Continuing Ed Topics: Brain Waves

Oh, you know I had to go there. I love the brain; it fascinates me like you wouldn’t believe. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again–bet I was a neuroscientist in a past life!

So let’s talk about the lovely placenta-looking mass (yes, as gross as it seems, you know I’m speaking the truth) that resides in our head. It operates in different brain wave types — you’ve got beta, alpha, theta, and delta.

Delta is the slowest frequency; this is where we are having dreamless sleep, or perhaps deep meditation. This is where the body heals at a cellular level. Theta moves faster, and is where we are asleep or deeply relaxed, but vivid imagery can come into play. Alpha is still faster, but the person can be calm and relaxed while still attentive to the outside world.

Now let’s bring this back to bodywork.

Beta is what is present when a client appears for the session. The fastest mover and shaker of the brain waves, these beta waves will express your client as excited, perhaps even tense. Through bodywork, the goal is to achieve a slower oscillation of the brain’s impulses.

What if the client (or you) speaks during the entirety of the session? Here’s the thing. Plenty of people love to talk during a session. Plenty of people never peep out a word. Sometimes someone will speak during their session; other times this same person will fall asleep the very next time.

Regardless if the client is talking throughout the session, his/her body will still sink into alpha waves. This is why, for the most part, whenever you leave a bodywork session, you’re going to walk away more relaxed than when you started. Even if you chatted the whole time, even if you had a hard time relaxing.

There are ways to try to induce slower brain waves in your client–and I think this is a really fascinating approach to bodywork. As a bodyworker, I tend to follow my client’s lead for the day and provide whatever they need/want in that moment.

But if a client is quiet, I think I’ll approach the next massage I give from a brain-perspective!

According to Erik Dalton in his article ¹Give Your Bodywork a Brain Wave Boost, there are specific techniques that can help induce these states. (And even if you yourself aren’t a bodyworker, you could always ask a friend or partner to try these techniques on you!)

• While the client is supine (face-up), use a slow, rhythmic breath as you massage their sub-occipital muscles (the short little buggers who lie just at the bottom of your head).
• Use slow, lower back techniques such as taking the elbow to strip across the lowest part of the back at the hip line while the other hand is placed on the opposite side of the back.
• Push down on the top of the sacrum while sliding/gliding the forearm gently up the spine

I think adding a spinal flush (which is little friction circles along the spine, but not just a massage technique but also an energetic one) would be a nice touch as well.

Dalton also suggests using talk to let a client know that their muscles are relaxing. (I think I have a tendency of sharing this anyhow.) He also will help direct his client to breathe more slowly, by either verbal encouragement or “shadowing” the client’s breathing to help slow it down.

By simultaneously stimulating proprioception through tactile stimuli and interoception (awareness of their internal sensation) through cueing, the client is able to embody a healthier, deeper brain wave state. The moment a client is touched brainwaves begin to change.

²Dalton, Erik

Ahhhh, the amazing power of touch!

^1,2 Information taken from July/August 2022 edition of Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals magazine.