Client Interaction

A client posed an interesting question to me today; she asked if I thought that a person should be quiet during their massage in order to get the full benefit of it....in order to really experience their body. I surprised myself when my response to her was no. Because, technically, yes. No? If you are talking, you are not breathing. If you are not breathing you cannot possibly be focusing your breath into your body. If you are not focusing on your body, you cannot be fully experiencing it.

This is no instruction manual folks. I need opinions here.

But, I said no. Logic=it depends on why you are receiving massage. It depends on if you are chatting to ignore what is going on or in response to it. This particular client is chatty. No problem to me, I do not care either way. I do not encourage talking but I will be attentive and responsive to those who choose to talk during their session. Anyway, she chats. She needs to chat. For her massage brings up thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Emotions are stored in tissue and therapists often stir them during a session and then experience the result of the clients new state. Accessing tissue generally calls for a release of some sort. Often we ask people to breath. Some people curse or laugh or hum instead. Some people talk. I realized that as she asked me that question. I realized I accepted it as a valid form of release no more detrimental to the session than laughing or crying in her case. Whatever I rub out of her hamstrings goes zipping up to her brain and demands contemplation. She happens to think out loud.

Politics

And now a message from Al......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idlJDcr669o

If only it were easier to get the entire population of a continent actively working towards the same goal. I have seen a lot of people naked--physically and metaphorically--and we really are NOT all the same. Which is probably a good thing.

Timing

My absolute biggest annoyance is being late. I hate being late. I show up to movies 30 minutes early and sit through the horrible commercials. I am 20 minutes early to every doctors appointment. I am first person at the party.
One of the hardest things to get used to after becoming a massage therapist was the fact that most of the rest of the world is five minutes late. Always. Client simply are not on time and when your entire day is established around defined time blocks this can be a bit upsetting. For me. I am, however, learning to be more relaxed. (in part due to the internal clock of my girlfriend) After five years, I am okay with that. I don't even think of calling people until they are 15 (!gasp!) minutes late.
There is nothing worse than a stressed out massage therapist.

Starting a Massage Practice

Still on the topic of jobs; I have a massage therapist friend who just became a massage therapist early this year, found her first spa, had her first bad experience working for someone else, and is now in search of a new job location. We were discussing her options for growing her own little practice and all of the ups and downs that come with that. She and I both have attained business licenses and run our little side business in order to maintain monetary stability. As well as for fun. The hard part about having/starting your own business is all of the costs! After you become a massage therapist you are already in debt from the cost of school and now you must find yourself in the Home section of Kmart (only store were decent single twin sized sheets could be bought for less than the price of your left arm) calculating how much money is coming out of your account to cover 12 sheets, 6 pillow cases, and 2 throw blankets. Oy. Honestly, you could venture to the nearest massage supply store but I have found that they tend to charge way too much money for a single sheet/face cradle cover. Sheet from Kmart=$7. Sheet from massage supply store= $14. I hate Kmart. I hate their stores, I hate their business practices, I hate what their very presence stands for and I drove to every store that sold sheets in a 15 mile radius and had to break down and give them my money because it was either that or tighten up my $20 a week food budget. If anyone out there knows a better place to buy sheets, help a woman out!
So, if that does not sound horrific enough, we have yet to discuss the price of a table, business cards, work space, cloths, music, music player, cleaning supplies, gift certificate printing, lotion/oil, etc. I think the best way to go about these things is to start buying them while in school. Save up for one item at a time, take advantage of sales, and buy in bulk. Also, craigslist.
So, now you have all this stuff and......you need clients. Starting your own practice alone is hard, slow, constant work. As I have said, join massage association groups, sports massage teams, volunteer. Whatever you can do to get your hands on bodies. I think every single massage instructor I had told me to get my hands on as many bodies as possible. At this point we are talking probabilities and it is better to have a higher denominator, it improves your chances of a growing numerator. I started out as a fill in for a therapist who already had a thriving practice. I took overflow clients from her which worked out great. She was still able to help people who called her business even when she was personally unavailable and I got to get my hands on bodies. My deal was unusual, I think, but the outcome of having cheaper rent and more flexibility can be achieved by renting a work space with a fellow (perhaps established) therapist. This cuts your cost and provides a stable location from which to begin.
There are so many ways in which to begin your own practice that it really depends on what you personally are interested in doing. I have friends who have turned their mother-in-law house into fantastic massage office and does quite well. I decided I liked the support of a clinic. My, now seeking, therapist friend is in the midst of working all of this out for herself. Just as it should be.

Bark

So, I have been dog sitting. Some people say that a Massage Therapist cannot support him or her self entirely on massage. This is circumstantial. Many therapists keep their current job while they build their practice, how good a job they do building the practice will determine how long the day job sticks around. When I became all licensed I was living in a groups situation, single, not in school= plenty of time on my hands. I kept my day job as a part time gig because I liked it so much and accidentally started a little dog sitting business on the side. Note: if you dog sit for someone and you do a good job, they WILL tell ALL of their dog owning friends and those friends WILL call you. In the end, I was working three jobs. Its like I was saving to go back to school or something......
The point is, if you truly focus on building your massage practice, by working in a salon or clinic that is doing well, networking like crazy, getting involved in the massage community, etc. You can do massage and only massage and pay all of your bills. The dogs, however, are harder to get rid of than the day job. I have little to no internet while staying with Dog and have managed to catch a cold. Thus, my absence.
I am going to climb back onto the couch now and continue to prepare for a Spanish exam.
Hasta Tarde!