I confess when I started massaging I didn’t believe in energy at all. I thought it was some kind of weird ESP-y woo-woo that some folks in my classes pretended to sense as a way of seeking attention. Piffle, poppycock and humbug.
No one is more surprised at me than I to be writing about energy in massages. Trust me when I say massage will teach you things you need to know, even if they are ridiculous, absurd, fuzzy and woo-woo.
A good teacher once warned me about taking on clients’ energies, and I have to say as best as I tried to ignore that advice, I found out in the field it was very important.
My first knock on the head happened with a patient referred by a doctor for chronic neck pain and stress. The lady was a single mother who also had a severe auto-immune disease. She came in for her massage, talked the whole time and left saying she felt better. I felt like the side of my head had been hit by a brick. I couldn’t keep my eyes open and I couldn’t fall asleep either.
I called one of my woo-woo buddies from massage school who was delighted and amused that I had discovered energy. After she stopped laughing, she gave me pointers on how to keep from getting sucked.
Later, I actually recoiled when one of my associates volunteered that she routinely sucked energy out of her clients and found it wonderful. (!) So sidestepping another’s vortex, even though I didn’t really believe in them, is good. It keeps you from contaminating your energy with another person’s.
Oddly enough, giving massages can boost your energy. Lots of people think the process should make the therapist tired, but I often find it has the opposite effect, giving me a little extra get-go especially when the massage seems to have gone well.
I don’t know how that all works, but as a massage therapist, I have noticed that I can see one person and feel tired and work all day on several folks and feel energized.
Woo-Woo.
I didn’t really believe in all that energy stuff when I fist started giving massages too. Since then though I’ve had a ton of experiences that changed my mind.
I also feel more energetic after I give massages…the more, the better (within reason, of course).
Lovelyn: It is kind of strange, all that energy stuff, but it cannot be denied….
Jen, I have gotten the booster effect sometimes, and I think it is wonderful! — Hugs, sue Peterson