Hector Hambides, LMT
FIRM TOUCH
Muscular Therapy
CranioSacral Therapy
Structural Integration
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The Healing Energy
Hector Hambides
Hector Hambides is a graduate of the KINESIS school of MYOFASCIAL INTEGRATION (KMI) which is a development of Ida Rolf's STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION. Hector is involved in the study and practice of CranioSacral Therapy. He completed a nine hundred hour program at the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge which included the relevant sciences, pathology, communications, muscular therapy theory and technique, clinical experience and introductions to alternate therapies such as shiatsu, Trager, myofascial release, Thai massage, Aston patterning, Feldenkrais etc.
The most worthwhile thing we as human beings can do, is to restore our energy.
Don Juan Matus
KINESIS MYOFASCIAL INTEGRATION
We all develop a characteristic way of standing, moving and holding ourselves. This produces our individual body signature that is often recognizable to our friends even from several blocks away. Some of this pattern, of course, comes from our genetics, but mostly it comes from habit, from imitation, from compensatory responses to traumatic injury or surgery, and from the way our attitudes are expressed in our movement. And it is open to change.
KMI is a systematic series of sessions designed to ease the body’s movement via the musculo-skeletal system, and restore the natural alignment and integration inherent in the body’s design. The method consists of slow, gentle, and deep stretching and opening of the body’s myofascial (myo = muscle, fascial = the sinewy biological fabric, that attaches the muscles to the bones), coupled with the client’s movement and breathing. The method is designed to decompensate the adverse effects of bad postural habits and the after-effects of injury or trauma. The goal is to restore skeletal alignment, the reciprocal balance of muscles, and the full range of anatomical and physiological motion.
Any chronic holding produces a strain pattern throughout the body. Over time, these muscular tensions get written into the fascial fabric, and thus set into our structure. It becomes impossible to simply relax our way out of these patterns. Our skeletal frame gets slowly pulled out of place and the body fights with gravity, setting up further tensions. Some of these strain patterns may be minor and benign, but some, either immediately or over time, produce pain patterns or create significant limitation. These patterns may begin in one locale, or may regularly produce pain in one spot, like the shoulder, knee or low back, but the strain pattern, because of the distributive nature of the fascial net, is always body-wide.
A person with a sunken chest may feel pain in his neck or restricted breathing, but there will also be subtle, silent changes in the position of his pelvis, legs, neck, and spine. To undo the pattern requires working progressively with the whole body to establish the support for a new place of balance.
Therefore the KMI process is set up as a series of about 10 sessions, designed to be completed over several months at your own pace, where each session concentrates on a different aspect of the body's supporting structure. As your KMI practitioner I will be happy to apply the skills I have to your particular issues, however, the best and most lasting results are obtained when the entire body is addressed through this series.
KMI is a development, by author and KMI founder Tom Myers, of the pioneering work of Dr Ida Rolf, with additional perspective drawn from movement education and body-centered psychotherapy. The work itself is direct but sensitive, and involves a deep, slow opening of the myofascial tissues, while the client participates with his or her movement. The results are immediately palpable, and one or two sessions should make it easy to decide whether the KMI project is right for you.
The work is performed on a treatment table or bench with the client clothed in underwear or a bathing suit, and pictures may be taken periodically, if you wish, to demonstrate the progression of postural change.
You do not have to accept your posture as: just the way I am, or structural pain as: that's what happens when you get older - you can change these patterns and KMI can help.
What can I get from KMI sessions?
Muscular Therapy
Muscular Therapy is a form of healing that is performed by a person who is trained to find tension in muscles, tendons and ligaments. Trained to manipulate soft tissue in various ways, so that with the the client's participation we help reduce or eliminate pain and tension. The client participates, by ‘allowing’ the manipulation to have this effect, by their intent, by letting go and by breathing deeply during the treatment.
Regular muscular therapy can be quite dramatic in it’s ability to:
The Therapeutic Value of CranioSacral Therapy
The craniosacral system consists of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. It extends from the bones of the skull, face and mouth, which make up the cranium, down to the sacrum or tailbone area.
Since this vital system influences the development and performance of the brain and spinal cord, an imbalance or restriction in it could potentially cause any number of sensory, motor or neurological disabilities. These problems could include headaches, chronic pain, eye difficulties, scoliosis, motor-coordination impairments, learning disabilities and other health challenges.
CranioSacral Therapy is a gentle method of detection and correction that encourages your own natural healing mechanisms to dissipate these negative effects of stress on your central nervous system. You also benefit from better overall health and resistance to disease.
How is CranioSacral Therapy performed?
The CranioSacral Therapy practitioner uses a light touch, generally no more than the weight of a nickel, to test for restrictions in the craniosacral system. This is done by monitoring the rhythm of the cerebro/spinal fluid as it flows through the system.
While experienced clinicians can detect that motion anywhere on your body, they can most easily feel it at the skull, sacrum and coccyx. These bones attach to the membranes that enclose the cerebrospinal fluid.
The positive effects of CranioSacral Therapy rely to a large extent on your body' s natural self-corrective activities. The therapist's light, hands-on approach simply assists the hydraulic forces inherent in the craniosacral system to improve your body' s internal environment and strengthen its ability to heal itself. ______________________________________________________________________
To me, the practice of Craniosacral Therapy is a miracle. After my accident I felt ungrounded and off center for a very long time, both physically and in mental function, in spite of massage, physical therapy chiropractic care and psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress. Craniosacral Therapy was the only treatment that got to the core of what was wrong. Until then, no one had acknowledged the physical cause of what I had been experiencing. So, again, thank you for being there.
D.j, New York NY
CranioSacral Therapy strengthens your body's ability to take better care of itself. It helps alleviate a range of illness, pain and dysfunction, including:
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"Many patients believe that life is difficult and healing is painful. Craniosacral Therapy helps them let go of that belief. The healing process can be much more gentle and subtle."
SH., Abbeville, LA
For Information and Appointments:
Telephone 617-254-0391
e-mail firmtouch@erols.com
56 Bennett Street, Brighton, Massachusetts 02135
FIRM TOUCH
Operates in conjunction with, and at the same address as:
ORIENTAL HEALING ARTS
Established in 1989, offering Acupuncture, Chinese Massage, Shiatsu and Chinese Herb therapies.
