Taking Care

By Master Tigger MacGregor

One of the first things taught in my NO HANDS journey was to learn as a client.

I confess, it wasn’t the thing I remember most from my first course. As with so many things in NO HANDS, those four little words, learn as a client, mask with simplicity a very deep and broad topic. Those words are a gateway to a world of learning and exploration which I still feel I’m only beginning to scratch the surface of.

For me, a big part of being a client is about taking care of myself. Listening to what’s going on for me. Accepting that I’m worth taking care of. That, actually, my ability to support anyone or anything else relies on my ability to take care of myself. This has not been an easy lesson to learn!

Of course I’ve known for a long time (intellectually) that taking care of myself makes sense. But the truth is that I only started practicing truly taking care of myself last summer. So 9 years after I first attended a NO HANDS course. Nine YEARS. During which time I was encouraging clients, students and people all around me to look after themselves. Lessons really do need to be learnt over time, through repetition…with SUPPORT.

I haven’t cracked it yet – not by a long way. But I’m getting there. I’m learning what works – for me. I’m learning about beliefs I’m barely even conscious of and how they impact how I think, feel and act. I’m learning what I need to be truly OK. And I absolutely believe that these lessons are making me a better human – and a better therapist.

I’ve always loved Gerry’s phrase “You Massage the way you live your life.” It’s through my NO HANDS journey that I’ve (started!) to discover how transformational taking care of myself can be. This taking care is coming through in a whole variety of ways. Everything stems from some of the core NO HANDS philosophies – applied not just to the treatment room, but far beyond.