Speak your truth. This is the word on the holistic street. Sometimes it is hard, challenging and scary. And when you do speak your truth what happens? Do people really want to know? Not always, even if they say they do.
Here’s my question: As a bodywork therapist do you want to know that I am practicing what I am preaching, at least a little bit? Do you care? Do you take my services more authentically with the knowledge that I am receiving my own bodywork session, in whatever form, at least once per week? Do you assume this or do you even care, as long as you feel good after your session?
I had a colleague share with me yesterday that her professional association had implemented a policy to receive 4 sessions per year of their respective modality. Amazing! I thought, but not so for everyone in that association. People don’t generally like to be ‘required’ to so something, especially when it challenges their personal ethics. But why the resistance? Is it based in fear and needing control over the parts of lives that we feel we can control? And even if this particular ethic is not part of our respective association’s “code of ethics”, are we not compelled to have an ethic of our own? Whatever that may be.
Personally I would love to join a professional association that required me to receive sessions in my chosen modality. I feel that this kind of commitment to oneself fosters sustainability at its’ roots. If I can advertise, promote, encourage, this amazing-ness of what I practice it truly sustains me at my roots. And there is so much talk these days about wanting “complementary medicine” to be more valued for what it is, especially by the allopathic medical model. If the healing community as a whole truly desires this then even more the reason to regularly support all kinds of healing modalities, not only the ones we practice ourselves! This community commitment is one that will sustain these practices over the long term, as we, practitioners ourselves, are models for our clients and community that we really do believe in what we are saying and doing.
Of course, while pausing to write this I came across another great quote to give me some encouragement:
“The basic work of health professionals in general and psychotherapists in particular is to become full human beings and to inspire full human-beingness in people who feel starved about their lives.” -Chogyam Trungpa
Nice. No matter if you are a health professional or a psychotherapist, or a massage therapist or a naturopath, isn’t this statement from Trungpa is solidly true? Being human is enough qualification for me to inspire full human-beingness in myself and others. This is my truth for today.
Speak your truth. This is the word on the holistic street. Sometimes it is hard, challenging and scary. And when you do speak your truth what happens? Do people really want to know? Not always, even if they say they do.
Here’s my question: As a bodywork therapist do you want to know that I am practicing what I am preaching, at least a little bit? Do you care? Do you take my services more authentically with the knowledge that I am receiving my own bodywork session, in whatever form, at least once per week? Do you assume this or do you even care, as long as you feel good after your session?
I had a colleague share with me yesterday that her professional association had implemented a policy to receive 4 sessions per year of their respective modality. Amazing! I thought, but not so for everyone in that association. People don’t generally like to be ‘required’ to so something, especially when it challenges their personal ethics. But why the resistance? Is it based in fear and needing control over the parts of lives that we feel we can control? And even if this particular ethic is not part of our respective association’s “code of ethics”, are we not compelled to have an ethic of our own? Whatever that may be.
Personally I would love to join a professional association that required me to receive sessions in my chosen modality. I feel that this kind of commitment to oneself fosters sustainability at its’ roots. If I can advertise, promote, encourage, this amazing-ness of what I practice it truly sustains me at my roots. And there is so much talk these days about wanting “complementary medicine” to be more valued for what it is, especially by the allopathic medical model. If the healing community as a whole truly desires this then even more the reason to regularly support all kinds of healing modalities, not only the ones we practice ourselves! This community commitment is one that will sustain these practices over the long term, as we, practitioners ourselves, are models for our clients and community that we really do believe in what we are saying and doing.
Of course, while pausing to write this I came across another great quote to give me some encouragement:
“The basic work of health professionals in general and psychotherapists in particular is to become full human beings and to inspire full human-beingness in people who feel starved about their lives.” -Chogyam Trungpa
Nice. No matter if you are a health professional or a psychotherapist, or a massage therapist or a naturopath, isn’t this statement from Trungpa is solidly true? Being human is enough qualification for me to inspire full human-beingness in myself and others. This is my truth for today.
