Liberated Christians
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Promoting Intimacy and Other-Centered Sexuality
COPYRIGHTED 1999 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - MAY BE REPRINTED OR QUOTED FROM
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Esalen Massage
It's So Nice To Be Kneaded
Esalen massage is a variation of a century-old Swedish Massage
Developed by Esalen Institute of Big Sur,California.
Esalen Massage vs. Swedish
Massage
While the strokes are similar, the philosophy and intent are quite different.
Swedish massage was developed as part of gymnastics, Esalen as part of Gestalt
psychotherapy.
Swedish seeks to affect specific muscles, joints and organ and relieve pain and increase
mobility. Esalen does this but also seeks to help the person live more comfortably in his
or her own body and integrate body, mind and spirit into a more harmonious whole person.
The strokes and manipulations of Swedish massage are for a specific therapeutic benefit.
Esalen massage is set apart us a unique style because it also reflects an attitude about
touching, caring, energy awareness and emotional, spiritual healing besides just physical
manipulation.
Part of the attitude of Esalen is that touching is a basic need, as essential as air, food
or water: that caring about others is natural; that getting in touch with one's own body
leads to a more effective way of loving and relating to others, and that healing comes
from within as well as from the outside.
In Esalen massage the social differences between the giver and receiver is reduced. No
white uniform as a symbol of authority. Esalen massage is often practiced as an exchange -
alternating between who gives and receives - and is traditionally done in the nude.
However when done by professional therapists, this of course, is not done. At the hot
spring baths in California where it originated, getting dressed when it was your turn to
give massage seemed not only superfluous but downright silly.
In public practice Esalen practitioners usually dress very informally and the client is
usually covered with a towel or sheet, but since one of the aims of Esalen style massage
is to tie the parts of the body together, coverings are moved aside to permit long flowing
"connecting" strokes that are among its hallmarks. In exchange groups and
retreats for massagers, clothing is usually optional for everyone. Having options places
responsibility on each individual rather than on some external authority, and that's what
holistic health care is all about.
A massager who has a nervous preoccupation with keeping certain parts of the body covered
conveys the nonverbal message that not all of the body is acceptable. Conversely, a
receiver who cannot confidently and with trust put his or her body in the hands of a
massager is unlikely to benefit from Esalen massage. One who is afraid to be seen nude
will communicate tension to the giver and both will find relaxation difficult. People who
are not comfortable around the body should not be in bodywork, just as people who don't
like children should not teach kindergarten.
There is also a difference in conception of what therapy is. Sometimes it is said that
Esalen "only" makes one feel good, as if that were a frivolous self-indulgence,
whereas Swedish is more "therapeutic". But Esalen is intended to feel good; its
creators believed in the wisdom that feeling good is good for you in body as well as
emotions and spirit. Esalen massagers believe that pleasure itself is therapeutic.
Few Esalen massagers practice 100% pure Esalen but use a blend of strokes and techniques
for maximum physical as well as relational touch and good feelings.
Within the profession there is great diversity which provides a choice for clients. The
largest massage organization, the AMTA, is very nurse and physical manipulation oriented.
Emphasis in workshops is often proper draping of the body and the importance of the clean
white uniform. More holistic therapists believe this is very cold and impersonal.
"Holistic" comes from the Greek "holos", meaning "whole".
When applied to health it means "the belief that an organic or integrated whole has
reality independent of and greater than the sum of its parts. In bodywork that means
viewing health as a balance of physical, mental, and spiritual aspects. It does not mean
treating only muscles and ignoring feelings.
Emotional Relating
-An act of physical caring expressing trust, empathy and respect.
-Unique way of communicating inner love and God's Spirit even to a stranger, without
words, beyond touching and hugging.
-Nurturing touch makes people more whole, more fully ourselves and each person's hands
have the power to give this joy to another.
Our Sexual "Hang-ups" And Touch
Massage has an undeserved bad reputation since it has been improperly used as a
cover up for sex and prostitution. Therefore we are often hungup over massage and
touching.
Touch has been shown to be a very basic human need. Skin hunger is as real as stomach
hunger, yet it is so restricted by our society and equated with sex, that Americans have
lost the ability to nurture through touch.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could openly touch and show affection without our hang-ups?
Most of us were taught to express such intimacy only in sexual relationships. But intimacy
doesn't necessarily include sex, any more than sex necessarily involves intimacy.
God designed our bodies for sensual enjoyment through touch but we often confuse wonderful
sensual feelings with sexual acts.
Esalen massage breaks the barriers to touch and allows us to grow in a new awareness of
the feeling, caring, and pleasure our bodies were meant to express to one another.
Unfortunately I do not have any contacts with Esalen therapists to refer anyone too (other
than myself!). It is very popular in California and can be found in other areas. You might
also check in New Age or alternative newspapers where therapists may advertise their
Esalen specialty. The name Esalen Massage has now been trademarked and only those
certified as Esalen therapists may use the title.
Not To Be Confused With
Tantric or Sexual Massage
Some book writers have mixed Esalen style massage (often without proper credit)
with sexual massage. Sometimes the properly name Esalen techniques but then don't make it
clear when they shift to non-Esalen sexual techniques such as Tantra etc. With it
being trademarked, hopefully people will be more careful with the use of the use of the term Esalen.
Learning
Esalen Massage
A Great New Teaching Video
People that have experienced Esalen Massage agree that it is
extraordinary. Its holistic approach is unique.
I have to chuckle a bit on how they did the film. I've talked to the production company and because they hope to get on the shelves of major book and video sellers, they had to break from the Esalen tradition of nude massage (both therapist and client) so they only had to put a "partial nudity" warning on the box. This seems so silly to me. What was comical is how you try and do some of the full body flowing strokes while draped. But the film did a good job. It's just so silly having to have some draping for those "dirty" parts of the body. See Nudity is Natural and Wholesome for my positive view on nudity and body acceptance.
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