Nail-Biting Exercise!
Every day something really interesting comes up. It’s so hard to keep up.
Last Wednesday, I came into the classroom and was disappointed that one of our students was sitting, as an observer to someone giving a manicure. We have a total of 12 students, and every day last week, someone was severely late or absent, so we’d always have 11 people.
One of our students, Bashudev, is blind and he was the one sitting and observing, for the third day in a row. I wanted him to practice the manicure…and when I asked the pair of students that he was observing, they answered that he didn’t want to cut nails. So I asked Bashudev about that, and he said he didn’t want to, that he wanted to learn the hand massage, so I let him use my fair arms as the guinea pig…these are the perks of running your own massage therapy school!
The staff at Tranquility School is a godsend, they are such amazing teachers….our ration of student to teachers is 1:1. They really know their stuff and are really supportive caring instructors. I couldn’t be happier. I’m not saying this because some of them read this blog … :D, only two of my students read it. Hi guys 😉
No, seriously, the instructors are great the owner of the school, Hem, is really good, and is quite the disciplinarian, it’s just a side to him I’ve never seen before, and I’m glad he instills the discipline, it helps to get the message across, that attendance, and class participation are keys to successful completion of the training.
But again, I digress…..
Bashudev I felt was definitely overwhelmed with the techniques of the hand and arm massage that is given once the manicure is finished. He was so overly instructed I felt so bad, but I realized that it’s just part of the process. On Monday, Rob told him, it’s like learning Braille, he didn’t learn the complete system in three hours. Rob also conveyed to Bashudev that it was difficult for Rob to learn massage at first as well.
There is this one technique, where you criss-cross your thumbs starting from the wrist all the way up the forearm to the olecranon fossa, or elbow pit area…and he was having a hard time with it. She would demonstrate on him, and then tell him how to do the same on my arm. I could feel his frustration, as subtle as it was, it was definitely there. It’s wasn’t like a violent frustration, you know where you want to scream and throw something, but a quiet, ‘why can’t I get this’ kind.
I then asked him who cut his nails, after the instructor translated for him, Bashudev replied, “I do.” I said, well, then try to cut my nails. He was very nervous, and his hands were trembling as he tried to cut my nails. I just told him that it was okay, to just go slow and feel his way around the nail bed. He became calm and started clipping. But then he would get very nervous, so I held his hands and we did a quick calming exercise, where we both took a few calming deep breaths.
I also had him file my nails, and he was able to do it. It wasn’t until the next day, when Rob had Bashudev give him a full manicure that Bashudev said he didn’t feel comfortable cutting nails, filing or cutting the cuticles. He can do it on himself, because he knows when he hurts himself, but he’s afraid to do it someone else, because he can’t judge if he is causing pain.
I thought the day before that he was saying he didn’t want to do the complete manicure because other people persuaded him not to. But now I realize that it came straight from him.
When I spoke to the instructors at the school about the students and told them we have one blind student, I said, let him decide what he can or cannot do; I do not want us to decide that for him.
It was good for him to try at least, and I’m proud of him for humoring me and giving me a manicure.
Tags: Boudha, Kathmandu Work
Administrator
Leave a Reply