The presence in the contact, the attention in the breathing and the different rhythms that are part of the massage are some of the fundamental points in the transmission of this calmness.
In the Californian Massage all the intention and details are oriented to that space of relaxation that extends not only to the massage itself, but to the careful and warm environment, and the treatment with the person.
Presence in contact is to bring awareness to the sense of touch – all senses receive and give information. The opening of this sense entails not only to receive the information of what is being touched but to give the intention in what we want to transmit, paying attention that the contact can be given at many levels: from the most solid-physical to the most ethereal, we enter into a body with its bone structure, its musculature, its different liquid systems, its emotions, its energy and yes, of course its nervous system.
How can we continue to relax even when those areas of tension/pain are located?
The pressure we exert in this massage is done by transferring the therapist’s own body weight to the contact area -without adding force or effort- which causes it to gradually increase in a dialogue with the tissues that gives them the time they need to slowly loosen up, without causing the pain we call intrusive, which drives us to contract the muscles in a defensive reaction.
This gives the person a confidence that allows him/her to relax even if those areas of tension/pain are located and he/she can also collaborate in the process through breathing.
What about that mental action that we can’t stop?
Some minds are more difficult to surrender than others, to stop listening to that background noise until reaching silence is also a learning process.
Keeping the attention in a deep, even and slow breathing, makes the mind gradually surrender to silence and the body itself to breathe as needed, breathing in deeply or exhaling in a sigh, without putting any effort into it.
Another simultaneous aspect that plays its role in this purpose of which we speak, are the different rhythms and depths that this massage has (a whole set of techniques that we will talk about in another opportunity).
Transitioning from the rhythm of the hammering that comes as a vibration to the bone structure to full stillness, from a fluid movement of contact with the skin and the most superficial musculature to the slow and precise work of the deep tissue; spun in a harmonic way, it also makes the mind surrender and surrender.
This body therapy, although it is very effective in relieving certain conditions: physical ailments, mental tension, emotional distress… it is also an opportunity for rest, stillness and pleasure to which we must give back its deserved value.
Much of the action we take on a day-to-day basis, and in our lives, is purely mental. All kinds of thinking: interpretations, speculations, memories, imagination… is a mental action, and like any action it involves a tension that is often the deepest wear we have added to the difficulty of putting a stop to it.
Everyone can enjoy and obtain its benefits, this massage is aimed at all people as it is focused depending on the need and state of each one: children, adults, elderly, contracted, stressed or anyone who enjoys that special moment that is lying on a stretcher with the willingness to relax.
María Lucas – Espacio Calithai Masajes (Madrid)
Collaborator of Spazio Massages
www.masajeterapia.net
