I have received this question, quite a few times over the last few years in my practice. To some people-there is no difference, the terms are interchangeable. To others, the difference is undeniable. I like to think there are differences between the two, some more subtle than others...
If someone were to come into my office for the first time and tell me that they were just excited to receive a massage, after 'not having a massage' in a while-I'd say 'great! I'm so excited you're here'. Then, I'd tell them to get on the table and come back to begin the session like any other. For me, the core of my work lies in curiosity. I never want to assume what I think someone may need or want from a session with me. I love trying to figure out the 'right' questions to ask a client, once we begin working. Sometimes the question is very superficial in nature, ‘how’s the pressure?’ ‘Do you need some more heat?’…other times more deep ‘Does this place of tension feel old and familiar, or new and scary?’ ‘Can your thoughts sink with this pressure into the hip?’. Sometimes the question is silent from practitioner to client, ‘Is it necessary to stay here a bit longer?’ ‘Is the spine calling to be tended to meticulously?’…there are many ways that the right questions can find their way to us, both as practitioner and client.
The term ‘massage’ can feel too simplistic for the work that gets accomplished on the table, then other times it feels like exactly what is needed. When I think of ‘bodywork’, there is a deeper mind-body thing that is happening in the room. There’s a somatic aspect to the work we are accomplishing with the soft tissues of the body. ‘Bodywork’ requires listening between client mind and the work being performed. You aren’t just there to zone out and relax. Should there be a relaxing aspect of the work? Absolutely…but it demands a certain presence from the client, whereas most ‘massage’ sessions do not. Are both valuable in a recovery protocol? Absolutely.
With a standard 'massage', it can be easy for me to slip into more of a trance-like state. A place between alerted attention and altered focus where time seems to slip through the cracks on the walls and flow state is my guide. I absolutely LOVE these types of sessions. I had a new client recently who grabbed my attention before the session began, and asked if we could 'not get to know each other or chat' through the massage. She had told me she was a little embarrassed or nervous to ask for something so directly with a new therapist, but it was actually quite lovely to know exactly what kind of session we were going to be participating in together. I always try to let my clients know that I'm here to hold the space that they need that day/that moment/that week-whatever that looks like, or whatever we are used to doing together in a session. Sometimes in order to tune-in to ourselves, we need to lie quiet with the breath. On the other side of the table (pun intended), I also LOVE love love a good bodywork session. Someone comes in an has a particular focus area or pain pattern/dysfunction for me to try and figure out. I get to think critically and put together a plan for the session and experiment with what works and what doesn't. This type of session requires a lot of communication between client and clinician. We talk about pressure, activities that bring on sensations out in their daily lives or during their sports, outside stressors that could be contributing to tension patterns or dysfunctions, and all the in-betweens. Sometimes it's even just helpful to talk through emotional stressors, as we work in areas of chronic tension to bring awareness and deeper understanding to what may be bringing on the aches and pains. Other times, intuition is needed to guide me through lines of tension because it's simply too much to try and talk through the sensations and the activities yet again with ANOTHER clinician-especially true for folks with chronic pain or chronically stressed out lives. I love the nuances that each client brings to the table with every massage or bodywork session that I encounter.
I guess that the point of my post, is to invite you to ask for exactly what you need. To remind you that 'massage' is just as valuable as 'bodywork'. There is no right way to do 'the thing'. I think about what I need for myself as a working body and functioning human out in the world doing all the things...sometimes my body/mind call for relaxation and flow...other times they call for specific puzzle solving and integrative bodywork. One thing I will always know though-is that this work will always be a part of my maintenance and recovery tool-kit.
I'm here to hold space for you-whatever space you may need when you show up. Ask questions or leave that part up to me...but always ask yourself (and me) for what you need most.
Yours in curiosity,
Kim.
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