Low back pain probably costs about a billion bucks a year in lost productivity, treatments and aggravation. What makes it even more unbearable is that people who have never had back pain can wake up one day and wonder what is wrong with them. Wrong is a hard place to be for people who usually … Continue reading Welcome to Lumbarville →

A good massage is a full-body massage, so I often heard in school, but what do you do when clients come in and ask for an hour on their neck and back only? How do you guide the client to the full-body effect? Well, I let them drive. A full massage is better for the … Continue reading Full-Body Massage or Focus? →

I must report that Lynna Dunn’s flooded-office story gave me flashbacks. Consider this a bouquet or fruit basket, of sorts. One Monday morning I arrived at my hotel day spa’s massage room and saw the door to the gym next door wide open and giant hair dryers going full blast. “We had a pipe break … Continue reading Fun at The Relax Shop →

This massage client had survived a long list of honey-dos last weekend and he came in Monday night with a particularly nasty knot in his scapula area. I thought I would be dealing with a knot in the rhomboid or serratus but this seemed to be less of a problem than the very defined set … Continue reading Rebar and the Concrete Floor →

Holistic is the massage therapist’s mantra. Treat the person as a whole, all connected parts and a complete person. The entire massage helps. This is the kind of thinking that goes into most of my massages. But then I get the occasional clients who want just one body part massaged. “Just do my feet.” “Just … Continue reading Point Well Taken and Massaged →

In the action of performing massages daily, I’ve often had to step back before starting a session, take a Zen breath and get grounded. Why? Because I operate on the belief, as I suspect many therapists do, that my intent affects how well the massage will proceed. My thoughts need to be in a calm, … Continue reading The Purpose-Driven Massage →

Time to face the facts: most cradle covers remind me of some grandma’s underwear. The covers do not fit very well, leaving lots of extra cotton. The little stretchy elastic edge seems like undies to me. I’ve noticed clients tend to get itchy noses while prone because the lower seam covers their airway a bit. … Continue reading Stalking the Ultimate Face Cradle Cover →

Sad Sack-like, this client came in not expecting much. After a hellacious car accident a decade ago, she had developed pain throughout the left shoulder girdle and felt restricted and unable to do much. She had cut down work to two days a week. Her husband drove her in to the office because she hasn’t … Continue reading The Light in the Eyes →

The last glowing ember of the Fourth of July fireworks had gone out and as we walked to the car, I ran into two old friends I had not seen since massage school – now a good 16 Fourth-of-July fireworks shows ago. We compared hairstyles, and weights and marriage and divorce milestones. Then the question … Continue reading Hands On and Ambitions →

Lots of therapists need massage themselves, as do many people in the service industry, so I have always had a wholesale, “courtesy” rate for folks to come in and have a massage. When I owned day spas at hotels, the courtesy rate was a must. Every room service server, bartender, housekeeper, etc. was not only … Continue reading Courtesy →