This is the first in a series of articles dealing with the range of actual ethical situations that occur in our work, situations that can perplex bodyworkers due in part to an overzealous application of psychological principles. This is an actual case from my practice. In another article we will deal with the ethical implications of this client relationship and others and hopefully expand our understanding of these issues.

Questions raised by Jack Blackburn for the Future of Bodywork Seminar in the realm of redefining the profession: Will manual therapists become the source of breakthroughs in somatic medicine and new forms of life fulfillment for their clients? It is easy to see that bodyworkers can choose to play very significant roles in the development of different approaches to human health and lifestyle.

(Part 3 of 3) The above quote has been stated and re-stated throughout human history. Whenever we hear it we are shocked because in our ordinary perceptions of things, it makes no sense. After all, isn’t it the wisdom of experience that causes us to feel that our fears and mistrust are keeping us safe?

(Part 2 of 3) “No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear. For fear being an apprehension of pain or death, it operates in a manner that resembles actual pain.

(Part 1 of 3) Like those who tread on the tiger’s tail in the I Ching, we have to learn that the glow of the tiger’s eyes is not fearful, judgmental, harsh (or dangerous?). In fact the glow of the tiger’s eyes (tyger, tyger burning bright) are the markers on our path.

I have been working as a bodyworker since 1986 and I have given thousands of sessions and taught hundreds of classes since then. I was not originally taught how to work on clients' faces. After receiving a session of esthetic massage from a Japanese practitioner in Hawaii, I started to question why I was not touching the face.

At the end of May I presented a seminar in Yokohama: The Power of Touch, for bodyworkers, counselors and the general public. The purpose of the seminar was to present different aspects of touch, different physical and mental conditions, problems from the absence of touch, and why touch is so important in our lives.