TOUCH

journeys in conscious touch

bodywork sessions

I am ready to lead you to and hold you in a deep space, your own inner space. I see my role more as a stage director who sets the stage as best he can for you to experience yourself in a different way. When I reach out to touch another, it’s with respect for you own inner processes; I seek most of all to encourage a more subtle level of self knowledge on your part through receiving conscious, present touch. Whether your body needs deep relaxation through slower movements, or energising mood lifting with more vigorous movements, or to engage in more interactive and therapeutic touch-based somatic exercises, I am ready to adjust to the needs of the moment. I am guided to a large extent on Qi Gong principles of energy flow and seek to unblock stuck areas - be they in tight musculature and holding patterns or in emotional constriction - and especially where the two dovetail.

To understand more of my background and influences in bodywork and therapy, scroll down to the end of this section.

To gift a beloved friend a meditative journey in my company, simply write to me (email or via the contact form), and I’ll send you a gift certificate for a two-hour session.

What do Body Trip / Deep Listening Bodywork Sessions with Steve look like? I tend to offer two- or three- hour meetings, which begin with a brief (sometimes longer) consultation/check-in (to better align the session with your current state and needs, to ensure that you are maximally comfortable and to make sure we are on the same page). Then there is either about 90/120min bodywork followed by some time to lie in your own integrative space for some time. This last phase is often the most important of all. I have also been amazed at the good a shorter session can do - even 45 or 60mins and especially if it is not our first session can happily adjust to this request too. Or maybe you don’t want to commit at first to a longer session and wish toi investigate the touch - that’s great! Just ask!

I practice what I like to call Conscious Touch. I adore giving workshops on this theme, from 2-12 hours long.

Sessions are infused with a meditative focus nurtured by my deep tea practice and an understanding of the body profoundly influenced by shamanic journeys, and several thousand hours of practise and meditation (thanks to approx 1500 people who have received massages from me!). I try to connect with the greatest possible conscious presence and awareness and respect for your embodied self. It has taken a lot of work, study, practice and making mistakes to get there.

Your comfort is the first priority. We go at your pace. I like to nudge people just slightly outside their comfort zones (in terms of pain, intensity) - safely, but not launch them far beyond it. Sessions are strictly non-sexual in nature (and I remain clothed) but can feel very intimate and personalised.

To give you an idea of the different approaches you can inquire about, or will likely receive a blend of, here are some modalities I practise the most:

• Myofascial energetic release

• Visceral stomach massage

• Gi Gong massage

• Lomi-lomi Hawaian massage

• Integrative massage

• Hips/pelvis unlocking

Talk-based consultations are also available. These have most often tended to be with men about issues around their intimate emotional or sexual lives, body shame issuees or empowerment (more information in the About section). My designated Chinese ‘spiritual name’ bestowed upon me by teacher Wu De is Ci Ting (慈聽), which means ‘compassionate listener’. People tend to seek alternate, supportive perspectives about intimate life issues, or about how to get to the next level of growth.

Sessions take place either in my Body Trip Massage Studio (Uus tn 11, Tallinn, inside Charen teemaja). I am committed in this lifetime to share that which might be of benefit to others. If price is the only factor that keeps you from having a bodywork session with me, please write to me and we can figure out something fair for everyone.

Influences

I’ve been studying bodywork and healing modalities since 1998. For some ten years, I was focusing on techniques and trying to perfect these, all the while observing people’s bodily reactions and having a sense that the real transformative power lies in something much deeper than technique, no matter how slkilled. My studies since about 2008 have focused more on those other aspects of touch and the importance of the relationship between practitioner and receiver, the mutual space created.

I have diplomas in (MER) Myofascial Energetic Release, and Lomi-Lomi Nui (and have been assistant teacher in these courses), as well as Visceral massage, Yumeiho, Reiki, Neuroaffective Touch, The Science of Touch, Gay Tantra & Male Massage, Trauma Release Breathwork, Thanatotherapy, Swedish classic, Thai, Indian Champi Head massage. I have been studying in Taiwan and China a Daoist & Zen approach to tea ceremony since 2010, the life approach of which greatly modulates my bodywork sessions. I have since 2015 been leading workshops and retreats on Conscious Touch, Brotherly Touch (platonic touch between men), and Full Body Male Massage at international festivals at Angsbacka, Stockholm, and Berlin, Amsterdam, Montreal, Oslo, Slovenia and Estonia.

In addition, Steve has studied Aline LaPierre’s Neuroaffective Touch and Edward Ulm’s Science of Touch courses. Aside from his direct teachers (Roman Goldrin, Nisarga, Betty Martin, Armin Heining, Edward Ulm, Sarita, etc) his main inspirations in the field of touch and health have been Tony Schwartz, Bessel van der Kolk, Mantak Chia, Lorie Eve Dechar, Edward Ulm, Wu De, Gabor Mate, Peter Levine, Betty Martin, Tiffany Fields, Margot Annand, Loren Johnson, Aline LaPierre and the great shamanic bodyworker Leo Legris. The greatest embodied teachings however, have come from thousands of hours of massage/touch sessions, often repeated, with about 1500 people as well as from psychedelic journeys and meditative attention.