) You know the spots, usually the ones that you instinctively rub when you are tired or stressed out. Or maybe it is harkens back to when you were young and a parent would rub your temples or your low back when you didn't feel well.

On these areas, I don't go looking for knots or do any fancy techniques. Soft, yet firm, full hand contact to really illicit that feeling of care and comfort. Often times, I will rest a hand on that area while using my other hand to work loose a tight muscle elsewhere. It's amazing how having that resting touch can be so relaxing and comforting.

Ultimately, there is no wrong reason to want a massage. Wanting touch is a basic human need and should be satiated.