A Massage Medley

Bodywork Basics : A Guide to the Powers and Pleasures of Your Body

by Anne Kent Rush

Dell, 224 page

America's health-care crisis has created fissures in the health care world, but more significantly perhaps, it has shaken up and changed our views about health. Interest in complementary and alternative medicine has grown steadily in recent years, and according to a study of patterns in public's use of complementary and alternative medicine, two of the three most popular forms are body oriented and use touch as a primary medium--massage therapy and chiropractic.

According to Ann Kent Rush, author of "Bodywork Basics," massage and chiropractic are part of a larger collection of body-oriented methods called Bodywork. She describes Bodywork as both physical and mental exercises aimed at increasing self-awareness and communication, by broadening one's experience of the senses, emphasizing self-involvement in one's healing, and learning about one's body.

Rush has been a figure in the Bodywork scene for almost 30 years. She is perhaps best known for her illustrations in "The Massage Book," by George Downing, which appeared in 1972 and inspired thousands of people to try their hand at massage and remains a classic how-to manual. Some of those early readers of "The Massage Book" formed a vanguard that revived massage therapy as a profession and returned it to the health-care ranks. "Bodywork Basics" reflects Rush's background in a medley of styles, such as yoga, Tai Chi, massage, polarity therapy, and body awareness.

Rush surveys 23 Bodywork methods for eliminating stress, relieving pain, and healing emotional and physical wounds. Bodywork can also heighten joy, increase pleasure, improve health, and provide something to help others when things are going well. The book suggests readers design a personal program formed from the Bodywork methods and integrate Bodywork principles and exercises into a well-balanced life.

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