Massage and Retreat: The Journey to Inner Balance

Massage and Retreat

The Journey to Inner Balance

by Lucile McConnell, LMT

Today, many people include massage as an integral part of their retreat experience because massage augments retreat. Retreat and massage each yield the the 3 R's of Restoration: reconnection, release and renewal. And both massage and retreat require a safe space in order to be effective. A sacred container for the journey inward allows us to focus on the moment and let go of distracting outer demands, including our 50+ item to-do list. By stepping out of ordinary time and entering the refuge of sacred space in massage and retreat, we enter a peaceful solitude where the energy of transformation is released from within.

The 3 R's of Restoration

Reconnection with ourselves, our inner world, and our body, mind and spirit. Living in a multi-tasking world causes us to be fragmented, distracted and disconnected from our centers. Responding to the call to retreat, we turn inward, taking time to just be...experiencing the fabric of our lives. Responding to the need for re-balancing touch, we find a path inward that leads us to deep reconnection with our very own beings -- our Inner Healers.

Release old, limiting ways that no longer serve us or promote growth. In retreat, we dwell in the inner moment and have the quietude necessary to live the examined life and the inspiration to make life-affirming choices. In massage, we release customary bracing patterns, stress and toxins, and create space in the body-mind. We become aware of the repetitive choices that we make in our everyday lives that bind us and brace us. This awareness, in itself, empowers us to make new choices that are more aligned with our core values and promote release and growth.

Renew the spirit, renew the energy of commitment, renew clarity of mind, and renew self-honoring thoughts, words and actions. The myth of self-care is that it is selfish. The reality of self-care is that without it we cannot effectively care for others. Through the slowing of time found in retreat and massage, we rediscover our priorities and possibly, even reorder them. We emerge from time out of time after encountering our Inner Healer, refreshed and reinvigorated to face life anew, renewed in mind, body and spirit, with a re-energized resolution to engage in life honoring actions, and with a restored positive outlook.

The Call to Retreat/The Call to Massage

Our inner voice calls to us with songs of transformation, balance and refreshment. To the extent that we respond by entering into retreat, including the retreat into our own embodied beings that occurs during massage, we emerge reinvigorated to embrace our lives with more life and from a life-affirming perspective -- thanks to the restorative processes of reconnection, release and renewal.

Lucile McConnell is a licensed massage therapist in the State of Maryland since 2002 and an NCBTMB Approved Provider for CE Hours since 2008. She practices massage at Bon Secours Spiritual Center, in Marriottsville, MD, and recently held the First Annual Massage Retreat for other massage therapists at the Spiritual Center. Lucile is Your Massage Coach for more information on Massage Coaching and Lucile's massage practice, visit her website www.yourmassagecoach.com.

Blind Bodyworker

The Blind Bodyworker

The braille of the body
tells its story
to my blind fingers.

my blind fingers
that stumbled at first
along the path
of a naked limb,
but then gained sight
of a different sort:

the sight
of a listening touch,

the sense
of balance or imbalance,

the inner vision
of muscle, bone and fascia
all interconnected
in one breath.

sharpened sensations speak out
as guides to inform my touch -
quiet pointers on the way
of trust in movement and the flow.

upon the journey
to inner wholeness,
now I see
that I was really blind before -
I sought to see
the world
only
through my eyes.

lmc
2/24/02

Releasing Your Computer Bracing Patterns

You on Stress

Up at six. Off to the office by 7:00. Sit in traffic 'til 8:58. Hit the door at 9 on the dot. Bring up computer by 9:02. 300 unopened emails. Note from System Administrator: ACTION REQUIRED – your mail box is over limit. You will not receive or send emails until you dump 150 emails. Note from Real Estate: ACTION REQUIRED – we will be changing out the carpet on your floor of the building. You are required to get everything off the floor in your cube by Monday. Note from Executive Director’s Executive Assistant: ACTION REQUIRED – your entries in the purchasing database are incomplete. Complete the Transaction Checklist for each of the 50 transactions that you have completed year to date, have your supervisor sign them and upload by next Monday.

And so it goes... Downsizing/Upsizing of assignments and responsibility. Is it any wonder all of Corporate America wears their shoulders around their ears?

Effects of stress

Distress causes body-wide reactions: arm, leg and jaw muscles tighten, the body braces for action, blood re-routes from core restorative functions & digestion to the extremities for action. Blood pressure skyrockets. Excessive stress brings on stress-related diseases, such as headaches, gastrointestinal difficulties, high blood pressure, anxiety, sleeplessness, weight gain and muscle tension and body aches.

Bracing Patterns – The Fish Bowl Effect

We hold stress in our bodies, experiencing bracing patterns or somatization as a "locked down" feeling. Our bodies toughen and harden under the long term effects of stress. Muscles that remain tense are like your goldfish bowl that never has the water changed: new blood and oxygen cannot get in and old blood and metabolic wastes cannot get out, resulting in toxic atrophy and tissue damage. Muscles may shorten from constant contraction or may even transform into fiber, with resulting loss of range of motion and quality of life. Long term stress also causes release of coritsol, which causes fluid retention, hypertension, muscle weakness, osteoporosis, breakdown of connective tissue, peptic ulcer, impaired would healing, vertigo, headache, reduced ability to deal with stress, hypersensitivity and irritability, weight gain, nausea, fatigue and emotional disturbances.

Massage to the Rescue

Most Americans are looking for release from the bracing patterns of stress and its body-wide effects. Massage reverses the fishbowl effect by inducing the "relaxation and restorative" response, resulting in the renewal of the inner and outer person. Massage enhances general wellness and releases bracing patterns, creating space in the body. Massage keeps your body-mind functioning optimally: improves circulation of blood and lymph, relaxes muscles, opens connective tissues, improves immune functioning and brings about relaxation, renewal and rebalancing of your entire body-mind. Massage is a component of your wellness plan. Being in Balance is Living Well!