K.) Understanding the Somatic Nervous System and Proprioception & Intro to Visceral and Abdominal Massage: Both Classes

Saturday: Understanding the Somatic Nervous System and Proprioception

When we are at our best in a massage, we are skillfully engaged in a conversation with our client's nervous system, including the autonomic and somatic components. Why do our clients hold themselves and move the way that they do? How can we efficiently help them to let their muscles go? What can we do to help them optimize their (and our own) movement and relaxation patterns, and efficiently learn new motor skills? How can we make the benefits of our massage as lasting and effective as possible?

This class we will focus on the somatic (musculoskeletal) nervous system, including proprioception, cortical-limbic (ie, conscious, unconscious, and emotional) influences, reflexes, guarding responses, coordination, and the gamma efferent system. This will be more than just a physiology lecture--it's a course designed specifically for massage therapists. The focus will be on implications for bodywork, and how to skillfully and effectively apply this knowledge in your bodywork practice. You will gain a deeper understanding of the somatic nervous system, and how it applies to massage and to life. This somatic nervous system and proprioception anatomy and physiology class will go beyond what is typically taught in massage schools or in college anatomy and physiology courses.

Please note that this class is primarily lecture, interlaced with experiential and movement-based exercises that help students better understand the somatic nervous system, and does not satisfy Washington’s requirement for 8 hours of live, hands-on CE training.

Sunday: Introduction to Visceral and Abdominal Massage

The viscera are at the very core of our body, and are, along with our nervous system, a primary source of life. They are at the center of our structure, our emotions, our biochemistry, and our life energy. There are over 500 million neurons in the belly (about 5 times more than in the spinal cord), and our enteric nervous system is a primary source of our intuition and "gut" feelings.

When we are anxious or distressed, our natural instinct is to protect our soft underbelly and "stuff" emotions there, causing multilayered problems throughout the body. The smooth muscles of the gut contract, pulling on the surrounding mesentery and fascia, causing not only gut pain, but back pain. In addition, surgery can create adhesions and multi-directional disruptions in the abdominal fascia and musculature. It is ironic that this vital healing area is often overlooked in massage.

The sensitivity and vulnerability of the belly is precisely why it is so receptive to safe, calming, and nourishing touch. We can soothe the enteric nervous system and the soft underbelly, sending waves of deep relaxation throughout the entire body. We can relax the smooth muscles of the intestines, which reduces pain, improves digestive function, and eases the fascial pull in the back and other areas of the body. We can sometimes separate post-surgical adhesions, creating balance and increased ease of movement at the very core of the body.

In this class you will learn simple and effective abdominal massage techniques that are easy to integrate into your massage practice. You will learn the basic layout of some of the area's major anatomical structures and how to identify, palpate, and treat them. This class will make your abdominal work more comforting, intelligent, and effective. You will be able to help your clients achieve deeper states of relaxation, relieve pain, improve digestive function, and help free up deep structural imbalances.