sarga
bodywork

Contraindications for Sarga Bodywork - conditions that are not recommended to receive this style of massage - are related to the intensity of pressure. These contraindications are the same for any firm-pressure modalities, and either mean we do not use firm pressure on certain areas or we use lower pressure modalities for your massage.

Contraindications can include:

• pregnancy or trying to conceive

• high or low blood pressure

• acute injury

• advanced stages of osteoporosis or other degenerative bone conditions

• certain medications

• recent surgeries

• advanced diabetes

  All clients will fill out intake forms and have a conversation before their massage to determine the safest and most effective techniques for their massage

Barefoot massage is an ancient practice, most notably in parts of Asia and the Pacific, and this practice encompasses manual therapy techniques that are applied to recipients' bodies with the practitioner's bare feet. These techniques often mimic massage techniques applied with therapists' hands, however a notable difference is that barefoot massage techniques are less "pointed" and have the ability to deliver deeper, more consistent pressure due to the broader contact surface area of therapists' feet and the gravitational force that can be accessed for the delivery of the techniques.

We celebrate the broad, densely innervated surfaces of our feet as perhaps the most effective and intelligent tools for this purpose!

The prefix “myo” refers to muscle tissue. Fascia is the connective tissue that forms a whole-body, continuous, 3-D matrix of structural support and wraps around every single cell, connecting cells to organs, organs to organ systems, and interpenetrates every muscle in the entire body.

We define myofacial technique here as manual therapy characterized by slow, sustained, oblique, and high-tack contact with the aim of stimulating a stretch response in the fascia associated with muscle (myo) tissue (see shear-force).

Myofascial massage can help to treat muscle pain, inflammation and restriction, by relaxing contracted muscles, stimulating length and hydration in the tissue, and improving circulation.

The word sarga has meaning both in Spanish and in Sanskrit. In Spanish, sarga refers to a tapestry woven from many different threads. This is a fitting concept for us, since Sarga Bodywork synthesizes techniques and teachings from many different traditions. It is appropriate that this metaphor of a tapestry is connected to the fabric that we hold in our hands for balance and support. In Sanskrit, the word Sarga can refer to a creation or origin energy, made manifest into form. This idea sustains our mission to provide techniques and materials that help inspire bodyworkers to resource their innate creativity in ways that are mindful, safe, and fabulously efficient.

1. Slow

By “slow” we mean that as we apply a manual therapy technique, we are moving at a speed that allows us to “stay behind the wave” of the recipient’s tissue as much as possible. This requires that the “slack” in the tissue remains ahead of our manual therapy tools, and a gentle, yet assertive stretch is applied to the tissue behind our manual therapy tools. If our manual therapy tools get ahead of this “wave” of tissue, we no longer consider it to be a myofascial application, which Sarga Bodywork emphasizes in practice. “Slowness” will vary from body to body and is more of a felt sense than a quantifiable speed, but is achieved by a combination of adequate pressure, oblique vector direction, and a specific quality/quantity of lubrication.

2. Sustained

By “sustained” we refer to a consistency in the manual elements that underlie the myofascial techniques that Sarga Bodywork practices. Speed, pressure, oblique vector direction, and friction maintain an equanimity and rhythm that are not choppy or imposing to the affected tissues, but rather seamlessly adjust to their qualities from the start to the finish of an applied technique.

3. Oblique

By “oblique” we refer to the angle of application, whereas this angle is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the tissue that is being affected. This oblique application of manual therapy techniques has a “shearing” effect on the underlying layers of connective tissue, thereby facilitating mobility between these layers.

4. Hight-tack contact

By “high-tack contact” we refer to manual therapy applications that are not slick or slippery from massage oils and lotions, but rather maintain a certain “tack” and “drag” on the affected tissues. While this kind of friction might imply discomfort, Sarga Bodywork techniques seek to stay on the soothing, parasympathetic side of manual therapies, and by no means should recipients experience any discomfort during a Sarga Bodywork treatment.