A life worth living
…
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(Advertorial placed in the Newmarket
and Ely Weekly News, spring 2004)
What
makes a person feel alive – and feel that life is worth living? Most
would agree that things like ‘health’ or ‘well-being’,
‘vitality’, ‘balance’, ‘happiness’, ‘relationship’ and
maybe a sense of ‘being at one’ are important features – however
everyone will have different opinions on what ‘being alive’ means to
them.
But
hold on, let’s look at the question again … what makes a person FEEL
alive? ‘Feelings’ can be emotions, physical sensations or a kind of
‘knowing’ that something is right (or wrong); the point is that our
aliveness is a ‘felt sense’ and not just an intellectual notion.
This is the perspective of a therapy called biodynamic massage, a gentle
and very pleasurable form of massage practised by Vicki Martin.
“People
often split their experience into parts – they believe their thoughts,
emotions and physical sensations are separate and have no effects on one
another. My experience as a biodynamic massage therapist is that
everything is inter-related – more so than is commonly appreciated –
and that working with touch can be a very powerful way of effecting
change in all areas of a person’s life. For example, we talk of
processing or ‘digesting’ our life experiences and this tends to be
seen as a solely psychological issue – but in biodynamic terms it is
very much a bodily function and one which can be beneficially affected
by appropriate bodywork.”
Biodynamic
massage is based on a rich understanding of the mind-body connection.
Some clues come from commonly used phrases; we talk about ‘holding
things together’ in times of stress or emotional turmoil and this
‘holding’ does indeed take place in our body, as a physical tension
(which we may be only too aware of). Sometimes we are unable to contain
our feelings and our lives may be disrupted by an outpouring of emotion
which we cannot control. At the other end of the spectrum, some people
are ‘cut off from their feelings’ – a phrase which takes on a
different understanding altogether when you think of feelings as
physical sensations and not just emotions. All of these situations can
be worked with in biodynamic massage, which has a wide range of
techniques or ‘strokes’ so that every session is unique and tailored
to the precise needs of the individual at that moment.
Vicki
is keen to highlight its versatility, however;
“It’s
not just for emotional problems – people can be put off because it
seems to have such a psychological slant when talked about this way. I
have helped people with migraines/headaches, sleep problems, irritable
bowel syndrome, bad backs and other complaints. For me, the most
important thing is the way that biodynamic massage puts people back in
touch with themselves, with their body, with what is important for them
– and opens up the way for them to live in a way which is true to
their inner nature. Put this way, it becomes a bit like a personal
journey, nurtured by the relationship between therapist and client as
well as being facilitated by the bodywork – which, as a bonus, is
extremely enjoyable to receive!”
Vicki
is happy to give talks to small groups. For more information on any
aspect of biodynamic massage therapy, contact her on 01353 624284.
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Vicki Martin, February 2004
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