DSL's Special Report #1:

Featuring an Article on:

Challenges & Opportunities for Musculo-Fascial Therapists*

AND, on YOU Starting on Your Unique Path to Becoming a LEADING EDGE EXPERT in Neuro-Musculo-Fascial (NMF) Therapy.

* A Musculo-Fascial Therapist is anyone whose Primary Object of Training and/or Therapy is the Psycho*-Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint System. This includes Massage, Bodywork, Yoga, Personal Training, Pilates Practitioners, Physical & Occupational Therapists, AND Physicians of all types.

* Psycho-: Refers to "breath, mind, soul" and "psychology" because the MIND participates in most of what muscles DO.

DSL is David Scott Lynn: Founder & Lead Instructor of DSL EdgeWork

DSL-3 is ALSO an acronym for the Dynamics of bio-Structural Laws, Learning & Listening

From the Unique Point-of-View of a 44-Year Practitioner of:

• Mindful Medical Massage
• Myo-Structural Balancing
• Myo-Structural Yoga Therapy
• Internal/External Ergonomics
• After Session Maintenance & Self-Care
• Whole Health Education

Welcome to My Web-based, “Vertical eBook & Special Report"

YES, there's a LOT of information on this page. It's more of an eBook than a webpage. But hopefully, you'll find it VERY interesting & useful!

HOWEVER, if You already know a lot about me & my work and want to go straight to the page with my Primary Course material — The School of Hard Knots — here's the LINK ...

Are We Treating Muscle? Or Fascia?

In Respect to my Many Friends who are Fully Focused On FASCIA, and Much Less So on Muscle, and to Preempt any misunderstanding or controversy … Please Note that when I use the word “MUSCLE” by itself, I am generally referring to the entire Musculo-Fascial System as a Whole, Integral, Synergistic UNIT … as in Unity: "the state of being united or joined as a whole." … I am NOT discounting or ignoring fascia.

Although possibly overgeneralizing here (but NOT much), Muscle Cells produce the primary contractile forces producing Movement & Action. The Deep Fascial Sheaths, primarily, deliver those contractile forces to the bones and joints, protect the muscle cells, and provide vast amounts of sensory information to the CNS and Brain. (CNS is the Central Nervous System.)

Any ability of the fascial sheaths to "relax" (lengthen) or "contract" (shorten) — medical research says up to 4% to 7% of resting length — is minor compared to a muscle cell's capacity (up to 150% of resting length) to lengthen or contract.

There is very little either one — Muscle Cells OR Deep Fascia — can DO without the other. They are fully interdependent & interactive with each other. Even though they are very different in structure, function, & physiology, they are NOT separate. The "deep fascia" and muscle cells are so closely interwoven they cannot be treated as truly "separate" tissues.

And it is the INTERACTION between muscle cells, fascial sheaths, and the internal water pressures producing Postural Stability, Structural Integrity, Movement & ACTION.

And, I was teaching Musculo-Fascial Therapists about MOST of the allegedly "modern" ideas about Fascia over 35 YEARS ago! My main Bodywork Instructor, Daniel Blake, was a direct student of Ida Rolf herself! (Many apparently "new" ideas on fascia are really a few decades old! ... There really IS nothing new under the skin ... or is it sun?)

To Further Clarify … When I am referring to the muscle fibers or cells, or sarcomeres, I will use those terms. — I will also refer to the Deep Fascia or Musculo-Fascial Sheaths, the sarcolemma — epimysium, perimysium, endomysium — encasing the groups of muscle fibers & muscle bellies, by those names. — I will in turn refer to the Deepest Fascial Layer of the SKIN as the Superficial Fascia. (I realize that’s a little paradoxical, the "deepest layer" being "superficial" — but that's “precise, modern medical terminology" for ya!)

WHO Are YOU?

Are You a Massage or Bodywork Practitioner? A Yoga Teacher or Therapist? A Physical or Occupational Therapist? A Personal or Fitness Trainer, or a Pilates Instructor? … OR ...

Are You a Whole Health Practitioner or a Physician (of Any Discipline), or a Health or Medical Tourism Spa Owner?

Are You Realizing YOU TOO Want & Need to KNOW a LOT MORE about the Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint Systems of the Human BodyMind? And from a more Comprehensive, Medical Science & Physics-based, as well as Whole Health Point-of-View?

Knowing HOW It* Works — TELLS You How to WORK It!

• "It" is the Psycho-Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint System of the Human BodyMind.

IF YOU DO Want To Know More ... Please Read ON ...

IF You Are Someone Who is NOT a Professional Therapist … but interested in becoming a Therapist ...

OR only want to treat your Family & Friends, PLEASE Feel Free to Get In Touch. We'll see what I can do to help YOU with all THAT! … I've done quite well with Absolute Beginners with NO Experience! … If You’d like more information on that, or want to discuss it with me … PLEASE CLICK HERE

In this Web-based, “Vertical eBook"

... along with the Opportunities & Challenges I see on the Near Horizon, and what I see MISSING in modern Massage Therapy Education, I’ll also be Describing My First Return To Teaching After Many YEARS. … Which in itself should be instructive!

. . . I’m calling it DSL EdgeWork 3.0.

DSL 1.0 was from around 1976 to 1992. That's when my most fundamental principles were learned and formed.

DSL 2.0 was from 1992 to the mid-2000s. That's when, Thanks to my Highly Competent & Skilled Partner at the time (Linda J. Calandro), I did the most SCIENTIFIC STUDY to learn & understand what really makes Bodywork & Yoga Therapy work so well. I also expanded my scope as to what Healing Moments & Challenges were possible with Hands-On & Yoga Therapy.

Then, I was "off" for about a decade taking care of my Elderly & Sick Parents, learning a LOT about Elder Care and Health Care Issues of the Aged. That's where my Elegant Anti-Aging ideas took full shape. I was still doing some 1-on-1 Therapy, but my Priorities were somewhat different. I was fully available for my Parents whenever they needed me.

DSL 3.0 is about consolidating all that Knowledge, Skill & Insight (and hopefully some WISDOM!) into its present and new form: Online Education & Mentoring to help Therapists & Physicians maximize their abilities to work with the Psycho-Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint Systems.

As well as my observations & thoughts about "what is coming” in the Muscle Therapy Marketplace, if You are interested in My eCourses, I'll also be describing a One-Time PILOT PROGRAM at a MUCH LOWER COST than is anywhere near reasonable. Here, I'll be describing with a Broad Brush AND a LOT of Detail, of what I have to Offer You in my VERY Personalized & Group Education & 1-on-1, Mentoring Program.

As a Pilot Program, rather than ME just telling YOU what *I* think YOU need to know ...

You & I Will Be Designing this Pilot Program Together, As We Go. That way, I can Customize & Tailor the Program to YOUR Interests, YOUR Needs & YOUR Wants as much as is possible.

Such as, if you want to practice therapy similar to what & how I do, you'll want to know the entire range of ...

the Heart, the Art, & the Smart of DSL EdgeWork.

Or, if you are a Physician or Spa Owner, you might not want to master the Art of directly performing the Therapy, but you'll want to know enough that you can effectively manage one or more therapists who HAVE been trained in the Heart, the Art, & the Smart of DSL EdgeWork.

OR, you might adapt the Principles & Sciences to other practices or modalities you prefer to use. Because I am teaching a LOT about how the Human BodyMind works, it is applicable to nearly any modality you prefer to use.

AND, You & I will be Perfecting the Program for Future Participants. So you'll be contributing to the Future of the Profession as well.

This particular, 1st Time Pilot Program will be Limited to 12 (Twelve) Full Participants so I am sure I can give ALL Students FULL Care & Attention.

My Plan is to be fully available to those 12 Participants from Noon to Midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday. ... I will also, on a limited basis, be available on weekend afternoons for those who cannot be available during the week.

OKAY ... There is a LOT of information on this page. Please do NOT think of it as a "Brochure" on my Courses & eBooks, but as a very long, tall, 1-Page eBook or a Special Report. It goes into a lot of detail on describing some important things about the Muscle Therapy Profession, some off the Challenges & Opportunities, what DSL EdgeWork is, how it works, & how it functions. ...

I intend for YOU to LEARN some NEW things by reading this. Therefore, this will NOT be a Quick Read, unless you skim it.

Yet, I Hope You Find It VERY Informative & Useful!

(And No One Says You HAVE to Read it All!)

PLEASE NOTE: The Information presented in DSL EdgeWork Courses can become somewhat complex for some people. If you are NOT very interested in or inquisitive about sciences such as advanced anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, neurology, & physics, and evaluation & treatment strategies, as well as related linear data, if you do NOT like lots of information or thinking deeply about such things, if you do not like to read, my Courses might NOT be for YOU.

And some people have told me “This all sounds great, but I just don't want to think this hard."

Fair Enough! …

Some people are better with more intuitive approaches to therapy. And many of them can provide EXCELLENT Therapy! I won't be offended if you don't read this webpage. In fact, I probably won't even know!

THAT SAID ... DSL EdgeWork strives to Strike a Fluid Balance back & forth between the linear, rational, analytical mind AND the meditative, feeling, & emotional states of the BodyMind. ... If you are comfortable in both worlds, OR YOU WANT TO BECOME SO, this work MIGHT be for You. ...

YET ... I want Successful Students, so I am NOT going to try and "talk you into" participating in DSL! I'm just going to tell you a LOT about what it is, and what's going on in our business world, and hopefully, you’ll learn some things about therapy! Then YOU can Decide if I have something useful to offer YOU!

I often get asked, is this Muscle work? Or is it Fascia work? Or is it Deep Tissue work? Or is it Structural Integration? ... Or WHAT?...

On ONE Hand, it is NONE of those things, as there are MANY differences. YET ... because of some important similarities, it is ALL FOUR, working together as an Integrated, Synergistic, Harmonious System. ... 

This is explained in some detail further down on this page. It is especially true of the SCIENCES common to all four (and other) approaches to Massage, BodyWork AND Yoga Therapy. To ME, Bodywork & Yoga fit together like a hand-in-glove. (Yoga is the Hand because it is the most internally focused! Bodywork is the Glove because it is from an outside influence.)

Yet we are all working with the SAME Human neuro-muscular, myo-fascial, & musculo-skeletal systems. And DSL uses well-described, orthodox medical sciences & physics in understanding the anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, & neurology common to them all. ...

DSL uses (what I think are) The Best of all four approaches (and a few others as well) to BodyWork. DSL has refined his methods to integrate, and GO Above & Beyond, those systems.

So there IS a Common Thread, yet DSL challenges & resolves some important Myth-Conceptions to improve overall Processes & Results.

He's done a similar process with the Practice of Yoga, which he calls DSL's Let-Go Yoga.

JUST In Case Of More Pandemics, Lockdowns, & Other Restrictions ...

We Will Also Focus on what we can Learn & DO to keep our practices going ONLINE or ON-PHONE if we have more Pandemics, Lockdowns, or other Economic Displacements. There ARE Ways You can Utilize & Deliver Your "Musculo-Fascial Therapy-Informed" Knowledge & Skills without being in the same room or even the same country!

MY Experience is MOST Massage, Bodywork, or Yoga Therapists do NOT fully understand what they could accomplish with their therapies if they could JUST Expand Their Perspectives!

And MUCH of it can be done without even being in the same room with a Client, Prospect or any otherwise needful person. (Although having an internet camera DOES help!)

And if there are two or more people on the other end of the connection, you can spot them in creating each other. THEY become YOUR Hands!

Especially if You become an AUTHORITY in what you're doing and LEARN how to Communicate Effectively & Efficiently. Which IS, of course, MY intention for YOU!

The PURPOSE of the DSL EdgeWork Education & Mentoring Course Is About ...

How YOU Can Start On YOUR Unique Path To Becoming A Leading Edge EXPERT in Your Community on Neuro-Musculo-Fascial Therapy Using Mindful, Myo-Structural Medical Massage & Yoga Therapy.

With 44+ Years of In-Depth Experience that YOU Can Integrate Into Your Own Existing Knowledge & Skills, and Insights You Can Use Knowing About MY Unusual Path ... to Help YOU Create YOUR Unique Path.

People, including your Potential Prospects, are "hard-wired" through human history to respond to STORIES. The more Authentic Stories you can tell about relevant topics, the more people will remember and respond to YOU.

(And I'll Help You DO that — Finding YOUR Stories — If You Need It!)

You Can ACCESS The Story of HOW ALL THAT HAPPENED for Me, How People started thinking of Me as an “Expert," Further Down On This Page.

But FIRST, Please Allow Me To SET THE STAGE About What Is going on in the World of Musculo-Fascial Therapy, and the DSL EdgeWork Method of Therapy, and what I'm going to tell you about here.

DSL EdgeWork is Designed to Help YOU Go "Next Level" with Your Knowledge, Skills & Insights in Treating THE Most Complex, Long-term Chronic, Difficult-to-Treat Clients. Some of them were Clients who had been told by their Massage Therapist(s) or Doctor(s) there was little that could be done to help them. ...

Now, this is an unusual and extreme example, yet I've even had Clients whose Doctors or Therapists told them a particular "tissue" in their body was so hard that it was REALLY a BONE (!!!), and would NOT respond to therapy. ...So it was being ignored by Everyone! ... INCLUDING their Massage Therapist!!! ...

And the Client had years earlier nearly given up on it EVER feeling better! (Until they met ME!)

And YES, there ARE people with muscles so tight it FEELS like bone! I've also had Clients with muscles that felt like wood or steel cable! Now, I DID work in steel construction for several years, and I KNOW what steel cable FEELS like! And I am NOT exaggerating on that.

SO ... if you KNOW your Anatomy, and you are Sensitive enough, and you know the "Right Touch," YOU might be The One who "magically" RELAXES that "bone-like tissue," the one that was really just a Super-Tight Muscle!

HINT: MOST of the time, when a muscle is really that tight, I press LIGHTER, not harder! It's called Playing the Minimum Edges. ...

It's about FINESSE, not Force!

• Finesse: Intricate & Refined Delicacy, artful subtlety, tactful handling

Another Fun Fact is muscle cells are generally not elastic and have the tensile strength of about half that of steel wire. The components of a muscle cell (with one tiny exception) do NOT of themselves "stretch out" or lengthen! So, you might ask, HOW does a muscle lengthen or "stretch out" if it is NOT elastic? THAT is answered in depth in my eBooks & eCourses. Yet it is very important to understand how muscle cells & fascia actually work.

The More You Know about How Muscles Work, the More You Know about How to Work them!

Therapists with Debilitating Soft Tissue Issues ...

And Maybe YOU Have Some of Those Soft Tissue Issues that are bothering YOU too!?!?

In my travels around the country, talking to a lot of Massage / Bodywork Therapists, Yoga Teachers & Therapists, and Therapy School Owners — I've come across a number of Practitioners who appeared to be at the end of their careers due to so much pain & dysfunction.

That is considered one of the well-known drawbacks of the massage / bodywork profession. And there are a number of World Class Yoga Teachers who suffered similar fates (for somewhat different reasons).

Tragically, most of them said their therapy school instructors had not been able to help them recover. And many therapy schools teach a lot of Great Techniques, but very few of then teach a comprehensive Evaluation & Treatment Strategy System — also known as Manual Therapy — to help with such problems.

In 2015, I attended a 750-Hour Massage Therapy School with a reputation for being the most therapeutically focused school in the region. They had excellent instructors and taught excellent techniques. Yet they did NOT teach a system of Evaluation & Treatment Strategy anywhere near like what I do and did for many years.

THAT was Disappointing — and EXPENSIVE!

ALL of that really bothered me. ... Yet I had a very high rate of great success in helping many of those people. And it told me there was a NEED for what I teach!

In fact, I spent a year and a half in Boston specializing in treating Classical Musicians (mostly Cello & Violin), some of them World Class, who were at or near the end of their careers as they could not resolve soft tissue issues that had emerged for them many months or even years earlier. Their injuries were VERY similar to that of massage therapists.

When I observed the really excellent Physical Therapists who were treating many of them very successfully, and using the best NMT & MFR Techniques trying to help these people, I could very quickly see why their therapy was not helping much at all in a FEW of their Patients. (But enough to keep ME very busy!)

The Thing Is, NMT, MFR, Deep Tissue, Structural Integration, and others have very different focuses & techniques compared to what I do.

My Primary Solution to those problems you will learn in Great Depth in the Very First Module of the School Of Hard Knots, the eCourse for my DSL EdgeWork Education & Mentoring Program. ... In Fact, if you want to get the Basic Version, it is on my YouTube Channel right NOW, for FREE!

And it's only 14 minutes long! ...

Why is it free? Because I want FAR MORE people to be able to treat themselves or others. We are a Nation in Great Need of People that are NOT in Pain or Dysfunction, who are NOT suffering! They have enough stuff to worry about as it is!

Yet there ARE a lot of nuances & subtleties you'll want to know if you want to make a practice out of doing Therapy for the most Complex Clients. ... Those elements are what's in my Courses and eBooks.

Who Knows? If you are in the right areas of the country, maybe YOU can become a Therapist to the Therapists?!?!

BLAMING the Client!

There are a number of therapists & physicians out there who DISCOUNT what a Client reports because the Practitioner never had that big of a problem. So they cannot RELATE to the suffering of the Client.

I've known nationally-known therapists who blamed their Client if the Client did not get better! And there are those who say things like "The Client has too many 'spiritual blocks' to healing." (Which really bothers me every time I hear it!)

Those are reasons why, very often, Therapists who HAVE had significant trauma, pain, or dysfunction do a MUCH better job of relating to & working with such chronic, complex Clients.

So, the three & a half years of Severe Back Pain *I* went through might have turned out to be a Blessing In Disguise as far as my Future Career & Clients were concerned!

I had many of the worst symptoms of my worst-case Clients giving me a LOT of experience & perspective! ... You'll learn some about that chapter of my life on this website, too!

Again, I Have 44+ Years of Experience Successfully Treating Many of those "Worst Case" Clients. And One of THE things I've most often heard from my Clients is "WHY don't more therapists work this way?" And, Have I Educated any other Therapists in my Methods?

Well, I did back in the 1990s. But I've regrettably NOT been doing much education since then.

And Truth IS, there ARE a few Therapists around the World who do some things similar to what I do. However, I've worked with Clients & Students from all over the Country & the World, many of whom with a LOT of experience receiving bodywork.

They tell me such Therapists are FAR Too Few & Too Far Between! ... The World needs a LOT more of them! ... Maybe YOU will be one of them?

AND ... as Jay Abraham, whom I call the Godfather of Spiritual Marketing, says ..

• "If you truly believe that what you have is useful and valuable to your Clients, then you have a MORAL OBLIGATION to try to serve them in every way possible." [Emphasis added]
• And as Jay very often points out, the definition of a CLIENT, in Webster's Dictionary, is "One who is under the protection of another."
• Compare that to a Patient:
• 1.) Able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
• 2.) A person receiving or registered to receive medical treatment.
• WHICH one would YOU rather be? A Patient? Or a Client?
• By this definition, a Client receives a MUCH higher level of Care & Concern from the Practitioner than a Patient does.
• NOW you know why I capitalize "Client" all the time! Out of respect for their Position.

And one of the Human Philosophical Principles DSL works off of is Time-Binding, popularized by Alfred Korzybski. He is the man whose ideas about "colloidal tissues" (fascia) inspired Ida Rolf® (Creator of Rolfing & Structural integration) to base many of her ideas about FASCIA on ...

• If you want to know WHAT motivates ME (DSL), WHY I do what I do, here is a part of the answer ...
• Based on Korzybski's Philosophy (The Nature or Meaning of Wisdom & Life) ... MY JOB as a Human Time-Binder is to collect The Best of my Knowledge, Skills & Insights and bind them into a "package" I can deliver to Future Generations, be they my Students (will that be You?), my Children, my Clients, and/or my Fellow Citizens.
• THAT is much of what moves Humanity & Civilization ahead. ... Stop Time-Binding, and Humanity suffers and eventually fails.
• Therefore, MY JOB as a Time-Binder is to help YOU become BETTER at what *I* do than I am ... IF you think it is in Your Best Interest to accept "the Package."
• SO ... if you buy into any of that, for whom will YOU become a Time-Binder?
• (We will be studying others of Korzybski's Principles in one of the Modules of the DSL School of Hard Knots.)

Anyway, THIS website is my Return to Teaching my Methods, to my Commitment to Time-Binding!

If YOU Want an Advanced, High-Level Education & Mentoring in Mindful Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint Therapy, Using Hands-On & Yoga Therapy, I'm Here to Help You! ... And Please Read On ...

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

We DO in our programs have a BIG Focus on meditation & mindfulness, with some philosophy & psychology mixed in, AND we are definitely into having emotional & intuitive depth & interaction in what we do within ourselves and with our Clients. It's around of a 50/50% balance ... Thinking & Analysis on one hand, Feeling & Intuition on the other, depending on what you're doing in-the-moment. It is in constant flux, sometimes to extremes.

YET ... if you're a person who has a desire to become more Scientific, OR more Intuitive, or BOTH, we can work with all that. We encourage Development & Support of BOTH important areas of Life & Work. But I cannot Guarantee you will Succeed. I can only PROMISE to do my best to work with you toward all that.

THEREFORE (Legal Disclaimer): Since there is no way for me to know how motivated you are, how well you absorb & apply more scientific or linear thinking or meditative experience and such, I do not Represent, Promise, or Guarantee that YOU WILL be successful at "Becoming An Expert," or getting more Clients, or making more income, from what you learn in my Courses or from my eBooks.

I DO Promise to make my Best Efforts to support YOU in learning what’s here and getting the potential results from my Courses & eBooks. If you are so motivated, I can certainly help YOU get well underway on that Path.

SO ... if you want to get Maximum Value from my programs, videos, or eBooks ...

I can Provide the Ingredients ... And YOU will DO the Cooking!

NEXT TOPIC!

I remember about ten years ago when I first saw a Robotic Arm peel the skin off a GRAPE and then sew it back on! ...

THAT is Precision!

And that's when I first started thinking about what I'm about to say ...

In Times of Social & Economic Unrest & Uncertainty, YOU Need an EDGE.

... Preferably, a Leading Edge!

AND, Is AI* Out To Get Us All? ...

Some Very Smart People THINK So!

* AI: Artificial Intelligence

There are Many Challenges AND Opportunities Facing ALL of Us Today, not just for Whole Health Practitioners. And It's Not Just AI.

Yet the Whole Health Marketplace is going, and WILL go through, a LOT of changes in the very near future. It will take MANY by surprise. Changes you might not think possible. (And Are Their Hidden Opportunities for Musculo-Fascial Therapists?)

For Example:

MANY of the Jobs for Humans in Nearly ALL Industries Are Projected To GO AWAY As Robotics Improve!

If you've been following developments in AI & Robotics, you know they are taking over a LOT of jobs such that it might amaze you. Jobs a lot of people thought were immune. Estimates of just how many jobs will be lost to robotics vary widely depending on who you talk to or read about.

Yet, if you've seen what is happening to the job market in America in MANY trades and professions, you know a LOT of people are losing their jobs to AI, robotics, (and many other factors), and it is projected to get a LOT worse. ...

It's like in Japan where nearly all the fast food places are fully automated and only have one to three humans working at them.

America is going through a GREAT RESET in many areas of Life!

SO ...

Will Massage Robots, driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), take the place of Many Massage & Bodywork Therapists?

More Tech Startups are getting into the Massage Chair & Machine business, including Medical Massage AND Full Body Massage. They see it as a potentially HUGE market!

For Two Examples, Google and Mayo Clinic (the Big, World-Famous Orthodox Medical Center) have invested MILLIONS of Dollars in developing Robotic Massage Machines driven by Artificial Intelligence & Google Cloud (so the MassageBots can send their accumulated therapeutic data to a common database every night, just like is happening for many branches of medicine.)

And By-the-Way, WHAT IF most Massage, Bodywork & Yoga Therapists were sending their (anonymous, of course) Analytic Data for the day to a central database and it was all being correlated & compared? Would we not quickly have a BIG database of, well ... Data?

Could all that data be used to help demonstrate the efficacy of our "alternative" therapies?

YES, it would probably be called "anecdotal." But when you have THAT MUCH data, even if it is anecdotal, it is far more difficult to not pay attention to it. ... I'm thinking of developing "an APP for That" that any therapist could use & afford, although I'm SURE SOMEONE must be working on that already? Right?

And, though on a small scale right NOW, MassageBots are working out quite well technically, economically AND therapeutically.

Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN, has been busy implementing Tui Na — a somewhat sophisticated massage / bodywork modality from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) into the AI programming of their new MassageBots. ...

(I've not yet been able to find out why they did not choose different modalities than Tui Na for their methodology. But part of our challenge in the near future is getting more validity & visibility for the many modalities we use.)

Muscle Therapy in Singapore ...

(on the southern tip of Malaysia between the South China Sea & Straits of Malacca) ...

... has one Clinic Network with eight (8) separate facilities using MassageBots & AI (named EMMA — Expert Manipulative Massage Automation) to deliver massage therapy to their patients. They need minimal staff to take histories, do evaluations (done in part by medical doctors), and set up the AI-Bots for each Client's appointment.

Equinox, at their Workout Clubs in New York & Miami, offer a MassageBot called AESCAPE. Their AI evaluation module measures 1.2 MILLION Data Points when they scan the Client's body (!!!), measuring their tension & resistance points!!! That's a LOT of data to send to Google!

(I'm still trying to figure out how exactly the AI machines measure & calculate that soft tissue data.)

Massage Robotics, Inc., an early pioneer in table-based MassageBots (rather than massage chairs), also teamed up with Google Cloud Platform. All their Bots communicate with each other every night and upload all the data they accumulated that day. So they are building a huge, centralized database on how to evaluate & treat Clients & Patients.

And AI-Bots have Great Memories and, with a guidance from a human therapist, and the unique Client, once they've been trained after a few treatments, they can precisely remember exactly what each Patient or Client needs & prefers.

AND, during each session, the Client or Patient can, with voice-commands, independently & precisely control the amount of pressure, or adjust the location of the pressure, or STOP the pressure the Bot is applying, from moment-to-moment! If you move around too much, the Bot immediately stops all pressure till you are ready to continue.

Safety Concerns of the Client are minimized to a Very Great Degree!

MassageBots Are Getting VERY Popular in Some Areas!

Meaning, increasing numbers of people are Very Satisfied with the massage or bodywork that a MassageBot delivers.

And a LOT of Spa owners cannot get enough well-trained therapists and too many of the one's they DO have are not very reliable as far as showing up on time or even at all. So the Big Business aspects of the massage Industry are looking at this MassageBot thing VERY closely!

That's actually an Opportunity for YOU, especially IF you get in BEFORE any Big Changes start in the industry. You want to get in there before the tide shifts toward MassageBots, if it does.

You want to be THE Therapist they refer a patient to when they have a patient that is too complex for the machines to figure out what to do.

On top of that, the BOT companies did a LOT of research and discovered that potentially, MILLIONS more people would get a Massage if they did NOT have to deal with the Human Factor!

WHY? ... Some people are too shy. Or they are afraid of what their spouse will think if they go get a massage (jealously, for example). Or they are too self-conscious. Or they don't want to be touched by a human being. Or they are fearful of sexual advances. Or they just don't trust the idea of a massage being able to help their conditions. ...

OR More Recently ... the Fear of Viruses is a BIG One for a LOT of people now.

Surprisingly, as far as "Human Contact" goes, there are increasing numbers of people going to robotic psychotherapists (!!!), who are perceived to be more engaging in a non-judgmental & more-objective way in their therapy!

A few people have actually married their live-in robot!

I've been working with AI technology for the last several months and it is amazing how good and interesting of an intelligent and "sensitive" conversation they can provide!

And as far as Big Business is concerned, MassageBots will prove be a LOT less expensive & to a great degree more reliable in the long run!

Therefore, if you want to expand your potential Client Market to far more interested & committed prospects, YOU MIGHT want to ELEVATE Your Knowledge, Skill, & Wisdom Levels, and widen the range of Soft Tissue Issues You Solve, Dissolve, & Resolve. You want to be at a MUCH higher level than what an automated MassageBot can do.

And you want to enhance your ability to provide Conscious HUMAN & INTUITIVE TOUCH and include more of your own Emotional Intelligence, Sensitivity & Intuition.

BIO-Detective Work!

Advanced Massage, Bodywork & Yoga Therapy for treating long-term chronic, complex, difficult-to-treat Client Cases requires much more than "standard routines" or pre-set "protocols" to address a Client's unique, sometimes challenging soft tissue issues.

I've had a Client's body change so fast while treating them I had to change treatment strategies several times within ONE therapy session!

If you've dealt much with the highly complex, log-term chronic, difficult-to-treat challenges of some of your Clients — people who have, for example, been in five car accidents — you know that figuring out what they need is NOT just a "Recipe-based," or "To-Do List Process" such as looking at a Trigger Point Chart and seeing the more common referral patterns.

MOST of the more complex Clients do NOT fit into any "standard protocols" taught by many methods of therapy. You have to creatively figure it out as you go.

For Example:

When it comes to Low-Back Pain ... I've had Clients where the solution was to Relax & Lengthen the Abdominal Wall. Others it was the hamstrings. Or the gluteal region. In others there was irritation emanating up from below the knees that radiated upward and had to be released.

Sometimes, the pain originated from the other side of the body from where the pain was. One Client got relief in his lower back when I released his sub-occipital muscles at the base of his skull!

And I'll be darned, sometimes the problem originated from right exactly where the pain was! ... If you can believe THAT!

THIS is just one reason you will probably NEVER get bored with approaching therapy this way.

And will you always figure it out? Probably NOT. But our evaluation method gives you far more precise clues as to where the problem really lies.

It is also why I usually did 3-Hour session, because tracking these things down can be VERY time consuming.

And Poke & Hope is not reliable either, as many NMT & MFR Therapists told me when I was teaching around the country back in the 1990s. (That's Poke in the Muscles and HOPE something gets better!)

They told me when they had trouble helping a Client, their instructors would just say "do the routines." ... Sometimes the routines worked, sometimes not.

They found my Methods to be far more reliable.

DSL Does NOT Advocate Relying on Routines or Recipes!

As the Old Saying Goes: One Size Fits NO ONE!

You probably know it takes more Exploration, more Detective Work, more Thinking & Feeling Deeply, more Focusing on your vast body of Knowledge & Experience to both Intellectually AND Intuitively figure out what a Client really needs in that very moment.

Knowing Advanced Structural Anatomy & Functional Kinesiology & Postural Evaluation Methods gives you the Basic Client Information you need, then you build your assessments from there based ALSO on your Client's recent & long-past Health History. Sometimes, asking the right questions and helping the Client "connect the dots" of their psst health history and current situation can itself trigger a internal, self-healing process.

Asking the Right Questions can trigger memories or insights in the Client, things they've not thought about in YEARS, that can give you valuable information.

I call that the Homeopathic Interview, discussed further below.

THAT is something that AI & Massage Bots will most likely NOT be able to do for quite a while yet, until people like You & I can program our knowledge into those AI systems.

(THAT is an entire Opportunity in itself for motivated & tech-oriented therapists.)

Turning AI In Your Favor ...?

When A.I. Guy Meets E.I. Joe ...You Get HIQ ...

What is HIQ?

I'm calling it Human Intelligence Quotient.

In my mind, that's what happens when, in the Modern Age, Augmented Intelligence (rather than artificial intelligence) is Integral & Synergistic with Emotional Intelligence for the business world.

• I should note that the "Perplexity" AI tool says no one is using the term HIQ the way I am here and in my writings.

The world of business, and many other disciplines, are discovering that people with more developed emotional intelligence perform MUCH better in many professional environments.

We know that, for Example, Harvard Business Review has published many articles and books on developing emotional intelligence, again, for the business world.

It is even becoming a BIG Factor in hiring decisions in the business and academic worlds.

I know that when I was in my late teens, I was a Structural Steel Ironworker Foreman (heavy construction building steel buildings). I was in my late teens / early 20s, and I had crew members (we would call them a "gang") who were "old & crusty," some of the most crude construction workers around. Some of them in their 50s & 60s. ... They could be a REAL handful to "manage."

But I was unusual as I had more than the usual levels of Emotional Intelligence (almost nobody even knew what that even was back then), especially for the 1970s in the trades! But some of the men in my crews would tell me they much preferred working with me as The Boss because I treated them more humanely, and even kindly.

Yet I and my Crews were known for getting the work done faster, more accurately, and with lower cost than most. So I was NOT coddling them. But I treated them "right."

NO Real Surprise, but people tend to perform better when you "treat them right"! But sometimes what is "right" for that one person is NOT what you think, but what you FEEL!

So the "precursor" to AI (I knew how to think, prioritize, & read linear blueprints pretty well) PLUS my Emotional Intelligence had applications in the construction trades even back then!

And it applied to Working Class People, NOT just Managers & Executives.

TODAY, trying to ignore or work ignoring Robots & AI, pretending they are never going to affect YOU, would be like trying to keep your buggy whip factory operating & prosperous after Henry Ford invented the Model T Ford Automobile!

THAT was an Unstoppable Trend. Trying to Stop or Avoid a REAL Trend does not usually turn out well.

In MY mind, I see a BIG Opening coming in the Massage Market Place being the rapidly growing field of enhancing emotional intelligence, and recognition that the Neuro-Musculo-Fascial system is a Primary Source of the sensory information our emotions need to function and actually Process the Feeling of Life Itself!

Emotional Experience is based initially on SENSATIONS which initially arise from the sensory nerve endings of the BodyMind, rising up to the CNS & Brain, merging with our memory banks, then converted into FEELINGS. One element of meditation or mindfulness is keeping in direct, unfiltered contact with those sensations BEFORE they have a chance to merge with our memory banks, the filters.

The problem with filters is they tend to filter OUT the direct experience of life itself.

We, as people who get other people in greater contact with the tissues & nerve impulse of their BodyMind, have an opportunity to support a Client in more deeply experiencing what and how their body FEELS.

And if we can monitor the feelings as they are formed in Real Time, we can make better choices about how we ACT on those feelings, or NOT act.

THAT is ONE sign of Emotional Intelligence.

WHAT Does It FEEL Like to Be ME?

Very Few Things can help a Client or Patient, or Ourselves, Get In Touch with their inner, psycho-emotional selves as can Mindful Massage, Bodywork & Yoga Therapy. Especially if they are combined.

In DSL EdgeWork, we take the Focus OFF of "delivering the technique" and put the Focus onto what WE and the CLIENT are feeling in their and our body during the moments we make hands-on contact or coach them through a stretch, or BOTH.

I believe increasing numbers of Clients — even if they do NOT have the Pain or Dysfunction many or most of our Clients come in for — will become more interested in and open to exploring the possibilities of Mindful Medical Massage & Yoga Therapy.

Yet We The Therapists need to take responsibility to get ourselves OUT THERE and Educate They The People on just what the possibilities are. And the more you have done that FOR YOURSELF, the better you can help THEM!

THAT, the Development of that Knowledge, Skill & Insight will be a Significant Focus of at least one module of my DSL EdgeWork Educational & Mentoring Courses.

Because it is probably an UN-Stoppable Force, I am deeply committed to make AI be an ALLY, not a competitor. (I prefer to call it Augmented Intelligence, rather than artificial, because AI can Augment human, linear, rational thought & knowledge rather than replace it.)

I've spent many hours  experimenting with and learning about AI and where it can help us all. And YES, I even frequently have conversations with it!

AI Helps Us Get The WORD Out About WHO We are, WHAT We Do, & HOW We Can Help Our Prospects & Clients!

Right now, the Main Area I see AI of value for us Therapists is in Finding & Communicating with Existing & Potential Clients and getting them either further engaged or interested in MORE possibilities of what we can offer or do for them. AI makes it a LOT easier to figure out Who They are, Where to find them, & How best to communicate with them.

I'm also interested in developing a Diagnostic App to condense my knowledge of Structural Analysis / Postural Evaluation / Homeopathic Interview into an easy to use tool. And if THAT happens, YOU will be among the Very First to have access to it! OR ... You might even contribute to the development if you are so motivated!

Another Significant Challenge is the Economy & Job Market Outside of the AI Factor:

You might have noticed a lot of layoffs in many sectors of the economy from Farming to Pharma to Finance on Wall Street. Projections as to how many more layoffs there will be are all over the place. No One Knows For Sure.

The recent election is an indicator that things will be getting a LOT better much faster than otherwise. Or at least not much worse.

What we DO know is strong Inflation and increasing Taxes, no matter WHO you tax (rich or poor), is usually NOT good for the long-term economy and job availability. Increasing Regulations slows the economy down dramatically as well.

All three of those are not just on the horizon, but they are HERE. But maybe they are soon to be on the way out.

There are many facts figuring in to those factors. But again, outcomes are NOT certain.

Therefore, Good Planning strongly suggests we need to Proactively Prepare on the Protective side. We need to be proactive on our most important activities, such as our Professional Status and incomes.

And as people in the Middle Class cope with inflation, taxes, and layoffs, they often have to choose between things like food, gas, and rent on one hand, and more discretionary spending — like getting a massage — on the other. Getting things like massage becomes more difficult.

ON THE OTHER HAND ...

While some prediction are that AI will eliminate MILLIONS of jobs, the EXPERTS also say that AI is going to PRODUCE MILLIONS OF JOBS!

Forbes Magazine said 90 some MILLION new jobs will eventually emerge from the AI Revolution in the next few years and decades. And they will tend to be Higher Paying Jobs!

And if you have studied economic history, you might know that when, for example, the high-production auto industry was launched by Henry Ford in December of 1913, many people thought it would be the "end of the world" and MANY if not most jobs were going to be lost.

And yes, there WERE many job losses! ...

BUT, the new auto industry produced SO MANY MORE NEW jobs it completely replaced the lost jobs many times over again. AND, the average workers became FAR more wealthy. That went with the birth of the Modern Middle Class.

That tends to happen every time there is a New Economic Wave of Creativity & Innovation.

How About More Affluent, REALLY Wealthy People?

According to a 2023 article in Zippier, "The Career Expert," ...

• There are about 22 million millionaires in the U.S.
• 8.8 % of U.S. adults are millionaires.
• 33% of U.S. millionaires are women.

MSN.com says 500,000 new millionaires were minted last year, due in great part to the explosion in Tech and AI related markets.

Today, we are on track for that trend to continue and expand.

SO THE NEWS IS NOT ALL BAD.

Regardless, One of THE Best Ways to Protect Your Future is to Keep Upgrading Your Knowledge & Skill Sets.

For Therapists who want new ideas on how to gain & retain New Clients, one suggestion I'll be making is to focus on their Communication & Marketing to find more Affluent Clients who have an interest in enhancing their Emotional Intelligence.

That's what I would be focusing on if I were starting a New Practice today, or RE-Generating an existing practice.

And my DSL EdgeWork Education & Marketing Programs will have part of their focus on those questions & possibilities.

I've started EIGHT practices over the 40 yers I've been doing this work. And they were all different. I can help OU come up with New Ideas for a New Practice or Redirecting your old one.

LET'S TALK! — 928-255-6677

Most therapy systems focus on delivering a Technique to the skin, muscles, fascia & joints of the body. Most Massage Therapy Schools teach their students a variety of massage & bodywork techniques to deliver to their Clients. ... This is all well and good. No Problem there.

But WHY do Most Clients say DSL Edgework is Far More Effective at resolving their neuro-musculo-fascial & joint problems than the other techniques they received? And that it LASTS much longer? And WHY do they wonder why more therapists do not use a similar technique?

NO THERAPIST has EVER "relaxed a muscle" in another Human Being. It is The CLIENT that relaxes the muscle as an internal, psycho-physical process. It is NOT "The Massage Technique" that does the job. Not even MY technique! We just provide the environment the Client needs to relax their muscles.

(And please don't be afraid of the term "psycho-". Psycho-: Refers to "breath, mind, soul" and "psychology.")

The Therapist only provides an environment, experience, or opportunity for The CLIENT to discover their ability to Relax a muscle. ... This is Participatory Medicine, NOT Spectator Medicine. The Client participates in the process, they are NOT just passive recipients.

Rather than focus on treating or manipulating the muscles and/or fascia, OUR FOCUS is on using manual contact with (or conscious stretching [yoga] of...) the skin, muscles & fascia (the "technique") to "talk to" or "communicate with" the Client's CNS, Brain & MIND.

• ( CNS = Central Nervous System )

We Focus on the Body–MIND, not just the Body.

WHAT Do I Mean?

FIRST: It is important to note that MOST accumulated tension & stress — often resulting in C.E.M.&.N.T. — in the human bodymind is from the body attempting to protect, stabilize, compensate, and/or coordinate actions of the BodyMind by contractions of muscle cells, delivering their action potential thru the fascial sheaths to the bones & joints, against challenges or intrusions from Life Itself. Much of the is initiated and coordinated by the Brain.

SECOND: The CNS & Brain, and OFTEN the Mind, either cause much of the trouble in the physical body, or are at least in a position, with enough psycho-physical focus, to influence what's going on ( or not ) in their BodyMind.

As we use the Manual, EDGE-TOUCH Hands-On Technique or EDGE-Based Yoga Postures to send positive, non-intrusive sensory signals to the Client's CNS & Brain, they are stimulated to respond by RESETTING their excess activity and REDUCING motor and sensory nerve output to muscle cells. THIS is what produces the Big Changes — the Deep, Radical RELAXATION — We and OUR Clients are looking for.

Ideally, the Client only has to Focus their Attention & their Breath, and Communicate when the pressure "loses their Edge." The nervous system does the rest spontaneously without much or any will power. The Client does not even HAVE to focus. They can even fall asleep! It will probably NOT work AS well, but the bodymind WILL respond to the manual pressure IF the pressure is not Too Deep, Too Fast, or Too Intrusive.

Yet the more Mindful Focus the Client applies to what they are feeling in their BodyMInd, the more effective the therapy can be.

This Method is very slow, steady pressure on the soft tissues, with very minimal lateral movement. It is almost all sinking in or backing out, following the Clients Edges, waiting till each area has substantial relaxation before moving to another "spot" on the muscle, or another muscle all together. But if the sensation gets too intense, we gradually and slightly back out, giving the Client some "breathing room." But we intend to keep In-Touch with The Edge as much as possible.

The Client should NOT be "tolerating" what they are experiencing or what we are doing. That only reinforces resistance. (Even if you get a short term relaxation of the tissue, it tends to come back later on if they "released" while in resistance mode, sometimes stronger!)

We invest as much TIME as necessary to get a substantial relaxation of the soft tissue. We do NOT try to "hurry up" the relaxation. And usually, if the muscle is NOT releasing, I apply LESS pressure, NOT more pressure.

• This is One Reason that for many years, almost ALL of my Therapy Sessions were three or more hours long. The Clients coming to me had pretty extreme situations, and were highly motivated to get their soft tissue issues handled sooner than later. But not everyone needs that much time.

How much pressure we use in any moment is often a response to communication from our Client about their current, in-the-moment EDGES ... whether we are Too Deep, Not Deep Enough, or Just Right (precisely ON The Edge). ...

The Parasympathetic Nerve System: Self-Healing Processes

We use NO "cross fiber" or "twanging" (except to help the Client to gently & briefly experience the texture of their muscles). NO "slide & glide" or rubbing of the tissues. We go only as deep as our Client is comfortably ready for. This NOT about what they can "tolerate." If they are "tolerating" the sensation, then we are already too deep into the tissues.

We want them to INVITE, Not Fight, the sensations.

This is in Great Part about activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System ( PNS ) which activates internal Self-Healing processes of the body. THAT is our Primary Focus as far as physiological body functions go, to maximize PNS effects.

DSL believes the Parasympathetic Nerve System is the PRIMARY mechanism causing much or most "alternative" or "wholistic" healing to work. It is by stimulating the self-contained, internal, Self-Healing processes of the BodyMInd that it begins healing itself.

The PNS is best stimulated by Weak to Moderate stimulation & sensation. ...

When applying manual pressure or stretch to a muscle, strong sensations tend to DECREASE parasympathetic function while ACTIVATING sympathetic function which also REDUCES Self-Healing processes in the body. VERY strong sensations tend to shut the PNS DOWN, moving the Client into a Sympathetic, Emergency state. That DEFEATS much of the therapeutic, self-healing process.

This is why we do NOT go "deep into the tissues" until the Client has relaxed enough that there is NO PAIN associated with going that deep. This does NOT usually take that long. Yet when it does, it is well worth applying the patience necessary to wait.

Sometimes we use very light pressure for the whole session at the level of the skin, sometimes we are all the way down to the bone, most often somewhere in between. We constantly adjust pressure and depth based on various factors. And usually, it is constantly changing, depending on feedback from the Client. And we don't want to do "Deep Tissue." We want "WHICH Tissue," the layer of skin or musculo-fascia most in need of attention at that moment.

As far as "fascial release" goes, and because they are so intertwined, we treat the deep fascia and muscle cells as an integrated, synergistic system, NOT as separate tissues. (See more on fascia below under Myth-Conceptions.)

AND, the DSL Edge-Touch Tension Release Technique is MUCH Less Stressful on the muscles, fascia, & joints of your, the Therapist's, own body! It is far easier to maintain better posture when working. Therapists have far less tendency to "burn out," and have far better tools of Self-Care & Self-Maintenance.

A Primary Feature of DSL's EDGE-TOUCH Technique is the NO Pain, MORE Gain Philosophy. The Client should never be experiencing any increase in their pain levels as a result of the therapy.

This is an Opportunity for the Client to Explore & Work With, including verbalizing and communicating about, their Levels & Qualities of Sensation. Doing so gives them more access to the "information" & "experience" embedded in their psycho-neuro-musculo-fascial systems — their BodyMind. ... Then, they can process it.

This gives them more access to their Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Quotient. And neuroscience and psychology are showing that Emotional Intelligence expands the horizons & competency of many aspects & dimensions of Being a Fully Actualized Human Being.

Pain, Fear & Resistance

• Pain is any sensation warning of an occurring or impending physical danger or injury to the tissues of the body.
• Fear is a feeling and belief that something negative or bad is going to happen in the very near future.
• Resistance is when the soft tissues will not relax, yet the Client experiences no sensation associated with it.
• VERY OFTEN, the Client cannot FEEL negative reactions because they are too subtle. OR, they are DE-sensitized. This creates an extra challenge for the Therapist.

In cases of Resistance, it is up to the Therapist to report to the Client there is resistance (tension) in the muscle. If possible, the Therapist will do more "massage like" movements (such as cross-fiber) to give the Client a feeling of the texture of the muscle. But that is not the treatment. Until the Client can feel the area more fully, the Therapist has to be extra careful here to not trigger any negative reaction. And very often, the reactions are not noticeable to the Client OR the Therapist!

Minimum & Maximum Edges

The more injured or traumatized a Client is, the closer they should be to their Minimum Edges of Sensation. That is the least amount of manual pressure or stretch as possible. Very Healthy people can work closer to their Maximum Edges of Sensation. Most people need to be somewhere in between, which is a very subjective thing. Playing One's Internal Edges is a very in-the-moment, meditative experience that is constantly in flux.

Ideally, this is facilitated by close communication between the Client & Therapist. The Client keeps the Therapist informed about their levels of sensation, whether Too Deep, Not Deep Enough, or "Just Right," meaning Right ON or within The Edge. — That's the Goldilocks Principle. (Although I don't know if the Goldilocks Story is known to younger generations now?!?!) — The Client also reports unusual or unexpected sensations and impressions, giving the Therapist more information to go on, just in case some new factor arises. And of course, if the Therapist is doing something that feels really good or really right, the Client reports that too.

And Things Change, sometimes quickly, sometimes a LOT! ... Very Often "The Edge" today is GONE tomorrow, or it can change location.

There is one SMALL Exception to the NO Pain Principle in certain cases of neurological pain: In some cases, if we can elevate the Client's nerve pain sensation levels just SLIGHTLY, and hold it there for short periods to time while they focus on their breathing and the sensations, this allows the Homeopathic, Neurological, Self-Healing Responses of the Client's BodyMind to PERCEIVE, PROCESS, & REDUCE the neural irritation they're feeling. ... It works especially well for irritation of the Superficial Fascia, the deepest layer of the skin (which is NOT very deep at all!) ... It's worked almost every time I tried it.

Structural DE-Compression & Postural Balancing

In Structural Balancing (for short), our Primary Objective is to figure out which are the most "locked short" muscles, the Primary Contractors. These muscles usually have the most amount of nerve tonus keeping them contracted or "tight." They are also most likely to be causing the most problems, such as pulling us DOWN and OVER, collapsing us into the field of gravity.

One of our "Jobs" is to help people discover that Gravity is NOT the Enemy. ...

It is how WE RELATE to Gravity that is the REAL Problem.

We Can Learn to RELEASE the Natural Forces Built In at Birth!

The over-lengthened muscles, the Secondary Contractors, are ALSO tight, sometimes TIGHTER than the Primary Contractors, because they are often working harder to keep the body from collapsing into gravity! They are stabilizing us against the downward pull of gravity and our very own locked-short muscles!

In the Above Illustration, the muscles on the Client's Right (your left in GRAY) are the Primary Contractors, the over-short muscles. The muscles on the Client's Left (your right in RED) are the Secondary Contractors.

Our job is to use our Tension Release Techniques to facilitate the sensory recovery, the Relaxation & Lengthening of those musculo-fascial units. Neurologically, this is done by reduction of nerve tonus flowing to the muscle from the CNS & Brain.

My 2-Year Path to Become a Structural Bodyworker!

The Medical & Physical SCIENCES of DSL EdgeWork are right out of Orthodox Medical Research. Yes, they are very NOT trustworthy when it comes to diagnosing & treating many of the modern "Lifestyle Diseases" that do NOT respond well AT ALL to drugs, surgery, radiation, and other such invasive, non-natural modalities in so-called "Modern" Medicine.

They don't treat "Tight Muscles" very well, if at all, either!

Yet Thankfully, increasing numbers of Orthodox Doctors are Seeing The Light, and getting on board with more Whole Health or Alternative approaches to various modalities of Medicine & Therapy.

Their studies, however, of human anatomy, kinesiology, physiology & neurology of how the Human BodyMind & Structure is constructed, functions, & operates, is quite impressive. We can gain a lot of VERY useful knowledge from studying certain aspects of their sciences.

Ironically, it is the part of their science they ignore, or rather don't look at closely the way WE do, giving us the better insights providing us superior Evaluation & Treatment abilities of musculo-fascial units. And as I've been saying for a few years now ...

Knowing HOW It Works, Tells You HOW To Work It!

As Joel Kramer, my Primary Yoga Teacher and a Great Psycho-Philosopher often said, the Answer to most Problems is CONTAINED WITHIN the Problem! You just have to know Where & HOW to LOOK!

That, BTW, is an aspect of Meditative Awareness, where you just look at "What Is" with a quiet, yet actively open mind, rather than having a "busy" mind trying to "figure it out." A Passive Mind doesn't do it, either. ... If you just look with clear eyes & a quiet mind, the answer will very often come OUT to YOU. ... Because it is in there anyway.

As My Dad used to say about Structural Ironworking, the STEEL will TELL you what it NEEDS! The STEEL will "talk" to you, just NOT in YOUR language!

(Yes, us iron-workers worked with steel, which was made with iron ore!)

And since most of the problems WE as therapists deal with have to do with the Musculo-Skeletal, Neuro-Muscular, & Myo-Fascial STRUCTURE of the BodyMind, we of course have to look deeply into the Structure of said BodyMind.

That's an area my DAD (John A. Lynn) was very helpful to me. From an early age, he took me out to the steel construction job sites with him, where, among other things, I learned how to WORK!

He raised me up to be a Foreman, so as a Structural Steel Ironworker, he taught me how to "plumb up" the Steel Buildings to make them Stand UP Straight & NOT fall down! In those buildings, there were vertical columns & horizontal beams that were somewhat similar to the bones of the human body. ... We also had VERY strong but somewhat flexible "plumb cables" we used to pull the steel buildings "straight & square" till it got all bolted & welded up and very rigid & stable. Those cables were very similar to the muscles, fascia & tendons of the body, as well.

SO ... I learned how to be a Structural Steel Ironworker, in part "plumbing up" buildings for a living. Later, after a few years as a Yoga Teacher, I became a Bodyworker, then I got into Structural Bodywork. I believe working the steel earlier in my life put me way ahead in being able to "plumb up" a human "stack of bones"!

It Taught me How to SEE!

I should say, though, that oe of the big Leo I learned from him, I was only 13 years old. We were at a job sight and Dad got into a "discussion," a "polite argument," with an architect and an engineer. They were trying to convince him to do something to a steel structure, and he said it would not work.

It only took ME a short time to see DAD was RIGHT (as usual) and THEY were wrong. THAT DAY I was cured of any potential tendency to NECESSARILY believe in what people were saying if I thought there was a problem with it, not even if they had official degrees & licenses!

I was early on removed from believing in being a subordinate to the Authoritarian Paradigm.

In DSL Edgework, we Mindfully LEARN to SEE for OURSELVES what's really in front of us, THEN we can SEE & Think Structurally.

When we can Think Structurally, we can do the BIO-Detective Work necessary to figure out the Primary Keys (Contractors) in our Client's neuro-musculo-fascial, soft tissue issues!

DSL Therapy uses tailored Myo-Structural / Postural "Let-Go Yoga" (Conscious Stretching) targeting a Client's current and specific muscles, which helps maximize results from therapy. It is usually kept to no more than 3 Postures until the Client decides they want — and will DO — more.

Yogic Logic & YogasAnalysis are applications of Structural Anatomy, Functional Kinesiology, & Neuro-Musculo-Fascial Sciences to evaluate a Client's concentrations of C.E.M.&.N.T. and designing the most relevant & targeted yoga postures for their needs.

Most of what I KNOW, at the Experiential Level, about getting a muscle to Relax & Release & Rebalance, I learned by doing 3 to 4 hours of Yoga (Conscious Stretching) a day for extended periods over several years.

Way Back, starting in Spring of 1982, I had (out of "seemingly" NOWHERE), instantly developed a LONG bout of right side, low back & hip pain lasting 3 and a half YEARS. I spent a LOT of time leaning up against doorknobs! The pain was often debilitating, and I would spend entire days rolling around on the floor trying to relieve it. But even doing yoga made it worse, even though I had been a yoga teacher for several years and yoga had originally gotten me OUT of comparatively less intense levels of pain, which is in part WHY I became a yoga teacher! I figured that if it helped ME so much, I could help other people to!

When I first became a yoga teacher in 1976, I was doing my personal yoga practice about FOUR HOURS per day, most days, with NO Problem. ... But NOW, after the severe pain began, doing yoga almost paralyzed me. I could not figure out what was going on.

The pain, with usually NO warning, threw me on the floor a few times a week; the rest of the time it just hurt like hell. I finally concluded it was the result of numerous injuries I had from racing motocross & enduros (dirt bikes over rough terrain) in my early teens. After that, I was a Structural Steel Ironworker (very heavy construction) for about eight years (VERY stressful on the body) in my later teens and early twenties.

By 1981 (27 years old), I had also become a massage / bodywork practitioner, and had access to some excellent therapists in Chicago who could NOT, in 1982 when the Big Pain hit, figure out how to help me.

But one day, in mid-1985, I was working with a somewhat-famous Osteopath in the Chicago area ( Dr. Bill Mauer ). He did a full body X-ray on me, and I was able to instantly see what was going wrong. ... I had never been able to do a postural evaluation on myself, because it works best to do it from BEHIND the Client.

Fortunately, in 1982, I had taken the risk of taking an Intensive Course in Structural Bodywork taught by Daniel Blake (a former Rolfer), where I learned a unique method of postural & structural evaluation that very few people seem to use or even know about. (Even the people who took that program with me could not figure out how to apply the method to MY situation. But I think I understood structure better than they did, in part because of my several years as a Structural Ironworker Foreman.)

What I saw in the X-ray was that all the muscles that HURT were "locked long" (the reactive muscles). But the muscles that were causing the problems were "locked short" (but had NO pain).

But because I was stretching the muscles that hurt (locked long), they were getting even LONGER, throwing me FURTHER Out of Balance, and I was actually making my problems FAR WORSE when I tried to do my yoga postures. I was throwing my muscles FURTHER OUT of balance by stretching the painful, locked long muscles.

SO ... I immediately realized I needed to focus on stretching ONLY the locked short muscles.

SO ... I Redesigned & Restarted my Yoga Practice to focus ONLY on the locked short muscles (the ones that did NOT hurt), and leave the locked long muscles (the ones that DID hurt) alone. ... It was a very A-symmetrical process, which violated some of the "common knowledge" about yoga, where you are "supposed to" work each side equally.

(The all too common idea in therapy that the locked long muscles were Too Weak and needed to be "strengthened" made NO SENSE AT ALL to me. Paradoxically, and very often, the locked long muscles are working MUCH harder than the locked short muscles. Why further stress a muscle that is already FAR too stressed as it is?)

I did this new routine for about 3 HOURS per day, five or six days a week. Because I had been using this Method of Therapy successfully with my Clients for about three years, and I knew enough of the science behind it, I had a LOT of faith in the process. So I figured it eventually HAD to work. So I persisted.

YES, that took a LOT of patience and FAITH in the process. But having a scientific mind, combined with my already extensive yoga experience, kept me ON TRACK.

Yet it was not until an afternoon in the FOURTH MONTH of doing 3 Hours of yoga almost every day that I had my first Pain Free Few HOURS! I remember EXACTLY what I was doing when I realized my back was not hurting!

(I was doing therapy at the home of one of my Best Clients!) And THAT was the moment my Method of Therapy was finally CONFIRMED, and the DSL Method was Officially Born.

It took about a YEAR before I was pain free most of the time. But I must admit, what my body had been through in my teens (dirt bikes and ironworking) had me in Far Worse Condition than MOST of my WORST off Clients, even ones with multiple car accidents!

Fortunately, I had learned my Yoga Lessons quite well, from a man named Joel Kramer, who some people call "The Father Of American Yoga." Not that he was the first American to teach yoga, but he was the first American to integrate physical yoga with a very Western approach to Meditation & Introspection, FAR more than what was being taught by Gurus from India at the time.

And I knew that attempting to force muscles to Relax & Release was usually a losing proposition, especially in extreme cases. So I had the patience and introspection necessary to allow my severely contracted muscles the time they needed to Let Go & Relax.

There is a LOT more to that Story, and it serves as an important Case Study in learning my Method of Therapy, especially with complex scoliosis, which I had. But we will discuss that more in my programs.

CHALLENGING MYTH-CONCEPTIONS ...

For Just ONE EXAMPLE ... 

Do We Treat Muscles? Or Do We Treat Fascia?

Or Do We Treat BOTH as ONE Fully Integrated, Synergistic, Whole System?

A NOTE on the Semi-MYTH-Conceptions About "Muscles" and "Fascia" as if they were significantly different tissues: Yes, when it comes to studying Structural Anatomy & Physiology, Muscle Cells and Deep Fascia ARE VERY DIFFERENT. But in Actual Living Function, they are NOT SEPARATE.

PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY ...

at the two Illustrations Above. ... On the Left, you'll see a muscle with the Deep Fascia, Epimysium, Perimysium, & Endomysium labeled. ALL 4 layers are "fascial sheaths," and sometimes all these sheaths or layers are referred to as Deep Fascia (as opposed to the Superficial Fascia, illustration on Right, discussed below).

This means these "deep" layers of fascia are deeper than the superficial fascia. But much of deep fascia is just under the skin, so not really "deep" at all.

These Deep Fascial Sheaths, among several other important functions, contain & protect muscle cells, as well as deliver the Contractile Force of muscle cells to the bones & joints.

It is very common today for various therapists, physicians, and researchers to speak or write of Muscles and Fascia as two distinct and different "things." And there is a tendency to assign functions to fascia that are FAR more accurately functions of muscle cells. And there are whole therapy systems based on the idea you can treat or stretch fascia separately from the muscles, as if they are two different AND separate systems.

While it is true they are VERY different anatomically & physiologically, You can SEE they are so intimately intertwined & interdependent as to be nearly useless or non-functional without each other working TOGETHER in harmony. Their very DIFFERENT functions allow them to work TOGETHER, SYNERGISTICALLY, as Critically Important Elements of Movement, Mobilization & Action. And of course they assist many metabolic functions as well (among other things).

Therefore, I prefer to think of and treat them as Integrated, Wholistic, Functional UNITS — Unity: united or joined as a whole — rather than as "separate" or independent tissues. ... And when you touch a muscle, applying even the very slightest pressure ALREADY has you into the muscle cells as well as the deep fascia.

It is my observation & experience that — with VERY limited exceptions — muscle cells & deep fascia can-NOT be effectively treated as truly separate tissues. You can watch videos on the internet with muscle therapy teachers demonstrating a technique while saying they are "treating the fascia." Yet it Is OBVIOUS they are pressing into the muscle cells as well as "treating the fascia."

What's The Big Deal?

A number of VERY IMPORTANT "tissue issues" and strategic problems, critical errors in assessment, often arise from the "modern" conceptions & assumptions about fascia when discussed as being "separate" from muscles.

One problems is because of their focus on fascia, and there ideas about how it works, when they were attempting to straighten a scoliosis, they were often working on the wrong tissues, the OPPOSITE of where they should have been working, and either the client would NOT get better, or they would occasionally get worse.

(I did a presentation of my work to some Rolfers once, using scoliosis as the subject of my talk, and they almost instantly saw that what I was saying made a LOT of sense. Some of them changed their assessment & treatment methods as a result.)

The Problems arise in great part because some people want to assign characteristics of muscle cells to fascia, because fascia has become the New Holy Grail or a Fad of Therapy.

Now, it IS true there IS a BIG difference between "Superficial Fascia" (the deepest layer of our very thin skin, in Right-hand illustration above) and the "Deep Fascia" (the various layers of sheaths containing the muscle cells).

I explain the treatment of "Superficial Fascia" in sections above. In my programs and eBooks, I give significant attention to knowing the nature of those differences AND harmonies for effective and accurate evaluation & treatment. But these are seldom, if EVER, discussed by those who claim to "treat the fascia."

THEREFORE, FYI ... when I speak of "Muscles" in these pages, I am referring to the entire Musculo-Fascial Unit as a Whole, Synergistic, Unified System. ...

HOWEVER, if I'm talking about muscle cells separately from fascia, I'll use the term "muscle cells." ... If I'm referring to superficial fascia or deep fascia (fascial sheaths), I will use those terms specifically as well.

This is a VERY IMPORTANT topic. It helps you learn to "Think Structurally" and make your Evaluation Skills FAR More Precise. I have an eBook on this website ( CLICK the button right here below ) explaining, in great detail with illustrations, most of the above described concepts of deep fascial sheaths, superficial fascia, and muscle cells.