The Thinking Practitioner

With a quarter-million downloads to date, Whitney and Til share their top 5 episode highlights and notable ideas from their third season of interviews, conversations, and inquiries into the thinking behind effective hands-on work. The Ten Most-Downloaded Episodes from Season Three: 53: Fascia: A Deep Dive (with Dr. Antonio Stecco) 69: Back Pain, Stiffness & Fascia (with Stuart McGill) 56: Work...

Is language important? Do muscles actually change length? Does posture matter? Is “fascia” a reductionist idea? Whitney and Til head straight down these rabbit holes (and more) in conversation with clinical anatomist John Sharkey. Get the full transcript of their conversation on Til or  Whitney's sites:  Til Luchau’s Advanced-Trainings.com   Whitney Lowe’s Academy of Clinical Massage   Sponsor Off...

What can we as bodyworkers can learn about intimacy, ethics, consent, touch, and boundaries, from people working on the other side of the no-sex "firewall" that (very appropriately) separates our profession from erotic and sex work? Betty Martin is a leading author, thinker, and trainer in the field of consent and touch; listen in as she and Til think it through.  Check out the video or get the fu...

Does stiff fascia hurt because it's stiff? Why then is there pain with the softer-tissue patterns of hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes? Dr. Tina Wang's fascinating research (as well as her own story) helps shed some light on this paradox. Check out the video of her Thinking Practitioner conversation on Til or  Whitney's sites:  Til Luchau’s Advanced-Trainings.com   Whitney Lowe’s Academy o...

Most everyone agrees that the current system of continuing professional education (CE or CPD) for massage and manual therapy has problems. Should CE requirements simply be abolished? Or is even more regulation needed? Whitney and Til think these things through and come up with individual and system-wide options. Check out the video of their conversation on Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s...

Whitney has a conversation with Sandy Fritz on her vision of the current and future state of the profession.  How the current economic situation has impacted the massage profession Innovative changes with the ICMT The migration of massage employment to a "job" Challenges with massage employees How to work full time Ergonomic challenges in our field Get the full transcript at Til or Whitney's sites...

Til & Whitney share their takeaways, impressions, and highlights from the recent 6th International Fascia Research Congress in Montreal. Topics include: New research correlating tissue qualities with depression Biomechanics of thoracolumbar fascia Counterintuitive findings about Ehlers-Danlos Fascia and elastic recoil Should we massage tumors? Get the full transcript at Til or Whitney's sites:...

Unbeknownst to us, the hosts of the 'Hands at the Table' podcast recorded and aired a “secret shopper” episode about one of Til Luchau’s most popular online CE classes. Listen in as they dissect and review the course, bit-by-excruciating-bit.  (And, you can find out more about Til’s next Principles course, live or by recording, at Advanced-Trainings.com .) In this episode: Were the techniques usef...

Whitney and Til dive deep into their differing (and shared) approaches to sacroiliac joint pain, pelvic anatomy, biomechanics, and much more, all in celebration of Whitney’s recent SIJ article and Til’s upcoming live-online hands-on training. NEW: check out the video of their conversation on Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s cour...

Can massage and bodywork help with long-term Lyme Disease? The answer has implications for working with similar conditions such as long COVID, post-viral syndromes, and more. Til Luchau talks it through with pathology writer Ruth Werner. Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses at  Advanced-Trainings.c...

Til Luchau talks with Cal Cates about "massage therapy's sex problem:" how the profession's "touchiness" about the intimacy-sensuality-sexuality continuum, however well-founded, might not be serving either our clients, nor ourselves.  Watch the video of their conversation and get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe:  Academy of Clinical Massage Til Luchau:  Advanced-Train...

Famed fascial researcher Helene Langevin MD talks with Til and Whitney about what we know (and _don't_ know) about the role of tissue stiffness in pain; the effects of stretching on cell function and inflammation; contextual effects and placebos; and much more. Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses...

Whitney and Til have an in-depth conversation with Jules Mitchell (author of Yoga Biomechanics: Stretching Redefined) about topics like tissue change, flexibility, hyper-mobility as they relate to yoga and manual therapy.  Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses at  Advanced-Trainings.com   Resources:...

Legendary back pain researcher Stuart McGill (author of Back Mechanic and others) talks with Whitney and Til about spinal pain, fascia, biomechanics and other topics including: - Stiffness/mobility tuning in manual therapy - The psoas' role in supporting the spine - Fascial connections, Janda's lower-crossed model, and more.  Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s onli...

Til and Whitney compare notes about their tests and techniques for recognizing, understanding, and working with sciatica, sciatic pain, and similar conditions. Download the free technique handout from  https://bit.ly/sciatica-handout-68 Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses at  Advanced-Trainings.co...

Til talks with Jan Sultan (one of the first Rolfers trained by Ida Rolf to teach her work), about his life and work; about aging well; and about his take-aways from his ongoing COVID recovery process. Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses at  Advanced-Trainings.com   Resources mentioned   Til's 'Cyt...

Til gets personal as he discusses bodywork with people living with cancer, with Janet Penny and Rebecca Sturgeon, the authors of “Oncology Massage: An Integrative Approach to Cancer Care.” They’re joined by Til’s wife Loretta Carridan Luchau, a bodyworker and therapist who has been living with cancer for many years.  Watch the video (NEW!) and get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites:  W...

Women account for about 85 percent of Massage Therapists in the US. However, there isn't always a corresponding representation of women as CE providers, conference headliners, or in other roles of visible leadership. Whitney and Til explore this phenomenon in discussions with three women leaders, as a way to acknowledge just a few of the many women who have made significant contributions and impac...

It’s no exaggeration to say that in its ten years of existence, Handspring Publishing has had a profound impact on the bodywork and movement therapy fields. Til and Whitney talk with two of Handspring's founders about some very big recent news, and about their unique vision of a place where both long-established authors (such as Robert Schleip, Leon Chaitow, and more), as well as promising newer v...

People change their minds--sometimes, radically. Learning, improving, refining, all involve changing how we saw things before. But is there a cost? And what makes changing our views such a challenge? Whitney and Til compare notes about how their perspectives have taken a 180° from how they used to think, and, about how that's played out. Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites!  Whitney...

Whitney talks with Anne Williams and Eric Brown about innovations in education. They delve into these important topics: such as: -Early explorations of online education, podcasting, and the World Massage Conference -Why instructional design and educational theory matter in education? -New frontiers in the publishing of digital textbooks …and much more. Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's...

Whitney talks with Niki Munk about massage therapy research. They delve into these important topics: such as: -What are levels of evidence and why does this matter? -Why should massage therapists care about research? -How to get involved with research -Challenges of massage education existing outside traditional academic models …and much more. Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites!  W...

Whitney talks with massage therapist and physical therapy assistant Matt Gavzy about working in a team practice with other professionals, and about integrating massage therapy with physical therapy approaches.     Get the full transcript at Til or  Whitney's sites!  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses at  Advanced-Trainings.com   Episode Resources M...

Whitney and Til compare notes about the major influences on their own careers, and along the way discuss topics such as: -The development of massage and bodywork education and practice  -Their Esalen Institute and Emory University crossroads -The role of lineage, teacher personality, and standards -The evolution of online learning -Mentors and mentoring …and much more. Get the full transcript at T...

Til Luchau asks pioneering movement and bodywork teacher Judith Aston "Do you think being a woman ever held you back?" Then, they talk about what she thought of that question.   Get the full transcript, and the answer to Judith's 9-dot puzzle, at Til or  Whitney's sites!  Whitney Lowe’s online Clinical & Orthopedic Massage Courses Til Luchau’s courses at  Advanced-Trainings.com   Episode Resou...