Oregon Board
of Massage
Therapists:
License # 7433

Here are the three reasons for naming my business Massage For All Seasons plus my philosophy on healing that I call "Come Home To Yourself".

Reason 1) A Man For All Seasons
When I was 16, I saw a movie called A Man For All Seasons about the struggle between Sir Thomas More (MP, diplomat, lawyer, author and Lord Chancellor of England) and Henry VIII, King of England. What so impressed me about this story was Mores’ personal integrity. No matter what adversity came his way, he adhered to his principles without fail. As an adult, I realize that all things are not so black and white (and much to my chagrin, I also found that More had a hand in some things which were not pleasant).

However, the ideas of personal integrity and walking one’s talk have weathered the years and I attempt to live by these principles which are useful in all seasons and times.

The idea of integrity also fascinates me in relation to the body. In the “Coming Home to Yourself” (below) section, I also touch on the concept of disassociation.

When we are in pain we have a tendency to disassociate from the part of our body that feels pain so as not to experience it as acutely. I try to restore the body’s function with massage to the extent it that is comfortable again to feel in the painful area and in doing so the body’s balance is restored. One can then move and live from his/her entirety.

Reason 2) Old Testament in Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, The Preacher says:
“To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” and goes on to list all the things that there is a time for.

I have always been deeply affected by these words, as I believe that there is indeed a time and a season for everything as illustrated in fundamental/elemental terms by the four natural seasons. There is an underlying rhythm that unites us all in a deep way. I feel that life has and always will, no matter the new and latest technology or progression in civilization, follow a cadence that we all can connect with. Also see: “Coming Home To Yourself”.

As in all things, there is a time for every kind of emphasis in massage. Sometimes it is a time for deep work and integrating physical energy. Maybe the next session would call for more relaxation and/or stretching just focused on one particular area. At other times, someone may need to feel contained in his/her own body/energy space and for the duration of the massage, not feel any intrusion from the outside world. I try to tailor my massages to fit the needs of a person on an individual day – what the time calls for. And, I always use some relaxation techniques no matter what the need is – as I believe that there is always time for relaxation.

Reason 3) A Massage Tool For All Issues
I believe that with the massage tools I have, I can have a positive impact on most
any soft-tissue issue.

I have done research and had training in many modalities:

Breathwork
Chair Massage
Chinese Facial Massage
Deep Tissue
Myofascial
Neuromuscular (particularly the neck and pelvis)
Positional Release Therapy (PRT)
Pregnancy Massage
Reflexology
Reiki Attunement
Shiatsu
Spinal Touch Therapy
Swedish
Thai Scraping,
Trigger Point

I am constantly interested in learning more techniques to broaden my knowledge of the body and enhance my massage skill. I also am continually reading about the latest developments in health and how they relate to the function of the musculoskeletal system. Last, but not at all least, I use my intuition to listen to and feel the body’s energy. I combine many of the above techniques when doing much of my massage work.

My philosophy on healing through massage:

"Come Home To Yourself ™"

I grew up on a farm in Northeastern Ohio – a place of rolling hills and wooded ravines. My father’s family had worked this land since 1840's and although I grew up in the 60s/70s, I felt much more in tune with the 19th Century of my father’s early life. Our family very much depended upon the natural world for economic subsistence. I was taught to respect and nurture the land and the vegetation it produced – whether cultivated or wild. By taking care of the land, it took care of us and as time passed I realized that we in our physical bodies are a part of nature, just as the trees and wild creatures.

The seasons in Ohio at that time were very distinctive and each one was approximately equal in duration. As a child I reveled in the feeling and quality of light and weather unique to every season. The rhythm of the preparation / planting / harvesting / resting cycle of farm life reflected the cycles of the uncontrolled natural world. This gave me great joy, excitement, and peace. The words of the great romantic poet William Wordsworth aptly described my feelings in his Ode: Intimations of Immortality-

“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Appareled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.”

It has been many years since I left the farm and rural life, and I still feel a deep emotional, spiritual and physical pull towards rolling farm land and wooded valleys. But like most of us in this era, I have made my way into the 21st Century and now reside in a city suburb.

We are continually exposed to synthetic chemicals in the food, water and air. We are bombarded by traffic noise, and engulfed by the electronic energy of computers, cell phones and background music. Many of us become overstressed by sitting all day in featureless off-white cubicles. It is no wonder that our physical bodies respond by getting sick, sore, and chronically tired while emotionally we feel wound as tight as a lid on a screw top bottle. It is hard to feel at ease in your body, if you are part of an environment that is in many ways toxic to your body’s physiology.

It is impossible to really go back to a simpler/cleaner (albeit more labor intensive) environment of a hundred+ years past. So how can we live in this near post-industrial age and still feel at home when our bodies have not evolved as quickly as our technology and industry? I have lived in a number of places since leaving the farm but have never again felt truly at home in any place. I have however, come to understand that my body in my time on earth is my home. When I am feeling relaxed, calm and in touch with my self, it is as if I have come home.

As I massage my clients, one of the things I want to help them gain is the internal peace of coming home to themselves. I attempt to assist them to feel balanced and calm within themselves so they are comfortable again in their bodies. Stress and pain cause us to disassociate from our bodies and generates great discomfort which can then affect all aspects of our life. Massage also helps to reduce the pressures of the modern age by increasing the immune system response and helping with detoxification of tissues.

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