Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
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EXERCISE 5
Energy Work #2
This exercise allows you to feel your energy, as well as that of
another person, and the effect it has on you.
In pairs, one person will gently rest a hand upon the other
person's shoulder twice: once while energy is moving out of your
hand, and once without energy.
The person doing the touching decides which one to do first,
without telling the partner. There is enough time to relax and to
focus on your energy. When doing the energy touch, use the same
steps as in the Energy Work #1 exercise, and touch when you feel
the energy coming out of your hand. For the normal touch, make
sure your hand feels neutral.
The partner being touched will simply sit and notice whether there
are any differences between the two ways of touching. After both
touches are done, share the experience with each other for a minute
or two.
Switch roles so that the person who was doing the touching is not
being touched, and go through the cycle.
In a group, discuss the effects that touching and being touched
these two ways had upon you. Would it be useful to use energy
touch with other people?
> Further notes on the exercise:
This exercise should be conducted in a calm and relaxed
environment, as described for Energy Work #1, and makes a good
follow-up to that exercise when people are curious about energy.
If people are new to energy, make sure to allow enough time for
them to get the energy moving out of their hands; new people need
more time to do this on their own.
Discuss the ways that this touch can be used with other people in
the normal touching situations that arise in leadership situations:
shaking hands, patting someone on the back, reassuring a colleague,
etc. Present the idea that this can give people more control on
the effect they have on someone they touch.
Touching can be an uncomfortable area for some people; this
exercise uses a hand on the shoulder because this is a common
enough way for people to touch socially. If you feel it is
appropriate, you may introduce the exercise by reminding people of
all the ways (mentioned above) that we touch people in the course
of an average day.
> Time:
15 to 20 minutes for each cycle; 10 minutes for discussion.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98