Body Work Arts

Gentle touch...subtle and yet powerful.
Gentle touch, otherwise known as energy work massage, is simple and powerful for releasing deep seated issues, both from a emotional and physical level. Through strategic placing of the hands on, or near the client's body, stress and pain are lessened or alleviated. The client can stay clothed or undress as far as comfortable while being draped with sheets on the massage table. This work can be done while the client is sitting or laying down.
Sessions are typically 1/2 hour to one hour. For energy work massage treatment, call Janice at 269-599-4237.

Calming the Tumultuous Storm—Alleviating Stress and Pain With Gentle Touch
~Janice Marsh-Prelesnik
"There is so substitute for the human touch." This phrase was written on the end of the first massage table I ever owned. I would often look at those words before I began a session. Indeed, there is nothing else like gentle, loving hands to calm stress and pain, both emotional and physical. Think back to a time when your mother’s touch calmed a scraped knee or calmed a broken heart. People naturally put a hand on injuries or painful areas. Just holding the hand gently on, or two or three inches above, a tender area for a few minutes will dissipate pain and bring blessed relief. There are many conditions that can be assisted with gentle touch such as headaches, eyestrain, back aches, inflammations, joint pain, neck pain, muscle spasms, and emotional pain such as anxiety, fear, etc. All of the techniques discussed in this article are safe for pregnant women.

Gentle touch work can be done by and individual on herself, but it is most effectively received from a giver. To begin, be sure that the room is warm, with minimum distractions. Next, have a discussion to clarify where problem area is. Then the giver must bring herself to a place of inner peace and compassionate heart. This is important as the receiver will definitely feel internally whatever the giver is feeling internally. Before the session is begun the giver should rub her hands to together; both the palms and the backs of her hands. This brushes off any static electricity that is hanging around the hands. Next the giver must bring herself to a place of inner peace with a compassionate heart. The receiver will definitely feel any tension that is held in the giver’s hands and inner most being.

As a warm up there are several ways to bring oneself to a place of calm. First of all, take a few moments and breathe deeply and exhale fully.
Imagery, or sensory images, can assist both giver and receiver in finding their place of deep peace. When I write about imagery I am referring to any perception that comes through the senses. So guided imagery can include visual images as well as smells, sounds, feelings, imaginations, etc. There are different kinds of imagery:
Physiological imagery—focus on healing processes in the body. Example; imagining contracted muscle fibers relaxing
Feeling imagery—remembering a time when you felt loved, or recalling a time when you felt especially happy.
Energetic imagery—imagine a free flow of energy throughout the body. Think of pain as a kink in a water hose, when the kink is released, voila, the energy moves freely again.
Color imagery—with eyes closed imagine all of the colors of the spectrum. Do any of the colors seem attractive?
Sensory imagery—recall the memories of how special smells, sounds, or a special place or feel inside you
Continue deep breathing and imagery throughout the session. These alone will begin the relaxation process which leads to healing. The giver might suggest imagery ideas and then allow the receiver to continue imagery as her own personal process.

At this point it is very important for the giver to be in a space that is physically very comfortable and relaxed, as the same position may be held for several minutes. Think of a nursing mother; you want her to be relaxed and in a good position before she begins to nurse her baby. If the giver is standing she should be sure to slightly bend her knees and tilt her pelvis forward. If she is sitting she should be in a comfortable chair with the receiver’s body at the giver’s heart level or below.

The techniques of gentle touch are non-pressure touch and sometimes no touch at all. As a healing modality this type of body work is considered energy work and there are many types of energy work modalities such as Reiki, Polarity, Yuen method, Quantum Touch, Therapeutic Touch, etc. As a midwife it is not necessary to become a certified practitioner of any of these modalities to provide some relief to your clients. Just follow some of these simple techniques below. During the holds both the giver and receiver may feel one or all of the following: warmth, vibrations that fast or uneven, an electrical feeling in the hands or moving down body parts, colors in the minds eye, and/or a sense of warmth or peace. Pain most likely will melt and dissipate, or at least lessen!

Tension Headaches
Receiver is in a sitting position
Giver stands to the right of the receiver.
Giver gently touches, without pressure, the palm of the right hand over the neck area where the base of the skull and cervical vertebrae meet.
The left palm is placed a couple of inches away from the forehead.
Hold this for several minutes until there is a feeling of unity and balance.
Backaches and Muscle Spasms in the Back
Receiver should lie on her front side, or on her left or right side if she is too pregnant to lie on her front.
Giver should place the middle finger of her right hand on the coccyx bone or tip of the spine.
The left hand can be placed on any area of the back that is sore. Hold this for several minutes.
Relaxation of the Spine and Nervous System
Lying on her front or side the giver again places her middle finger right hand finger on the coccyx bone.
The thumb and first finger of the left hand follow along the sides of the vertebrae beginning with the lumbar vertebrae and moving up.
Note: this move takes several minutes as you move up each vertebra. Be sure that the giver is comfortable. (I have found a rolling office chair to be useful while giving this move.)
Relaxing Inflammation and Sore Joints
With this move the receiver is lying on her side, back or front, or semi-sitting in a chair or a bed.
The giver holds the right hand on the ankle joint and places the left hand on the knee. Hold for a few minutes.
Continue to hold the right hand on the ankle joint and moves the left hand up to the hip joint.
Next the left hand will go to the shoulder joint as the right hand remains on the ankle. Then move on to the elbow and wrist joints.
Switch to the other side.
Emotional Healing
While receiver is sitting place the right hand on the occipital bone while the left hand is placed on the frontal bone. Hold for a few minutes. Giver should send love through her hands.
Move to the base of the neck with the right hand and with a non touch place the left hand above the throat. Hold.
Next go to the heart area. The right hand is held on the backside as the left hand covers the heart. (A rocking motion is often wonderful during this hold.)
Move down to the solar plexus—just below the rib cage where the diaphragm is located.
Then down to just below the naval.
And finally to the base of the spine and in front on the pubic bone.

These are just a few of the gentle touch holds that can be easily used in a midwifery or doula practice. Follow your intuition, or all of your senses, as to how long to hold the hands their and where the hands should move to. And remember, love is the best healer of all!

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