Too Much Force!

    Working with the human body is a touchy thing in more ways than one. When we adjust in yoga or touch in healing there is always the possibility of harming the person you are trying to help. There is nothing more irritating than the practitioner pressing into your body when they should be gently laying on hands or an instructor forcing your body into a position it does not want to take.
     Just yesterday I experienced something amazing. My Tai Chi teacher gave me a hand up from the floor. Now this is a man who has made a career out of breaking people. He has forgotten more about martial arts than most black belts ever learn. But when he gave me a hand up off the floor, it was with the perfect amount of force, like the lift was evenly distributed throughout my entire body, not just through my hands to my shoulders, to the body. He always jokes that if you know how to cause pain, you also know how to heal.
     How do we learn to do the same thing? First by becoming more aware of your body and it's edges. Those edges might be your hands, clothes, hair, or a healing accessory (like the lotion bottle of a massage therapist). If any part of you touches your client it should be intentional. Not only does it remove your client from the experience, but it can become actively irritating (when the yoga instructor's long hair touches you).
      Once you've learned your edges, it's time to discover your power. Press your hands together as hard as you can (according to NASA this is force is between 30-50 pounds). Now, push half as hard (between 15-25 pounds). Now, half as hard again (7.5-12.5 pounds). That last one is as hard as you should ever push when working with a client or student. Granted these are averages, but the exercise I described works very well in practice. And on that note, just like getting to Caragie Hall, the best solution learning to adjust poses is to practice.
       The final hurdle is forming a relationship. Before touching a client in a healing session or a student in a yoga class, always get permission first. Part of this process is making sure the person you are working with will tell you to stop if it is irritating or begins to hurt. Go into it gently. Sometimes, you may need to have the discussion several times in one session.
      This week's video is about the Hanna Kroeger technique for resetting the brain stem. In it you gently manipulate the client's head to reset the brain stem. It is the perfect way to practice your use of gentle force.