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Posts Tagged ‘school of massage’

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14 random things I’ve learned since leaving massage school : #13

In Massage, Uncategorized on April 7, 2016 at 3:53 PM

(March 15th marked 14 years since my first day of massage school out in Port Townsend, WA. I spent a little time reflecting on what I’ve learned from having my hands on countless bodies of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of health over the years.  In random order here are some of my observations and things I wish my clients knew.)

#13  Our bodies are designed to move.

We have the opportunity to live mainly sedentary lifestyles now a days. Sitting in front of computers all day at work, then phones, laptops and TV’s at night means we never have to physically engage or challenge our bodies. We weren’t meant to be inactive.

Here are a few benefits of moving more, taken from the ACE Fitness website: lower blood pressure; better control of body fat; improved immune function; increased muscle strength; increased flexibility; improved mental functioning; higher quality of sleep.  Some of the consequences of inactivity? Loss of bone density; stiff joints; weak muscles; weakening of heart & lungs; degeneration of the cellular energy systems.

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I see lots of “holding patterns” in my practice. Limited range of motion in joints because they are rarely moved or stretched. Shoulders curved forward and curvature in the cervical spine from endless hours of sitting all day. Our fascia, especially if we are dehydrated, will tighten and sort of hold us into place if we are always in familiar movement patterns.

Self-care is vital. While you are making strides to take better care of you and increase your daily movement – take time now for bite sized changes.  Once an hour stand up at your desk and stretch in any way opposite of what you do all day. If your hands are palm down typing, put them palm up, and gently stretch your fingers towards your elbow with your opposite hand. Shoulders always hunched forward? Clasp your hands behind your back to open up the chest and round the shoulders back. Walk to get a drink of water. Just little one minute “snacks of self-care” can really add up.

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14 things I’ve learned since leaving massage school : #12

In Massage, Uncategorized on March 31, 2016 at 11:26 AM

(March 15th marked 14 years since my first day of massage school out in Port Townsend, WA. I spent a little time reflecting on what I’ve learned from having my hands on countless bodies of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of health over the years.  In random order here are some of my observations and things I wish my clients knew.)

#12  Massage Music-LESS Mondays

You know the campaign that’s been floating around for years now to get people to add more plant based meals into their diet? Meatless Monday. Well, the studio is closed on Mondays and I’ve taken the pledge to always have “massage music-less Mondays”.

Don’t get me wrong. Massage music is beautiful and soothing and an important tool in helping to create an environment that encourages relaxation. And, every once in a while I hit my limit of hearing ocean waves crashing, or bells ringing and flutes fluting. There was a time period about 4 years into my massage practice when I played anything but massage music for anyone who would let me. We did a lot stuff like Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. Several clients made me ‘mix tapes’ of their favorite music to unwind to and we’d play that during their sessions.

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Help us massage therapists get out of our massage music blues and bring in something you’d like to listen to. We’ll appreciate the variety and you may even let go more easily listening to something you can connect with.

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14 things I’ve learned since leaving massage school : #11

In Massage, Uncategorized on March 30, 2016 at 2:58 PM

(March 15th marked 14 years since my first day of massage school out in Port Townsend, WA. I spent a little time reflecting on what I’ve learned from having my hands on countless bodies of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of health over the years.  In random order here are some of my observations and things I wish my clients knew.)

#11  Our bodies are always seeking balance.

Our bodies are equipped to heal themselves.  They are always seeking homeostasis. They are amazing!!

The Merriam-Webster definition of homeostasis: a relatively stable state of equilibrium or a tendency toward such a state between the different but interdependent elements or groups of elements of an organism, population, or group

Put more simply via biology4kids.com: All of your body’s systems work together to maintain homeostasis inside of your body. Homeostasis is achieved by making sure the temperature, pH (acidity), and oxygen levels (and many other factors) are set just right for your cells to survive.

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We had a fun hydrotherapy teacher in massage school who encouraged us to experiment and test ways to naturally heal ourselves using water and the bodies quest for homeostasis. One of my favorite techniques was using ice cold water to relieve a headache. There are many different types of headaches and this won’t work for everyone – but it’s worked for me when nothing else has brought relief.

When you feel a headache coming on put your hands in ice cold water for as long as you can. While your hands are in the water you can open and close your fists. The cold narrows dilated blood vessels. When you take your hands out of the water your body is going to naturally rush blood to that area to warm it [striving for homeostasis] and therefor relieve some of the pressure in your head. At least that’s my understanding of it. All I know is my body is wise and it can naturally heal itself when I do things to support it.

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14 things I’ve learned since leaving massage school : #10

In Massage, Uncategorized on March 29, 2016 at 5:09 PM

(March 15th marked 14 years since my first day of massage school out in Port Townsend, WA. I spent a little time reflecting on what I’ve learned from having my hands on countless bodies of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of health over the years.  In random order here are some of my observations and things I wish my clients knew.)

#10 Every body has a story …

… and we are all seeking love and acceptance.

Please don’t apologize for anything about yourself.

We’ve all had twists and turns in our lives. We’ve given birth; broken a leg skiing; danced at a wedding. We’ve comforted someone with a hug; ran a marathon; tripped while walking off a curb. We’ve gained weight and lost weight. Dyed our greys and tried to minimize wrinkles. We’ve survived the loss of loved ones.

Our amazing, miraculous bodies have carried us through every step of the journey.

People express a lot of their fears before getting on the table. Reasons they believe they do not deserve a massage. They worry they are too overweight; too tense; too sensitive. They forget to shave their legs and feel embarrassed. They apologize for scars and tension and varicose veins.

We, as massage therapists, are not judging you. We are applauding you for being brave enough to take care of yourself.

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One client spent a good 15 minutes before & then during their massage session telling me all the things they believed were unacceptable about their body. They were concerned about being overweight, worried about some holding patterns in their body that they hadn’t been able to release for years, ashamed of some visible scars, uncomfortable with some damage in their feet, etc.

As we continued to do bodywork my intention was to witness them, hoping to create a safe, accepting space for them to be in.  They shared some of their story with me. They had suffered and been abused greatly in their childhood. I don’t want to share details even anonymously as it is not my story to tell. What I do want to share is how much immense respect and compassion I felt for this person. I was awed and stunned to hear about what they had gone through and to know them in the present as a kind, big hearted person. They were angry at their body for being ‘deformed’ and in pain. As I heard the stories of what happened I knew their body had done everything it could to protect them and help them survive.  They seemed to look at themselves as being all used up and of no value. I saw them as a walking miracle. A person deserving all the kindness, love and compassion the world has to offer.

My hope is that one day they will see how amazing they are. And that they will stop being angry with their body and start lavishing it/themselves with kindness. Every body has a story and they all deserve to be honored.

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14 things I’ve learned since leaving massage school : #7

In Massage, self care, Uncategorized on March 24, 2016 at 2:14 PM

(March 15th marked 14 years since my first day of massage school out in Port Townsend, WA. I spent a little time reflecting on what I’ve learned from having my hands on countless bodies of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of health over the years.  In random order here are some of my observations and things I wish my clients knew.)

#7  Pressure is subjective

A common question I’ll ask a new client is “What kind of pressure do you like?” Then I’ll remind them that pressure is subjective and ask them to communicate with me throughout their session if anything is too deep or too light.

I have an idea of what a light amount of pressure feels like from my perspective as the giver [about 4 pound of pressure] and let my clients preference guide me in regards to how much deeper to go. The challenge is, we all live in our bodies differently. Some of us are sensitive and others have high pain tolerance levels. Some of us think we need pain in order to heal and other people think gentle prodding works better. Occasionally people are so checked out from their bodies that they don’t feel much of anything at all.

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A regular client I had asked for moderate to light pressure.  As we worked together I quickly learned that what I thought of as extremely light pressure felt very deep to them. They came to see me every two weeks. Each time I backed off the pressure more, trying to find their sweet spot. They joked around that they felt like my Goldilocks client. During one session I had backed off so much that I felt like I wasn’t massaging them at all.  I didn’t believe it would be possible to use less pressure. As I gently used my thumb to work on the upper part of the Trapezius they burst out laughing and said, “Oh great … here comes that thumb again. It feels like you’re trying to reach down from the top of my shoulder to the bottom of my scapula and just wrestle a knot right out of me …”

We both laughed for the next 5 minutes of the session. I actually believe that the laughter was a release of a holding pattern for them because afterwards the same amount of pressure didn’t cause as much discomfort.

Please know that it’s your body, your massage session and your right [and responsibility] to let us know what’s going on for you. We do our best to honor what you’ve asked for, and every once in a while you may have to bust out a ‘back off sister’ or ‘I could use more pressure there’ because we don’t know what it’s like to live in your body.

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14 things I’ve learned since leaving massage school : #6

In CT, Manchester, Massage, self care, Uncategorized on March 23, 2016 at 12:05 PM

(March 15th marked 14 years since my first day of massage school out in Port Townsend, WA. I spent a little time reflecting on what I’ve learned from having my hands on countless bodies of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of health over the years.  In random order here are some of my observations and things I wish my clients knew.)

#6  I am not a masseuse.

OK well technically, semantically, I am.

Dictionary.com defines masseuse as: “A woman who provides massage as a profession or occupation.”

What some people think masseuse means is better defined by UrbanDictionary.com:

“Generally considered to be a woman who practices massage therapy, however this is a misnomer. A masseuse is a woman who practices massage and has none of the western medical training and is not licensed and may be associated with prostitution. In most states this is illegal.”

Even though I know that it’s likely that most people mean no harm when using the term, I cringe whenever I hear it. I’m not sure if other licensed massage therapists feel this way or if it’s just one of those things I’m sensitive to. Unfortunately, over the course of my career, I’ve had one too many people ask me if a “happy ending massage” was an option, for me to let a word slide by that may be encouraging that kind of mentality. I’ve received repeated offensive phone calls. A few times it’s been necessary to “fire” my clients when their behavior has crossed a line that has made me feel unsafe.

This could be you...

It has been disheartening over the years to have to wonder if that potential new client on the phone is really understanding what a professional therapeutic massage is. My massage school was 17 months long. It included 650 hours of in class instruction and a tremendous amount of out of class time spent not only studying but giving massage to friends / family members in turn for their critique / review which was handed in and reviewed by the school. I had to pass an exam in the state of WA, where I went to school, and in CT so that I could become nationally certified as a Licensed Massage Therapist. In order to maintain my license and insurance I am required to continue my schooling every year, taking continuing education classes on different massage modalities.

I may be a bit sensitive to the way the word masseuse can be used to imply services that are illegal. It may be just because I’ve had some uncomfortable experiences with people. I’m curious to know what you think. Have you ever heard someone mention a masseuse with a wink and a smile? Did you laugh? Feel uncomfortable? Maybe I need to rethink this word that makes me cringe … or maybe it’s cool that I ask you to refer to me as your Massage Therapist.

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