Verb: To sedate:- administer a sedative to, cause to be calm or quiet.
Latin: Sedere:- to sooth , and from which the English word “sit” is derived.
“Cause to be calm and quiet” has the greater significance for bodywork,when we calm or soothe an area of the body which is hot,painful,stuck,stiff or is in excess and not flowing as it should. This also relates to the emotions and general psychology of the client.
In Oriental Medicine,there are ,of course, two ways of looking at the processes involved under Yin and Yang.
When a client arrives, or becomes, full of tears and grief, is distressed and possibly frightened, sedation and comfort are the order of the day. They may also arrive ,or become,angry and full of rage. Imagine them like a big, red balloon just prior to bursting. We need to find a way to reduce the pressure before they explode.
A recent injury,particularly around a joint, may be swollen with restricted movement. This needs soothing.
The worst situation is where,over time, slights and injustices have been received by the client. They have built up inside them without relief ,causing internal stuckness,frustration and pain,which unless released ,calmed and moved suggests the prospect of major illness in the future. With the exception of the situation involving injury, I find that that a yang approach to the presented problems achieves a relatively swift resolution to these situations. The emotions are rapidly expressed and the balloon of rage, grief and fear become lessened and recognised by the client for what they are. A form of stasis.
Treatments range in their “yangness” but always involve a fair amount of bodily movement ,e.g. rocking,rotations-particularly of the hips and hip joint,twisting and stretching. All ,of course within a safe and non painful context. Discomfort is, in my book acceptable.Creating change is often uncomfortable.
“Change the boundaries of your client’s awareness to bring them to a new perspective of their lives.”
Sedation of injury, after any medical intervention is finished, requires a knowledge of the anatomy at the site, and that pertaining to it, to restore movement and the reduction of pain and swelling. This is when the use of Moxa, compresses and cupping are useful additional tools to our range of hands on techniques.
Yin concepts around sedation are the psychological holding and reassurance of the client .Allow them to realise that by releasing emotions they will not fall apart,that their lives will continue,and that by putting down the excess baggage they will be able to move more freely through their lives in a calm and quiet way.