People sometimes wonder what I’m doing while my hands rest so lightly on them. Part of the answer is listening. The other part is staying neutral.
What I mean by neutral
At a basic level, being neutral means releasing the stimuli that make us act and react. It means being able to sit in the moment and be aware of stimuli without becoming it.
I believe each of the 4 Bodies experiences neutrality differently.
In the Emotional Body, many empathic people feel other people’s emotions, and sometimes they take those emotions on as their own. When that happens, they lose their own Personal Space.
In the Mental Body, it can look like what I described in an earlier post: having questions about the session that weren’t my questions at all. They were my client’s.
In the Physical Body, it can show up as bracing: muscles tightening to protect themselves, the way I described in why I use such a light touch. Neutral is when your body no longer feels it needs to brace.
In the Spiritual Body, it’s anything you experience that isn’t in the Present Moment: drifting off for a second, dreaming, or imagining something that isn’t happening here and now. I’m describing this mechanically. If you’re not here, you’re somewhere else. If you wanted to be present but weren’t, some stimuli got between you and that goal.
Neutrality is about releasing that stimuli so you can be present.
Every person is a book
I think of clients, and people in general, as books. Some have life experiences similar to mine, and some don’t. Each person’s 4 Bodies are a book that might stir up one or more of my own.
So I take care of my own 4 Bodies. I use tools like the ones I teach through 4Q Boundaries, and I see other practitioners, including other CranioSacral Therapists, to help clear my own Bodies. That way I bring fewer potential reactions to the table.
That doesn’t mean I’m completely neutral all the time. That isn’t reality. But I can lose my space and find it again, and that’s what developing neutrality looks like.
I can lose my space and find it again. That’s what becoming neutral looks like.
Why my neutrality matters to you
A session is a very dynamic event, energetically. You’re releasing energy, and my role is to stay neutral so you can. If I’m not neutral, I might stop you from releasing.
For example, if someone starts crying and I try to console them, I’m no longer being a CranioSacral Therapist. Instead of letting them release on an emotional level, I’m using words to make them feel better. That’s me trying to control the event, rather than observing and supporting the release.
My staying neutral also gives you permission to release.
In almost every session, I’m also processing energy in myself. I might notice tension or stimuli affecting one or more of my 4 Bodies. That’s normal, and it’s part of the practice. If I weren’t releasing, I’d be controlling, which is a Mental Body experience, and that would set the tone for the session.
So if you cry on my table, I won’t rush to fix it. If you need a tissue, I’ll hand you one. If you get stuck in a memory, I may use my SomatoEmotional Release training to gently guide you back to the Present Moment. Otherwise, I’ll stay with you, neutral and present, and let your body do what it needs to do. Here’s more about what a session is like.
Between sessions
If you’d like to practice working with your 4 Bodies on your own, I created 4Q Boundaries. The first tool, the Grounding Cord, is free.
