Bodyworker James Earls specialises in Myofascial Release and Structural Integration. Ahead of his workshop at camexpo, he talks about the importance of touch in anatomy, and the new drive to blend functional movement with manual therapy.
Who or what has been the biggest influence on your career?
I started my journey into manual therapy in the early 1990’s when there were only a few books available that gave any sense of the complexities we are now familiar with and one of them was written by Leon Chaitow. Most of the others were derivative rehashes of the same 16 ways to perform effleurage. Leon’s books always gave me something to aspire to. Since then my greatest inspiration has been Tom Myers, whom I now work and write with. I was privileged to co-author ‘Fascial Release for Structural Balance’ with Tom and he wrote the forward to my latest title. Other wonderful supporters of my work and advancement have been Art Riggs, who is a great friend and mentor, and Andrew Biel, author of ‘Trail Guide to the Body’. Each them - Tom, Leon, Art and Drew - have given something new to the field of bodywork. They have been original in their presentation and blending of complex material and have given the profession novel insights for working with the body.
What do you love most about your work?
Every person, every body, gives me a new way of thinking about and looking at the human form. Each conversation and consultation, every movement and sport presents a puzzle for me and the client to solve together. There are so many complexities in the human body that we will never know exactly what is happening. We are getting loads of new and better information every day and it feeds into a clearer problem-solving approach. It also gives us new strategies, new ways of working. The speed of development of manual therapy is exhilarating - there is so much good information available now, much better than when I started. As a teacher I have the privilege of passing that excitement onto others.
Working with new therapists is a wonderful challenge, they are so well informed (sometimes because of social media, but mostly in spite of it!) and it pushes me to keep up to date and be innovative. Working with many of the top educators in my field has opened a lot of doors and given me possibilities to explore areas that would otherwise have been unavailable. I have travelled the world to present lectures and workshops, attended many conferences and seminars but most of all I have met so many wonderful people that I can call friends and colleagues.
What’s the single biggest challenge in your work?
Keeping up to date with the research. The internet has given us access to many wonderful resources but there is also the potential for overload and there are the obvious difficulties of separating the wheat and chaff. Also being at the edge of development, it is frustrating to see copycats coming behind. Everyone knows the type; they turn up for a workshop, attend a few days and then think they can teach it. Unfortunately it is rife in this business and it is difficult for the new therapist to know the difference between the innovator and the copycat.
What’s one emerging trend or research that anyone working in your field should know?
For a few years now there has been a drive to blend movement and manual therapy. Its been coming in both directions, movement therapists want to learn and enhance their work with manual techniques and vice versa. With our school we have started to blend functional movement and manual work. It has been a five year process of developing and refining the material but we are now sure we have a complete and coherent system that will cross the divide between manual and movement therapies and make the division a thing of the past. We can combine the disciplines but it does require a new vision of anatomy. Developing and working with that new anatomy has been one of the excitements for me recently. It began with the writing of the book, ‘Born to Walk’ and the main principles are outlined there but in the workshops we can go so much further and apply them to almost any situation or movement.
What are your top three tips for someone just starting out as a manual therapist?
Research - first find the right school for you. Each school has a different personality, make sure it matches yours but also make sure it is at the top of its game. Visit them, have treatments from them, try out intro workshops to get a taste of their style, phone them, interview them,interview their graduates and, importantly, check their credentials. However don’t be confused by lists of accrediting bodies and levels of training - ask how long they have been teaching, who did they learn from (they should be recognisable names and you can also follow those up as well).
Anatomy - it often seems like the awful science class from school - it shouldn’t! If to does, find another teacher. Spending time getting to know the anatomy and the interactions through the body will be time well spent. Bodywork is getting ever more sophisticated in its approaches and one will have to be science and anatomy savvy to stay up to date - clients are also expecting you to be able to ‘talk the talk’.
Touch - strangely few schools teach touch very well. It is our main medium and should be respected as one of the most powerful communication tools we possess, it’s a shame it is so often ignored. Find your touch. Explore other therapists and intelligently analyse what you like and dislike, survey your clients, friends and relatives to find what they like about touch in general and your touch specifically. Try to get as many people under your hands as quickly as possible and keep asking for feedback. Have supervision sessions from your teachers or other experienced therapists. Exchange treatments and compare the depths and qualities, never presume that what you are doing is good enough, keep striving for better.
In addition to your workshop, why would you recommend practitioners/therapists to visit camexpo?
Keeping up to date is important and it can be easy to feel isolated as a therapist. Camexpo gives you a way of seeing what is new and there are so many fantastic ways of networking with fellow therapists. It’s energetic, it’s educational and it’s revitalising.
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