This is the full interview with with Ben, so for anyone interested in this technique you can find out all you need to know!

Q. How would you define what you do?

I define my work concept as Environment Centred Living ECL. It is the approach of working with the person as the creator and creation of multiple environments, Physical, emotional, mental and energetic, all of which interconnect.

Physical : These include the place you live, effects of exercise, dynamics of the work you do, physical effects of injury, childbirth and diet to name a few

Emotional: The amount of emotional charge in your experience of life. This includes the charge of your parents relationship, your need for stimulation, challenge, how you connect emotion to places, people, ideas and actions.
Mental: your conceptual world is your mental version of how your world is, should be, can and cannot be, based on your belief, logic, intuition, fantasy, fear and Truths

The most direct and accurate way to access your many layered world is your body. The mind justifies and defends that which cannot really be justified or defended. Emotions are often biased and distorted and physical environments used to project and image. The way the body moves, feels and responds to touch can bypass many of the barriers we ourselves put in place, thinking that those barriers are useful or valuable to us.

Q. What is the difference between hydrotherm massage and a normal massage?

Hydrotherm massage was born out of swedish massage but designed first and foremost to protect the therapists thumbs and wrists from RSI , carpal compression. By using the clients bodyweight for half of the treatment and the therapists strength and bodyweight for the other half, massage therapists, physios and the like can extend their career and generate appropriate pressure regardless of their size. I helped to design the techniques for Hydrotherm massage courses 21 years ago and teach internationally all types of bodyworkers.
From the clients perspective I believe Hydrotherm represents the future of bodywork. laying face down has always been a compromise in terms of comfort and posture for clients and turning over is and interruption at best and at worst impossible. Hydrotherm allows muscles working on opposite sides of the body to be treated simultaneously affecting the agonist/antagonist balance more effectively ( think of trying to bend the front of your hand without moving the back) . The water allows fluid movement, direct heat, unrestricted breathing 9 no face holes or pressure on the chest) a neutral energy support where clients can “dump their life baggage” and an association to the latent memory of being in the womb.

Q. Who would benefit most from this type of massage?

Several groups of clients benefit hugely from the use of Hydrotherm

Clients with mobility issues: The elderly, pregnant, injured and ill

Female clients: No bodyweight pressure on the breasts during back massage,

Male clients who prefer female therapists still get a pressure comparable to their bodyweight

Flexible clients ( hypermobility, Yoga and pilates practitioners) Techniques are more about    lengthening muscle and moving the body 3 Dimensionally

Clients who benefit more from my approach Hydrotherm 3D massage/transformational massage;

Those who already have a more holistic/spiritual approach to health and wellness

Those with busy minds who easily get distracted

Those who are clear their physical problems have a stress related part

Those who easily absorb negativity from others

Those making a life change which involves changes in mind set and physical activities eg. becoming a mother, retirement, moving from amateur to professional sport, changing careers, getting married.

Q. I’m quite interested to concentrate on the spiritual side of the massage and how you know what to say for an hour! You talked throughout my massage without hesitation and you were spot on with everything you picked up on – by this I mean certain mental blockages and issues that have held me back in my life.

I was wondering how much of what you said was picked up on by my muscular or skeletal imbalances and how much was as a result of a spiritual guide? Also, are some people difficult to work with or get any spiritual guidance for?

I designed my treatment to have both logical/structural and intuitive/spiritual access to information about the client.

Factors I use to guide me in interpreting what a client’s body is communicating include:

Shape
Whatever the reason for the sexual dysfunction, the affected individual cannot price of viagra experience full arousal and satisfaction during the love making process. What if like it cialis prescription just the thought of sex starts scaring the crap out of you? Hmmm, why could that be? Maybe the little fellow didn’t wake up last time despite repeated (and I mean repeated) efforts. Thus, with the low or cialis 40 mg foea.org non-production of nitric oxide in the body, blood flow is reduced in men due to several reasons. Depression is frequently linked with a diversity of factors (e.g., psychosocial stress, medical illness, obesity, poor diet, diminished sleep, social isolation) that are known to give rise to erectile dysfunction. cheap order viagra
Size
Weight ie. lightness or heaviness of a particular part
Density of muscle
Temperature of skin
Depth of breath
Flexibility
Resistance to my movement

Other holistic models I have studied whilst distinguishing my “Emotional Map of the Body”
Reflexology
Auricular acupuncture
Ayurveda
Chakra system
Traditional Chinese medicine/meridian system
Advanced Anatomy and Physiology
Body language

These models use a microcosm ( small world) to mirror a Macrocosm (large world) just like a Sat Nav is your town in your pocket! I use the body to map a persons’ whole existence (past, present and future included)

I also spent 10 years being trained and leading seminars based in Entology the study of the nature of what it is to be a human being in actuality (as opposed to psychologically)

How I talk for so long naturally is that mentally and energetically I ” step into the world” of a particular part of my clients body eg. “communication” relating to the neck. Every possible way of communicating gets its energy, is sourced by the area around the neck. What someone says out loud, why they stay quiet, what they say to themselves etc.  In some cases I might do the whole session related to one problematic part of the body, using the whole as a hologrammatic representation of the problem part.

Q. If a client is completely happy with their confidence and mental attitude, would you customise the treatment accordingly?  For example, is the spiritual side as important as the massage itself or can this be adjusted depending on your client?

The issue I have to deal with is how much “denial” any client is holding in their body. If they have decided they are “fine” when their body knows they are not, mechanisms such as upset, sensitivity, anger and defensiveness are normally waiting for something like me to challenge the status quo.
I will sometimes dilute what I am saying, include less from a spiritual perspective or talk about things in the third person eg. “Think of someone who is not using their creativity/talent” to activate the relevant energy without the persons system feeling like they are being analysised.

The space between the logic, rational and knowledge I have learnt is where the spiritual and intuitive, channelled information can show up. Think of it like logic and structure is the river bank and spirit and intuition the river. Too tight a logic gives no room for flow, to loose and the energy of it leaks out and is ” wishy washy”. Once I feel the client responding to what’s happening I can allow a greater level and intensity of flow in, the next level of consciousness if you will. No matter how relaxed you have been there is another level, another dimension. That’s where the magic happens!!

Q. The things you said during the massage were very positive and encouraging.  Would you say your version of the hydrotherm massage is geared more towards sports people to help them achieve their goals or is it just as beneficial for the average person?

I have adjusted my technique to be able to work with most kinds of clients, from those looking for the ultimate in relaxation, to those looking to realise a vision of building a company, win their first Thai boxing match or get pregnant after months of trying!

For those who ” Think” they are completely happy my treatments normally point them to the experience of either waiting for something to contaminate their happiness or placing a false lid on how happy they can be. Life is a continuum, an ocean ebbing and flowing. Life changes take you through the highs and lows of experience. My sessions are designed to give you access to whatever you choose as the most appropriate version of yourself and not just by thinking that it is most appropriate, by BEING THE WHOLE OF WHO YOU CAN BE!

Q. Moving on to the physical massage, it was very different in that I was lying on my back on the heated water pads, so it was a lot more comfortable and relaxing.  However, can you get as deep into the tissue working from underneath the body as you can on top with gravity and your own body weight? For me personally I found it to be enough, but I’m aware some clients like a lot of pressure.

Depth of pressure in massage is connected to the concepts of Working hard and  getting rewards, suffering and success. Many are brought up and then buy into ” No pain, No gain” and if you believe it, it becomes your reality! I can generate enough pressure with Hydrotherm to cause ‘ pain to the most hardened endurance athlete, but if I do that I am just reinforcing that they have to suffer to fix what they did to their body or to make gains in their life. I am more interested in what gains can be made by conscious living, smart actions, tapping into the potential that is missed because your beliefs do not allow you to look for it. That takes deepening your relationship to what you do not know about yourself. I helped an Ironman triathlete knock 14 mins off his marathon personal best, not by pummeling his muscles, but by having him realise how much energy he was giving to “trying to avoid the wall” and connecting him back to the joy of running, step by step, breath by breath!

Q. How often would a client need one of these massages, at what intervals and as maintenance?

For most clients the first two session should be within a week of each other to “Shock the body” out of feeling ordinary and into loving feeling extraordinary. Then depending on the lifestyle, financial status, level of stress and size of ambition of the client, my clients have weekly, monthly or  bi-monthly sessions. As they have the recordings to listen back to, they can go longer in between session without waiting to lose the gains they have made.

How much does a Hydrotherm massage cost?

The cost of Hydrotherm massage depends on the practitioner. My treatments start at £70 per hour ( unless I am running some clinic special offer, like the one at Folkestone at present ) avarage at £ 95 and go up to £150 per hour at my clinic in Belgravia, where female clients can get use of the Ladies only spa at Grace Belgravia included in the price.

My mini meditations are a great way for existing clients to top up in “tea break sized bites” or for curious new clients to sample what I do. The link is www.htbb.bandcamp.com

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