Taking Care: Community Support for Cancer Care, June 2nd

First of Nine is quite proud to be working in collaborative, community effort with some amazing folks in our Stumptown community. I have been working closely with Daniel Miller, the creative director of Abby’s Table and Mary Jane Hoadley, our organizer, to create the beginning of long-term, complimentary care in the Portland, Oregon community.

Taking Care is a movement to create collaborative, community-minded support for survivors of cancer and their caregiving network, including family and friends. We’re kicking off with an event on June 2nd, 2012 held at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) in Portland, Oregon.

Taking Care will feature community, clothing-on massage therapy and bodywork with live sound healing music, a juicing station and a small plate of food for a minimum donation of $35. A portion of your tax deductible donation will go to Sisters 4 Survivors, a local non-profit in support of breast-cancer survivors. We’re combining touch, nutrition and music to make a special event, open to all.

If you’d like to show your support, you can sign up online at Sisters 4 Survivors website:

http://www.sisters4survivors.org/taking-care/

Hope to see you there! This is just the beginning… In a world where the healthcare system kicks people out at a low level of functioning, our goal is to continue that supportive care into the long-term.

Hamid : )

Bonus video!

Sisters 4 Survivors held a 24 hour yoga event earlier this year called Stretch 4 Survivors. They included one hour of Imagination Yoga for the kids. So wonderful to see children introduced to kinesthetic awareness and mindful movement. These are proprioceptive tools that they can use all throughout life. Support local non-profits and create a direct impact on our community! Dig it!

Here is Imagination Yoga at Stretch 4 Survivors.

Just finding First of Nine: Tensegrity Blog? Deep dive with original articles, photography, video and music in Stumptown’s Massage and Bodywork Zine!

• Self-care and massage therapy
• Mentoring in the massage community
• Disrupting the positive feedback loop of chronic pain

Self-care and massage therapy

It’s never been about learning a certain bodywork technique. It’s never even been about making a glut of money. Though a good, honest, sustainable living is part of the business plan. I decided to go towards the massage and bodywork field because it seemed a life best suited for self-care. In fact, self-care and personal growth are at the very heart of the profession.

Pappy always said I should have been a dentist. Well, as a bodyworker, I get to play with the pterygoids, lengthen zygomaticus major and uplift the palatines. The biomechanics of the craniomandibular junction and the plate techtonics of the cranial bones is a complicated Rubik’s Cube, to be sure.

The myriad of tensional patterns of the superficial muscles of the temporomandibular joint. Image from 3D4 Medical’s NOVA Series: Muscle System Pro III on the iPad.

It’s such a beautiful day in Stumptown. The sun is warm and lawn mowers are buzzing throughout the suburbs.

Ever since my fisticuffs with cancer back in 1991, I have had to manage my energy levels. Fatigue is one of those major, often long-term, side-effects of treatment. Irritable bowel, another one of those weird gifts from chemotherapy, used to make giving a 90 minute massage a matter of question. Visceral massage and a little interoceptive awareness does a tummy good. Now, giving a long session is a source of personal happiness.

Over the past few years, I have found a level of health that surpasses my constitution in high school. I have more energy, movement, vigor and joy in my body than since I was a child. It’s really quite marvelous. I was once limited sharing my kinesthetic gifts. Now, even though I might work long hours, I still feel good in my body at the end of the bodywork day.

Now then, my long days are not packed days. Part of my self-care has been to remove myself from much of the hustle and harried rush of the work force. I’m just not allowed to indulge in stress and worry. Yes, I still have stress in my life. However, I choose to spend my time and resources managing it. This means filling my days with meaningful experience.

The pendulation rhythm of standing bodywork with Hamid Shibata Bennett, LMT, CAMT (OBMT #301), Portland, Oregon. Photography by Cammie Toloui, LMT (OBMT #17119).

So, what do I do for self-care?

Upon waking, I enjoy the morning light. I lay in the quiet, breathe and stretch, snuggle with the pups and take some time to be grateful for this life. Throughout the day, I sprinkle in moments to savor. To fully enjoy a sensory experience. To slow myself down, setting the pace for the autonomic nervous system; simple moments of mindful awareness. I eat good food, get lots of rest, move my body, get my creative on, enjoy the company of amazing people and smile often. A lovely self-care program.

I figure, most folks are in a rush of stress and they come to me to find a rhythm in their breath a bit slower than the usual. A step away from their chronic stress pattern. I can’t do my job, if I too am in a rush. Presence in the moment is just part of the career description.

I find moments of meditation while in line at the grocery store. Or walking down the road and watching a bird take flight, soar in the heavens and land on a distant telephone wire. I find moments of awareness, to breathe, to listen, to enjoy.

Outside of the din, there is a quiet here. Explore and find, my friend… Explore and find…

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

Bonus video!

We can take time every day to slow ourselves down and indulge in a moment, where there is nothing else to do but watch and breathe.

I shot this video with the Panasonic GF1 and cobbled it together in iMovie on the 24″ iMac. The music is Slow Tick, recorded years ago in 2002 on a Yamaha MT8XII, cassette 8-track recorder. I had spent one immersed, creative week recording the album Beyond Time’s Breath: A Rather Peculiar Auditory Hallucination.

The liner notes read:

Sometimes an album just happens. Ya really don’t mean it… Ya just start messing around with microphones and plunking a few notes and hit record and a week and a half later you’re left with an interesting collection of sonic scapes that maybe the universe would enjoy hearing…

A series of accidents piled upon accidents creating something beautiful…

This is A Watched Pot: A Meditation on Water. Enjoy the day!

Just finding First of Nine: Tensegrity Blog? Check out music, videos, photography and more in Stumptown’s Massage & Bodywork Zine! Dig it!

• Self-care nosh for the kick back massage therapist
• Preverbal cognition
• Myofascial pregnancy massage

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The real Portlandia: Farmer Dave, episode 2

Welcome to episode 2 of First of Nine’s video series, The Real Portlandia!

This episode gets us thinking about our sources of nutrition. Back in 2009, the  Community Health Project visited Farmer Dave at Twelve Mile Market in the suburbs of Portland on historic Twelve Mile Corner. Farmer Dave also runs Bumblee Farms in Gresham, Oregon. I love walking into Twelve Mile Market and seeing the beautiful produce available. Often the vegetables will have been harvested the same day!

A return to real food… Local, organic honey. Photography by Hamid Shibata Bennett

Here in Portlandia, we’re thinking about local, organic, sustainable foods. It’s good to know your farmer!

Without further ado, here is episode 2 of First of Nine’s video series, The Real Portlandia… Farmer Dave…

iPad users, tap on the above blank space if the video does not appear. Or, tap here.

Twelve Mile Market
645 SE 223rd Ave
Gresham, Oregon 97030
503-489-1412

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

Welcome to First of Nine: Tensegrity Blog! Stumptown’s massage and bodywork zine! Deep dive with tons of content, plus more video and music!
• The Real Portlandia: Pioneer Square, episode 1
• Bodywork Naturalism
• Myofascial Pregnancy Massage

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Myofascial pregnancy massage

Advanced myofascial pregnancy massage uses pendulation rhythm and the tensegrity prinicple to address full-body tensional patterns in a wide variety of client positioning.

Kneeling on a tuffet. Advanced myofascial pregnancy massage in Portland, Oregon with Hamid Shibata Bennett, LMT, CAMT (OBMT #301). Photography by Hamid Shibata Bennett

In this latest video, Hamid Shibata Bennett, LMT, CAMT demonstrates expanded client positioning, including kneeling bodywork, mat work and low-massage table techniques. This is the dance of structural integration for pregnancy.

So, breath a little deeper and find ease in movement as your body is going through all sorts of changes, readying to bring a new life into this world! Prenatal massage can help prepare your body through every stage of childbirth.

Music was improvised and recorded at Earth Body Wellness Center East on 38th and SE Belmont in Portland, Oregon. Featuring guitar by Hamid and violin by Marcia Muench.

So, here is the video, Pregnancy Massage… Keep watching past the credits for a client testimonial. Dig it!

iPad users, tap on the space above if the video does not show. Or, tap here.

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

Welcome to First of Nine: Tensegrity Blog! Stumptown’s massage and bodywork zine! Deep dive with tons of content, plus more video and music!
• A film noir introduction to pendulation rhythm
• Tensegrity got rhythm
• Susan G. Komen and massage for cancer. An update.

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Susan G. Komen and massage for cancer. An update.

Last week, First of Nine posted an article about Susan G. Komen, the huge, non-profit in support of breast cancer. I truly had no idea it would get such a response, reaching a nationwide audience.

To recap… I have a friend at a local Portland, Oregon non-profit that was setting up a booth at Susan G. Komen’s annual breast cancer conference in Portland, Oregon. She invited me to offer massage at the event and connect with the oncology world.

She contacted Toni Mountain at Susan G. Komen and was given quite a response, saying massage was not permitted at the event. Check out First of Nine’s original post, Susan G. Komen says massage is illegal?! An opportunity to educate!

Advanced massage therapy and bodywork for folks living with cancer and survivors of cancer with Hamid Shibata Bennett, LMT, CAMT (OBMT #301). Photography by Hamid Shibata Bennett

So, my friend went to the annual conference and saw quite a few other complimentary and alternative medicine modalities represented.

The conference included booths from the following organizations:
• IntelliFitness (a software company for big health clubs and gyms)
• NCNM (National College of Natural Medicine)
• OCOM (Oregon College of Oriental Medicine)
• Northwest Reiki Association

That’s fine. And, interesting that Reiki was welcomed, with no licensing or education requirements. Now then, some of my best friends are Reiki masters and I’m Reiki, level II, so I have all kinds of love for energy work. I just find it all rather curious.

So, after what I perceived to be a rather crude snub on the noble profession of massage therapy, I started writing letters to the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists, the ABMP, the AMTA, the Society for Oncology Massage and other professional massage organizations. And, then I wrote to both the national and local affiliates of Susan G. Komen asking why massage was not allowed at their event.

After the weekend, Susan G. Komen gave me a call and left a voicemail. The next day, I talked to Toni Mountain.

Toni suggested that she never used the word ”illegal.” Perhaps it was a misunderstanding. Things like that happen during conversation. Bygones. However, Susan G. Komen’s attorneys advised that my friend’s non-profit could be sued, Susan G. Komen could be sued and the venue, the Oregon Convention Center, could be sued if massage therapy was offered at the event.

So, there was Susan G. Komen’s explanation for why massage was not allowed or not permitted at their conference in Portland, Oregon.

Do we really live in a world where the art of touch, of contact and connection, brings on fear of legal action? That’s not the community I know in Portland, Oregon. And, that’s not the mindset I wish to nurture in my local community. That’s not the Stumptown way.

There are thousands of licensed massage therapists in Oregon. An LMT has a license to touch. In a world where doctors rarely touch their patients, massage therapists can offer therapeutic touch to those in pain in any setting or location. Yeah, we can do that.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor, Jessica Sims, LMT (OBMT #7012) receives myofascial bodywork. Photography by Hamid Shibata Bennett

Massage therapy and bodywork has been shown to reduce treatment related side effects in cancer patients, to reduce pain in cancer patients and to reduce treatment related fatigue in cancer patients. Touch empowers, reclaiming the body from the medical community and regaining one’s sense of self. Touch is an essential element in cancer survivorship, an essential element in developing kinesthetic awareness, an essential element in healing.

Here in Portlandia, we’re bringing massage and bodywork to cancer survivorship programs. I recently read that 80% of breast cancer patients seek out complimentary and alternative forms of health care. It saddens me to hear that Susan G. Komen is selectively cutting funding from local non-profits that have massage and acupuncture programs, as it is seen as a form of ”medical treatment” which they do not support.

So, Susan G. Komen… Here in Portland, Oregon, we’re building a community that cares. Where compassion comes before fear of litigation. We have a lot of folks with fresh ideas that want to help survivors of cancer through natural, hands-on methods. We’re here to inspire!

Let’s bring cancer care into the twenty-first century with collaboration, communication and compassion here in Portlandia. Let’s develop a new model for how we care for one another. This rare lymphoma survivor will do his part, but I can’t do it alone. It takes a village… it takes a community.

So, c’mon Susan G. Komen… Put a bird on it!

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

Just finding First of Nine? Dive on in to Stumptown’s massage and bodywork zine!

• Disrupting the positive feedback loop of chronic pain
• Mentoring in the massage community
• Preverbal cognition

psst… Like First of Nine on Facebook!

psst… psst… Follow Hamid on Twitter!

The real Portlandia: Pioneer Square, episode 1

In 2009, Sarah Carl, LMT (OBMT #11624) and I created a series of videos documenting the healthcare experiences with the real folks of Portlandia. We brought the video camera to various areas of Portland, Oregon and talked to random people passing by, asking about their experience with the our healthcare system. Maybe a couple of well-intentioned massage therapists can make a difference…

An extreme case of eczema. Photography by Hamid Shibata Bennett

We called ourselves The Community Health Project. We even set up URL, but have since taken it down.

First of Nine: Tensegrity Blog is happy to present this weekly video series. I’ll post a new video from the archive every week or so.

The Real Portlandia: Pioneer Square (episode 1):

In this first installment, Sarah and I went to Pioneer Square on a typical rainy day in Portland, Oregon.

iPad users, tap on the above blank space if the video does not appear. Or, tap here.

It’s now 2012. Has healthcare changed since 2009? What would you like to see to see in this new era of community minded, collaborative healthcare? Leave a reply and let your voice be heard!

Hamid : )
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transcendingtouch.com

Just finding First of Nine? Dive on in to Stumptown’s massage and bodywork zine!

• Mentoring in the massage community
• iPad apps for massage therapists: Pocket Body
• Myofascial mechanoreceptors

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psst… psst… Follow Hamid on Twitter!

Susan G Komen says massage is illegal?! An opportunity to educate!

A local non-profit invited me to set up my massage table at their booth at the upcoming Susan G. Komen conference in Portland, Oregon. When checking with the event coordinator, we received an interesting response.

I’m really not sure what is up with the leadership of Susan G. Komen these days. With the recent debacle over pulling funding for Planned Parenthood, then reversing the decision mere days later after the huge backlash, I question their approach in breast cancer awareness. Perhaps they are getting out of touch with the community.

They sure don’t seem to understand the massage profession. In Oregon, all licensed massage therapists must have a minimum of 500 hours of education and must pass written and practical exams. To maintain an LMT license, ongoing continuing education is required. And, we all need liability insurance to practice. Massage therapy is not illegal in Oregon… It’s regulated by the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists (OBMT) and a vibrant, active, caring community.

As a rare lymphoma survivor and licensed massage therapist with trainings in advanced myofascial techniques and oncology massage, I see this is a valuable opportunity and professional obligation to educate Susan G. Komen about the benefits of massage therapy and bodywork.

The AMTA recently came out with their 2012 Massage Therapy Industry Fact Sheet.

The therapeutic benefits of massage continue to be researched and studied. Recent research has shown the effectiveness of massage for the following conditions:

• Cancer-related fatigue
• Low back pain
• Osteoarthritis of the knee
• Reducing post-operative pain
• Boosting the body’s immune system functioning
• Decreasing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome
• Lowering blood pressure
• Reducing headache frequency
• Easing alcohol withdrawal symptoms
• Decreasing pain in cancer patients

Massage therapy is an amazing compliment to cancer care and survivorship. A highly trained licensed massage therapist can help ease cancer-related fatigue as well as decreasing pain in cancer patients. Massage can also diminish chemotherapy and radiation treatment-related side effects.

Bodywork is invaluable in cancer survivorship, reclaiming the body from the certainty of the medical community. The docs don’t often tell ya, it can take years to return to normal energy levels and function.

Do you agree with Susan G. Komen to exclude massage therapy from their breast cancer conference? How about we rally as a community and let Susan G. Komen know the benefits of massage! Please share your thoughts!

You can find Susan G. Komen’s contact page here.

Thanks for reading First of Nine! More bodywork geeking, photography, music and videos to come from Portlandia’s own massage and bodywork zine!

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

If you’re just finding First of Nine, here are a few good places to dive in!
• Disrupting the positive feedback loop of chronic pain
• The four C’s of consciousness
• Tensegrity principle and gene expression

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The anatomy of a massage scam

When you’ve been in the bodywork game for a wee bit and you’ve begun to make your presence known on the Internets (it’s a series of tubes, ya know?), sometimes interesting e-mails find their way into your in-box. I received one just this morning.

The typical massage scam consists of an oddly worded inquiry; a request for your services. At first, it may seem like an exciting opportunity to get some good business. We’ve all had a struggling practice at one point or another. Maybe it’s a real opportunity. I assure you, it’s not real.

Screen capture from the iPad 2 of the average massage phishing scam.

First of Nine breaks down the anatomy of the massage scam.

Appointment Date Inquiry

Hello,

It’s not addressed to you specifically. No big deal. Seems normal enough.

I hope this mail met you in good condition; I am Dr. Fredrick Brooke, the director of Staff welfare, Ancient Greek Theatre.

Warning number one: Note the odd use of capitalization… the director of Staff welfare. Plus, an organization name that is rather generic. Most businesses like to have a unique name, so they can be looked up with ease. Try googling “Ancient Greek Theatre” and you’ll get thousands upon thousands of hits unrelated to any type of business.

I will like to make inquiries and availability on your services for April 25th, 26th, 27th 2012.

Warning number two: “inquiries and availability on your services”. Well, who talks like that? Peculiar sentence structure is a hallmark of massage scams.

Warning number three: A request for services on multiple dates, sometimes as many as 7-10 days. That would be a lot of massage!

Some of my delegates would be coming for treatments on sessions. Kindly send me your treatment menu or your catalogue for them to choose which of your services is preferred.

Warning number four: More oddly worded requests. “coming for treatments on sessions”? Really? No one types like that!

Also I will like to know the number of person that can receive treatment per day and also to confirm your best time.

Warning number five: My massage website in Portland, Oregon, Transcending Touch, makes no implication that my business is anything more than a single person operation. Just more oddly worded requests for information.

Likewise, I want you to know my term of payment is via credit card to cover their treatment.

Warning number six: “my term of payment is via credit card”? No one making an actual request puts words together in this way. Awkward!

I will appreciate it if you can get back to me in time with substantial Information regarding my request by attaching or sending me the spa menu along with mode of payments.. Kindly confirm as per above

Warning number seven: “substantial Information”? More strangely out of place capitalizations of words. “spa menu”? Try asking that of a spa and not a single private practitioner. “Mode of payments”? More silly phrasing.

And, here’s their closing signature… Warnings number eight, nine, ten and eleven:

Fredrick Brooke
Director of Staff welfare (more odd capitalization)
Ancient Greek Theatre (generic business name)
40 Wyndham Crescent
Canton, Cardiff
CF11 9EH
(googling the out of country address finds a different business)
Email: lordfredb2@cafuc.net (googling the email finds a known spammer IP address.)

I created my first Portland, Oregon massage therapy and bodywork website, www.transcendingtouch.com back in 2004. I used to spend hours on search engine optimization (SEO) to get top ranking. I’ve had over 150,000 unique visitors through the years. With a highly visible massage website, I’ve seen variations on these phishing themes dozens of times. With a little knowledge, you can watch out for these types of phishing scams and avoid them.

So, what to do when you receive an e-mail scam like this. Don’t respond! Delete it… Or, better yet, forward the e-mail to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov

Have you gotten scammed? Share your story in a reply!

Stay safe, bodyworkers!

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

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Mentoring in the massage community

A year or two back, I attended a lecture in Portland, Oregon with Jon Young, an animal tracker of the highest notoriety.

The lecture began with indigenous chant and drum. More lectures ought to begin with some kind of attunement. The vibration, the wavelength of sound reaches every cell in the human body. Bygones.

Jon Young talked about the mentoring relationships found within the Kalahari Bushman. When he asked other tracking tribes round the globe who the best trackers were, they all pointed to the Kalahari Bushman. Yeah, sounds like they are the folks to study.

He found a community where every young person is brought up in a world of mentoring. There are no classes, no schools, no experts.

“Every child has as many mentors as they have significant relationships in their life. And, that mentoring relationship lasts from birth until that elder passes on.” -Jon Young from his talk on mentoring and connection in indigenous cultures

Jon devised a test to gauge tracking skill and knowledge. The Ph.D’s in the western world, the learned experts, tested the equivalent to a 13 year old child in the Kalahari Bushman tribe. Mentoring and the multi-dimensional connection and understanding it brings is all but a lost art in the western world.

Deep tissue massage with Daniel Morrissey, LMT (OBMT #14749) Photography by Hamid Shibata Bennett

It’s an art that I’m beginning to see develop in our massage and bodywork community with some renewed interest. Developing our bodywork community in collaborative effort to serve the multi-faceted health care needs of the people.

When mentoring crosses disciplines, how will this that affect the communication in the community? When we get naturopaths talking with oncologists, making sure high anti-oxidant supplements don’t conflict with chemotherapy or radiation. Yup, that’s right. Some supplements, such as fish oil, protects our body so well, that it will nullify the cancer-fighting ability of chemotherapy and still give ya all the side effects, like nausea and hair loss. Let’s get this dialogue going folks!

My first mentor in the massage world of Portlandia was April Sykes-Trebelhorn, LMT (OBMT #11557). I was trying out all sorts of massage therapists… Always searching for the kinesthetically gifted folk. I answered her craigslist ad. This was back in the day when craigslist’s therapeutic section was free and monitored by the bodywork community for unlicensed massage. It was a fantastic resource that has totally lost it’s way after craigslist decided to charge for a listing. Bygones.

I made an appointment and we geeked out over life and bodywork during the whole session. Through her work, I became aware of connections within my soft-tissue that no one has ever shown me. Totally chakra opening, fascia melting bodywork.

I paid her for the session and she insisted she wasn’t taking any more money from me. Said that we should trade from that moment on and she could learn a lot from me.

:::blink blink:::

Hold the phone. Back then, I’m a brand new punk kid on the block, in practice for maybe a year. Still floundering my flippers and working part-time at the translation agency. What the heck do I know?!

April took me under her wing and we have traded off and on for years. The friendship of bodywork, the conversation of the kinesthetic language evolved and continued each time. And, I have grown and learned so much from that continuing conversation; lessons found in no classroom.

I wouldn’t be the massage therapist I am today, if not for that friendship. And, I have many other friendships and mentors in the community. Some, we do trades and others I’m more than happy to pay their going rate. The conversation of healing picks back up at any point, any time ya dip your hands in the sea.

“Compassion is comprised of that capacity to see clearly into the nature of suffering.” -Joan Halifax from her Ted Talk on Compassion and the True Meaning of Empathy.

It’s not something I expected when I got in the bodywork game… This community that forms around you. A community of compassion and caring. A different health care model from the old guard. Folks that give a damn.

Quite refreshing.

Hamid : )
firstofnine.wordpress.com
transcendingtouch.com

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Smile contest winners!

First of Nine’s smile contest was a rousing success! Now, the fun bit! Pocket Anatomy, wonderful developers from Ireland, have generously donated $100 in free iOS apps. We’re giving away free iPad and iPhone app codes for Pocket Body to keep the massage therapy and bodywork anatomy geeks out there smiling! Check out First of Nine’s review of Pocket Body.

Without further ado…. Here are First of Nine’s Smile Contest Winners!

Amanda Trojan of Denver, Colorado – www.amandalaurencmt.com

Amy Stark (with Desmond) of Portland, Oregon – www.coach.massagetherapy.com

Tracey Harper of Vallejo, California

Michael Larson (with Lemon) of Portland, Oregon – www.pdxsportsmassage.com

Way to express the range of motion of your smile muscles! Winners have been e-mailed your complimentary codes for the App Store. Please redeem them quickly cuz they do have an expiration date!

Thanks for reading First of Nine: Tensegrity Blog! We just climbed to over 2700 readers in February with no end in sight! Stay tuned for more geeking out on the new science of massage and bodywork, more iOS app reviews, more music, more videos and envisioning the future of collaborative healthcare in our community. Feel the tensegrity! Dig it!

Hamid : )
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transcendingtouch.com

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