Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Vibrational Healing Massage Therapy

Yesterday I started a program of study in a healing massage modality called Vibrational Healing Massage Therapy (VHMT). It is taught exclusively at the World School of Massage in San Francisco. I have no massage experience, but I am fascinated with working with the body's energies for balancing and healing.

On our first day, we began to learn about the principles of VHMT. Fundamentally, the technique is working with energy flow in the body. VHMT is based on a model which views the body as completely fluid, and so a critical aspect of VHMT is moving energy through the body in a fluid way, as well as helping the practitioner and the receiver become conscious of their bodies as fluid mechanisms. To this end, in class we learned about a particular pattern of energy which flows through the body, and we practiced moving this energy through each other.

In our first exercise, we worked with another student to simply feel their energy flow without actually touching them. I was surprised and delighted that both my partner and I picked up significant information about each other from this exercise alone. In the second exercise, we practiced moving the energy again, but this time by hands-on work on joint segments. For example, we held one hand on the receiver's ankle and the other on their knee. This process continues on joints throughout the body. It sounds mild, but it is surprisingly relaxing and effective.

Monday, December 1, 2008

The Way of the Shaman

I just finished reading The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner. I am already quite familiar with shamanism, mostly from a local shamanic group I was a part of for five years. I've also read all of Carlos Castaneda's books, as well as those of his cohorts, and a number of other books on the subject. I read this book in preparation for a new shamanic circle I was thinking of joining, because the woman who leads the group recommended that I do so.

I had seen this book in bookstores, but it never really appealed to me. It seemed a bit dry and intellectual. In fact it is almost thirty years old, and it is somewhat dated (especially the illustrations). However, I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging and informative it is. The book is not an entertaining read like Castaneda's, but this is because it is much more grounded in reality (rather than drama) and is based upon actual shamanic tradition from several cultures. It is a great basic introduction to shamanism, which is why it is considered a classic, yet there is enough material in it to make it an interesting read for those who have mostly read about or experienced today's largely "New Age" version of shamanism (for example, Alberto Villoldo's books and programs). So although I didn't love the book, I found it engaged my interest and I enjoyed learning some new perspectives on shamanism based on various global cultures.