Rebounding or shakin', rockin'and rollin'

This a going to be a bit technical and possibly odd. It may explain some of the 'Virgin rebounder' post, though.

Rebounding: variously known throughout the bodywork world as shaking, rocking, rocking and rolling, rhythm work and probably by many more terms, probably as many as there are marketing managers :) Some people teach it as a strategy in itself, whole bodywork modalities have been formed around it. At the MFR Clinic UK we integrate it into our practice in various ways, usually just where something needs to be loosened up or ‘jogged’ out of its habitual pattern. Or for assisting the client to loose themselves in the deep, deep rhythm of their fascia. I’ll explain. Briefly. Resulting in more questions raised than answers provided, I suspect

There is a vibration, or a ‘rhythm’ of the fascia, which it is useful to tune in to when working with a mind-body in myofascial release. (Yes, that’s ambiguous). I’m not going to speculate on where it comes from or how it arises. It is not the rhythm of the organs, or the craniosacral rhythm, but an underlying rhythm or vibration. Told you this would raise more questions than answers.

Why tune in? Tuning in as a therapist serves several purposes, the first of which is to ‘connect’ with the mind-body you are working with. This connection is appreciated by the client mind-body and can lead to all sorts of further myofascial release. It also increases the trust between therapist and client. It is impossible (well, I’ve never seen it happen) to tune in to a vibration without connecting. If the mind-body doesn’t want to connect, s/he won’t, if they do, tuning in to the vibration will enhance that experience.

Secondly, the unique ‘signature’ vibration of a limb or the torso, or of a much smaller body part can give the therapist a very good idea of energy that is flowing well or ‘stuck’, fascia that is stuck or muscles and joints which are not moving well. If the rhythm is not smooth, it is possible to find out where it is ‘sticking’ and there one will often find the point at which energy flow is also stuck, or fascia itself. There is also very often symmetry or dyssymmetry between hands, legs, or sides of the body, upper or lower quartiles, leading a curious mind to ask ‘how come this?’.

How to tune in? Best taught hands on. However, the basic sequence of events is this – although this may tell you nothing: take a limb, a leg, say, with your client prone. Or supine. Begin to rock the leg or the thigh until it seems to ‘sink in’ to whichever rhythm you have started with. (You’ve got to start somewhere; experience will tell you a likely rhythm to start with). It's as if you are rocking a bowl of water and you feel the water reach the rim of the bowk, and you bring it back before it tips over. The leg seems to ‘like’ it. Now use whatever ‘tuning in’ facility you have to match your rocking to the rhythm the leg likes best. This is the ‘connection’ bit, impossible without, and at the same time taking you deeper into connection.

This is the important bit: under the rhythm, there is a vibration, faster (probably) than the leg can rock. The rocking seems to dovetail with the vibration. You may find yourself picking up a vibration and rocking in concert with it, much slower. For instance, it is not uncommon to be able to ‘quantify’ a vibration such that you can rock the leg to and fro for every 4 ‘parcels’ of vibration. Don’t ask me how this works, I’m just describing it as best I can. It’s easier when we are teaching this hands-on, believe me.

Why are we doing this? The vibration you have tuned in to is the ‘signature’ vibration of the thigh, the thigh is integral to the whole, the whole likes to be known at its core, at its deepest form of being, you are ‘knowing’ someone at the deepest level of their beingness. This is highly therapeutic for human beings who do not want to be treated as mechanical / biochemical constructs.

Why else are we doing this? You may discern that there is something ‘sticking’ or ‘interrupting’ the vibration, or that it is ‘not quite right’. This will come if you are at the same time connecting with the whole, picking up the key or signature vibration of the whole. By calibrating from the ‘whole’ you can tell whether the leg is in tune with the whole. If it is not, work out where and what is stuck. Energy, fascia, whatever, then deal with it. Just try it. The rocking feels very nice (for all the above reasons) so you have not short-changed your client if you give it a go.

This is even more interesting: you may find that inside the vibration, there are one or both of two other vibrations. (Or more). You may find something that is ‘frozen’, not moving, discernible through the rhythm as well. This may well be tissue memory, which the mind-body does not want to disturb. If there is good enough connection, if the time is right, if there is enough trust, this ‘frozen’ vibration may well unfreeze. There lie dragons, in other words, this may be volcanic, so be aware. This is myofascial release at a deep, deep level. Once the mind-body has allowed release, it will be deeply healing. Any tissue memory locked in is unhealthy for the body – divides it, prevents integration at a vibration level with the whole, on top of all else, it HURTS!

You may find clients going into spontaneous rebounding - sometimes after freeze-thawing; take up the rhythm for them and go from there. There's so much more...

The other vibration? Underneath underneath, there is another vibration, which feels more like the signature vibration of the whole mind-body. Sometimes, when the frozen lakes and the volcanoes have melted and erupted, energy flow is restored, fascia (how mundane?) is released, the leg will change vibration to tune in with this underlying pulse. Even sometimeser, the most underlyingest of the vibrations I can reach feels more like the pulse of the universe life and everything. Bring on the white coats and padded cells, I'm going to swim inbetween the particles. I don’t usually talk about this, but it sure feels good when you’re there.

Rocking, rebounding, tuning in to the vibrations can take ten minutes, all session, or a couple of seconds. I often give a little rock to catch the wave on the rebound, to tune in to the vibration, to know where I am. My aim is to facilitate the total integration of vibrations throughout the body, and if it is possible, come to a place where the most underlying vibration flows uninterrupted throughout. Well, it's something to aim for :)

If you have trained in craniosacral therapy with Upledger or others, acupuncture, shiatsu, any oriental medicine, you may recognize everything I have been talking about, but use different semantics and different approaches. Think of energy cysts and arcing, sound therapy, meridians, listening touch...