The Journey Towards Tensegrity

I have been practising physical therapies since 1969 when I became qualified in Swedish Remedial massage.

In 1974 after adding the skills of Osteopathy, I opened a
clinic and began my career in physical medicine.
During the next ten years, I attended many seminars on Osteopathic and Chiropractic techniques. Some research was proving that the standard thrust manipulative techniques of Osteopathy were not necessary. This approach fascinated me, as it was a less forceful approach but also seemed kinder to the body. These less forceful approaches utilised body positioning and the tensity of the tissue to facilitate the correction.

One of the most eminent researches studied and utilised Eastern methods of therapy and from their theories developed new physical techniques to match the criteria. Dr George Goodheart developed from Chinese Meridian Theory a series of muscle tests
that correlated with the diagnostic method of pulse diagnosis used in Acupuncture. Collected pages of Dr. G. Goodheart. Acupuncture and the knowledge of the meridian system are thousands of years old. Applied Kinesiology is one of the very
few systems that has added new information to the ancient knowledge. Walther, D.S.(preface) Applied Kinesiology.

These muscle tests soon became a reliable and empirical backdrop to understanding the links between Eastern and Western methodology. With muscle tests, he demonstrated the effectiveness of a technique and a reliable form of diagnosis and post checking. Even the Swedish massage that I initially practised was developed by a Swedish doctor Peter Ling from a Chinese backdrop. This sparked for me an interest in Eastern methods of therapy and lifestyle.

My other interest in the East had also begun in 1970 when I began studying Japanese Karate. After studying for fifteen years, I discovered many of the Japanese masters were also doctors of Japanese medicine. In 1985, I began my study of an ancient form of Japanese warrior principles. The Grandmaster of this school was a Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi and was the holder of ancient scrolls of nine schools of martial arts and a school of ancient medicine. His daytime occupation was a Seitai practitioner, which translates to a Japanese form of Osteopathy.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 2 of 10

I initially met with Dr Hatsumi when he came to England for the first time in 1986 to demonstrate his martial principles. Although his martial skills were frighteningly effective, another quality shone from him. He was friendly, gentle and his body movement was graceful. He seemed to have plenty of time to evade attacks made on him during demonstrations and seemed to float as he walked through various techniques.
I watched in awe of a man twenty years my senior, working with ease and with fingertip precision to lock his opponents in tangled body configurations. To learn that this man practised as an Osteopath totally intrigued me and made me ponder as to his methodology. As he practised martially, he would say “Budo and Medicine are the same!” and if medicine was practised poorly, it could kill. He told us to study nature and learn from nature and that natural movement was all that was required to maintain health.

That day in 1986 changed me, I had found my mentor, a man who practised my hobby and my occupation and described them as being one. I changed from a hard physical disciplined Karate to a softer evasive body defence method. This also influenced my
decision to stop manipulating in the standard Osteopathic method and study Dr.Hatsumi’s naturalistic approach.
I utilised body positioning and gentle movement into my practise methodology.

Slowly I began to get the results from this body orientation approach. In 1995, I went to visit Dr. Hatsumi to ask for guidance and the opportunity to demonstrate these principles to him. He was impressed with my progress and told me he would teach me on “one to one basis”. He painted a calligraphy for me, which translated as mysterious hands. He said that this described what he saw as he watched me practise.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 3 of 10

In a private session, Dr. Hatsumi worked on a friend of mine who had been a patient for several years. This person had suffered from Osteopetro’sis a brittle bone disorder from birth. He had suffered many bone breaks and traumas but in his twenties had fractured his femur badly in his left leg. After many hours in surgery, they had to abandon a traction correction, as they could not drill through the brittle bone. This left him after many months in plaster with a bowed left leg. This resulted in a misaligned pelvis and a scoliosis of the spine. He had a pronounced limp and had to walk with the aid of a stick. Despite these and many other difficulties after treatment from me, he even began martial training.

After several years of training, he visited Dr. Hatsumi with me. Dr. Hatsumi observed him walking, asked him to lie down and began to palpate his damaged leg. After a few moments, he decided on a spot and said “This Place”. He then pressed forcibly, quickly and deeply into the tissue of the leg. My friend’s pelvis and spine contorted and twisted as he pushed with his fingers into his leg. Then my friend stood up unaided and walked a few steps with a slight limp and more uprightly aligned. He had straightened up so much that his stick was now too short to reach the ground from where he held it. He could also step forward from both feet almost equally.

I had now seen evidence of what I could only describe as a miracle. Dr. Hatsumi then pressed my leg in a similar spot so I could feel the depth and effort of the pressure. He explained that this feeling and the body motion that generates it was the most important thing to study. All of my teacher’s lessons were delivered in this oxymoronic manner. He would demonstrate a technique, which stretched your imagination and then let you ponder on the questions that would lead you there.

On another occasion, he pressed into my cheek with his thumb for a moment and relived all my symptoms of fatigue and jet lag immediately. He explained that these effects on the body were possible because of a principle known as Gairon, which translators explained it as “The Big Picture”, private tutorials (1995) Dr. M. Hatsumi, the interconnectedness of all things, the feeling of nature.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 4 of 10

My research was to understand the relationship between the osteopathic lesion and the tissues that maintained the lesion.
Manipulation was based on either high velocity thrusts to a bone or forceful leverage principles. These techniques could be painful for the recipient and could also rupture the adjoining tissues. In 1995 I had the good fortune to observe first hand a Japanese master realign a pelvic and spinal distortion in moments without force or leverage. He actually applied pressure to the inner thigh with his thumb for about two to three seconds. On reexamination of the client all the physical factors of the problem had realigned.

He said that this approach was possible because of a principle known in Japanese as Gairon. “The relationship between the biosphere and Gaia is like that between your body and you. The biosphere is the three dimensional geographic region where living organisms exist. Gaia is the super organism composed of all life tightly coupled with the air, the oceans and the surface locks”. Lovelock. J, GAIA New Look at life on Earth, preface PX1. “The continuity or global interconnectedness of the living matrix is essential to the understanding of the body and the role of energetics in health and disease.” Oschman. J, Energy Medicine (p232)

The underpinning of my new research was based on the following principles. It had to be natural, it was a feeling that came from the heart and was delivered through the fingers, it was produced in the spine and delivered through our walk. Every time he taught a technique, he would explain these principles. “Its all in your walk, you must find it in nature, it must come from your heart and if you don’t understand Gairon, then you can’t continue”. The simplistic but mechanistic way in which he observed and then treated a condition was impressive but frustrating. My early attempts to mimic his technique were based on heavy pressure, which soon had
Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity my clients complaining.

© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 5 of 10

When I lightened up, I could not get the tissue to respond.
This frustration led me to study many approaches to pressing into tissue from Shiatsu, different kinds of massage, Rolfing and other physical modalities. Nothing had the
effect of Dr. Hatsumi’s touch on tissue.
“The spirit and feeling of a technique are more important than the mechanical ways to achieve it.” Hatsumi personal discussion, 1995. My main area of research in studying this man’s natural movement principles and medicine were bipedal locomotion and our vertical competence against gravity. The
main reason for this was that Dr. Hatsumi explained that human beings are the only creatures that need to be taught to move naturally. Dr M. Hatsumi (1995) “Thus the neurodevelopmental stages of crawling, creeping, crude walking and mature walking through which normal children develop, is directly related
to the amphibian, reptilian and mammalian evolutionary ancestors. Novella,MD (p1).

As we move naturally, we move energy around our body and integrate the left and right hemispheres of the brain. My own personal experience of overcoming dyslexia was through a programme of cross crawl repatterning designed by two doctors called Doman and Delacato. They discovered that babies that do not crawl evolve from an early programming of homo-lateral movement to walking and skip the cross crawl development.

This leads to a desynchronised brain pattern that can give rise to dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Therefore, my search went further into walking patterns. The problem with research into bodily function is the reductionist approach, which disregards the overall co ordination or integration of the body. “The reductionist approach assumes it is virtually impossible to study phenomena at the level of the whole organism simply because it is too complex”. Oschman J., p48 (2000).Energy Medicine

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 6 of 10

Most of the data I could find on walking was the anatomical, Newtonian approach to movement. The whole idea of Hatsumi’s Gairon approach was to include everything and he explained it was everywhere in nature. The traditional Newtonian concept of causality excluded non-deterministic data, because the information did not fit into its paradigm. The accepted knowledge that muscles moved bones by contraction and that bones were the weight bearers of the body was not sufficient to demonstrate the co ordination of natural movement.

In nature there is concept known as ephemeralisation, which means minimum effort and maximum output. When this is applied to a Newtonian approach of body movement, it does not apply.
The earliest form of movement evolved by the division of somites to become flexor muscles in the spines of fish. They simply contracted and at the end phase of contraction the opposing set of flexors would contract. This produced movement in the fish with minimal use of the brain and body with maximum diversity of its power. This was the kind of movement potential that Dr Hatsumi demonstrated in his almost floating walking style. Dr. Oshman PHD., in the seventies began to study the effects of pressure on the tissues of the body.

He describes research into the level of the simple cellular matrix. “We now know that the cell is filled with filaments and tubes and fibres and trabecullae collectively called the cytoplasmic matrix or cytoskeleton”. Oshman, I. p45 (2000). This breakthrough in cellular makeup led to new information as to the evolvement and makeup of bodily tissues.
It also demonstrated the scientific basis for the interconnectedness and continuity of the parts of the living organism. This was a piece of the puzzle in my quest for Hatsumi’s Gairon principle. Tissues evolve according to the stresses imposed on them in their developmental stages.

This is the basis of Wolff’s law of trabecullae development in bones and tissue. The fish and its spinal movement described earlier were sufficient for the
compression forces of water to provide it with projectile movement with flexor muscles only on its spine.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 7 of 10

For a fish like organism to leave the watery environment, its first new stress was gravity, a compressive force. Now two flexor muscles are not enough to move through three-dimensional gravitational space. Therefore, the next development was
to have antagonistic extensor muscles to work with the flexors. This also adds the extra dimension to bring in rotation and side bending qualities in the spine.

As creatures became more land capable, uprightness was a sought after quality. This caused the trabecullae formation in the cellular matrix to react. When collagen cells are close packed, they produce icosahedrons and the molecules of collagen when
stacked produce triple helix shapes. These threads of collagen weave into the fabric of tissue to develop lines of stress balancing strength against compressive or
compression forces. This ability at cell level is an inherent blueprint for organisms to balance against a stress and maintain its integrity. This tension balanced across
integrity became known as the concept of tensegrity.

This concept was first developed by a man called Kenneth Snelson, born in Pendleton, Oregon in 1927. He said, “My art is concerned with nature in its primary aspect, the patterns of physical forces in three dimensional space.” He developed a
three-way weave structure consisting of rigid compression, tubes pushing outward, held together by flexible tension cables pulling inward. These polyhedral units could be stacked in a way reminiscent of a beehive structure. Their antagonistic reciprocal tension and compression gives them powerful structural integrity omni directionally in three-dimensional space.

Robert Buckmister Fullers actually coined the term tensegrity and as a philosopher and engineer developed architectural design and developed a geodesic dome. Geodesics are based on the mathematics of special relationships. The dome is all or
part of a sphere, the shell of which is made of rigid struts forming equilateral triangles. The tensegrity across these structures creates and “everywhere the same energy”, symmetry. This was the Gairon, the interconnectedness I was searching for to explain the global effect of Dr. Hatsumi’s touch.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 8 of 10

In the 1970’s a Dr Stephen Levin maintained that in fact the body is a tensegrity structure. The soft tissues of the body provide tension and the bones and incompressible fluids in the body compartments providing compression. In this model the bones act as spacers and providing the divergent force needed to hold the space open. He describes the body as “A soft tissue entity, with local bony spacers, rather than a hard tissue entity with soft tissue motor units”. Live lecture 16th April (2005) The ligaments and soft tissues are “constructed with soft visceoelastic materials that behave non linearly” Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology. Volume 2, 3, and 4, 375-388 World Scientific Publishing Co. This explained the body’s archaeological trabecullae footprint in the formation of our bones. If the spine is constructed in a pillar and beam Newtonian way, then the calculated forces needed for a grandfather to lift his three-year-old grandchild would crush the spine.

The laws of tensegrity allowed me to understand the principles of Dr. Hatsumi’s natural movement strategies and its power without strength. The next problem was to be able to control the tensegrity of the body from an external source of contact. Dr. Levin in describing the body as a tensegrous unit also
explained that the tensegrity breaks at the interface or periphery of the body. Injury to tissue affects the play of movement of a joint, the play is the non linear part of a curve which is measurable and reproducible.

My previous attempts at applying pressure did not produce the correction to the joints restriction. I began to work on the angle and depth of the contact hand, but it was body movement that fulfilled the criteria I was searching for. The natural movement principles of Dr Hatsumi are the opposite of Newtonian or biomechanical principles applied to the body. The fundamental difference is that in natural movement principles you move bones together with the minimal amount of expenditure of energy.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 9 of 10

By approximating bones with minimal muscle contraction the
body remains relaxed and your contact with the tensegrity interface melds as one unit. The recipient’s body tissue accepts your applied pressure through the interface
connection. This contact allows you to alter the pulls of the restriction to normalise joint play even at a distance from the contact point. With this protocol it is now possible to act on the body’s tissues to normalise musculo-skeletal injured sites with a reproducible and predictable pressure therapy approach.

This approach is endorsed by Dr. Stephen Levin and can now form the underpinning of our approach in Amatsu and become the base for further research. The human upright bipedal walk has in it the potential for a body- mind- spirit principle known as SHIN GI TAI ICHI. This translates as SHIN our spirit or affective domain, GI as the person in the kinaesthetic or psychomotor domain and the TAI the mind in the cognitive realm.
As we walk move and work in this behaviour, any performed task is in the NOW ICHI as one moment. This form of awareness and
movement is our heritage of nature’s evolvement of the psyche-soma of the upright bipedal human.

I utilise and explain the virtues of this kind of movement to the therapists I train. Firstly, it encompasses a high level of ergonomic safety for the practitioner and secondly becomes the generator of the tactile power and feeling for the psychomotor skill of the therapy. As my research develops, I hope to develop a programme of movement-orientated exercises to help dyslexic and dyspraxia conditions.

Dennis Bartram – The Journey Towards Tensegrity
© mmv Dennis Bartram Page 10 of 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dart, Raymond. A, Voluntary Musculature in the Human Body, the
double spiral arrangement Volume 1, No 2. Human Potential 1968

Fuller, Buckmister. [http://www.bfi.org/domes/index.html]

Goodheart, G. Dr. Collected papers.

Hatsumi, M. Dr. Private tutorials 1995

Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology, Volume 1, 2 and 3,
375-388 Scientific Publishing Co.

Levin, Stephen. Dr. Live lecture 16th April 2005

Lovelock, J. GAIA New look at life on earth.

Novella. Steven. MD, Psychomotor Patterning Page 1, 20/04/2005
[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/patterning].
html

Oshman, J. Energy Medicine, The Scientific Basis 2000.

Reece, I and Walker, S. Teaching, Training and Learning. 2004.

Snelson, Kenneth. [http://www.KennethSnelson.net/icons/bio.html]

Walther, David S. Applied Kinesiology Synopsis.1988

To Contact Dennis Bartram email amatsu.uk@ntlworld.com

What is Optimal Health?

Health is harmony of body, mind and soul. Disease is an imbalance within this triad. Since humans do not exist in a solitary microcosm, the environment influences health both physically and energetically.

Imagine that health is a line stretching from optimal wellbeing to death. Symptoms of disease represent movement away from optimal wellness and towards death. Most health care providers treat the symptoms either with conventional or alternative therapies. Few seek the root cause of dis-ease. Fewer still seek to help the patient return to optimal wellness.

All disease processes are instigated by imbalances in the being, albeit biological or energetic. While most health providers recognize imbalances as dis-ease, few use a foundational model to assess and treat the whole patient. Without a holistic foundation, therapies are Band-Aids at best. Modern health care delivers chemical therapies that change symptoms but do not address the root issues. The imbalances must be assessed with a framework in mind to then deliver the appropriate therapies.

A decade ago while attempting to treat a myriad of dis-ease states, I began to notice similar patterns in the biochemical imbalances. Genetic expression favors homeostasis, so what made the body fall out of tune? Miscommunication. The complex messenger chemicals produced by the neuro-immune-endocrine system (NIE) tell the DNA what is needed by the body. To keep the hormones in harmony the body needs to take in micronutrients and get out toxins. As a triangular relationship formed between the function of the NIE system, the In and the Out cornerstones, I discovered the importance of a neuro-endocrine gland located deep in the brain at the sixth chakra level-the hypothalamus.

So I formulated a holistic model that addresses all aspects of wellbeing necessary to revolutionize healthcare.

DMAR Pyramid of Health™ is that model. DMAR Pyramid of Health™ refers to "the sea"-the source of all life-and assesses wellbeing through a pyramid of health. The four faces of the DMAR Pyramid of Health™ are the physiological, the psycho-spiritual, the anatomical and the environmental. The base of the pyramid encompasses the energetic vibration that represents life force. The energy within the system communicates itself via the biochemicals that make up the neuro-immune-endocrine system. These hormones under hypothalamic orchestration sing to the genetic encodement. The DNA then dances accordingly. If the music is out of tune, the genetic expression is one of dis-ease. If the music is harmonious, physical embodiment is perfectly healthy. Rather than tuning each of the hormones, I began focusing on the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is truly the maestro of the body's biochemical orchestra.

In clinical practice, I have found using the approach to dis-ease to be highly successful. I investigate imbalances in the neruo-immune-endocrine system, as well as perform functional testing of the assimilation and detoxification pathways, to uncover the root biochemical issues. Working with the other facets of the pyramid of wellbeing including the psycho-spiritual belief systems, the social and physical environment, and the anatomical structure of the physical body, provides a foundation in which to treat the patient. Being a biochemical specialist, I find that most patients need nutritional support. Feeding the brain holistically requires supplementation.

Tuning each biochemical pathway separately with nutritional and vibrational therapeutics is temporarily effective. Supporting the neuro-immune-endocrine system, as well as the assimilation and detoxification pathways, simultaneously creates harmonious communication with the DNA. Focusing on the hypothalamus which orchestrates the biochemistry is key to optimal genetic expression. A synergistic nutritional supplement to support all the biochemical pathways would create balance and harmony in our health and lives.

Hippocrates said, "Let food be your medicine". In a world of fast food, gathering all the nutrients necessary to support the complex biochemical pathways can be difficult. After spending years sending patients out my clinic door with lists of supplements to balance their systems, I wondered if I could do what I was asking of them. The perpetual tuning and retuning of their supplementation programs required dependency on me. Parents of learning disabled and autistic children begged me to simplify the process. My research led to the development of the DMAR philosophy, but my dreams were the path to my greatest creation.

For three months at the end of 1999, I had a recurrent dream. My worse case patients came to drink from a golden chalice I held. We never spoke, but intuitively, I knew they were healed. I awoke asking what was in the cup. A formula unveiled itself. I spent the following year doing clinical research on the nutritional supplement that came in my dreams. In the summer of 2003, Creation in a Bottle was born. Genesis Gold is designed to support the hypothalamus as well as the assimilation and detoxification pathways while keeping hormones in harmony.

For most of my patients, Genesis Gold has replaced six to ten bottles of supplements. For many, they are no longer dependent on medications, hormone replacement, or natural remedies as their systems have come into harmony. Health is encoded into our DNA. Isn't it time we tap into our highest potential?

Hatha Yoga For Good Health

Hatha Yoga - An Ancient Program of Balance, Harmony and Purification

Hatha Yoga originated in the 15th century in India as part of a program of purification of the body incorporated along with meditation. Hatha is the Hindu word for "sun and , while "Yoga" is the word for "yoke" or uniting of body, mind and environment. Hatha Yoga places great significance on achieving balance between physical, mental, spiritual and emotional states in harmony with earth, water, sun and moon.

Basic Tenets of Hatha Yoga Program

The basic tenets of the Hatha Yoga Program is comprised of several aspects:

Asana which focuses on posture similar to the postures of T'ai Chi and Chi Gong
Prayanamas where subtle energy control is the focus, a very important aspect of Hatha Yoga
Chakras which are the centers of energy
Kundalini which encompasses muscle force
Kryas which promotes the mastering of kundalini techniques
Shakti, the sacred force
Nadis which are channels
Mudras, which are symbolic gestures similar to those in T'ai Chi.

Shatkarma, purification, begins with freeing up the mind by freeing up the body through holistic lifestyle, yoga practice daily and metaphysical re-adaptation.

Self-Improvement Through Hatha Yoga

Within asanas, also known as "sun signs", movements are performed and practiced that rely on focused mental concentration in order to achieve maximum benefits. Practitioners of Hatha Yoga find a new sense of physical balance and strength as a result of consistent use of asanas. Thus, Hatha Yoga retards the aging process by infusing mind and body with continual renewal of strength and balance. Most people who practice Hatha Yoga find that it's necessary to also take inventory of their dietary and lifestyle predilections. This is a very natural emanation of alterations to a less healthy lifestyle.

Benefits of Hatha Yoga

The benefits of Hatha Yoga are a sense of wholeness and overall good health. Through the balance of mind and body effected by Hatha Yoga, a new harmony evolves from within and allows the individual to experience less stress and tension as a result. Yet, the adaptability to Hatha Yoga lifestyle is relatively easy because of the simplicity of its core fundamentals.

Meditation and Hatha Yoga

Meditation is an element of nearly all religions, holistic programs and cultural lifestyles. Meditation is also one of the oldest forms of self-recognition. Discovering the wealth of knowledge, ideas and inspirations within the unconscious mind is often obliterated by details stored in the conscious mind. This creates a conflict in the body when conscious messages block out unconscious messages intended as metaphysical protection from conscious deliberate negative actions. Quieting the mind sufficiently in meditation also requires the body to be receptively postured for best results. This is the basis of Hatha Yoga.

Lessons of Hatha Yoga for All Ages

Teaching children from young ages to adapt to the holistic program of Hatha Yoga creates a permanent direction for mental stability and good physical health. It is also the very best time for the practice of Hatha Yoga to begin. Those who choose Hatha Yoga in their senior years may find several of the asanas, i.e., the candle, the Lotus Position, physically challenging. For this age group, modified asanas are taught.

Massage - The Gift of Touch

Massage therapy has been practiced since ancient times. It was thought of as a healing modality, and was an integral part of the healing arts. There are many forms of bodywork available to suit everybody's needs, and more are emerging every day. Every modality has its place, there is not one that is better than the other. Many of the modalities developed out of intuitive knowledge by healers worldwide.

Massage is the gift of touch, it supplies the client a safe place to let go and be. Massage enhances the overall well being of a person on multiple levels. It improves circulation and lymphatic flow, invigorates and rejuvenates your skin, helps in the removal of toxins and lactic acid build up from your muscles and deactivate trigger points in the muscles, realigns the energy pathways, helps with pain management. and activates the parasymphatetic nervous system. Our nervous system is comprised of two parts the parasympatethic and sympathetic division. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for flight or fight response. It is a state of overdrive, your body and mind are getting ready for battle. Your blood vessels dilate, your heart beats faster, your body starts producing stress hormones like insulin and cortisol. Your whole being is on high alert. This process is helpful for survival, but it is not a healthy constant state of being. It is a state of great energy expansion, and the energy expanded has to be restored in your body. Being in a state of constant alert and high stress is a breeding ground for disease and distress in the body. Many people feel that they are running on empty for that exact reason. They feel that have nothing more to give, and they are looking for ways to recharge their batteries.

There are many people today that suffer from chronic pain, and painkillers can only do so much, plus they are very hard on the liver, besides being toxic. Pain is a sign that something is amiss in the body, and needs to be corrected. Pain also protects us from doing more harm to ourselves. Given this, overriding pain is probably not the best idea, living with pain is not a real good option either. Massage is very helpful for pain management, because it helps the person relax. In cases like Fibromyalgia massage will help remove lactic acid and other toxins from the muscle tissue, while relaxing and stretching the muscle, thus resetting it to its normal resting length.

The greatest gift massage can give you, is touch that will help you relax. We are all living in a stressful environment, and most of us have forgotten, what it really feels like to let go and just be.

We are constantly bombarded with information and demands, and we are operating on overdrive. As a consequence we have lost touch with ourselves, we don't know what is good for us, and we are looking for stimulants to give us energy just to make it through the day. At night we have difficulty winding down and falling asleep, and wake up exhausted and sleep deprived the next day. We are becoming like robots, out of touch with ourselves, our bodies, and our surroundings.

Bodywork is a great way to get back in touch with yourself. There are many different modalities and therapists to choose from. Finding the right modality and practitioner might take some time, but it is well worth the effort. A skilled practitioner can help you facilitate healing and understanding. Understanding your self and your body will open new doors of awareness to you. It will help you make changes and shifts in your life that are beneficial and nurturing. A sound mind will bring you a sound body. Many of us holding stress in the form of tension in our bodies, this will ultimately impede the flow of energy and bring on disease. Stress is one of the main causes of illness, and it is in your best interest to dissipate stress.

Massage is the manipulation of soft tissue (muscle), by relaxing the muscle you will also affect the skeleton. Every muscle (except the tongue) has an insertion and origins that is attached to bone. The joint itself will be affected negatively, if the muscle normal resting length is shortened due to constant contraction. By relaxing the muscle tissue you will also relieve pressure on the joint or vertebra. Muscles main functions are to enable us to move, and to protect and strengthen our joints. In order for us to move most efficiently and effortlessly we need to be in proper alignment, and this is an all encompassing term. Being in proper alignment means that our bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments can operate in the most energy sufficient way, unhindered by obstructions. This will allow the life for to flow most freely, and will bring about a feeling of wellness and grace. Everything in our bodies is interconnected, and all parts work together to create harmony. One could compare it with an orchestra that plays beautiful music as long as every instrument is tuned perfectly. If instruments start playing out of tune, it will have a negative affect on the symphony.

For instance, every vertebra in your spine is responsible for the enervation of a specific organ. Thoracic vertebra 6 enervates the stomach, if this segment becomes facilitated the person could develop stomach problems, because the nerve conduction is not up to par.

We live in a society nowadays that has become disembodied. Touching people has almost become inappropriate and unacceptable. Many people have difficulties defining proper boundaries for themselves, and other people. Touch is essential for our well being, we would wither and die without being touched. Scientific studies have shown that seniors that have pets do better than the ones that live alone. Infants and children that grow up with limited physical contact from their caregivers, are at a much higher risk of developing developmental and behavioral problems. Giving your kids and loved ones hugs on a regular basis is a great way of showing your love and stay connected with them.

Give yourself the gift of touch. Indulge yourself for an hour in just being and releasing with the help of a massage therapy session. Chances are that you will leave refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to embrace and see the world in a whole new way.