The Legacy of Esalen Massage - Are Clothes Optional

[Cameron]

I have been a therapist for 25 years. I am also an old hippy and a peace pilgrim. Recently I had a new client email me through my website, and ask me if I was OK with not draping him. He said that his current therapist was at Esalen and that he was most comfortable with no draping. More than that, I was sensing that if I told him that I always drape, it would be a deal breaker.
Many people who are newer to massage may not know about Esalen. It was the birthplace of massage in this country. It was in Big Sur amongst the cliffs and the beaches.
Calling Esalen liberal would be a conservative description, from what I understood over the years. It was not unusual for both client and therapist to be unclothed. this was not necessarily tantamount to having sex, but I would feel a bit naïve if I assumed that boundaries were not crossed.
I wanted to hear other therapist and clients experiences with this issue. I am 61 now, and am very concerned about preserving professionalism, though, I honestly do not have a problem letting my client be undraped, if all my intuitive signals are telling me that this is therapist and not just a cheap thrill.
What are your thoughts?

 

[a7x2121]

The Legacy of Esalen Massage - Are Clothes Optional

According to the laws in SC. draping is required, so the clients desire to be worked without a drape is moot.

1. Draping of Clients: Licensees shall provide a clean drape for each client for the purpose of maintaining professional standards, and to ensure the clients safety, comfort, and privacy. The areas that must be draped are the gluteal and genital areas for male and female clients, and the breast area for female clients. The drape may be adjusted in order to perform therapeutic treatment to the gluteal and breast tissue.

http://www.llr.state.sc.us/pol/massagetherapy/index.asp?file=interpretations_of_the_massage_p.htm

 

[Cherryblossum]

The Legacy of Esalen Massage - Are Clothes Optional

I agree with JaeMarie, the point is moot if your state law requires draping.

That is assuming that you want to continue to be a professional and a licensed massage therapist in your state (SC).

For one thing, I don't think this is the appropriate section for this discussion.

Second, I would encourage you to learn to use the search function of the board.

Searching Easlen massage I found quite a few enlightening posts...

Easlen massage:
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=23377&p=157885

Thoughts on guys who are sheet "scoochers":
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20824&p=165321

In general I would say, clothing may be optional for the client (though draping is not).... and clothing should not be optional for a professional MT in the treatment setting. I would think it'd be mandatory.

I read somewhere that draping the sheet helps to protect the client's privacy and helps to maintain the "appropriate therapist/client boundaries". Oh wait, I know where it was, your website!

Do we really need to discuss this further? t017

 

[Pompal 09.]

The Legacy of Esalen Massage - Are Clothes Optional

I agree with JaeMarie, the point is moot if your state law requires draping.

That is assuming that you want to continue to be a professional and a licensed massage therapist in your state (SC).

For one thing, I don't think this is the appropriate section for this discussion.

Second, I would encourage you to learn to use the search function of the board.

Searching Easlen massage I found quite a few enlightening posts...

Easlen massage:
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=23377&p=157885

Thoughts on guys who are sheet "scoochers":
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20824&p=165321

In general I would say, clothing may be optional for the client (though draping is not).... and clothing should not be optional for a professional MT in the treatment setting. I would think it'd be mandatory.

I read somewhere that draping the sheet helps to protect the client's privacy and helps to maintain the "appropriate therapist/client boundaries". Oh wait, I know where it was, your website!

Do we really need to discuss this further? t017

In our state (Texas), clothing IS mandatory for the therapist. Draping is not, but it is for our business. Guess we won't be getting into Esalon.

 

[stillpeachy]

The Legacy of Esalen Massage - Are Clothes Optional

Here is the Esalen website: http://www.esalen.org/

Because you asked for our thoughts, I am going to give them to you.

It seems to me that what has happened over the years is that "massage therapists" providing questionable practices have taken the Esalen name and re-directed it to mean - massage with sexual/erotic intentions. Connotations of behaviour that John Q. Public has now decided to look for from the MT's private practice.

It seems that these types of people have changed the idea of Esalen work, which had to do with being open minded about the body, to this undercurrent of seedy ideas that it was never meant to have. This stereo-type makes it extremely difficult on the Esalen practioner who is absolutely professional and does not provide questionable services.

When you, as an MT, state "...but I would feel a bit naïve if I assumed that boundaries were not crossed.", I think you are planting a bad seed into the heads of the public. Especially by choosing this section to post it in. I don't think it is useful in the least and suggests impropriety among those of the Esalen Institute. Peace-nik, old hippy or not, why would you do that to your fellow MT's?

MT's are bound by the ethics of our profession and the codes of each state we live in. I agree that if you must drape in your state, there shouldn't be a question, no matter what the client wants for the therapy session.

This sentence from the following article sums it up nicely: "During the course of the massage, the EM client is draped with a sheet or towel. When massage therapists are trained at Esalen, they are instructed to proceed very gently and introduce people to massage in the most non-threatening way possible. Outside of Esalen Institute's setting, this means giving clients an option of being fully clothed, wearing undergarments or going nude. Despite the level of covering or uncovering massage recipients choose, professional draping practices assures a non-threatening atmosphere."

Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies
December 24, 2009

Nudity and Esalen Massage
Pioneered at Esalen Institute in California, Esalen massage is a well-respected integration of bodywork and psychology. While nudity is often associated with Esalen, its purpose and requirements are often misunderstood.

by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.

A variation on conventional Swedish massage, Esalen Institute has trained bodyworkers in their unique, psycho-spiritual massage approach for several decades. While many valuable aspects of Esalen massage have been studied and incorporated into bodywork practices across the nation, one native element remains controversial - nudity. Although the clothing optional custom at Esalen Institute is believed to enhance participating individuals' personal experiences, bringing this routine into the outside world of bodywork poses a great ethical challenge.

About Esalen Institute

Esalen is a non-profit organization that has been devoted to the exploration of human potential since the 1960s. Historical luminaries like Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez and countless others have gathered at Esalen to develop revolutionary ideas, transformative practices and innovative art forms.

Esalen Institute, renowned for its healing natural hot springs, has long been recognized as a world leader in alternative and experiential education. Dramatically situated on Big Sur's cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Esalen Institute is a premiere incubator for mind-body-spirit techniques and has consistently remained at the forefront of new developments and discoveries in the fields of psychology and bodywork.

About Esalen Massage

Esalen Massage (EM) is known for its healing and nurturing touch; it combines long strokes, gentle rocking and stretching, sculpting of deep musculature and the precision of acupressure. However, EM goes beyond the physical result of bodywork by focusing on energy exchange and psychological well-being. Taught and trademarked by the Esalen Institute, EM aims to tune the mind and body together to create a sense of serenity and peace.

Ten key aspects of the Esalen technique for practitioners include:

1. Grounding yourself before giving a massage.
2. Waiting and listening to the client's breath before making initial contact.
3. Gentle rocking to help the body let go of rigidity.
4. Creating a unified and whole massage defined by long, lengthening strokes.
5. Making small circular movements around joints to encourage release.
6. Bringing the whole body weight into the movement.
7. A little unpredictability to ease away holding patterns.
8. Allowing time to pause.
9. Understanding that massage goes beyond the physical self.
10. Remembering that everybody loves and wants to be touched.

Esalen and Nudity
When visiting Esalen Institute, some guests may notice that there are clothing optional areas. Although Esalen's clothing optional policy has long been challenged, most guests go nude at the hot springs and ardently defend their right to do so.

According to playwright and Esalen regular Lynne Kaufman, "I've been at the baths naked for a period over 25 years. It was at Esalen, through the baths and through the massage, that I saw my body as natural. The amazing thing is that once people take off their clothes, there is more commonality. It was the clothing that made for differences. When released from that, they were just other organisms. What I saw was an acceptance of all kinds of body types, which was a very different experience: it was evolutionary. You see the youthful bodies, the old men and women. You see life."

Author of the essay Fig Leaf in the Wind, Sharon Thom describes Esalen's acceptance of nudity as an acknowledgment of personal freedom. In her essay she explains, "Our need to hide, all of the time, behind a variety of decorative devices and professional excuses and whatever status we've managed to fluff up around ourselves, our need to avoid one another at all costs, is what makes us less free. Taking our clothes off lies a few steps short of authentic liberation."

Nudity in EM

While clients have the option of shedding their clothing during an EM session at Esalen Institute, this decision is made by the client only if he or she is completely comfortable with nudity. Because massage recipients traditionally soak in the hot springs prior to their EM appointment, this setting supports nudity as a natural state.

During the course of the massage, the EM client is draped with a sheet or towel. When massage therapists are trained at Esalen, they are instructed to proceed very gently and introduce people to massage in the most non-threatening way possible. Outside of Esalen Institute's setting, this means giving clients an option of being fully clothed, wearing undergarments or going nude. Despite the level of covering or uncovering massage recipients choose, professional draping practices assures a non-threatening atmosphere.

In general, our society has very little acceptance of nudity. As a massage practitioner, respecting client privacy is crucial for professionalism and to prevent major psychological implications that could result from bearing all. Esalen Massage's unique approach to integrating the physical, emotional and spiritual selves has been appreciated by clients and practitioners for decades. Regardless of where the massage is performed, helping a client find serenity and peace is independent of Esalen Institute's optional clothing practice. Thus, if the idea of psycho-spiritual massage while being surrounded by nudes inspires freedom and healing in your soul, book yourself for a workshop or extended stay in California's Esalen Institute. For everyone else, you can benefit from the innate wisdom of Esalen's massage techniques and pass it along to your clients while maintaining the professionalism and ethics required in a legitimate massage therapy practice.

Recommended Study:
Esalen Massage DVD
Ethics: Therapeutic Relationships
Integrative Massage: Spirit


References:

http://atpeacemedia.com, Massage and Bodywork: Upclose Interviews, Peggy Horan and Emma Ingrisani, At Peace Media LLC, 2008.

http://www.esalen.org, What is Esalen Massage?, Brita Ostrom, Esalen Massage and Bodywork Association, 2008.

http://www.massage-classifieds.com, Esalen Massage, massage-classifieds.com, 2008.

http://www.positivehealth.com, Esalen Masage: Deep Connections, Lucia Appleby, Positive Health Publications, Ltd., 2008.

http://www.well.com, Fig Leaf in the Wind, Sharon Thom, well.com, 2008.

http://www.wisegeek.com, What is Esalen Massage?, S.E. Smith, Conjecture Corporation, 2008.

© Copyright 2009. Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies. All rights reserved. 1-800-364-5722

 

[Miss G]

The Legacy of Esalen Massage - Are Clothes Optional

If you are facing the choice of "losing a potential client" vs "risking your legal right to practice because you caved to his request for undraped massage" - the choice should be clear. If he wants undraped massage, he needs to go out of state to some place where it is legal to provide such services. While he is in your home state, he needs to accept the fact that you are required by law to have him appropriately draped at all times. If he unreasonably expects you to bow to his wishes anyway, he does not value you enough as a person or as a professional to be worth taking him on. Good clients care about their therapists and respect appropriate boundaries.

I hope you only have good clients.

Point of accuracy: Esalen is NOT the "birthplace of massage" in America. Esalen was established in 1962. The Swedish Institute in New York was established in 1916, and prior to that massage was being practiced (in various forms) by the 1850s. None of this detracts from the fascinating role Esalen has played in modern American massage culture (counterculture?). It embodies a unique perspective while promoting a universal sensibility and sensitivity to the needs of humans.