I just came off my first Body Mechanics course for this year. It was a truly wonderful experience, but I think I might have problems seeing. I think I have flash blindness from all the light bulbs going off in people’s heads during the class.
This was a small class of four students, and I knew three of them, so it was not a hostile group. One person was a massage therapist I have traded with. One was my Reiki student. One, my acupuncturist (who does some massage in her practice and thought this class would help her). And the fourth was a massage therapist from Port St. Lucie, FL.
It was really nice teaching a massage class again, and it was nicer to have my students be adults. I have had enough issues with the ‘children’ I went to school with (none of them being mature enough to work in this industry, in my opinion), and the children that came into the massage program when I taught at the corporate college. I also had people in a previous class that I felt were maybe not mature enough to take the class. (Since this class teaches glute (gluteus muscles, butt) work and shows some moves that are difficult to drape, a student has to be comfortable learning in a class setting, as all massage classes are. I have seen massage classes where students are made to wear swimsuits (and tell me how you massage through a one-piece) and classes where students are comfortable draped at the groin only.) As I said, it was nice to be working with adults who were there to learn.
It took the first day to learn the basic movements on the back. While this seems slow, it really is crucial. This first move was one that would be applied to just about every other move throughout the class. It started by learning a rocking motion in a line, like line dancing. It was moving the body forward, and rocking it back. While this seems a little silly, it is the basis for most everything in proper body mechanics. It shows how to move the body. When the body moves, it moves the arms, as opposed to doing all the work with the arms.
Next, I showed the unbendable arm exercise. This is a method of focusing one’s energies. Energies stop at a closed fist. But by opening the hand and focusing on extending energies out of the fingers to something far away, it makes the arm strong.
These two things together allow one to go deeply with less effort. And this is the key to working less but having better results.
The second day felt a little rushed (as the second day did two years ago). One suggestion was to extend the class a couple of hours to allow more practice time. I had actually set it at 12 hours to meet the required classroom time for continuing education (for Florida). But in truth, it would be better to allow them to practice longer if it meant getting the movements right.
But what was neat was that during the entire two days I could see all the light bulbs lighting up in my students’ heads. One student told me that she uses her thumbs to work the neck and shoulders. I showed a move that uses the hand which can be stronger when she puts her elbow into her hip and pushes from her center. It was like the world had changed. They were having realizations like this the entire time.
Even the more ‘bizarre’ moves I showed that came from styles like Esalen went over very well. We managed to keep everyone draped, and it showed them a lot of possibilities. They enjoyed them.
But it is hard to change the way one practices. But if that change can keep one from getting hurt which allows them to work longer, then one forces themselves to change.
It was a great first class. I hope the next one draws more students, and is liked as well.