Massage Therapists, You are Educators…
by David Lauterstein, TLC Co-Director
The most important sentence I’ve ever read about teaching is from Martin Buber in his essay, The Education of Character.
“It is not the educational intention, but it is the meeting which is educationally fruitful.”
Teaching Deep Massage of the back in Oxford, England.
When we teach well, we receive the gift of being able to bring our whole self into relationship to each student.
Lauterstein-Conway Massage School’s faculty and staff are some of the best-of-the-best. Learn more about our instructors.
We “educate” through our overall body movements and gestures, our voice, our emotions, our mind, our history and the words we choose or which seem to choose us sometimes. And in this teaching all the gifts we’ve received – some of which maybe we don’t even know or fully appreciate – come to light. To light our way and hopefully theirs.
All the best education then is a mutual illumination.
The teacher meets the student and the student the teacher. And this meeting is fruitful in that is it enlivens gifts which, like all the most wonderful gifts, is given away in the fruitfulness of its being passed on to others.
Massage Therapy is a Gift Shared
When we share our gifts, we are educators. To educate of course means to “lead out,” from the Latin “ex” – “out” and “ducere” – “to lead.” We meet and somehow share ways to lead each other out of the darkness, just as the seed arises from the dark soil. We share dark roots and we meet in the sun.
As teachers – and we all are – we give it all we’ve got. We receive from this giving in turn – through the spread of light, life and love.
What gifts do you share either in the classroom on at the table?