One of the main goals of therapeutic bodywork is to facilitate the experience of "the body as gift." This is in contrast to our culture's view of "the body as object." An object (like a rock) does not have feelings. But Bodies have feelings. Bodies FEEL. We feel. If we don't feel, it may be that we are actually "cut off" from our body's ability to perceive and process. The body learns, the body remembers. As one of my friends is very fond of saying, "The body does not lie."
It is not healthy to view our Self as separate from our Body. This is the wonder of being human. We are embodied spiritual beings, which differentiates us from angels (spirits). In the movie, City of Angels (1998) there is an interesting
conversation about how angels are puzzled and intrigued by the human
experience of being embodied. Because we have bodies, we can feel what it is like to run a marathon, hug a friend, feel the sun on your face, let a snowflake melt on your tongue, taste strawberry pie, smell a rose, enjoy sexual intimacy. You have to have a body to experience these things.
So, therapeutic bodywork helps people experience their body as Gift, i.e., as Good. This translates into themselves being a gift, and good. This may be quite a revolution/revelation. Some people may have experienced terrible things in their body (trauma)--or have experienced nothing at all (neglect/deprivation). Both experiences tend to cause the body to be forgotten, or in some instances, even punished as if it had done something wrong.And then people begin to believe that they themselves are wrong/bad.
Sensitive and caring bodywork can facilitate a "coming home" to one's body--where we can truly embrace our body as our friend, our Home. The Christian faith is one of the few faith systems where the body is not left behind--but is itself restored and redeemed. Our body is the dwelling our own spirit....and of God's Spirit. When the Bible talks about our body being the temple of the Holy Spirit....this is what it means. God can and does LIVE IN US. That should blow our socks off! Our body, our Gift, our Home.
Showing posts with label bodies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bodies. Show all posts
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
"With my body, I thee worship..." Part I
"With my body I thee worship..." These words used to be included in marriage vows--what a groom would promise to his bride.* What powerful words. I remember being perplexed by this phrase as a child, because I was taught that you were never to worship ANYTHING but God. But my little brain reasoned, if the Church had sanctioned these words (and the Church was all about worshiping God), the words must have meant something different that what I thought they meant. But I had no clue as to what that was.
Well, the last several years I have done some research, conversed with friends, experienced massage/bodywork, etc. and have come to think that in the above context, "worship" actually means "to serve/honor." Wow. What would that mean? What does it mean to serve and honor the body of another?
I think it means to honor the sacredness of each body....instead of the body being an object to be used. How are bodies viewed in our culture? As an object. Bodies are the objects (vs. subject) of other forces...objects of lust, retail sales, marketing campaigns, surgeon's scalpels, punishing regimens. The body is viewed as not being sacred in its own right--but that it needs to be enhanced, changed, punished, used for someone else's gratification.
But now, the words of Christ "This is my body, given for you / broken for you..." in the institution of the Eucharist/Communion become so powerful. Instead of him demanding the body of another--He gives his own body sacrificially for the wholeness and healing of the other.
As a massage therapist/bodyworker, I have the opportunity to honor and serve the body of the person with whom I work, with my own hands, with my own body--with my own person. Touch has the ability to be the somatic expression of serving another with my own body--not to have my needs met but to bless and honor them. I am grateful to have this new means to honor and serve others. To echo the words of Christ, I pray, "This is my body, given for you...."
*(I wonder if the words said by the bride to her groom "I will honor, cherish and obey" were removed at the same time?)
Well, the last several years I have done some research, conversed with friends, experienced massage/bodywork, etc. and have come to think that in the above context, "worship" actually means "to serve/honor." Wow. What would that mean? What does it mean to serve and honor the body of another?
I think it means to honor the sacredness of each body....instead of the body being an object to be used. How are bodies viewed in our culture? As an object. Bodies are the objects (vs. subject) of other forces...objects of lust, retail sales, marketing campaigns, surgeon's scalpels, punishing regimens. The body is viewed as not being sacred in its own right--but that it needs to be enhanced, changed, punished, used for someone else's gratification.
But now, the words of Christ "This is my body, given for you / broken for you..." in the institution of the Eucharist/Communion become so powerful. Instead of him demanding the body of another--He gives his own body sacrificially for the wholeness and healing of the other.
As a massage therapist/bodyworker, I have the opportunity to honor and serve the body of the person with whom I work, with my own hands, with my own body--with my own person. Touch has the ability to be the somatic expression of serving another with my own body--not to have my needs met but to bless and honor them. I am grateful to have this new means to honor and serve others. To echo the words of Christ, I pray, "This is my body, given for you...."
*(I wonder if the words said by the bride to her groom "I will honor, cherish and obey" were removed at the same time?)
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