Some of my new clients ask what style of massage I do. Why it is different to other places they have gone to? So here is a story about how I moved from music to mindful massage.
I began as a musician, loving the feeling of emotions living and moving through me via listening to , playing and immersing myself in music. Following this path led me to University and still I was intrigued by this connection between how we feel emotions in our bodies, expanding this to include other art forms, drama, dance, martial arts, visual and performance art.
I moved from studying to practicing and sharing this creative flow with others. My work stayed parallel to teaching and at that time the Arts were well funded and communities were encouraged to explore issues creatively. As my specialism, I followed the funding from Minority groups such as working with those with a disability, and developed into transforming this into work related learning in theatre when the we joined the EU. People still wanted to be creative but at that time, the only way to access funding was to create a programme which was work related. I headed up a number of companies, which used theatre and performance as tools to learn social and communication skills. I worked alongside Dancers, Actors and Visual Artists to create stunning immersive theatre experiences, long before these were a mainstay of the West End arts scene
By this time in the mid 2000’s, the arts were becoming marginalised in education, New assessment criteria meant that learning was to be quantified with measurable results. The arts, notoriously difficult to assess, were marginalised on the curriculum, specifically because it was difficult to grade them. Not only the curriculum in schools, but the aspirations of the young people were curtailed as societies begn to place less importance on the arts. My own work moved to focus on Inclusion ( the next buzzword in funding). I worked using music and the performing arts to help those with Learning Disabilities, be creative to the best of their ability. The key with inclusion is to take each person as an individual, assess with them and their networks (family, friends, professionals) and create a learning programme that specifically works for them.
At this time Sir Ken Robinson (who sadly passed away last week), talked about how schools were killing creativity. Not the teachers, who still wanted to enable this mind body connection through the arts, but the policy makers. As a believer that “If you want to see change , then you have to be part of the process”, I took an MA in Inclusive Education to further the debate.
Fast forward 10 years, the arts all but gone in schools, and the new buzzword is “Wellbeing”. After slimming down the breadth of education to remove the arts, we now see the rise in Mental Health difficulties across the country. We began to teach emotional literacy and recognised the need for people to have strong communication and social skills. But the subjects that provided these were diminished.
I moved into the field of wellbeing and massage after my own need to reintegrate mind and body. The massage work I do now, is enhanced by the work that came before. I also spent three years working alongside Chiropractors and Osteopaths and learnt clinical approaches as well as business skills. My massage style combines learning from my whole life. I see each discipline as a tool in my toolkit. My improvisation work alongside working with those who were non verbal, has attuned my practice and means that I can read people well and tailor their treatment to their needs and interests and learning style.
When I massage I attune to the guest. I use verbal and non verbal communication. I dance or practice tai Chi as I change my positions and release muscles, fascia lymph and energy. I use my breath as I would in music or theatre, to expand or contract a feeling. I use metaphor to help people internalise complicated emotional difficulties.
I continue to be fascinated by the work, and would love to share more about this with others, to enable each of us to live our best lives. Wellbeing is the new arts, Schools will come full spiral, and education hopefully will continue to seek to develop whole people.
Do get in touch, if I can help. Morag
