HANDS OF LIGHT MASSAGE

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A MASSAGE WITH ROBERT POTTER

My own style has evolved from the many people and bodies I have worked with, and the many techniques I have studied. Throughout the past 44-plus years, I have been seriously practicing the art of healing and massage. During that time I have honed and refined my skill and style to a series of maneuvers that work best for me. I have studied various techniques including POLARITY, SHIATSU, SWEDISH, ACUPRESSURE, TOUCH FOR HEALTH, ROLFING, TRAEGER NEO-REICHIAN BODYWORK,THAI, ZERO POINT, NETWORK, and CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS. I am familiar with and consider all of them to be essentially the same in the sense that they all bring the body into balance.

All of the above-mentioned techniques deal with at least one of the following principle elements of bodywork: digital pressure-where and how much, muscle manipulation, limb rotation, movement, and breath awareness. Each has its own theory to explain where to place the hands, how to use them, and why.

To the best of my ability, I use the cream of the crop of all of these styles. As an example of how I would combine them-I would first observe your body as a Rolfer would. I would look at your posture and make mental notes as to where your body is structurally out of line. Then I would have you lie on the table and observe your breathing. From these observations, I could give suggestions (from a Neo-Reichian point of view) on how to make your breathing more efficient. Then I would use some Swedish strokes to get rid of surface tension and mentally relax you. I would then give you an acupressure treatment on the great regulator channel (a major “strange flow”) which utilizes all meridians. From there, I might go to polarity and so on down the line. I treat each person differently, based on their needs as I see them.

With the emphasis placed on deep bodywork today, some therapists lose their client’s trust by being rough and digging in – gouging the muscles or even over-stretching the ligaments. I can assure you that this is NOT my style. I am very intuitive on this level. I am gentle but firm, smooth, and effective. This is not to say I always give a soft massage. On the contrary, I can give a very strong, stimulating massage with enough pressure to release even deep tension stored in the connective tissue.

With my style, I build pressure gradually so that it is not noticed. I am able to affect powerful tension releases without pain. I can sense when the body is at its limit, and I will not force your body to go beyond that threshold. Yet I work slowly so that you can expand and increase your limits. I believe that my innate feel for massage, combined with precision technique and scientific application all make for a very thorough massage.

I hope that this sheet has answered some questions, and prepared you for our session. I look forward to working with you.

HANDS OF LIGHT  Massage Consultation Sheet

So that you may be better prepared to receive a massage – I have outlined my philosophies, goals, attitudes and expectations for you and our massage. You may have noticed that I wrote OUR MASSAGE. This is important because the quality of OUR massage is as much up to you as it is up to me – your therapist. Remember that both of us will be sharing the experience together. It is my goal to be a clear channel for spirit. This means that I will arrive to give you the best massage possible using all my resources at hand, physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

I practice massage because I have found it to be a worthy tool in harmonizing and balancing the body’s forces. I also practice massage because I feel honored to pay my respect to another person in this way. You may be wondering exactly what a massage can do for you. The benefits of massage can be divided into basically two categories: objective and subjective.

The objective benefits of massage are mechanical in nature, and they are numerous. The following are scientifically proven benefits:

1. Massage dilates the blood vessels, improving circulation and relieving congestion throughout the body.
2. Massage increases the number of red blood cells, especially in cases of anemia.
3. Massage acts as a “mechanical cleanser”, stimulating lymph circulation and hastening the elimination of wastes and toxic debris.
4. Massage relaxes muscle spasms and relieves tension.
5. Massage increases blood supply and nutrition to muscles without adding to their load of toxic lactic acid produced through voluntary muscle contraction. Massage thus helps to prevent the build-up of harmful “fatigue” by-products resulting from strenuous exercise or injury.
6. Massage improves muscle tone and helps prevent or delay muscle atrophy resulting from forced inactivity.
7. Massage can compensate, in part, for lack of exercise and muscular contraction in persons who, because of injury, illness or age, are forced to remain inactive. In these cases, massage helps return venous blood to the heart and so eases the strain on this vital organ.
8. Massage may have a sedative, stimulating, or even exhausting effect on the nervous system – depending on the type and length of massage given.
9. According to some authorities, massage may burst the fat capsule in subcutaneous tissue so that the fat exudes and becomes absorbed. In this way, massage – combined with a nutritious but calorie-restrictive diet, can be an aid in reducing.
10. Massage, by improving the general circulation, increases the nutrition of the tissues. It is accompanied or followed by an increased interchange of substances between the blood and tissue cells – heightening tissue metabolism.
11. Massage increases the excretion (via the kidneys) of fluids and waste products of protein metabolism, inorganic phosphorous and salt in normal individuals.
12. Massage encourages the retention of nitrogen, phosphorous and sulfurs necessary for tissue repairs in persons convalescing from bone fractures.
13. Massage stretches connective tissue, improves its circulation and nutrition and so breaks down or prevents the formation of adhesions and reduces the danger of fibrosis.
14. Massage improves the circulation and nutrition of joints and hastens the elimination of harmful deposits. It helps lessen inflammation and swelling of joints and so alleviates pain.
15. Massage helps to reduce edema (or dropsy) of the extremities.
16. Massage disperses the edema following injury to ligaments and tendons, lessens paid and facilitates movement.

The subjective benefits of massage are psychological and just as real and important as the objective benefits.

1. Massage is touching by nature, and is therefore soothing.
2. Massage is a one-to-one relationship, expressing true fellowship, thus very reassuring.
3. Massage is nurturing by nature of the inherent mingling of consciousness fields.
4. Massage at its best can make you feel good, so enjoy your massage and don’t deny yourself the pleasure.

What will assist us in the efficiency of our sessions will be a focus on mutual trust, respect, and surrender. Without these qualities, the massage is useless and often impossible. You must at least make a commitment to try to attain these states of being in their purest form. If this is your first ever massage PLEASE LET US KNOW!

TRUST: The Oxford dictionary defines TRUST as “confidence in, or reliance on some quality or attribute of a person or a thing”. First, I ask you to trust yourself as well as your body’s own ability to rely on your therapist’s talents and expertise as a facilitator of your body’s natural balancing mechanisms. Trust the therapist’s hands to provide the warmth and strength you need. Trust yourself to allow the vehicle of massage to let you leave the outside world behind. Close your eyes and let go, listen to relaxing music. Allow yourself to drift away – into an ocean of complete relaxation.

RESPECT: Our therapists will always treat your body with respect. We will care for and attend to your physical needs as if they were our own. In return, we ask that you please respect us as certified and trained to be able to deal with your body in a professional manner. We want you to know that we treat all people with the same sincere diligence – regardless of race, color, age, religion, social strata, etc. We sincerely hope that our massage services help people realize the true self-respect that is due to their bodies. There is no worthier goal than to pay perfect homage to the sacred temple of flesh which is our wonderful body – the physical vehicle for our spirit on this plane.

SURRENDER: When the actual massage begins, complete physical surrender is foremost. In other words, all conscious effort should be withdrawn from the body. As much as possible, go limp and be like a Raggedy Ann doll or a puppet. The therapist will play the role of the puppeteer. If there is resistance in the muscles, it becomes difficult to manipulate and maneuver your body correctly. Granted, we expect a bit of tension, as this is why you came to us. However as an example: imagine you are lying on a massage table on your back with your arms resting on the table at your side. If one of our therapists were to lift one arm into the air and let it go, we would hope it would fall back on the table lose. Often the arm is left in the air stiff as a flag post. That is not relaxed. We realize that sometimes it takes time for that complete bond of trust to be established. We look forward to working on this together.

Final Note: We ask you to remove all clothing and jewelry, as this is the accepted state for the art of massage. All our therapists are extremely professional and the clients’ body is completely draped (covered) the entire time. If this is not comfortable for you, we would like to suggest wearing light, loose-fitting clothing. Your comfort is our primary concern.