Introducing Lauren Berry Sr., RPT and Structural
Engineer
The Lauren Berry Method® of Corrective Massage:
By Taum Sayers
This was published in the July 2002 issue of Massage
Magazine
Lauren Berry Sr., RPT and Structural Engineer, may have been one of
our most effective practitioners and teachers within the art of massage
therapy. He was also exceptionally straightforward whenever anyone
asked him what he did. "I'm not a healer and I'm not a doctor,"
he would say. "I'm just a mechanic."*
His legendary career as a body worker began at an early age when his
next-door neighbor, a retired Finnish physician/masseur, took an interest
in young Lauren and showed him massage techniques based on Swedish
gymnastics and Body Balancing that he could use to help his ailing
mother. Over time, the neighbor counseled and guided Lauren through
helping his mother recover and regain her health.
Word of Lauren's talent and ability began to spread quickly. People
simply showed up on the Berry's doorstep, eager for Lauren to "work
his magic" on them. Lauren would often come home from school
to find a house filled with people waiting for him. In later conversations,
Lauren would jokingly refer to his earlier practice as a "ding
joint," because his mother had set out an empty fishbowl for
people to leave monetary donations. As coins were tossed in the bowl,
they would make a "ding" sound.
A number of events and coincidences helped shape and guide a career
in bodywork and alternative health that grew to be legendary....
Among these coincidences...
One day a mother brought in her son. Lauren performed his series of
Swedish gymnastics stretches to rebalance the boys posture followed
by relevant specific soft tissue work. The boy's symptoms soon disappeared
and, a few weeks later, the boy's father came to visit and discuss
his son's problem. Apparently, the mother had heard stories about
Lauren’s magic and did not tell her husband about taking their
son to see him until after the child's symptoms had abated. When the
boy's father discovered that Lauren had corrected the problem through
manual therapy, he was intensely curious to discover how his son had
been "cured." Evidently, he and his wife had taken their
son to numerous health professionals for his condition diagnosed as
St. Vitas Dance, and had found no relief. The father wanted to know
how this uneducated young man had attained such dramatically positive
effects for his son whereas modern medicine (this was approx 1930!)
had fallen short. In addition to satisfying his curiosity, he had
come to express his gratitude and support for what Lauren was doing.
As fate would have it, the father was the county Coroner and he arranged
for Lauren to gain access to the autopsy room, providing him with
the unique opportunity to examine human anatomy with a large degree
of autonomy. He examined and compared anatomy with various distortions
and irregularities, arriving at a basic understanding of how his manipulative
therapies affected the body's overall balance and functional organization.
This unique situation allowed him the "inside answers" to
his growing questions of how and why the Swedish gymnastics techniques
had worked so amazingly well. Lauren's respect for the relationship
of mechanical function and physical form continued to grow. Combining
that with his appreciation for the beauty and orderliness of the body's
soft tissue, he came to realize that the underlying factors in his
clients' physical problems could often directly be related to soft
tissue problems that were correctable with massage techniques. From
this experience came possibly one of his greatest contributions to
the field of bodywork. He became aware that each muscle has a relative
position within its surrounding tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments
and bones) where it functions at its healthiest efficiency. This position
is determined by those surrounding structures, which create a ‘groove’
within which each muscle fits. He came to understanding that tissue
can become misplaced within its relationship to its surroundings and
get out of its groove. A good portion of Laurens magic included simply
applying this body of knowledge and ‘putting things’ back
where they belong. Lauren would research within his practice, manipulating
(repositioning and stretching) specific distorted muscles and restoring
them to what he observed in the autopsy room as a more functional
organization. As he applied these unique massage techniques to his
clients, his amazing successes further validated his unique approach
to pain and dysfunction.
It was in this setting that Lauren's respect for the human bodies
innate intelligence and self-maintenance abilities began to grow.
Throughout a career that would span over fifty years, Lauren applied
these corrective massage and body-balancing concepts to decrease pain
and restore function in thousands of people. One of his principles
included respecting what he referred to as one of the body's primary
automatic functions, maintaining upright balance with gravity. He
suggested that when a body was out of balance, due to trauma, postural
compensations, etc, the bodies entire muscular system automatically
adapted and compensated in an attempt to regain and maintain balance,
which could create tensions, distortions and adhesions throughout
the body. (For example, take one of those life-size plastic skeletons
and just imagine trying to keep it upright without its accompanying
metal stand!) Over time, these types of compensating adaptations could
often interfere with the bodies innate repair mechanisms.
The initial focus in a session with Lauren would often be to correct
postural imbalances, some of which the client might not even be aware.
For example, when a client presented a knee problem, chances are they
had developed some level of adaptation and 'limped around' their pain.
Laurens initial goal would often be to deal with the primary imbalances
relating to the 'adaptive limp' utilizing the Swedish Gymnastic movements
his neighbor had shown him years ago. He would then apply the specific
soft tissue corrective work to the knee. He credited a lot of his
success to recognizing the body's primary balancing act and respecting
how healthy tissue was optimally organized.
Lauren appeared to have 'x-ray eyes' in his fingers as evidenced by
his performing the corrective massage techniques so simply and efficiently.
Most likely, this could be attributed to his anatomical studies in
the autopsy room and practicing for over 50 years. For his students,
he encouraged us to observe and assist in his office while he demonstrated
the principles and guidelines of his technique leaving us to do our
homework. He shared his knowledge and insights through classes, apprenticeships
and associations with manual therapists all over the world.
Lauren was a storyteller.
One of my favorites was of his travels in the Himalayas. He had been
in the merchant marines and had left the ship in a Chinese port of
call. While walking through town, he paused to watch some kids playing
a game of marbles. He noticed one young boy was favoring his shoulder
and Lauren approached to offer his assistance. A few minutes later
and the boy had a big smile, as his arm did not hurt anymore. A few
yards away stood several Tibetan Monks observing this and they approached
Lauren to talk. They were a bit concerned as they had been expecting
him, his timing was right, only they expected to see him at a different
location and were thus suspicious he was an imposter…(Back at
the monastery they showed him charts and texts describing his arrival
on the specific date.) After further discussion, he was invited to
their monastery to share knowledge and techniques with their ‘physicians’.
Lauren stayed a short while with his hosts and from there arranged
to visit neighboring monasteries, which were located approximately
one day's walk away. Lauren set out for the next monastery and not
far into his walk, local bandits approached him to determine what
he was doing in their territory. Again, Lauren observed a shoulder
problem with one of the bandits, who happened to be one of the leaders.
He proceeded to relieve the bandit's shoulder pain almost immediately
(it has been the authors experience that shoulder tension can often
be remedied rather quickly without the initial rebalancing). The bandits
invited him to their base-camp where he worked on the local bandits
and their families, again sharing his knowledge and techniques with
their physicians. Throughout his pilgrimage, arrangements were made
for Lauren to visit numerous monasteries and bandit camps, escorted
and protected by his new friends, the bandits. Talk about adventures
in bodywork!!!
Following Lauren's passing in 1983, The Institute of Integral Health,
Inc.® was formed as a non-profit teaching corporation. This
initially consisted of seven of his advanced students who had assisted
him with his practice and classes in the '70s and '80s. Our present
teaching staff also includes three assistant-teachers who are senior
students who have passed their practitioner's exam. Each works within
the Institute’s primary program and several offer workshops
outside the Institute's official schedule. We have all agreed that
by staying and teaching together we could pass on Lauren's amazing
system in a way that would be responsible and not be overly influenced
by any one individual teacher's personal view and interpretation
of Lauren's work. Each new student learns within an apprenticeship
program similar to Lauren's. By staying within this framework, the
Institute has responsibly continued to pass on Lauren's special
work.
His work, memory, and contributions to the field of manual therapy
continue to be honored under the banner of The Lauren Berry Method®
of Corrective Massage.* *
*Mirka Knaster, Discovering the Body's Wisdom (Bantam Books, 1996),
p. 171
** The Institute of Integral Health, Inc.®, is a non-profit
educational corporation located in Berkeley, CA, that continues
to teach and certify practitioners in The Lauren Berry Method®.
Taum Sayers is a certified Berry Method® practitioner, instructor,
President of The Institute of Integral Health, Inc.®, and author
who continues to practice and present workshops nationally and near
his home in Truckee, California. The foundation of his practice
is primarily influenced by his apprentice ship with Lauren Berry
Sr. RPT and his ongoing association with his fellow board members,
teachers and students within The Institute's ongoing educational
programs. Initially, to study Lauren’s work, a student was
required to have a sponsor; Taum’s original was Doug Reader
and when he left for Europe, Jean Lincoln of South Lake Tahoe, CA
took on the responsibility and continues to be a guiding light.
Thanks Jean.
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