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January 15, 2006

Lessons Learned While Working In A Weakened State

After my father passed away, one of my massage friends expressed some concern about me going back to work and seeing my usual number of people. I didn't understand her concern until I got back to work and realized that working while I grieving was similar to working while ill.

The physical reaction I have to working while I'm sick may be different than what others experience. For me a wave of dizziness or weakness, accompanied by nausea and sweating, hits and I have to take a break.

Following a bout of food poisoning this past week, it's taken me a while to get back on my feet and work a regular day. My first attempt at massage lasted about 35 minutes and that was it for me for the day. I had to clear my book. As I recuperated I found that if I concentrated and did deep breathing, the weakness would pass and I could get through the massage.

If I talked about things that broke my concentration away from the work at hand, I would be overcome by weakness. If my client talked about things that were not related to our work, their tissue would not shift or soften, leading me to believe that I did not have the strength to hold the space for healing to occur.

Guilt about talking too much during massage sessions aside, the directive from instructors to limit idle conversation to a minimum, might have come from experience. Holding a space with the intention of healing may glean much more benefit for the client. And isn't that what we're here for?

Posted by linda at January 15, 2006 12:41 PM