Pulsing is a type of bodywork that involves applying continuous rhythmic movements to the body and body parts. It’s also called rocking, dynamics or harmonics massage.
In its modern form it was developed by Curtis Turchin in the 1970s. Curtis is an American bodywork practitioner, trained in Postural Integration and the Trager Approach.
The treatment includes pressure, stretching, lifting, shaking, breathwork, rotating, and swinging of the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia with continuous “rocking” movements. The idea behind the modality is to induce a deep state of physical relaxation and an emotional “letting go” of the client.
A core concept behind Pulsing is that humans like to rock themselves rhythmically to achieve relaxation. Think of how we rock and cradle a baby to sleep (or to make it stop crying) or how we swing rhythmically in a rocking chair or hammock to relax ourselves.
On a therapeutic level the work can serve as a vehicle for deep emotional and trauma release, in fact a kind of body psychotherapy, or alternatively it can be a means to prepare the body for deep tissue massage work.
