Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72121
and how to protect yourself. After work, she suggests immersing yourself in water in the bath or shower, and meditating again to purify your body and spirit. "Learn to set aside your personal problems," Orloff says. "Be like a warrior—go in, do your work, move on. Do what you do 100 percent, then leave. It takes having strong boundaries." Such a strategy is as important for the client as it is for the therapist, Orloff says. "So much energy gets transmitted through the hands, and clients are vulnerable during massage. They want the therapist to be centered." Orloff had an experience herself that chronic, the stress hormone cortisol can tire the body and make you feel edgy. The effects of anger are cumulative and may result in heart disease, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, or migraines. illustrated this reality. "I was speaking at a conference in Las Vegas on emotional freedom," she says, "and I was given a beautiful gift of a massage in the hotel. But when the therapist started the session, I felt incredible stress and anxiety coming from her hands. I wrestled with myself about mentioning this and, finally, even though it was very hard, I had to stop the massage. I was very polite and sweet with her, but it was hard. She started crying and said she was under so much stress that she felt horrible. I empathized, but a practitioner shouldn't work on someone until they clear the stress from their bodies, or it will get transmitted to the client." She explains that what happens to you during massage is imprinted on you energetically. So, just as a client can revisit and reuse the deep breathing exercise that was incorporated into her massage session, so, too, can she inadvertently revisit any of the negative energy that was part of her session. As an MT, your job is to not let that happen. UNDERSTANDING EMOTION Orloff describes subtle energy as one of four components of emotion. (The others are biology, psychology, and spirituality.) Being aware of these components as we learn to work with our emotions and to heal can bring insight to the process. For example, when you are angry you can observe the biological effects of that anger, such as tightened muscles, constricted breath, pressure in your head, or an impulse to yell. Your amygdala stimulates adrenaline, and you get an energy rush that rallies you to fight. Blood flows to your hands, your heart pumps faster, you breathe harder, your pupils dilate, and you sweat. You become aggressive and you may yell, flail your arms, or barge into someone's personal space. Biological variables that make us more susceptible to anger include built-up stresses. Anger and resentments that smolder over time can take their toll. When anger is intelligence so powerful it can help you heal, relieve stress, and find emotional freedom." Judith Orloff, MD Looking at anger psychologically, we find underlying fears, feelings of rejection, pain, or traumas, Orloff says. Ultimately, we need to "uncover the spiritual meaning of anger and compassion," she says, and consider how to bring compassion to ourselves and to others. Compassion "is a radical form of spiritual activism that lets you see deeper into anger than you've ever seen before. It requires observing this emotion from the top of the mountain, instead of at its own level. It involves a leap of consciousness to more understanding and empathy, and the ability to try to get needs met more peacefully." In moving from anger to compassion, set your intention to release resentments, cultivate forgiveness, make amends, and resist revenge, Orloff says. Learn from your past, and learn the skills of compassionate communication. It is also important to learn how the energy of anger and compassion feel in one's body, Orloff says. The energy of anger can feel "red hot, fiery, steamed up, like machine gun fire, battering, blistering, hurtful, impulsive, like you want to attack or do harm, like pressure building until it bursts." In contrast, the energy of compassion "You possess an intuitive Celebrate ABMP's 25th anniversary and you may win a refund on your membership. ABMP.com. 89