Massage Therapy Journal Summer 2026

Summer 2026 • 63

Staying Grounded For me, being in neutral/grounded is being in receptive clarity, where I shift from doing to listening , allowing my client’s body to express its own inherent organization/health. I “achieve” my neutral with regular meditative practices and grounding practices: • Having an opening grounding ritual at the beginning of the day (nonnegotiable) • A conscious exhale before placing my hands on my clients

tone, temperature, resistance, yielding. Fascia, muscles and joints offer information if we approach them with curiosity rather than an agenda. This is not mystical; it is the nervous system responding to gentle, attuned touch. Our hands are not just tools. They are sensory organs capable of perceiving stories the body has not yet put into words. To listen deeply, we must be grounded and centered ourselves. Polyvagal theory reminds us that the nervous system is always scanning for cues of safety or threat. When we enter the room dysregulated, hurried or overly effortful, the client’s system feels it. But when we embody steadiness—when our breath is calm, our attention anchored, our presence coherent— we become a compass for what regulation feels like. In that state, our touch communicates something techniques alone cannot: You are safe. You can soften. Some of my trainings with the osteopathic community in my native France emphasized the importance of être au neutre —being in neutral. Neutral is not passive; it is a state of receptive clarity, a shift from doing to listening so the body’s inherent intelligence can express itself. I access this state through simple grounding practices: an opening ritual before my first client, a conscious exhale before contact, softening my focus, checking where my own body holds tension, letting internal commentary fall away and a closing ritual at the end of each day. In neutral, I’m not bracing, pushing or absorbing; my system stays regulated, which protects me from overuse, emotional entanglement and burnout. But above all, in neutral, I am not imposing change—I am witnessing it unfold, and there is a rare beauty in that. The Therapist as a Regulated Presence

• Grounding through my feet or the weight of my body (making it possible to be an external fulcrum for change) • Softening my focus and attention during the session • Minimal use of my phone during work hours • I try to release any internal commentary (“Is this working?” “What should I do next?”) • I always check with my body. Where am I holding tension (my toes, my pelvic floor, my ribcage, my neck and shoulders, my jaw…)? • Having a closing ritual at the end of the day (nonnegotiable) • And overall, I trust the body’s inherent intelligence/health rather than trying to direct it. It’s a practice of returning—again and again—to presence rather than performance. And it’s hard, so be patient with yourself! What are the benefits for the therapist? Being in neutral/grounded is profoundly protective. A therapist in neutral is not bracing, pushing or absorbing. Their system is regulated, almost just witnessing rather than “acting,” which means: • Less muscular overuse • No pushing past their own boundaries • Less sympathetic activation • Less emotional entanglement, won’t

absorb emotional or sensory information • More longevity in the profession, won’t burn out from chronic hypervigilance Working in neutral/ grounded allows the therapist to: • Work with less muscular effort • Stay grounded and regulated • Maintain clearer boundaries • Reduce fatigue at the end of the day • Feel more connected to the work without being consumed by it. It’s a real form of self-care!

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