Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/196551
energy release and The Art of Self-Protection By Bob Haddad Whether you perform Thai massage, energy work, shiatsu, focused acupressure, or table massage, you can act as an agent for the release of your client's anxieties, grief, stress, and tension. However, if you don't maintain a strong sense of self and take precautions, the releases you facilitate in your clients may easily alter your own state of being, bringing about headaches, nausea, tension, or even illness. As professional healers, it's important to work with great compassion, but this doesn't mean we should allow ourselves to be vulnerable. Experienced healers should understand the importance of preparation before they work with clients, the need for self-protection at critical moments during a treatment, and how and when to detoxify after a particularly stressful session. In my work with clients, students, and teachers over the years, I've learned and developed a number of concepts, exercises, and techniques that have helped me keep clients' energies from entering my own energy system as I work. Here are several that may be helpful to a wide variety of bodyworkers and therapists. 90 massage & bodywork november/december 2013