Last night before class we all gathered in a small circle on the floor and spent a few moments talking about our week. It was nice, people shared some great things and it brought us closer to each other as a group. It reminded me of my Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training. There we had check in groups who we would meet with each week before class, it was a simple, safe time to state what was on our mind, no reaction, no exchange, just a moment to reflect and be witness to each other. I tried to express a key concept that I feel is essential in body work. The idea of you, as the practitioner, leaving your baggage at the door, thus allowing your work to reflect the needs of the person you are working with. No judgement, No opinions. This key concept allows us as body workers to help our partners on a deep energetic level. For example, If your partner is stressed out and their muscles are tense and having a hard time relaxing it is better for you as the practitioner to find a flow and rhythm with your work that starts to break away this stress in a physical way. What is not good is for you to make a judgment and say out loud, “Man your body is tight, you are stressed out, damn whats up with that”. Words are energetically very powerful, they come from the mind enter the mind and effect the body directly. I have a wonderful book called Marma Points of Ayurveda. It looks at the Indian ways of using energy points to heal the body and mind. In it they state the body-mind connection in a powerful and clear way. “To speak of mind and body as two distinct entities is simply not true…Anything that happens in the mind influences the body, and vice versa. Mind is a flow of thoughts, as a river is a flow of water. As the water, so the river. If the water is clear, the river is clear. If the water is polluted, the river is polluted. Likewise, as the thoughts, so the mind. If our thoughts breathe fear, mind becomes fearful…on the other hand, if thought is clear, mind is clear. As a change in the water is a change in the river, a change in the nature of our thoughts is a change in the mind. Moreover, every change in our mental state is instantaneously reflected in the chemistry and functioning of the body. So next time you are working with your partner, stay focused and clear as the witness to their relaxation.