How to incorporate somatic principles and techniques within a therapeutic massage session to help a client unwind from the inside out.

This book is filled with philosophy and detailed techniques to empower massage therapists to help clients establish a fully conscious connection with their own body and unlock powers of self-regulation. It invites you to embark upon your own somatic journey to discover how to employ these holistic principles to an ancient form of healthcare.

"

Massage therapy is evolving, and Somatic Techniques for Massage Therapists helps chart that next step. Drawing on the lineage of thinkers like Thomas Hanna and Eleanor Criswell Hanna, it traces how the "body as perceived from within" can become the foundation for contemporary touch-based practice. This book offers a thoughtful bridge between somatic education and hands-on technique-reminding us that lasting change often comes not from working harder on the body, but from helping awareness awaken within it.

At a time when massage therapists are seeking ways to integrate neuroscience, embodiment, and mindfulness into their work, Somatic Techniques for Massage Therapists situates these threads within a clear, accessible lineage. Rooted in the somatic tradition that views the soma as a living, sensing subject rather than an object to be fixed, it traces how this perspective can reshape our approach to pain, learning, and therapeutic touch. Both philosophical and practical, it invites a shift-from technique to relationship, from doing to being.