The magic of precision

Of the qualities that are part of bodywork methods, the one most impressively mysterious to me is the magic of precision. Although there are many types of precision, I want to focus here on directionality. (Unsurprisingly, I’ve learned the most about precision from Judith Aston).

My current version of direct technique (releasing tissue by moving it towards neutral) includes finding a layer with a strong restriction, moving it towards neutral, and then spiraling that layer in the direction that maximizes the sense of opposing the restriction or barrier (spiraling the tissue in the other direction “loses” the sense of meeting the barrier). The remarkable thing about this is that, as the direction of movement finds a perfect match with the barrier, the speed of tissue release dramatically increases. Why? Is it just that the body recognizes an intelligent intervention?