Help with Organ Techniques

[Shelby J]

For those of you who work with the organs, do you have any tips for feeling confident in your connection to the organ as you work?

Many of you know that I specialize in Lymph Drainage Therapy. Much of the advanced LDT training focuses on drainage for the organs. While I'm very confident working with lymphatic flow of the skin, muscles, eyes, ears -- anything on the surface of the body, I'm less confident working with the organs that are under the ribcage. Sometimes I feel a strong connection with the organ & can feel the release. Other times, I'm flying blind & just hoping something beneficial is happening.

Does anyone have any tips to share, to help with that connection?

 

[C.A.S.]

Help with Organ Techniques

For those of you who work with the organs, do you have any tips for feeling confident in your connection to the organ as you work?

Many of you know that I specialize in Lymph Drainage Therapy. Much of the advanced LDT training focuses on drainage for the organs. While I'm very confident working with lymphatic flow of the skin, muscles, eyes, ears -- anything on the surface of the body, I'm less confident working with the organs that are under the ribcage. Sometimes I feel a strong connection with the organ & can feel the release. Other times, I'm flying blind & just hoping something beneficial is happening.

Does anyone have any tips to share, to help with that connection?

Part of my Oncology Massage training is learning acupressure. Most of the time, I also feel a strong connection to the points, but there are times when I don't. My teacher says that whether or not you "feel" anything, just continue to practice and follow your teacher's instructions regarding location etc, trust in it, and eventually you will feel more and more confident.

 

[parade of jills]

Hi Cy,

Thanks for your reply! I grew in confidence with the other lymphatic techniques through practice, so I'm hoping that will develop with the organ techniques as well. I'm also consciously focusing my intention on each organ & trying to silently communicate with the body, and that does seem to help, but the certainty is lacking.

Does anyone else have advice to add? I'm not just asking people who specialize in lymphatic organ work. I'm open to advice from anyone who works with the organs within their bodywork specialties. Thanks in advance!

 

[invader zim luver]

Pray for guidance and trust that it is there.

 

[The Mrs]

I am quite certain I don't have anything helpful to add (I don't work with organs), but I was wondering about some points that you made.

I'm also consciously focusing my intention on each organ & trying to silently communicate with the body, and that does seem to help, but the certainty is lacking.

What are you trying to communicate? Also, did they teach you that you would physically feel the flow in the organ and the release or was it more of ethereal feeling/concept of connecting with the organ?

I'm less confident working with the organs that are under the ribcage. Sometimes I feel a strong connection with the organ & can feel the release.

What does the connection feel like when you do feel it? And what does the release feel like? Do you ever feel connected but don't feel a release?

 

[go4gin1994]

Find an experienced Shiatsu practitioner who does Hara Diagnosis. They can guide you on what you are feeling, and which it relates to.

Darren

 

[lina]

I'm also consciously focusing my intention on each organ & trying to silently communicate with the body, and that does seem to help, but the certainty is lacking.

What are you trying to communicate? Also, did they teach you that you would physically feel the flow in the organ and the release or was it more of ethereal feeling/concept of connecting with the organ?

I'm less confident working with the organs that are under the ribcage. Sometimes I feel a strong connection with the organ & can feel the release.

What does the connection feel like when you do feel it? And what does the release feel like? Do you ever feel connected but don't feel a release?

Hi Tribute,

Thanks for your questions. They made me realize how difficult this work is to verbalize, which makes it difficult for people to give me advice as well. But I will try to answer your questions. Regarding "communicating with the body": If I'm working on the liver, I will talk to the liver silently. I will actually say hello (in my head) & request permission to connect & explain to the liver the goal of my work. Then, I listen for the liver to respond. This was recommended in class, to help establish the connection, and it does seem to help. They also recommended taking a deep breath & softening the posture. The theory is that a practitioner who is tense & trying too hard won't be able to make the connection. It's something you need to relax into & simply allow to take place.

Regarding how it feels to connect with the organ & feel it release, it's both a physical sensation & an energetic one. It's subtle, like all lymphatic work. But when I really feel the connection, I actually feel the organ pull me in & I also feel the release of lymph from the pathways which surround the organ. Sometimes, with the liver for example, I can even hear the release (it's a quiet gurgle, like a tiny babbling brook flowing in the center of the body). Usually, if I feel the connection, the release follows. If I feel challenged, it's with feeling the connection in the first place.

As a client, I have received organ work from a variety of people: lymph therapists, visceral manipulation therapists, shiatsu practitioners, etc. Sometimes I can feel that they are connected with my organs, and other times I feel nothing. (Similar to my experience as a practitioner). However, when we were learning these techniques in class, and one of my fellow students was practicing on me & trying to connect, I felt an energetic shift when they finally achieved the connection. I felt a peaceful calm pass through me, like my organ was being cradled in their hands. Similarly, I have had some clients tell me how surprisingly comforting it is for them to receive organ work from me.

I will continue to follow the advice of my teachers, and trust that the feeling of connection will become more consistent. After all, a few years ago I was always "flying blind" with organ work. Now, I feel the connection/release often; I just want to be able to feel it always! (Yes, I hear the childlike impatience in that last statement. )

 

[renaisance festival]

Thanks so much for that detailed reply!

Although I don't work with organs the way you do, I am familiar with the way you approach that work. I wonder when you don't feel the connection if perhaps the client's mind is wandering, racing, or otherwise "disassociated" with the present moment. Many times I find when I can't connect it is because the client still has a guard up and usually when I ask them if they are have stuff on their mind, they do. Other times I find it is my own ego. I wonder if when you communicate your hello and intention with the organ, but you still don't feel a connection, have you ever just kind of sat back and "been" in its presence? Not ask anything of it, not tell it what you are planning....just sit with it and see if it opens up to you or perhaps it has a message of its own? So often when I stop putting myself out there and just be with the tissue, observe it, in a humble way, a course of action presents itself.

I hope that helps. The subtle work is always so interesting!

 

[Pompal 09.]

Then, I listen for the liver to respond. This was recommended in class, to help establish the connection, and it does seem to help. They also recommended taking a deep breath & softening the posture. The theory is that a practitioner who is tense & trying too hard won't be able to make the connection. It's something you need to relax into & simply allow to take place.

Oh, I realize that you probably already understand the "being" part since I just reread this and it sounds like you practice this to a certain extent.

 

[enveem]

Hello Bliss,

I just want to elaborate a bit on something you said. You mentioned that you were instructed to soften your posture. I agree that starting from a place of being relaxed yourself is very helpful, since that is what you will convey kinesthetically to your client. However, keep in mind that your posture and alignment need to be relaxed but centered, keeping your spine long. If you collapse your posture for the sake of relaxation, you will be compressing your own inner organs, and that sensation of compression will also be conveyed to your client.

This brings me to another suggestion. In working with a specific organ (say the liver) in order to find a strong connection to the organ in question, is helpful to start by having a clear sense of connection to the sensation of your own inner organ. How do you perceive your own liver? How do you establish a connection with your own inner tissues? How is it different for you the energetic quality of your liver or your kidneys? Can you allow your inner organs to settle in the abdominal cavity? Can you sense the ways in which you accumulate tension in one organ or another, and can you allow that tension to release?

I suggest this inquiries (I am sure you can find your own questions) as a way to start developing a relationship with your own inner organs. It can be very difficult to try to sense a connection with someone else's organs if I have not found that connection within my own organism.

BodyMind Centering, the work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, has some very interesting ideas about working with the organs. She talks about the supportive function of the organs and how to activate it; she has specific strategies to repattern movement through the organ system; and she speaks of different qualities of the "mind" of each organ. You can check their website http://www.bodymindcentering.com, for information of classes and practitioners near your area. There is also a book that is an introduction to BMC, called "Wisdom of the Body Moving" by Linda Hartley.

I also agree with the suggestion to "listen." Find a relaxed and centered alignment, find your breath and your connection to your own inner tissues. Let your hands slide under the body of your client and "hold" the organ, as if you were holding a ballon full of water. Visualize clearly the organ in yourself and your client. And think of your hands as if they are sinking under the table. Make sure you are not "leaning" over your client, but sit back a bit, allow space. Let the dialogue with the inner organs come not from your head, from the sensations in your own body.

I hope this helps.

Jaime

 

[familyguy]

Movetoheal, thank you for the reminder on spinal alignment. That was an omission in my post, but I did mean relaxed & aligned posture. I strive to keep my body mechanics positive at all times. I like your ideas for connecting with my own organs, and see that as a great opportunity for practice at home. However, for me personally, I wouldn't necessarily want to tune in to my organs & my client's organs simultaneously. Energetically, that feels like a blurred boundary to me. I do like your suggestion to "allow space" and also Tribute's suggestion to "simply be in the organ's presence." That's the difference between allowing a release to happen & trying to make it happen, the first being much more effective.

Thanks to everyone who has posted. It's given me much to consider, and some ideas to try.