A pioneer in musculo-skeletal deep tissue massage therapy, Australian-born Rohan Quarry Day has always been interested in how the human body works.
Through his study of physiotherapy and his interest in all things physical _ sports, yoga, massage and the effects that activities have on the body _ he has developed his own approach to relieving the symptoms of pain, tension and fatigue. His healing technique, a powerful combination of different types of therapy delivered to each client in a tailor-made plan, has won him recognition and attracted a dedicated international clientele, from stressed-out executives to Olympic athletes.
He now travels the world to treat patients and train therapists for Como Shambhala. Day is participating in the "Thirty-one Days of Wellness" programme, part of a "Wellness Month" currently under way at Metropolitan by Como on South Sathon Road, and can be found at this hotel from March 25 to 31. He spoke to Life recently about his work.
What sparked your initial interest in physical wellness?
I've been interested since I was little, actually. I've always been active and I've always played a lot of sport. I love sport and I love the feeling of being strong. When I was young, I used to like to massage my mother when we watched TV. I knew there was something natural in me and she would say she felt much better. That got me interested, but I never thought about studying it until I was 18, when I decided to study physiotherapy.
What philosophy underlies your therapy?
For me, there has to be a good balance. I like Western medicine and physiology _ it taught me the names of the bones and the muscles. However, when studying in Australia, Eastern knowledge like Chinese medicine, t'ai chi, yoga and Thai massage have nothing to do with [what is taught]. I didn't like that they ignored the ancient side of it, because that's what I'm interested in. I think massage and the art of touch is probably one of the oldest forms of healing in the world. When a little boy hurts his head, what does his mum do? She kisses it or she puts her hand on it. I guess that's the philosophy for me. I think everything has its place. My work has elements of yoga, Pilates, physiotherapy, chiropractic and Thai massage.
What do you like best about your work?
I've worked with professional athletes, I've worked with Cirque du Soleil [the Quebec-based circus], but I also like to help my next-door neighbour _ a farmer who never goes to the doctor. People are quite unaware of how much pain or how much discomfort is in their bodies until they receive a treatment like this. It comes through a combination of natural ability, study and learning, and a real passion for the work.
I get to touch a lot of different lives of people from all over the world and make a difference in their bodies with my therapy, working with injuries, making people feel better. My approach is very new and different, but I like working with old injuries.
Most massages and treatments are conducted in silence, but yours is very conversational. Why is it better to talk during the treatment?
Everything has its place _ food, thought and activities. When I work on someone, I talk about food, workouts, positivity and a lot of different things.
The person might come to see me with allergies or a sore back, but if he's speaking crazy, I also know he's not happy, so I might give him a little direction in breathing [techniques]. I make conversation throughout the treatment because it's collaboration _ we are working together.
How did you come up with your technique?
It comes from working all over the world. When I'm not working, I want to experiment. I've been in Thailand for five days and I've had two Thai massage sessions already.
If someone does something really great, I might adapt that. I'm always learning. I don't discount anything. I take a little bit of everything. Maybe I cannot use it all the time, but I might be able to keep it and there might be the one person that it's perfect for. I think massage is one of the most ancient healing arts and everyone should receive it. There are a lot of different levels and my style is different from most massages. It's a combination of Eastern and Western philosophy.
What makes your therapy different from other treatments?
The evaluation, for one. I want to see my client standing, how he puts the weight on his feet, the shape of the bones, so we know what to do. People still call my work massage, but the first half of the treatment isn't a massage at all. The massage is half of what I do, but what it really is about is body work. I look for habits and patterns and try to undo those patterns. If your pattern is overusing the right-hand side of the body, you might not realise that. I'm looking for that.
This is not about lying on the table receiving a massage. It's about intelligent physical therapy, assessing the body and building a treatment specifically for that body. I think if this job was just massaging and I did the same for everyone, it would be the most boring job in the world. I couldn't think of anything worse!
What are the most common problems that you encounter?
Office syndrome and the patterns from wearing high heels and the physical habits that we develop from doing one type of exercise, like golfers have the physical habits from playing golf: the twist at the waist, dropping their shoulders.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I've been working for 13 years, but every now and then I like to take small breaks _ maybe six months or a year off. When I took a year-long break and came back to work, my work was better. I felt refreshed and the work matured inside me. I see things more clearly.
