The 'M' Technique®

 

"The 'M' Technique® is fantastic for relaxation - simple, gentle, safe and effective. I've tried it myself."  —Dr. Oz MD. New York Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center, New York

The 'M' Technique® is a method of structured touch. Each movement and sequence is done a set number of times, in a set pattern, at a set pressure and set speed that never changes. This makes it extremely easy to learn. And, because the technique is completely choreographed it is completely reproducible and therefore useful in research.

The 'M' Technique® works on skin receptors that send signals to the brain. The technique has been described as physical hypnotherapy, ‘a kind of meditation’ and a 'spiritual dance'. The ‘M’ technique® is suitable for the very fragile, critically ill, or actively dying patient, or when someone is just very stressed, or when the giver is not trained in massage. The ‘M’® is effective on skin or through thin clothing.

It is also suitable for those who would like to touch a loved one but are not trained in massage. Anyone can learn the ‘M’ Technique® – it is suitable for caregivers, family members, volunteers, patient ambassadors, and friends as well as nurses and other health professionals.

Touch is one of the basic forms of communication, yet many of us may be apprehensive to touch those who need it most. The ‘M’ technique® is simple to learn. It is like a choreographed dance. The 'M' technique is different from massage and can be learned in a weekend.

TESTIMONIALS

USA

It [M’ Technique®] reminded me of why I became a nurse and reinforced the collaborative care that can be provided to address all aspects of the person recovering from illness. – Kristy, BS, RN, CCRN-K

We had a gentleman who was very close to death – he was restless and had a high fever. His hands were clenched. It was 5pm. I used the ‘M’ Technique® on his feet. His wife sat and watched me. As I began to do the ‘M’ Technique® on his hands, I noticed that his contracted hands began to open and relax. I was amazed and motioned to his wife to look at her husband's hands and she was so touched. In her very loving voice, the wife stated how long it had been since she had been able to hold her husband's hand. She said when the Alzheimer's journey first began, her husband was so fearful and they held hands everywhere they went. She missed that connection. So I told her to pull her chair by the bed and as I left they were holding hands and she was so content. He died a few hours later at 3am, but the gift that the ‘M’ Technique® gave that family is amazing. —Diane Giddings RN. Minnesota

Yesterday I taught a daughter how to do the ‘M’ Technique® to her father's hands as he was dying. The family kept commenting how relaxed it made him. It's a wonderful thing. He died just prior to my leaving work. The family was so grateful to have had that time with him and to have done something that helped him pass peacefully. —Betty Surette RN, Hospice Nurse, St Clare Hospital, Dover, NJ

The ‘M’ Technique® is like a wonderful choreographed dance – a dance that combines mind, body and spirit and connects the give and receiver. —Maria Mazzer, RN, HN-BC. The Valley Hospital, NJ.

The ‘M’ Technique® is easy, effective and great for stress. I highly recommend it.
—Woodson Merrill MD. Director, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY

The ‘M’ Technique® is a great way to provide gentle, nurturing, relaxing and safe care. I am a massage therapist and often work with patients who are in hospice or are critically ill. Thank you Jane for making this technique available. My patients and I love it. —Ellen Terry Kessler, LMT, New York, NY

The ‘M’ Technique® is one of the best stress-relieving gifts a non-professional can give another. The ‘M’ Technique® is simple enough to be used by anyone on family members or friends and it works fast. —Marge Clarke, Business Director, Madison, TN.

The ‘M’ Technique® is a great way to shed all the trappings of a busy life and allow yourself to just ‘be’. It really works and so quickly. Plus, I relax as I get into the ‘dance’ of the technique. —Linda Russell. BSN, Complementary Therapist, CT.

I include the foot ‘M’ Technique® as part of my regular pre-op C-section care for Moms and I did the hand ‘M’ Technique® on all the pre-C Section Dads. They love it! —Susan Nadel Krieger. RN. Northern Westchester Hospital, NY.

As a massage therapist I find the M Technique® to be very relaxing to give, as well as relaxing for my clients. I also use it in as part of my nursing care. —Misty Gregory LMT. RN. Labor & Delivery. ETMC, Carthage, TX.

I first learned of the M Technique® from Jane Buckle's book, Clinical Aromatherapy and I immediately realised its potential for providing comfort to the dying and their caregivers. I ordered the DVD and watched it several time with our OT. Then we began to practice the hand and foot M Technique®. My first opportunity to use the 'M'® will be forever imprinted on my memory. I was called in one afternoon to our inpatient hospice house to help with a patient who was actively dying. The staff had moved her hospital bed into the living area and about fifteen of her grieving family members surrounded her at a distance. No one was engaging with her. The patient was in acute respiratory distress and was nearing death. I offered traditional pastoral interventions, yet the patient continued to moan and even cried out in her distress. I decided to try the M Technique® for the first time. Within a minute she stopped moaning and her respirations began to slow and quieten down. I completed her left hand, went around the bed and began to 'M'® her right hand. Before I completed the right hand she quietly passed away. I believe this technique was exactly what was needed to allow her to cease struggling and finally relax into her dying process. I have since used the 'M' Technique® on dozens of patients and staff. It will continue to be a very useful and valuable intervention for the spiritual care of the dying and their families, and will provide comfort and support to the hospice staff as well. Blessings. —Sue Garritano. Chaplain, Legacy Hospice Services, Portland, OR.

WORLDWIDE

The Netherlands
I used The ‘M’ Technique® on a 3 month-old girl with congenital lung disease in the ICU when we tried to withdraw her from morphine to methadone. When I started the technique she opened her eyes and stared at me with interest. Then she lay still. After I had completed 10 minutes of ‘M’ Technique®, she slept for 2 hours – something completely unheard of! It made me feel good that I can really made a difference to this little girl without using more drugs. —Emelie van Oeveren. Care Assistant. Sophia Pediatric Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

South Africa
I used The ‘M’ Technique to soothe an eight-year old girl with 22% total body surface burns. She was tearful and scared prior to having her dressings changed. She fell asleep within minutes! What was even more wonderful was I was able to show her mother how to do the hand ‘M’ Technique®. This made a huge difference to her daughter’s stay in hospital. —Linda-Anne O’Flaherty. Complementary Therapist, Burns Unit, Red Cross Memorial Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.

International Medical Relief
I use the ‘M’ Technique® on severely traumatized refugees. As a medical relief worker, I have seen medicine save lives, but I believe the ‘M’ Technique® is a different kind of medicine – medicine at a soul level. It touches from the heart to the heart. Gentle, structured, non-invasive and so simple – I can use it anywhere, anytime and I know it will always be extraordinarily effective. SF. —Medical Relief Worker: Far East and Africa.

UNITED KINGDOM

I work with profoundly disabled children – the gentleness and repetition of the ‘M’ Technique® really calms and sooths them. Amazingly, children who are autistic begin to 'learn' what is coming next! —Suzi Chester, Aromatherapist, Ellen Tinkham School, Exeter.

People with dementia and their care-givers really benefit from the ‘M’ Technique®. It gives comfort and affirmation to people with severe dementia who are hard to reach.
—Phyl Tappin, Lead Outreach Worker, New Forest Branch, Alzheimer's Society.

I use the ‘M’ Technique® in palliative and terminal care and I have found the effects to be magical. It is also very relaxing for the giver. —Amanda Richardson. RGN. Community Nurse, Bristol.

The ‘M’ Technique® is a truly wonderful soothing and relaxing touch with far reaching benefits. It is totally safe and effective especially where other massage therapies are contraindicated. I have found it to be an extremely valuable addition to my practice and I would highly recommend it to therapists and non-professionals alike plus it is as relaxing for the giver as the receiver. —M. Littlewood. Beautician & Holistic Therapist. Dublin, Ireland.

HISTORY

The ‘M’ Technique® has been taught in the USA since the early 1990s as part of Aromatherapy for Health Professionals. This clinically based program has been taught in almost every State in the USA and is one of the most respected trainings in clinical aromatherapy. A separate ‘M’ Technique® training was created in 2001 due to popular demand and was taught for nursing credit at University of Minnesota in 2001. The ‘M’ Technique® course is taught in the USA by a team of  currently active, certified RJBA instructors. The instructors teach both the practitioner 2 day course and the 4 hour Hand & Foot for Hospital/Hospice course.

M TECHNIQUE
The first 'M' Technique® training course was held in the UK in 2004. There are now RJBA certified instructors in the UK. There are also instructors in Kobe, Japan, one instructor in Cape Town, South Africa and instructors in Hong Kong.

Introductory classes in the ‘M’ Technique® have been held in Korea and Australia.

A professionally made 1.5 hour ‘how to’ DVD is available for students taking the course, and for others who just want to know what it is. A Hand & Foot ‘M’ Technique DVD is also available.

HAND AND FOOT M TECHNIQUE

WHERE DID THE 'M' TECHNIQUE® COME FROM?

 M TECHNIQUE

Dr. Jane Buckle trained as a nurse in the 1960s in London and then specialized in Intensive Care. Her patients were critically ill: many had breathing tubes and were unable to talk. She wanted to find a way of communicating with her patients and felt touch was the way. She trained in massage, but found that much of what she learned was inappropriate in a critical care setting. So, she started experimenting with slow stroking movements. Gradually a pattern emerged and the ‘M’ Technique® was born!

The 'M' Technique® was registered by the Patent and Trademark Office of the United States Department of Commerce in 1997 and approved in March 1998. The ‘M’ Technique® is protected in USA and UK - worldwide pending.

M TECHNIQUE

© 2023 R.J. Buckle Associates
P.O. Box 821566
North Richland Hills, TX 76182