As professional bodyworkers, we all have many tools in our tool belts, from specific techniques and modalities we’ve studied to physical tools we use, like hot towels and silicone cups, to personal attributes, such as our ability to listen and empathize.
Lymph Drainage Therapy is a tool I’m so glad to now have in my tool belt. When a client comes in complaining of sore knees or a swollen ankle or a sinus headache or they’ve recently gotten over a cold or are recovering from surgery, I now have an amazing, go-to tool that I know has a really good chance of helping them. It makes me incredibly happy to hear from a client that their knees haven’t bothered them since the last time they saw me, or that they didn’t really feel like I was doing much, but it really helped, or their leg was totally better the next day. I recently have had the privilege of working with a client just a few days post-surgery and heard from her the next day that she was feeling so much better, had reduced edema, and was able to get off most of her pain medication.
This is one of those tools that, thinking back to many of my past clients, I wish I had had in my repertoire when I was working with them – that’s how I know it’s a good one. We can’t change the past, but it makes me that much more dedicated to continuing my education to better serve my present and future clients.