Brush Strokes and Pointilism

I'm thinking really hard about what I'm going to teach in the Tui Na class. Ashamed to admit it, but I haven't developed the syllabus as of yet. Bodywork's difficult to teach, for many reasons, especially in (ostensibly) higher levels.

Most bodywork courses are about teaching a specific routine. Some more advanced courses tend to be about addressing specific syndromes, etc.

I do want to teach the Side-Lying Posture routine, because it is something lacking in the regimen of most bodyworkers. Most bodyworkers treat people like playing cards from Alice in Wonderland: they have a front and a back, but nothing in between, so you treat them in the prone position, and then after that, you treat them in the supine position. The Side-Lying Position would address those critical areas "in between."

I also want to talk about some ways to improve bodywork. For example, utilizing Strain-Counterstrain techniques, or Facilitated Stretching... Also, some minor hip adjustments, as outlined in the book "Spinal Manipulation" (some of those techniques are AWESOME!!!).

Problem is, a lot of this isn't "Tui Na" (classical Chinese bodywork).

In all honesty, when it comes to bodywork, I'm not really a "stylist." What I do is eclectic, an assemblage of techniques that I've picked up over the years in my goal to address patients' problems appropriately. It's a mix of Tui Na, Shiatsu, Thai Massage, but also aspects of Deep Tissue, and Structural Integration... It is difficult for me to "limit" my discussions to Tui Na techniques, because 1) it's not what I limit myself to in practice, and 2) I don't feel students should be limited in their practice...

At times, I try to generalize or universalize bodywork in such a manner that I can blur or gloss over the need for "stylists." I talk about bodywork in terms of Yin and Yang. Or, a thought which recurs every now and then, I talk about how bodywork is like different styles of painting. In some techniques, it resembles long general brush strokes that serve to connect different parts of the body, that emphasize the body's unity. In other techniques, it resembles "pointilism" (?), focusing on a specific part to depth, attempting to touch upon "the heart" or "essence" of a problem...

I don't know... But my time is running out!!!