DIVERSIFYING: BODYWORK VS. MASSAGE
The fame and honour of being called a father of Swedish massage goes to Peter Henry Ling (1776-1837) who systematized a method of medical gymnastic.
According to late Robert Noah Calvert, all types of bodyworks that do not include basic Swedish strokes are not essentially massage. In many ways this is a correct definition.
The Massage Therapy Act, established in 1991, defines the massage as "the practice of massage therapy is the assessment of the soft tissue and joints of the body and the treatment and prevention of physical dysfunction and pain of the soft tissues and joints by manipulation to develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function, or relieve pain" (1991, c. 27, s. 3).
Nevertheless, the history of bodywork and massage has been closely knitted in 20 century so it is sometimes hard to tell them apart. At the end of the 19 century there were significant breakthroughs in terms of understanding how body and mind are connected.
For example, Jin Shin Jyutsu, a Japanese form of Acupressure, was developed in Japan by Jiro Murai around 1890, and brought to North America 60 years later.
At the same time, in earliest 1900s, Australian actor F. M. Alexander developed The Alexander Technique connecting posture and therapy. At approximately same time
Sigmund Freud's interest in terrains beyond our conscious life including hypnotism and study of hysteria led to studies with the neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in Paris. When Freud returned to Vienna, he began using new tools such hypnosis, massage and pressure on the head to get patients to dredge up thoughts related to their symptoms.
Based initially on Freud's work, Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) described the 'character armour' in 1930 as primarily a muscular tensions created by suppression of emotions and natural sexual feelings. He attempted to cure neuroses indirectly by releasing their corresponding muscle tensions.
Several therapies developed as a result of direct connection of somatic work and psyche:
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Bioenergetic Analysis , as a body-oriented form of psychotherapy. A direct descendent of Reichian therapy
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Hakomi is a body-centered, somatic psychotherapy designed by Ron Kurtz
- Core Energetics, designed by Dr. John Pierracos in 1971.
Between 1950s to 1990s, even greater number of therapies were either invented or evolved from psycho-somatic works, such as:
In the last couple of decades of the 20 century massage became more open to the public in terms of being both more visible as well as more supported by carefully documented research.
The Touch Research Institute ,established in 1992 by Tiffany Field, Ph.D. at the University of Miami School of Medicine, was a first Institute devoted solely to the research of touch and tai chi, yoga and acupuncture. In Canada, research has been established through the Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada.
Around early 1990s, David Palmer created and promoted On Site Massage using a specially designed, portable massage chair that can be easily set up in offices or at public events in combination with acupressure type of, over-the-clothes, body work.
In the future we can realistically expect stronger regulatory ractices, more hours of training and more properly funded research in both North America and over seas.
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