Healing Arts Center

Body Work - What it means to you

Although the results are sometimes phenomenal, there is nothing supernatural about bodywork, movement or breathing. It’s just good science, and good medicine.

The body is designed to protect and heal itself. Muscles that are fatigued from exertion or chronic tension, or muscles that have received little use, are less able to flush out toxins and waste products. Through the manipulation of muscle tissue, effective movement and proper breathing, bodywork stimulates and assists the body’s natural healing and cleansing systems.

First, we can increase the circulation of blood to the tissue. This delivers more nutrients and oxygen to the muscle, and carries waste products away. It also stimulates the respiratory system which is supplying the oxygen. So, bodywork helps muscle tissue recover from exertion and prepare itself for new challenges. It also refreshes unused or underused muscles and alerts them to prepare for action. The result is better overall muscle tone and mobility.

In addition, bodywork, movement and good breathing stimulates the lymphatic system to eliminate toxins at a greater rate, and triggers the immune system to fight diseases more vigorously. (These systems are naturally suppressed when the body is in a state of stress.) Bodywork also triggers the release of endorphins – natural painkillers that relax muscle tissue, calm nerves and produce a general sense of well being.

The relaxation of muscle tension reduces the uneven stress placed on the bones and joints. With these structural imbalances relieved, the body can move more freely. This also reduces the possibility of injury and increases performance by eliminating restricted muscle adhesions. These are all factors important to athletes, people who live with a high level of stresses, and clients undergoing physical therapy and rehabilitation.

In summary, bodywork, movement work can:

• enhance the function of joints and muscles
• improve circulation and general body tone
• relieve mental and physical fatigue.

There are also a number of less definable benefits to bodywork. These range from the simple fact that most sessions “feel good”, to the physical and emotional refreshment of time spent in relaxed self-awareness. There are also psychological benefits to getting back “in touch” with one’s body and re-establishing a relationship that has often been neglected, abused or treated as a source of shame and embarrassment.

Considering the many health benefits, it’s little wonder that bodywork has been practiced and handed down for thousands of years. It is a craft that has endured in the East, and it is our hope and belief that it will continue to survive, in it’s intended form, in the West. With its numerous modalities such as: spiritual and secular massage, energy work, and CranioSacral, to name a few, the art of relating to our bodies is a personal one. It may well be that bodywork was the first way human beings ever successfully relieved the suffering of others – the first of the “Healing Arts.”

Our Practitioners

Rev. Mary Brewster, M.Ed.
Spiritual Massage Minister and Spiritual Wellness Counseling

Mary is the founder and director of Healing Arts Institute, Inc. (1988), Healing Arts Center (1987), and the Church of Spiritual Stewardship, Inc. (1992), she is the Editor of the on-line newsletters “Journal of Spiritual Bodywork” and the “Spiritual Massage Ministry Newsletter” found at www.healingandlaw.com. She has maintained her private health practice, since 1987 in: Movement Therapy, Spiritual Massage Healing, various modalities of energy work and Counseling. Mary has a Masters degree in Education in the field of Counseling Psychology. She also participates at Kidspace, working with parents and children with special needs, a program associated with Healing Arts Institute, Inc.