How does Hakomi Bodywork differ from standard Massage Therapy?

Hakomi is a mindfulness-based, body-centered psychotherapy method created by Ron Kurtz. Hakomi based body work is an adaptation of this method relating to massage or bodywork techniques. It is not psychotherapy. The following are important ways Hakomi-based Bodywork differs from standard bodywork or massage therapy:
 

• Hakomi-based Bodywork Therapists pay attention to what goes on inside of you.    In Hakomi based Bodywork, you will be guided into a state of consciousness called “mindfulness,” which enables you to “tune into” your inner experience. As mindfulness makes you more sensitive to subtle shifts in mood, feeling and sensation, it can take you into a deeper state than you are used to. For your comfort, we move slowly and deal with small areas at a time. If you feel overwhelmed or lost, we can always stop and come back to quiet touch.
•  ​Hakomi-based Bodywork is experiential and experimental. Some of the most powerful opportunities for growth and change are when we experience something rather than merely talk about it. In fact, we can only access neural patterns associated with our life experiences by turning our awareness to our immediate, felt experience (i.e. sensations, feeling, images). During our session, you will  be periodically asked what you are sensing or noticing in your body. This helps to deepen your relationship with your body through present time felt experience.
•  There are times when the body is saying “no” to touch. We respect the body’s boundaries and work without touch from this place. Also, sometimes the Hakomi-based Bodyworker uses touch itself with permission from the client to support the client’s process. It may be anywhere on the client’s body except genitals and anywhere the client does not feel comfortable being touched. I will keep checking in during a session to see how the contact feels and what you are sensing. We can modify, change, or stop contact at any time during a session.
• Hakomi-based Bodywork is a great complement with any type of bodywork technique because emotions sometimes surface. This is because tension in the body may be connected to strong feelings. A hunched posture, for example, can be a result of fear or trauma experienced in the past. As muscles and nerves relax it is possible to remember or even re-experience the original emotion associated with your tension. Getting in touch with our emotions can be a very effective aid in relieving tension and pain as well as an opportunity to integrate past emotions. The Hakomi-based Bodywork therapist understands this process. Reconnecting somatic experience with emotional cognition allows for profound healing to occur with a deeper understanding of the human experience.
• Hakomi-based Bodywork provides physical support for emotional counseling and mental therapy. There are times past trauma and strong emotion may arise that do not find resolution in a Hakomi-based Bodywork session. When this happens extra support is needed with a psychotherapist or counselor for the unresolved trauma. With your permission we can cultivate a collaborative relationship with your psychotherapist to provide you with optimum care to support your process more fully.