massage/bodyword: bonding behavior & physiology

Submitted by Jake Blues on Fri, 2009-07-31 23:08
What about...?

ok. i love this site, the research, the book, etc. my question: is giving/receiving a massage similar to bonding? i would guess it depends on the type of massge, but being touched and especially stroked, seems like the bonding behaviors described here. any ideas?

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Submitted by Marnia on Sat, 2009-08-01 09:08.

The kind of presence a massage therapist holds for a client is very soothing to the nervous system of both. And I'm sure people do develop crushes on their massage therapists.smiley

However, I think it's also possible to maintain a professional relationship, and just exchange the other benefits of the connection.

What do you think? Welcome to the site!

Submitted by Jake Blues on Sun, 2009-08-02 04:12.

thank you for the thoughtful reply. i agree that through the therapist's intention, and proper boundaries, a professional relationship is attainable. i also agree that crushes can happen and again, boundaries maintain a professional, therapist/client relationship.

so, i think you're saying that a massage can be a bonding behavior and that the benefits of the connection are physiological. is this accurate? doesn't this seem like a great idea to research? any more ideas?

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Submitted by Marnia on Sun, 2009-08-02 09:39.

Actually, there's already quite a lot of research on the benefits of massage. You may know this. Gary says to have a look at this site: massagetherapyfoundation.org

Are you trying karezza??? smiley

Submitted by Jake Blues on Sun, 2009-08-02 15:39.

can karezza be practiced without a partner?

Submitted by insightful on Sat, 2009-11-14 20:33.

I say is very much a bonding experience as it innervates the sensory system, and thereby creates attachment-it is an anchor-healing takes place if you and the massuer/therapist (of any kind) have a rapport/resonance!

Edit:I don't know what I did here that created this box and placed it in a different order on the list of posts! Oops!

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Submitted by Marnia on Sat, 2009-11-14 22:30.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Marnia's picture

Submitted by Marnia on Sun, 2009-08-02 20:51.

Sounds like you need a partner, eh? So do a lot of women. Keep your eyes open! smiley

Submitted by Ahab on Mon, 2009-08-03 06:04.

that more men are interested in this than women. For example, there seem to be more male than female posters on this forum.

Marnia, is this your take on this?

Submitted by Amari on Mon, 2009-08-03 06:25.

Ahab, I think there are more men than women here because most of the men found the site when they were looking for help with a pornography addiction, which is much less common in women. When women have relationship problems, they usually just blame it on men being jerks (or possibly on themselves being unattractive), so they have no reason to go looking for more information.

Submitted by insightful on Sat, 2009-11-14 20:36.

Truth tends to resonate with the funny bone! Thank you for the laughs!!

Submitted by Ahab on Mon, 2009-08-03 06:43.

often more interested in getting a relationship to work than men. So I would have thought that there would be more women around here than men.

But maybe it's true that many men are now waking up to the pain caused by distorted sexuality.

Submitted by Jake Blues on Mon, 2009-08-03 11:12.

for your information, there's a posting on Huffington Post, written by Linda Savage where she writes about sexuality and spirituality, along with bonding. it's not that helpful for me, but here's the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-e-savage/spiritual-sex-ecstatic-lo_b...

i'd appreciate any insight.

Submitted by insightful on Sat, 2009-11-14 20:53.

The experience is an emotional one, and not an ego/mental experience. Only through the emotions would
the experience be fullfilling and rewarding/spiritual in that sense. One needs to be fully there, present but
emotionally present. That is what is lacking in the use of pornography.

(ps I had not realized there are more men then women here, but I would not be surprised since there is a lot of
focus on sex.)

Submitted by Jake Blues on Fri, 2009-08-14 17:19.

}smiley i'm not sure how this news item fits into the mating vs. bonding strategy equation:
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/crime_krqe_albuquerque_man_accused_of...

Marnia's picture

Submitted by Marnia on Fri, 2009-08-14 21:27.

You find some interesting tidbits! *giggle* I hope it was "good for him!"