Brian Utting Masterclass
“I was expecting a belly massage class and walked away with a deep understanding of the abdomen. This class was incredible.” – KC Johnston, LMP and Doula Introduction to Visceral...
Investering € 0
Investering | 1 day: € 200,- 2 days: € 380,- 3 days: € 540,- |
Data | Visceral: Tuesday 29 April DT Torso: Thursday 1 May Tx Back Ligaments: Friday 2 May 10:00am-18:40pm. |
Docent(en) | Brian Utting |
Certificaat | Ja (digitaal) |
KC Johnston, LMP and Doula
The viscera are at the very core of our body, and are, along with our nervous system, a primary source of life. They are at the center of our structure, our emotions, our biochemistry, and our life energy. There are over 500 million neurons in the belly (about 5 times more than in the spinal cord), and our enteric nervous system is a primary source of our intuition and “gut” feelings.
When we are anxious or distressed, our natural instinct is to protect our soft underbelly and “stuff” emotions there, causing multilayered problems throughout the body. The smooth muscles of the gut contract, pulling on the surrounding mesentery and fascia, causing not only gut pain, but back pain. In addition, surgery can create adhesions and multi-directional disruptions in the abdominal fascia and musculature. It is ironic that this vital healing area is often overlooked in massage.
In this class you will learn simple and effective abdominal massage techniques that are easy to integrate into your massage practice. You will learn the basic layout of some of the area’s major anatomical structures and how to identify, palpate, and treat them. This class will make your abdominal work more comforting, intelligent, and effective. You will be able to help your clients achieve deeper states of relaxation, relieve pain, improve digestive function, and help free up deep structural imbalances.
The sensitivity and vulnerability of the belly is precisely why it is so receptive to safe, calming, and nourishing touch. We can soothe the enteric nervous system and the soft underbelly, sending waves of deep relaxation throughout the entire body. We can relax the smooth muscles of the intestines, which reduces pain, improves digestive function, and eases the fascial pull in the back and other areas of the body. We can sometimes separate post-surgical adhesions, creating balance and increased ease of movement at the very core of the body.
Fryth Rasar
These muscular structures support the core–they are integral to maintaining balance, structural alignment, ease of breathing, mobility, and the ability to function without lower back pain. In the morning, you will learn specific, potent, and effective Deep Tissue techniques to release the iliopsoas, diaphragm, QL, lower multifidus, and the lumbodorsal fascia. These are straightforward, muscle-specific techniques that can be immediately applied in practice, often with profound results. There will be a concise and insightful anatomy review of these structures with an eye toward fascial continuities and the functional relationships between them. We will also focus on correct placement and proper use of fingers, knuckles, and elbows for optimal results.
In this class we will focus on specific techniques for releasing the muscles and fascia of the hands, thumbs and forearms; increasing mobility in the corresponding joints; and ‘deconstructing’ forearm muscles that have become glued together. You will learn some simple but effective ways to make your arm massages more specific, potent, and satisfying–and receive some good (and much-needed) work yourself.
In the afternoon we will focus on some muscle-specific Deep Tissue techniques for the Paraspinals (erector spinae and transversospinalis) that are different from but complementary to what you learned in massage school or elsewhere. The emphasis will be on releasing and unbinding the erector spinae group, the transversospinalis group, the lumbodorsal fascia, and the quadratus lumborum. These muscle-specific techniques will improve the precision and effectiveness of your back massage, and can be easily integrated into your style of bodywork. Body mechanics will continue to be a focus of the class, as well as proper use of elbows, fingers and knuckles to save wear and tear on joints. Students who have taken this class have reported that they were able to apply the techniques in their practices right away and that their clients loved the results, feeling a newfound sense of freedom and ease in their backs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than a million American workers suffer back injuries in a year, and that they account for about 20% of total work-related injuries. Back pain can be debilitating for many people, and even when it’s just a nuisance, it can significantly impact their fundamental quality of life. Massage can often be a helpful tool in the recovery and rehabilitation process, but, unfortunately, it is also quite common for clients to receive massage that has a minimal impact on the source of their pain and discomfort.
One of the elements commonly missing when working with back injuries is a better understanding of, and ability to specifically palpate, the terrain of the low back and sacrum, particularly connective tissue structures like the various supporting ligaments. These ligaments are every bit as important as the muscles, bones, and fascia, but are often overlooked by massage therapists, chiropractors, and physical therapists.
In this class, you will learn to palpate and treat some of the most commonly injured ligaments in the low back and pelvis, including the iliolumbar, intertransverse, sacroiliac, sacrotuberous, supraspinous, and interspinous ligaments, as well as a few key postural muscles. “Clients notice the difference right away when they feel you touch the “right spots”, and their chronic pain and tension begins to dissolve from the inside out.
Brian (license #MA 1011) founded the Brian Utting School of Massage (BUSM) in Seattle, WA in 1982 and was BUSM’s Director, Director of Education, and a lead instructor there for 26 years. Brian developed and refined the curriculum at BUSM and taught many subjects, including anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, pathology, contraindications, business skills, communication skills, hydrotherapy, and a variety of massage techniques. His 1000-hour COMTA-accredited school was considered one of the best massage schools in the country.
Brian has been teaching massage CE nationally and internationally since 1990. He designs his CE classes and programs so that the students really get the material and can take it home and apply it in their practice, rather than just being exposed to it. He teaches with a rare blend of knowledge, passion, precision, humor, common sense, and depth. In 2009 Brian was awarded the AMTA’s Robert N. Calvert Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2014, he was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame.