Touch of Esalen

What Esalen Massage Means to me

* from the mind of me*

When I read the definition of a Esalen Massage it just generates inside of me such a beautifully gentle feeling that's it's hard to describe as I feel it.

I call it "connecting" Connecting the entire body so that it's one universal feeling. In other words, a regular massage is very thorough. You start at the top of the body or vise-versa and work your way towards the other end. Massaging each appendage as a separate entity. My Massage is the exact opposite of this. This is exactly where my interpretation of "Esalen Massage" comes into play.

First, there is never a time when my hand is not touching some part of your body. We are always connected bringing us closer to being "one" with each other. Secondly, I do NOT treat different parts of your body as separate entities.

An Esalen Massage is based on your ability to let go of the world from which you just walked in from. You enter my world and from that very moment I take full control of every action therein. The ONLY thing you have to do is relax. No matter what your daily day, week or life is like it does not follow you into our space. To help you get to where you need you to be, and after you are comfortable, I will explain a bit what I'm doing and what you need to do.

Taking away as many senses as I possibly can is so important to a complete connection

I take your sense of hearing and I fill it with soft beautifully relaxing music. I take your sense of sight away by suggesting that your eyes be closed at all times. I take away your own sense of touch by asking you not to move at all so that the only touch you feel is what is placed upon you. Your trust in me at this time now is complete and hopefully will allow you now to rest your mind. With no other things to think about and only with the ability to feel that which I place upon you is extremely intense and utterly relaxing at the same exact time.

As the sounds of soothing music fill a warm room you will begin to feel long, sensual, feather-light strokes run along your entire body. Making absolutely no breaks or cut offs your body and mind infusion begins. Where one part of your body begins and the other part ends will become nothing more than a hazy fuzzy blur. The connection of the entire body elicits a very soft trance-like feeling coupled with an arousal and awakening of every nerve, muscle and inch of your skin. Bringing your entire body to the same exact level of relaxation and ecstasy, this is truly all encompassing.

The connection of your body is the most important path to relaxation. This "connecting" is where we begin the rhythm-like strokes that define an "Esalen" Massage.

What is "Esalen" Massage

* The Esalen Institute Definition*

The ocean provides a slow-moving rhythm very much akin to the internal rhythms of the body. The receiver rests in a comfortable position and the practitioner's hands begin quietly, with presence, attending to breath, allowing the receiver to drop inward. The long, slow, t'ai chi-like strokes awaken awareness, and as the tissues open to the warm of touch, the contact deepens, nudging bound-up muscles, drawing forth expanded movement. A relaxing sigh resounds through the body, and the practitioner responds with integration strokes into related areas. The massage continues, seamlessly, wrapping the torso arms, legs, hands, feet, neck, and spirit into a united whole.

The practitioner brings a knowledge of strokes (many have roots in Swedish Massage), of muscles and bones, of movement, of listening to the body as well as the words. Prior to the session, he/she pays attention to his own physical comfort, and quiets down internal chatter to welcome inner guidance, or intuition. As she massages, the practitioner responds to the signs of relaxation: deepened breath, enhanced circulation, a sigh, perhaps flutters of the eyelids. Each session is unique, tailored by personal requests, comfort level, physical tension and release, the felt sense of intuition.

The effects of this intentional touch, loosely categorized as "wellness/stress management massage", range widely. For some, it brings a renewed sense of health and vigor, others may regain a sense of safety with regard to touch. Often old tension patterns break free and old emotions are released. It signals a return to one's nature, a switch from everyday consciousness into a calmer, more colorful space less inhabited by the constraints of time and place. An out-of-ordinary reality.

The sources of this rich work are endless: it was informed by sensory awareness, Swedish massage, oriental medicine, meditation, gestalt practice. The influence of, deeper work borrowed for Ida Rolf's teachings, Moshe Feldenkrais' sense of neural co-ordinates, Milton Trager's passive movement to awaken the mind, yoga stretches, somatic mind-body psychology, and more energetically based polarity massage and cranial-sacral work continue to "grow" the work. Each practitioner translates this into his/her personal art form.

At the heart of the session is a sense of empowering each individual to regain a sense of harmony, reverence, and balance, and to awaken inner resources for healing. It is not unusual to hear,

"That was the most amazing massage I've ever received."

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