When I was attending massage therapy school we were told a good rule of thumb was to not talk to the person you were massaging unless they talked to you first. After all the clients are there to relax, and most people prefer quiet to noisy if they are trying to get their mellow on. For the most part I tend to follow this guideline with new clients, but for some unknown reason I seem to attract clients that like to chat while they get their bodywork. Now for anyone that knows me, they know that I have never been a believer or follower of the Silence is Golden way of thinking so being quiet can be tough for me sometimes. Not like you probably think though. I can totally respect someone needing a little bit of down time and I have no problem letting my mouth go on vacation for an hour or so while I give a massage. My problem arises when the client broaches those subjects that I was always told you should never discuss with business associates or clients. You know the ones your grandparents and parents handed down to you? Religion. Politics. Money. Those were like the 3 Deadly Sins of work-related discussions. And really I only have trouble buttoning my lip with 2 of the 3 as I have no money and have no qualms about telling anyone that I am on a budget. Let me hit the lottery and see how quiet I am!
So that leads us to religion and politics. Big taboo times two. Thankfully, I have some well-read and educated clients that engage me in thought-provoking conversations and occasionally they bring these topics up and ask my opinion. Like this last month which led up to the local elections or two years ago around the presidential election, or the recent declaration, by the Louisville Southern Baptist Seminary President, that "yoga could be dangerous to Christians' faith". I have lots of thoughts about politics and I read political blogs on a regular basis, but I have found it best to lay up short when it comes to sharing your political views. The most common answer I give is "I think most of them are crooks and I vote for the candidate that I think will do the best job, irregardless of their party affiliations." Other than that, I might offer a "hmm" or "I can see how you would feel that way" to dodge the bullet.
Religion is tougher. I was raised Southern Baptist and was drug into church every time the doors were open, but I have experienced religious teachings in churches that were Catholic, Mormon, Presbyterian, Seventh Day Adventist and Pentecostal, and I have read up on several other religious groups and philosophies as well as atheism. I know a little bit about several Western religious denominations and I know just about nil on Eastern religions, so I dance around this subject as if I was barefoot, trying to dash across a bed of hot coals to freedom. What I do share is that I am a spiritual person and that I have found most religions have some things I can appreciate and some things I do not agree with. I will sometimes point out that some of the more uptight over-the-top evangelicals who bomb abortion clinics are really no different than some of the radical extremists that we consider terrorists. I usually try not to linger on this subject anymore than I absolutely have to because it is so very personal and from past experience I have seen a light and friendly chat go south in a hurry.
We can still choose to share intimate parts of our lives with our massage clients without baring our souls. Facebook much? But I also think there are degrees of disclosure and faith and politics are my two hot topics that I keep to myself. Is privacy the best policy? In my case, it is.
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