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My initial massage training was in Swedish. When I joined the team at the Everett Providence Hospital Pain Control Center in 1983, I worked on patients who were in constant pain. After an hour of wonderfully blissful massage, they were still in pain. I felt such compassion for them, I resolved to find a way to help reduce their pain. For the past 27 years, I have been searching for ways to decrease the pain of my patients. In 1985, I began taking classes at the URSA Foundation with Dr. Loren Rex, DO. I was introduced to Muscle Energy, Strain/Counterstrain, and fascia release. These techniques were so different from the medical model I had learned, they made my head hurt. With Muscle Energy, I needed to see the body in 3-D and turn it around in my head. Fascia release was much easier and the instructor helped me to feel the tissue rather than give me specific stretches. I bought “Strain/Counterstrain” by Dr. Lawrence H. Jones, DO and tried to use it. I was taught to feel for a BB which was tender and position the body to make it go away. I finally just asked my patient if it was tender and they told me when it was gone. In the 80’s, there were no CEU requirements for Washington State. I took a few classes by Susan Carlson, LMP who taught me to assess patients using my own body. I also took a few classes from the more famous LMP’s, and was disappointed. I decided to let my patients be my teachers. I developed a four page new patient intake form which I used to ask them questions. I saw each body as a mystery with their symptoms as a form of communication and I began to anticipate, “What am I going to learn today?” With their help, I slowly began to see patterns of symptoms and found solutions to their pain. One day, Kate Bromley, LMP came to me for treatment. Kate encouraged me to share what I knew and arranged for my first class. A new book titled Positional Release Therapy was published based on Strain/Counterstrain and I knew this was what most LMP’s were missing from their tool box. I thought, “What would I want from a class?” Great handouts to help me recreate what I was learning, short classes because every hour away from my practice cost me money, an affordable cost, and classes closer to where I lived. My goal would to be to share what my years of experience had taught me, so we set a date and I started on the manual. This is when it got strange.
The very first tender point for my new manual was the
levator scapula which was not in the PRT or S/CS books, but I had used
this point successfully for years! This was not an easy way to start.
I came to realize, the techniques I had developed came from me and
what my patients had taught me about their bodies. I began to share
how I looked at the muscles of the body which was not always the way
text books described them. I was amazed when students told me how fast
and effective my system worked on their chronic patients.
Teaching is like learning a new profession. I approach
teaching like I do therapy; I let my students teach me how to be a
better teacher. When they offer a suggestion, I listen and use what
works best. I read every evaluation form and make changes when
appropriate. Students have told me that what I teach is different from any other class they have taken and helps them to think “outside the box.” They have also encouraged me to write a book. Empowering my ownership of this process, I have changed the name of what I teach to Structural Relief Therapy…Creating New Muscle Memory. I love teaching and enjoy the humor and education that each class brings. Taya Countryman, LMP practicing since 1977, teaching since 1992. Past Washington State Massage Board Member and lobbyist for 1987 Massage Law Revision. Specializes in complex and chronic conditions and consultation visits with LMP’s and their patients.
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