Taosomatics : Enlightening Bodywork

The following article shares some insights into the spirit and the particular framework, in which Taosomatics training programs act to lighten the load of the bodymind therapist.

For all those whose job it is to make others feel at ease and relaxed, such as with massage and Bodymind Therapy, the issue of imbuing work with relaxation is paramount; it is the issue.

Often while on the Job, we yearn for the sense of relaxation a long vacation would bring. The deep letting go a necessary break can evoke, is something we all unconsciously long for; as well as to regain our sense of self. This feeling also arises in practitioners who work in the field of massage and bodymind therapy when the number of clients increases and there is little time to recharge one's own energy. The result is that the therapist suddenly notices that he or she has fallen into the rut of mechanically approaching or manipulating one body after the other. In many five star resorts the heavy client load spa workers are forced to handle, leads to a sense of alienation which is then transferred on to the client. One way spas can counter this tendency is to hire a manager with actual hands-on-experience and sensitivity; who will divide the workload with empathy for both the therapist and client.

Another method for countering the tendency toward mechanicalness and alienation, is to introduce ways to infuse time at work with the essence of relaxation. In this way you can help each therapist to maintain and express their fullest potential. Taosomatics is a form of bodymind therapy education in which relaxation is at the core of every training module. Recognizing the importance of relaxation for every individual in any career is essential, as it grants far greater satisfaction than our usual and unnatural approach of compartmentalizing "work time" and "time off". If we can fully relax while at work, our work becomes far more productive; it also flows more easily and gives us less problems.

Therapists who are awake to themselves, sense the need in clients to be open and able to feel themselves, their own life and life force. They sense the need in their clients, much like their own, to take a breather from the onslaught of a busy mind and schedule. Self-awareness is essential in order to respond to the client at a level of silent heart to heart communication, in the sphere of natural compassion. In most human beings this skill is sublimated to a large degree and can use much room for improvement. Because even the best student takes in only 35% of what a skilled teacher teaches, it is helpful to every bodymind therapist to receive a little fine tuning of their skills, even after completion of their training. There are moments in every career, when a new perspective and a fresh source of subtle knowledge can only open vistas and possibilites, which previously remained dormant and unnoticed.

A Two Pronged Approach: Technique and Essence
In our consultations and advanced training programs for bodymind therapists professional Health Spa personnel, we apply a two-pronged approach: we always cover both technique and essence, we share highly useful information but also show ways to the direct recognition of a deeper level of relaxation. We guide the therapists that we coach to a palpable sense of letting go. This enables them later to inspire their clients to let go even deeper during a treatment. When the client is able to let go of all cares, any massage will have a much greater therapeutic effect. With letting go comes the comfort and ease of being in the moment, which in itself, is a healing experience with many benefits.

Essence Flows From A Proper Stance
For example, during a recent visit at the Hilton Spa & Resort in Mauritius, the theme of our consultation was Ayurvedic Marma Massage. Currently, there is great demand for the Ayurvedic approach. Thus, the spa management of the resort decided that their staff needed to be trained in at least a few of the many possible Ayurvedic applications. However, in order to convey the spirit and the feeling that this technique can evoke, we also included three hours of daily Tai Chi and NadiPrana Release in the curriculum.

A Proper Stance: The Foundation For Good Technique
The intention of the Tai Chi sessions is to support better posture and application of body weight when giving a treatment, and to imbue the client and the therapist with Chi energy. In any massage the best idea, is to let your body work for you, instead of you having to work your own body while working on another, especially in regard to the shoulders. The Chinese martial art and meditation in movement, universally known as Tai Chi, is probably the most useful tool to help the Bodymind and massage therapist to access the perfect stance to work from the center of their own gravity and to find his or her own point of balance in a natural and effortless manner.

NadiPrana: A Tool For Tuning In
NadiPrana Release has other unique benefits, such as release of tension and stored emotions. It can help the therapist to shed some of the burden and unease that he or she has taken on in the process of helping clients. Over time, it also fine- tunes the therapist's ability to feel his or her own body and the flow of subtle energies. In other words, NadiPrana evokes increasingly deeper layers of sensitivity, which support direct self-recognition and also a pervasive sense of empathy and subtle understanding of the client's real needs, which very often are beyond the client's own surface understanding.

Taosomatics: Creates Well Rounded Therapists
The combination of Tai Chi, NadiPrana Release and focused professional coaching according to specific needs, produces unique results, particularly in already rather skilled personnel. The more knowledge and skill are already available, the easier it is for consultations in Taosomatics to create the opening for a quantum leap in one's practical approach to bodywork.

Taosomatics: Increases Skill, Relaxation And Awareness
A good example of the Taosomatics approach was experienced recently by the spa staff at the Mauritius Hilton. Some of the therapists had been well trained at different institutes in South India, others in England. One of them had even been a yoga instructor for many years. However, the process oriented and non-dual awareness awakened through three and a half days of intense training (from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM) allowed them to feel thoroughly rejuvenated, an observation, which they all made in their letters of evaluation after the course. Their posture during treatment has markedly improved, and with the removal of much emotional baggage, they felt liberated and eager to go to work on the next client right after the completion of our encounter with them. Not to mention that they also picked up a completely new form of bodywork which they had assumed would take them weeks to learn. It took only 3 1/2 days. Once a sound basis of knowledge and experience has been established, with the right kind of instruction, new information is absorbed very quickly. And it can be such a pleasure - a process of exploration and discovery, which reveals inner and outer aspects as inseparable in the field of awareness. In the space of unhindered awareness that is evoked, by the Taosomatics approach, learning is always easy and work just flows.