Massage is a natural, low-technology treatment for modern ills, would you not agree? The nurturing hands of the massage therapist also bring people in contact with oils, and quite naturally, I’ve always been concerned about the effects of oils and topicals being used in massage. Experience has taught me that the words organic and natural … Continue reading Public Safety in Oils and Other Topicals for Massage →

In the course of about 200 or so hours of continuing education courses, I have been harboring some questions. The big one is “How much technique can you learn in a CE class?” With new online technology, massage therapists can take most if not all CE courses online, rather than attend traditional classes. Given Bill … Continue reading Is Technique Everything? →

Getting a massage while on vacation is a bit of a write-off, so I do it as often as I can. It goes under market research, as long as I ask a few questions, save the menu and brochures, and do some furtive ferreting. All this sounds fabulous, of course, until you realize that at … Continue reading Practice, Practice, Practice… →

When I first came to work with my friend Sarah, she asked me if I had any thoughts on further decorating her already established office. I looked around and said, “I think we need some life energy in here. Something green or living or growing.” And so, we went off to the nursery for plants … Continue reading Life Energy: Frog and Toad Are Friends →

When I feel thick cables between the shoulder blades of an uptight client, I am reminded of Bodyworlds, the forensic anatomy exhibition in which real folks were presented, in living color, plasticized and preserved for inspection. When the show was in Los Angeles, I figured it would be a bit gruesome, but I was eager … Continue reading Erector Forensics →

A beautiful spring morning, toasty 80s in Southern California, and my client sat in one of her garden patio chairs and sipped coffee. Gone were the weeks of clouds and rain, and the flowers and plants in the garden had sucked it all up. One sunny day and it seemed everything was going to grow … Continue reading Project Management and the Massage Therapist →

Taking a job as a massage therapist at a big spa is a great learning tool for the new therapist. I was a newbie, a rookie, when I worked at a large spa and I did find my way and went on to become a spa owner, employer, and an independent therapist. So I have … Continue reading More Spa Memories →

When I was in massage school, I heard some pretty bad things about Massage Envy. Mostly, the talk involved a lot of insinuation about slave labor, low wages, and cookie-cutter massages. And yet, that’s the first place I went when I graduated and applied for a job. Why? Because Seattle is knee-deep in massage therapists, … Continue reading In Defense of Envy →

When I was a rookie to the massage field, I took a job, pretty much out of economic desperation, at a large day spa near the big mall. It was, in 1997, the one and only true real spa in the area. I don’t mean fluffy robes, but it actually had the water features that … Continue reading Ye Olde Spa →