Will it last?
What does it mean when we say the bodywork we received “didn’t last” or that we “didn’t keep feeling” whatever we liked feeling while in the session?
This is a sincere question that I am pondering.
Would we eat a delicious meal and tell our friends, “It was so good, but after I left the restaurant my taste buds stopped holding the flavor?” Would we go to a concert and say afterwards, “It was great, but I stopped hearing the music after I left the theater.” Would we get a haircut and then be disgruntled when the layers grow out after a few weeks?
If we hold as truth that nothing is permanent and everything is changing all the time, why would bodywork be excluded from this?
So then that brings us to another question: Why get bodywork at all? If it’s not permanent, what’s the point?? It can be a big investment of time and money and if it’s not going to permanently fix all woes, why do it in the first place???
Well, why eat a delicious meal? Why listen to live music? Why get a haircut? Because all of these things, including bodywork, are sensory-rich experiences that have the power to greatly impact the quality of our life.
Clients talk to me about walking out of a session feeling more relaxed and at home in their body than when they arrived. This post-session feeling affects the quality of interaction they have with their partner when they get home (or the quality of their drive home in the first place!) Or it inspires them to do some stretching or movement the next day so that they can continue to connect with their new body sensations. Or the anatomy and kinesiology lesson they learned in the session changed the way they engage with their hobby and, as a result, they are in less chronic pain. Clients talk about realizing bigger changes are needed in their life to feel happy and fulfilled now that they are in less pain in their body.
I have heard all kinds of stories from clients on how the bodywork impacted their lives. These heartfelt stories usually cause me to break out in goosebumps and tears to well in my eyes.
How is a goal-driven cultural orientation playing in to our experience of touch? Of presence? Of feeling our own body in the moment?
And furthermore, who am I to permanently change you? I get to see you for one hour at a time. What you do with that information in the rest of your life is entirely up to you. I am not a technician servicing a machine. I am a co-collaborator who can help you feel more fully into your humanity, with hopefully more ease and presence all around.
What if that lasts a nanosecond. Was the glimpse worth it?
