They say that following receiving the "10 series" of Rolfing (Structural Integration) the body can continue to 'open' on its own for quite a while, before the need for further therapy. This certainly has been my experience, as I continue to be able to experience subtle shifts in energy and shifts within the physical body as I practice, deepening the experience of breath and postures.
A good friend of mine Ray, a Thai Yoga Massage therapist based in Coventry and Warwickshire recently gave me some great info on TYM and releasing energy in the body following a conversation we had about it. (https://www.facebook.com/ray.cluer)
“Happy reading may not
answer all your questions fully but you might find it interesting, Re energy
lines, and energy awareness, again speaking from personnel experience only, in
a recent chat with you, you asked which came first yoga or Thai massage well I
guess in an intelligent way Thai massage came first and yoga is recent although
having dabbled with it for years but now its to stay and I am finding it very
beneficial, but my experience with Acupuncture and our energy came 25 years ago
when suffering from stress related illnesses, I was fortunate enough to meet a
guy who in my opinion was a master Acupuncturist and also chiropractor, over a
two year period he kind of rebuilt me and left me with a interest and knowledge
of the energy lines and pressure points
that work for me, kind of a personal prescription so to speak, I have a good
awareness, when certain points are buzzing, so I just palpate the point until
the energy dissipates, but what I think you are describing is that since you
had the “10 series” Rolfing treatment you have kind of been "switched
on" to your own energy and its
subtle ways in which it guides you, I have had a couple of people say
that they are now more aware how they stand or how they walk after of few TYM’s
(postural adjustment maybe) and report subtle energy shifts in areas worked on.
It's my view that you have
great physical body awareness through your practice and have now developed a
energy awareness, I recently read that when sitting in padmasana its the right
leg first with the left leg on top the liver and spleen are purified, so to
high light that there are 600 recognised Acupuncture point on the human body it
would be remarkable to think that they were not being worked whist doing
practice, however Chinese medicine is complex and I feel very lucky to be
married to a qualified Acupuncturist (mind you trying to get a treatment is
like blood letting from a stone lol ) so it's my view that its better to look
at your energy in simpler terms as in Thai sen lines or Indian Nadis although
still quite complex but much easier to get your head around, here goes…
The Sen Lines / Myofascial
Pathways
- The traditional model of Thai Yoga Massage works on the notion of
energy flow, which until now has made it a deeply intuitive and feeling based
art form built up over thousands of years. This had caused problems for some westerners
used to working on the physical, on symptoms and with sound empirical evidence,
but learning to feel and not think too much was good for them. It’s about that
letting go thing again and learning how to feel and flow with natural forces;
learning to tap into the deep unconscious and instinctive aspect of nature and
ourselves. It was this intuitive ability that could feel and work with the
subtle energy body and map it. The physical body is only a part of who we are,
but its also the tangible basis upon which we can work and influence the deeper
and more subtle aspects of our being.
Until very recently nothing was really
known about Sen lines, but there has now been some important research, which
shows that the 10 Sen lines manipulated in Thai Yoga Massage are in essence the
same as Nadis and Meridians, in being subtle energy pathways and part of a huge
inter-connected network running throughout the entire body.
On surface
appearance Sen lines seem to follow different pathways to meridians, because
Sen lines follow muscular contours, the myo-fascial pathways between muscles
and between muscles and bones. So the myofascial Sen lines are what we can get
our hands on, whereas the meridians of TCM also follow the internal cyclic flow
of energy between vital organs. Research though carried out at the University
of Vermont and college of medicine used high frequency ultrasound scanning
acoustic microscopy to study acupuncture channels and the effects of needling,
and found that most meridians are located between muscles and between muscles
and a tendon or bone also. So it could be that meridians, nadis and sen lines
are part of the same subtle connective tissue network of fascia and that the
meridians which follow the cyclic flow of energy between organs are in fact
part of the deep fascia, subserous facia and membrane linings.
Although the 10
Sen lines are a complete system and very effective model to follow, there are
some contradictions on the precise location of these lines between some
schools.
Most professionals though and myself seem to agree that Sen Lines are
energy lines of connective tissue, known as the myo-fascial pathways between
muscles throughout the entire body. This network of fascia is so vitally important
because it provides stability and structure to the body, enables movement of
muscles, metabolism to take place, protects the vital organs and nervous
system, allows for communication between cells and boosts our immunity to fight
infection to name a few functions.
One common point of view now is that Thai
massage can be explained in the same way that Structural Integration therapy or
Rolfing can, because each of them apply a deep and sustained pressure into the
body’s fascial binding in order to release deeper tensions and blockages fixed
into the fascia elsewhere in the body. It can do this because fascia forms an
intricate web co-extensive throughout the body, central to its performance and
well-being, and so releasing these trapped tensions in one area of the body can
correct postural imbalances, chronic conditions and unexplained pain symptoms
elsewhere in the body, because they are often caused by tensions locked into
the binding tissue of the fascia. These blockages are often quite subtle and
may be due to injury, or emotional trauma, so when therapist and client both
focus into the same area being worked, then its far more than the physical body
being manipulated, and even childhood issues and holding patterns can be
unearthed from the depths of sub-conscious being and let go of.
Fascia is so
important. The myo-fascia extends from the deep fascia in the body, which is
central to the flexibility and function of vital organs, and it covers,
supports and separates skeletal muscle. Myo-fascia helps attach muscles to
other muscles, and runs between and separates them, thereby improving movement
function and acting as a protective sheath. It also provides a protective route
and sheath for blood vessels, nerves and lymph to flow through. The fascia also
acts as a very important circulatory and communication system and recent
evidence now suggests that within the collagen cells of myofascia is
cerebrospinal fluid and thus creating a very complex communication system,
stemming from the ventricles of the middle brain and reaching out to the heart
of every living cell.
The effects then of manipulating fascia during thai
massage are endless and perhaps timeless as we tap into a karmic web of the
bodies history and capacity. It is obvious that the early Buddhist monks and
teachers of Thai Yoga Massage understood this and therefore laid great emphasis
on becoming and giving Metta in Thai Massage, which is Indian Sanskrit for
loving Kindness. So meditation is practiced at all the main teaching schools in
Thailand before the beginning of each class to bring one into the right frame
of mind and focussed intention.
We influence the people we
touch with our state of mind and so its important to achieve that feeling of
benevolence and loving kindness within ourselves because this quality and
healing vibration is transmitted to every cell in the body through the huge and
living conscious inter-connected web we call the fascia
Despite common
agreements, there still exist conflicting ideas around whether Sen Lines can
actually be used as a diagnostic tool, as in TCM. But we might say ‘can the
body or meridians really be used as a diagnostic tool anyway? Meridians can be
used to diagnose a problem in the body and with a particular function, but this
does not reveal an underlying cause. The body just reveals symptoms of
underlying causes, and all treatments using their particular model try to work
on the energetic basis of them. We can work on the symptom, but we can’t always
get to the causes which are more often than not based in the mind, past
experiences, present stressful conditions and specific attitudes that are
preventing the free flow of vital energy in the mind body network. In my
experience of giving Thai Yoga Massage, I think we can treat Sen lines
revealing a blockage and at the same time help to unlock the flow of energy and
stimulate a vital psycho/physical healing process for a client."
Following my last post on energy channel stuff a blogger friend Doug asked if I'd heard of trigger points and although I had, I've not read anything about them. He also said that, "Anthony Gary Lopedota noted that when adjusting Paschimuttanasana Sri K. Pattabhi Jois always used to press the same pressure points you've mentioned." Which I found really interesting. I've tried Googling Gary Lopedota to try and find further info on it. The only thing I could find was on his website in one of his articles where he talks about 'the series' and how he used postures for therapeutic reasons, adapting postures for students where necessary:
"Tim (Miller) has a rare anomaly; his liver and spleen are switched. Maybe 1 in 70-100,000 people have this condition. Therapeutically he switches his lotus; keeping with the theory that the liver and spleen are the reason the legs/feet are place in that order. That is all good, he does what he thinks is best being the responsible person that he is. My point is that as the therapist, Patabhi Jois told him to switch his lotus to be in therapeutic alignment" (http://ashtangayogatherapy.com/the.series)
If anyone has any further information on the use of trigger points or can point me to more Gary Lopedota information I'd be very grateful. There are also some great old school photos from back in the day of the guys with Jois. :)
