Jeff Muskovin - Home

About

2010-01-21T16:05:00Z

Jeff was drawn to practicing massage and bodywork after a two decades long career in professional theater administration and design. The strength in Jeff's practice is in his ability to help you realize a much greater quality of life. This may take the form of increased self-awareness, greater physical performance, enhanced mental clarity, chronic pain reduction, or accelerated recovery from a traumatic injury.

We all have the inner ability for self healing, given the right combination of external resources and stimulation of our inner resources.

Working with a combination of disciplines in a holistic approach that respects the specific needs of the individual, a treatment plan will be created for you. This treatment plan may include Bowenwork, Massage Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Bodywork, or a combination of approaches. The duration, frequency and number of sessions will depend on your goals and the conditions requiring attention.

Jeff is one of four Bowenwork therapists practicing in the state of Illinois. He is a massage therapist, licensed by the State of Illinois and nationally certified in massage therapy and bodywork. His education includes over 1200 hours of professional trainings in Massage Therapy and in Energetic Approaches with the Chicago School of Massage Therapy, Pre and Perinatal Massage Therapy with Body Therapy Associates, Hakomi Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy with the Hakomi Institute of Boulder, Colorado, and Bowenwork with the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia.

This practice is located in downtown Evanston Illinois, in the Fountain Square Building at 1601 North Sherman, Suite 210. Jeff is also affiliated with, and practicing at the Lincoln Park Athletic Club, Lakeview Athletic Club and Allyu Spa - The Art of Healing in Chicago.

Education:
Webster University , BFA in Theatre Design, 1980
Chicago School of Massage Therapy - 650 hour Massage Therapy program, completed April 1998.
Chicago School of Massage Therapy - 32 hour Energetic Approaches training, completed September 1998.
Hakomi Institute - 144 hour Hakomi for Bodyworkers training, completed December 1999.
Hakomi Institute – 324 hour Principles, Theory and Technique of the Hakomi Method of Mindfulness-Based Experiential Psychotherapy training, completed November 2003.

Body Therapy Associates - 32 hour Pre and Perinatal Massage Therapy training

Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia – 136 hour Professional Bowen Practitioner training – completed February 2005.

Credentials:
Certified Member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals.
Member of the National Certification Board of Massage Therapy and Bodywork since 1999.
Illinois Licensed Massage Therapist since January 2005.
Certified Bowenwork Therapist since February 2005.

Welcome

2007-12-05T16:45:00Z

Massage Therapy for stress relief, reduction of pain, recovery from injuries and improved self-awareness.

Bowenwork for accelerated recovery from illness and injury. Powerful transformation through extraordinarily gentle touch and movement.

Mindfulness Based Bodywork for resolving long term health issues that have been resistant to other modalities.

Jeff Muskovin's practice is grounded in his belief that you have the inner ability to heal yourself, given the right combination of external support and stimulation of your own inner resources.

Your needs will be carefully reviewed, and an individually specific treatment plan will be created for you. This treatment plan may include Bowenwork, Massage Therapy, Mindfulness-based Bodywork, or a combination of approaches. The duration, frequency and number of sessions will depend on your goals and the conditions requiring attention.

Bowenwork

2007-12-05T16:45:00Z

About Massage Therapy | About Mindfulness

What is Bowenwork?

Bowenwork is a gentle, yet powerful method of healthcare in the form of hands-on bodywork. It has been found to be effective in pain relief, accelerating recovery from injury and illness, improved self awareness, stress reduction, maintenance of overall health and improved performance in work and sports.

One of the primary principles of Bowenwork is that given proper stimulation and sufficient response time, your body is able to heal itself effectively. Bowenwork gently, yet powerfully works through your body's primary regulatory systems – the nervous system and the energetic system.

How does it work?

The session begins with you receiving a series of gentle and precise applications of rolling pressure over specific muscles, tendons or nerve bundles. Intervals of stillness occur between each series, giving your body the opportunity to begin processing the signals that have just been received.

The process that begins during your session continues throughout the session and over the next several days. As you go about your normal day-to-day activities, the signals created in your body slowly integrate positive change on a whole-body-systems level. By making space for present-moment awareness and non-judgmental curiosity during the session and in the days following a session, your body will more effectively integrate and maintain the changes that begin during the session.

Taking this into account, you should be receiving the treatments at a time in your life when you can make a commitment to taking care of yourself, not running marathons or moving apartments. During the week following a session, you should take comfortable walks, get rest and drink plenty of water, in addition to your regular routine. You should avoid receiving any other form of bodywork for one week before and after each session, in order to receive the maximum effectiveness of the treatment.

What can I expect in a Bowenwork session?

Following a thorough intake interview, a typical treatment session will last between 30 to 90 minutes, depending on your needs. For the treatment itself, it is important that you be as comfortable as possible. You will receive the treatment while lying comfortably on a padded massage table or seated, if lying down is not a comfortable option for you. It is necessary for you to wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothes to your session, as you will remain clothed during the treatment.

During a session, you may experience sensations of warmth, pulses of fluid or energy moving through the body, and a feeling of deep relaxation. At the conclusion of a session, you will be helped to notice and integrate changes that are taking place. During this time, suggestions will be made for the following week, such as specific daily exercises.

Can Bowenwork™ help me?
This method of healthcare is not, and should not be mistaken as a cure for any condition. Bowenwork stimulates the body to engage its own innate healing abilities to respond to the conditions that need attention. It is common for some conditions to require several sessions for effective treatment, depending on the severity and complexity of the conditions, the level of sensitivity of the client and other factors. The following is a list of presenting conditions that have been found to respond well to Bowenwork.

Abdominal Pain
Angina Pain
Ankle Conditions
Asthma
Back Pain
Bed Wetting
Bell's Palsy
Breast Lumps
Breast Pain
Bunions
Bursitis
Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome
Chest Pain
Coccyx Pain
Colic
Constipation
Diaphragm Pain
Digestive Conditions
Deafness
Distension (abdominal)
Dizziness
Dysmenorreah
Ear Conditions
Emphysema

Frozen Shoulder
Gall Bladder Pain
Glandular Fever
Golfer's Elbow
Groin Pain
Hammer Toes
Hamstring Tension
Hay Fever
Headaches
Heel Pain
Hernia
Hiatal Hernia
Ileocecal Valve conditions
Incontinence (Adult)
Infertility (Male & Female)
Influenza
Jaw Problems
Kidney Conditions
Knee Conditions
Lactation Irregularities
Leg Cramps
Leg Length Imbalance
Liver Problems
Lymphatic Drainage

Lymphedema
Meniere's Disease
Migraines

Nerve Compression
Pelvic Tilt
Perineum Pain
Piriformis Pain
Plantar Fasciitis
Pregnancy Related Discomfort
Prostate Conditions
Sacral Pain
Sciatica
Scoliosis
Shin Splints
Shoulder Height Imbalance
Sinus Discomfort
Sprung ribs
Sternal Pain
Tendinitis
Tinnitus
Tennis Elbow
TMJ Syndrome
Upper Respiratory Conditions
Vomiting

What are the origins of Bowenwork?

Bowenwork is named after its originator, an Australian named Tom Bowen (1916-1982). A 1975 study by the Victorian government inquiring into complementary health care professionals estimated that Tom Bowen's clinic was providing approximately 13,000 treatments a year. Over the many years of his practice, Tom Bowen trained very few people in his unique method of healthcare. In the final years of his practice, he trained Ossie Rentsch, and allowed him to document the method. With Tom Bowen's permission, Ossie and his wife Elaine Rentsch founded the Bowen Academy of Australia.

How do I know if a practitioner is qualified to practice Bowenwork?

You can and should confirm that the practitioner you are seeing is a true Bowenwork practitioner who is registered with the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia. Otherwise, you may not be receiving the true work of Tom Bowen. To verify that a practitioner is registered or to find a practitioner near you, visit the Academy's website at <font>www.bowenwork.com </font> and use the practitioner search tools.

Where can I find more information on Bowenwork?

Contact Jeff directly via the Contact page of this website, or send an email to inquiry@jeffmuskovin.com . For additonal information , visit <font>www.bowenwork.com </font> - the website for the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia, which has much information on Bowenwork as a therapy, finding a practitioner, finding instruction, articles, research, etc. About Mindfulness »

Privacy

2007-07-29T06:54:00Z

This is the web site of Jeff Muskovin.

Our postal address is
1601 North Sherman Avenue
Suite 210
Evanston, IL 60201

We can be reached via e-mail at info@jeffmuskovin.com or you can reach us by telephone at 847-778-7020.

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Mindfulness

2007-07-15T23:35:00Z

About Massage Therapy | About Bowenwork

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a special state of consciousness. It is the state of engaging in present-moment awareness, while suspending judgment and action. It requires an attitude of child-like curiosity and a moderate level of patience with not knowing the answers.

Being in a state of mindfulness allows you to cultivate a relationship with your body's inner wisdom – that deep knowing you may have lost touch with, because at some time in your life it was essential for your survival to over-ride or protect your true spirit from the pain, sorrow, shame or disgust of an event in your life.

Why combine Mindfulness with Bodywork?

It is common for massage to address your physical symptoms, such as tension, pain or stiffness in the body. If after a massage, the problem in the body returns, there might be an underlying emotional pattern to the problem. This mindfulness-based bodywork allows you, with outside support and guidance, to observe in depth the intricacies of that pattern. Understanding the pattern provides you with an opportunity to more easily connect with your own inner resources that inform healthier and more functional choices. This method of bodywork empowers you to actively participate in the processes of self-discovery, acceptance and resolution.

How do you combine Mindfulness with Bodywork?

As the session begins, I help you become familiar with being in present moment awareness of physical sensation and movement. When this state is reached, I support and guide you in a gradual process of self-discovery through your inner awareness of sesnsation, feelings, thoughts, images, sounds, or even memories.

The emphasis of this method is on allowing your inner experience to be self-witnessed and explored in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Working this way in partnership, you have an opportunity to witness the deeper, more complex underlying components that are at play for the you.

What happens in a Mindfulness-based Bodywork session?

A typical session will begin with the you in a standing position, allowing your focus to turn inward to your present-moment inner experience. It may take several minutes for this to happen. We don't rush or push the process. Ideally, during this time and through most of the session, you will be able to stay present to youir inner experience while reporting your observations. This may be a challenge for you at first, and gets easier as you get more familiar with it. The reporting is helpful in that it allows me to guide the process and help keep the moments alive for you, allowing your experience to deepen and unfold.

At times, I might help focus a portion of your session on a particular theme that seems to be showing up for you, or it could be that the whole session centers on this one theme. For example, let's say that you are describing a strong tension in the upper shoulder. I could suggest that you stay with this experience and begin to notice more details about it – if there is a direction to the tension, if the tension is even or interrupted, etc. These suggestions will help you deepen into your present experience gradually, to the point of discovering more about it. Commonly, tensions in the body form as a defense of, or against something, and often that “something” is not in our everyday consciousness. In this method of bodywork, we respect your need for defenses and don't work against them. Instead, we provide an environment that supports the presence of the defense, and allows the defense to begin to speak for itself. Staying with, and deepening your present experience of sensation in this area often provides an opening for the unconscious aspects to begin to surface – such as strong feelings, a sense memory etc. Continuing to stay with this inner experience also allows your underlying needs to present themselves more clearly. These needs are often entwined with a deep-seated, subconscious belief that is not truly serving you. This method of working then allows you to discover that you have greater options to choose from than you previously knew possible.

Helping you integrate the new perspective, so that you can build upon what you have gained, is how each session ends. This part of the session can take a variety of forms, depending on the discoveries made.

How do I find out more about Mindfulness-based Bodywork?

I encourage you to contact me directly regarding any questions you might have. You may do so via the Contact page of this website, or by email at inquiry@jeffmuskovin.com.

Services

2007-07-15T23:29:00Z

About Massage Therapy | About Bowenwork | About Mindfulness

What is Massage Therapy?
Massage is a broad category for a variety of hands on therapies that:

Relax tense muscles,

Improve circulation and oxygenation in the body's tissues,

Reset neuromuscular structures to a place of balance, and

Accelerate recovery from muscle strain or injury.

How can Massage Therapy help me?

It can:

provide you with increased energy.

help you reduce stress that is being held in the body.

bring you long-term pain reduction or elimination of pain.

relax tense muscles.

improve your ability to concentrate.

increase your sense of self-awareness.

help keep under-used muscles from atrophying.

and overused muscles from becoming inflexible.

What can I expect in a Massage Therapy session?

You will receive individualized attention that adresses your specific needs. Your session plan will incorporate some of the following therapies:

Swedish Massage – stroking, kneading, compressing and vibrating muscles to affect circulation, muscle tone, neuromuscular imbalances.

Deep-Tissue Massage –releasing adhesions and congestion in specific connective tissue structures and muscles that cause restrictions of movement and pain.

Trigger Point Therapy – using sustained pressure and circulatory massage to release myofascial congestion that is causing tight bands in the muscles, and radiating pain into the surrounding areas.

Energetic Balancing – working with imbalances and stagnation of the energetic fields within and surrounding the body.

Sports Massage – treatments focused directly on the activities of the athlete in order to maintain peak form, increase performance level, reduce possibility of injury, and increase recovery time from an activity or injury.

Myofascial Release – gentle, gradual compressions and stretches that help the connective tissue layers of the body rehydrate, become more flexible and release restrictions.

Body Mobilization – gentle passive or active movements of the body that help elicit relaxation, or help engage the tissues being addressed in the massage.

Passive Stretching – gentle stretching of muscle groups while the client is at rest, allowing for a full, complete stretch.

Isometric Stretching – series of alternating active contraction and passive stretching, allowing the muscles to be thoroughly stretched, immediately following activity.

Breathing – various forms of breathing are incorporated as needed, to help deepen relaxation, increase oxygen flow to the tissues, and release held patterns of tension in the body, especially in the upper body.

Hydrotherapy – the use of moist heat to help relax tense muscle tissues and soften fascial structures.

Chryotherapy – the use of ice to reduce inflammation in the tissues, anesthetize injury, and reset neuromuscular structures.

Contrast Therapy – the use of Hydrotherapy and Chryotherapy in contrast to each other to accomplish the separate goals of each, as well as to dramatically increase circulation to the area.

How Do I Find Out More About Massage Therapy?

Contact Jeff directly via the contact page of this website. Additional information is available on the website for Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals.

About Bowenwork »