Event
Massage: Palpatory Sensitivity - Eros into Agape
Abstract: This class focuses on the way we relate to sexual energy and sensual perception. The erotic energy of libido drives our passions. It gives us the impetus to move forward. If we examine it from the point of view of looking at Chakras, it is centered in our groin, the axis upon which our legs connect to our bodies. When giving a massage the power and energy comes from the lower chakras, Hara or Hips/Abdomen.
However, our primary tools are our hands, which are rooted to the body at the heart chakra. While in a clinical setting, it makes sense to maintain a separation of lower and upper chakras, in a personal setting much is lost by this detachment. We will be exploring the nature of how erotic energy, eros, may be transformed into a deeper sense of divine love, agape, by taking the energy from the root up through the heart... and use that divine love energy to increase the sensitivity in our hands. We'll also explore the nature of switching back and forth between the clinical and personal modes, so we may control our level of sensitivity at will. The underlying philosophical concept that we'll be working with is that increased sensitivity leads to increased compassion, and increased compassion leads to a deeper moral consciousness.
Class Size: 12 people
Price: $ 25
Format:
We will set up four massage tables in a cross pattern with the heads facing inward. There will be three people to a table. One person on the table and two working at any given time. We will be on the tables from the moment class begins, and I will start with a brief discussion of body image.
Comfort with Nudity is a requirement in this class. People in this class may or may not get naked, but partial undress will be a part of it. If you are uncomfortable getting naked in front of the class, that is fine, but you must be comfortable with other people being fully or partially naked. Part of what we will be seeking to discover is how our consciousness shifts when we are touching or being touched on different parts of the body. We will explore the nature of intimate areas, and how societal taboos have grown up around the idea of fragility and sensitivity of a certain area. Whether we are talking about the groin with the genitals, anus, and femoral triangle, or we are talking about the armpit or our eye sockets, we can practically observe the nature of touch and the culture that has arisen from it.
Our society has developed certain strictures or taboos around the body and has developed very specific rulesets regarding touch. As a massage therapist, one goes far beyond the boundaries of what is considered normal touch. However, the ethical rulesets are no less strict. This class focuses on going beyond the rulesets. Not by transgression, but by developing ethical sensitivity, so that one need not analyze the rulesets, but one can directly perceive empathetically, the comfort level of their intimate partner. All human relationship is a negotiation of intimacy. Every conversation, every dance, every sexual encounter is a constant negotiation between dominance and submission, the roles changing rapidly and subtly throughout. Our goal is to become more aware, to refine our instincts so that we may be intimate without transgressing. The goal is to be as intimate as possible in every situation, with every person while being attentive to the needs and desires of those around us.
We will specifically be seeking out anatomical structures with our hands. We'll explore different massage modalities, and discuss how the modality affects the intention of our work and changes our posture as we work. The work will be in threes one person on the table as subject, and two seeking the anatomical landmarks. The sensitivity training on a practical level will be about discerning small details in physiology through touch. We are not in this class to receive a massage. Even the person on the table should be actively participating, telling their partners what they feel. However, palpation classes can be therapeutic, so hopefully everyone will leave feeling like they have had a full body massage.
As this is an introductory class, I will only be able to establish rudimentary principles of massage, though, if these techniques are something you are learning new, you will be able to go out and use what you learn immediately.
About Abolish Massage Therapy:
Abolish Massage Therapy is a philosophical ideal that I have decided to make a part of my life's work. The essence of this ideal is that massage therapy should not be a profession, but a basic skill like literacy. As I was attending school at the top-notch Swedish Institute, I felt the whole time like I was learning basic skills that I would have been served quite well by learning in school. If my courses at massage school had been a natural part of the fitness and health curriculum in school, I would have come out with a much better understanding of my body, and be living a healthier and happier life as a result. The goal is to spread this notion and see it adopted. It is my hope that as a result of such work, participants will come away with the shared belief that massage therapy should be a basic skill.
I do not expect that in my lifetime Massage Therapy will go away, in fact, I would love to see it grow as a profession, because there is no better way to raise awareness for massage than to give or receive one. I will consider the mission achieved when Massage as a skill is so ubiquitous that it becomes much like a housecleaning service, something that we all can do, but if we hire a professional, it is merely to streamline our time and effort in other directions. I believe fully that the basic anatomical understanding that a massage education brings will make a more conscious and sensitive society, will engender greater compassion and empathy in all who cultivate it, reduce medical costs and increase longevity.
About the Instructor:
Erek Tinker is an LMT educated at the Swedish Institute. His primary influences are the science of the Swedish approach fused with the and Shiatsu, the aesthetic and personal interaction of Shiatsu. Erek also incorporates practices of Tui Na and Trigger Point therapy. In addition to massage, Erek also has undergone significant study of a number of martial arts and is currently practicing a non-martial form of Aikido.
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LocationBrooklyn Urban Sanctuary
Brooklyn, NY
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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