What’s one thing you can do to have a more enjoyable, useful, and transformative bodywork session?
Stay out of the triangle.
The Drama Triangle is a place where people act out one of three roles – Victim, Villain, or Hero. When you’re “in” the triangle, you unconsciously create a dynamic where other people must play one of those roles.
E.g. if I’m standing on the Hero spot, my clients tend to place themselves on the Victim position. It looks OK at first…
Me: “I have a lot of training and skill; I can help you with that.”
Client: “Yes, please fix me. I don’t know what to do.”
Problem #1 – Client is outsourcing his or her healing, power, and responsibility.
Problem #2 – The mantle of Hero gets heavy, and I usually end up sliding into Villain or Victim myself.
Me: “Ugh, why is this client so needy?” [victim]
“If he’d just do his self-care, like I told him…” [villain]
Let’s make a choice to step out of the triangle for our massage sessions.
Step 1)
Acknowledge and celebrate what we’ve been doing so far…Then wonder about what would create more ease and flow:
My example: “Wow! I’m a professional Hero! Hmmm…I wonder how I can inspire an equal partnership with my clients, where we collaborate on sessions?”
Step 2)
Create a new conscious commitment (and we don’t even have to know how it will happen):
My example: “I commit to creating a fun and collaborative partnership with my clients.”
Are you willing to make a new commitment as a client? When you get into a different “shape” for your next session, you may be surprised at the results.