Chances are, if you’ve been practicing massage for a while, you are a skilled, effective, and caring practitioner and that you put yourself forward as such with a professional demeanor and appearance. But what about your massage room? Have you ever wondered what it says to your clients about you? Try doing this quick audit the … Continue reading What Your Massage Room Says About You
Many massage therapists worry about providing pleasant service, but clients can be more nervous than we are. After all, it can feel very vulnerable, lying there disrobed on a table for an hour, having a therapist working hard on them. Some clients even worry that they’re somehow inconveniencing or overworking their therapist. This concern comes out in questions … Continue reading Building Connections with Massage Clients
Every field has its own language or lingo, and massage is no different. We all know about the importance of genuinely inviting feedback during massage. You can further connect with and engage your clients by empowering them with the appropriate vocabulary to comfortably and confidently give you actionable feedback. Shared vocabulary is what makes communication work. Rather than … Continue reading Effective Communication with Your Massage Clients
Before a massage session begins, it’s not uncommon for a massage therapist to palpate their client to get a feel for the quality of their muscle tissue and where to focus their treatment. This allows the therapist to understand what techniques to use and perhaps get an indication of the underlying problem. However, palpating without also engaging the … Continue reading Palpating and Communicating with the Client
All massage therapists know that we prefer our clients to speak up during a massage if anything feels uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the necessity of this message leads us to repeat ourselves so often on this score that, if we’re not careful, the discussion about feedback becomes rote, almost robotic, as in: “by-the-way-if-anythhing-doesn’t-feel-right-please-let-me-know.” The trouble is that when we sound … Continue reading Genuinely Inviting Feedback
One of my pet peeves, as someone who receives massage regularly, is getting what I call “the wrong massage.” That’s when you’re there on the table, being worked on, but you don’t get the work you need. You know what I mean, like when you want full body, but instead get work on just your … Continue reading Delivering the Right Massage for the Clients’ True Goals
Communication is key between massage therapists and their client, both before the session and while the client is on the table. Despite great technique delivered with care, it’s not unheard of for a client to feel like the therapist almost addressed their primary complaint, but they would have liked a little more work on the … Continue reading Simple Question to Add to Your Massage Session
Those who do therapeutic massage are well aware of the statistics in the field. Burnout is a huge problem amongst therapists. What I have often heard from people is that massage is too hard to do enough of it to be secure financially and take care of one’s personal needs as well. I’ve also heard … Continue reading Flames Climb Higher Than Hands
Food in the massage room is a delicate subject. No doubt it is needed. Massage therapists burn off some energy providing treatments to clients. Those who hop off the table rejuvenated often look for a little something in addition to cool water. But what is appropriate? Some of us squint in horror of sugar in the … Continue reading LMP Etiquette – Is offering food to clients a good idea?
We massage therapists love our helpers, be they oils, warm stones or essential oils. Lately I’ve come to totally enjoy something I at first thought would be a bust. Massage on silk is a method of gliding the hands across skin or clothes without the use of oil. Silks provide glide, like oil, but without … Continue reading Have you tried giving a massage using silk instead of oil?