Sometimes you get the nicest compliments from clients when they don’t say a word. So it was Friday when a client came in after a hell week at work, plopped on the table and pointed at the right side of his neck. A few minutes after getting his lymph flowing and addressing the rebar in … Continue reading The Best Compliment
Are massage therapists flaky as a demographic? Someone asked me that question recently: another therapist, actually. We were shaking our heads over tales of therapists not showing up for shifts; therapists throwing fits over one client too many, or one client too few, or one client too pregnant; therapists simply disappearing into the sunset, destination … Continue reading The Flake Factor
At my place of business, we use a level system of 1-4 to describe the depth and intensity of a given therapist’s typical massage style. Recently, I interviewed a job candidate who had never heard of this system and wanted me to explain it. “Well,” I said, musing, “Think of Level 1 like someone sweeping … Continue reading Mix and Match: Light to Deep
This is generally the worst time of year for manipulative ads on weight loss. Whether it’s pills, diets, or gym memberships, you can count on TV strangers in spandex or bikinis telling you that THIS year you absolutely HAVE to have their products in order to make your New Year’s resolution come true. Well, guess … Continue reading Weighing Choices for New Year’s Resolutions
This was one request I had not run into before – a gentleman called to request I do a half-hour pregnancy massage for his wife, who was undergoing pre-term labor (33 weeks) contractions and was in the hospital. I have been certified in pregnancy and post-partum massage for several years, but I must admit this … Continue reading Preterm Labor and Massage
Generally, my work doesn’t cause me a lot of pain, and I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I get tight shoulders like everyone else in the world, and my left hip, which has always been my vulnerable spot, sometimes has me limping a little at the end of a long day. Those are common … Continue reading Which Slipper to Wear to the Ball?
In the morning, my boyfriend Marshall and I will be traveling to Bellingham, a Seattle suburb, for his grandmother’s memorial service: she died last week at the age of ninety-two. Although the family had a known for a while that she would soon be passing, it was still difficult, in some ways, to see her … Continue reading The Skin Horse Tells His Story
When I first became a massage therapist, my boss at the time would frequently ask, “Did you ask the client to come back?” At first, I was a little shocked. Of course I had asked my client to come back; that’s part of what good hospitality is, isn’t it? Later, the question insulted me a … Continue reading Manners, Grace, and Hospitality
It seems that at least once or twice a month our massage business gets a call from some weirdo/chauvinist/pervert. How does one get tagged with the label “weirdo/chauvinist/pervert?” Well, one calls the front desk of a massage business and asks about booking a massage and wants to know more about what kinds of massage we … Continue reading 1-800-NO-PERVERTS
Bet you thought nothing could smell worse than burnt microwave popcorn. You know, so did I . . . until last week when one of our therapists set a paper towel on fire. It was unbelievably nasty. And that was on top of all the industrial fire alarms in our strip going off, the fire … Continue reading Sucking Up Bad Smells