Bodywork Series: Water Element

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In learning the 5-elements, massage therapists have a wonderful opportunity to recognize signs and symptoms that an element is out of balance, and use a combination of massage techniques, acupressure, and energy work to assist re-balancing this element – all during a 1 hour massage.

Let’s look at the Water Element being out of balance and some things we might see in clinical experience.

Physically we may see:

Low back pain, knee pain, broken – brittle or weak bones like osteoporosis, or the person appears much older than their stated age.

There might be dark circles under the eyes or hair that is thinning.

They may use language that refers to feeling drained, exhausted, or overwhelmed – my energy level feels so low compared to what it used to be.

The person might feel cold and ask for a space heater or extra blanket.

Symptoms might include anxiety, any chronic illness that has been present for more than 1 year, cloudy or foggy thinking, some forms of infertility, hormone imbalances, feeling a lack or loss of purpose in life.  There can also be any physical issues with the fluids of the body – lymph, too much fluid like edema or too little showing as dryness, blood – which is about 83% water, saliva, tears, and urine.  There can also be any physical issues with the organs of the Kidneys or Bladder.

Using the actual words “in fear of”, “scared of or scared to”, “I’m afraid that…”, “I can’t do that”, “I would, BUT” and other things on this line.  It’s very interesting how our language and the words we spontaneously choose pick up our energetic health.

There can be various forms of subtle fear, such as: no self-confidence, staying in an unhealthy job or relationship, not following dreams or passions, an unusual fear of death – for the self or others.

Mentally a person might say they feel a lack of creativity such as writer’s block, an artist that can’t come up with an idea, or someone who doesn’t see any options to a situation.  Or there can be a lack of motivation to do things or complete projects that are started, leaving a pile of unfinished business.

So these are some of the basic and common things a massage therapist would likely come across.  And luckily, a massage that addresses the Water Element can have immediate benefit for some of these things.  Regular massage that continues to work with the Water Element can even have very deep and long lasting effects.

In modifying a massage to address an Element there are 3 main things to consider:

First - What specific techniques can be used?

Second - What meridians and acupoints can be stimulated?

Third - What can I bring into my own energy field to change the current vibration into a vibration that will carry a healing tone for this person?  (This is a fascinating aspect of bodywork.  Our science can show that during a healing session, the heart waves of the healer – massage therapist in this case – can be found in the recipient for a period of time after the healing session has ended.  This is profound information.  For more on this topic you can look into the HeartMath Institute which puts out incredible research in this area.)

To answer #1, What specific techniques can be used?  2 ideas I would consider are that water likes flow and fluidity.  We can make our massage strokes very graceful and flowing.  Next, round rubbing the lower back through the sheet, to warm that area which brings Qi and Blood to nourish the kidneys right where they are located.  An advanced Oriental medicine therapist may choose to do some Moxa if appropriate, or use an essential oil blend that addresses the specific symptoms.  A few of my favorite basic essential oils for the Water Element are Ginger, Fennel, and Juniper Berry – then Frankincense if anxiety is a symptom.

To answer #2: What meridians and acupoints can be stimulated?  On the front of the body we can very easily stimulate the Kidney meridian in the lower legs during effleurage strokes.  We can choose several strong acupoints to stimulate, such as Kidney 1 , Yong Quan and  KI-3 Tai Xi.

On the back of the body, we can stimulate the Bladder meridian in both the back and legs, and use the Kidney Shu points.

To answer #3: What can I bring into my own energy field to change the current vibration into a healing tone for this person?

For this, we need to look at the emotion of fear and how to embody the opposite of this.  Can we imagine someone we would call fearless?  What kind of characteristics does this person have?

They stand strong and tall, look you in the eye and smile, there’s a deep sense of confidence, they know that no matter what the situation they will act to do something – even if they don’t know exactly what that something is – they are creative and have a million options, they are at ease with life and allow life to have a spontaneous flow, they feel ALIVE – like they’re in the Zone.

So this aspect can take some practice – which is where meditation, QiGong, and Medical QiGong practices can really help a lot.  But we can still start somewhere, such as internally saying a mantra like “I am strong” “I am confident” “I have so much flow in my life”….. and then feel these things as we say them.  You might find that if you really get into a kind of groove while thinking these and doing the massage at the same time, you experience an energetic connection and strength that is powerful and healing.

Betsy's Case Study

Summary

My client was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in September 1996 at the age of 35 and had no prior symptoms before this time.  She had to have a lumber puncture/spinal tap to rule out a brain tumor.  The puncture didn’t seal correctly and spinal fluid began to leak.  This situation put her in the hospital for a longer stay and when she left the hospital, she was no longer mobile and resided in a wheel chair for 3 months.  Through extensive therapy she was able to walk unassisted in the Spring of 1997 and in the Fall went back to work.

In 2001, she began receiving Acupuncture (5 Elements) and has had over 250 treatments to date. In 2004, she decided to stop all Western Medicine drugs and have had no further MRIs. Since that time, she feels that her health gotten better and the number of MS relapses have definitely decreased.  She now sees a general physician specializing in alternative medicine, a chiropractor, and receives massage once a month.

When my client heard that I was doing a case study,  she asked if she could be the person.  She was interested in receiving massage more often to see what may happen

with her health. 

Her Qi on left side normal, strong, easy flow.

Her Qi on right side heavy, right hip joint achy, right leg feels heavy.

Treatment Plan

Massage weekly

Essential Oil Blend with Spinal application 5 days/weekly: Base - Sweet Almond-Hemp Oil.  In addition to the base, 4 oils are mixed -  Neem, Spikenard, Cardamon, Peppermint and Frankincense

Focus - Qi flow from spine out to shoulders, down arms and legs.

  Qi flow from spine, down back to hips and down legs.

Implement Liver, Kidney, Spleen, Stomach, Gall Bladder and Bladder Meridian Patterns on the legs, focusing emphasis on Kidney and Stomach Meridians.

Effects of Massage

The first two weeks massage was given two times per week but it was to taxing on the client’s body because of the Multiple Sclerosis.  Client enjoyed have the massage twice a week for muscle tension and relaxation but weekly seemed to be better to keep the Qi in balance.

Client’s body responded well to the essential oil blend.   When the essential oil blend was first applied, she felt tingling down her spine.  The blend was applied regularly  over the next two months. Application wasn’t as regular the next few months due to her work/travel schedule.

When receiving massage weekly, the client mentioned that her core felt stronger, her chest area felt more open and in general, her health was better.  As the client was traveling out of state with her job often, she was only able to receive massage monthly.  At this time her right leg was noticeably more swollen and the Qi had difficultly moving.  The client is back to receiving massage once a week and her body is responding positively.    

TuiNa Chinese Medical Massage Course

Meridians and Massage: A Match Made in Heaven

Being a massage student here at the Oriental Healing Arts Center has been a life-changing experience. Before starting school 9 months ago, when I was originally thinking about becoming a massage therapist, I had looked into OHAC having no prior knowledge of Oriental Medicine (also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine; TCM). In the past, I’ve received massages and also acupuncture but I couldn’t see how knowledge of TCM and massage would meld together. When I thought of massage, I thought of sports massage or deep tissue; but acupressure massage never came to mind. So I decided to do a little research on my own to see how TCM and massage would fit together.

The more I learned about TCM, QiGong, and Tai Chi from the books I was reading, the more I wanted to learn. My thoughts of “How could TCM and massage go together?” turned into “How could they not go together!” I quickly finalized my massage student application with OHAC and dove into the learning experience of a lifetime!

Learning about the Theory of Oriental Medicine and Meridians and Points has taught me an entirely different way of looking at the human body. Before, I always thought of the body comprised mostly of bones, muscles, and organs and while that is still the case, I now see an underlying current of energy highways transversing the lengths of the body. Symptoms of disease (or disharmonies in the body) are no longer just individual organ issues. To me, they are now keys into the inner workings of the body and instead of a something negative, I see them as a calling from the body to bring itself back into balance. A symptom doesn’t have to be a bad thing, it can be viewed as your body communicating with you that something is off and you need to take care of yourself.

Knowing the meridians throughout the body, along with what’s currently ailing a person, changes each and every massage to be specifically tailored to the client’s needs. If a person comes in complaining of certain ‘symptoms’, I’m able to deduce that it sounds like their Spleen may have a bit of a disharmony and during a 1 hour full-body massage, once I got to the lower leg portion, I would focus on stimulating Spleen meridian points to bring energy and flow to that meridian, which would then help create more harmony for the interior Spleen organ… and when there’s heath and harmony within the body, life becomes more enjoyable!

Before attending school here, I thought massage was something you received when you had a sore muscle from shoveling too much snow. Now I have learned that, while massage is excellent for sore shoveling muscles, it’s also amazing for helping heal anything a person may be going through. The body isn’t just bones, muscles, and organs. The body is an intricate part of a healthy mind and soul also. Having a healthy body begins with having a harmonious interior state for happy organs and a healthy, harmonious place for your soul to live. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupressure are tools that help create a pleasant atmosphere within your body so that your soul can thrive!

The Secret

Life has many different secrets that human beings still have to discover. Meridians and their points are one of these secrets. Personally, it made medicine make a lot more sense to me. I have a better understanding of how the body works now that I have learned about meridians and their paths. Meridians are like a map of your body with secret treasure points. Each point corresponds to different organs, which effects your body in different ways.

Everyone wants to be healed from their sickness. It doesn't matter how significant the sickness is, everyone wants to be free of it. It's human nature to want to be healed or want someone else to be healed like a family member or close friend. Meridians are the new hype these days because its a secret map of where your body needs help healing. If one of your meridians are deficient then it's a possibility that maybe the meridian organ its connected to is deficient as well. For instance, if your GB21 (Gallbladder) feels tight and knotted, then it may make your neck or shoulder stiff.

If someone feels dizzy, cold, or has a shortness of breath then they could look up which meridian corresponds to those symptoms. After you have found which meridians help the symptoms then you could massage those points and the symptoms would most likely disappear. This new kind of thinking has really opened my eyes. It's been around for centuries and I had never heard of it before.

I am almost out of massage therapy school and I am glad that they taught us about meridians and their points. This is information that I will use for the rest of my life because it makes sense that your whole body is connected. So, if a certain organ isn't up to par it would definitely have an effect on other areas of the body. Something about disease made a lot more sense and gave me hope for the future. Learning about meridians was another puzzle piece to my big picture of life.

How To Do an Energetic Reading for Oriental Bodywork

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This is the type of bodywork I teach in the Oriental medicine portion of our massage program. First we turn symptoms into an energetic picture. Then we decide how to balance the energy in the form of acupoints, meridians and Qi by using Qigong, massage, acupressure, and various tonifying or sedating techniques. We modify all of this into an incredible 1-hour healing massage – specially tailored to our individual client.
It is my goal to make sure that the clients I work with – and those that my students work with - feel incredibly nurtured, cared for, and supported by this type of bodywork. My students are wonderful souls that grow and spread this beautiful art – they learn so much and never cease to inspire me!


Example 1: Client presents with a headache, wants massage which usually helps it go away.

This is an example of my thought process:
Q: Where is the headache?
A: (points to left side of head, occipital area)
My note: Gall Bladder-20 (Feng Chi) is blocked.

Q: Does the pain radiate down your back or up into the head?
A: Up into the side of my head.
My note: Gall Bladder meridian is too full on that side. Excess Liver Qi rises up and affects the left side more strongly. I need to clear the Gall Bladder Meridian and open the Liver Shu Points on the back.


Q: How often do you get headaches like this?
A: Almost once a week. It’s been this way for probably 5 years – just work related stress, you know.
My note: Chronic Liver Qi stagnation from a frustrating job. I expect the Earth meridians (Stomach and Spleen) to be deficient, probably damp. Need to tonify Earth in the lower legs – will use the combination of Spleen-6 (San Yin Jiao) and Stomach 36 (Zu San Li).


This is enough information for me to start the massage. I’ll know more when I actually put my hands on the person and can feel what is going on.


Additional notes:
Lots of stagnation (knots) in the upper traps and levator scapulae – most noticeable energy blockage at Governing Vessel-14 (Da Zhui). This means to me that there is an obstruction of Yang energy. Sometimes in a female, this can mean that at some earlier point in life a man did something traumatic (physically, emotionally, or spiritually) to her. Forgiveness in some form is necessary – possibly forgiveness of the self first, and forgiveness of the spirit-being of the offender. Sometimes in a male, this can mean that there is a frustration and unfulfillment in the Yang energy – for example, feeling as if desired bold adventure that makes you feel alive is gone forever due to present circumstances. Some kind of outlet for bold yang is necessary – a martial arts class would be great. Of course, it could also be something totally different and very unique to the individual. (It is not my place to resolve the issues of forgiveness or unfulfillment that I have noted – I only note them as a reference point. It would be my intention to release the blocked energy and allow a natural flow of events to unfold from that – giving the client complete control over the experience and their own resolution or denial of the energy.)

As I am massaging the arms I feel an energetic tingling in my Lung and Large Intestine meridian. This is telling me that I need to address the Metal energy in the client. I add a Tui Na pain path using the acupoints: Large Intestine 11, 10, 9, and 4.

In the legs, as I suspected, the Spleen meridian feels deficient and empty. I hold Spleen-6 and Stomach-36 together while emitting Qi until I can feel an energetic pulse take form.

At the end of the massage, after opening the Liver Shu points and dispersing the accumulation at Da Zhui the headache is fully released, client leaves very happy.

Example 2: Client presents with anxiety attacks, receives regular massage because it helps.

In this case I will elaborate on the 2 main circumstances I noted and what they meant to me. Note that this is highly specific and individual circumstances may vary. This case study is for example only.

First, I always place my hands on a person’s abdomen to feel where in their body their breath goes – or doesn’t go. This is extremely valuable information and can influence an amazing number of health symptoms.

When I placed my hands on the client’s abdomen, their breathing dramatically changed. It went from being full and deep – very relaxed and almost asleep – to silent – superficial – completely still. This is a very alert and protective breath – fear related – has the feel of being intensely worried on a deep level. Hmmmm………Very interesting. When I release my hands and begin massaging their legs, their breath goes back to full and deep. The client seems completely unaware of what just happened.

On their back, the Spleen Shu Acupoints were stagnated to the size of golf balls. This is a huge blockage of Earth energy – energy of the Center.

When the Center is blocked, the kidneys and heart cannot communicate. On their own, the kidneys resonate with fear. When they communicate (are energetically connected) with the heart, everything is OK – the warmth and strength of the heart keeps the fear balanced. On the other side, the heart needs a strong anchor (kidneys) or it is so yang it floats away and you see things like heart palpitations and disturbed racing thought patterns. You get doom in the kidneys mixed with an out-of-control heart = anxiety.

The blockage of Earth is cutting off the communication between the heart and the kidneys. Whatever this is needs to be addressed first – then we’ll see if the line of communication realigns on its own or if it needs to be repaired. Both are do-able.

So what is it? Specifically I don’t know yet – but it will show itself when it’s ready to be resolved. On a more generic level I know that Earth has to do with how we feel about ourselves, our home, the people we live with, the geographical area where we live, our work, our relationships (on all levels), our relationship with the Earth – and especially the nutrition that Earth provides in the form of food, and even our relationship to the universe and our sense of purpose.

Further bodywork will involve a very nurturing touch, working to gently disperse the Earth stagnation, and ensuring that the heart and kidneys are communicating again. The details of how to do this are part of the “art” of healing bodywork and will vary from therapist to therapist. We might all use the paint of Oriental medicine, but we all paint with a slightly different style, and we can all create our own beautiful painting!

Cynthia McMullen, LMT, is a Master Massage Therapist at The Oriental Healing Arts Center, and is the Oriental Bodywork course instructor for our 800 Hour Massage Therapy Program.  She has been doing this type of energetic bodywork since 1999.