Everything Education

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 Asia^TM (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.  

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.  

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!