On Empathy and Holding Space

On empathy & holding space:

Every Saturday I drive an hour to shadow my mentor and fellow acupuncturist. People often ask me why. They look at me strangely when I tell them there is no pay. & yes, I know there are many other things I could be doing on a weekend.

As licensed and active practitioner, I am aware not necessary for me to continue this form of learning anymore, however the lessons I have gained from him beyond the textbooks have played an exponential part of who I am as a person and practitioner and I am forever grateful to participate in what it means to be a healer through his lens + experience.

One such lesson was the story of Craig ** name changed for patient privacy**. From his smile you would never guess he had a very degenerative form of Parkinson’s disease. He was the type of person who felt like sunshine. Craig always found a way to remain positive, despite having tremors with every step. I loved hearing his stories about his life, from his macrobiotic diet to stories about his weekend movie trips with his mom.

But this day was different. His hip flexors & iliopsoas were in so much pain that he had to walk forwards into the clinic instead of backwards, collapsing on the ground when he made it to the waiting room.

We situated him into a bed and he began to sob. Suddenly a grown man, about a foot and a half taller than me, seemed so small & fragile.

I fought back the tears as my heart broke for him. I hated seeing him like that. I couldn’t imagine being in that kind of pain everyday. To constantly be at war with your body and your mind.

Teary eyed, asked my mentor how he does it. How he’s able to keep his composure while treating his patients overcome in such emotion. He responded “because it is an honor. They are allowing me to be a witness and testimony to their life in their shadows and in their light and I am forever grateful to be a part of their experience. It’s what we call empty vessel in Chinese Medicine. It’s the power of holding space”

You see sometimes, the healing is not in the medicine or the needles but our ability to be as practitioners human and stand by someone’s side while they ride out their dragons.