Filed under: Uncategorized
New name. New look. Same great bodywork education. Same staff and owners. Nothing else changed, just the name and logo. And there is no hidden agenda here. The school is not being prepared for some unspoken future, like being sold to a corporation. We are still, and will continue to be, an independent, artisan school of fine massage and healing.
Why did we do it? There are some practical reasons, of course. Since Dr. Scherer passed away in 1990, and since more regulations have come into being for massage schools, the school’s curriculum has gradually devoted less time to naturopathic methods, and more to massage. The Santa Fe School of Massage. It’s clearer now, where we are and what we do. We still love our Scherer heritage; the Scherer grad community is alive and well and always will be. Somehow, it was just time.
Welcome to the Santa Fe School of Massage.
info@sfsom.com
Filed under: The Value of Touch
By Lee Cartwright, M.A.
Life on planet earth is unfortunately often dotted with a number of potentially traumatizing events – accidents, surgeries, natural disasters, physical and/or sexual assault, chronic debilitating illness, difficult birth. The key word in the above sentence is potentially, because not everyone exposed to the same event becomes traumatized. Studies show that only 20% of individuals exposed to overwhelming events in fact develop the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When PTSD does develop though, it can be debilitating. Possible symptoms include intrusive flashbacks/nightmares, exaggerated emotional and startle responses, panic attacks, difficulty creating and maintaining emotional intimacy, diminished interest in life, immune system disorders and substance abuse.
The key to understanding the experience of PTSD is that the individual processes the trauma as an ongoing, contemporary event. The individual’s body acts as if the accident, the crime or the difficult birth is continuously happening now. It is not surprising then that PET scans of the brain reveal that the activity of the hippocampus (the part of the brain that allows us to say an event is over) is often suppressed in individuals diagnosed with PTSD. Put simply, the nervous system loses access to the ability to put the trauma into the past.
The negative consequences of experiencing the trauma as an ongoing event can be devastating. Because the body experiences the trauma as a continuous reality, the body continuously creates the autonomic nervous system activation necessary to respond to the perceived danger. Although the person might now live in a safe environment, the nervous system instructs the body to perpetually create the hyperarousal necessary to allow a “successful” fight or flight response – adrenaline release, increase in heart rate and blood pressure, restriction of blood flow to digestion, increase in blood flow to major muscles, dilation of pupils, and so forth.
In response to this chronic heightened arousal, individuals suffering from PTSD often experience life from a 1) hypervigilant stance, continuously monitoring for danger, 2) a disassociated perspective in an attempt to manage their fear of attack, and/or 3) a helpless, frozen posture where they feel incapable of responding to life’s demands. PTSD sufferers are literally living in the past – but not because they are lazy and simply need to use their wills to “get over things.” Rather, individuals suffering from PTSD need help in turning their sympathetic nervous systems off.
Is massage therapy the answer to PTSD? The answer is no. Can massage therapy be an important part of a comprehensive program for treating PTSD? The answer is emphatically yes. When appropriate, massage therapy can help an individual re-establish a sense of safety in the body. By strengthening the flow of energy in the arms for example, massage therapy can help re-establish congruent “fight” responses. By increasing the flow of energy in the legs, massage helps the person regain access to effective “flight” responses. In short, by helping individuals
re-connect with the natural resourcefulness of the body, massage helps individuals gradually turn their sympathetic nervous system off.
At the same time massage therapy is not designed to resolve specific traumas. That is the realm of psychotherapy. Instead, massage nourishes and releases the natural healing forces of the individual. By helping the person re-establish a sense of physical safety and connection with internal resources, massage therapy supports the individual in indirectly resolving the hyperarousal that is at the core of PTSD. Some of the characteristics of effective massage therapy for PTSD include:
- As the practitioner, aligning your awareness with the capacity of the client to resolve the trauma rather than the trauma itself. Focus on the fact that regardless of how much trauma an individual has undergone, she (assumed throughout the rest of this article) is an expression of a deeply knowing, resilient, self-correcting energy. As well, remember that you cannot solve someone else’s trauma.
- Before beginning your work, ask the client about the parts of her life that are going well (children, friends, work, family, pets). Why? Because you may need to reorient the client to these “resources” if she slides into a reenactment (re-experiencing) of the trauma during a session.
- Help the client develop a sense of safety. Ask her how she would like to lie on the table and where she would like you to start working. Tell her you are going to touch her before you do. Offer her a blanket to help enhance her sense of personal space. Ask for feedback during the session to assure she is comfortable with your work. Allowing a client to take control of her experience during sessions helps her learn to take greater control of her life outside of sessions.
- If you know the areas of the body where the trauma occurred, don’t just go there. Only go to an area where a trauma has occurred after you have established rapport with the client (which may be after several sessions). Move slowly knowing that it is better to under rather than overstimulate. Don’t enter directly into the area where a trauma occurred but rather start at the periphery.
- Be aware that individuals who have tendencies toward dissociation often request massage strokes using intense pressure. Although intense pressure may be appropriate at times, it can also exaggerate dissociation. Work with clients to find a level of pressure that both works for you and helps them meet your touch.
- Help clients develop the experience of physical comfort. If necessary, discuss the mistaken belief in “no pain, no gain.” People who have experienced trauma often don’t have internal permission (or even know what its like) to be comfortable.
- Create a safe container through your therapeutic relationship. Help clients experience good boundaries by starting and ending sessions on time and avoiding dual relationships. Keep client communications confidential and don’t discuss your personal problems during sessions.
- In contrast to old theories that encouraged people to go back and fully re-experience traumas, current research suggests that this only etches the trauma more deeply into the brain. Thus, if clients slip into reenacting the trauma, your main jobs are to be wholly present and act as a lifeguard by bringing them back to present time.
- Be truly with the client by holding a compassionate, neutral presence. Respond with empathy to the client’s suffering AND align your awareness with the deeper part of them that can resolve the trauma. Aligning your awareness with the client’s pain only results in 2 people being lost in the trauma. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that when traumas come up on your table they are meant to be resolved on your table. Trauma reenactments by nature often occur at the least appropriate times.
- Assist the client in regaining control of her experience by acting as a lifeguard. If a client slips into a reenactment, she has left your office. Your job is to bring her back into present time. Ask her what her name is; looking at the clock, ask her to tell you what time it is; ask her to look at your face and tell you what color your eyes are; ask her to tell you about her children that she loves to play with (see #2 above). Breaking trauma reenactments in process gives the client the experience of controlling her trauma rather than the trauma controlling her.
- At an appropriate time after a reenactment, discuss how reenacting the trauma often isn’t the best way to resolve it. As well, support the client in not pressing to figure out exactly what happened in the past. Research indicates that making sense of the trauma does not reset the nervous system from tracking danger to tracking pleasure. Instead, explore with the client how you can work together without triggering reenactments. If you find this is not possible, refer the client to a practitioner specifically trained in trauma resolution.
10. Help the client be aware of (and if appropriate connect with) other resources in the community. Techniques that support a more direct resolution of trauma (and are often supported by good bodywork) include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing – EMDR (emdria.org), Somatic Experiencing (ergos@earthlink.com) and Hakomi Somatics (hakomisomatics.com).
11. Stay abreast of current developments. Consider reading Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine or Traumatic Stress by Bessel A. van der Kolk.
Lee Cartwright, MA, is the developer of Shifting Consciousness through Dimensions®, a neurological system that promotes the rapid resolution of trauma and other personal limitations. He has written articles and presented at major conferences since 1999.
Filed under: The Value of Touch
by Cathy Black
I have a particular interest in massage and its role in promoting healthy touch in families. I’m not a family systems expert, but when I was a child, my family would gather around the living room floor some evening and each of us would get a massage from the rest of the family. For about 10-15 minutes we would each receive a back and leg massage from the four other family members. Then we would switch and someone else would receive, until finally all five of us had gotten our massage. It felt wonderful, and it was bonding and healing for all of us – both individually and as a family.
This was not the norm of the day, let me assure you. I give my parents tremendous credit for being willing to bring experiences like massage and psychotherapy into our lives in those days. I am very grateful to them, because through the massage, I learned that touch was positive and nurturing. My body felt safe and cared for in the hands of loving people. I have no doubt it was a major influence in eventually determining my career as a massage therapist. Perhaps most importantly, I gained a grounded, valued sense of myself, and a deep respect for the preciousness of this human body.
The way we assimilate and process different forms of touch may change throughout life, but touch itself remains an essential aspect for health of human functioning and positive quality of life. Fortunately, as massage has grown more popular and diverse over the past 20 years, the needs of families have begun to be addressed. We see Infant Massage courses, pre-natal and post-partum massage for women, massage for couples, Compassionate Touch and Peaceful Touch for toddlers and young children, elder massage – and that’s just the beginning of a list of possibilities.
It warms my heart to know that children and their parents are being encouraged to massage and be massaged, from early childhood on into the later years. I can only imagine that the benefits of this trend are important, if not crucial, for our larger cultural need at this time.
Filed under: The Value of Touch
by Elizabeth Rose
Elizabeth is a contemporary “Wisdom Keeper” not unlike matriarchal women of indigenous communities of the past. She has practiced and taught Massage for the Childbearing Year for 17 years. Elizabeth is a skilled and heartful teacher, acknowledged for her gentleness and support of women in their childbearing year. She teaches Pre-natal massage certification classes, Stages of Life: Essential Nurturing for the Childbearing Year, at Scherer Institute.
In 1985 I moved to Santa Fe from Ithaca, NY to embark on the next chapter of my unfolding career, or life’s calling – working with families and children. I came here to attend massage school, after an exhilarating and enlightening three years of working as a preschool teacher. After I graduated from Colorado State University in 1981 with a BS in Human Development & Family Studies, I moved to the northeast where I avidly took on bicycle touring and working on an organic vegetable farm for a year before pursuing my first, post-graduate professional job with the Head Start program.
In retrospect, I see now the divine orchestration of my fortuitous placement in both my college major and this extraordinary job; a grant funded project in which seven children from Head Start were integrated into a classroom with seven children who were mildly to severely handicapped, including two children who were hearing disabled. It was utter chaos at first, until both the Head Start children and I learned how to speak in sign language. This was a crucial bridge that created a means for the children and adults to effectively communicate. Sign language is an amazingly sensorial, expressive language which has a way of emphasizing intent, and enhancing comprehension. I found it to be an incredibly powerful teaching tool.
By December of the school year we were all relatively fluent in sign language, and interactions with hearing and non-hearing children alike were remarkably improved. Still, the Head Start children held onto taboos about the differently-abled children, and physical intimacy of any kind remained good grounds for the “cooties.” Then, a magical thing happened. A second and more profound bridge was built – HEALING TOUCH
While I was a preschool teacher, I received my first professional massage, an excellent one at that (not to mention the massage therapist was seven months pregnant and kept bopping me with her baby while she worked – early signs of my profession yet to come). I proceeded to take an eight week class in massage. So enthused was I that I began to offer friends free massages on their kitchen tables! Something BIG clicked inside me when I began receiving and giving massages.
Hence, it was only natural for me to incorporate massage into my work with the preschool children. Along with my team teacher Maria, (a down-to-earth, wise-woman who happened to step in mid-year to replace a rather stern, over controlling teacher who left to have her baby), we began to massage the children during nap time. Foot massages were the most popular and polarity treatments worked wonders on the kids who were touch sensitive. The kids loved it albeit getting into the lotion and oil was a big part of the fun!
Within days, not only were the children much calmer and more centered but also the chemistry of the classroom miraculously changed. Cooties no more! The children began to touch one another and enthusiastically gave each other foot or back rubs. The “normal” Head Start children began to experience their “not so normal” peers in brand new way. The taboos, the cooties and judgments began to rapidly dissolve and the success of the grant funded project aimed at doing such was met long before anyone could anticipate. By the end of the year, we were a tight knit, loving tribe and we communicated effortlessly with our hands via sign language and nurturing touch. The light bulbs were endlessly going off in my head and my crusader spirit to “change the world” knew that my next step in this deep passion to serve humanity was through TOUCH.
And so, two decades later I find myself specializing in prenatal, labor, post-partum, and infant massage. Funny how “Spirit” works! What I’ve come to realize over and over again in my twenty years as a professional working with women and children is how profound TOUCH truly is as a language and an art form which communicates our compassion and caring. Nurturing touch transcends fear and separation, and makes one feel valued and cared for. Massage for the whole family is a marvelous way to enhance bonding and create new avenues for seeing, listening, and responding to each other with greater sensitivity. Touch is the biggest MA of them all, and you don’t need to be a professional to do it well!
A couple of days ago at dawn I was called into a birth (I’m also a labor support Doula and have attended about 90 births, both home and hospital). Before I left, I kissed my daughter Maia, still in her angelic state of sleep. She woke when I kissed her. “Mommy has to go to a birth,” I said. In her half sleep she wrapped her arms around me, and in a long embrace gently patted me on my back, and smothered my face with tiny kisses. What a big MA in such a little body! When your children give back to you the kind of nurturing touch you have graced them with from the very start (even whilst in-utero), you begin to realize what a powerful impact touch has had on their lives. Your children learn gratitude, respect, and how to relax with touch that is laced with love and sensitivity.
by Cathy Black
Cathy is co-owner of Scherer Institute. She teaches the Subtle Body course in the massage certification program and Healing Presence and Intuition trainings through the school’s specialization programs.
When I lived in Ashland, OR my friend Maggie and I used to take a short walk from my home to the University library, climb the stairs to the third floor, and look out over the Oregon winter landscape. We like to write from this vantage point, she on her novel, me on whatever needed tending to for the school. From up there, I was able to see the upper branches of a Sequoia redwood swaying gently back and forth. This giant, taller than the entire building itself, was a beauty. When events in my day seem so significant and urgent, I see this tree and remember the expanse of time it has lived, and WILL live, that dwarfs my entire lifetime. I am reminded to see things from a bigger picture. Perspective.
From my vantage point today, Santa Fe in 2010, it is 20 years since Dr. Scherer’s passing, and I am struck by the ongoing fortitude and dedication of this institute. Not every organization survives the passing of its founder. In its history, this school has weathered challenges and witnessed many changes in the profession and business of massage. With over 1400 graduates, it has steadily forged ahead, emerging through time with continued love and grace. I know that the ongoing dedication of students, graduates, teachers and staff has something to do with its continuing success. I must also assume that the underlying principles and vision of the school create a powerful force that supports it through all manner of change.
So here we are today, with shifts on every level occurring at a rapid rate in America and throughout the world. A positive effect of change is the potential for supporting growth and cultivating new perspectives. How does the field of massage fit into these changes? How do we grow and respond to the needs of people as a part of the health care services around the globe? We know that massage and other forms of alternative and complementary medicine offer valuable support to people, especially in times when stress may be heightened. The gifts of touch and holistic understanding are needed more than ever during these times. As health care becomes a pressing national issue, practitioners of massage and related healing arts also have an opportunity to participate and make their voices heard regarding the direction health care will take in the years ahead. We think these are important voices with valuable input, and we think that the business of massage will be supported even more as the service of massage is increasingly valued and recognized.
This school and many of its staff have seen the field of massage change exponentially over the past 31 years. How do we preserve and continue to expand upon our teachings, our values, in this modern and transformative age? For Keith, Lonnie, and myself, that question inspired the next steps for the school since it was bought by Keith and Cathy. From that perspective, we made some changes to the basic curriculum – making all programs 700 hours and adding a new part-time day program. We added options for electives, trainings, and workshops to help practitioners and students specialize in areas of the bodywork field that interest them, from Holistic Medical Massage to Pregnancy Massage and energetic studies.
We are happy to share these changes with everyone, from new students to seasoned massage practitioners. And we are even happier to report that so far, the changes we have made are enhancing the life of the school and all of its students.
Filed under: Programs and Course Offerings
by Cathy Black
When I was practicing massage in the 1980’s, I was privileged to assist a midwife with her clients. I would give massage to the mom-to-be, her partner, even the other children if they wanted it. Sometimes I was fortunate enough to be at the birth and offer support during the labor. It was a natural progression to take the Infant Massage Training and facilitate courses for parents to help them share the benefits of massage with their children. Much later, Keith and I took the Peaceful Touch training, a program that teaches children how to touch one another with care and respect. These experiences showed me the deep value that massage and touch hold for us as developing human beings.
Over the years, I have worked with people through many stages of life. The need for massage and touch never ends – it just changes in how it is applied. When we look at massage from a Stages of Life perspective, several phases stand out; pre-natal through early childhood in family systems; adulthood and the effects of stress and health/injury related issues; elder care and hospice. And of course, the need for caring touch never changes.
One of the visions of this school is to establish programs that allow massage therapists to specialize in certain arenas of study within this Stages of Life framework. As a result, in addition to the core 700-hour massage certification program, Scherer Institute will be offering new additional 300-hour trainings. The first two are being offered in 2010 – Holistic Medical Massage: An Integrative Approach to Working With Pain, and the Circle of Life: Healthy Touch for Families.
Many of us who are involved in the world of touch and massage know it is important to continue to expand the horizons of healthy and healing touch throughout our lives. Wherever you are, keep sharing with everyone who wants to know the comforting, relieving, healing quality of touch. We are all part of this human family, and now, more than ever, our family needs to feel cared for. Thanks to all of you who are taking your hands to the world.
Filed under: Graduate Testimonials
 by Juliana Santillanes
Touch is the mother of all senses and is the most receptive sense. In her book Touch, Tiffany Field describes how touch is the earliest sensory system to develop in all animal species. The same embryonic cells that build the nervous system, spinal cord and the brain also give rise to the layers of skin, which is highly developed when the human embryo is less than an inch long at two months gestation. Touch signals take an immediate path to the brain and travel faster than pain signals. This is why even in ancient times the use of heat, ice, and rubbing have all been applied to override physical pain and to relieve discomfort. Tiffany Field quotes the Dictionary of the Russian Language: “In reality all senses can be reduced to one- the sense of touch. The tongue and palate sense the food; the ear, sound waves; the nose, emanation; the eyes, rays of light.” Touch is more recently becoming a focus for in depth studies as it and the skin have been overlooked on a large scale for so many generations. Now western science is waking up to the tremendous benefits of touch in human development, and the necessity to stimulate and care for the body’s largest organ: the skin. People of all ages significantly benefit from therapeutic touch and nurturing skin-to-skin contact. If we look to most indigenous cultures in Africa, Asia, India and South America we see rich examples of the benefits and daily practice of skin-to-skin contact with infants, pregnant women, children, adolescents, adults and elders. The huge fear in our country of inappropriate touch leads to a lack of safe and loving touch. By taking extreme measures to assure no one is touched inappropriately, few are openly being touched in a healthy and positive way. Frances Carlson articulates this dilemma: “What I think we don’t understand in this culture is that withholding touch from children from fear is as physically and emotionally harmful to children as harmful touch is.” In our western society of ‘untouchables’ we are slowly breaking out of the narrow mindset and shaped reality that touch is either violent or sexual. Touch is almost a bad word in our culture, and most people are so afraid of a lawsuit that they are cautious about any touch at all and impose rigid boundaries. Meanwhile, babies are not being held or picked up to be comforted, teachers are not allowed to touch, hug and embrace their students, and even in some daycares there is a ‘no touch’ policy. This has a major influence on how those babies develop and how well they are able to thrive if not in an affectionate, secure and safe environment. Senior citizens also suffer from a lack of skin-to-skin contact, as they are not often touched in retirement homes or hospice care. In fact, they are shown very little respect compared to many other cultures where the elderly are held in the highest esteem and reverence. When touch is most needed and beneficial it is not readily and naturally available in our country, especially for the very young and the very old. Touch is essential in each stage of human development, from the very first moments of life through to the last. Lifespan massage supports a person as she moves through many stages and is delivered to the next phase of growth and opportunity. I will be addressing some of the main stages in a lifetime and how each greatly benefits from touch, beginning with life in the womb. In her book Vital Touch, Sharon Heller writes: “Even before the fetus can hear, the vibrations of the mother’s heartbeat creates a gentle rhythmic pulsation of movement against the fetus’s skin.” One study shows that the fetus responds to touch stimulation as early as twenty weeks when the mother’s feet are massaged. Another source researching human development reported that the embryo begins to display whole body reflex movements in response to touch at five weeks and is less than an inch long. As I place my hands on the mother’s sacrum in the first weeks of her pregnancy, I embrace and meet the life inside. As the baby grows and slowly descends toward the birth canal, my open palm slowly compresses the base of the spine and engages the head of the conscious and active baby within the womb. Both mom and baby share the same nervous system, the same level of stress hormones, the same breathing and so on. Massage supports both systems to calm and find a shared balance as their two heartbeats bounce off one another, never ceasing to communicate. The baby and mom both benefit from touch during the pregnancy, labor and the postpartum period, as those are the first stages of the infant’s life and the woman’s entrance into motherhood. When a pregnant woman receives prenatal massage she is able to be present to herself and her growing baby, and finds relief from most physical and emotional discomforts she experiences. While taking deep, full breaths as she receives educated nurturing touch, the woman’s hormones begin to balance and her systems move in the direction of homeostasis. A pregnant woman has very high levels of estrogen, levels comparable to one hundred years menstruation all at once. She must gain a clear perspective and seek balance in a time of extreme fluctuation and growth as her body supports new life. I have observed a huge range of circumstances, as each woman and each baby are unique. I have observed some clients who feel more balanced during pregnancy than at any other time in their lives: less headaches, better sleep, lots of energy, consistently happy and good feelings all around. Other clients have trouble walking, trouble eating, moving, sleeping and even smiling. No matter the complications or circumstances of the pregnancy, whether they are thrilled or devastated to be pregnant, I have observed one common thing- touch helps comfort and support women as they move through the incredible dynamics of their pregnancies, whether it is for the first time or the tenth time. When a pregnant woman is stressed, the blood flows out towards her limbs instead of to her heart and uterus directly affecting the vitality of her baby. Massage helps support optimal circulation, digestion, and sleep by calming the nervous system and supporting the physiology of gestation. The baby learns to relax and discover peace in the womb as his mother receives a nurturing therapeutic massage. Not only does prenatal massage promote relaxation, it contributes to shorter, less painful labors by reducing complications, medications and interventions, including the need for epidurals and cesarean sections. Massage continues to support both the mom and her baby during the labor and then after the birth, as the mom enters the postpartum period and the baby is adjusting to new life outside of the womb. The touch that benefits the mom in turn directly benefits the baby during all three stages- prenatal, labor and postpartum. Studies show that receiving postpartum massage helps rebalance the woman’s body and hormones after pregnancy, reducing postpartum depression and anxiety. Prenatal and perinatal touch also improves infant well-being by encouraging nurturing maternal touch. Infants thrive when their caregivers learn to communicate with them nonverbally through their first language: touch. Learning infant massage has tremendous benefits for both the baby and his parents, and creates a foundation for a life long bond that continues to evolve. All babies benefit from skin-to-skin contact, no matter what the baby’s particular situation is during the pregnancy, birth and first weeks of life. Infant massage helps strengthen and regulate the baby’s circulation, breathing, digestion, and nervous system. Infant massage creates the foundation for the baby to bond and have a secure attachment to one or more caregivers, which ultimately helps him develop into a strong, confident and independent person. Premature and drug exposed babies have the most significant number of benefits from touch because they need extra care and support, but even the healthiest of babies greatly benefit from skin-to-skin contact. A 1980’s study conducted in Florida by Tiffany Field, showed that “stimulated pre-term neonates averaged a 47% greater weight gain per day, were more active and alert during sleep/wake behavior observation, and showed more mature habituation, orientation, motor and range of state behavior on the Brazelton scale than control infants.” Sometimes, premature infants can only tolerate a hold where a palm touches their body without movement, whereas others can eventually handle a more rigorous full body massage that lasts 10-15 minutes. These babies involved in the touch study were discharged from the NICU several days sooner and their quality of life greatly improved, yet despite these results that particular hospital did not adopt the program. Infant massage offers a new approach to communicate love between parent and baby. If a baby is colicky or inconsolable for long periods of time, this can frustrate his mother to the point that she begins to feel helpless and sinks into depression and exhaustion. Certain massage techniques and routines can help relieve the baby and prevent colic symptoms; likewise it helps empower the mom to have a strategy to help her infant. Infant massage is a wonderful time for mothers and fathers to bond with their newborn with loving touch and eye contact and to learn to respond to the baby’s cues of engagement or disengagement. Touch in the first stages of life lay the foundation of learning as well as how one gives and receives healthy, positive touch through out one’s lifetime- as a child, adult, parent and so on. Children need touch and cannot survive without it. When children learn and experience healthy touch, it is both empowering and beneficial. Hans Axelson developed the Peaceful Touch program in Stockholm, Sweden over fifteen years ago, which integrates healthy touch into preschools and elementary classrooms. Axelson developed this program based on research which revealed that “nurturing touch for children elicits a similar response as breast-feeding does in babies, releasing oxytocin, the feel-good ‘cuddle hormone’, which promotes empathy, calmness and concentration.” Oxytocin also facilitates social interaction and cognition. After teachers have been trained in the Peaceful Touch program they are able to introduce touch to their students, and daily practice how to lovingly touch each other with awareness and respect. Many studies have shown that healthy touch decreases aggression and anxiety in young children, which is observed both at home with parents and siblings, as well as in the classroom with their teachers and peers. The Peaceful Touch revolution has inspired many similar programs to develop all over the world, and it has been adopted in most preschools in Sweden and parts of Europe. The Peaceful Touch program teaches children about boundaries and the importance of showing respect through their hands, which leads to less hostility and frustration, and invites a calm attentiveness. Children need to be touched and if they do not have positive, healthy touch in their lives they will replace it with more negative forms of touch. In an article titled ‘Reducing Aggression with Touch’, Frances Carlson states: “The need for touch is as valid a need as the need for food and water…When children are aggressive, other children will often return the aggressive touch. It may hurt, but it fills the role of skin-to-skin contact.” It is critical that children are given a choice about touch. Even with infants, their massage begins by asking permission by making eye contact and cooing sounds with the baby. Massage is not something that you do to someone, but with them. Frances Carlson later writes: “Any touch given a child should also be welcomed by the child. Children have a right to their own bodies and the privilege to accept or reject touch as each sees fit.” Throughout the massage children are encouraged to check in with themselves about what feels good or unpleasant, and are encouraged to communicate their experience. Babies are also communicating about which strokes they like or dislike, and it is a matter of his parent reading and hearing his non-verbal cues. Children in the Peaceful Touch program are learning to use their voice and be in control of their own bodies. In doing so, they are empowered and more in tune and aware of their bodies and boundaries. In a 2007 MTJ article written about Axelson, they say the results are clear: “Healthy touch helps foster attachment; decrease aggression, depression and anxiety; and helps children identify healthy touch so they are less vulnerable to abuse and less likely to be prematurely sexually active.” These results continue to benefit these children as they grow into adolescents and young adults and are discovering a wider independence and opportunity to make choices. Touch continues to improve the growing child’s communication among parents, friends and teachers. Adolescents sometimes have difficulty understanding and being understood, and touch has shown to be a healthy form of communication and path towards clarity. Studies have shown that teenagers who are aggressive, bulimic or who have attention deficit disorder greatly benefit from regular massage. Healthy touch helps balance the fluctuating emotions as well as calm and regulate unbalanced systems. Massage helps calm a busy mind and nourishes both body and emotions as a person grows and consciously attempts balance in light of life’s unpredictable ebb and flow. As women continue to evolve and surpass their childbearing years, they enter a new stage of life: menopause. I have heard that men also go through a kind of menopause as well, but for the sake of simplicity I will be writing about women. Moryt Milo writes in her article entitled: Massage Eases the Journey Through Menopause, that: “Women worldwide are turning to natural, healthy solutions for the physical changes and discomforts that accompany menopause. Massage relieves anxiety, irritability and fatigue; lessons the pain of headaches, cramps and tension; and helps women reconnect to their bodies and honor the profound changes they experience during this phase of their lives.” The power of touch never weakens or loses vitality as a means to naturally support and acknowledge change. One report stated that up to four thousand women a day enter menopause, and to counter the traditional western solution offering hormonal supplements, anti-depressants and sleeping pills, others are offering and requesting the primitive solution: touch. The greater a woman’s stress, the greater are her menopausal symptoms. Massage addresses a wide spectrum when it comes to relieving perimenopausal and postmenopausal symptoms, while certain pharmaceuticals address one or maybe two symptoms yet include a list of side effects. Touch facilitates relaxation and communication and has shown to help people achieve higher quality of rest and well being throughout the process of aging. In some cultures the elders are held in the highest esteem and shown deep respect, which is not the reality or tradition of our American culture. There is a lot of depression among our elders, which Tiffany Field relates to touch deprivation. In her book Touch, Field goes on to write about studies done with senior citizens, or as she calls them: volunteer ‘grandparents’. “They first massaged the infants for a month, and then received massages for a month… these grandparent volunteers benefited more from giving massages than from receiving the massages. Their emotional states and their self esteem improved, as did their lifestyle habits, including drinking fewer cups of coffee per day, making more social phone calls, and taking fewer trips to the doctor’s office.” Even senior citizens who have a small lap dog or cat to pet are less depressed due to the consistent touch that is mutually enjoyed. Field goes on to say that the volunteer grandparents felt more useful and valuable for being able to help and show love to abused infants. They are more valued and feel valuable when touch becomes apart of their lifestyle verses feeling unwanted and helpless. The benefits of touch are unending and continue to support life in all stages. The benefits at any one stage of life apply to the other stages, offering comfort and relief from tension and pain in body, mind and heart. No matter the situation, the stress and contentment, the change and transformation, the healing quality of touch will honor both giver and receiver and sustain a more loving and affectionate culture. What an honor and human right to touch and be touched. You may contact Julianna at References *Field, Tiffany: Touch *Heller, Sharon: The Vital Touch *Cutler, Nicole: How Massage Eases Menopausal Symptoms Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies July 2007 Article *Milo, Moryt: Massage Eases the Journey Through Menopause Massage Magazine 2001 *Carlson, Frances & Nelson, Bryan: Reducing Aggression with Touch Dimensions of Early Childhood Fall 2006 *Fall 2007 Massage Therapy Journal Article on Peaceful Touch |
Filed under: Graduate Testimonials
by Juliana Santillanes I moved back to Alaska soon after graduating from the Scherer Institute over two years ago with the Class of Adventure. I remember my first introduction to prenatal massage with Elizabeth Rose and feeling my heart being pulled. I became certified a year later in Bodywork for the Childbearing Year with Kate Jordan and began my focused study on pregnancy. Soon after that I began working at the Anchorage Women’s Clinic in one of the main hospitals in Alaska. The OBGYN clinic adopted the massage therapy program along with counseling services a couple of years ago to offer a more complete healthcare package to their patients. I have had the opportunity to further develop the massage therapy program, and in the last eight months the clinic supported me to pursue two more certifications: one in Pre and Perinatal Massage Therapy with Carol Osborne Sheets, and to become an Infant Massage Instructor through the Loving Touch Program. In addition to working with pregnant clients and teaching parents infant massage, my practice continues to expand to include a variety other patients of the clinic. These include teenagers, pre and postmenopausal women, women who suffer from depression and anxiety as well as the employees and medical staff of the clinic. My fellow Scherer graduate, Monica Garcia moved up to Alaska a year ago. She recently started doing massage at the South Central Foundation, a nonprofit out patient acute care clinic affiliated with the Alaska Native Medical Center. The South Central Foundation’s vision is a native community that enjoys emotional, physical, mental and spiritual wellness. With a team of acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists, Monica works exclusively with Native Alaskans and American Indians. Their goal is to provide high quality care, and to empower their patients to take responsibility for their own health by providing health education classes, and a wellness center that offers exercise programs, yoga and pilates to help meet the needs of the individual. We are both in rare positions to provide healing quality touch in medical settings, and our respective clinics support continuing education and provide full benefits. Scherer graduates have a unique opportunity to guide the direction of massage therapy in Alaska, and to offer healing quality of touch to a diverse and open culture. Even thousands of miles away, we continue to feel the love and support of Scherer, and recognize the unique quality of our education. Monica and I work with a diverse clientele of people who are new to touch, and we feel that Scherer gave us the skills and sensitivity to establish a connection and build trust. The immense beauty of the land, mountains and water feeds our inspiration and supports a healthy lifestyle. Massage therapy is in its early stages of development up here and could greatly benefit from the loving touch and leadership of Scherer Graduates. Anchorage is an international city and there are wonderful opportunities in many directions, including working in rural and urban environments. We hope to continue to strengthen the connection between the land of enchantment and the land of opportunity. |
Filed under: Programs and Course Offerings
From the Scherer Admin Desk
What’s new? Well let’s see…
There’s always something happening over here in Santa Fe!
One of our newest projects is the 300-hour Holistic Medical Massage Certification. The first 300-hour training began March 13 and ends August 23, 2010. This specialization trains individuals to work in a wider range of health care environments, especially in the assessment and treatment of specific injuries. Massage Therapy Certification students may now receive a 1000-hour dual-certification diploma with a specialization in Holistic Medical Massage. Practicing massage professionals may also take the training as a 300-hour certification, or even in smaller course increments if they choose.
We call this program Holistic Medical Massage: An Integrative Approach to Working with Pain. While the term “medical massage” is still being defined by the massage and medical professions, we hope to contribute to the formation of this growing area of study and practice. Our goal is to establish a paradigm of holism within the medical massage arena.
We have called upon the wisdom and training of many of our graduates and current instructors who have been out in the field working with specific injury and pain relief to help us formulate and teach these courses. So far, the response has been fabulous! From Orthopedic bodywork techniques to Integrated Neuromuscular Therapy, from SOAP Notes to Medical Billing, students are learning a full range of approaches to enhance their work.
In addition to gaining skills and understanding in specific techniques for working with pain and injury, we believe it is essential to honor and address the whole person, including their innate healing potential. If we only try to fix a symptom, we are no longer able to effectively bring the complementary, holistic component bodywork has to offer allopathic medicine. We believe this program can be part of a creative and effective dialogue between massage therapists and medical arts professionals.
Filed under: Life at Massage School
2009 Marked the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Scherer Institute of Natural Healing! 
Thanks to all of the students, graduates, and instructors who shared their stories of Dr. Scherer, shared their work during the Healing Arts Festival, and offered their wise input for the future of Scherer Institute. And of course, the great dance cannot be forgotten! Congratulations to everyone who has helped make this school the loving, creative, and inspiring place it is today.
Santa Fe School of Massage - formerly known as Scherer Institute of Natural Healing 