So here I was, a lowly newbie massage therapist, trying in an honest fashion to learn how to sell things at my spa. The howling about sales was continuing among my fellow therapists, and the manager had set a “quota” of $100 a month for every massage therapist. We were told to stop whining and … Continue reading How to Sell Without Selling Out, Part II
When massage folks work in spas, an ugly reality crops up: spas depend on sales of retail products and extra services for income. They expect their employees/contractors to sell to clients, and to get “good” hours and “good” rooms. I, too, have worked in an environment where folks expect you to sell other things rather … Continue reading How to Sell Without Selling Out
I am not by nature a person who covets, or who spends a lot of time envying the fortunes of others. But lately, I admit, I have had insurance envy. And I look back to the days when I was a technical writer, an educational non-profit worker, an English professor, even a Starbuck’s barista, and … Continue reading Insurance Envy and Other Melancholy
We use our hands and arms all day, we massage therapists, so we should be taking the very best care of them, right? So when was the last time you iced? I can hear the reply: Oh, I don’t need to ice, I’m in great shape. Uh-huh. We are, in a way, baseball players, and … Continue reading Handy Tips
It is an interesting question. Should massage therapy become a college degree? It is a question that is being proffered by those who would like massage to become part of the medical care system, with regard to how little training massage therapists have in comparison to those in the medical field. Standing next to people … Continue reading Regarding the Future of Our Labor
I have been listening to clients for a few years now, and I am getting more impressed with the intake form as time goes on. I had a doozy the other day. Intake forms are important for good massages, giving the person some time to reflect and think about what they want from their sessions. … Continue reading Intakes, Histories and Human Nature
People who give massages need to get massages – and lots of therapists, like myself, get a massage once a week or so. It helps a massage therapist “keep in touch.” I got in touch with an old massage therapist friend over the holidays and was dismayed to find out she had taken a backwards … Continue reading Putting Our Feet Down
I love clean cotton sheets–I really do. At my business, we each did our own laundry when we were still very, very small, and I didn’t mind a bit. Well, I didn’t really like the hauling them to and from the business, to the car, to the house (repeat cycle), but the washing and folding … Continue reading Knee-Deep in Sheets
Every week for the past 10 years, this client has come in for a wellness massage. This client’s plate is full. A small business, multiple children in expensive colleges, and the biggest reason he has for a weekly massage: his wife has lupus. Weekly massages have helped along the way. Last month, this client told … Continue reading Life Goes On
Feeling around for trigger points all day, I am most impressed with the Ligamentum Nuchae. It has such abundant thickness, depth and tension. I marvel at the cummerbund design featuring what I feel is an actual forest of referring trigger points. It could be called the secret garden. There, all sorts of things grow in … Continue reading Rotating Migraines and Other Bumps on the Ligamentum Nuchae Highway