Bodywork: Another Way to Live Your Practice
Yoga is more than just asana and movement - it’s a practice of living mindfully with an intention of integrating body, mind, and spirit. In that sense, adding bodywork to your self-care routine is actually…practicing yoga!
“Bodywork” is an all-encompassing term that includes both massage and non-massage practices that help realign, release, and heal the tissues of the body or address the energetic system.
One of the most important and often unsung benefits of massage and bodywork is the “touch therapy” aspect of it: as social creatures, human touch is vital to the nervous system and psyche! Many of us are starved for touch (especially since the pandemic experience) and don’t even realize it.
I believe that practices that don’t involve a practitioner (like saunas, soaks, and floats) are also forms of bodywork. If you’re the kind of person who recoils at hugs and isn’t ready to be touched by a practitioner, solo forms of bodywork may be a gateway into releasing your tissues, calming your nervous system, and redirecting your energy.
Whether you’ve received massage or bodywork in the past, it can be daunting to know exactly what you need and what to look for! Below are descriptions of a few styles of massage and bodywork (there are zillions out there) to help you find what you’re seeking.
(**These are generalized recommendations; if you have an acute injury, illness, or medical condition and are concerned about how any type of bodywork will interact with your condition, seek a doctor’s advice before proceeding.)
Massage
“Massage” is an umbrella term for hands-on work that is done by a practitioner (massage therapist) using oils or lotions to stretch, lengthen, and release muscle and connective tissue. The wellness industry has done a great job promoting massage as relaxation, but there is so much more to it than that!
Each style of massage feels different (some aren’t all that relaxing), with varying intentions and functions. The competency of the practitioner always plays a role in the efficacy of the work, so it’s worth trying different massage therapists before ruling out a modality completely.
Relaxation Massage
This is a generic style of full-body massage that goes by a variety of names, but it’s exactly what it sounds like: massage intended to relax the body and mind, usually without focusing on any particular ache or pain. These massages are usually full-body (unless otherwise specified) and use relatively gentle pressure. Relaxation massages may include the use of hot stones and other tools to help release myofascia, and essential oils to provide herbal healing benefits. If you’re mainly seeking relaxation and deeper connection to your body and self, this style of massage is wonderful!
Swedish Massage
Swedish Massage is a trademark style of full-body massage that uses quick, medium-pressure strokes over the the superficial (closer to the skin) tissues to stimulate the subcutaneous fascia, myofascia, and lymph. It feels both relaxing and invigorating at the same time! It's gone a little out of fashion so you may not have much luck finding this specifically, but if you’re seeking massage that will stimulate the immune system and leave you feeling calm and alive, this is a great modality.
Maya Abdominal Massage
Our abdomens are so neglected! We give our furry babies plenty of tummy rubs without realizing that our own bellies need the same kind of compassionate touch. So much of our bodily discomfort - the kind we just suffer through for years/decades - stems from this region.
Maya Abdominal Massage is another trademark technique that may be hard to find in your area, but it’s worth searching for! It’s a gentle technique that softens fascial hardening in the abdomen, improves digestion, relieves menstrual pain and dysfunction, and is deeply relaxing. It’s usually marketed for women because it's so effective at easing menstrual discomfort, but is just as vital for men for its digestive and calming effects!
Sports Massage
Sports massage is more focused on rehabilitating injured tissues (even decades-old injuries) by actively stretching hypertonic (stuck in contraction) muscles, releasing scar tissue, and increasing range of motion in the joints. Instead of being a full-body massage, it focuses on the injured, stuck, or painful area and the muscles and connective tissue associated with it.
The therapist may start a session with general massage to relax the nervous system, but usually hone on specific regions associated with your injuries or pain. They’ll move your limbs to lubricate the joints and ask you to resist pressure or move limbs yourself while they massage deeper into a muscle.
Because of the focused nature of this work, it’s often not as relaxing as some of the aforementioned modalities, but is highly effective for creating lasting, profound shifts in how muscles hold tension and compensational movement patterns that have developed after an injury. If you have tight muscles (especially related to an old injury) that your yoga practice just can’t seem to release, sports massage may help!
What I Don’t Recommend…
Deep Tissue Massage
The name is appealing - “ooh, I’m so sore/tight, I could really use deep tissue work!” - but this is a catch-all term for any massage that focuses on digging into muscles, and the effectiveness depends entirely on the skill and sensitivity of the therapist. It’s often done aggressively, in a way that satisfies the “no pain, no gain” itch that we unconsciously try to scratch - the end result being all-over soreness that tricks us into thinking that muscles were deeply released.
HOWEVER, when pressure is so deep that it feels painful, the nervous system puts up a fight even if the mind believes it’s fine with the sensation. That nervous system reaction results in increased tension and potentially thickened fascia as the body tries to repair itself with scar tissue.
You may feel good in the days following a deep tissue massage, but over time, this practice increases overall tightness within the body. A good rule of thumb: a massage that leaves you as sore as a weight-lifting session is counter-productive.
Thai Massage
Thai massage is a specialized practice where a therapist uses their whole body to move and stretch the body of the client. For people with overall flexibility and the ability to truly relax their body, it can have positive results.
However, for people with extensive fascial tightness and the kind of tension-holding that prevents them from consciously relaxing, this modality can easily injure joints, create micro-tears in connective tissues, and activate the fight-or-flight system - all of which defeats the intention of receiving bodywork in the first place.
If you plan to book a Thai massage, make sure you heat your body first with a hot bath or sauna to allow the fascia to be as open as possible during the work.
Bodywork
“Bodywork” describes a multitude of practices that manipulate the tissues or energy of the body; it includes, but isn’t limited to, massage. I’m including practices that you can do on your own in this section.
Myofascial Release
Myofascial Release (MR) is a trademarked form of bodywork that focuses directly on releasing the holding patterns in the myofascia of the body (“myo” = muscle, “fascia” = connective tissues; you have many kinds of fascia throughout your body, but myofascia is the connective tissue specifically surrounding and within the muscles).
MR uses relatively gentle touch and no oil or lotion on the skin. The therapist’s hands feel for where the myofascia is stuck and create gentle, sustained traction to help it release. Unlike massage, which uses repeated strokes over the same region to stretch the muscles, MR will feel more stationary: the therapist’s hands stay in the same positions for quite awhile as they sense how the myofascia is responding to their tractioning and adjust the direction of traction accordingly.
Overall, it’s a relaxing experience that greatly increases range of motion and the feeling of fluidity in the body.
Rolfing
Rolfing (named for its creator, Ida Rolf) is another trademarked form of bodywork that targets fascia. Unlike Myofascial Release, the focus in Rolfing is on specific bands of connective tissue related to the skeletal structure - tension within the fascial bands that restrict movement and create postures that cause chronic pain.
Classic Rolfing is a specific, step-by-step protocol done in a 10-session series. The first session releases the fascia that restricts breathing and continues through the various regions of the body until the entire fascial network has been released. Depending on how stuck your fascia is, the 10-Series may need to be repeated.
This work is very intense in sensation and the client is instructed in how to breathe throughout the process. While not exactly relaxing, the end result is improved posture, relief from chronic pain, and freedom of movement throughout the body.
Craniosacral
There are numerous general terms for this form of bodywork - craniosacral, cranio sacral, cranialsacral, cranial sacral - and a variety of different trademarked practices: CranioSacral Therapy (CST), Biodynamic Craniosacral, Visionary Craniosacral Work, and countless others. Each “branded” practice varies slightly in technique, but the intention of all of them are roughly the same.
Craniosacral is usually received fully clothed (unless it is included in a massage) and involves light, energetic touch. The overall intention of the practitioner is to sense the subtle energy and movements of the bones that house the central nervous system: the cranium (skull), spinal column, and sacrum. Through sensitive, light touch, the bodyworker assists these bones in finding their optional alignment, releasing physical and emotional holding patterns in the process.
This work is deeply relaxing, often to the point of clients drifting into a liminal state, and can resolve long-standing issues that aren’t easy to treat with western medicine (things like TMJ issues, headaches and migraines, tinnitus, vertigo, and bodily-held stress or trauma, to name a few). By addressing the energetic body along with the physical body, craniosacral can create profound shifts in mental state, internal sense of self, and worldview.
Sound Baths & Tuning Fork Therapy
I know I say it all the time, but the body LOVES vibration!
A sound bath is usually a group experience: everyone sits or lays on the floor while singing bowls and gongs are played to create vibration throughout the body, often using specific frequencies that align with specific chakras.
Tuning fork therapy also uses sound waves to create vibration within joints, chakras, or acupoints. Bodyworkers and massage therapists may use tuning forks during their sessions to help shift energy. Some energy workers offer private sessions that consist entirely of sound vibration using singing bowls, tuning forks, bells, and gongs. The frequency of the forks or bowls used are selected based the energetic needs of the client.
Sound baths and sound healing sessions are deeply relaxing, and highly energetic - whenever I experience them, I leave feeling like I’m floating!
Infrared Sauna
An absolute MUST, in my opinion. Far infrared light works on the tissues of the body from the inside - the body heats up internally and sweating often starts before the air around you feels hot.
This type of sauna is particularly effective at releasing the fascia, relieving pain, and creating freedom of movement. And, as with any sauna, the benefits of heating the body and sweating are numerous: improved circulation, heart health, immune system function, and general relaxation, to name a few.
Spas and gyms usually have an infrared sauna that you can book time in, and it can be a great experience to couple that sauna session with massage! You can also find infrared heating pads, infrared sauna “sleeping bags”, and portable infrared saunas for home use available online.
Soaks
Throughout history, humans have used soaks to improve overall health and well-being!
Natural hot springs are bubbling with minerals that soothe muscles and calm the nervous system. There’s a Swedish tradition of going back and forth between hot and ice-cold tubs to stimulate the endocrine and circulatory systems and improve skin condition. In Asian spas, there’s often a mugwort tub, which is basically like sitting in a giant cup of strong, hot tea made from one of the primary healing herbs in the Chinese Medical pharmacopeia!
Check out the spas and hot springs in your area or, if you have a tub, just throw some Epsom salts or flakes in a hot bath with a few drops of essential oil and create a healing soak for yourself. However you do it, immersing your body in water is a wonderful gift to give yourself!
Explore For Yourself
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what’s out there, just some of my personal favorites and recommendations. As with the practice of yoga itself, just knowing about something doesn’t create change; you have to experience it to truly understand what it can do for you. Get curious, get adventurous - add some bodywork to your practice!
Let me know in the comments if there’s another practice you’re curious about!