David Lauterstein
Massage Therapy: Growing New Arms
The other day I working on a woman who has chronic complaints in her extremities. As I worked, I had a deeper insight into the origins of her pain, tension and discomfort. A Case Study: The Servers Some people are raised to do for others. Their own independent self-expression and the meeting of their own…
Read MoreAnatomy Review: Massage for the Scalenes
The scalenes are actually the uppermost of the intercostals muscles, those muscles lying between your ribs that assist inhalation and exhalation. However, big surprise, there are no ribs in the neck! Actually a number of books say the scalenes attach to the vestigial ribs of the cervical vertebrae. That is, little buds appear on the…
Read MoreThe Calling of Massage Therapy
There are those people who are drawn to play music, and they can not go a day or two without wanting to pick up the guitar. There are those who love writing. Finding words for their experiences gives their lives an essential, deeper meaning. Similarly there are those who are drawn to touch. Touch is…
Read MoreMassage and the Nervous System: Part Three
Part three of Massage and the Nervous System. (See parts two and one.) As massage therapists we know how to get our hands on muscles and connective tissues. But now we see somehow we have to get our hands on the nervous system because otherwise it’s a bit like flipping light switches with no electricity – some action…
Read MoreIn Memoriam
One of our most wonderful graduates, Rasa Sittler, passed away on December 28, 2009. Rasa Sittler was born in Germany and emigrated with her family to the U.S. as a young girl. She studied theater in Germany and later in New York. She performed internationally with the Munich Bach Choir and with the Players Workshop…
Read MoreMassage and The Nervous System: Part Two
Part two of Massage and the Nervous System. (See part one.) As massage therapists we know how to get our hands on muscles and connective tissues. But now we see somehow we have to get our hands on the nervous system because otherwise it’s a bit like flipping light switches with no electricity – some action…
Read MoreMassage and the Nervous System: Part One
This is the first part of a three-part series on Massage and the Nervous System. When we first learn massage therapy, we naturally visualize that we are working on muscles. Memorizing muscles and seeing their kinesiological relations to each other is a task! Then we can add to that the wonderful insights drawn from Rolfing and…
Read MoreMassage for the Sinuses
I live in Austin, one of the allergy capitals of the world. And every few years, particularly when our cedar trees bloom, I bloom too – into sinus infflammation. What is sinusitis? Sinusitis is usually a response to allergens or viruses. Our sinuses are hollow spaces in the bones of the head – the maxillae,…
Read MoreAnatomy Review: The Erector Spinae System
Origin: Sacrum and iliac crest of pelvis, Insertion: All ribs, transverse and spinous processes of all vertebrae up to C2; mastoid process of the temporal bone, Action: Bilateral: extension of the spine, (Excessive – lumbar and cervical lordosis; thoracic kyphosis), Unilateral: lateral flexion (Excessive – scoliosis), Antagonist: Rectus abdominis (or gravity) The erector spinae is more a…
Read MoreAnatomy Review: Pregnancy Massage and the Migration of Fascia
Did you know it is basically a law of structure that under compression fascia will “migrate” laterally? Think of pressing down on a beach ball. The more you press, the further out each of its color segments would get. This is exactly what happens to the pregnant woman under the compression of the extra weight carried…
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