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This past year I spend a lot of time and energy overcoming some of my issues relating to physical touch. It has been a very challenging journey but the rewards already have been worth it. I can’t say that I am completely comfortable with all types of touch; but then… honestly, there are very few people who can say that they have NO discomfort navigating the close personal communications that often accompany human touch.
Around this time last year I was just starting to entertain the idea that MAYBE touch wasn’t such a bad thing and MAYBE, MAYBE I could learn to stay in my body and experience it without becoming overwhelmed by all the sensory input and the mental noise it created. One of my greatest challenges last year was finding out about the different types of massage and bodywork techniques available. Another major challenge was figuring out how to actually “start” to warm myself up to the idea of working closely with someone on this issue. There were all kinds of barriers and hurdles to overcome just in finding credible information on this type of work. Finding information can be nearly impossible when you don’t feel comfortable asking questions or in my case even acknowledging that you might actually WANT/NEED human touch after denying it for so long.
Last month in my travels through the massage and bodywork literature and networking now with several professionals in this area, I came across an EXCELLENT book. As soon as I picked it up I said, “THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEED A YEAR AGO!” The copy found is old so I don’t know if there is a newer addition of it or not.
Mirka Knaster (1996). Discovering The Body’s Wisdom, Bantam Books, NY, ISBN# 0-553-37327-7
For those of you who are flirting with the idea of trying to get back into your body and need to know a little bit more before you take a chance, I strongly recommend checking this book out.
The book provides many different body awareness exercise that you can do yourself as well as a basic overview of different bodywork techniques (bodyways). The chapter that I would have benefited most from a year ago was Chapter 4: Choosing and Working with a Practioner. It is just an incredible chapter that covers things like obstacles to getting started, detailed information about the relationship between the client and practioner, what to expect during the session, etc.. IDK to me this author just gets it. In this chapter she even acknowledges and presents information like…what happens if you get aroused during a session, what happens if you get triggered, how to avoid misunderstanding, how to prepare yourself for the session, and things to do after a session. Everyone’s experience is different but the way this chapter is written I just felt like *breath* “OMG this author knows exactly what the noise in my head is saying.”
So for those of you who are considering this type of work… this book would be an excellent place to start. Also, I want to encourage you that as Matthew Stanford said, "the unthinkable is possible and that's what I know."
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"Joy is your sole's knowledge that if you don't get the promotion, keep the relationship, or buy the house, it's because you weren't meant to.You're meant to have something better, something richer, something deeper, Something More." (Sara Ban Breathnach)
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