A N I M A L B O D Y W O R K

A G U I D E T O W O R K I N G W I T H A N I M A L S

The Fluffy Weekend WarriorBy Karrie Osborn

Bodywork for AnimalsBy Rebecca Jones

Two Legs or FourBy Karrie Osborn

Massage and the Exotic AnimalBy Kieran McConnellogue

Animal MassageBy Patricia Whalen-Shaw

Healing Touch for AnimalsBy Lara Evans Bracciante

No Horsing AroundBy Kieran McConnellogue

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Four-Legged Clients By Rebecca Jones

Animal MassageBy Shirley Vanderbilt

Peter Cottontail Should Have Had a MassageBy Karrie Osborn

The Power of PetsBy Shirley Vanderbilt

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intended as comprehensive modality training or medical advice. ABMP encourages practitioners and massage therapy clients to consult a qualified professional for individual diagnostic and health-care needs.

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These articles appeared in Massage & Bodywork magazine and Body Sense magazine between 2002 and 2019.

Four-Legged Clients... and the bodyworkers who care for themBY REBECCA JONES

Most bodywork clients

appreciate the serenity of a

darkened room, with soothing

music playing quietly in the

background and a touch of

scented oil in the air. Then, there

are Kathi Soukup’s clients.

Like a growing number of massage therapists and bodyworkers, Soukup has become a family practitioner in the broadest sense of the term. An avid endurance rider, she began her career working on horses and later learned to work on humans. Now, she’s just as comfortable providing massage and acupressure to four-legged family members as two-legged ones.

“I’ve been in a veterinarian’s office with a massage table set up in the middle and a dozen dogs barking in the background,” says Soukup, a massage therapist in Freeport, Illinois, who also plies her trade in barns, tack rooms, and anywhere else her clients call home. “I just try to find a level spot to work.”

As a result, her clientele are as diverse as the venues in which she practices. “I have the trifecta,” she says. “I work on people, their horses, and their dogs. Typically, I work on the horse every month, the human two to three times a year, and the dog whenever an issue comes up.”

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Kathi Soukup is a Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute graduate and instructor for both equine and canine bodywork.

Denise Theobald, who has a massage practice in suburban Chicago, went the opposite route. Ten years into her (human) massage career, she thought she was approaching burnout. About the same time, one of her three dogs began limping, and a light bulb went on. “I’m surprised it took me that long to think of it,” Theobald says. “I always wanted to work with animals, but bodywork was my life. It just made sense that I would take everything that I learned in the human world and apply it to cats and dogs.”

For the next 14 years, Theobald’s human clientele filled the bulk of her time, but she made more and more house calls to see animal clients. “While I was at the house for the animal, the owner would ask, ‘While you’re here, could you work on my wife?’” Three years ago, Theobald closed her human practice and opened Canine Massage Chicago, an office where people can bring their pets.

“I’d say 70–80 percent of the dogs I work on are on a mat on the floor,” Theobald says. “But if a smaller dog is comfortable up on the table, I use sheets and change them, just like with humans.” Plus, if a human wants a massage, she’ll oblige. “People typically don’t come here looking to get a massage for themselves, but they know I’m licensed and qualified to give human massages. There’s just some dog hair in the room.”

LEARNING THE RIGHT TECHNIQUESSuch blended animal-human practices are familiar to animal acupressure pioneer Amy Snow. Snow and her partner Nancy Zidonis are cofounders of Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute in Castle Pines, Colorado, and the authors of eight textbooks on animal acupressure. Snow estimates about one-third of the roughly 300 graduates of the Tallgrass program now have blended practices.

“We have quite a few licensed massage therapists in our program,” says Snow, who originally trained in Chinese medicine nearly 40 years ago and teamed with Zidonis

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15 years ago. “They come because they want to expand to serve the whole family, not just people and not just horses.”

Tallgrass has lately begun promoting tui na, an ancient form of Chinese acupressure massage, as especially appropriate for animals. Snow says animals are highly responsive to the tui na techniques of “dredging,” or clearing the meridians through grasping, holding, kneading, pressing, pounding, pushing, rolling, rubbing, and other manual manipulations.

At Tallgrass, Snow teaches a set of 11 different hand techniques, each with a subset of at least three different movements. “You’re not doing massage in the same way, but working with meridians and specific acupoints,” she says. “The movement and techniques are very soothing and repetitive. In some ways, it’s like massage, but tui na is specific to working with meridians.”

EXPANDING YOUR MARKETFrom a business standpoint, it makes a lot of sense for massage therapists and other bodyworkers to expand their practices to include animals, as it substantially broadens the pool of potential clients.

What’s more, many pet owners willingly invest in services to enhance their animal’s well-being, even when they won’t spend the money on themselves. That’s why US spending on pets in 2013 is expected to top $55 billion, up nearly 28 percent since 2008. Last year, Inc. magazine declared pet care one of the best industries for starting a new business.

But working with animals isn’t for every bodyworker. “You do have to know about animals,” Snow says. “You have to have a background in animals, and you have to love them. You also have to have enough knowledge to keep yourself safe.”

Snow has worked on everything from cats and dogs to ferrets, minks, and rabbits, and Zidonis has worked on a variety of larger animals, including goats and sheep. “She’s helped deliver baby goats by using acupressure points to help the contractions,”

Denise Theobald took everything she learned in the human world and applied it to cats and dogs.

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Snow says. “It’s amazing how receptive any animal is when they’re not feeling good.”

Certain animals are well-suited for different kinds of bodywork. For example, Snow finds that cats, who may not enjoy massage as much as dogs or horses, especially enjoy tui na. “I find cats and horses to be the most energetically connected animals,” she says. “They have personalities. Some will like one thing and not another. You have to use your educated intuition.”

REACHING ALL CLIENTSTherapists experienced in both animal and human massage and bodywork techniques say they’re amazed at how often pets and their owners seem to suffer from the same maladies. It’s usually not coincidence.

“It is pretty funny how they mirror each other,” Theobald says. “Many times, if you have an active dog coming in for a sports massage, the owners are fit and active themselves.”

“With horse and rider teams, if the human has a stiff neck, the horse may develop a stiff neck as well,” Soukup says. “When we ride them and we’re not in balance, we may cause them to be out of balance.” Sympathy pains are also common. “I see more emotional things with dogs. Dogs live in the house with humans, and they pick up on those things, like anxiety and grief, which can manifest in physical issues like allergies.”

It’s clear that both humans and animals can benefit from receiving bodywork, and these practitioners are proof that bodyworkers, through working with both humans and animals, can benefit, too.

Rebecca Jones is a tenured Massage & Bodywork

freelance writer. She lives and writes in Denver,

Colorado.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, July/August 2013.

Rou Fa is the base for other techniques. To begin, use your palm and thenar prominence. Start lightly and go in a circular motion with your hand flat on the surface of the animal’s body. Relax your wrist so there’s no tension on your joint. Feel the muscles and sinews move under your palm. As you proceed, the movement becomes more vigorous, increasing from about 60 rotations per minute to approximately 90 rotations per minute. Adapted from Tui Na–Level 1 (Tallgrass Publishers, 2013).

With Tui Fa, use the thumb or whole hand with pressure being applied from the palm and heel of your hand. Have a relaxed, smooth, consistent sliding of the tip of your thumb or palm and heel of hand while applying moderate pressure. Glide over the surface of the body evenly both forward and back. Use a cotton cloth or sheet so you can perform the movement smoothly and not overly disturb the animal’s coat. Adapted from Tui Na–Level 1 (Tallgrass Publishers, 2013).

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For the weekend warrior, a

massage helps both recovery

time and future performance.

If you’re taking your favorite four-

legged friend with you on those

weekend adventures, there’s a

good chance they could use

some bodywork as well.

Massage offers the same benefits for the athletic canine as it does for humans: from muscle recovery to better flexibility to improved conditioning, massage helps build peak performance.

The Fluffy Weekend WarriorHow Bodywork Benefits Animal Athletes TooBY KARRIE OSBORN

According to famed dog trainer and TV personality Cesar Millan, whether your canine is an “athlete” or not, these are the top reasons you should get your dog a massage:

• Stress and anxiety reduction • Healing and recovery• Improved function • Overall well-being• Strengthens the human/canine bond

and relationshipMillan says massaging your dog can

“help to rehabilitate, reduce pain and swelling, heal strains and sprains faster, and keep scar tissue to a minimum … A massage [also] can increase your dog’s circulation, decrease blood pressure, improve lymphatic fluid movement, strengthen his immune system, aid digestion, stimulate the kidneys and liver, and encourage deeper breathing.”1

So, if Fido went with you on that 10-mile hike this weekend, had an exhausting round of catching the Frisbee, or ran along the sandy coastline by your side, consider booking a massage for him afterward, just as you would for yourself.

Note1. CesarsWay.com, “Why You Should Give

Your Dog a Massage,” accessed June 2018,

www.cesarsway.com/dog-care/muscular-skeletal-

care/Why-you-should-give-your-dog-a-massage.

Karrie Osborn is senior editor at Associated

Bodywork & Massage Professionals.

Originally published in Body Sense, Summer 2018.

For All Walks of Life

In addition to being a great therapeutic tool for elite animal athletes, including million-dollar racehorses, animal massage can help critters deal with all sorts of issues, including easing the pain from arthritis, comforting an animal in grief, providing support during hospice care, assisting in postsurgery rehabilitation, and much more. For an animal massage therapist near you, go to www.massagetherapy.com or ask your massage therapist for a referral.

1. BECOME NATIONALLY CERTIFIEDAnimal massage is not only gaining public recognition; now there are opportunities for national certification. “For years, animal massage practitioners have had to practice without legal recognition or protection from their states,” says Lola Michelin, director of education for the Northwest School of Animal Massage (www.nwsam.com) in Seattle, Washington. “All that is changing as organizations form to promote higher standards of practice and lobby for legislation recognizing the valuable service animal massage practitioners provide.” Two organizations worth checking out: the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure & Massage (www.nbcaam.org) and the International Association of Animal Massage and Bodywork (IAAMB, www.iaamb.org).

2. LEARN THE LAWSBefore ever putting a therapeutic finger to fur, find out what the laws are in your state, as they vary dramatically. In some states, animal massage is legal only under the supervision of a veterinarian. Others require specific licensure, while some have no regulations at all. If you’re not sure, a good place to start is the IAAMB, which keeps a list of the laws in each state, and a link to the state legislative scopes of practice.

3. RECESSION-PROOF CLIENTSOne bonus of providing animal massage is that the companion animal industry is somewhat immune to difficult economic times. “Animals get a lot of disposable income sent their way,” Michelin says. “In times when people are making choices about how often they’ll get massages for themselves, they haven’t shown any reluctance to provide for their pet. If anything, they turn their focus back more to the home, and [their] pet’s health and well-being becomes an even bigger concern. It’s definitely a growth market.”

4. SYMPATHETIC RESPONSEWhen animals receive bodywork, their owners get part of the benefit. “When owners see their beloved animals relaxing, that in turn increases their own satisfaction and relaxation,” says Nancy Zidonis, cofounder of Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute (www.animalacupressure.com) in Castle Pines, Colorado, and a pioneer in the field of animal acupressure. “They go in tandem.”

Bodywork for AnimalsCounting Critters Among ClienteleBY REBECCA JONES

5. TRAIN YOUR TOUCHAnimals aren’t people, and what’s good for humans isn’t necessarily good for animals. “Animals are much more sensitive,” says Carol Komitor, founder of Healing Touch for Animals (www.healingtouchforanimals.com) in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. “You have to be softer when you approach them.” Komitor cautions against touching them in a way that tickles or makes their skin ruffle. “Your hand can’t be pushy, but must find that nice edge between too light and too much pressure. Speak with a voice that is understanding to let them know you are the leader.”

6. READ BODY LANGUAGE CUESIt’s important to understand animal body language and not misread the signals animals send about their levels of discomfort. “Some dogs’ response to distress is to get really excited,” says Robyn Hood, senior instructor of the Tellington TTouch Method (www.ttouch.com). “People think they like what you’re doing, but that’s not always the case.”

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Hood recommends the book On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals (Dogwise Publishing, 2005) by Turid Rugaas to help decipher just what that licking, looking away, or panting might mean.

7. UNUSUAL CLIENTELEDogs and horses make up the bulk of animal massage and bodywork clients, but they’re by no means the only clients. Hood recently worked on a boa constrictor that was having trouble shedding its skin. (Relaxation helps the shedding process.) She’s also worked with meerkats and skunks. Michelin has worked on a hairless coatimundi, a reticulated giraffe, a three-legged horse, a guide dog for the blind who was also blind, and a three-toed sloth. “If you’re tired of the same clients week after week, maybe it’s time you considered adding animals to your practice,” Michelin says.

8. HOME VISITS CREATE COMFORTSome therapists do have the animals come to them for massage, but most experts say making house calls is better for several reasons. Lots of animals associate car trips with going to the vet, which makes them anxious. Plus, they’re usually just more comfortable in their own environment. Home visits also cut down on the practitioner’s overhead. But if you’re determined to do the work in your own studio, make sure it’s in a separate room from your human clients. Clients with pet allergies will thank you.

9. ESSENTIAL OIL SAFETYEssential oils can be used to enhance animal massage, but be wary of using them around cats. While cats express an interest in aromatherapy, Michelin says their livers are ill equipped to metabolize some of the elements found in essential oils. “Some oils even present a risk of fatal toxicity, so use caution when using oils around your household if you share it with a feline, and never apply oils directly to a cat without training first. Hydrosols can be a nice and effective alternative.”

10. CARING FOR OWNERSIt’s a good idea to network with veterinarians, grief counselors, and other human care providers if you work with animals, because pet massage is never just about the pet. “That pet has a guardian who has sought you out, and who loves that animal so much she wants to invest in a not-so-common modality,” says Cindy Horsfall, owner of La Paw Spa (www.lapawspa.com) in Sequim, Washington, and a pioneer in canine aquatic massage. “[The owner] comes in with this unconditional love for this animal, and if you’re providing geriatric canine massage, you will probably be the person who is providing therapy and comfort to both of them right up until the passing of that animal. It can be very emotional. And deep. And wonderful.”

Rebecca Jones is a tenured Massage &

Bodywork freelance writer. She lives and writes in

Denver, Colorado.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, July/August 2012.

Compensation

Specifically educated animal massage and bodywork practitioners can expect to earn anywhere from $40–$70 per session, with sessions lasting 40 to 50 minutes. If a particular owner- or trainer-client has previously been exposed to the benefits of animal bodywork, fees in the higher range are acceptable. Where an owner or trainer is new to the work, a lower fee or introductory rate may be useful. Know that some animal clients may not tolerate sessions longer than 20 to 30 minutes.

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Animal massage has grown

considerably in the United States

since its emergence within the

horse community in the 1960s

and 1970s. It was on the racetracks

and in the stables that famed sports

massage therapist Jack Meagher

(who passed away in 2005) and

others like Linda Tellington-Jones

helped massage become a valuable

component of equestrian care, while

also unveiling the hands-on work to a

broader animal advocate population.

The field has evolved significantly

since that time, with animal

therapists now offering everything

from acupressure to energy work to

hydrotherapy to—human massage.

Despite their place in ancient Greek and Arabic equestrian traditions, animal therapies continue to fight for a place in the massage community today. Some opponents even question the place of animal massage in human massage schools. Still, a growing number of massage and bodywork practitioners are working with animals, big

Two Legs or FourThe Value of the Path is the SameBY KARRIE OSBORN

the Athletic Horse in 1965 and later included it as a chapter in her first book, Endurance and Competitive Trail Riding. Through her studies with movement educator Moshe Feldenkrais in the mid-1970s, Tellington-Jones’s work with animals and humans continued to evolve, until in 1983, the Tellington TTouch modality was born.

“What has emerged over the ensuing decades is Tellington TTouch, an easily learned method of 20-plus hand positions combined with varying tempos and pressures,” says Tellington-Jones. “TTouch crosses the species barrier and has spread around the globe for use in the world of humans, as well as all species of animals.”

Tellington-Jones describes TTouch as a system of gentle, circular touches, lifts, and slides done with the intention of activating cellular communication. Many have considered the work transformative on both physiological and emotional levels. For her animal clients, the bodywork is also known to improve behavior and performance. “TTouch is a language beyond words that deepens the appreciation and connection between humans and their animal friends,” Tellington-Jones adds.

In the midst of that connection, Tellington-Jones says clients will often see the benefits of TTouch on their animals, and then make the correlation for themselves. “Animal massage has become mainstream in the last decade, and I hope it will make more people aware of the benefits of bodywork for themselves by seeing it for their animals,” she says. “We awaken many people to the benefits of TTouch for self-help by teaching them what it feels like for their animals. Then, they discover they can use it to reduce their own tension, stress, pain, and anxiety.”

Tellington-Jones says we may not understand why TTouch works so effectively at the cellular level to reduce pain and fear, but the results have been so positive in hospitals and for individuals working on themselves that TTouch has been included in the curriculum at the

University of Minnesota for a minor degree in complementary healing modalities, through their Center for Spirituality and Healing.

And though the TTouch focus remains split between animals and humans, its end result is universal—improved well-being.

Skya Fisher, owner of Cat Paws Massage in Bellingham, Washington, is taking her animal massage work a step further and hopes to train humans how to massage their animal companions. For her, it really is about passion. From animal shelters to wildlife rehabilitation centers, Fisher has always been connected to animal advocacy. It was a natural move for her to incorporate animal massage into her work as an MT for humans.

Just as education is key to creating a knowledgeable human client base, Fisher says a critical component for making animal massage successful is educating people why it’s important. “As a society, we still view companion animals as lesser beings,” she says. “We breed them for characteristics that we think are cute. Simultaneously, we ignore their emotional, social, and sometimes physical needs.”

In truth, Fisher says, animals benefit from massage therapy the same way humans do.

Through decades of transformation, animal massage has now evolved to a place where some animal modalities are transforming and growing to meet the needs of human clients. Therapists will tell you that’s a good thing. Regardless how animal and human massage paths converge or divide along the way, the fact remains—whether two legs or four, the value of the path is the same.

Karrie Osborn is senior editor at Associated

Bodywork & Massage Professionals.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, November/December 2009.

and small, in everything from zoos to living rooms around the world.

The legitimacy human massage has earned over the last decade has no doubt been a boon for animal massage as well. “People have started to understand that massage can help their animals in so many ways,” says Barbara Maciejewski, who has been involved with the animal massage program at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy (BCMT) since 2003. “There’s great acceptance—word is out there now.”

The world of animal massage is definitely changing, as evidenced by not only today’s legal wranglings surrounding who can and can’t do the work, but also by who is taking animal massage trainings to begin with. According to Maciejewski, students taking the animal course work at BCMT are veterinarians, vet techs, and massage therapists. She says not only are vets seeing animal massage as another revenue stream, but massage therapists are seeing it as a way to fill holes in their appointment books.

Yet, the story today is not just what animal massage is; it’s also what animal massage can become. The fact is, we’ve come nearly full circle in the discussion as some of today’s animal massage experts are now adapting their work for human clientele.

WORKING WITH ANIMALS (AND HUMANS)For Linda Tellington-Jones, focusing on the human audience is built into the root of her TTouch work. Most in the animal massage community are familiar with the long-standing work of Tellington-Jones, but few may know that her work involved both animals and humans from virtually the beginning.

Horse massage was passed down to Tellington-Jones from her grandfather, who learned it from Russian gypsies at the Moscow racetrack where he earned the title of lead trainer in 1905. She co-published Massage and Physical Therapy for

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Animal MassageMeet Their Need For TouchBY PATRICIA WHALEN-SHAW

Humans and animals share many similarities in their need for touch. When a professional therapist offers therapeutic massage, both animal and human feel the benefits. From muscle spasms and joint stiffness to injury and age, the animal body suffers like the human body. Animals also suffer the grief of losing a companion, need rehab after surgery, and feel the rigors of competition, overtraining, and overuse. They have daily stressors, including noise and confinement, and despite their typically hairy exterior, an animal’s tissues feel much the same in texture and tension as their human counterparts.

Just like humans, animals touch

their young a great deal from birth.

And just like humans, animals respond

to and benefit from nurturing touch

from birth to death. As animal massage

practitioners, our goal is to not only

evaluate an animal’s physical nature,

but also to build trust, communication,

and respect with this somewhat silent

client. When that is accomplished, the

therapy session becomes a symbiotic

experience where animal and therapist

work together and healing begins.

DIFFERENCES, SIMILARITIES“Touch is the earliest and possibly the most important of all the canine senses,” writes veterinarian Bruce Fogle in his book The Dog’s Mind. Like humans, newborn puppies and kittens require total care. Even horses, who within hours are able to move about, eat, and eliminate without parental care, still get touched throughout their first hours and days. Animals like horses lick their young clean, scent them, and make noises to them so they can later tell which young one is theirs out of the herd.

When animals reach maturity, their muscle response time is often quicker than ours when in the midst of fight-or-flight. The processing and release of tension from an animal’s tissues is also a faster process than humans. Smaller animals typically have a faster heart rate than larger animals or humans, and many of them will breathe more deeply and more quickly when releasing a tight muscle. Sometimes animals will arch their backs and contract the muscles of their appendages in a full-body stretch during the massage. Often, they will have what appears to be a muscle energy release in the form of kicks or large twitch responses.

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Animals are generally better at stretching than most of us. A dog will stretch almost every time it gets up from resting. Dogs and other animals will typically reset their nervous systems, and their hair or feathers, with full-body shakes after a massage. In fact, observing that shake and its progression is one way to tell areas are not completely balanced, as those areas do not move smoothly.

With animals, the touch strength required during massage is not in direct correlation to the animal’s size. Each hair on the animal’s body relays sensory input about the world around it. Animals also have the same pressure and pain, as well as the heat and cold receptors we have, but many also have thin muscles within the skin layer that can be used to flick off a fly.

INITIATING BODYWORKBodywork on animals is similar in many ways to infant massage because work must be done without verbal cues. Animal massage practitioners must watch for the body language responses to judge pressure and pain/pleasure responses to touch, as well as judge coolness or warmth, tension or scarring, muscle spasming, twitching, protective contracture, and adhesions.

Each animal species that interacts with others of their kind has a set of body language responses. Practitioners for animals must learn what are the generally accepted responses or movements and their meanings. For example, you may think a dog wagging its tail is showing you that it’s friendly and wants to be petted or touched. In reality, a wagging tail only means that the dog is open to interaction, not necessarily touch. A cat making a vigorous tail movement is generally warning you to stay away; it is less than open to touch. Yet, rhythmical end of the tail movement may mean it is contented and very much OK with being touched. The same movement for a horse could mean it is swatting flies or, when more actively used, to look out or back off. The speed of movement, the height of the tail, the amount of tail being brought into

the conversation, as well as what the rest of the body posture is saying, comes into play. These are all important cues a successful animal massage practitioner needs to know. Reading the body language conversation ensures that the touch is safe for both the animal and the practitioner. To not do so could mean real trouble for the practitioner.

Another important skill for animal massage therapists is understanding how animals survive and process their worlds. Animals live in the present. They very often have memory of the past—good and bad—at the hand of humans, but they do not think about the future. They live today. They have enough food today. They are wet now. They are safe now. The pressure exerted is acceptable or not. So, if the touch application is not OK, we may inadvertently bring forward the fight-or-flight

(sympathetic nervous system) response. That is rarely good for the practitioner, because if the animal cannot flee, it has little choice left but to fight to save itself from what it perceives as a threat.

For humans, healing occurs while the parasympathetic system is dominant in the system. The same is true with animals. Making an animal the recipient of our touch techniques while it is resisting or trying to get away from us does not accomplish true healing and often can re-traumatize the animal at the site of a previous injury. The animal knows you are hurting it right now and you become the object of its fear.

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Above all else, touch needs to be respectful of animals. Keeping in mind that they live in the now, in the present, those techniques that are hurtful—having so much pressure or applied so strongly that they would cause pain or bruising—are not a good idea in animal massage. The faulty thinking being that because the animal is big, like a horse, it will take more pounds per square inch of pressure to get the muscles released is false and potentially life threatening to the practitioner. These animals are so in tune with their bodies that once a practitioner sets up trust and communication, the animal will move in such a way that it will often guide the session. Animals will move so that the area of most concern to them is presented to the practitioner; they will lean back into the practitioner’s hands, indicating the angle of application, as well as the pressure. Practitioners do not have to decide what is best; the animal will guide us. Therein lies a big difference between many human and animal massage sessions.

Many times, the animal is initially open to being touched where it is not threatened, or where it is used to being touched. Dogs are often touched on the top of the head and greeted from the side, while horses are often approached from the horse’s left side. These would be potential places to begin the massage. Often the animal’s keeper knows a good place to begin, for example a place the animal particularly likes scratched or petted. There are no hard and fast rules for where to begin, just some suggestions based on each animal’s preferences when interacting with humans.

Some animals will only allow you to begin where they are not hurting or concerned. This way it is safe for them and generally safe for you, and is also a way to begin to establish trust and communication. If the animal allows it, we will get to the real issue area. Yet, all the while, the therapist must remember that massage is not acute care—that is the veterinarian’s realm. A little patience on the therapist’s part is rewarded by acceptance and allowing from

the animal. The tissues will open up and let you in.

I always try to remember that it is their process. The animal sets the timing of the session’s progression. In a quadraped, what happens in the front affects the rear, and vice versa. Left-side and right-side interactions, as well as cross-body interactions also occurs. Moving blood, and/or removing congestion happens within the entire closed system, even if touch is not directly applied at the site. Techniques that accomplish decongestion alone, applied within the comfort level of the animal, bring about huge changes. Any gently applied massage and bodywork technique, including craniosacral therapy, fascia release, lymph drainage, reiki, sports massage, Swedish massage, or any of the many other effective techniques can be used on animals. The animals will show they have individual preferences, evidenced by their willingness to participate in the session.

GETTING TO WORKOn first contact, I greet the dog (or other animal), as well as the human on the end of the lead. A good health history, including the veterinary diagnosis, needs to be gathered. While the keeper is completing that work, time can be taken to let the dog sniff around and smell you and to check out the area in which you will be working. It is time well spent. When the dog feels the area is safe, it settles down much more quickly in most cases.

While the dog is inspecting the surroundings, I am observing its body alignment and foot placement. During the first couple of sessions, many dogs are likely to work a little, walk around a little, work a little, get distracted by something else, come back and work a little, etc. These sessions have come to be known as “drive-by” massage. To get started, these types of sessions are OK. But with each session comes trust and eventually the dog will come to a comfortable place in the treatment area and settle for your work.

Patricia Whalen-Shaw demonstrates techniques on willing client Salvador. Photos courtesy of Integrated Touch Therapy.

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Generally, if the keeper has given permission to touch and the dog is comfortable with the surroundings, the session starts out quietly with light effleurage or passive touch. Where do you start? Wherever the dog is most comfortable, as long as it is safe for me to do so. Being face to face, inches from the animal’s face is not a safe place. Instead, have the dog sit, lie down on a mat, or get up on the massage table. Some dogs prefer the table while others want nothing to do with it. A couch, chair, or the keeper’s lap are all places to set up a massage session.

A dog will tell you by its willingness to participate how you are doing and if you are starting the massage in an area it feels is acceptable. It may present its head, hip, or a paw. Just as with human massage, touch is introduced with soft, knowing hands usually using effleurage, lymph drainage, or passive touch. Take a few seconds for the tissues to relax. It makes the whole process easier for the practitioner and more is accomplished in the session. As the massage progresses, kneading techniques such as compression, digital circles, finger stripping or thumb glide, chucking, petrissage, and cross-fiber friction can all be used. As long as the technique is applied softly and without creating pain, it can be used on an animal. Remember an animal will defend itself if it cannot get away. And, because it lives in the present, an animal can’t reason about feeling better tomorrow after having a painful session today. No matter how it is theoretically supposed to alter the tissues, that sort of processing of events is not in the animal’s awareness.

AN ANIMAL PROTOCOLWithin your big picture sequence to open the area, work the area, and close or flush the area, there are many variations, just as there are when working with a human client in a therapeutic setting. Sometimes an area needs only a little attention; sometimes several minutes will be devoted to a single area of the body. As a general rule, I like to touch the

entire body; oftentimes the compensation detected in the observation phase is far from the actual muscle imbalance you find when working on the animal manually.

For example, a dog comes in limping, with the diagnosis of right front leg lameness. I’ll greet the dog and position it so both the right and left shoulders can be touched for comparison. Sitting or standing is a great option for this work. If the dog does not allow contact, I most generally will go to the other side or to the hips, returning to the front of the dog last. If, upon palpating the right front leg I find the dog is not in the least bothered by my touching him and executing range of motion type movements, I can work there first. However, we may find nothing significant.

So, if the animal is not lame in the right front leg, where might I go to find the imbalance? I could try palpating the base of the neck, locating the brachiocephalcus for tension causing restrictions of the shoulder. Or I could look at the scalenus medius muscle and omotransversarius for neck restrictions, or the biceps brachii for tension, which if too tight, manifests a reaction much like thoracic outlet syndrome. Finding nothing there, check the back of the neck, which I expect to feel tight from using the head and neck to compensate in the effort of moving the front leg. Usually, the dog will like work here and this gives you time to compare on both sides of the neck, the base of the neck, and in front of the left shoulder on the biceps brachii, pectorals, and scapula.

If you find something, you will obviously work to release the muscles and often the dog will come back into balance. If not, working down the spine using such techniques as finger stripping, petrissage, or digital kneading can tell you a great deal. If you find no area to be reactive or tender, just tight, spending time releasing these epaxial muscles (the erector spinae group for you) makes locomotion more free for the dog. The lumbar area just past the ribs can be very sensitive and often is overdeveloped in a dog that spends a lot of time begging or dancing on their hind legs. Just as in humans, trigger points often lie in the tissues of the lumbar area. The release of these trigger points is best accomplished with passive finger touch, following the tissues into the deep regions. Lymph drainage can also be used on each of the points. The work is slow and within the dog’s comfort level. Anything more can trigger the dog’s defense system or prompt trust issues. You may know what has to be done to release an area, but if the dog is not willing to allow the work, then you may be putting yourself in danger of getting bitten, or worse yet, you may be re-traumatizing the area.

Once past the lumbar area, the hindquarters may be holding the key to our front leg lameness. If the sacral area is tender or warm, I use passive touch to soften the tissues, then effleurage or lymph drainage to flush the area. Once the sacral area is calmed, I will check the gluteals. Usually the left hind leg will have more tension in our example. Working to release the hip, I use effleurage, passive touch, and then deeper kneading techniques like digital circles or compression using finger pads, followed by effleurage again. This gets the release for which I am looking. If it doesn’t, I continue to work down the leg anterior and posterior, taking care not to pinch or entrap anything between the hind legs. The gastrocnemius muscle sits behind the stifle (knee) and above the hock (tarsus). If it is in spasm, the dog cannot drive forward efficiently and the imbalance can show up in the front right leg. To release this area,

Humans and animals share many similarities in their need for touch.

15

chucking is useful, or perhaps sifting. Take great care when working at the hock, as the tissue just superior can be very sensitive.

Next, I will work the right hind as I worked the left hind. The dog may even have been lying on the right hind all along. Generally, this is a clue that the real issue (from the dog’s point of view) was in the right hind leg. It is perfect that I get here almost last. Trust has been built, the dog will be relaxed, and it will hopefully allow me to work at the source of the pain. If not, save the work for another visit but don’t let too much time go between sessions, as all the compensatory tender and trigger points will return.

One last area to address is the caudal vertebra within the body and beyond, known as the tail. Since the tail is so instrumental in balance and communication, I do not want to omit it. The caudal vertebra have attachments for the biceps femoris and semitendinosus, two powerful hamstring muscles in the quadraped for extension of the hip and stifle functions. A simple approach might be to use digital kneading along the vertebra in the body and then effleurage and compression on the rest of the tail. Even dogs that have naturally docked tails and those with docked tails for breed standards have caudal vertebra within their body from the sacrum to the edge of their bodies and then some.

As a practitioner, you cannot see if you are leaving a bruise on most animals, as the skin is dark under all that hair or fur, so work carefully. Tapotements do have some applications during animal massage and range-of-motion techniques can be helpful as well. After an area is treated, flush it out with effleurage again and close the massage, perhaps with stroking.

During, and most certainly after, the massage, I have the dog walk in a straight line and turn to the right and the left, watching to see if it places its feet under itself equally and bends through its body. I am looking for even weight-loading

and foot placement and an even bend side to side, from head to tail. One of the most interesting aspects of massage on a quadraped is that any one of those areas of treatment could have held the answer to the soft- tissue lameness. It is a most interesting puzzle, presented to us by a concerned keeper who has already gone though the veterinary channels to clear the animal of any acute diagnosis. The animal knows the area hurts, or that in some way the injury has the potential to lower their status in the pack.

THE REWARDS So how do we know that our massage is effective? We will see a relaxed body posture, the tissues will soften and become hydrated, and most often, range of motion will be increased. It may be able to use its body more fully such as jump higher, run faster, or be more willing to participate in an activity without resistance. Its coat may shine, its behavior may change, and time required to heal from a surgery may be reduced. If your goal is to be a facilitator in the relationship between the animal and caregiver/keeper, you may be able to empower the keepers to make changes or decisions about the animal and its welfare that they might otherwise not have recognized or been able to make.

The work is slow and within the dog’s comfort level.

Being part of a team of professionals who work together for the best possible outcome for the animals is terrific. It takes the veterinarian, keeper, trainer, and massage and bodywork practitioner to achieve that best possible outcome. I cannot guarantee I will find the source of the imbalance, but when I do, it is a great day and everyone wins—animal, keeper, and practitioner.

Patricia Whalen-Shaw, LMT, NCTMB, APP, RCST, is

the primary instructor for Integrated Touch Therapy,

Inc., and has been teaching equine, canine, and

feline massage for more than 16 years at Synergy

Farm in Circleville, Ohio. Whalen-Shaw has written

and published three books, two videos, and two

DVDs as instructional guides for massaging dogs,

cats, and horses.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, November/December 2009.

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I didn’t know other people couldn’t

see energy until I was 30 years

old,” says Carol Komitor, creator

of Healing Touch for Animals (HTA)

and the Komitor Healing Method.

This extraordinary ability to see energy

fields has allowed her to help many

people and pets, including Dakota,

the 19-year-old quarter horse she’s

been working on this morning. “He

had some blockages in his ankle.

I used the laser technique to get

things flowing again,” Komitor says.

Healing Touch for AnimalsEnergy Work for Our Companions BY LARA EVANS BRACCIANTE

Dakota suffers from arthritis and congestion in his legs. Carol Komitor uses Healing Touch for Animals to help open blockages and facilitate healing. Photography by Rick Giase.

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A veterinary technician turned massage therapist/reiki master/ Healing Touch (for people) practitioner, Komitor’s work with animals was a natural evolution. Because of her 13 years of experience as a vet tech, Komitor’s Healing Touch colleagues routinely sent the animal inquiries her way. “The chakra system is essentially the same in animals as it is in humans,” she says, “but working with animal energy is different, because their energy fields are much bigger than ours, and they’re more receptive. It’s really important to blend our energy with theirs, so they are at ease.”

The inquiries became common enough that Komitor decided to develop a course to address the animal aspect of Healing Touch. “I originally thought it would be a couple of classes here in Denver,” she says. “It’s turned out to be an international program with multilevel certifications.”

Today, seven instructors based across the United States and Canada travel to various cities worldwide presenting HTA weekend workshops, Levels 1 to 4, to participants eager to connect with their animals. HTA is used to treat behavioral and physiological issues in companion pets and zoo animals. Those who have witnessed its effects are sold.

A HEALING CATALYST“Five or six years ago, my horse, Strider, was diagnosed with ring bone, a degenerative arthritis disease in which the joints start calcifying,” says Deborah Gotto, a graphic designer based in Denver. “He was limping badly and was on all kinds of pain medications. The vet told us he would probably have to be put down in two years.” She put Strider on a regimen of glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and omega-3 fatty acids to help ease the arthritis but saw little difference. Gotto soon began practicing HTA techniques on Strider, and as her ability progressed, she began to see changes in its effect on the horse. “In Level 4, I learned about the hara line, an energy pipeline that connects to the universe and the Earth. If that energy isn’t flowing

correctly, it can cause illness. Strider’s was blocked,” she says. Once this energy was cleared, Strider was able to receive the work on a deeper level. Gotto worked on Strider at least three times a week using various techniques, and he began to visibly heal. “Now, his limp is almost gone, and I’m taking him on trail rides,” she says.

Gotto speculates that an early trauma is behind Strider’s blocked energy patterns. “As a baby, he was forcibly weaned,” she says. “He tried to jump a fence to get back to his mother and got his back legs hung up in it. When I got him, I wanted to train him to be a jumper, which puts a lot of stress on the legs and feet, as well as mentally. I think between the two things, it caused a lot of trauma.” Gotto believes this led to the energy congestion that, combined with a genetic predisposition to ring bone, provoked the disease.

Strider relaxes into tuning fork therapy, an advanced HTA technique to help facilitate energy flow.

Owner Deborah Gotto holds the lead while her horse, Strider, receives tuning fork therapy. Strider’s brother, Dakota, inches closer in hopes of receiving his own HTA session.

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“Blockages make illness manifest earlier,” Gotto says, but HTA can counteract these effects by balancing the immune system. “You have to believe in what you’re doing, work with it, and be consistent about it. You can’t go into working with an animal with your own agenda,” she says. “I wanted to heal the ring bone, but a lot of other things happened that I didn’t expect. Strider’s always been a spook, but that flight response has settled. He trusts me, and we have a really strong bond. He’s more like a dog.”

And speaking of dogs, Gotto also uses HTA techniques to treat her black lab, Indy, who suffers from an infiltrative lipoma, a tumor that penetrates into the muscles and nerves and chokes off blood and oxygen supplies. The lipoma was on Indy’s hind leg and had spread throughout his entire upper thigh, creating large protrusions both on top and underneath the leg. Conventional treatment is most often amputation, a process Gotto refused to consider for her 9-year-old canine. “Within three days of the HTA therapies, Indy was using that leg again,” she says. “The lipoma is now much smaller and seems to be continually shrinking. And most importantly, Indy’s back to playing and being a dog again.”

Indy had also suffered from another lipoma on his chest where he’d been kicked by a horse. When Gotto began working on Indy’s leg, she noticed the lipoma on his chest also began shrinking. “It was about the size of a small grapefruit; now it’s reduced to the size of a golf ball. I don’t expect it to be gone for months, maybe a year, but it is dissolving.”

Gotto now works with Komitor, helping organize classes and designing materials. And she continues to work on Strider and Indy.

WHAT IS HTA?This work on animals is a natural extension of Healing Touch (HT) for people, a method being used more frequently in hospitals and mainstream medical settings throughout the country. HT uses specific techniques to balance the chakra energies

in and around the body, supporting the body in healing itself on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.

Before the work can really begin, Komitor explains that the facilitator must be grounded and clear, setting an atmosphere of energy presence. This taps you into the “unlimited energy outside of yourself,” she says. “The highest and best intention brings in the pure energy of Mother Earth, which indigenous people feel is the healer and the energy that comes from God, from the universe, from nature.”

First, she says, you must center yourself, finding a quiet place within. Being “centered” is to be consistent and mindful of yourself. Next is to set the intention, meaning you must hold the highest quality purpose for the animal, which will allow the highest optimum healing to take place. Then, you develop a plan of treatment using the HTA techniques, determining which will be most helpful for your subject. And finally, you must put yourself in “allow” mode, letting the energy flow into the body as it is needed. Energy, Komitor says, follows intention, so by allowing the energy to flow, it regulates itself. Komitor teaches her students a simple but effective method for achieving and holding this energy presence before beginning a session.

During a session, the facilitator uses one of several HTA techniques to specifically address a variety of issues. For example, the bridging technique is often used for animals who are scattered or fragmented due to illness, injury, or personality disorder. That technique balances and clears the energy field, bringing energetic wholeness into place.

To execute the technique, you must first center. Then one hand is placed on the animal’s heart chakra, the other between the scapulas on their throat chakra. As the energy runs through you and into the animal, you send your message with words or thoughts to them. Komitor describes the communication in five parts:

1) Communicate the inappropriate behavior: “You are destroying the furniture when I’m gone.” 2) Clarify your expectations: “I expect this to stop.” 3) Give your pet a job: “Your new job is to keep an eye on the house when I’m gone, to not destroy furniture, and to be my loyal companion when I’m home.” 4) Provide support: “You are loved and supported in this new job.” 5) Tell them they need to “remember.” Use the actual word, “remember,” when they act out.

Catherine Joy uses a pendulum to determine energy blockages in her pomeranian, Coco Chanel. Massage therapist Kathy Gephart assists.

Learning to trust what you’re feeling is key to the work, as demonstrated by the author and her pointer, Stella.

19

After about 5 to 10 minutes, Komitor explains that you actually feel or sense the unconditional love of the heart chakra blend with the creativity and expression of the throat chakra, creating balance and flowing energy.

Other Level 1 techniques include an overall chakra balance to help facilitate the healing process on all aspects of the energy field; magnetic clearing, a full-body energy technique developed by HT founder Janet Mentgen designed to cleanse and clear the complete body and remove congested energy; vibrational grooming, used to clear congested areas from the energy field; ultrasound, to break up deeply blocked energy patterns so the congestion can be removed from the energy field; laser, a penetrating focus of light energy concentrated to cut, seal, or break up congestion in the energy field; and etheric heartbeat, used to clear blockages and strengthen the heart chakra. These are all energy techniques, using only the hands. Higher levels of HTA include more techniques and some implements, such as tuning forks.

Practicing the techniques on your animal companions also has beneficial effects on the giver. “Whenever you do energy work,” Komitor says, “the energetic process and technique you are facilitating affect you as well. If you are doing a chakra balance, your chakras get balanced at the same time. The energetic flow facilitates your self-healing and growth every time you help another in their healing process.”

WHAT DO THE ANIMALS THINK?During HTA techniques, animals ease into a relaxed, receptive state. Even in close quarters with a room full of strangers, all the canines involved in a weekend HTA course relaxed calmly at their owners’ feet within minutes. When dogs receive an individual treatment, they yawn and maneuver to get more comfortable. Horses drop their heads and ears and cock a hind foot as if pondering sleep. Sometimes their

lips quiver as if they were being tickled. Observers all note the obvious reactions, all positive, when the pets receive a treatment.

For the skeptics, Komitor gives a scientific premise to the healing benefits of HTA. All of the techniques create a relaxation response in animals, she says, and calming the animal initiates physiology that supports the immune system. “When an animal relaxes, the body releases chemicals in the brain, endorphins, that then allow the physical structure of the body to relax even more,” Komitor says. “So muscles relax, the body has an ease with itself. And with relaxation, circulation increases, which accelerates blood flow and brings in oxygen, nutrients, adequate hormones, and enzymes to help with rejuvenation of the cells. It also helps flush toxins, establishing a healing environment with the body that ultimately boosts the immune system.”

While this relaxation response is no small thing, those who feel the energy and

see its effects say something more is going on here. Komitor concedes: “Increased relaxation allows a surrendering of the body on all levels: spiritual, mental, and physical. This allows an environment that can connect with the self, with universe, with God, with nature, and creates wholeness.”

IS HTA PRACTICE FOR ME?Komitor’s weekend classes are filled with a variety of students, including veterinarians and technicians, massage therapists, energy practitioners, groomers, trainers, behaviorists, shelter employees, and pet owners. While Komitor knows some people have a natural affinity for HTA work, she believes it’s accessible to everyone. “Anyone who has the desire to do this work can learn it easily,” she says.

Gotto agrees. “The more you work with HTA, the more you understand it and start feeling it, and possibly even seeing it.”

Dakota receives a chakra balance from Komitor to help facilitate

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Gotto herself doesn’t see the energy but has simply spent time cultivating her sense of it. “It took about two years before I really felt it consistently. I had to trust it was happening, which can be hard to do when you’re not seeing or even feeling something. But we all have this ability.”

Komitor recommends working in conjunction with veterinarians. “If I’m out of my realm with what I can do for that animal, I refer to a veterinarian or other practitioner. If I see an animal that needs a diagnosis before I work with him, I will get a diagnosis. This provides a cooperative approach, so I can enhance whatever veterinary care is being done, and, in turn, use my work on the energetic level to support that body. I see this work as a total cooperative, helping this animal achieve its highest and best quality intention.”

One note of caution: Some states have restricted therapeutic work on animals to the domain of veterinarians. Before offering

This Labrador, K.C., is diabetic. HTA work is used in conjunction with his medical treatment.

HTA services, check with your state veterinary medical board to determine any issues or limitations.

MAKING THE CONNECTIONKomitor believes animals may be particularly receptive to energetic benefits from their caring owners due to their ability to love unconditionally, without the type of psychic baggage humans carry in their electromagnetic fields. To this end, HTA has yet another side effect that all facilitators — those doing the work — are quick to mention: The bond that develops between a human and the animal after working the techniques is especially profound.

“Working with energy fields is very subjective, but the more I work with HTA, the more I realize that everyone has the ability to substantially enhance not only the quality of their animal’s mental and physical health, but also their own,” Gotto says.

“Our animals give us so much love, joy, and laughter, and I don’t think there is a better way of returning some of this love.”

Komitor also speaks to this. “Animals’ instincts give them an awareness that we’ve long forgotten,” she says. “If we attune to them and how they’re relating to us, the connection that’s meant to happen between the animal kingdom and humans is met. I’ve seen we are one, that all things in the universe are energy, just different molecular structures. And if we learn to relate as animals relate, we’d see we could connect.”

HTA classes are provided across the United States and overseas. For more information, visit www.healingtouchforanimals.com.

Lara Evans Bracciante is the senior director,

Information Technology at Associated Bodywork &

Massage Professionals.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, August/September 2005.

As with many alternative treatments, animal massage has its roots in ancient practice. Early Egyptian hieroglyphics depict animal healers using massage for treatment. A full-body massage was recommended for dogs and horses by Flavius Arrianus, a philosopher and administrator under the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian. He stated it would “knit and strengthen the limbs ... make the hair soft and its hue glossy, and ...cleanse the impurities of the skin.”1 Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt, author of Equine Massage: A Practical Guide, notes that horse massage was practiced in ancient China and Rome and more recently by the Hopi Indians of the American Southwest. And for centuries, horses owned by gentry have been curried, brushed and rubbed down as part of routine care.2

WHY MASSAGE AN ELEPHANT — OR DOG OR CAT?Dr. Michael Fox, author of Healing Touch and numerous other books on animal care, points out the price of domesticating animals. In the wild, social grooming (by licking) provides the touch stimulation needed to thrive, and hunting and free-play keeps the animal’s body toned and fit. Many of our domesticated friends, confined to the home or small yard, miss

out on these activities. Fox also notes that domesticated dogs and cats tend to be more infantile and dependent in their behavior than their feral counterparts.3 While petting does provide loving attention and touch, massage goes a step further.

The benefits of massage for animals parallels those for humans. In fact, when you think about it, many findings in massage and touch research were initially proven with lab animals. Animal experiments evaluating the physiological effects of massage began as early as the 1800s.4 In the 1980s, Touch Research Institute began their investigation of the importance of tactile stimulation using rat pups as their subjects. And at present, studies are being conducted with animal models to track ions involved in the biological process of touch. In addition, the Chinese have produced numerous studies documenting the effects of Eastern modalities on animals. By extrapolating to humans and continuing with studies on bipeds, researchers have provided evidence of the many benefits of touch and massage.

One of the most valuable assets of animal massage is health maintenance. Regular massage aids in early detection of abnormalities, such as swelling, injury or painful areas, and facilitates early medical diagnosis of problems. In some cases, the time element can be life-saving.

How do you give an elephant a

massage? No, it’s not a riddle. It’s

what’s new in the zoo. When I asked

that question of certified massage

therapist Jill Deming, she replied

matter-of-fact, “It’s very similar to

massaging a horse. You use your

knowledge of biomechanics so you

don’t injure your body.” Deming, also

a biologist, has massaged all types

of exotic zoo animals as well as cats,

dogs and horses. But an elephant?

Maybe you don’t own a pachyderm,

but there’s a good chance that a pet of

yours, perhaps a lizard or llama, could

benefit from a little human touch.

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Animal MassageTouching All Creatures, Great and SmallBY SHIRLEY VANDERBILT

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The animal’s general overall health is boosted by an increase in blood and lymph circulation and enhancement of muscle tone and flexibility. Fox describes touch as “a potent bridge for love,” thus regular massage develops or can further seal the bond between pet and guardian. Many animals with emotional issues (depression, grief, shyness or distrust) respond well to the relaxation and positive touch of massage. Young animals can be acclimated to touch with massage, making them easier to handle for grooming and medical care.

Massage has become very popular for equine athletes. According to Patricia Whalen-Shaw, massage releases toxins from the muscle, allowing horses to perform longer at a higher level of activity. “Psychologically it’s amazing,” said Whalen-Shaw, LMT, and owner of Integrated Touch Therapy, Inc. “If they’re focused and relaxed, they do their best. It’s a part of the whole package of training.” A few days before competition, massage is used for loosening musculature while post-event work moves metabolic waste and eases soreness. The animal can return to competition sooner. “But it’s not the same application as with human athletes,” she said. “A horse lives in the present and doesn’t understand ‘it may hurt now but you’ll feel better later.”

And, of course, there’s that elephant. But pachyderms are not what interests Jonathan Rudinger, founder of The PetMassage Training & Research Center in Toledo, Ohio. Rudinger offers intensive workshops and a home-study course in pet massage. As a nonprofit organization, the center began research a year ago and will continue until there is enough data for evaluation. Subjects are divided into three groups of 20 dogs each, receiving massage, touch or massage in water. The animals include older dogs with hip dysplasia, those with back issues and dogs with emotional problems of grief, abandonment and abuse. “I met a 3-year-old dog with bad separation anxiety,” said Rudinger. “He was tearing up everything in the house, eating out of the garbage, like a feral.” Although the dog was fearful,

Rudinger managed a 12-minute massage, with the dog accepting his touch.

A second study project is focused on young pups with growing pains, especially large breed dogs. Rudinger notes these dogs experience significant pain when the bones grow faster than muscle. He’s had excellent results with massage in these cases and is documenting his work.

Animal massage is not a medical diagnostic tool, nor is it a substitute for veterinary medical care. This point cannot be over-emphasized. But as an adjunct for healing, massage is an excellent treatment for enhancing recovery in medical cases: pre- and post-operative, chronic disease, and injury or transitory illness. In all medical cases, veterinary treatment comes first. Massage follows, but only with the approval of the animal’s practitioner.

THE NEW MOVEMENT“Build it and they shall come,” said Michelle Rivera, CMT, of The Healing Oasis Veterinary Hospital in Sturtevant, Wis. Rivera and her veterinarian husband, Dr. Pedro Rivera, established their holistic animal center in 1993, offering chiropractic, massage, herbs, homeopathy and acupuncture. “The public demand is there,” said Rivera. “People are becoming more aware of their own treatment options and asking, ‘why can’t we get it for animals?’”

The growth of the American Holistic

Veterinary Medical Association is but one sign of increasing acceptance of alternative treatments for animals. Membership has jumped from slightly more than 100 in 1998 to 900 members in 2002, with 100 of those outside the United States. Veterinarian schools are beginning to open Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) departments and CAM clubs. Although holistic animal care is not yet mainstream, we are beginning to see its influence, not only in private practice, but also zoos, preserves and wildlife rehabilitation. The whole field of alternatives seems to be up for grabs with therapists using a variety of modalities—massage, reiki, acupressure, Tellington Touch (TTouch) and even the more unconventional shamanic healing and soul retrieval, animal communication and music therapy.

As the movement grows, animal therapy associations are also popping up in an attempt to bring solidarity among therapists and create recognition not only nationally, but internationally. The International Alliance of Animal Therapists and Healers (IAATH) was founded three years ago for just this purpose. Among the goals of IAATH are: promotion of public awareness; education and development of professional standards for practitioners; opening options in animal health; and creating a common ground for sharing information and research.5 Another group, AMTIL (Animal Massage & Therapies), founded in 1998,

23

provides listings and links on their website for practitioners, consultants, schools, organizations and products related to holistic animal care.6

THE VET’S PERSPECTIVEAre some veterinarians resisting the massage movement because they fear infringement on their turf, or is it just a lack of awareness? For the most part, the holistic veterinary movement has emphasized acupuncture and chiropractic medicine, leaving massage out in the cold. Dr. Susan Wynn of Marietta, Ga., specializing in animal acupuncture and herbs, suggests several reasons for this. “Acupuncture and chiropractic were introduced in schools earlier and are more familiar to doctors,” she said. “They’re more dramatic. I can get an (acupuncture) effect in 10 minutes. Veterinarians are used to people demanding results quickly. Massage takes time, money and effort.”

Holistic veterinarian Dr. Robert Silver, of Boulder, Colo., concurs with the time factor. “There’s a lot of overhead in vet practice and it’s hard to get it served even by acupuncture or chiropractic.” But Silver does refer out for massage, saying his clinic space is too small to accommodate an in-house therapist. He recommends massage as an integral part of animal care for treating problems, rehabilitation and recovery, and maintaining wellness. Pointing out a recent veterinary article on cancer care in which massage is listed as an appropriate modality, he said in terminal cases, massage can be very beneficial for diminishing aches and pains. “It’s a very bonding experience for the owner,” he adds. “I give out handbooks on massage and encourage owners to do it themselves.” Silver suggests the current growth in holistic animal care is in part due to the veterinarians. “Vets themselves are humans who work too much and develop ailments better served through complementary procedures. Many have sought out alternative therapy for their own health and in the process gained a new perspective.”

According to Dr. Jan Facinelli, another factor of influence is research. Facinelli is an avid supporter of massage, chiropractic and acupuncture, and includes them in her Denver practice. She noted

that veterinarians want scientific proof documented by their associates rather than laymen. “If it’s not standard, scientific proof, they’re not going to give it credence. When benefits are documented, then truth will speak for itself,” she said. “We want to make sure it does no harm.”

Oregon energy practitioner Dr. Donna Starita is chairperson of IAATH. “What we’re seeing over and over is lack of awareness and education,” she said. “I try to help vets understand what I’m doing.” She encourages a relationship of mutual respect between vet and therapist. If you are taking your pet to a veterinarian and a massage therapist, it’s important to keep both informed of the treatment protocols of each practitioner.

DECISIONS, DECISIONSIn the high-profile horse country of Wellington, Fla., massage therapist Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt established Massage Awareness, Inc., offering massage services and training. He explained, “You do it because of your love for animals, not because of prestige or potential financial earnings. Equine massage is very demanding on the therapist. Massage is not a mechanical work, it takes a lot of feeling and energy. Some sessions might go very smoothly, some others might be very tiring,” he said.

Rivera agreed that intention is everything in animal massage and that the massage practitioner must be an animal lover gifted in working with them. “It can’t be on a whim,” he said. “It should be something that you love.”

WHO’S QUALIFIEDThe 2001 guidelines on complementary and alternative therapies established by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) do not specifically address the use of massage by a non-veterinarian therapist, as did the 1996 version that required supervision and referral from the treating practitioner. Rather, there is a broad encompassing of CAM modalities to be used at the discretion of the individual veterinarian. Within that directive comes caution that the safety and effectiveness

of the treatment “should be proven by scientific method.” Dr. Craig Smith of AVMA headquarters explained the basic premise of the new policy: “Medicine is medicine and regardless of what treatment is being used, the same basic principles should apply.” The veterinarian conducts an exam, establishes a diagnosis and consults with the owner to decide on a course of action. “If that animal can benefit from those modalities, the vet has the right to seek it out. They also have the responsibility to follow up and monitor the animal’s progress, in that they are not providing the treatment.” They are also responsible for abiding by the state regulations, all of which are accommodated by the flexibility of the guidelines. The individual is encouraged to use a combination of their knowledge and experience to make a decision. However, Smith stated, “We still think that animals receive the best care when a veterinarian is involved in that care.”

Animal massage is on the cusp of becoming mainstream. The success of each case brings visibility and validation to the practice, and with each new well-trained, dedicated and passionate massage therapist entering the field, there is movement forward.

Notes1. Equine Sport Therapies of Georgia. “The

History of Massage Therapy.”

2. www.estofgeorgia.com/MassageHistory.htm.

3. Knaster, Mirka, “Animals: They Could Be Your Next

Clients,” Massage Therapy Journal (Fall, 1998): 34-35.

4. Fox, Michael, Dr. Michael Fox’s Massage Program for

Cats and Dogs (New York: New Market, 1981), 3-4.

5. Knaster, 34.

6. International Alliance of Animal Therapists

and Healers (IAATH), www.iaath.com.

Shirley Vanderbilt was a staff writer with Massage &

Bodywork magazine.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, April/May 2002.

24

Massage and the Exotic AnimalBY KIERAN MCCONNELLOGUE

Elephants in the wild are

wanderers. They typically cover

about 10 miles a day, foraging for food,

enjoying the company of the herd

and indulging their curiosity. But the

wild is not where many elephants are

found these days. They are captives

in zoos, attractions at circuses and

working animals in parts of Asia.

And their new lifestyle brings about

a host of physical and emotional

issues for these highly intelligent,

gregarious creatures — issues that

are only now beginning to register on

the radar screens of their keepers.

Massage is quickly becoming one of the tools used to alleviate the physical and emotional stress of exotic animals in captivity, from 4-ton African elephants to

dolphins and penguins. Those who work with them are finding that the results of benefits experienced by humans — reduced stress, improved physical and emotional well-being, better overall health and enhanced healing, among others — can translate to animals who have been removed from their natural habitat and confined in one way or another.

Massage on animals is nothing new. Household pets have always benefited from the touch of petting. But increasingly, massage is one of the perks of domestication for many dogs and cats. And as with human athletes, massage is a growing and important part of the training routine for racehorses and other working equines. But it is a relatively new practice for exotic animals. Its rise coincided with increased concern about both the physical and emotional health of captive animals. Whether in zoos, circuses or aquariums, confinement brings a physical and emotional toll that these animals, and often their handlers, are not prepared to deal with.

“They’re exposed to so many different things; therefore it is so essential for them to have their lives enriched in captivity,” said Elke Riesterer, a certified massage therapist who, in addition to her practice for humans, has worked with elephants at the Oakland Zoo for the past four years. “I try to make their life a little better.”

By all accounts, she’s succeeded at the work she does on a voluntary basis. What began as an experiment four years ago is now a twice-a-month routine for Riesterer, who travels 80 miles one-way from her home in Santa Cruz, Calif., to Oakland to work on Donna, M’Dunda and Lisa, the zoo’s African elephants. She began after meeting Colleen Kinzley, the Oakland Zoo’s elephant curator, at a meeting of the Performing Animal Welfare Society. They discussed some of the issues facing elephants, and Kinzley agreed to allow Riesterer to try her hand with her charges.

Riesterer has been fond of animals of all sorts since her childhood in Germany. Touch has also been a big part of her own life. Massage helped alleviate the scoliosis she suffered from as an adolescent, and she entered the massage therapy field after moving to the United States in 1983. She built a practice, but also found time to work on a horse that had been given to her as a gift. During trips to Africa, she had the chance to massage orphaned elephants and rhinos that were treated at a game preserve before being returned to the wild. Her success early on and her passion for animal welfare led to the experiment in Oakland. But to make it happen, she had to convince not only a skeptical curator, but also zoo vets and handlers, and even the animals themselves.

25

she said. “The essence of it is not that different from humans. They give you all kinds of signals when they like something. When they accept the touch, the signals of relaxation are clear to see – a glazing look in the eye, a trance sign and the head drops down. They’re so highly intelligent that they know I am there to give them kindness and comfort.”

Which is not to say that massage on wild animals is always easy or safe. “You must have your senses on all the time,” she added. Riesterer, who has also worked on giraffes and Scottish Highland cows, said it is important to attune to the signals animals send, especially when dealing with injured or sensitive areas. Like humans, animals hold traumatic experience in tissue and muscles.

“With an animal, you find those parts of the body that tell you something,” she said. “Avoid them, then gently and briefly go back. It’s a dance. An animal will let you work on those areas in its time.”

The benefits can be tremendous. Sick or injured animals, like humans, have an almost-primal response to touch. “Massage is massage — it’s just the anatomy you have to get to know,” said Anthony Guglielmo,

So how do you go about massaging an elephant? Like the old joke about how you eat one, the answer is “one part at a time.” The elephants Riesterer works on are somewhat confined in a restraining chute. Although not specifically a practitioner of the TTouch method developed by Linda Tellington-Jones, she incorporates its gentle clockwise circular motions into her work with elephants. “Besides adding to an animal’s emotional well-being, it has a wonderful capacity to help speed up the healing process in case of physical injury,” she said.

She begins with their feet, often a problem spot for large, roaming animals forced to a sedentary life. Riesterer then works up each leg and progresses to the animals’ massive ears (home to reflexology points), and then massages the face (even inside the mouth) and the tail. Each session lasts less than an hour, about all the zoo will allot. Riesterer said that although it is not near enough time to cover the huge animals, it is sufficient to do some good.

Perhaps the most important part of the process is gaining the trust of animals that don’t communicate verbally. “You learn about the responses and body signals,”

author of Walrus on My Table, a chronicle of his experiences practicing bodywork on exotic, and some not-so-exotic, animals. Since 1996, he has worked on more than a dozen different species of animals, including walruses, dolphins, pigs, beluga whales, birds, penguins and sandtiger sharks.

The sideline to his practice on humans began innocuously enough. A client at his practice in New York insisted that Guglielmo work on Champ. He tried to remember if Champ was her husband’s name. But the client told him that Champ was her horse, and previous owners had abused him. Guglielmo declined, several times, but the client was insistent. Intrigued by the idea, he decided to attend an equine massage training program. After earning his certificate, he worked on horses like Champ and the occasional dog or cat.

Guglielmo became interested in the possibility of massaging exotic animals while on vacation in the Florida Keys. During a visit to a center where dolphins swam with cognitively-delayed and terminally ill children, “I thought it would be nice to give back to the dolphins,” he said. But the handlers told him it would take at least three weeks for the animals to get used to him.

26

“If you’re not in that community, they don’t want to let you in too easily,” he said.

He also faced the skepticism about animal massage among many veterinarians and trainers. Determined to find a way to help animals, he returned home to New York and contacted the New York Aquarium, asking if he could arrange to learn about and work with dolphins. Initially, they were intrigued by the idea. But Guglielmo soon received a call from the aquarium, asking if he would be interested in working with Nuka, a 15-year-old walrus that had lost the use of her rear flippers. Rather than sculling, the locomotion the 1,800-pound animal used to move, Nuka was pulling her entire weight with the front portion of her body.

Guglielmo took an approach that became standard practice in his work with exotic animals. He learned as much as possible about their anatomy, consulted with their keepers and sought advice from veterinarians. With Nuka, as with all animals he has worked on, the initial contact was focused on getting used to one another and building trust. “They know whether you’re there to help them or to hurt them,” he said.

Over several months of 20-minute sessions, Guglielmo saw steady progress and eventually was able to restore Nuka’s movement. Even though he was able to build up trust with the animal, the sessions weren’t without dicey moments. After discovering a sensitive area, he came eye to eye with an upset walrus. He stayed calm, talked gently to the animal and escaped with a lesson. “When it comes to working on people, a therapist should know when a person is feeling pain. But you don’t want an animal saying ‘ouch,’” he said. “You really have to be aware of their body language.”

Easier said than done, especially when the animal’s handlers don’t always know how to read its body language. Guglielmo once was called to work on a sandtiger shark named Baby that displayed an odd, corkscrew motion in its swimming. The nearly 8-foot-long, “mildly aggressive”

shark was put in a harness while Guglielmo worked on it. He discovered the shark not only had an air bubble beneath its skin, but also suffered from scoliosis. After providing a couple of the treatments, then teaching the staff how to continue work, the shark showed noticeable improvement.

All the work on exotic animals was bound to capture the attention of the media, but Guglielmo wasn’t quite prepared for the implications. National Public Radio called, intending to do a four-minute piece on his work. The producer was so excited by the story that he doubled the length. After the program aired, Guglielmo received calls from New York newspapers as well as Time and People magazines, all of which published articles. The NPR piece also caught the eye of a book publisher, who urged Guglielmo to write what eventually would become Walrus on My Table. “I was amazed by all the attention for this simple thing I did,” he said.

And while the media attention has been nice, even if overwhelming at times, Guglielmo has never been in it for the fame or money. He has never charged for his services, even though he is in high demand. He has lectured at universities, made presentations to groups such as the International Marine Animal Trainers Association and given demonstrations around the world. But in the end, he works on exotic animals for the same reasons he works on humans or horses — to help a fellow creature feel better.

And in a simple twist of fate, it also makes him feel better. “I have always looked at working with animals as my therapy,” he said. “With the animals, I’m getting a reward and there are no strings attached.”

Kieran McConnellogue was a freelance writer for

Massage & Bodywork magazine.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, April/May 2002.

27

Soft sighs, satisfied snorts and even brief hints of a relaxed

snore fill the small therapy room this Saturday morning. These

are satisfied massage clients who know all too well the value of being

touched, even if they can’t tell us so in words. They do tell us with

behavior. Suki doesn’t tense up anymore when he’s massaged. Robby

doesn’t bury his head in fear. And Cocoa no longer kicks and fidgets

during the session.

These massage recipients — some 150 strong — are “guests” at the Colorado Chapter of the House Rabbit Society, an organization devoted to rescuing abandoned and abused rabbits, providing them necessary medical care and finding them good homes. It’s a labor of love for Nancy LaRoche who has nothing but devotion for her bunny visitors.

And it’s devotion that’s needed for this responsibility as LaRoche’s commitment to the animals has exposed her to their many

Peter Cottontail Should Have Had a MassageEven Rabbits Need MassageBY KARRIE OSBORN

28

stories of horror and abuse. Her solution to help these fragile critters mend from their physical and emotional wounds? Massage. As the result of an affiliation with a nearby massage school, student interns get to practice their craft, while the rabbits reap the benefits of caring touch.

Just like their human counterparts, these furry massage clients have many reasons to receive bodywork — not only for relaxation,

but also post-surgical rehabilitation, a combatant to the effects of trauma and abuse, and as a socialization tool. The time the rabbits spend getting massage increases their comfort and trust toward humans and their subsequent chances for adoptability.

It’s evident that massage helps these bunnies, but this success doesn’t make their stories any easier to hear. Take Trooper, for example. Near death when he was rescued, Trooper survived literal torture from neighborhood children. Rescuers were unable to save a badly damaged eye, but the little white bunny pulled through. “He’s the sweetest rabbit I’ve known,” said LaRoche. To add insult to injury, Trooper has been stricken with a degenerative disorder that is attacking all his systems and organs. Even though he’s lost most of his motor control, Trooper responds tremendously to the massage sessions.

For Robby, massage is a reminder of good touch and comfort. He needs it. Purchased as a child’s pet, Robby was mauled by the family dog and left to drag his hind leg behind him for a week before being taken to a veterinarian. LaRoche was called to take the animal into her care. Unfortunately, it was too late for the mangled leg, which had to be amputated. Today, Robby sits comfortably in the lap of his massage therapist, enjoying the attention.

The stories, sadly, just get worse. There’s the bunny bought to feed a python, but rescued before the reptile could work up its appetite. There are the bunnies dumped in fields to fend for themselves before being rescued by caring neighbors. And there are the “Pueblo” bunnies — animals who endured the most horrible conditions imaginable.

The Pueblo moniker describes thousands of bunnies who lived and died over a 10-year span. The group of animals began with one small bunny (a mini lop) purchased by a woman living in Pueblo, Colo. She thought it would be a fun idea to breed the bunnies, not understanding rabbits reach sexual maturity at 2 1/2 months. They only need one month for gestation, and an average litter is 10–12 bunnies.

The Pueblo bunnies started out in the house, went out to a garage-size shed and then eventually were “given” the home by the owner who moved elsewhere in town, but returned to feed and water the animals. Ten years later and life for these mini lops had changed drastically. When the scene was uncovered, there was four feet of manure throughout the home and ammonia levels were so high that hazardous material precautions were taken.

After years of “survival of the fittest,” these rabbits had a tough road ahead. Nearly 50 of the rabbits were put in the care of LaRoche. Extensive medical care was the first order of business, after which the Pueblo bunnies started going through socialization skills, specifically receiving massage to make them comfortable with humans and make them happier animals.

29

One of those Pueblo bunnies is Suki, and today, Rhonda Reich, the animal program coordinator at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy, is giving him a massage. “He was so stiff; tight as a rock,” said Reich of Suki’s first session. “After the first massage, he turned into a puddle.” Since then, Suki has become more accustomed to being touched, hopefully allowing him greater chances for adoption.

Reich and her group of student interns visit the Rabbit Society facility several times each semester. Their job is to give touch where it is most needed. After the students’ arrival, LaRoche walks past the cages of rabbits, picking and choosing who’s in most need. For today’s group, there are many: one bunny is recovering from surgery and is working through aches and pains; another was brought to the shelter the night before and needs special attention; others are still discovering how to be friendly again.

Rabbits are brought back and forth from their cages as each therapist quietly works with the bunny on their lap. Some of the therapists struggle getting the animals to relax; other rabbits know what to expect and are eager for their turn. A series of strokes is applied to the rabbits, with the students always addressing any specific needs the animals may have. Covered in hair, the students try to work with as many rabbits as they can in the allotted time, knowing they could always do more.

An important element massage offers to these bunnies, outside of the obvious need for touch, is one of companionship, even if for just a short time. “They bond with their partner for life,” said LaRoche, and when they don’t have a mate, the rabbit often will put that attachment onto their human. She explained that when these animals (which really should be purchased and raised in pairs) are abandoned, their hearts are broken. A half hour being massaged is a reconnection to that past attachment.

One of the most important pieces to any type of animal massage is the intention with which you approach the animal. Reich said it’s important to approach the animal client, whether it be bunnies or horses, with a

completely different psychology than human clients. “How do I make sure the animal is comfortable? How do I make sure intention is known? I have to convince the animal this is a good thing,” she said.

It’s obvious the students enjoy this part of their curriculum. The love and attention they give the rabbits is palpable. They chat quietly about the work, staying focused on their clients all the while. They share moments: “I just got kisses.” “I got bunny drooled.” “He’s out.” They compare notes on bunny reactions and behaviors. They quietly giggle when one of the clients drifts off into a snoring slumber. And they work on their SOAP notes together, recording the work they just performed and the results.

In the end, the bunnies aren’t the only ones who benefit from the massage sessions. “Working with animals helps your work with people,” said student Harmony Brown, obviously hitting a chord with classmates.

“You have to be more intuitive,” furthered Amanda Wedow. “The animal can’t tell you what’s wrong.” Chris Capitelli said the energy with animals is different than with humans. “You have to ground yourself a lot more with animals,” he said. “It really helps me in my other sessions.”

Animals are very straightforward, said Reich. “With animals there’s no fooling. If they feel something and they want to let you know it, they do. They are very unpretentious.” As evidenced by the satisfied sounds emanating from this therapy room, what the bunnies are saying today is very clear: “Massage is a good thing.”

Karrie Osborn is senior editor at Associated

Bodywork & Massage Professionals.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, April/May 2002.

30

Even though he’s received thousands of massages over the past decade,

Nicholas is still a bit stiff. Albeit the horse’s body is clearly marked with

locations of pressure points to help students learn equine massage, he’s the

only one of 16 horses at Equissage they haven’t been able to loosen up. “We

can’t get him to relax,” said owner and director Mary Schreiber. Of course, that’s

probably because Nicholas is a life-size fiberglass horse used as a teaching aid.

Faux steeds aside, a considerable number of the estimated 7 million horses in the United States now benefit from massage. As you can imagine, business is booming in this fast-paced field. Programs that teach it are increasing in number, and some, like Equissage in Round Hill, Va., and EquiTouch Systems, Inc. of Loveland, Colo., have been at it for more than a decade.

Ancient Greeks, Chinese and Romans all knew its benefits and commonly practiced massage on their mounts. In recent years, the high-stakes, high-priced world of horse racing, where the benefits of touch are quantifiable, has recognized the value of massage in training and therapy.

Now, equine massage clients are as likely to include working horses, show animals and rodeo horses, as well as the thousands that people own for pleasure. “What people are looking for is results,” said Schreiber, who opened her school in 1991, two years after trading her human clients for horses. At racetracks and show rings, she learned there was not only a significant market for horse massage, but also for training practitioners.

No Horsing AroundEquine Massage is Big BusinessBY KIERAN MCCONNELLOGUE

31

Today, students come to Virginia from around the world for her intensive, week-long training (five, 10-hour days of classroom work and practice). Fewer than 20 percent have experience on humans. The rest are trainers, veterinarians and assorted other horse people. They pay $875 (not including travel and lodging) to complete the certificate program, which Schreiber said is carefully sequenced to give students the tools to become thorough practitioners. “What I teach in five days is what it took me 13 years to learn,” she said. “I tell the students, ‘You will never be so prepared for anything in your life.’” Her estimated 4,000 graduates practice in a variety of settings around the world. One worked on a Kentucky Derby winner and another massaged the Queen of England’s horses. A typical horse massage takes an hour and can cost anywhere from $50 to $125.

Although some bodyworkers make the transition from people to horses, there aren’t that many parallels between human and equine massage, said Susan Mazlum, co-owner and primary instructor at EquiTouch Systems, Inc. “With a horse, we have a whole different set of ergonomics.”

Equine bodyworkers not only need to understand the horizontal structure of a large quadruped, but they also need to have basic horse sense about things like bridles, saddles, behavior, the horse-rider relationship and how to work safely with 1,000-pound animals. Like those in Schreiber’s program, fewer than a quarter of the students in Mazlum’s 150-hour basic program ($1,595 for 10 days) have massaged humans. Her courses cover theory, anatomy, philosophy and kinesiology. Graduates of the certificate program work with race, jumping, event and precision riding horses as well as with veterinarians and their patients.

Veterinarians have generally been slower to embrace massage, but Mazlum said she would like to see that change. “What we teach our students and what we like to see in the field is cooperation with the veterinary community,” she said. “Massage is a well-horse therapy. It’s a complementary therapy; it’s not an alternative, certainly not to vets.”

Part of the problem is that state veterinary boards, as well as human massage oversight entities, have been slow to recognize equine massage, mostly due to wariness about encroachment on their turf. Mazlum said she would like to see some standardization in education (including continuing education) and, eventually, regulation. Her husband and partner, Adrian, said consumers in the burgeoning field need education, not overprotection. “The more the public becomes aware of what kind of training is available, the better off everyone is.”

Kieran McConnellogue was a freelance writer for

Massage & Bodywork magazine.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork, April/May 2002.

“What we teach our

students and what

we like to see in the

field is cooperation

with the veterinary

community,” she

said. “Massage is a

well-horse therapy.

It’s a complementary

therapy; it’s not an

alternative, certainly

not to vets.”

32

The Power of PetsFacilitating Healing on All LevelsBY SHIRLEY VANDERBILT

Whether it’s a wet lick on the

face or a gentle brush to the

leg, our pets are unabashedly

open in displaying their love and

affection for human owners. They

could care less about our physical

appearance or success in life. They

are the ultimate love agents of nature

— always loyal, compassionate and

unconditional in their attachment.

The animal-human bond is as old as time and for good reason. Pets bring us into the present moment, awakening our basic instinct to love and be loved, to connect at the spiritual level and to play with abandon. It’s no wonder that pet therapy is steadily making its way into many healing practices, from hospitals to rehabilitation programs. A close relationship with the animal kingdom is good for our souls, but can also have some amazing effects on our bodies as well.

In this bustling, stressful modern world, scientific studies have found that just stroking a dog or cat can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, not to mention what it does for your pet. This calming influence leads us to a more balanced life, taking time for the intimate moments of sharing and caring. Especially for the elderly and those who live alone, caring for a pet provides a clear sense of purpose and a feeling of being needed. And for children, as well as some wayward adults, it enhances responsible behavior and a deep respect for other living things.

Touch is one of our most basic needs and without it our body and spirit suffer. Petting a dog or cat provides this essential stimulation to our largest organ, the skin, in much the same manner as the touch-based healing practices of massage and bodywork. It creates a similar flow of energy in which both the giver and receiver can benefit.

A CERTAIN FRIENDThere is a peacefulness inherent to the rhythm of life in the animal kingdom. Watching the steady breathing of a sleeping dog, listening to the gentle purr of a cat or being mesmerized by the graceful swimming of fish in an aquarium brings us into that sacred space of attention to life at its most fundamental essence. In this state, worries and anxiety disappear, and for the moment, our own body and mind are entrained into this same calm balance.

33

According to Dr. Marty Becker, author of The Healing Power of Pets, “Part of the healing power of pets is their capacity to make the atmosphere safe for emotions, the spiritual side of healing.” Attuned to our moods and needs, they allow us to express ourselves without fear of judgment and will remain faithfully by our side. It is this sixth sense of attunement and compassion in animals that makes them perfect partners in the healing process for people with disability or illness.

For example, horses used in riding therapy for physically-challenged children and adults show a special sensitivity to the fragility and needs of their riders. The movement of the horse works the body like physical therapy, while the accomplishment of riding skills instills self-confidence and a sense of worth in the rider. In animal-assisted therapy, children who have difficulty forming attachments because of abuse and neglect begin to learn the value of safe and comforting touch when they forge a bond with loyal four-legged creatures. Some nursing and rehabilitation centers have opened their doors to animal visitors, even permanently adopting cats and dogs to the delight and benefit of residents.

Pets also heal what ails us by inspiring us to get up and go. We know that exercise is one of the most important factors in maintaining good health. The benefits of daily walking have been well documented, from weight loss to overall improved physical functioning. Outdoor excursions with the family dog not only dispose us to a more active lifestyle but also increase our chances for socializing with other animal lovers.

Animal companionship is especially life-enhancing for seniors. In the midst of losing friends, life partners and physical abilities, the routine of feeding and caring for a pet keeps the mind alive and the body active, bringing a sense of normalcy to what many elders perceive as a declining life situation. In a similar manner, for those suffering from depression a pet serves as a good reason to get out of bed in the morning and focus on something positive. For children, having a pet is an important part of their development in learning respect, responsibility and love.

QUIET LESSONSThe presence of a pet in the home enhances our lives in many ways. They lighten up our darkest moments and create an outlet for playful interaction. They teach us to be disciplined and mindful. They also have much to teach us about the cycle of life — the exuberance of youth, the heart-warming rewards of a long-term relationship, and the acceptance of old age and death.

When choosing your special companion, consider what size and type of pet is best suited to your physical abilities and lifestyle as well as your home. Cost of care, potential allergies and time required to keep your pet healthy, happy and secure are all important factors in this decision. For those with physical limitations, a low maintenance pet such as a bird or fish can still provide the benefits of this close bonding with nature. Our beloved pets, whatever form they come in, serve as a symbol of our connection to the universe — that common denominator of unconditional love.

Shirley Vanderbilt was a staff writer with Massage &

Bodywork magazine.

Originally published in Body Sense, Spring/Summer 2004.