The complementary and alternative bodywork therapies of Bowen Technique , Indian Head Massage, offered through Natural Tai Chi Devon are those that work synergistically with the Chinese Internal Arts.
Taiji
and Qigong are well known to be effective in, for example, loosening the joints, focusing the
mind, increasing calmness and awareness, aiding the exchange of gases
in the lungs, massaging the internal organs, helping the digestive system work better, improving balance, stress reduction etc. Similarily, some
of the benefits of bodywork include pain relief: by blocking nociception (pain
gate control theory), reduced anxiety activating the parasympathetic control
system, which may stimulate the release of endorphins and serotonin. Increased movement and relief of muscular
tension so preventing fibrosis or scar tissue developing, stress relief, improved
sleep, promoting a sense of calmness and inner peace, increasing the flow of
lymph, improved blood and chi flow.
All the therapies offered complement the benefits accrued through the practice of Taiji and Qigong and can also be of great benefit if your practice has occasionally been a little too strenuous!
Bodywork
or massage?
The terms massage and bodywork are often used interchangeably, they include
any activity that involves touch, energetic stimulation or the application of
pressure or vibration to tissues of the body, including muscles, connective
tissue, tendons, ligaments, skin, lymphatic vessels, and/or organs of the
gastrointestinal system and joints.
From
the earliest times rubbing of some sort has been used for curative purposes. The Greeks, Romans, Turks, Egyptians, Hindus,
and Persians, have always practised a sort of massage and it is known that the Chinese
used massage as far back as 3000 BC.
Even the Gladiators benefited from bodywork; Galen, AD130, Physician to
the School of Gladiators at Pergamos, ordered the bodies of the Gladiators to
be rubbed until they were red and then anointed, as preparation for their
exercises.
