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Original Source: www.movie-asia.com |
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everal
years ago, I became a big fan of the Zatoichi
series (film and TV) starring Shintaro Katsu. The lead character, Zatoichi, is
a blind masseur with close connections to the Yakuza. He’s also quite the
gambler. He can tell how the dice are rolling just by the sound, and he certainly
knows when the house is cheating. He can literally “see” all around him. Why? He’s
a master swordsman. He uses Zanshin
and Mushin, two states of mind
integral to combat field awareness.
As
a movie character, he’s fully fleshed out: he has a criminal past; he laughs;
he gets angry, sometimes severely so; in life, he’s made numerous mistakes; he
feels alone; he’s loved; he’s abandoned and in turn has been abandoned; he’s faced
death countless times and has experienced others helplessly dying; he gambles, gets
drunk, sings and dances. And then he walks off into the sunset.
I
enjoy watching him give a massage. It’s hearty and full of spice, and when he
massages evil criminals, it’s as though he’s working out on a heavy bag.
My
style of amateur massage (I’m not a message therapist) is the opposite. To me,
any type of massage contains both a physical and emotional component. I believe
that the physical touch refers back to childhood. Children, hurt or sick, expect
a nurturing hug, something that doesn’t rattle the psyche. Whenever I massage,
I first try for the gentlest of touch, both exploratory and soothing, then, when
I feel that the moment is right, I use elements of chi to soothe and nurture.
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Source: www.massageandyou.com |
As
usual, drop your own ego. Listen and feel. The hand you pick up in your hand
has a history. You can discover it immediately by its weight. It may feel heavy
with burden, scarred within (despite there being no external signs), stiff with
pain, swollen, dry, moist… Her hand tells a story.
Hold
her hand in your hand, providing her with instant support. Your supporting hand
does not judge; it allows her hand to pillow down no matter what she’s done or
how she feels about herself. Your supporting hand is the non-judgmental parent, her hand is the child come home no matter what. (In Tai Chi, this is
the hand that yields subtly to the pressure of a bird taking off from the
centre of the palm).
Pass
your hand gently over the back of her hand. Use your martial arts breathing.
Your breath, your mind and the hand become one. Do this until you feel the hand
relax more deeply. Then explore the divide between the bones on the back of her
hand (the metacarpals), first with the thumb, then with the index finger, and
eventually with two or three finger tips.
Create
warmth, not heat. There’s a difference. Gentle warmth dissipates the harsh
impact of life – the swelling of arthritis, the brittleness of age, the
hollowness of depression. Rough heat is a stressor. It throws gasoline on the
flames.
When
the hand is totally relaxed, open and feeding on the nurturing sensation your
hand provides, turn the hand over. With your thumb, massage the palm, deeper
and deeper as you go on.
Finally,
work on the thumb and fingers. Place each inside the nurturing embrace of your
thumb and index finger, and massage gently up and down many times, then very
gently pull each digit three or four times from the base to the tip.
For
the recipient, the effect of this type of massage is heavenly; for you, the
massage is a chance to practise a deep martial arts state of mind.
For
more about Zatoichi visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatoichi
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