Sometimes the best relief on a massage table is nice, firm Swedish efleurage. And with some clients, a quip is the best way to break the tension. This is my homage to Mad Magazine’s Snappy Answers to – Massage — Questions… Question: Been doing massage long? Snappy Answers: You’re my first. Ever since the parole […]
There is a time in every massage when the therapist begins to rub the posterior neck. For many of our computer-burdened clients, it presents an opportunity to relieve the congestion of technology. The head is supported by these many muscles, embedded with many layers, often adhesed, and near the source of many functions from sleep […]
Massage therapists like to think we help people deal with stress, injuries and fatigue. But how do we know we help? Massage is, after all one-on-one. We are stars or idiots one hour at a time, and we often don’t take much credit for our clients’ successes or failures. Is a massage therapist a facilitator […]
A massage therapist’s toolbox is crowd with all kinds of fancy techniques to address troubles in the body. Yet one of the most effective techniques one can use to release tension is to say something. Just a little something to put the client at ease. A small joke is letting clients know your empathy for […]
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 […]
It’s a great compliment to a massage therapist when the person receiving falls asleep during a session. Those little zzz’s say trust, relief, serenity and healing. And for this massage therapist, it most often happens during the Swedish portion of the treatment, when long flowing strokes push dream-like consciousness over the line into sleep. So […]
Massage as therapy can be pretty basic. Therapists compress and glide along major muscle groups in the direction of the heart. The effort requires skill and practice. It reduces tension and boosts circulation of blood, taking some load off the heart. That kind of therapy is refreshing and soothing. But what about the spots that […]
I always like to check in with new clients on their goals for massage. Do they want to improve sleep, performance, reduce aches, release stress, etc. I like to give people a few choices on my intake, plus the opportunity to mark “all of the above.” Lots of “aota’s” later, I have come to see […]
At this time in my massage therapy career, I think I have got the whole stress thing down. Then something pops up that tells me: HA! Yes, HA! A very karmic and cosmic and pulse-wave HA! My family and i have been living in a hotel for nearly a month following flooding at my home. A […]
I was enjoying the evening air, checking the massage therapy schedule book to review next week’s bookings when my 90-year-old mother-in-law asked for help. Help? I dashed in from the patio and stared. A little tsunami of water was spreading down the hallway into the living room, and all the bedrooms. Oh, and it was […]