Letter to My Clients: Why the Changes to My Practice

Dear Clients
 
I have received so many sweet protests from you about the end of full body, deep tissue and medical massages that I felt it best I explain to you why I am doing this, and what is next for my practice and my professional life.
 
I am stopping so much massage therapy because I am listening to my body.
 
My body has been telling me to stop doing so many massage sessions for a few years now, and I have decided to listen more deeply and take a break.  I started working as a massage therapist in 1994.  With 23 years of practice, I know my skills are honed.  I love doing massage, so it is hard for me to give up, but I am afraid if I don’t listen to my body, I will get sick.  That is often how these things unfold.  Many of us don’t listen to messages we receive, so they often get louder, in the form of illnesses or what we call a “spiritual 2 x 4.” I am following this leading, and offering a bodywork session that is a combination of that intelligent touch and craniosacral therapy in its place.  The Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a deep listening to the body, and then therapeutic presence and exact skill to help the body reorganize, and health to increase.  So you can still come for bodywork, it will just be different.  Here are things I am still offering:
 

• Prenatal and Postpartum Massage Therapy (1 hour and 1.5 hour).  This is part of my MotherCare VA approach, a way of supporting pregnant and postpartum moms, and nourishing the whole family.  My approach is more than just massage, I hope to build this up more and over the coming year.  Postpartum massage is for you for a whole year after you have your baby.
• Integrated Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy:  a combination of intelligent touch (specific massage for the back, neck, head and feet) and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.  It is designed to help you feel met, soothed, listened to, and encouraged.  It is moving touch and cranial touch, and often produces a sense of wellbeing and information about your patterns and your life.
• Bodywork for Stability and Resilience: a combination of Somatic Experiencing®, still, moving and cranial touch, and verbal skills to orient you to trauma release, skill building, awareness of your natural instincts, and healing. This is currently my most popular session.
• Somatic Experiencing®:  Trauma release therapy for overwhelming events in our lives.
• Baby Bodywork and Family Sessions:  These are sessions for families with babies have difficulty with a variety of symptoms.  I have learned many approaches to help with overwhelming birth experiences, difficulty breastfeeding, tongue tie, difficulty with sleep and more.  I often can find bodywork solution for your baby, and teach you about the approach so you can offer bodywork to your baby at home. Family sessions include stability work, recovery from difficult births, Somatic Experiencing® and cranial touch.  I do some play with children and teach parents about games to play with children who have had difficult births.

 I also offer trainings and classes in the prenatal and perinatal field, including Womb Surround Process Workshops and online classes for the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health, a program that has attracted 270 students in 26 different countries.  I would like to return to offering baby massage classes, which I think is so important for postpartum moms and their babies, every Wednesday at 11 am at my studio in Belvedere.  Each series will be 4 weeks, following by a class in tummy time and movement for baby.  Each group will have to be small because I don’t have a lot of room in my studio unless I can find a different location.
 
Over the next two years I will be offering my own training for professionals wanting to learn about prenatal and perinatal trauma, and a wide variety of other experiences locally, nationally and internationally.
 
I also want to write, and have leadings to write blogs, articles and books.
 
So, I want you to know that I am still here.  You can still come and receive bodywork from me.  Thank you for your support and kind words.  Let’s keep working together.  I am taking more time this summer to be with my family and teach in different locations.  Starting in September, I will have more availability Tuesday through Friday.  If you are looking for a massage, I recommend any of these local places and practitioners.
 
Kate