My massage client had gone to a fancy resort spa with an extraordinary view of the ocean. The spa was world-class. The services were expensive, the atmosphere somewhat reminiscent of a place where Roman emperors might have gone for a holiday. How was your massage? I asked him when the holiday was over. I had … Continue reading Therapeutic Massage?
Many therapists could benefit from the use of a massage office. Your own spot saves your back from wrangling tables at house calls. Your own spot also offers a great learning experience – how to develop skills to negotiate and keep an office, handle bills and make more income. At some point in every massage … Continue reading Finding and Keeping a Massage Office
Massage Opportunities and Life Learning Massage therapists have an excellent opportunity not only to meet extraordinary people but also to learn from them. I have met many, and they have taught me many things. After 20 years in massage therapy, many of my wounds have healed through touch, and I have tried my best to … Continue reading Massage and Life Learning
When I was new to doing massage therapy, I had a habit of getting lost. Lost in the neck, lost on the back, lost in the space-time continuum. I’d glance up at my clock and see that I had spent 40 minutes massaging the back and I had 20 minutes to do the rest of … Continue reading Massage and the Full Sixty…
On a massage therapist’s first day at work, the training starts with how to say hello to a client. Easy? Oh heavens. I have had massage trainees stare at the floor. Roll eyes in a complete circle looking everywhere but at the client. Worst, a brief nanosecond of eye contact followed by staring over the … Continue reading Real Practice for Real Massage
The other day, whilst talking to massage therapist friends about the best and worst places to do massage, we came up with lots of candidates for best, but the worst won hands down: beauty salons. Yes, it has happened to many massage therapists. It may have been a fill-in job during massage school or a … Continue reading Good Fences Make Good Massages…
It is a new world for the massage therapist, just as it is for many other personal services industries. App companies are going whole hog into personal service. Rides, house-cleaning, errands, baby-sitters, pet-sitters, and yes, massage therapists. Where is it heading? For a big thumping collision as we struggle to define ourselves, our employers and … Continue reading Plans, Practice and Control
Those who do therapeutic massage are well aware of the statistics in the field. Burnout is a huge problem amongst therapists. What I have often heard from people is that massage is too hard to do enough of it to be secure financially and take care of one’s personal needs as well. I’ve also heard … Continue reading Flames Climb Higher Than Hands
It’s a great compliment to a massage therapist when the person receiving falls asleep during a session. Those little zzz’s say trust, relief, serenity and healing. And for this massage therapist, it most often happens during the Swedish portion of the treatment, when long flowing strokes push dream-like consciousness over the line into sleep. So … Continue reading The Snooze Button
The day after the Fourth of July I took time off from massage to see the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The museum is a living testimony – every day a survivor of a death camp speaks to visitors. Pictures, old films and recordings bring those times alive. I was not thinking about massage, … Continue reading Field Trips, Diaries and Memoirs