Author: Lauren Swick

I wrote this reflection a few years ago after being asked if I feel it is OK to mix modalities. I thought I would share it here in case it may be of interest or of help to other manual therapists grappling with similar quandaries. To answer that question for myself, I had to go back to the beginning of my journey into this field.

Initially what drew me into the world of massage and bodywork was to 1. be in a position where my job was to help people. My second reason was to have a job that was portable – though this can be true I laugh out loud at my naivety for how unhappy I would be as a traveling massage therapist, not getting to build decade long relationships with my extended massage client family. But whatever, to be honest, in my twenties I prioritized being able to go anywhere in the world and find work – everyone has bodies and all bodies need care after all.

The third reason….I wanted to go into social work but knew I wouldn’t be emotionally suited for this life. I wouldn’t be able to leave my work at work. But I knew I still wanted to be in a place where I could be of service to other humans. OK, this third reason….I had NO idea that the physical body was such a portal into the inner realms…this hadn’t occurred to me. People end up telling me intimate, challenging, sometimes traumatic events they’ve had to journey through. Wow!! I did take that home for a spell….then I realized that if I follow them into the despair they are experiencing I’m not as well suited to give them a steady hand to help assist them back into their bodies; into the present moment. So I learned to simply hold space as cleanly and compassionately as possible. It is not my role to give advice – only to be a compassionate witness and a space holder. I feel extremely honored, humbled and blessed to be trusted enough with the hard stuff.

OK, but I sat down to wade through my thoughts and feelings for the zillionth time on the inner world of my work. During a homework assignment whilst in massage school (get a Tx in a modality you know nothing about) I fell deeply in love with the world of Thai bodywork. It opened so many doors, I learned so much about my body, I felt multidimensional – I felt like I could take on the whole world! I want to share this!! So began that lifelong passion and journey now into it’s 18th year as I write this.

My first job out of massage school was at a high end spa where the notion of ‘deep tissue’ was simply to push harder, regardless of addressing outer most layers/ having time for the body to interpret and instruct the session. One hour, and you MUST get the whole body or you will hear about it, and it better be ‘deep tissue’. Most of the clients seemed to still be hanging on to the archaic and imho damaging mantra of “No Pain No Gain”. It hurt my body and spirit to work like this – I was being instructed to work against my client’s bodies and not with them, but I was too green to understand the difference. I thought, I’m not cut out for this work. But alas I was several thousands of dollars and hours in, so what could I do? I was told that a condition of keeping my job would be to take some ‘deep tissue’ CE’s. OK, I looked at workshops coming up at my massage school and so blessed and fortunately did I accidentally come across the path of Til Luchau and his structural integration work! It was intriguing! He taught us how to work with humans, not just bodies. Though his style is not suited to that type of no pain no gain spa style, turns out I wasn’t either.

OK hang in there with me, I’m coming to the point soon….

I eventually learned my own language, developed my voice as a massage therapist. Though I had taken CE’s in other modalities along the way – Thai and structural ended up calling me again and again. As time went on, I was able to leave the world of employed LMT and enter into the world of self-employed LMT. I had the freedom to arrange my sessions and my work in whatever way I wanted. At first I offered ‘Thai mat work’ and ‘Table work’ (I didn’t know what to call it, as the tendrils of both modalities were entering into each session). When I would work on the mat, I would try to leave out the structural integration work I’d learned from Til – yet, you know, there’s a lot of crossover!! Some things I learned from Traditional Thai I would later learn through Til’s lens, and vice versa. Different semantics, different theories, different lenses, same technique – same same but different! After I really grasped the intention behind the techniques, I began to adapt techniques in both modalities to suit my own unique body’s challenges and strengths and then I began to see that while some of the techniques looked wildly different, the intentions were the same; once again, same same but different. This was a wonderful epiphany but also super confusing and challenging. I’d find myself wanting to bring out a certain technique, but depending on the session the client had asked for I’d hesitate and be like ‘darn, wrong modality. Could have been super helpful for them but….’

I began to see how incredibly ridiculous and silly that way of thinking was and that it went completely against my first intention for being in this field. I still felt I needed…permission…guidance. I asked one of my teachers in Thailand if they felt it was OK that I mix things learned elesewhere within Thai bodywork. The simple response that came simultaneous made me feel silly for even asking the question and clarified everything for me:

«Does it help your client?»

All healing modalities are evolving, living, breathing entities. We learn more and more about humans all the time, the world and all its’ elements are in a constant state of flux, the way we use our bodies and brains must adapt – all the traditional art forms also evolve. They were not born complete universes unto themselves from a speck of stardust. They have been woven through thousands of years with the influence of the being on the earth and inhabiting a human body and observing our elements inner play in relation to the external world.

I mean no disrespect by blending different healing arts lenses into the way I approach my work. Quite the contrary! I have utmost respect for both of these healing worlds which are whole and unique and wonderful unto themselves.

I am steeped in the deepest gratitude for my teachers and their lineages – I will shout them out loud and clear and make their influences known.

I am only a human with the an intention to help other humans. That is what keeps me here. That is what drives my nerdy unquenchable thirst to learn as much as possible, to stay present, open and curious, and to bring the tools and gifts I have to diversify the languages I’m able to communicate in with my clients/ students/ self.