Is it OK to stretch a client’s adductors? What if the client is female, the therapist male, and the wind is whistling through openings in the drape? Oh my, the topics that come up for question in a massage clinic. One of my friends had a complaint from the husband of a couple whom had … Continue reading Best Intentions? Massage and Permission
The Adventures of Ana Log, Massage Therapist My alter ego in my massage therapist career has been “Ana Log.” She is a heroine of old school practices that simplify life instead of clouding it. Contrary to trends out there in e-land, Ana Log has her own schedule book, written in pencil, to give her … Continue reading Massage and the Past Perfect
Perhaps you have seen the ads in the massage therapist trade publications: What would happen if you could see four clients in an hour? Folks in the massage biz are not often associated with great math skills. Four clients in a single hour? As a private practice therapist, heck, I figure could make a lot … Continue reading Massage Therapists Do the Math
Massage therapists are not all alike when it comes to their understanding of how to build a practice. I have heard lots of explanations as to why bookings stay low, very few explanations of why they are full. How to develop a practice is an art just as much as massage. It requires some close … Continue reading Practice Punts
A client stopped in last week a bit worried about her neck. She had been on vacation, feeling very tight in the neck and shoulders and stopped for a chair massage. Eager to get rid of the tension, she asked for a 30-minute massage. Toward the end of the massage, she started to feel faint … Continue reading Dizzy Chair Massage
Sometimes when I am square in between someone’s shoulder blades, I find myself thinking about how some of these knots got there. Most are whiplashes and hard work – a traffic encounter followed by running a lathe at the machine shop, or writing some intensely detailed thesis. No fun involved. Once in a while somebody … Continue reading Therapist Notes from a Low-Slung Sports Car
We massage therapists sometimes see the un-doctored, the folks who are big believers in the preservation of health by staying far, far, away from anything medical. I respect people’s beliefs, especially when they are dearly held, but I also know that I have a duty to at least bring up the subject of finding explanation … Continue reading Tremors
One of my favorite massage therapists to trade with recently let me in on a secret. She has been doing massage for more than 20 years without health or disability coverage. That pressed some buttons with me. Since getting into massage, I have always had coverage, health through my own individual plan, then my spouse’s … Continue reading Massaging Without a Net
Recently in looking for an associate to assist in my practice, I interviewed a bunch of massage therapists with ample experience. I thought I would offer a good step-up to private practice to people who wanted to move in that direction. I looked for experience because I wanted people who understood the economics and challenges … Continue reading What We Massage Therapists Know…
With each year end, I like to do two things: tidy up the loose ends of my massage therapy practice and set my sights on the coming year. Tidy time is important in the visceral sense: make sure my tax stuff and books are at least all in one box, if not organized, all set … Continue reading Tidy Time