On Sunday, January 25th, I took Thai-Shiatsu for the New Year with Randy Cummins at Lauterstein-Conway Massage School. Before I go into all of this I have to admit, as the Marketing Director, I was a "plant," so to speak, taking the class for free to promote and feel-out (massage pun intended) interest for the school's Asian Bodywork Program coming up in April.

I've taken one of Randy's classes before as an official student - a two day workshop in October 2007. I needed CEUs and was interested in Shiatsu and heard wonderful things about Randy as an instructor, so I was excited to be there. Before class we went around the room, introduced ourselves and explained why we were interested in the modality. Most said they were interested in energy-based bodywork. A handful of us hated our tables. The assistant said she was drawn "by the beauty of the work." (Oh boy, insert private eye-rolling here).

By the end of the first hour, I was completely rocked by both Randy's teaching and the "the beauty of the work."

The October class, my first experience with it, at Lauterstein-Conway was intimate - only fourteen participants - so at the time, I thought it might have been the class-size and my genuine eagerness and desire to be there that made my perception of the class such a comfortable energy, but the class on Sunday had 28 people in it - Lauterstein-Conway's biggest continuing education class in ages - and it was equally energetic and intimate and mind-blowing.

So during the free Thai-Shiatsu demonstration after the workshop, while watching Randy demonstrate floorwork on one of the school's graduates, we talked about what it was about the modality that made it so powerful. I cannot speak for the others there, but I came to two conclusions about my experiences with Thai-Shiatsu and Randy Cummins.

Often times the teacher makes the class as good as it is: how good they are at conveying information, how knowledgeable and passionate they are about the subject, how much fun they can make the material and how "likeable" they are. Randy certainly is an amazing instructor and bodyworker. Period.

But I also decided, the modality, the version of Thai-Shiatsu Randy teaches, is what really draws me. In addition to simple, patient and compassionate, it is practical. All of it feels good unlike deep tissue, none of it is ignorable unlike some Swedish strokes and all of it is beautiful to participate in.

Here's to the "beauty of the work." Forgive me for the eye rolling.

Labels: Lauterstein-Conway Massage School, massage, massage class, massage school, shiatsu, thai massage

Massage machine versus massage man: you might as well use an elephant.

Over holidays, I found an article through Twitter about a Japanese foot massager that killed three people.

My first impression was to laugh outloud. Visions of evil foot massagers sparking to life, rolling themselves quietly around domestic corners, cords trailing, stalking their owners until the last moment. People did die, though, and the thought was horrible - that someone so desperate to just to feel better would come to such an end - so I didn't laugh.

But it was a bizaare thought - death by massage.

In the article, learned that the consumers, of course, were using the product incorrectly - on their necks, for example, and not their feet - but it did prompt the question: who or what do I trust to touch my aching body?

According to the American Massage Therapy Association's (AMTA) 2007 Consumer Survey Fact Sheet, 22 percent of Americans use massage therapy as a method of relaxation. Relaxation requires a certain level of trust between client and massage therapist. I would say that the consumers who bought and died by the "hand" of this foot massager, should have been a little less trusting, but overall, I believe most people would consider a machine safe - maybe more trustworthy than an individual they haven't met yet and have to be next-to-nude in front of.

I have several clients who use their personal massage machines on a regular basis between sessions without major incident, and I am pretty sure massage with a foam roller would not lead to accidental death.

However, the AMTA also says one third of Americans have used massage therapy at least once for pain management. With that to consider, I think a wise consumer would think twice about using his or her foot massager for an knotted neck. Even a foam roller cannot tell you where a muscle origin or insertion is. What about contraindications? Will the Shiatsu chair massager tell the third-trimester pregnant woman to get out of it when it starts to jiggle her around?

Here is where human touch and knowledge become critical. Ask yourself this: does your foot massager know where your iliotibial band is?

Answer: Does the elephant?

Labels: massage, massage deaths, massage elephant, massage machines, massage therapist