Shiatsu session review

As you can tell from the last 4-5 posts on this blog, massage school has been dominating my life of late…it is giving me a lot of blogging material though! Anyhow, here is my journal from my second professional receiving session from local Shiatsu practitioner Beck Stephens from BCMT and Heart Fire Healing Center.

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I scheduled my second receiving journal for Wednesday March 11 with Beck Stephens. My first session was with Christa Forsythe and I was happily surprised to find out that Beck and Christa share an office…especially because it’s only one street over from my apartment! Before the session I was feeling a little on the fence about going. It was scheduled for a couple hours after getting out of class and to be perfectly honest, I was mostly hoping to just kick back and relax at home. That day in class we traded blindfold Shiatsu sessions with a partner.

The session was great and very beneficial in terms of touch and sensitivity but it was my first time doing an hour and a half session and I was a little drained. The tiredness and trepidation was all for naught though because as soon as I got to Beck’s office I was reenergized by her enthusiasm and personality. It wasn’t a surprise then that Beck’s Shiatsu style really reflects her personality and got me thinking about if my style will some day reflect my personality…actually I think it might already.

My physical and inner focuses were largely the same as my first session with Christa – on a physical level I wanted to focus on my knees to alleviate the misalignment, popping, and cracking that has been going on for about a year. Secondly I wanted to focus on the soreness in my legs from riding. For inner focuses I wanted to work on reducing anxiety and over-thinking. In hindsight I wished I had chosen to work on decision making and fostering new interests and activities (it shocked me then that after the session I looked at what Beck wrote on the sheet – she wrote ST/LV…so she did sense I needed help with decision making! Wow, talk about intuition!). I’ve also been feeling a little lack for new experiences and interests but only after the session I did I realize I would have wanted to work on those aspects.

During the session, I think because of Beck’s very “quantum” style, I was in less of a meditative state than I was during Christa’s session. Beck is very direct and rapid and I actually found my mind doing the same; I kept jumping around from thought to thought and my brain never really shut off. I really enjoyed though how Beck kept reminding me to feel the work throughout my whole body even when she was working just one specific point. It made me become aware of my whole body and not just the single point. All of the scattered feelings mostly disappeared by about two-thirds in to the session. By then I was completely still and relaxed and almost came to the extremely meditative state I was in during Christa’s session.

I was so struck during that session about how my brain activity seemed to completely flat line. I wasn’t asleep though. I was completely conscious yet I wasn’t thinking. It is something I think about all the time, over a month later because I had never experienced anything like it before.

Following the session, I felt very different than when I came in although I felt a bit scattered (in a good way). I tend to like to control my environment and be aware of everything that is going to happen or is happening so this was a really different feeling but one that I wasn’t fighting to make sense of. I did notice though that I went home and started cleaning the house. I wondered if this was my attempt at focusing this scattered energy and trying to make sense of it.

I loved Beck’s intake before the start of the session. She’s very direct and she offered a bit more counseling than Christa did. Our intake also went for 15-20 minutes while my intake with Christa went for less than 10. I was glad Beck worked my ST and LV meridians because as I mentioned, I can always use help with grounding and lately, making decisions/decisive action.

A few hours after the session I still felt relaxed but a little scattered. There were things I knew I had to do but I for the most part blew them off. I did write/journal for about an hour (not necessarily about the session) but about other things I wanted to explore. The next day I was the most proactive and enthused about working than I had been in weeks. I was really productive and able to concentrate and work really efficiently. Two days later I had my hands-on final and my exam 2 retake. I was able to study and feel prepared for both tests and the usual worry and anxiety that generally accompany tests was more in control than usual. I plan to continue scheduling Shiatsu sessions during next quarter. I’m still so amazed at how a “massage” modality can be so therapeutic on an emotion/mental level. I used to have this misconception (that I’m still fighting) that massage is just about feeling better on a physical level – Shiatsu has definitely shown me otherwise.

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I think I made the right choice

Yesterday afternoon was my second “clinic practicum” at school and the first where I worked on someone I didn’t know. “Clinic” is basically the way our school simulates professional massage sessions for its students.

While we’re not actually in BCMT’s clinic but we’re set up in a large room with all of the professionalism and ambiance an actual clinic session would have. We’re also required to do an “intake” with our client to assess their health and determine what type of treatment they need. For Shiatsu bodywork, the intake includes giving the client an explanation of what Shiatsu is about as well as setting some physical and inner “focuses” for the session, or simply, with what areas of your physical and inner self do you need help?

For my first clinic I worked on Clare which was great because it made for a  slightly less nervous go-round. It wasn’t good in that I sort of slacked in my “professionalism” – I didn’t go through the intake or massage with the same focus that I would have on someone I didn’t know. I think the school realizes that for everyones first clinic it’s helpful to worry less about simulating an actual professional massage and more about learning how the whole clinic procedure works (doing the intake and shiatsu explanation, filling out the SOAP charts, reading the client’s health history form, etc). For your second clinic practicum you’re assigned someone from the public (or, because I don’t think many people are stoked to have a 1st quarter student working on them, it often turns out to be student volunteers as was the case for me). My client, a second quarter student, was great to work with and allowed me to go through the whole spiel, even though she was only a quarter removed from it herself. She was nice in letting me explain Shiatsu and how the session would go even though she already knew everything I was telling her. Good sport and she gets a free massage out of the deal!

So back to the title of this post, “I think I made the right choice.” I wasn’t thinking about much during the massage. And I repeat, I wasn’t thinking about much during the massage. Those of you who know me know that there aren’t many times in my life where my brain is switched off but massage has so far proven to be something that can switch it off. I felt great during the session; I was in my body, feeling confident, checking in with the client, and just generally at ease, and then after…I felt a massive endorphin rush! Back in the SOAP room (SOAP, by the way stands for “Subjective – Objective – Assessment – Plan” and is sort of the “locker room” in the clinic for therapists) I spoke briefly to my classmate Daniel who had also just been in clinic and who is a notoriously disinterested-looking person in our classes. I couldn’t contain my excitement and I blurted something like “man, I get such a kick out of giving massage!” And Daniel replied “yeah, it really proves that this isn’t about the stress and mundane class work…it’s actually about working on people!” And through all of my trepidation and wishy washy feelings about the choice of career I’ve made, I realized, I think this massage thing is really something I want to do. I really enjoy it.

My goal of updating once/day

Looking at my “recent drafts” folder, I’ve got about 6 blog posts I began but never finished over the last few months and that’s kinda lame so I’m going to attempt to write at least once daily on this blog to keep the “sword sharp.” Today I’m working on Verde PR stuff – the Veltec page and getting the Osprey brand team project off the ground. It’s a beautiful day here in Boulder – February 5, 2009 – and it’s supposed to be a high of about 65 degrees. I would love to sneak in a bike ride today and I’ve got my first professional Zen Shiatsu massage this afternoon at 3:30. I’m super excited to see how a full session, by a seasoned Shiatsu pro will feel. The Shiatsu class I’m in can feel half amazing, half torturous as you have 18 students attempting techniques they’ve never tried before…ON YOU. Ouch. I’ll post my reaction to the massage tomorrow. Back to work! Going to keep working from home today if this ghengis, pirated wi/fi holds up. If not, it’s off to Amante Uptown.

Top 10 of 2008 year in review

1_January – Hike up the snowy Flatirons (most beautiful time I’ve ever been there) with my little sister

2_April – Koppenberg road race

3_May – Running the Bolder Boulder in my best time ever (in a 1980’s skinsuit, no less!)

4_July – Salida Omnium races/dinner at Amicas with Clare’s folks

5_June-October – Lunch time mountain bike rides at Betasso

6_August – Boulder Roubaix race (best road race result/most epic conditions)

6_August – Birthday weekend of mountain biking, hiking, and Secret Stashing in Crested Butte and Gunnison with Clare, Steve, and Sara

7_September – Jenny Lewis live at The Fox

8_November – Obama wins/running up and down Pearl St. screaming and shaking cow bells and high-fiving strangers

9_November – Vacation in Italy (first time in Europe)

10_November – Seeing the sun set in Rome from a rooftop terrace

“You can own it at Jaaaaaared” or “That’s Jaaaaaared”

Those Jared commercials make me cringe yet somehow I can’t get enough. What’s with jewelers having the most ridiculous commercials? There’s Jared, the “galleria of diamonds.” There’s The Shane Company. There’re others. They are all just a bunch of blood diamond selling mf’ers.

I think I’ll start blogging more cause it helps motivate me to do more interesting stuff with my life. Life’s been great lately though and T-Giving is a nice, timely way to remind yourself, “self, you got it goooood.” Shout out to my uncle Andy for our midnight game of pool/excuse to bond and help each other through life’s troubles on TG. Funny how men need a stick, a ball, or another object and a purpose/distraction to start talking about the real “ish.”

So Clare and I made it to Italy thereby taking care of one gigantic bullet item on life’s to-do list. Remarkable timing, too. As I write this Venice, specifically Piazza San Marco (probably the number 1 destination in the entire town), is neck-deep in flood water. To say it would have put a “damper” on our trip would be a gross understatement.

With “Euroland” under our belts and looking ahead to this winter I need to get some new aspirations and goals down on proverbial internet “paper”:

• start to slowly turn our apartment into a place where an adult might want to nest
• get cable TV so I can actually see my baller idols (the Nuggets) take to the court without having to sit on a lonely bar stool drinking beers I don’t really want
• start rocking the boards at the new Boulder Velodrome
• buy a track bike (Trek T1, Specialized Langster??) for said v-drome
• Make some turns on skis (nordic and alpine)
• Have success and enjoy my new-year endeavor
• ask for what I want out of the universe more often, more vocally!
• be a better boyfriend, brother, and son

Harden The F**k Up

Today’s ride killed it. But let me preface: I’ve spent a considerable amount of time riding in the mountains west of Boulder over the past couple months. I’ve done Jamestown, “Super-James,” Jamestown-Ward- Nederland, hiked at Brainard Lake, and today rode all of Lee Hill Road for the first time as well as riding Super-James in reverse. It’s a lot more mellow than I expected. The only real sting came with about 2 miles left until Ward where the road gets steep and curvy. Fear not though, for your re-”ward” (I love puns…ask Clare) is the natural spring on the side of the road right as you near town.

Forget just refilling bottles though; this time I took a solid few minutes to drain the snake, wash the salt and mucous off my face, sip water straight from the faucet, and stretch. From there I rode through to Peak-to-Peak and drilled it to the turn for Jamestown. Some New Mexicans tried to pass me twice on the dirt roads up there but each time they were going to make the pass, a car would come zooming around the corner and the New Mexies would have to brake behind me. Ahhh sweet justice. If you live or have lived in Durango you’ll understand what I mean :). Given that I was up at ~9,000 feet, the temps were brisk. Luckily I was wearing the thermal jacket and I stayed quite warm. The fleece didn’t breathe too well though and I swear I probably sweat at least a glass of Friday night’s “bottomless wine” at B-Side, from my pores.

Every time I’m out riding in Boulder I can’t help but reminisce to rides around Durango last year at this time. The Valley, Hermosa Creek, Mancos, Cortez, Wildcat Canyon, Hwy 160, Aztec, Ignacio, Vallecito. What’s better or what’s prettier? Can’t say for sure. I know I’ll never appreciate Durango’s desert qualities as much as Boulder’s rocky, alpine setting but I certainly do miss speeding through the Valley with towering oaks and aspens shooting reds, yellows, and oranges on either side of the road. There’s one particular stretch of the road on the “250″ side that if the wind isn’t blowing and you’ve got the company of a friend or good music in your ears, it’s like putting virtual reality lenses on; these trees engulf you on either side and you feel seperate from your body and the bike. Somehow you’re just going fast and forward. It’s effortless. It’s beautiful.

Today was sort of one of those days. I just felt so connected during the ride. I knew this was where I was supposed to be. And when I got back there was Bubs and my espresso maker waiting for me. I fired up some food and my first (gasp!) cappuccino of the day. Later I bought groceries and new shoes. I talked to my mom about my sister and brother. I had a prevailing thought during the whole day: “harden the fuck up.” I’m so grateful for where I am and what I have.

Last October in Duango leaves

Boulder Roubaix – The epitome of a bike race.

*Preface: After starting this post over a month ago, I finally decided to put the finishing touches on it tonight. This was one of the most special days I have had in recent memory.

Clare has been hounding me over the couple weeks since Boulder Roubaix about why I blog about races where I finish 30th and don’t for races where I finish 4th. It’s a good question. I guess the good stuff just needs time to settle? Well, in a nutshell, since that race I’m on a bit of a confidence boost and wouldn’t you know – it was my last race of the season!

Boulder Roubaix went like this for me:

• Pre-register for the race on Thursday like a true cheapskate and save $5
• Watch in despair as rain falls steadily from Thursday until Saturday at noon. Knowing that 75% of the race course is dirt roads and knowing what happens to dirt when it gets wet. “It’s gonna be like the real thing…shit.”
• Friday night: drink a margarita and a half at Efrains (grrrreat race preparation), see “Tropic Thunder” at 10:45 (fall asleep on three different occasions during the movie), get home (asleep by 1:00 a.m.), listen to rain pound the streets (am I really gonna do this?)
• Saturday morning: wake up at 10:30 and eat a rice cake…”fuck this” as rain still pounds. Go to coffee at Vic’s at noon. The sun starts poking through the orange-gray clouds, the first I’ve seen of the mighty soleil in days.
• Flip open laptop and begin distracting myself from thoughts of why I should be racing regardless of the weather…”it’s ROUBAIX dude! this is how it’s supposed to be!” Blocking the voices/urges in my head is rarely successful. Ten mintues later, I chug my coffee and speedwalk home. T-minus 1.50 hours til race time. “Thanks, ‘bi-polar,’ you’re a true motivator.”
• At home I change into cycling items I haven’t seen since March: neoprene booties, fleece leg warmers, wool socks, water proof gloves, armwarmers, and heavy, fleece lined team jacket. It’s August still, right? I’m not kidding about the weather. The constant rain and 30 degree cooler-than-normal temps are for real.
• Clare’s mom is in town and has brought us cookies. A look into our empty cabinets tells me the cookies are my default race food. Stick three in my jersey pocket.
• Throw some warm junk for after the race in my backpack, a plastic bag over my seat to serve as a makeshift fender (“dude, it’s envitable, you’re gonna get dirty!”) and I point my bike towards Broadway.
• Busting ass down B’way to 36, I’m huffing but knowing that I always race better with a long, hard warmup. I take a right onto Neva and a left on 39th St (?), my first taste of the dirt.
• Luckily at the sign-in area, Clif Bar and Jelly Belly have provided copius sample sized treats for the racers. I didn’t have too much faith in those cookies; sport beans and protein bars to the rescue!
• Watch the Pro1-2-3 race start and cat IV racers come trickling in – it’s like seeing those photos of really muddy editions of Paris-Roubaix. Riders completely covered in mud, the whites of their eyes being the only light on a tired, brown body.
• Finally, it’s time. Us category III’s line-up. It’s a good field, over 50 guys. The sudden change in temperature is felt. The sun decided to break up the clouds a little more.
• We’re off. I quickly realize this day ain’t gonna be easy, it’s gonna be long, and it’s gonna hurt…it’s gonna be memorable.
• Done. Three hours and ~62 miles later I collapse into a fold out chair under the officials tent. I look at my bike, propped against a nearby fence. Its black paint job hidden by layers of filthy brown sludge. Its chrome components nearly indiscernible with muddy streaks. My arms and legs are limp. I look at my hands; I’ve worn two identically placed calluses, red and raw, on the inside of my hands near my pointer finger. My eyes burn from the incessant splashing of rain and salt and dirt. A layer of caked mud covers my legs from my shorts line down to the line of my shoe covers. Same goes for my arms. My sunglasses? Threw them off to the side of the road after the second lap as the visibility became like driving through a downpour without windshield wipers. My head – beaming with pride, confidence, relief, satisfaction, wonder, amazement, joy. I’ve just finished fourth and had my best race of the season.

Back on the trizz-ain

 I haven’t raced my bike for what seems like forever and today I finally had enough of my wimpy, can’t-do attitude, so on this, the 25th of June (also Bike to Work Day if you live in the “bubble”), I took my new mountain bike to task with the Wednesday night short track race, sanctioned by none other than my Alma mater’s fiercest rival, CU Cycling. Wow, that was a long sentence. So, Jesus Christ, short track racing is intense! It’s like the first lap of a road crit where you’re fighting for position and pinning it to try and get to the front…but for the whole race! Add to that a dusty course, super tight corners and 50 other racers and you’ve got a harried 25 minute sufferfest. Going to into it I thought “25 minutes? that doesn’t seem like much,” but when you’re out absolutely busting ass to hang on, 25 minutes feels like juuuust the right amount of time. As for the race itself, I got a tremendously crappy start, it was pure chaos with that many dudes trying to clip in at once and get a good position. I bumped into some people and then about 50 feet later there were the first of several little rhythm jumps and then you hit tight single track where passing is largely fruitless. I think I kept my position of somewhere between 20-30th the entire race. My pedals definitely need to be ratcheted down because through countless corners my foot would just slip out – a total momentum killer and an invitation to crash out either yourself or some unlucky rider near you – sometimes both. I think I dumped it 2 or 3 times, losing 3-5 places each time and then having to bury myself to catch up and pass the same 3-5 people half a lap later. The final dump-truck happened when I found myself screeching through a corner on the second-to-last lap when all of I sudden I missed the turn and went plowing into the course tape, resulting in a less than graceful tumble (withcut-up knee, to boot) and a mouthful of white, Shimano plastic. I’m guessing I finished somewhere in the 25-30 range and while I’m never happy finishing halfway down the results list, I learned some valuable lessons tonight that I’ll take with me for the next races. Fitness-wise I know I can finish top 10 so I’ll be gunning for that next Wednesday. Part of my buying the new mountain bike was to race these short tracks and after not being in Boulder the past couple summers, I’m so thrilled I’m here now and out racing them! The races are packed with riders, spectators, beer guzzlers, and the entry fees are just right. Tomorrow will probably be a lunch time Betasso ride.

Mountain biking for lunch – eat shit and grin!

Hey Boulder people – do yourself a favor and ride Betasso during your lunch hour. It will change your everyday office-monkey experience into a sweat soaked parade, especially if, like me, you wait to “lunch” in the heat of a 2 pm afternoon. This is precisely what I did yesterday. After a tire that needed reseating (thanks U-Bikes!) I headed over to the Creek path past the summer vacation having high schoolers at Eben G. Fine (it’s a must if you’re 17, school’s out, and it’s hot outside to launch a tube into the creek on any given weekday…did it a time or twelve, myself!), and up to where the Creek path hits Canyon. Ride the mellow mountain road about a mile and hit the Boulder Canyon link on the right side of the road. Because Betasso alone is a pretty short ride (only about 3 miles) and you’re pressed for time, it’s best to just go for it up the Boulder link despite it’s grueling grades and loose trail. So up the link I went, still lacking any semblance of handling/climbing skills (they’ll come!) so it was half ride-half hike-a-bike until you reach the gorgeous bit of meadow/singletrack that is Betasso. And that’s where the serious fun sets in!

My only knock against the 29er so far is the wheels – they’re tubeless-ready and as I’m not running tubeless, they seem a little finicky for…you guessed it…tubes. One flat so far, knock on wood (taps crotch) it’s the last for a while.