Tonight the instructors are particularly excited, and the students are a little nervous - well, at least some of them. Each student gets 20 minutes to work on one of us, so that, in addition to observing their work and reading about it in the homework assignments, we get to experience it first hand, pun intended. Practical check-ins are a great way for us to offer personal instruction and feedback, zero in on each student's individual needs and offer assistance to those who are sometimes reluctant to ask questions in class.
I often compare bodywork to handwriting - everyone does the same workbooks in kindergarten, yet eventually develops a unique style of putting words on paper. Tonight is a perfect illustration, because no two sessions are alike. Speed, flow, transitions, blending of various techniques into a coherent solid session - each student makes these decisions differently, which means we accomplished our goal so far. They are creating, thinking, expressing themselves, and our bodies respond gratefully and willingly. Of course, we are not even halfway through the semester, and there are many things that will need to improve before the term is over. We offer feedback on pressure, amount of oil being applied, body mechanics and observation skills, among other things. Overall, though, tonight we learn a valuable lesson - massage therapy requires a lot of training, but even an "imperfect" massage done with the right intent and focus is a pretty powerful thing to behold.
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