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Bio = life
Dynamic = movements or forces
Biodynamic = life movements within a person

Aims to make clients 'more alive'

• to be in touch with their feelings and to experience a full range of emotions
• to be free to express themselves
• to have optimal balance and maximum flexibility in functioning (work, leisure, relaxation etc.)
• to be 'embodied' (aware of posture, level of bodily tension/fatigue, ambient temperature etc.)
• to develop a sympathetic and loving relationship with their body
• to be able to breathe deeply and fully
• to feel 'touched', valued and respected

Practical points

• Sessions last one hour, the therapist allowing for a 15 minute break between sessions.
• Initial contract is for six sessions, then as negotiated between therapist and client.
• Client generally undresses to underpants, however can remain clothed if they prefer.
• No use of oil or talc for lubrication (hence no transfer to clothes after massage).
• Sheets/blanket are used over the patient, who lies on a couch, with each part of the body being uncovered while the therapist works with it.
• Therapist usually works with a stethoscope which is located over the client's abdomen; peristaltic sounds are used as a source of feedback relating to the efficacy of the work and/or physical/emotional overload.
• A large number of techniques ('strokes') are available to the therapist, each affecting different tissues (muscle, connective tissue, skin) and having different actions (e.g. to relax or to 'charge', to facilitate emotional expression or to contain overwhelming feelings). These are selected according to the client's need at the time of treatment. No two sessions will be the same.

Theoretical framework

• Psychological functioning involves more than just the brain, e.g. a depressed person will experience and express this bodily - and willpower alone will not suppress this.
• Massage benefits the body and influences the emotional/psychological state.
• Unresolved traumas/stresses/shocks leave their residues in the body. Tensions can serve to hold back emotions associated with the original memory or event and are seen as serving a potentially important function; the release of tensions may be associated with the release of memories.
• The gastro-intestinal tract does not merely digest food; it can also be involved in the 'processing' of chemical remnants from traumas/stresses/shocks. Peristaltic activity therefore gives an indicator of how stressed a person is and/or how they cope with stress. This area of theory is known as 'psychoperistalsis'.
• A person's life involves cycles of rest, preparation for action, action/expression, and recovery. People customarily get 'stuck' at the same point(s) on the cycle. Biodynamic massage has the ability to help the body recover from any non-completed cycles, and to encourage a person to live in such a way that these natural cycles can occur unimpeded to as great an extent as possible.
• The body is viewed energetically: techniques act to unblock, balance and/or facilitate the flow of energy. A restriction in the 'life force' will decrease a person's ability to function to their best ability and is understood to be a precursor to disease. Some people make an analogy between the life force and the soul; biodynamic massage therefore acts on all levels of a person's being (mind, emotions, body, spirit).

Common misconceptions

• "Massage is about relaxation" - relaxation is often appropriate, but not always: if a person is currently 'gearing up for action' then a more 'vitalising' session may be more apt.
• "Massage is about releasing muscle tension" - muscles may be over-tense or over-relaxed (hyper or hypotonic); biodynamic massage recognises this and includes techniques for each situation.
• "Massage can make you emotional" - this can certainly be true, however several techniques in biodynamic massage specifically aim to 'contain' emotions. Biodynamic masseurs can also pass on self-help techniques to clients who are frequently emotionally overwhelmed, to help them cope better in life.
• "Massage can be painful" - some schools of massage believe that tense tissues need to be forcibly broken down - which can hurt. In biodynamic massage, tensions are seen as having arisen as a result of adverse events in a person's life history, and therefore potentially having a protective function - literally helping a person 'hold him/herself together'. Gently persuasive approaches are used, within a supportive environment which respects the person's history, so that tensions can be relinquished at the body's own pace.
• "Massage is sexy" - biodynamic massage is entirely therapeutic: any sexual tensions which arise may be discussed appropriately with a client and/or taken to supervision sessions.

History/development

• Developed by Gerda Boyesen, a Norwegian clinical psychologist, physiotherapist and psychotherapist (in Norway it is not uncommon for psychiatric patients to receive physiotherapy).
• Used as a therapeutic intervention within body psychotherapy.
• In the UK, the Association of Holistic Biodynamic Massage Therapists publishes a register of practitioners, codes of conduct and a complaints procedure.
• Biodynamic masseurs receive regular supervision from a suitable body psychotherapist.
• Ongoing training courses are provided intermittently by training colleges and the AHBMT: massage training can also be formally continued within body psychotherapy trainings (with subsequent UKCP accreditation).

Example clients

Its theoretical framework and range of techniques makes biodynamic massage potentially useful for:

• People with emotional issues (e.g. overwhelming emotions, cut off from feelings, depression, anxiety)
• People interested in self-development/self-awareness: can be a good adjunct to counselling/psychotherapy
• People who don't feel they are functioning well in their life
• People who need supporting through a period of change
• People who are 'out of touch with their body', or who have a poor relationship with their body
• People who don't get enough touch (perhaps especially the elderly/bereaved)
• People with issues around touch (e.g. abuse victims, people with relationship/sexual difficulties)
• People who are hyperactive and find it hard to relax - or who are suffering from over-tiredness/lethargy
• People with stress-related conditions (e.g. irritability, sleep problems, tension headache, tight shoulders)
• People who work in a caring capacity, or who care for relatives at home
• People who experience bodily aches/pains (e.g. muscular tension, stiff joints, migraine, backache)
• People with gastro-intestinal disorders e.g. IBS (since biodynamic massage works to improve gastro-intestinal function, as monitored through peristalsis)
• People with respiratory disorders e.g. asthma (only after liaison with a GP if attacks have been severe) since biodynamic massage includes an awareness of, and techniques to work with, breathing patterns

Vicki Martin, March 2003