So many things!
dissection course, class openings, spreading the word, trauma-informed massage
As many of you know, I attended a very special un-embalmed human dissection course out in Colorado this past month with the well-known integral anatomist Gil Hedley. I applied to be a student of Gil’s earlier in the year and have been preparing the last several months for it. But really, there was no way to be fully prepared for all that I encountered and beheld during my 6 days in the lab with Gil, the 24 or so other students and staff there, and the 4 deceased (our “teachers” as we called them) who so generously gave their bodies for our learning. It was a deeply profound experience, as we carefully peeled back each layer of the body, one at a time, under Gil’s expert direction and leadership. This is the unique style of dissection that Gil Hedley is famous for—honoring each layer that makes up the human body by meticulously working to remove it from the next layer underneath it (which can be pain-staking! our layers are not separate and are in deep connection to one another!), taking our time to interact with that layer, learn from it, and reflect on it as we inevitably encountered our own layers as we encountered them in the donor bodies. It was not uncommon for one of us at the dissection table to begin to cry; there was simply so much to take in, including the awe-inducing intelligent design of the body as we witnessed its insistence on the continuance of LIFE via biological processes, anatomical adaptations, and compensation patterns. The body is literally a work-around machine, that keeps moving forward and surviving despite this and that. We took turns getting really emotional, and I couldn’t have asked for a better set of students to share the experience with at my table. When one of us was having a “moment”, the others would come alongside and support, joining them in their work and holding space for all the stuff. And also when one of us would make a discovery or have an “ah-hah” moment, everyone would gather round and join in the excitement and learning. Such a cool group!! My favorite type of people are those who will get curious and excited with me, and who aren’t afraid to feel their feelings along the way.
The entire trip was more than I could have ever asked for. Such an incredibly rich learning time that pushed me into new realms of growth and depth of embodiment. And after all that amazingness, I got to hike with my sister on my last day, who lives in Denver. It was all-in-all a trip made in heaven. 😌
Returning to reality, with a studio to run, clients to hold space for, and a family to take care of, I returned home on a red-eye flight with a feeling of immense gratitude. Even by revisiting those wonderful memories from just over a week ago by writing about it here, I find it hard to move on… and yet I must. That is the task of life, is it not? To hold our precious experiences close to our heart while also doing the stuff of life that must be done. ❤️ So onward we go…
Release & Refresh - openings for this Wednesday night!
We have 4 openings in Wednesday’s drop-in Release & Refresh class if you are interested to join us. (Depending on when you’re reading this, that’s either tomorrow night or tonight!) It takes place from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the studio; we provide double-thick yoga mats, blankets, props, and guidance; you just have to bring YOU!
These classes provide a reliable way of doing true “nervous system” work of becoming aware of how the body is expressing/holding a fight, flight, or freeze state on some issue in your life, and ushering you out of that and into more of a state of grounded presence, about that particular issue. The way that this is different than a lot of other things out there is that we’re not shying away from the issues that are bothering you or causing the fight/flight/freeze, distracting your thoughts and attention away from it so as to get you more grounded. Anyone can distract themselves from the issue in order to feel more at peace! People do this all the time, via food, watching TV, staying busy with other things, etc. It’s called dissociation. But the problem is right there where you left it, unchanged, and your body reaction to it (fight/flight/freeze) remains the same. In the Release & Refresh class, we work to actively create new neural pathways and build resilience in the nervous system by staying present to the issue causing the fight/flight/freeze while we access calm within it. Which means that the next time you visit the issue (or the issue visits you!), you find it doesn’t quite hold the same intensity that it used to, and that you have access to more presence, grounding, level-headedness, and clarity as you face it.
People get a lot of ah-hah moments during Release & Refresh classes… which is why we suggest bringing a notebook and pen, so you can jot down your newfound clarity to chew on more later. Clarity and perspective are the natural results of doing holistic, body-oriented nervous system work, where the body’s physical structures are stretched and opened up while also paying attention to what happens internally as you’re guided through specific neurosensory exercises. It can truly be game-changing for some who otherwise feel stuck in talk therapy or in their own healing efforts. You can read plenty of testimonials on the Release & Refresh page, if you want to hear of how it has gone for participants. We welcome you to join us!
By the way, we now offer these classes 3 times per month: one on a Wednesday night, one on a Friday night, and one on a Saturday morning.
Feel to Heal Program dates for early 2025 are set!
I'm excited to announce that the next round of my signature 8-week program, Feel to Heal, will take place January 15 to March 19, 2025. We'll meet 8 times within that period; see website for specific meeting dates/times. Teaching people how to be okay with their emotions, and how to process their emotions in a way that reduces body tension and that keeps the body from holding onto them and suffering under them—that is one of my most favorite things to do and definitely a highlight of each season for me!
If you are on my waitlist to become a 1:1 client for somatic healing work, or are hoping to work with me at all in the future, I can't recommend enough that you go through this program first, as it prepares people so well for the work and gets them engaging with their emotions and their body in a way that is ideal for deep healing. Many local mental health therapists send their clients to the program, as it accelerates the therapeutic process and infuses it with education and practice around what to do with big, difficult emotions that are overwhelming, or that they've been stuffing down or numbing out from. Here's what one client wrote after completing the most recent round of the program:
"I could write a whole email of how this class has changed my life. I’m not being dramatic either. You helped me break trauma cycles and see level-headed when I’m being gaslit and not step into that. This class has been so beneficial and I want to stand on rooftops and tell everyone to do it! Thank you Studio A for being such an amazing trauma-informed education source in Indy! Thank you so much for leaning in and sharing with the rest of us the powerful tools you know."
With the size of my studio, I can hold up to 14 people for the class. There's an early bird discount of 10% off, so be sure to head to the website soon to check it out if you're interested in possibly joining us!
Apparently one of my former Feel to Heal students has taken to graffiti, because look what Callie found spray-painted along a local walking trail…
That pretty much sums it up, folks! Wisdom from a can of spray paint.
Getting the Word Out
A big part of our work is to simply let people in our local communities know that we exist. Finding a trauma-informed massage therapist is not easy in the Midwest and in central Indiana! And so we want to make sure that folks know about us, so that even if they have been through something traumatic or overwhelming, or if they have personal limitations or certain boundaries that make it hard to go get a regular massage, we are here for them and can provide a different, safer kind of experience for them, one that invites and will happily accommodate those kinds of things.
So we’ve created flyers and have them available (see below), and are seeking to post them in allowable places around Hendricks County and west Indy. As you are out and about the community running your errands, eating out, going to the gym, etc. can you keep your eyes out for us if you see a board for community offerings where we could post one of our flyers? Thank you!
We also have a slightly different version of this flyer that is geared specifically for mental health therapists’ offices (see below), to be placed in the waiting room/lobby area for counseling clients to see and understand the value of adding trauma-informed massage to their therapy regimen. If you work in a mental health practice and see benefit in your clients receiving trauma-informed massage, let us know and we can drop one off or mail it to you.
As a small business that's looking to grow, it's crucial that we develop trust with folks considering taking part in one of our offerings—especially considering the field in which we work and the delicate, vulnerable places it hits within clients sometimes. To that end (of developing trust), we are actively seeking those who have benefited from our services to leave us a review on Google and/or Facebook, so that others who are considering our offerings can read the first-hand experiences of those who already have. (Our last Facebook review is from 2020… that’s embarrassingly old! Help!!) Would you pretty, pretty please take just a quick minute to click this link to our Google listing or our Facebook page to leave a review for us? We would be so appreciative!
Another way you can help us reach more folks is by following us on Facebook and Instagram! We've been having fun recently being creative on those platforms, and would love for our following to grow there so that more local people can know about us and understand what we do. Thanks!
Who’s a trauma-informed massage for?
While anyone (trauma or no trauma in their background) can come get a massage from Callie, her specific training and expertise is in providing accommodations to those who have experienced something traumatic, are highly-sensitive in nature, or experience anxiety. Here are some examples of where our trauma-informed massage services shine:
You were in a bad car accident a few weeks ago and there are lingering aches and pains from it, but you feel too guarded physically to go to a massage therapist, fearing they will be too rough and will make it feel worse or will damage areas that are still delicate and healing.
You experienced an incident of sexual assault, and since then you really don’t want certain areas of your body to be touched, but those happen to be areas where your previous massage therapist always worked, and you aren’t sure how to communicate how strongly you feel about her staying away from those areas and how triggering they are for you. Plus you’re afraid you’ll get flooded with memories of the incident if you are touched, even if in other areas.
You have lost an important person in your life and feel emotionally fragile, and the thought of getting a massage sounds amazing, but you’re afraid you’ll end up crying during the massage... and you really don’t feel in the mood to explain what’s wrong or to have a stranger attempt to make you feel better.
You’ve had massages in the past that have really hurt, or that were too light and fluffy and didn’t do anything… basically where the therapist wasn’t in tune with your body’s pressure limits and didn’t sufficiently invite your feedback during the session. You want an effective and therapeutic massage yet one that is also relaxing and doesn’t send you into a state of pain or anxiety because it’s so harsh, or a state of boredom and disappointment because it’s too light and a waste of your time and money.
You’re recovering from a back surgery (that’s a physical trauma to the body!—even if the surgery went well) and could greatly benefit from a massage to help with the muscle tension and soreness that comes from all the compensation patterns as you recover and regain function. But per doctor’s orders you aren’t allowed to lie flat yet, and you can’t imagine a massage establishment having a way that allows for you sit in just the right way for your recovering body and get a massage that way.
You’re in therapy, hitting deep topics that are emotionally painful, and you’re body is carrying so much tension. A massage sounds amazing, but only by someone who holds the depth of understanding and presence to just allow you to stay quiet and not chit-chat about things you don’t care about, and yet who WILL somehow connect with, hold space for, and add to your healing in a meaningful way with the work they do. Basically, someone who is really sensitive and attuned to what you’re going through and intuitively understands what you need (and don’t need) in light of that.
All of these examples (and many, many more!) we are prepared for and trained to accommodate. And we remove the burden and potential awkwardness of telling us what you’re walking in with by preemptively inviting it, with our intentional and well thought-out questions, and with our attuned, inviting presence that seeks to meet you where you’re at, during intake and throughout the whole session. And, to add even more understanding to this topic, I asked Callie to contribute a piece to this newsletter, and I love what she wrote…
A word from Callie
“What does trauma-informed massage mean?”
Over the past two months as I’ve been settling in Brownsburg, I have had the privilege to meet many new people. As introductions are made, the conversation almost always comes to, “And what do you do for work?” or “What brought you to Brownsburg?” I explain that I am a massage therapist, offering trauma-informed massage therapy at Studio A Body Therapy. The question that follows is usually, “What does trauma-informed massage mean?”
I love getting the opportunity to educate people on what we do at Studio A, and explaining how our trauma-informed approach sets Studio A apart.
So what does trauma-informed mean? I want to share how being trauma-informed plays out in a massage session, starting with a quote from a program I completed, the Professional Development Certificate in Trauma-Informed Care through Indiana University.
“Trauma-informed care is an effort to re-establish human dignity and healing from adversity through 5 principles: choice, collaboration, empowerment, safety and trustworthiness.”
When someone has experienced trauma, these five things are often destroyed or prevented from developing. They are robbed of their own choice and voice, they are “done to”, they are made to feel small and vulnerable, they often feel unsafe or threatened and trust has been broken or betrayed.
When a client walks through my doors at Studio A, it is my goal to create an environment that fosters the 5 principles of trauma-informed care. What might this look like throughout the session?
Choice. While some might not have strong opinions about the following questions, it is my desire to create an environment where it feels comfortable for clients to express their needs and preferences, rather than hold them in because they were never asked. I will not bombard them with questions, but I do recognize that trauma sometimes leaves people with certain limitations, so I want to open the door for communication by inviting them to share if they do have needs I can accommodate. Depending on the person and the situation, this might sound like:
“Do you prefer to start face-up or face-down?”
“Are there any areas of your body you would like me to avoid?”
I ask clients to undress to the level of their comfort, which could mean completely disrobing (they’ll always be covered by a blanket), leaving undergarments on, or leaving on any articles of clothing they feel most comfortable in.
“What kind of pressure do you prefer?” and then during the massage in a particular area: “Would you like any more or less pressure here?”
“Would you like the bolster under your knees?”
“How is the temperature of the table?”
Collaboration. Each session starts with a brief intake interview to make sure we are on the same page prior to getting on the table. There is a natural power differential between massage therapist and client, and I want to close that gap as much as possible. Trauma can leave people feeling vulnerable, “done to”, or like a victim, so I want to empower them to take the reins of their experience by collaborating and voicing how they want the session to go. This might involve questions/discussion such as:
What are your goals for today’s session?
How is your body feeling today?
How would you feel about me incorporating ______ into today’s session to help address that issue?
How would you like to spend our time today?
Empowerment. Each client is the expert of their own body, I am just here to help facilitate relaxation and relief of tension. When trauma happens, people often feel small and vulnerable, like they have no voice. Every voice matters at Studio A, and I want to empower clients to use their voice throughout the session. They are free to speak up at any point and even to change their mind throughout the session if needed. So again, depending on the person and the situation, this might sound like:
Do you have any questions for me before we get started?
Is there anything you are nervous about coming in?
Throughout today’s session, if there is anything that feels uncomfortable, painful, or you simply just do not like it, you have the power to speak up and I will adjust accordingly. I will check in occasionally, but you do not need to wait for me to do so if you need to communicate something with me.
I will provide any education I feel is helpful to empower your healing journey when at home.
Safety. When people have experienced trauma, they often get stuck operating in a fight/flight/freeze state. Their perspective of the world is shattered, and they feel unsafe and threatened, sometimes even when there is no current danger present. At Studio A, we do everything in our power to create a welcoming and safe environment, so clients feel comfortable in the space. This might involve me communicating things like:
You will be covered at all times, only exposing the area of the body that is currently being worked.
This is not a “no pain, no gain” type of massage. We do not want to put your nervous system in a stress response from pain.
I will only use the amount of pressure you feel is best for your body, while being mindful that we do not want to cross your pain threshold.
Trustworthiness. Trust takes time to build, especially when trauma has led to broken or betrayed trust in the past. As a massage therapist, I have to build trust fast, as someone goes from meeting me at the door, to on the table (potentially unclothed) within 5-10 minutes. My trauma-informed training has taught me that healthy relationships, grounded in safety and trust, are a critical part of the healing process. I hope to aid in the healing process by being a trustworthy practitioner.
I will implement the plan we agreed upon in the intake interview.
I will greet you with warmth, compassion and professionalism.
I will maintain client confidentiality.
I will only work within my scope of practice, and will refer out as appropriate.
I will check in at the end of the session to see how you are feeling, and make note of anything you liked/did not like for future sessions.
I hope this gives you a picture of how a trauma-informed massage looks different than other massages you may have received. If you would like to experience a trauma-informed massage, or know someone who could benefit from one, I am still building my clientele and would love to work together. And if you are not in the Brownsburg area, where it is feasible to come to Studio A, or if you already have a massage therapist, know that it is within your right and power to advocate for these things within your massage session, even if it is not openly invited as such.
Hopefully now you know what “trauma-informed massage” means! 😊
Thank you!
Thank you for your support of our studio and our mission to make trauma-informed, body-oriented work accessible to everyone in central Indiana! And THANKS for making it this far in this crazy-long email! You should seriously get an award of some kind!!
Warmly,
Allie for the team