Holistic therary

In its most basic form, holistic therapy addresses the mind, body, and spirit to support health and healing. It’s very similar to general therapy or counseling but often draws on complementary and alternative practices that the therapist may also have in their toolbox. It involves, bringing all layers and aspects of our clients into the therapy and mental health space. In other words, it’s combining mental and emotional health with physical and spiritual aspects of experience.

For example, a person with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may experience physical pain and trembling. They may also experience a lack of trust in the world as a safe, nurturing place. Holistic therapy can help address all of these symptoms, whether they’re physical, emotional, or even spiritual.

Though the practice of holistic therapy has existed for centuries, it’s only recently that practitioners in the Western hemisphere have begun integrating it into their practices. Peer-reviewed research suggests that holistic therapy can help improve overall mental well-being and may offer benefits for:

  • depression
  • anxiety
  • stress
  • cognitive function
  • family communication
  • addiction
  • trauma
  • chronic pain

Starting holistic therapy will likely be very similar to regular therapy.Your therapist will work with you to develop a plan of treatment based on your needs, preferences, and experiences. There’s a wide range of forms that holistic therapy can take, and your experience will ideally be highly tailored to you.

Massage uses light and heavy touch. Though often thought of as a way to release physical pain, it may help mental and emotional health, though the research is still incomplete. Massage may decrease depressed mood and acute anxiety, though more research is needed on its effects on depression and anxiety. Cranial sacral therapy aims to help a person relax through light touch. A 2020 study source indicates that it could treat severe trauma when used with psychotherapy.

 

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Holistic healing massage

“The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day.”

-Hippocrates

For most people, a massage is a way to physically relax the body, but is that all that it is? As one of the oldest forms of holistic wellness, massage has been known to many as the secret to a healthy life. Massages are not just about replenishing the body; they are also about connecting the soul and mind to the body. There is no doubt that one of the greatest benefits of a massage is the pain and stress relief that it provides to the body, but the quality of healing that arises from receiving a massage is incomparable.

To holistically heal, you first need to connect to your core, which can be achieved by giving respect to your body. On the surface, a massage works out the knots of the muscles. Digging a little deeper, massage relieves pain; emotional and physical, and brings about a deeper connection to yourself. With the guidance of an experienced massage therapist, massage releases emotions trapped in physical tension.  It reduces bodily stress, which allows you to be at one with your body. A massage also helps connect you to your breath while working through discomfort, strengthening your mind-body connection, deregulating your nervous system, reducing your blood pressure and stress hormones. By witnessing the immediate effects and changes a massage can have, it allows you to feel compassion, appreciation and connection with yourself. The momentum of this positive reinforcement acts as a motor on your road to wellness.

When you are not experiencing any bodily pains, you will be able to listen to your body and experience the different layers of energetic fields outside our physical form. It will allow you to start the healing process at a much deeper and more intimate level. The identifying mark of a good massage session is that it opens up another portal for you to connect to your body in another fashion. You’ll finally see your body(s) with your minds-eye for what it is, and not through society’s convoluted lens. It starts a steady and impactful healing process, and the focus is on the inner person. All the critique that you have received or placed on your body can be managed and worked through.

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Mindful Touch

Mindful Touch is the ability to palpate, relax into the tissue and react to what your hands are feeling. It is a response to an experience. It might be deep, it might be very superficial, the skill is to be able to reach a comfortable depth that feels as if you have reached that ‘satisfying and connected’ depth.  It requires the ability to react to the feedback being felt within the connective tissue, developing the skill to move at a suitably rhythmic speed, choosing techniques that would benefit the situation, and responding to what your hands are feeling.

Mindful Touch is about melting, sinking, softly engaging, being tissue lead.  Practice, practice & practice, is essential for improving the hands on skills in a mindful way. The more practice the clearer and stronger the messages get, which enables the action to be performed with less effort and greater co-ordination. Over time, the neuronal pathway is strengthening. A Mindful Touch approach has many benefits which can be used in all therapy.

Without any expectations, time limits or intentions allow your hands to be your eyes and experience what they are ‘seeing’.  Eventually the tissue will melt under your hands, your hands will sink and when you feel you’ve reached a comfortable depth start to move your hands. Start off slowly and if the tissue tightens up pull back and slow down.  Allow yourself the opportunity to feel and be ‘tissue led’.  You can practice this approach using all your soft tissue skills, the tissue has a story to tell and it is waiting for someone to listen.

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