The Importance of Loving Your Chosen Path

Originally published 4/7/2013

It's an honor to do what I do.

When I step into my treatment room, I step out of the world that is filled with judgement, stress, and chaos.  I shut out all the things that fill up our day:  noise, bills, relationships, traffic, groceries.  When I enter this room, I  step into a place where the message is clear:

This is a place to heal.

I have been a massage therapist for eight years, and I have learned many lessons about the body and its capabilities, about business successes and mistakes, and about myself.  I've studied anatomy and energy.  I've observed how bodies move.  I've grown within a business and said hello and goodbye to clients and colleagues alike.  Above all, the greatest lessons have come from my clients on the table.

Thanks to my clients, I have learned to listen with not just my ears, but my hands, my eyes, and my intuition. I've learned to trust what I feel and let myself be guided by my client to a spot on the body that needs to be freed from pain and restriction.  I've learned to watch for signs of tension, and that with patience and a compassionate touch, the body will do what it needs to do in order to initiate its healing process.  I've learned when to ask questions, and when to just sit still.  I've learned that in the grand scheme of things, I am a small part of the whole.  My ego is outside the door, along with everything else that does not matter in this time and place.

I trust in things I can't even explain, such as Reiki and why it works.  I trust in things my clients may not be able to feel right away, such as craniosacral therapy.  And I trust in my clients, who tell me, often without making a sound, that what I am doing is helping.

And my clients, young and old, new and long-standing, trust me.

I can think of no greater gift than to know that someone is willing to lie on my table and trust that I will not hurt or embarrass them.  I won't judge or mistreat them.  My sole purpose in being in the room with them is to be there for them, in their time, with their process.  My clients know that they can talk if they want to, be completely quiet if they want.  They can fall asleep, or ask questions.  If they want to understand what is taking place in this moment, I will explain, but if they want to just feel, and ask questions later, that's okay too.

It is my full intention to do what I do for as long as I possibly can.  My career continues to evolve as beautifully as my clients do, and each day that I spend in it is a gift.  My hope with this blog is that I can reach out to an even wider audience about bodywork and its healing potential within everyone's life.