People are often amazed at how much training massage therapists have in the state of Ohio. Here we are regulated by the state medical board, and I'm told the requirements to sit for the Ohio massage board exam are some of the highest in the country. I have somewhere around 300 clock hours of anatomy and physiology training, over 200 hours of massage theory ~ which includes physical and emotional benefits of massage as well as the techniques ~ and 40 hours of hands-on experience in a student clinic. Several classes were dedicated to introducing students to the many different massage modalities and complimentary treatments, like Reiki, reflexology, infant and prenatal massage, and spa treatments. These were the general requirements when I went to school 10 years ago. I hear it told that now the number of hours required for graduation has increased and courses like pathology and advanced techniques have been added. I feel a little gypped. Pathology would have come in handy.
But, I'm not complaining. The ergonomics training has come in very handy. Learning how to properly position and utilize our bodies for the physical work of massage so as not to burn out was one of the least interesting but most useful classes. I want to say, but can't say for certain, that it was in this class that we discussed "energy vampires". This is exactly what it sounds like ~ people who suck the life out of you. I have been incredibly fortunate that in 9 years of practice I have come across remarkably few of these patients. Some of them are unrealistically demanding in what they expect from their session and the drain comes from trying to accommodatingly fit it all in. A few of them are never going to be happy with your work no matter what you do for them because you are not the person who does it the only way they like it. More of them are just so unhappy with life in general that they spend the entire session voicing their discontent, seeming to attempt to drag you down with them. Sound like anyone in your life?
It never ceases to surprise me where my massage training will end up being useful. When our oldest son was 6 and diagnosed with an endocrine condition, it was my anatomy training that helped me to understand the dr's explanations. In discussing medical symptoms with friends I can sometimes point them in a direction to look for answers, even when I don't have them. And every now and then, I can teach someone a technique to help their or a loved one's pain pattern. But I never would have guessed how much the "energy vampire" discussion would carry over.
Ordinarily, I am a high energy person. I put out quite a bit of energy all on my own without needing anyone around to suck it up. So when I have a drain on my already fast-depleting stores, the toll can be large if I am not vigilant. And when multiple drains are swallowing at once, the toll can be devastating. This is why we are taught how to put up an energy force-field, so to speak ~ a semipermeable wall that lets our energy work but prevents the negative energy from hitting too hard. The double-edge to this sword is the amount of energy required to keep up the barrier. In 9 years, I have become accustomed to handling this shield for the length of a session. However, in life, this shield has the potential to buckle under the weight of several negative energy influences, and eventually implodes on itself as a result of the constant bombardment of energy parasites. Welcome to my current state.
Unfortunately, the only recovery from this exhaustion is rest and reprieve, which are ever elusive in my life. In my work, one positive, or at least neutral, energy session is enough to clear out negativity and allow rest for the next high-energy demand. In my life, however, recovery is not so quick or simple. Depending on the severity of the bombardment, it takes time to push the negativity out of my space, more time to recharge positively, and more time still to rebuild the wall. This is often prolonged by the fact that the energy drains often refuse to be removed entirely during this process. It's like a baby nursing from an exhausted, malnourished mother. The baby will take what it needs without regard to the mother's own physical requirements, and gives the mother's body no time to rest and replenish, to restock the stores to the point of sustaining them both. It is usually here that the mother turns to other means of nourishing her child (formula supplementation) so that her body can heal. When she is well, she can then fully care for herself and her child.
I am now exhausted and malnourished, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. It is here that I need to relinquish the draining relationships to others who can sustain them and allow myself to replenish and rebuild, to heal and become well again.
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