Working on clients, we sometimes encounter “sensori-motor amnesia”, a lack of body awareness that is sometimes funny, sometimes sad.
I was once massaging a man’s back and he asked me what I was working on. At the time I was trying to mobilize the soft tissues that had become chronically tense and were restricting the movement of his ribs.
I told him I was working on his ribs.
He said, “I didn’t know I had ribs in my back!”
I wondered what he thought was there!
The ribs in the back need to float up and down and slightly rotate as we breathe and move. Thus, in their movements, they actually act as levers which gently move our vertebrae. Our spine, as well as our back muscles, depend on movement for the health of the bones and discs.
The founder of Osteopathy, Andrew Taylor Still, said famously, “Movement is health.” The next time your back feels tense or painful move your mind to that place. With awareness then breathe and move. Soon you will feel better! As if awakening from a long sleep, your ribs and spine will rub their eyes, waking up to a healthier life!
Massage therapists can attest, the body often seems like an endless field of learning in which we wander, finding new things all the time. As we wake up to your wonder, so do you!