Blind massage

[The White Guinea Pig]

Ok fun-fact: massage therapists in thailand are all blind.

Ive been dancing around with this idea for months and I seriously wanna try it out.
My idea involved a massage where you dont use your eyes but rather feel out points on the body using a modified shiatsu style mostly using what Ive learned from Kanako.

Im gonna try it out in the next few days: wish me luck!

 

[zookiee22]

Enjoy your experiment!

Ok fun-fact: massage therapists in thailand are all blind.

I'm not sure where you heard this, but not all practitioners in Thailand are blind. I have heard of one teacher in Bangkok who rather famously trains many blind therapists, but there are many many sighted therapists and teachers as well.

 

[AJ Rawr Chomp Grr]

Do you need a volunteer "crash test dummy"?

 

[Mark P]

all good points but I think it is an idea with potential. Ive noticed that eye sight isnt something you really need and so long as you can keep yourself situated with boney landmarks or just remembering what part of the body feels like what. Since I want this to be shiatsu you would also have to be able to find point locations the same way.

 

[diosaalx6]

Blindfolded massage is wonderful! It was actually part of one of our classes in school.

Not only did we do blindfolded massage, but we partnered up and went on a blindfolded walk. One partner would lead the other partner who was blindfold around the neighborhood in NE Minneapolis near our school. In was an incredible experience to touch things and let our other senses become more intuned to the things around us. Also it was a great excercise in trust. During my blindfolded walk we came across some gals playing jump rope and I got in their and jumped rope with my blindfold on. It was so fun.

I find that when I close my eyes during a massage it goes so much smoother and I am more in touch with what my client needs.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Blind massage

Ok fun-fact: massage therapists in thailand are all blind.

You are thinking of South Korea not Thailand. In fact the visually impaired in South Korea have been fighting for their exclusive hold on the industry since it was deemed unconstitutional.

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~blindworld/NEWS/6-06-05-01.htm

Many of us work with our eyes closed. Personally I "see" better that way in my work. It is actually involuntary and I have always done it naturally.

 

[fight.trainer]

We had blindfold massage in school too. It was great, it really helped me focus on what the muscles were telling me they needed, not just what I saw. Now I do it just to focus.

 

[eldridan]

We also did blindfolded massage. In fact our final "exam" in Shiatsu, (an hour long kata) was done blindfolded, including climbing up and down off the table. They have since discontinued the practice due to liability issues, :roll: which I think is a real shame.

 

[adam_l38]

Your call an hour long shiatsu a Kata? cool.
I think maybe it would be alright if yoiu just took your blindfold off when helping the client in key areas like parts of the bodies with local contraindications (or just not doing those areas blindfolded) or helping the client on or off the table might be nessessary.
It may void the cool factor but if your doing a massage style just cause its cool then it probab;e not a good one anyways

 

[sunray]

Your call an hour long shiatsu a Kata? cool.

Actually it's the particular style that is referred to as a kata, whether it is 15 minutes or 3 hours. "Kata Shiatsu" is a scripted style where the the massage is performed either in one long and specific sequence, or in a series of little sequences strung together.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Blind massage

deleted

 

[roxy07]

This is getting of the subject...

I personally find that when I dont see I can map out the body better in my head and touch points more effectively. Plus without site we need to feel were we are going, when we find the place we can just dive in because the client has already a bit of warning.

 

[Mrs.Ploughe]

One of my instructors in school would always catch me with my eyes closed and would urge me to open them. He claimed that I needed to keep an eye on my client for any responses that would require my adjustments with the work...

I still think it enables me to be more present in my palpation skills at the moment...

 

[Sappho]

Blind Massage

As someone that does much of his massage with his eyes closed (I can see better that way as I can pick up energies and such), this is a very good exercise. Since my fellow students in school were too immature to even be working in this industry, we never tried this.

I was telling a client about it one day, and she walked over to the cabinet, pulled out a pillow case and wrapped it awound my eyes. What I found was that I could navigate the body just fine. It was the corners of the table I had trouble with. I do a few moves that go quickly from one side to the other and I would bump into the table. But, knowing where I was on the body was easy (and I didn't touch anywhere that I wasn't supposed to).

What was the most interesting was that I missed being able to see the clock. My hour massage became 70 minutes. But that is not bad either.

Try it. I think you'll find it opens a whole world of knowledge that you didn't realize you were getting.

Take care.

 

[Average Joe]

Ive noticed that eye sight isnt something you really need

You've noticed that sight isn't something you really need ;-)

I on the other hand get lost (and clumsy) rather easily with my eyes closed. Sometimes I close them to get more into my kinesthetic intuition, but come to clarity with it faster by following it with visual input.

 

[FelafelTodd]

Blind Therapist

12 years experience as a blind therapist.
The shy woman clients love it. They don't have to feel uncomfortable about about a man seeing them when he is blind!

Greg