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.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, July 18, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, July 7, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Physical Therapist...for a day
Because my life simply must be full up to every minute, I have decided to spend every Monday of this summer following a Physical Therapist around. This PT is my boss which makes it easy because we already know each other and have a good working relationship. I see her work all the time, no big deal. Following her around all day is another matter entirely.
In order to even apply to Physical Therapy School you must have between 100 and 200 hours of observation/experience in various physical therapy settings. Great logic; how bout ya'll see what you are looking to get into, eh? I respect that. Many of the PT's I have spoken with say that they got into their career partly because they did not want to sit at a desk all day. Prayer's answered. We hardly sat down all day. PT's seem to spend 30-45min with each patient they have. Divide 7-10 hour days by that and that equals a lot of folks. There are no breaks between these people either. Watching my boss walk out of one room after asking her patient how their god-child is doing and into another room to ask how her new patients knee is doing, without stopping to breath is pretty freaking amazing. People skills people skills people skills. PT's may see 10-16 people a day and it is imperative they be able to remember each person's treatment plan and the names of their four dogs. If they are good, they will also know the breeds.
Do not get me wrong, a good grasp on anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, kinesiology, and psychology comes in handy. A PT seems to integrate all of these Ologies at the drop of a knee brace. To start the day, charts are reviewed and coffee is had. We then spent the next 5.5 hours moving from patient to patient. This is made possible by the aids who greet patients and warm them up so that all the PT does is stream into the room once they are prepped. Following that we took an hour lunch. This is a great time to catch up on charts. As a massage therapist, I book myself enough time to do my charts between clients. I may have to let go of this luxury, it seems. The afternoon looked much like the morning, except I cut out early so that I could study for a Genome exam.
This is what my Monday's will look like for the next two months. Updates sure to follow.
In order to even apply to Physical Therapy School you must have between 100 and 200 hours of observation/experience in various physical therapy settings. Great logic; how bout ya'll see what you are looking to get into, eh? I respect that. Many of the PT's I have spoken with say that they got into their career partly because they did not want to sit at a desk all day. Prayer's answered. We hardly sat down all day. PT's seem to spend 30-45min with each patient they have. Divide 7-10 hour days by that and that equals a lot of folks. There are no breaks between these people either. Watching my boss walk out of one room after asking her patient how their god-child is doing and into another room to ask how her new patients knee is doing, without stopping to breath is pretty freaking amazing. People skills people skills people skills. PT's may see 10-16 people a day and it is imperative they be able to remember each person's treatment plan and the names of their four dogs. If they are good, they will also know the breeds.
Do not get me wrong, a good grasp on anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, kinesiology, and psychology comes in handy. A PT seems to integrate all of these Ologies at the drop of a knee brace. To start the day, charts are reviewed and coffee is had. We then spent the next 5.5 hours moving from patient to patient. This is made possible by the aids who greet patients and warm them up so that all the PT does is stream into the room once they are prepped. Following that we took an hour lunch. This is a great time to catch up on charts. As a massage therapist, I book myself enough time to do my charts between clients. I may have to let go of this luxury, it seems. The afternoon looked much like the morning, except I cut out early so that I could study for a Genome exam.
This is what my Monday's will look like for the next two months. Updates sure to follow.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Physical Therapy Training Requires Spanish
My break from school has officially ended. It was a whole week long, and trust me, that can be a lot when you do school and work year round. My sister flew into town for a visit and managed to use up most of my time. She is the next youngest of my sisters and the one I am the closest to. We grew up to be two incredibly different women. She embraces that whole feminine persona much better than I do and grilled me about whether or not I have lotion, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and a blow dryer in the house; otherwise, she was not coming! Toothpaste? Seriously? If my sister wonders these things about me I fear what my family twice that far away may think of me. Once assured I did have all of life's necessities in my bathroom she jumped on a plane and we spent the week laughing the way sisters do when they are together and remembering each others childhoods.
For the summer I am taking both Spanish and Genome Sciences. Neither of these classes is directly required to gain entrance to PT (physical therapy) school, however an undergraduate degree is. Most universities like to demand that one year of a foreign language* during their undergraduate programs.
[*Which, in my opinion, is entirely for show. Not a single person gets off taking one year of a foreign language in college and leaves knowing how to use it. Unless you have already studied a language, chances are you will begin and end a monolingual individual. If they want us to leave the higher educations knowing more than one language, they should start teaching us in elementary school. Oy.]
Thus, here I am. I actually like Spanish and do not mind spending my summer polishing it up. Because I did not know what I wanted to do with myself when I left high school, I did not see the point in going all the way through college with no goal. It has been a while since I took Spanish. Once I figured out I wanted to go to Physical Therapy School I knew I was looking at a long road. I still needed to finish my undergraduate degree. Sometimes I kick myself for not just finishing college the first time. Then I realize that if I had I would be very good at stage lighting and know absolutely nothing you need to know to get into PT school. I would still be here--but I would have even less money. See, it all works out.
For the summer I am taking both Spanish and Genome Sciences. Neither of these classes is directly required to gain entrance to PT (physical therapy) school, however an undergraduate degree is. Most universities like to demand that one year of a foreign language* during their undergraduate programs.
[*Which, in my opinion, is entirely for show. Not a single person gets off taking one year of a foreign language in college and leaves knowing how to use it. Unless you have already studied a language, chances are you will begin and end a monolingual individual. If they want us to leave the higher educations knowing more than one language, they should start teaching us in elementary school. Oy.]
Thus, here I am. I actually like Spanish and do not mind spending my summer polishing it up. Because I did not know what I wanted to do with myself when I left high school, I did not see the point in going all the way through college with no goal. It has been a while since I took Spanish. Once I figured out I wanted to go to Physical Therapy School I knew I was looking at a long road. I still needed to finish my undergraduate degree. Sometimes I kick myself for not just finishing college the first time. Then I realize that if I had I would be very good at stage lighting and know absolutely nothing you need to know to get into PT school. I would still be here--but I would have even less money. See, it all works out.
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