Yes, abdominal work is even rarely covered in most basic massage courses. I hear it from therapists/students all the time. I am "amazed" how few know how to do any 'belly work'. Most are afraid or have their own personal issues so won't touch it.

While it does hold a lot of emotion it is our center of being! It is beneficial for all sorts of problems, including low back pain. It holds the space for a majority of our organs.

We need to educate therapists in basic training - but many instructors down play it or tell students males will get an erection. Like geez. Where do they get their information! I have personally heard instructors say these things and even say "clients don't like it".

Thanks Erik, for starting this discussion. Hopefully more will start studying and practice integrating abdominal work into all their sessions. After all , are we not contributing to postural distortion if we don't include it?

we were taught abdominal work as part of our routine. i have always included abdominal work without a second thought. although lately, i must admit i haven't used it in my sessions. i have found that i spend so much time working out areas of knots and tight muscles that by the time i get to the abdomen, i'm "running out of time". poor excuse though. i need to get back to making it a staple in my work.

i have to say i'm a little shocked to hear 2 references to abdominal work causing an erection. not ONCE did that ever happen on any of the clients i worked with through school OR my fellow MT colleagues.

i have also noticed not everyone works the face muscles. they work the head and neck and completely leave out the face. anyone notice that?

Great video! As I've matured in my practice, I've become much more comfortable in providing or suggesting abdominal work. Once you see how much it can affect other areas of the body in terms of pain and restriction - and have experienced the benefit of someone doing the work well on you - it is so much easier to perform and recommend. Of course if receiving abdominal work is scary or overly emotional to someone as a client, my guess is that they as a therapist will continue to be hesitant to provide it.

I agree Felicia. Many therapists will continue to avoid performing belly work...even those formally trained in the techniques. So what does one do when she encounters an extremely fibrotic iliopsoas that refuses to be released via assisted-stretching? This is where good one-on-one supervised training is essential.

I cringe when I think of some of the psoas work I've done on clients over the years. Once you begin advanced study in abdominal and pelvic anatomy or attend visceral manipulation classes, you realize just how important it is to know exactly where your hands are what your intent is when performing direct manual therapy procedures to structures such as the iliopsoas.

Anybody want to offer any favorite tips on performing effective and safe psoas work?

I agree with Gloria, there is so little abdominal work taught in school. Then a lot of clients, especially ladies don't want it, for many reasons. So a lot of therapists have taken little to no CEs in this area. And Erik is at the far end of the spectrum with knowledge many of us will never reach, unless we try. It is a shame, for the clients and us. There is so much more to learn, never stop.

Hey Mike:

Are you on line 24/7? Damn man...get a life!

Really! It is a great life. I live massage!

You still with us for 2011?

We learned a bit about the belly in school. I was the demo as none of the other ladies would participate. I was already familar with belly work from my mentor Mike H. I do belly work when it is asked for, which is probably half the time. Many of my co-workers do not do belly work for whatever reason and also do not do the face for the same reasons. Beats me. I have no clue. I do it all as that was how I was mentored to do. All those that I do the belly work on really enjoy it and are grateful to have the work done.

To Mikes commment, I went to school at Irenes. And in their hands on class, they spend a good deal of time on the abdominal region, iliopsoas, intestinal track, and diaphram release. I learned alot that night, but not all your clients are going to want it done, so it is up to the therapist to educate the client, and make them aware of the benefits of "belly work". It is the emotional center of the body, and clients are very sensitive, or even become embarrased should they have an emotional release, so you need to give them a moment to work through it. I have one client who will not leave until she gets her belly work, and actually gets excited when in her words "I finally get to her favorate part of the massage"

Hey Mike:

Would love to present at the 2011 Massage Festival but don't know how I will feel about traveling once the Costa Rica house is completed (next week) and after my gruelling 2010 workshop schedule.

Like you, I maintain a love and passion for the work but there comes a time where you realize the cart is pushing the horse...or like Sissy Spacek said in her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in "Coal Miner's Daughter"..."I thought I was runnin' my life til I realized my life was a runnin' me."

Good Schools, like Irene's gives you a step up. I agree about educating the client and with some as soon as emotional release is stated, they would prefer not to. We need through advertising also show more detailed work. Almost every photo promoting massage today has a beautiful woman smiling as she has her sholders rubbed.

The same with why men are not accepting massage as quickly. Everyone advertises in Brides R Us. You don't see aman getting a massage in tool magazines... think about it. Yea, I know cost versus profit. But I thought the issue was to get more men.

I sponsored some (female driver and male driver) race cars in Pensacola, FL. Are we thinking outside the box?

Erik, we'll leave a light on for you... always welcome, heck after a year or so, you may come out of retirement. I thought I would love it, when I retired at 39 in South Padre Island, Texas. In three years, I was going yonkers just laying around the pool and making day trips into Mexico! Congratulations on the house!! It is gorgeous! If you get too bored, one of the schools there wrote me asking if I knew any instructors.... "and just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in!" Michael Corleone

We learned belly work in school, the importance of it was repeated many times & the teaching of it was very thorough. Five years later, I almost always include it and clients love it. I have several IBS clients (men & women) who come in specifically because I include it, while many therapists do not. For pregnant women, however, I always consider the belly more "private" and my experience has been that those women usually prefer to do self-massage during that time.

I love doing psoas and iliacus work! It's one of my main go-to tools for lower back pain. When a client mentions lower back pain, I ask if they've ever received psoas work. Most haven't, so I describe where it attaches, what it does, the consequences of a tight psoas and the benefits of opening it. . . . then I let them know what I have to do to get to it (I also go in with the client's torso draped; I find that helps them feel less vulnerable and exposed). If they're a little uncertain, I let clients think about it while they're on the table, allowing them to get to know my touch and figure out whether or not they want to try it.

For actual psoas work, I've found that often less is more. For many clients, they've never been touched there before, so going in gently and using a lot of focused intention seems to be the best way to introduce them to the work. I've done this even with clients who carry a lot of extra weight around the middle, although I occasionally have overweight or sensitive-guts folks roll on one side to displace the viscera. For pregnant women, IBS/IBD sufferers, or people who just don't want their tummies touched, I utilize PNF/PIR stretches to release the hip flexors.

I appreciate a therapist working my belly and especially appreciate one who really knows how to do it. I've taken some visceral somatic classes but I would never claim to be an expert...and you don't often see CE classes on the subject.

When I give massage, I always ask if the client wants their belly worked on; I don't just do it automatically.

In school we learned a 2 minute abdominal massage. I was actually the demo because none of the other girls wanted to step up. To be honest, I have no problem with working that area. I believe that the stomach is one of the main areas that we tend to hold a lot of stress. I feel for those who have never experienced it due to their own personal reasons because they're missing out. My mother loves it and she can't get enough of it.

Out of respect for my clients I always offer and if they don't want their abdomen touched, I always leave the 2 minutes to work longer in areas needed.

I believe clients who refuse to experience belly-work are missing out too. Some of the comments on this blog, i.e., working through the drape until you gain the client's trust, are very useful....thx ~ ERIK

Yep , you're right Laura...gotta respect their wishes. However, I've found that often clients change their minds as they begin to trust your nonjudgemental touch.

I like to carry on a running dialog when working in areas that may be emotionally loaded. It helps them open up... if needed. I always try to keep the conversation light and easy as I explain the purpose, intent and benefit of belly-work.

I think a lot of therapists avoid the abdominal area because it takes a lot of time to address the area slowly and properly. Personally, I deeply enjoy both giving and receiving abdominal massage, and given the existence of the enteric nervous system, or "belly brain", I also think abdominal massage is woefully neglected. Let's not lose such a powerful application as abdominal massage techniques!!!

I work in a clinic with around 15 therapists, none of them do any belly work. I only learned a little superficial work in school but I always try to include it. I wish I could find good CE's in my area so I could do more beneficial belly work for my clients.