On Disruption + Tenderness | Summer 2023
photo by Shelly Dunnegan, 1973
Hi all,
This is a big time of transition for me, and I want to thank everyone who has been a supportive friend and neighbor! We all go through these things in multitude within a lifetime, and yet each one feels all-consuming when it has its turn. Leaning into the words by artist Mel Bochner in his ouroboros-like 1966 work, Cause and Effect: love causes friction / friction causes heat / heat causes pain / pain causes tenderness / tenderness cause love. The moments in life when you feel almost everything you can possibly feel at once or how the friction and tenderness ebb and flow, day to day—those are the ones that tend to remind you of what matters. Uprooting as these emotional and/or physical storms are, they serve to connect us with nature’s homeostatic flow. Cycles of disruption are nature’s way of remediating what needs support, change, or new growth. I hope you have a chance to connect with what’s needed in this moment and that it can land softly for you.
Will keep things short here this time, but please read on for more words + updates in the following sections!
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A definition of
Ethical Touch by the
School of Ethical Touch
Ethical Touch…
+ acknowledges that human touch
is powerful, and that all people
have the right to determine if
and how they engage in touch,
regardless of context
+ centers the agency and authority
of the person receiving touch at
all times
+ is rooted in connection, kindness
and humanity over efficiency
and profit
+ recognizes that the complexities
of individual experience as well
as the interconnected nature of
social categorizations such as
race, class, and gender are
important variables that affect
the quality and outcome of care
+ emerges from a balanced
understanding of power
between provider and
patient/client, with clarity that a
person’s authority over their
own body and experience is of
equal or greater importance to
the expertise of a provider
photo by Frans Verveckken, 1966
BIZ NOTES
LOCATION UPDATE
The time has come for me to say goodbye to working from my beautiful little home office! Starting the week of July 17th, my office will be located at Yellow Springs Healing Center, right across from the fire department on Xenia Ave. (Please check your automated text reminder for the address change.) When you arrive for an appointment at the center, you can come through the front door and hang out in the waiting room where I will meet you. See you there soon!
SCHEDULE UPDATE
As of July, client work days are now Wednesday-Saturday (instead of Tues-Sat). Since I’ve acquired such a full, reliable client base in the last couple of years, I’ve wanted to integrate an office work + continuing ed day into my schedule. I’m looking forward to what this focused time will bring to both the quality of work I give + the personal sustainability of my practice.
PEDIATRIC BODYWORK OFFERING
Every once and awhile I have the honor of working with children, usually teens. Recently, I saw a regular client’s 4-year-old for their first bodywork session outside of massages received from their parents, and gosh! What a sweet sweet experience. Children are so resilient and tender all at once!
I’ve often thought about the value of pediatric massage and whether to create an intentional offering for it in my practice. With the current stressors that children are dealt to move through, from climate change to the disembodying effect inherent in escalated screen engagement, there are many psychosomatic benefits to young children receiving even 15 minutes of bodywork every once and awhile.
Aside from common growing pains and muscle spasms, another excellent way bodywork can assist in a child’s development is early practice of bodily autonomy, awareness and consent. These are basic concepts important to having a body and having healthy human interactions of many kinds (not just sexual). Though institutions are becoming a bit more aware, there are still few spaces where the systems in place support + encourage sensitivity regarding a child’s bodily experience. My hope is to offer bodywork for children that brings their awareness back to their bodies and helps them learn to trust and feel safe in their own processes.
Before a child’s massage, it’s important to me to:
+ emphasize that they can advocate for what they need to me
directly or via the caregiver present. And they can always
change their mind!
+ ask about how they do and do not like to be touched.
+ provide frequent check-ins and communication about what I’m
doing and how it feels to them.
Pediatric bodywork creates a safe container for children to experience their bodies in a supportive, healing, and curious environment. Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts! Rates based on appropriate session lengths per age range below.
PEDIATRIC RATES
4-11 years old | 15-20 mins | $40
12-14 years old | 30 mins | $50
15-17 years old | 45 mins | $70
photo by John Hills, 1975 (from Meditating with Children: The Art of Concentration and Centering)
I L L U M I N A T I O N S
Facial Cupping Tool
I’ve been using these facial cups on myself and clients for a while now, and it’s one of the most efficient, gentle ways to drain lymph and release sinus, fascia + muscle tension. This can provide major relief for headaches, puffiness, allergies, facial or jaw pain! Please read instructions carefully or ask me for a tutorial before applying; silicone cupping is generally safe, but there are important tips for avoiding harm and getting the most benefit from this tool.
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Lymphatic Tapping
With all the smoke and pollen in the air + destablizing planetary shifts whirling around, there can be an increased sticky, congested quality in our body tissues as well! We can encourage more circulation and toxin-fighting support by simply tapping all over the body. Explore what feels good to you! You can use a firm palm, the pinky-side of your hand, or a few fingertips pinched together to tap wherever (and with whatever light-medium pressure) feels most clearing. Some of my fave areas to focus on include just below the clavicle, along the sternum, temples, and front thighs.
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C O M M U N I T Y investment
Sending financial aid this summer to friend, poet + naturalist, Emma’s gender-affirming care. Also donating this month to Camp Lilac, a summer camp in Ohio for transgender and gender diverse youth.
