Have you ever paused to think about how your body communicates with you… and with others? There is a world of very detailed information transmitted from our bodies every single day, which if paid attention to, can give important clues about our overall well-being.
This can go far beyond what is most commonly described as body language (For example: Eye contact, stance, posture and facial expression) to include every ache, pain, or dysfunction that your body might experience. These feelings of discomfort or dis-ease are our body’s indicators that something requires our attention on a physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual level.
Bodywork practitioners have a great responsibility of interpreting these signals. Often times a client’s body will be readily giving information that their mind has not yet grasped. Throughout our courses and workshops, we often have engaging discussions on how we as practitioners can ‘sense’ or ‘read’ the signals that a client’s body may be sending, so that we can learn how to appropriately respond through our touch, pressure, and stretch techniques.
In our Thai Massage practice, we use an approach that incorporates both physical and energetic bodywork, allowing us to more fully recognize and interpret various signals from our receiver’s body. As we learn how to pick up on the language of the body, we are better able to offer treatments that are specifically tailored to the person we are working with, rather than simply going through the motions of techniques we have learned.
We learn to “listen” and “see” with many parts of our own body (including our hands, forearms, feet, and knees) and really tune in, as we observe and process various cues from the body. This helps us to channel the “Inner Explorer” within us, and refine our in-the-moment choices during a treatment.
Whether you are a healthcare practitioner, or not, one of the most important concepts to grasp here is an understanding that the body uses discomfort and disease to send us important messages. Responding appropriately to each message can help us to shift toward a more optimal position on the spectrum of our overall health.
The next time you feel an ache or pain, I urge you to remember that your body is trying to communicate something to you, and it may be using the language of pain, discomfort, or disease to get your attention.
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