Bodywork For Our Youth's Vitality
- Amber N. Geiger, LMT
- May 13, 2019
- 6 min read
Do you remember staring at a chalkboard, the whiteboard, a projector, or even just blankly at the teacher, for HOURS? Tapping your pencil waiting to go home, only to have to sit on a bus for a half hour? Now imagine this, but with what seems like ten times the amount of homework, on top of growing pains and ever-present social pressures.
This is the reality of our kiddos, my dear parents! Except now, young brains and bodies are being structured around blue-screened technology and work that rushes them past developmental stages and into the idea that they need to constantly prepare for something: the state tests, the big game, college (as trade school aren't as popularly advertised)...there's virtually no way to just be a kid these days when you essentially have a full work schedule and aren't even getting paid! Put this in the perspective of a child growing up in a neglectful/abusive household, too, (which is another blog post in itself), and life in the big, "real" world can seem very bleak, uninviting, and downright daunting. Oh, never mind being thrown into navigating the new rhythms of your hormonal, rapidly changing body at the same time...
Having recently graduated high school in 2014 myself, my complicated share of anxiousness, confusion, depression, suicidal thoughts, severe insomnia (averaging only about four hours of sleep a night...yes, seriously), are still fresh in my mind. I've healed from a lot, and I've got to say, I'm pretty proud of myself for correcting and learning as much as I have in a relatively short amount of time.
One essential factor in creating a successful, balanced adult is helping an individual realize that we can't always control our stress-inducers, however, we can learn how to cope with stress...in healthy ways. To go a level higher, build resilience to stress. We know there will be times where we have to compromise the wants for needs, to do things the we don't want to do now so that we can have a clearer understanding on what we want later. The uprise of depression, anxiety, school shootings, obesity, heart complications, and overall DIS-EASE, is all indicative of one thing: we have too much of the wrong stuff on our plates.
Despite any teenager's intelligence, according to the University of Rochester, a person's rational part of their brain is not fully developed until they are 25, which means what they do in these primitive years sets a pace for the rest of their lives. This pace is changeable for the most part, of course, with increasing understanding of the world's workings around them, but it truly does not have to be as difficult as we all make it out to be. More is not usually better: quality should not be sacrificed for quantity. Let's create healthier, more conscious, creative, and efficient people who enjoy their lives through all ups and downs, with less synthetic medications/foods/mental-emotional baggage. This is where bodywork comes into play.
For the most part, we all know Therapeutic Massage primarily works to increase circulation of blood and lymph throughout the body, which helps reduce inflammation. For kids, the benefits are heightened, and make lasting impressions. This is a long post already, so let's just bullet-point this section, haha!:
+Increase in serotonin & dopamine levels: the "feel good" hormones, generating feelings of acceptance, respect, & validation. This gives way to deeper, restorative sleep, which reduces ADD/ADHD symptoms, improves concentration-digestion-overall health and learning.
+Decrease in natural growth pains: limbs are elongating, reproductive organs are maturing, thoughts are cross-firing, pimples are popping...it's uncomfortable! (Especially the underground zits...the ones in the nose and ears are the worse.)
+Developing body awareness: by teaching a child/adolescent the difference between structural, visceral, and energetic/mental & emotional pain, it becomes easier for them to identify where something hurts, and helps pave the path to seeking appropriate healthcare instead of racking up bills & stress for unnecessary tests, surgeries, etc. (*I don't claim to be a doctor or nurse~ I still encourage you to have a conversation your PCP and ask questions!*)
+Develop social navigation: we are social creatures, whether or not we know it. For those who have a difficult time relating to people their own age, it can be a comfort to know that there's an environment where they don't have to do anything, be any certain way, talk about anything...and they can be comfortable in their own skin while getting the benefits of healing touch/interaction.
+Aid in the healing process: kids fall, hard, and constantly strain themselves. This is true in playing an instrument, a sport, and even going through the motion of writing/typing/texting. This also applies to young love - from platonic friendships to crushes and breakups. AND, such techniques as those from CranialSacral, aids in correcting issues like TMJ dysfunction from various traumas, (including birth!), and dental work, (braces, retainers, extractions).
+Finally, taking the time to receive body/energy work - Massage, CranialSacral, Acupuncture, Reiki - teaches the vital lesson of healthy self-care and self-respect, to say the least!
Kids, and young adults especially, deserve someone they can be around who will not judge them in any way. Someone who is willing to listen to their busy lives, not to respond, but to give them the space to decompress. Sometimes a counselor is too big of a step for these kids at any given point in their lives~ sometimes they just don't have the words and store everything, instead, in their bodies. Feeling like they have to pent up all these normal frustrations and feelings manifests as headaches & migraines, premature aches & pains, weakened immune systems, lethargy, inability to focus, eating disorders, gravitation to unhealthy coping mechanism, even organ damage... it's all in the rising numbers, not to mention the societal implications.
When I was sixteen years old, I was so unhealthy, stressed out, and in constant internally-stored pain that got so toxic, I had to have my gallbladder removed. I had scoliosis at the time from slouching and poor sleeping arrangements. I was constantly sick with sinus infections, colds, flus...and I played hard, so I've also had my share of accidents, haha! While my case was a little extreme due to some personal home stress, it all boils down to the fact that I was constantly uncomfortable physically and spiritually- it was the norm that I felt lonely, suppressed, depressed, excluded, unrecognized, and overworked, despite various certificates and little awards that suggest otherwise, as well as being able to engage with all different social groups - nerds, jocks, goths, preps, band-geeks...what can I say, I was a bit of a social butterfly :P .
As an adult, I am able to be grateful for ALL of my experiences from now and then, and I recognize and am forever grateful for all that Massage Therapy - both in giving and receiving- has done to propel me through various barriers. It's been my goal since I started this journey to give back, and help as many kids, AND adults, reclaim their place in their own skin and help build their self esteem through body & energy work ~ to help prevent issues as well as help see individuals through issues by being a component/encourager of the healing process. There are too many school shootings, teenage pregnancies, prison enrollments, suicides, homicides, drug overdoses (INCLUDING and ESPECIALLY pharmaceuticals!), unnecessary hours spent crying and resenting, and too many dollars being made off of all this sickness and depression, and too many other environmental issues branching off of the whole stress complex. We ALL belong in this world, and we ALL are worthy of being comfortable in our own skin so that we can enjoy the things that Life has to offer us, as well as what we can offer Life. Each of us has several gifts: why not make the world a better place, starting with helping others relax enough to be able to intuitively feel, and hopefully use, their own gifts? I believe our species CAN be a much more compassionate and healed portion of this planet's life, and this self-care is part of that establishment.
***Starting with my old high school, I will be doing interactive presentations with the youth on understanding their individual stress patterns and how they can cope with various meditative, breathing, art,(etc.), techniques. If this is something you are interested in for YOUR school, please get in touch with either myself or another local trusted professional!"
*FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC:
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/cells.html
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2016/02/benefits-of-massage-therapy-for-children
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