In early November of last year, I was asked to take on a sixth shift due to an emergency. “What emergency?” I asked. “Sandra [another massage therapist] broke her foot in thirteen or fourteen places; it’s practically crushed,” was the reply. “WHAT? How did that happen?” “Well, she dropped a piano on it.” WHAT? And … Continue reading Get Disability Insurance; and Beware of Falling Pianos →

The hamstrings tell the tale. These hamstrings, normally smooth and strong, were developing bumps I associate with adhesions. The bellies of the muscle were like a bit of bad road, dipping up and down with jellied clumps of static muscle tissue even though they were supposed to be at rest. A monument to adhesions myself, … Continue reading Scrunches, Wobbles, and Breathless Sumo →

The rain was coming down hard and sideways, an event very unusual for Southern California. After a sticky freeway ride, my 18-minute drive to work took 30 minutes; I pulled into the driveway at my office two minutes late and saw my client huddled in her car. “Sorry I’m late. What’s with this rain? Where’s … Continue reading Great Moments in Customer Service →

That darn knot was driving me crazy. It was embedded in the rib cage, just below and under the lower vertebral border of the right scapula. It seemed to ease with heat, but no amount of myofascial release, Swedish, cross-fiber, trigger point or lymphatic or any of another half-dozen styles of massage I had tried … Continue reading WWTD – What Would Travell Do? →

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,A tub of rose-infused crème! On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,Two eye-pillows, and a tub of rose-infused crème! On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,Three salt lamps, Two eye-pillows, and a tub of … Continue reading The Twelve Days of Christmas (Massage-Style) →

Every so often in massage you see someone who you think might be having visceral rather than muscular pain. Since my X-ray vision is on the blink, and my psychic abilities have never worked when picking next week’s lottery numbers, I tell folks who have a symptom that might be something else to go see … Continue reading Is It a Muscle or? →

Working at a spa is one of the most rewarding and challenging environments for a massage therapist – the pressures of running on time, keeping within guidelines and getting along with a bunch of other therapists – and their egos – all while trying to learn protocols and make a living. I’ve always found spas … Continue reading Spa Olympics →

Once, on the morning of my first day of work as a massage therapist at a large day spa, I woke up with a cold. Should I go into work sick? Breathing on clients, close contact, hands all over people? I did not want to get people sick. But I couldn’t “flake” out my first … Continue reading Sick for the Holidays →

There’s nothing like a Sunday morning continuing education class, and this was no exception. Massage therapists who do these classes are the true blues, the ones who take it seriously, the ones who figure they might learn something even though they went to school and have been doing massage for a few years. This was … Continue reading What’s in a CEU? →

While practicing our brains out in massage school, my classmates and I enjoyed designing new day spas in our notebooks and trying to frame our concept of the ultimate massage experience. Neophytes to massage and business, we were quite earnest, quite naïve and quite unintentionally amusing. One afternoon I very thoughtfully drew a spa layout … Continue reading Inspiration Spa & Massage & Rub Emporium →