Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) – Why Not??
My original background and training in Massage and Bodywork was in Asian Bodywork Therapy, specifically Amma Therapy, a very complex and sophisticated form of ABT. I learned through the apprenticeship model, living and studying at the feet of the founder and master of the art in the early 70’s and throughout the 80’s and practiced in a very large holistic health center for almost 20 years. Without going into a lot of detail and story telling, I became involved in the late 80’s with other groups throughout the country practicing different forms of Asian bodywork including several different styles of Shiatsu, Tuina, Jin Shin Do®, etc… and eventually we formed the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of AsiaTM (AOBTA®) which continues to exist today. The AOBTA is a non-profit, professional membership organization representing instructors, practitioners, schools and programs, and students of Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT). You can visit its website at www.AOBTA.org. I became its founding president and served as such for five years until 1995.
So what’s the point?? The organization has been in existence for almost 20 years and by now I would have thought that given the profundity and scope of what is possible to accomplish with clients/patients once expertise is gained in ABT that the various forms of ABT would have by now spread like wildfire and that there would be full scale (minimum at least 500 hour) programs running in schools all over the country. But that does not seem to have happened!? There are several really excellent programs out there but besides those mostly very short courses, tastes, or tracks of ABT forms are being offered as part of a full western based massage therapy program and/or in basic CE courses. Â
Asian Bodywork is one of the main limbs of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and many of its forms are thousands of years old. It follows the same underlying principle of all the limbs, that the body is capable of healing itself once the proper conditions are provided. Whereas the acupuncturist assesses according to the principles of Chinese medicine and then inserts fine, sterilized needles into acupuncture points in order to achieve balanced energy and heal the system, and the Herbalist employs natural substances such as leaves, bark, roots and flowers to move the energy system towards the same goal, balance and healing, thereby producing an optimum state of health in the physical body, the Asian bodywork therapist assesses the patient and then applies the hands to treat the energy system using specific techniques and manipulations of the body to balance the energy and heal the system. Â
In my view Asian Bodywork is an incredible opportunity for practitioners of massage therapy who wish to evolve their perspective, knowledge and skills beyond the limits of treating the physical body to include the energy body. While most all massage treatment focuses on the soft tissue, i.e., muscles, ligaments and fascia, Asian Bodywork modalities move things a step further by including (like acupuncture and herbalism) the study and manipulation of the energy system, considered to be the underlying and enlivening layer of the human being complex. A working knowledge of the energy system, its principles of assessment, and skillful manipulation of the channels and points greatly broadens the scope of the kinds of conditions that a massage therapist can learn to treat way beyond those of the neuro/musculoskeletal systems. Although most all massage and bodywork therapies when mastered can be used along with other adjunctive modalities including nutrition, vitamins and supplements and exercise to treat different conditions, training in one of the ABT modalities can, I believe, provide a path to a greater scope of practice. This is because of the expansion in scope of treatment when a comprehensive education of the energetic system is included as part of one’s training and overall perspective.
Discussion: I am not sure I understand why ABT isn’t being taught all over the country at a higher level then it presently is and why students or practitioners already in the field aren’t clamoring to learn it. I have some ideas of course, i.e., it boils down to business and the market and if the market isn’t asking for it, it will not be taught. Or its underlying perspective of energy or qi as the basis of everything is a little strange for people and requires a real mind/paradigm shift to study it and finally grasp it. But I’m looking for feedback and people’s experiences on why this is so. To me right now ABT seems to be the best kept secret in the world of massage therapy and bodywork! Let’s hear what you think and feel!
Steven Schenkman is an established leader in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Chris Lovrin L.M.T.:
Hi Steve, I have been a LMT for 6 years now and have used AMMA therapeutic massage as the core modality in our health center and in my own private practice. What I have come to see is that most clients are not yet fully convinced of the existence of Qi or energy as the underlying enlivening force behind their physical existence and that this force could be tapped and balanced for their health. But it seems to me that more and more are coming to this realization. Especially when real-time examples as simple as using their breath and guided visualization coupled with the practitioner activating a point on an energy channel to release tension (or from the TCM perspective would view it as opening an energy blockage) takes place this first hand experience opens a door to this best kept secret. Maybe when Oprah does a special on it we’ll all be singing a different tune!
25 March 2008, 9:06 pmSharon:
Dear Steve,
28 March 2008, 9:48 amI am a certified Breema pracitioner. Very few people have heard of this
mode of healing which is similar to Shiatsu and Thai but has it’s own integrity as a healing system.
I have just moved to a new city. My goals are to practice Breema again in
addition to massage. Sometimes I add Breema to my table work. I’m sure
that Breema infuses my work in many ways.
The Breema Center which teaches this work strongly suggests that I share
self-Breema exercises with the client and that I inform clients about the
9 Breema principles: body comfortable, mutual support, firm and gentle
pressure, no judgement, single moment single acitivity, no force, nothing
extra. When applied to one’s life, this can be a practical zen type of
approach. Just performing Breema can help me be more present as I become
aware of my breath and body weight.
I have to figure out what my strategy is to get clients.
If you have any suggestions, I’d be happy to hear.
As far as your query about learning Asian bodywork. It has taken me a
lot of time to learn the meridians, points, etc. I did begin to learn
Shiatsu and found hara diagnosis most difficult. It was hard for me to
sense the energy on some clients. Then I had to plan a treatment based
on that. That is probably why I learned Breema. You learn dance like
sequences which you use intuitively. The practitions need to be relaxed so
the client can relax, also. So, I don’t have to know the meridians per se,
I just have to be present in my own bodymindspirit, to do this well. The
client may be leaned on, stretched, rocked and\or held, sometimes all at
the same time. It’s done with the client clothed on a mat on the floor.
I still do Tai Chi and Qi Gung and love to learn and hear about 5 Element
Acupuncture.
I also seem to lack confidence in my ability to get and retain clients and
wonder if more training would help.
Any ideas?
Sharon
Thanks,
Sharon
Christina Gibbs:
Hello Steve,
3 April 2008, 4:07 pmI have been a therapist for nine years. My training was in Swedish and deep tissue, with a major focus in Reflexology and CST. During my internship we would often use CST to unwind blocked meridians, though our knowledge of the meridians was very general, and were only thaught a handful of specific points. In recent years I have become more interested in using Asian bodywork techniques to further elevate my clients experience. I completed two home study courses, one Japenese hot stone, and one Shiatsu Anma. While I found the hot stone course material easy to absorb and apply, the Shiatsu was entirely different. For me, the material was so vast and different, it was almost like learning college level anatomy without ever having taken an anatomy course. I believe this is one determent for current therapists to venture into many asian modalities, though I believe the struggle is worth the payoff. Since the material can be difficult to master, as sharon also mentioned, the lack of more available, thourough programs certainly sidelines many otherwise interested therapists. I also agree that many clients may not actively pursue such treatments, though I would argue that once exposed to such appreciate the positive results. In closing, I believe therapists are uniquely able to educate the public, not only about the benefits of western massage therapy techniques, but other complimentary therapies as well.
Sincerly Christina Gibbs
yakov lyublinskiy:
I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING MOSTLY WESTERN MASSAGE, BUT ALSO INCORPORATING EASTERN MEDITATIONAND VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES.IT STRANGE BUT I CAME TO PRACTICING MASSAGE THROUGH STUDYING ASIAN MARTIAL ARTS.AFTER LEARNING HOW TO HURT AND DESTROY I JUST HAD TO COMPLETE THE CYCLE OF YIN/YANG WITH HEALING. I ALWAYS WAS INTERESTED HOW TO HEAL PEOPLE WITH HANDS SO I BECAME PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT FIRST AND THEN COMPLETED 6 MONTH MASSAGE SCHOOL.I HAD TREMENDOUS INTEREST IN ASIAN BODYWORKS, BUT UNFOTURNATELY THERE IS NO PLACE OR COURSES IN CITY WHERE I LIVE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE CONTINUOUS EDUCATION COURSES IN MY AREA FOR EASTERN BODY WORK.
4 April 2008, 10:05 amNatalia:
So many people in the west want to see, touch, feel, smell, hear some ‘proof’ about concepts such as energy and qi. It is a foreign concept to middle America and her paremeters. How many public schools in this country expose the youth to these concepts in a way that is not critical? Few if any. People want some kind of hard evidence, whereas Eastern education originates from another perspective. I am very interested in studying Ashiatsu and Thai Massage upon graduating from massage school in just a few weeks, but I admit that I was raised on a diet of critical/empirical thinking and still have trouble with the concept of ‘energy’. My teachers tell me I have ‘strong energy’ but I don’t feel anything. I believe that the concept has yet to be translated into a vocabulary that the American population can digest. Perhaps I do ‘feel’ it, but I just don’t know it yet because the words that my teachers use to describe it do not correlate with my own experience, thus making me wary of the credibility of the term as it is used so generically across many forms. Thousands of years of Eastern Medicine cannot be wrong, and cannot be pigeonholed into an American definition either, so it goes both ways. Unfortunately, most of us who live here actually grew up here and were socialized to think like people who grew up here in the US. It is hard to translate something like ‘energy’ if one limits themselves to the vocabulary they are accustomed to, so I will pursue my post graduation studies and hope that I develop my own understanding. I think the popularity of such training may yet catch on once people experience the work. Otherwise, I fear that Americans as a general population are too eager to dismiss something that they cannot verify, measure, explain, reproduce,or default to some religious doctrine for comfort and explanation.
5 April 2008, 5:49 pmMary:
Steve,
Glad that someone else is perplexed by this issue. I am a Massage Therapist turned Acupuncturist. Although, I love Acupuncture there is still no replacement for a good massage especially Asian style therapy. Since I have both licensures I practice a little of both. Many who are apprehensive of needles like it when I offer a Tui Na treatment as an alternative. The results are outstanding and the patients love how they feel.
I decided this past fall, since I love to teach ( a bachelor’s in education and a LMT instructor since 1996) I would go through the process of accrediting a continuing education course through the national massage therapy accrediting body. This was an abreviated course of just 85 hours. I advertised and got few responses. I presented at a state conference and had 50 plus participants but they did not seem to want to know more than the introduction. The school that I teach at also tried to offer a complete program and it did not last. We graduated a handful of students who do outstanding work. I keep in touch with some of these students and they find it hard to market their specialty and have resorted to their baseline therapy – Swedish massage.
I think the problem is two fold. One people do not know or understand the therpy. Secondly, Massage Therapist realize that this discipline requires a great amount of time and effort to learn. It is not a weekend course. Another here said that it was like learning a whole new type of anatomy and she is right. It seems that many massage therapist want to learn something that adds to their toolbox not replace it and Asian Bodywork is a completely differnt form of treatment compared to traditional Myofacial therapy.
15 April 2008, 7:33 pmJulie:
One of the main problems is really educating clients by writing about just what it is that ABT can do. People don’t understand the terms so it needs to be put into things that they can understand – most simply they will feel better. They get turned away when they hear energy or other words because they are not informed of their meaning or lack any experience with of the meaning of the words.
Most websites of practitioners and information on the topic is usually using terms like energy and meridians which are very hard to understand.
The other thing is that organizations such as the NCBTMB have incorporated things like meridians and acupuncture points into their basic exam and people think that is enough to know about ABT when really it takes much more studying and learning and there may be a lot of inaccurate information being passed on by these people who know little about it and they also may be using the terms to explain their work to impress clients when they really don’t know how to explain ABT.
I guess that is a wild guess and comes from my frustration with the NCE in requiring meridians in their exam.
Julie
4 August 2008, 8:01 pm