The Importance of Grounding Before Each and Every Massage Session
To become grounded is to let go of the stresses of life & to be present in the moment with the client. Taking precautions to operate within the moment & clarify the goals of the session are absolutely crucial when one considers how much massage is affected by intentions. The method to ground oneself can be different for everyone, require different levels of concentration, and will vary day by day.
The thinking behind grounding is to bring positive intentions to the client & increase the level of focus on the therapist’s goals. Without properly grounding, the therapist runs a risk of injury, on a physical level or possibly on an energetic level. The risk of injury is only one motivation to support the healthy habit of grounding. A much more exciting reason to ground is the prospect of increasing the positive outcomes of the body &/or energy work. Practitioners can use a variety of techniques to enter a grounded state to help achieve amazing results.
Methods of grounding can be as simple as entering a meditative state, concentrating on your breathing, or going through a specific series of motions (ie: Tai Chi, Yoga, Qigong…). Some people also get themselves pumped up, as if they are about to enter an athletic event. The goal is the same, to reach a state of clarity that will allow the therapist to bring the client the best experience possible. A term commonly used to describe the feeling of living in the moment, or reaching a grounded state is Zen.
Zen is the ultimate goal, and as most people who try to attain that state of clarity discover, it is rarely achieved in its purest form. As with massage & every other worthy endeavor, grounding before each session becomes more effective with practice.
By implementing this activity into your massage routine you will undoubtedly achieve new success stories from your clients & you might just find a sizable amount of personal growth as well.