Working ON the Body
When you work ON a person, you are coming at it with your own agenda. In a very real way it is assuming that you know what their body needs better than they do. It is attempting to inflict healing upon somebody. It is an attempt to make healing an event rather than a process. It is attempting to control the outcome in a prescribed way. It is neglectful of where the client is in their healing process. In short, it is just wrong.
Working WITH the Body
Fortunately, there is a better way. When you work WITH the body, you are a partner, a facilitator, a coach, an encourager. You become a part of the process. You assist and help rather than trying to hijack the process. It allows for adaptation and accommodation to what they want, what they need, and what they are prepared to receive. It allows for the reception of the subtle information that the client is giving you through their body. It is humble. It is harmonious.
There is an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. The teacher was really there all along, but the student wasn’t ready to learn anything. Healing is much the same way – when the one who is hurt is ready, healing will happen. You can’t force someone into the process, they must be ready and willing to accept it. Of course, you encourage them to push their limits, but that is what spurs positive change.
The point is that when you work WITH the body, you are working from a place of respect, not one of assumed superiority. Working WITH the body, you build trust with your client and they can begin to allow the healing process to begin in your presence and with your help. Working ON the body shuts down this process and can even reinforce defensive patterns that make the client feel even worse.
