The Thinking Practitioner

Whitney interviews Til about his upcoming “Three Questions About Interoception” article in Massage & Bodywork magazine. Topics include: What is interoception, and why should I care? Is interoception our profession’s “mindfulness?” How can I actually use interoception with my clients? Get the full transcript at Til or Whitney's sites!  Resources discussed in this episode: “Three Questions about Int...

In honor of the upcoming Hip Jam, Whitney and Til discuss the controversies, disagreements, considerations, and their own views on the infamous psoas muscle in manual therapy and massage in this "Greatest Hits" rebroadcast of ep25. Download the handout with detailed episode notes, techniques and tests, and a special chapter from Til’s book from https://a-t.tv/ttp-psoas/ , plus check out the Hip Ja...

In celebration of Til's upcoming "Leg Knee & Foot" online course , he and Whitney geek out on conditions, anatomy, function, and biomechanics of the ankle and foot. Topics include:  How the structure of the foot/ankle complex determines function Are we over over-pronation yet?  Plantar fasciitis/fasciosis, bunions, hammertoes, and other things you wouldn’t have thought of as ankle issues. Episode...

Whitney and Til unfold the controversies, compare thoughts, and share approaches for working with the iliotibial band. Download the free handout!  Topics include:  Little-known facts, well-known myths, and over-heated controversies about the ITB,  When and why would (or wouldn’t) we work, roll, or massage the ITB (aka the iliotibial tract or fascia lata)?  Hands-on techniques for some of the most...

Til Luchau & Whitney Lowe talk with researcher and Robert Schleip about fascia, movement, and research updates in the newly released second edition of Fascia in Sport and Movement, co-edited by Jan Wilke. Topics include:  Should bodywork cost half of what movement therapy costs? {joke!} Is the issue fascial stiffness, or fascial shearing? What does fascias' extensive sensory innervation mean for m...

Whitney talks to Doug Nelson about the challenges and learning experiences of a great massage career spanning over four decades.  Topics include:  What keeps you going after all this time? What are some of the most fascinating lessons your clients have provided for you? How do we all learn to be humble in the face of our own fallibility in the clinic and the classroom? Get the full transcript at T...

Til Luchau talks about trauma, psychedelic psychotherapy, and the body, with Marcela Ot'alora G., the principal investigator in a very promising FDA-approved study into MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Topics include:  How does trauma relate to bodywork, and how does MDMA therapy help with trauma? How is psychedelic therapy different from just taking psychedelics? What can we learn from your MDMA/P...

Til and Whitney talk to Cathy Ryan RMT about her book 'Traumatic Scar Tissue Management: Massage Therapy Principles, Practice and Protocols,' co-authored with Nancy Keenan Smith.  Topics include:  How has fascial research informed our understanding of scars?  Is it about the "fuzz," or the fluids?  Erasing scars, once and for all. (Not really.)  Get the full transcript at Til or Whitney's sites! ...

Whitney and Til talk to Diane Matkowski (a.k.a. the Massage Mentor) to find out what gave her the chutzpah to ask 10 of her favorite massage and bodywork teachers to teach in her first online event, what it was like when nearly 600 people showed up, and what she's working on next. Topics include:  There are a lot of male teachers in our field. Where are the women? (Here.) Finding your thing, and g...

Til and Whitney talk to Healwell’s Cal Cates about how their work with death and dying brought perspective and presence to their work as a massage therapist; and to living itself.    Topics include:  How is “being a massage therapist in the modern world a total setup”? What do we say when our clients just want results? How do our personal experiences influence the way we engage with our clients? G...

How often do we think about the assumptions that inform our decisions? Til Luchau talks to writer Ruth Werner about her recent work on critical thinking skills, steps, and stages.  Topics include:  What is the big deal about critical thinking?  What are the signs that I might not be thinking critically? Is intuition the opposite of critical thinking? And more. Get the full transcript at  Til or Wh...

Whitney Lowe & Til Luchau give a crash course on frozen shoulder/adhesive capsulitis, discussing recent research and comparing their respective views and strategies. Download the free handout with detailed episode notes, techniques and tests, and join them at the upcoming Shoulder Jam event via Whitney or Til ’s sign-up link.   Episode topics include:  Types, terms, stages, and debates  Who gets i...

Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe share their ideas, strategies, techniques, and tests for better results with the most common type of shoulder condition, subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS) and its myriad presentations, including rotator cuff pain, etc. Download the handout with detailed episode notes, techniques and tests from http://a-t.tv/ttp-saps/ Episode topics include: Shoulder Impingement Syndrome:...

Whitney Lowe talks with Robin Anderson about her new role as president of the Massage Therapy Foundation and how research plays an important role in our field. They also dive deep into some issues around curriculum design and the crucial importance of developing solid educational programs to ensure the future success of our field.   Get the full transcript at  Til or Whitney's sites! Resources and...

Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe share their top resources for information and inspiration, both professionally and personally, letting us in on everything from their favorite podcasts, playlists, books, and apps, to how they recharge and find meaning in their work and in their lives.  Get the full transcript at  Til or Whitney's sites! Resources and references discussed in this episode:  Mendeley   Zo...

Whitney Lowe and Til Luchau share trivia, tips, tests, and techniques for working with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), including some cool self-care methods for you and your clients. Find out why TOS is “one of the most controversial topics in musculoskeletal medicine,” and how Til and Whitney actually work with TOS symptoms in practice. Download the handout with detailed episode notes, techniques...

Clinician and educator Drew Freedman talks about navigating many challenges of managing a busy clinic in the heart of Boston. The clinic was severely impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing and then again this past year during the Covid challenge. We discuss how to face adversity and how to continue looking forward and not let these challenges drag you down.  Get the full transcript at Til or Whit...

Art Riggs was one of the first Certified Rolfers[tm] to publish a book about "advanced" techniques. His textbook (Deep Tissue Massage) was adopted by massage therapy programs worldwide, and as a result, his teaching and style has influenced tens of thousands massage and manual therapists in the decades since. Art talks with Til Luchau about his work, aging, self-care, and more.  Get the full trans...

What are cervicogenic headaches? Are they even a thing, and if so, why are they particularly amenable to manual therapy and massage? Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe discuss these questions, and share some self-care tips for you and your clients. Download the handout with detailed episode notes, techniques and tests from http://a-t.tv/ttp-cgh/   Episode topics include:  What kinds of headaches CAN manu...

What makes taking care of ourselves so hard? Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe dissect the difficulties, and share their favorite excuses for not putting their own care first.  Episode topics include:  The five key self-care behaviors;  The date we’re most likely to give up on our resolutions;  Getting “internal bipartisanship” around your own self-care initiatives.  Get the full transcript at Til or Wh...

Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe review highlights and take-aways from the star-studded first season of their acclaimed podcast (yea, right).  Most-Downloaded:  03 Sacroiliac Joint Pain: Causes, Controversies, and Considerations  15 Robert Schleip: Talking to Fascia, Changing the Brain, 20 Years Later  07 Scoliosis and Manual Therapy  11 Stretching the Tissues, or the Truth?  12 The Cytokine Storm of C...

Whitney Lowe talks with Cal Cates, executive director of Healwell. They tackle the challenging issues of how to recognize advanced training and the challenges of integrating massage into the healthcare system.  Episode topics include:  Why is advanced credentialing important for us?  What are some of the big challenges we face when attempting to be part of the healthcare system?  Who is ultimately...

Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe discuss the most famous (yet, unreplicated) illustration in neuroscience, the sensorimotor homunculus, which purports to show the proportion of the brain dedicated to each body part. Is it accurate?  Episode topics include:  Is the cortical homunculus a map, or the territory?  How did it come about? Penfield's methods and limitations.  How might this all apply to manual...

Til Luchau talks with Polish physical therapist, Anatomy Trains teacher, and manual therapist Wojtek Cackowski about his innovative Zoga Movement method, and how it can help manual therapists not only with their clients, but with their own embodiment and self care.  Episode topics include:  What is Zoga? How does it relate to manual therapy and massage?  Fascial shearing and gliding, vs fascial “s...

Whitney and Til discuss the controversies, disagreements, considerations, and their own views on the infamous psoas muscle in manual therapy and massage. Download the handout with detailed episode notes, techniques and tests, and a special chapter from Til’s book from http://a-t.tv/ttp-psoas/  Episode topics include:  Psoas: Holy Grail muscle, or wholly irrelevant?  Psoas and back pain, leg length...