"Soul and body, I suggest,
react sympathetically to each other.
A change in the state of the soul
produces a change in the shape of the body.
Conversely, a change in the shape of the body,
produces a change in the state of the soul."

Aristotle


Meditation In Touch is a style of oil massage
that is received on a Futon on the floor.
It is an exploratory travel
through the landscape of your body.
It is a deep, slow, rhythmic, fluid and hypnotic communication of love
that is accompanied by beautiful music

Each time I sit to practice it is a new beginning,
a unique and ephemeral song,
a poem, written across your body,
just for you.

I began practicing massage in 1991 simply because I felt drawn to touch
and to follow the natural pathways
that run throughout the body.

To move within this landscape of texture and form,
restoring balance and flow,
felt completely natural to me
and was in itself calming and fulfilling.

Though it felt easy and obvious to me,
I had no idea that I may have
some kind of skill or gift.
I had no thoughts of practicing for money
or making it my profession or career.
It was just for the pleasure of giving
for that movement of energy
and the satisfaction of feeling of others releasing
that kept me going back into this way of connecting.

Over time and through practice
it became evident that tensions in the body
are a reflection of tensions in the psyche
and that different qualities of touch
can both soothe the heart and clarify the mind
as well as release physical tension
and restore the body
to a fluid and vibrant symmetry.

Although there are shapes, patterns and flows
around the body
which I respect and follow,
to be effective and create the space for healing,
massage cannot be a repetitive process
of preconceived movements.

Massage is my meditation.
Practiced with presence and understanding
it becomes a sacred art.
One has to be completely involved in the moment
to move out beyond repetition
and into a unique and caring unfolding
with another being.

During each treatment, I relax and trust.
My thoughts fall away
and I rest in my calm centre.
My hands find their shapes,
their timing, their patterns and paths.
Their pressure, rhythm, depth and speed
form a spontaneous flow of waves
that pulse through me.

I pay attention to my breath and posture,
to balancing the currents of action and reception
and to maintaining a harmonious connection
between myself and the person I am with,
reaching across the space between us
with respect, strength and grace.

Just as we are nourished by being understood
we also need respectful and sensitive hands
that touch, question and listen,
that feel and empathise
with our body and sensations.
Through conscious touch
we can find profound release,
it is a time to breathe freely, and to be met.



"Here in the body are the sacred rivers,
here are the sun, the moon and all the places of pilgrimage.
I know no other temple as blissful as my own body"

Saraha