When I tell people that I am a massage therapist, I get a handful of responses. Sometimes people react with a raised eyebrow and judgment. Other times people understand the work I do offers exceptional relief and support.
Through difficult times, there is no substitute for being nurtured. To surrender the nervous system to feel safe and cared for. To sink into a place where there is nothing to worry about or to do.
Some people have never experienced this in their lifetime. If they have, it often has not been for a while, perhaps since childhood. Most don’t even know it has been missing.
When we are able to let go, we float into a different consciousness. Almost a dream state where our systems recharge in a way that we don’t necessarily experience even in sleep. It’s more like a meditative, hypnotic state where we can release the urgencies the world imposes on us.
For me, offering this space to others gives me a sense of sending out a ripple of positivity. I know that when the person I’m nurturing and supporting returns to their full lives, they will be more present, resourced, and reflective. Perspective shifts in a powerful way and the gift continues to be given through interactions and expressions.
I believe that receiving care from someone we trust — whether physically, emotionally, or relationally — helps us to get relief from feeling like we need to handle and hold everything ourselves.
Finding someone to hold this space isn’t always easy. Our communities and cultures are not set up to value connection and the necessity of being taken care of. So we pay psychologists and coaches. Massage therapists and chiropractors. How do we cultivate these experiences in our everyday relationships?
I believe it starts with our own ability to give and receive. Looking into someone’s eyes and holding a gaze long enough to feel them and ourselves. Noticing emotions that arise. Being aware of our comfort and grounded-ness or our discomfort and triggers.
All of it is to help us get more in touch with what needs to be healed and let go of. To create space and feel into what we want more of and hence allow ourselves to receive it.
There is an abundance of what we desire and want all around us. With all the distractions we often miss the abundant opportunities. The mind starts to spin and we put old patterns into play. It’s like the saying that you need to empty your cup before you can receive anything new.
Reconciling with our own experiences, we make space to consider another’s without assuming to know what’s true for them. We can hold more of what others are feeling and experiencing when we relinquish the need to insert our own.
What is your reset space? How do you let go and allow for spaciousness in your life? When do you relinquish distractions and just feel? Your breath, your body, your emotions, your translations of what you have been going through…
Instead of just barreling through it all and telling yourself you can handle it, pause.
Integrate so that you can appreciate the miracles all around you all the time.
Consider joining us to find your safe and nurturing space!