Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1512873
24 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k j a n u a r y/ fe b r u a r y 2 0 24 24 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k j a n u a r y/ fe b r u a r y 2 0 24 KEY POINT • Whether it's pressure-filled moments during our first years as practicing bodyworkers or the question of how much pressure a client wants during a session, gaining perspective is a handy tool. THE REBEL MT By Allison Denney Under Pressure Implementing Perspective Can Alter Results, Knowledge, and Technique TECHNIQUE Is pressure a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Can good pressure be bad? Can bad pressure be good? Oh, how I love a deeply metaphysical question. Especially if that question symbolizes what it's like to work with other humans for a living. These quandaries are perplexing, with layers, twists, and turns that signal any good, thought-provoking concept. I have answers to these questions, but first, I want to direct your attention to tennis. CONSIDER THE (METAPHORICAL) ANGLE Coco Gauff won the US Open women's tennis championship in September. She was asked how she handled the pressure of performing at such a high level, and her answer was exquisite. "I realize, in a way, it's pressure, but it's not," she said. "I mean, there are people struggling to feed their families, people who don't know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills. That's real pressure, that's real hardship, that's real life. I'm in a very privileged position, I'm getting paid to do what I love and getting support to do what I love. That's something that I don't take for granted." I love this answer for many reasons. Mainly, I appreciate that it speaks to perspective. Whether we are talking about the pressure- filled moments during our first years as practicing bodyworkers, when the weight of all the newness becomes particularly heavy, or we are highlighting the question of how much pressure a client wants implemented during a session, gaining perspective is a handy tool. It's not a groundbreaking science that requires an advanced course to understand; it's a basic truth that most of us know but might have forgotten somewhere along the way. It's too easy to get caught up in the details and forget the foundations we can lean on to make progress.