Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/329694
I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 91 SHAKEN AND STIRRED How do you know when you are emotionally unfi t to work? Is such knowledge even possible? Most of us have good common sense and are self- aware enough to know that there are certain circumstances that would make us emotionally unfi t to work. But what about less obvious circumstances? The question you must ask yourself is: "What takes me out of my center?" To arrive at the answer, you may need to evaluate certain aspects of your life. Do emotions rise when you spend time with family? Does travel wear you out? What if you've been partying all weekend? As noted earlier, emotional fi tness is really about present awareness. Begin to pay attention to how your energy changes depending on what you've been doing. You might start to see patterns emerge. I tend to make my biggest mistakes when I'm not grounded. This imbalance usually arrives in predictable ways. Flying is a big one for me. I need to remember to always give myself a full day after fl ying before I work with clients. It makes much more business sense for me to return from vacation grounded and connected to myself than to come back to my clients jet-lagged and tired. I also need to take time to do nothing and recharge on a regular basis. If I haven't done this in a while, it is an indicator to me that I may need to slow down a bit. I have to learn that doing nothing is actually doing something for me— and my clients—in the long run. Some people get emotionally stressed from visiting family and need to take time off afterward to reground. I had a bodyworker tell me this recently—she never schedules clients the day after a big family get-together. There are many experiences, unique to each of us, that conspire to take us out of our place of peace and centered confi dence. Recognizing that we are a bit off- center does not mean we need to start calling our clients to cancel. We need to recognize that we will never be perfect, so we cannot be too hard on ourselves for our own challenges. What we can do is decide to be aware enough to be discerning about what we are feeling and make smart decisions. If you're coming into a session and are feeling a lot of big emotions that you think may start to take over, you can try a technique I learned from a former associate of mine. Therapist Ali Leighton once told me that if she is having a hard time managing her own emotions, she comes into the offi ce and puts all of her "stuff" in an imaginary box just outside the offi ce door. She goes into the session unencumbered by her emotional baggage, and she can be fully present for her client. She laughs when she says she knows she has the option of picking up the stuff on the way back out, but usually by the end of a session with a client, she realizes she doesn't need it anymore. THE BIG PICTURE How does emotional fi tness tie in with other kinds of fi tness: physical, mental, spiritual, or even fi nancial? It's all the same thing! We are each whole, complete, integrated beings, and we could never survive without every aspect of our being—physical and energetic. The food we eat, the thoughts we think, the love we allow ourselves to give and receive, even the money we allow to fl ow through our lives are all connected to our emotional state. Caring for any part of ourselves is caring for all of ourselves. Like physical fi tness, emotional fi tness is not something you achieve and then keep forever without effort. Being healthy takes work and dedication. It is about showing up and playing the game of life. Here's to fi nding yourself in the present moment and enjoying what you're feeling. Jennie Hastings Stancu, LMT, is the author of The Inspired Massage Therapist (Massage Blossom Books, 2012). She lives in Portland, Maine, where she practices massage, yoga, and coaching with clients. EMOTIONAL FITNESS Go into your sessions unencumbered by your emotional baggage. Be fully by your emotional baggage. Be fully by your emotional present for the client. baggage. Be fully present for the client. baggage. Be fully