Short Bio:
Patrick studied at the challenging Brian Utting School in Seattle from 1992 to 94. He interned with sports therapist Rich Phaigh in Eugene and studied Cranio Sacral with French Osteopath Bruno Ducoux. He apprenticed with healer Stephen Bruno from whom he received Reiki attunements. These and other influences combined alchemically to burst forth the idea of Melting Muscles in 2002. He quickly wrote down the method and sent it to Massage&Bodywork, where it was published only three weeks after the first idea. The second article focused on the Atlas and Axis, published in Massage Therapy Journal in 2003. Since then he has taught Melting Muscles in twelve States. Once an “altar boy,” and Catholic School graduate, later he studied Buddhism, receiving Medicine Buddha attunements and the Chenrezi attunement from the Dalai Lama. Patrick has a creative daughter in college and is newly remarried. A runner and lover of green smoothies, he enjoys photography and is currently writing a trilogy about Simon Peter.
photo by Traci Moore, 2007
In December, 1992 I began a very intensive medical massage training in Seattle including medical terminology, cadaver anatomy,
differential diagnosis, creating therapeutic goals and plans for achieving these goals, and many cutting-edge techniques.
During the first week at the Brian Utting School, we were filmed telling our
intentions for the year. I said that my commitment was to find and use the most effective techniques to end people’s suffering.
Before I graduated, I was already attending continuing education courses. Until 1999 I specialized in techniques developed by
Osteopathic Doctors (DO) such as Muscle Energy Technique, Strain Counterstrain,
Cranio Sacral from Bruno Ducoux, D.O., and techniques developed by James Cyriax M.D. and Ben Benjamin LMT for differential
assessment and treatment of tendinitis and other ligament, bone, bursa, and muscle lesions. In 1998 I began teaching new
combinations of these techniques, such as feeling cranial rhythm in scapula elevation and depression. In 1999 we moved to
Arizona.
treating “posterior compartment syndrome,” for an Arizona running coach in 2006. This is a technique developed by Brian Utting.
Elements of Melting Muscles were present in my brain before my discovery: I had been exposed to the idea of treating shortened
muscles while I was still training at the Brian Utting school in 1992-94; I learned to follow the cranial rhythm from Bruno
Ducoux D.O. and to work with muscles in positions short of the subtle motion barrier, learned from Rich Phaigh. However, it was not until I began learning with Stephen Bruno that all the pieces came together to make a whole method.
Stephen Bruno (L) and Patrick (R) in New Mexico, 2003
In 2002 I flew back to Seattle to begin Reiki training from Stephen Bruno, a renowned healer. Returning to my job in Scottsdale, AZ, I made a discovery. I was working at the Spa at Gainey Village. A fellow was lying face down, nice music, nobody talking for the last half-hour. As I put my hands on the hamstrings of his right leg, my palms seemed to have a mind of their own, really tuning in to his muscle. My hands moved slower and deeper than they had before, and I sensed the muscle softening before me. It was like the muscle was made of frozen butter, and my hands were heaters. The muscle melted at a rate that equaled the speed of my stroke. It was very exciting! I realized that I had been sort of doing this for years, but finally it popped up into my consciousness. That evening I began writing the technique. I mailed it to Massage&Bodywork magazine, and the article, “Melting Muscles” was accepted for publication, all within the three weeks. If you have ever tried publishing, you'll know it is very unusual for your first piece to be accepted in such a short time. The coincidence is, that three weeks is also the assimilation period after a person receives a Reiki attunement. ( I want it to be clear that Melting Muscles is not at a form of "energy work." Still, receiving the Reiki attunement seems to have solidified this method that was sort of ready to be discovered, or rediscovered.)
Melting Muscles seems to me something living; I am still learning improvements and getting suggestions from graduates, that force me to rewrite the manual every few months.
Current Studies
I am currently studying advanced topics in Reiki and Medical Intuition from Laura Bruno.
Creativity
In addition to teaching technique and ethics for massage practitioners, I also lead creativity workshops combing fiction and poetry writing, journaling, nature, and photography.
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