What we can learn from a Balinese healer.
The little island of Bali has a population of just 4 million and receives half that many visitors each year. As a result, this tropical paradise is infested with all sorts of healers: spiritual and physical, shonky and authentic. This includes what must be the most concentrated population of masseurs anywhere on earth (except on board the ocean liner, The Queen Mary, where the ratio is one masseur for every 60 passengers). My wife and I love massage and we’ve road-tested dozens of masseurs in our local area: some charge as little as $5, while others charge Western prices.
However, we’ve found the best, we think. Nyoman Suparsa is not a massage therapist. He’s a healer who doesn’t need you to tell him “my lower back’s sore“. He just knows. He doesn’t need you to say, “A bit harder in there please“. He just does it. He’s become so popular, that he’s now training therapists to model his approach.
Nyoman says he has only three secrets, which he tries to pass on to his students:
- Focus: Put yourself ‘in the zone’. There’s a mental, physical and emotional state which is conducive to great massage. Know how to put yourself in this state, even when it’s hot, your wife’s yelled at you, your kid’s failed a test, the traffic is a nightmare and you’re running late.
- Concentrate on the client: Don’t forget who you’re here for. Don’t’ think about business, or the spot on the wall which needs painting. Give the client your full energy. Yes, it’s tiring, but that’s why they pay me more than the ‘cheap’ masseurs.
- Don’t just practice your technique: just running through the same moves each time is not enough. You’ve got to watch different people massage, have massages yourself – and incorporate these into your personal style.
Do your practitioners do this? When they’re with your clients are they focussed, concentrating and learning?