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technique ENERGY WORK 94 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 8 The Energetics of the Manipulative Client By Cyndi Dale We enter the healing profession because we care. Being a caregiver is good. And sometimes, not so good. It's hard to have boundaries when we have a helper personality. Who among us hasn't struggled to establish and maintain healthy client boundaries? Of course, most of us have the standard protocols in place: work hours, an office, a booking system, and a fee structure. These processes don't do any good if we're energetically vulnerable to the whims and wiles of the type of client we don't always like to discuss. What type of client am I talking about? The manipulative client. This is the client who convinces us to scribble outside the lines by forgetting our own policies or to emotionally cave in when it's not the right thing to do. I'm not talking about the client who genuinely desires or requires our assistance. Healers are in the business of meeting client needs, and sometimes we must bend our policies to do so. But we shouldn't be accommodating a situation that is so costly it affects our own or another's safety, integrity, or health. Of course, clients come in all sizes, shapes, and personalities. The complexity of human nature can make it hard for us to know whether we're being manipulated, which is why I'm approaching the subject of manipulative clients from an energetic point of view, rather than the more common psychological approach. To truly know whether we're being manipulated in a client situation, we often have to employ our subtle energy sensitivities. This is easiest to do through the lens of the chakras. A CHAKRA-BASED APPROACH Chakras are subtle energy organs that manage both subtle and physical energies. Each of the seven chakras in the body governs a unique set of physical, psychological, and spiritual functions. All activities can be tracked to a specific chakra, which means you can better figure out whether someone is manipulating you by assessing the chakric source of their behavior. For instance, someone who wants to bilk you of money will