Category Archives: Tidbits from the Massage Mamma

The Cultivation of Mindfulness and Presence in the Practice of Massage Therapy

07 Saturday Dec 2013

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The intention of this article is to help massage therapists understand Mindfulness, and to encourage the cultivation of Mindfulness in order to improve their relationships to themselves, their clients, and subsequently enjoy more success in their massage therapy practice.

I recently shared “(more than) 100 Reasons to Ditch your Massage Therapist” and many massage therapists responded that I was implying that to be a successful massage therapist you must be as close to flawless in the delivery of the work as possible. That is EXACTLY what I was suggesting. The response to the article dictated the impulse for this one. Mindfulness and presence during your massage will naturally eliminate the lion’s share of the complaints on that list. Practicing proper hygiene will take care of the rest.

When introducing and discussing Mindfulness, we have to turn to the nature of the brain. This organ is essentially running your life, and many don’t realize that if you try, you can have limited control over the behavior of the mind, and by doing this improve every aspect of your life.

To gain the most from this article, I feel it is important that you understand my background.  I am not a psychologist, psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, or even a counselor. I have no university education in anything psychology based. I have been a practicing massage therapist for 23 years. I am the Founder and Director of the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy, and curriculum designer. I also mentor a few hundred bodyworkers.

I have been deliberately paying attention to, and trying to change the nature of my own mind since I was 16 years old. I have dabbled in many different types of meditation sporadically, and with varying discipline and results. I’m not an expert on the deeply complex potentialities in the realm of mind-body medicine, mindfulness and meditation. At this point, 30+ years into my curiosity, I am positive I have very little control over my mind. I believe this is normal, and that all of us are at least a little bit crazy due to the unbridled nature of the brain at this stage in our evolution and how chemically unstable we are. I believe I have had very brief encounters with total Mindfulness or “empty mind”.

I have explored many different types of meditation including the 10 day/100 hours of sitting meditation Vipasanna Retreat. The only experiences in my life which topped that would be falling in love with my husband and having a baby. I also describe that retreat as Meditation Prison because it was extremely challenging, and forced me to stretch far beyond my limited beliefs and explore my perception of reality. I highly recommend it!

Another non-meditative experience that puts me in a position to have some deeper knowledge of my brain is the fact that I have been living with a traumatic brain injury since 1995. This experience has profoundly enriched my life and my understanding of the nature of my own mind, and my work as a massage therapist, entrepreneur and educator.

I now teach a form of deep tissue massage called Mindful Expressionism to my advanced students which is simply the cultivation of mindfulness, the use of fluid body mechanics, and fearless creative self-expression to produce the exquisite execution of whatever type of bodywork will best serve the client, from moment to moment, from the lightest to the deepest work.

The students and I observe the nature of the mind a lot through a meditation practice so we can understand that the chaos is there, and we work specifically with examining conditioned and limiting thought patterns that are holding us back from meeting our potential. We do exercises to try to break those patterns that are not serving our personal or professional goals.  We do this by watching our mind, and exploring beyond our comfort zone in order to challenge the limited and conditioned beliefs we have about ourselves, the value of our work, and our technique. We examine how limited beliefs determine where growth stops for us as human beings, who happen to be Massage Therapists.

Meditation is, on a fundamental level, complete focus in the moment known as NOW, on any specific thing that holds your attention in the ever-moving NOW. I’ve been unintentionally meditating since I was 4 years old when I was placed on a piano bench to learn how to play classical music. If you believe you have never meditated before, I am here to challenge that belief and inform you that you have been dabbling in meditation for your entire life. When you played music, decorated a cookie, or built with logos’.  With intentional redundancy, Meditation is, on a fundamental level, complete focus in the moment known as NOW on any specific thing that holds your attention in the ever-moving NOW. If my definition is spot-on, then it is my opinion that every massage can be a meditation for the therapist. Mindfulness is the result of successful meditation.

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

Any of these definitions work…pick the one you like best!

  • Observing the nature of the mind
  • Attempting to be conscious of the minds behavior
  • Watching your thoughts and ultimately cultivating the ability to select your thoughts
  • Being as vigilant as possible over the chaos of the mind.

I learned at Vipassa from Mr. S. N. Goenka that “the mind is like a herd of wild elephants”. I have also heard the nature of the mind described as “monkey mind” which a monk attributed to the mind being like a bunch of monkeys screeching and throwing poop at you. When you start to watch the nature of your mind, you will see that both of these analogies are frequently true. I have taught my students that if the mind was a super computer, it’s been downloading every moment of every day of your life since you were born for good and for bad. We download great knowledge, Information, and memories as well as “viruses” which plague the functionality of our lives, and effect our relationships to ourselves and our perception of the world outside of us. When I say “virus”, what I am alluding to is negative and limiting beliefs about oneself and the world around them.

We have negative beliefs in our mind which have an adverse impact on our quality of life, much like our musculoskeletal system has holding patterns in soft tissue, which result in holistic (mental-physical-emotional) pain and dysfunction. It is also clear, that if one is not practicing mindfulness, unconscious ways of thinking lead to unconscious ways of behaving which can have a negative impact on the way we are responding to life.

What does ANY of this have to do with Massage Therapy and your success? It’s rather simple. If you are giving a massage and thinking about the ingredients for the meatloaf you are going to make tonight, or how your boyfriend and you are not getting along, you will make mistakes. I don’t know why this is so, but your client CAN feel when you are not present. I know this because I have been that client more times than I want to count. I’m sure there are some research scientists who can help us out with some evidence to back this up.

WHY DO WE CHECK OUT?

Why are we not truly present?

  • Trauma: History of emotional, mental or physical trauma can make it too painful to be present.
  • Coping: Seeking to minimize or tolerate stress or conflict.
  • Sensory Overload: One or more of the body’s senses experiences over-stimulation from the environment.
  • Normal Stress of life
  • Exhaustion
  • Compromised Health resulting in weakness, discomfort or pain
  • Mental or Emotional Dis-Ease
  • Dissatisfaction with the present situation, and fantasy about the future.
  • Guilt or resentment from the past.

SHOWING UP!

How can we cultivate Mindfulness and presence to improve the quality of our lives?

  • Meditation – Here are some different ways to meditate that resonate with all different personality types.
    • Walking meditation – use the experience of walking as your focus.
    • Gardening
    • Animal Husbandry
    • Taking a Bath with candles and essential oils – quiet the mind and focus on your breath
    • Getting a Massage – quiet the mind and focus on the touch.
    • Creating Art – pottery, painting, drawing, candy making
    • Being in Nature – go breathe and listen to the birds.
    • Playing or listening intently to Music
    • Quiet Meditations – sitting and breathing while dismissing the chatter of the mind.
    • Guided Meditation – Listening to a guided visualization
    • Chanting Meditation – the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds
    • Singing
    • Yoga

There is an incredible amount of information available on the internet regarding meditation and the cultivation of mindfulness. Try some!

  • The Basket – This basket is an imaginary basket that I use to teach my student. It sits outside of the massage room where the therapist dumps any and all of their problems, worry and drama before entering the treatment room.
  • Centering, Focus and Grounding – Another method I teach my students. Before a therapist touches anyone they ground their body through visualization, check in on how they are feeling emotionally, and make sure their mental attention is ready for the work.  The therapist should be in total alignment with the intention of the massage which is to successfully provide compassionate professional touch in whatever way will best serve the client’s needs.
  • Examining Prejudices – This is an important exercise to do before you ever become a massage therapist. Do an inventory of your prejudices (we all have them), and do whatever is necessary to reconcile these, even if that requires professional help.
  • Examining your relationship to your own body – This is an important journey you must go through before you become a massage therapist. Do a personal inventory regarding your feelings for your own physical body, and do whatever is necessary to get through and over any issues you have, even if that requires professional support.
  • Reconciling Trauma – This is an important journey a person must go through before they become a massage therapist. Do a historical inventory of your life, and do whatever is necessary to reconcile yourself to your story of the trauma you have experienced, even if this requires professional assistance. We must not leave any stones unturned that could end up in projection or counter-transference with our clients.

A HEALTHY BRAIN LEADS TO A HAPPY LIFE! 

Mindful thinking is but one way to improve your relationship to life through the brain.

Everything listed below (and more) will determine the healthy functioning of your brain, which will determine how you respond to life.

  • Chemistry Management from the dietary perspective: Yeast, Sugar, Alcohol, Caffeine, Allergens, Preservatives, Pollutants and Pesticides built up or out of balance in your system can impact your chemistry and determine how you are reacting to life. If anyone has been around kids at Halloween, Christmas or a birthday party…you know what I’m talking about. See a nutritionist if you feel emotional/mental imbalances could be a result of your reaction to certain foods/substances.
  • Hormone imbalance: See an expert.
  • Exercise: People who exercise daily are happier, and sleep better.
  • Breathe: Breathing oxygenates your blood and serves all organ function. Shallow breathing can have a very negative impact on a person’s overall well-being.
  • Water:  Hydration is critical to proper organ function. It has been estimated that 75% of adults living in the USA are chronically dehydrated. Drink Water Now.
  • Life Balance: Being a workaholic and/or perfectionist takes its toll, and can lead to increased stress and exhaustion which can result in mental and emotional dysfunction and physical disease.
  • Sleep: The brain needs to rest and the body needs to recharge.

MINDFULNESS AND YOUR MASSAGE THERAPY PRACTICE

How will the cultivation of mindfulness improve your massage therapy practice?

When you “show up” to do the work of massage therapy from a clear and present perspective, you can easily build strong rapport and tune into what the client wants, and regularly adjust your work to professionally meet the client’s needs from moment to moment.

For example:

  • If you are going too deep, and the client has a wrinkled brow, tenses or begins to breathe more heavily, if you are present, you will be aware of this, and respond by checking in with them on depth.
  • If you are aware of and work through your prejudices, you will be less likely to judge the client based on how they look, their body, or what culture or religion, sexual orientation they come from, and thus will not project your prejudices into your work which the client may sense.
  • If you have reconciled your trauma from your past, you will not unconsciously project your trauma into your session with your client.  e.g. working with a client who wears the same cologne as your mean alcoholic uncle which could unconsciously trigger you.
  • If you are aware of any issues you have with your own body and have reconciled those, you will not avoid working on those areas with your clients. e.g. Avoiding working on the hips or the abdomen region because you don’t enjoy receiving work there. This is the projection of your preferences onto your client.
  • If you are present and aware, you will not inadvertently do a sloppy drape, drag your hair across the clients back, and forget to use hand sanitizer after you sneeze.
  • If you are being mindful during your massage, you can dismiss negative thoughts like “I’m not doing my best work right now”, “I’m nervous”, “I don’t have enough time” etc. which for whatever reason can be picked up by the client as lack of confidence or being rushed.
  • If you leave your troubles of the past and the future out of the room, and are mindful of the massage, then you can focus intently on the work and pick up on more subtle deviations in texture of soft tissue and hone in on areas that can use more attention which will make the client very happy.

In the end, being present/mindful, and coming from a clear and healthy mental and emotional place can enhance and improve the quality of the work you are doing exponentially, resulting in happy clients who are loyal and return to you time and time again.

What could be better than that?

(more than) 100 Reasons to Ditch Your Massage Therapist

01 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Tidbits from the Massage Mamma

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???????????????????????????????In my practice from 1990 to 2008, I served hundreds of clients, thousands of massages. Every new client I saw completed an intake form and I conducted an interview in order to know how best to serve them. This intake process should be a standard practice for every legitimate massage therapist. One of the questions on my intake form states “when was your last massage”. During the interview, I often asked my clients “would you be willing to share with me why it did not work out with your last therapist so I can be sure not to duplicate that experience?”  This list is a compilation of what I have heard over the years.

Everything on this list either happened to a client of mine, a student of mine, or to me. Some of the infractions are extremely rare and completely awful, even resulting in therapists being reported. Some of the infractions I have heard dozens of times and are of a more subtle nature. Still, no matter what you think about the individual items on this list, these are reasons people have continued to look for another massage therapist to replace the one they worked with before. As an educator, a massage therapy expert and passionista, I know and I teach that when a client is on a table, all of their senses are cranked up to a much higher level of sensitivity.  This is what makes some of these minor mistakes more upsetting to the client. When a client makes themselves completely vulnerable by offering the therapist the privilege to work with them, we, the therapists, must be on our A-Game at all times, providing nurturing, ethical, therapeutic and professional touch.  Being sloppy is not rewarded with the loyalty of repeat clients.

On the first day of my program at the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy in the Self Care and Hygiene class that I teach, I present this list. The students are always amazed, and the list usually grows from the conversations that the list provokes. My commitment to my students is that if they apply the principles we are teaching in technique, ethics, mindfulness and proven business practices they will be successful in this field.  If a massage therapist manages to get someone on their table, the key to success is retention.  Now, we are all born with an innate ability to provide nurturing compassionate touch to one another, and no one can teach this natural ability, but I can help my students figure out what conditioning from their life is getting in the way of their delivery of this normal skill, and I can teach them what NOT to do, and how to approach the beauty of compassionate and nurturing touch with industry professionalism and artistic grace.

With that…here is THE LIST:

  • There was no interview or paperwork.
  • She/he did not listen to me.
  • She/he seemed rushed.
  • The room was too cold.
  • The room was too warm.
  • The music was not relaxing.
  • The music was too loud.
  • The music was too provocative.
  • She/he talked too much.
  • She/he did not tell me what to expect.
  • She/he did not explain to me what they were doing.
  • She/he told me everything they were doing. I wanted to relax not have a play by play.
  • She/he talked about themselves.
  • She/he was arrogant and acted like they were better than me.
  • She/he tried to sell me products.
  • She/he used too much oil or cream and I felt greasy following the session.
  • She/he used too little oil or cream and it pulled my skin and hair.
  • She/he got cream in my hair and I had to go back to work.
  • She/he pulled my hair repeatedly.
  • She/he did not work on the areas I asked them to.
  • She/he worked on areas I told them not to.
  • By the time she/he got to my areas of concern, there was not enough time.
  • The way she/he draped did not make me feel safe. I felt exposed and could not relax.
  • The draping was too conservative to address my areas of concern.
  • I felt she/he was too sensual, almost sexual with me.
  • They did not seem competent with neck, and that is where my issues are.
  • I felt she/he was not present with me. She/he felt distracted.
  • Her/his approach felt like a recipe, it is always the same, like I’m a number.
  • They leaned on me.
  • I felt her/his breath on me.
  • She/he had very bad breath.
  • The massage oil was really smelly and I smelled for hours following the massage.
  • I felt the fabric of her clothes touch me over and over.
  • She/he did not go deep enough.
  • She/he went way too deep and hurt me.
  • The pressure was not consistent from body part to body part.
  • She/he sniffled the whole time.
  • She/he smelled like cigarettes.
  • She/he smelled like onions and garlic.
  • She/he smelled like a hippie.
  • I’m an athlete and I want to work with someone who can help me with stretches.
  • She/he wore some kind of smelly perfume or hair spray that gave me a headache.
  • The pace was too fast.
  • She/he wasted a lot of time with draping.
  • They sweat on me. It was as if they were massaging me with their sweat.
  • She/he said negative things about my body.
  • I felt his/her cuticle scratch me over and over.
  • I felt his/her nail.
  • They scratched me.
  • Their hands were rough.
  • I saw a cut on their hand.
  • They massaged over bones.
  • The work was redundant and mechanical.
  • Their toes were disgusting and dirty.
  • They were not dressed professionally. He/she seemed to take no care of their personal appearance.
  • I told them I had an injury and they forgot and started to work on it and now I’m screwed up.
  • His/her teeth were not taken care of, and I thought if they can’t take care of their own teeth, how can they take care of me?
  • She dragged her hair on me.
  • She dressed too provocatively.
  • I felt her breast on me.
  • I felt him/her press his/her crotch on me.
  • I think they were texting at one point.
  • He massaged me with one hand a lot. I was wondering where his other hand was.
  • He/she breathed heavy out of their mouth making a perverted sound.
  • His/her pelvis kept running into my head when they massaged my back.
  • They sneezed and did not wash their hands.
  • They left the massage to do something.
  • They passed gas.
  • They answered the phone during the session.
  • Something wet dropped on me.
  • They had on bells which jingled the whole time.
  • She cried on me. I asked her what was wrong and she told me she had just broken up with her boyfriend.
  • The moves were too extreme and now I’m injured.
  • When they came in the room they did not announce themselves.
  • She/he did not check in on the depth.
  • When I told her to go deeper, she did not.
  • When I told her to go lighter, she did not.
  • His hands trembled.
  • The work felt tentative like they did not know what they were doing.
  • The work felt erratic like they did not know what they were doing.
  • The work did not feel complete.
  • They made sloshy sounds with the cream.
  • They made noise all around the room.
  • Their voice was very irritating.
  • He/she was late to start.
  • They ended the work early and I sat there waiting for my husband to come out of his massage for 5 minutes!
  • They ended my massage late and I had to pick up my daughter from kindergarten. Ruined my relaxed feeling.
  • The location was not great for my commute.
  • There were signs everywhere pressuring me to tip.
  • There was no parking.
  • Her available hours were impossible for my schedule.
  • She was coughing/sneezing. I think she was sick
  • The techniques felt creepy.
  • The work felt abrupt and rough.
  • The office was noisy.
  • They did not protect my confidentiality and talked about me to my friend who is also their client.
  • They got cream in my eyes.
  • Before they tapoted me, he said “have you been a good girl or a bad girl”.
  • The light was in my eyes.
  • They put a drape over my eyes and it made me feel vulnerable.
  • The face cradle was at the wrong angle and it hurt my neck.
  • When I shook their hand it was like a limp noodle.
  • Their voice was too loud.
  • I had to walk though their house/personal space to get to the massage room.
  • She put the drape into my butt crack.
  • The office decorations had religious art that made me feel uncomfortable.
  • There were too many stairs to go up and down, and in the winter there was ice on the stairs.
  • The bathroom was dirty.
  • They did not offer to massage my abdomen.
  • I don’t think the sheets were clean. The whole office felt dirty.
  • When I asked what the honey was for (Russian spa treatment) he said it’s to make you sweeter.
  • I wore my underwear and he told me the massage would not be effective and I must remove them.
  • They did not offer to massage my face.
  • I have issues in my hips and I told them that. She/he never worked there.
  • She said a prayer with my head in her hands.
  • She “invoked” my spirit guides???
  • She made me drink some kind of special water infused with crystal energy.
  • He/she groaned and repeated my name when he/she worked.
  • There was a mirror at the foot/head of the table.
  • They cranked my neck to the side when they worked on it knowing I have a whiplash injury.
  • They put their fingers in my belly button when they massaged my abdomen.
  • They touched my nipples when they massaged my chest (male client)
  • When I flipped over, the head rest was not set up.
  • They dropped the lotion jar and it hit the floor.
  • They had a big glob of massage cream on their arm that they dipped into throughout the session.
  • They repeated the same stroke over and over again. It started to hurt.
  • They found some sensitive areas but did not adjust their depth.
  • It felt like I just paid $80 to have lotion applied to my body. It was not effective.
  • The company tried to get me to sign an ongoing contract.
  • They flirted with me and asked me if I wanted to hang out.
  • I fell asleep and when I woke up the session was over. That was a really expensive nap. I wished they had woken me up.
  • He/she was not warm and friendly, like you would expect a massage therapist to be.
  • He/she hugged me, and I was not into it.
  • She said “oh, you have so much cellulite on your thighs, I can help you with that.
  • I felt like she was checking me out when I was flipping over.
  • She were flaky…consistently rescheduling to accommodate her world travels.
  • He stood me up!

Crumbs – My take on the “under-payers” in the Massage Therapy Industry

27 Friday Sep 2013

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Before you read this…just a disclaimer. I’m not an English teacher or a professional writer, but I have something to say so I’m going to. Please forgive me for my grammatical errors etc.

Chocolate-chip-cookie-crumbs-on-plateBack in 1990 when I started massage therapy school, one of our instructors told us this: “After your first quarter of school, charge $25 for a session, once you complete second quarter charge $30 per session, after third quarter charge $35 per session, and once you graduate you should be earning at least $45 per session and up.”  And so…that is what I did. By the time I graduated I had a full clientele, all paying me $45 per hour and up. That was in 1992. Since then, the regulation of our industry has evolved. Now we educators must teach our students to start practice only after completing their training. They must follow the proper post-graduation professional protocol of being tested and acquiring licensure and insurance before hanging their shingle.

I do believe strongly that as educators of this holistic art we have a solid responsibility to teach our students the value of this work and encourage them to go use their new skills, and be compensated appropriately. We also need to prepare them to expect to invest a reasonable amount of effort in order to launch their new business endeavor, and they must be equipped with proven business strategies upon graduation.

Today, we (meaning everyone at my school) tell our students that they should hit the ground running, earning no less than $35 per hour including tips. $50 would obviously be better, and, If that is what they are being compensated, the client, the table, the linens, the cream, the facility AND the marketing should all be provided for by whomever they have a contract with. In other words  if you walk in, do the work, make a positive impact on the quality of your client’s lives, and leave with $35+ per hour in your pocket that would be reasonable. We also teach them that they need to build a bridge to their dream massage practice and that this will take some time. Often some of that time may still be devoted to some other type of work to make ends meet while they build their growing practice.

Now I know that there are cost of living indexes (my perspective is from Denver, Colorado), and I also know there is inflation. I get it. What I don’t get is how today a massage therapist can be taught by their school that earning $17 or less per hour is okay. I also don’t understand how a school can NOT teach a student what their work is worth and this is what unfortunately I am coming to realize is a confounding trend in the massage therapy education world. Yes…This is based largely on assumption because there are thousands of massage therapists in the U.S. accepting substandard wages. It must have something to do with the education they received.  If it does not, PLEASE feel free to enlighten me. I’m not talking about ALL schools, just MOST Schools and by MOST schools please feel free to assume I also mean CORPORATE OWNED CHAINS of schools.

There is a reason the term “burn out” is on our National Board Exams. It’s a real thing. Massage Therapist simply cannot do more than 30 hours per week of massage without burning out. Having been a person who has provided over 18,000 massages during my career, it is my opinion that 25 massages per week is pushing it, and 4 per day is reasonable. That is 20 hours of physically, emotionally, mentally, focused labor and does not include set up, break down and interview/intake time.

If you don’t understand burn out…this is what I mean. Burn out is when you give so much of your energy away to your clients that your body hurts and you don’t have any energy left for your own life and loved ones. Burn Out usually determines a very short career life for a bodyworker. Thousands of Massage Therapists suffer from burn out each year and leave our industry for another career. Thousands, after only 3-5 years.

We also must consider the impact on the public receiving massage therapy from therapists who don’t know the value of their work, and who are pushing too hard to make ends meet. Believe me…it is not good. People get hurt, or simply receive lousy, unfocused, resentful work.

Here is some math: 20 massages, multiplied by $17 plus $10 average tip equals $540 per week, equals $28,080 a year GROSS and does not include any vacation time.  I understand that $28,080 gross per year probably sounds great for a part-time gig to a young adult who still lives at home and does not have a mortgage or dependents. Mature adults on the other hand will probably struggle with this marginal income. A Massage Therapist earning $25 plus $10 average tip will end up with around $36,400 gross. That’s a start but still not appropriate in my reality.

Let’s face it, massage therapy in the U.S.  has become really weird (not in a good way) in terms of values and money over the last 6 years. Most who argue that point have not been around long enough to see this story unfold, or they are benefiting from the change in one way or another.  Some industry leaders, and/or people who seem to know a lot about corporate America and/or economics say that converting massage therapy into a service type employment model where the employees work for a scanty hourly wage and tips is the natural evolution of massage therapy. I really hope not and I say phooey!

I’ve been around long enough to see this strange trend arrive and take hold and I don’t like it. I don’t have to like it, and no one is going to convince me to like it. I find the people who like it are not necessarily the people working for these marginal wages, but people or companies benefiting financially in one way or another from the hard labor of massage therapists who have not been taught the value of their work or business strategies to integrate their skill with income manifestation.

If you are an educator and you are in some type of relationship by endorsement, or job placement arrangements or any other type of mutually beneficial relationship with a company that is taking advantage of, or burning out massage therapists, you may want to take a good hard look at your ethics.I stand on the side of the therapist. Those are the people who I serve. I am always going to champion the Massage Therapist, not the big corporations and under-payers who are benefiting from their hard work.

I know, I know…I’ve heard it all. Proponents can sugar coat this thing and make it sound like these organizations paying $17 and less per hour to our graduates are a benefit to our industry. The usual suspect’s commentary is “students right out of massage school are green”… “Green students need experience”…. “Many students don’t have what it takes to start their own business”…. “some massage therapists are just not good enough to earn more”… as far as I’m concerned, it’s a bunch of rubbish. If any of those statements are true for you and you are an educator, then you did not do your job to prepare your graduate for this industry. Another big argument is that the overhead is SO high for bodyworkers that in the end they make more working for these preposterous wages. This is a LIE.

A lot of these under-payers will have reward programs and incentive plans…trips to Mexico and even provide scholarships and make huge donations to our industry organizations. Smoke and Mirrors. Those funds should have gone into higher wages for the bodyworkers so they can pay their bills.

As long as there are Massage Schools promoting, partnering with, or supporting companies that pay marginal wages for massage therapists’ hard work, the massage industry and the public consumer will suffer.

As long as there are Massage Educators who do not understand the value of what we do, and fail to pass proper values on to their students who then go on to work for marginal wages…the massage therapy industry and the public will suffer.

In summary, this is what I’m trying to get across.

  1. There is an influx of unethical massage under-payers who are not compensating massage therapists appropriately in order to increase their bottom line.
  2. These organizations or individuals are burning those therapists out, and those therapists are hurting clients because they are burned out.
  3. Careers end prematurely due to burn out.
  4. The schools are at fault for not giving their students proper business training, and proper training on the value of their work.
  5. Some schools and industry leaders are in the pocket of some of these unethical massage under-payers and that is why they are shining a positive light on the organizations and partnering with them.
  6. Because of this trend, the normal wage for massage therapists has been driven down, and now we see chiropractors, health clubs, resorts, etc. following suit by underpaying massage therapists.
  7. In order to survive, therapists in their own practice have had to lower their rates in order to be competitive.
  8. The public is getting a very twisted message from this trend regarding the value of massage therapy, and are receiving a lot of borderline bodywork.
  9. This is the modern disease of our industry, and consistently points to the educators who need to do the right thing by educating their students on the value of their work, so they will refuse substandard wages and the employers will need to raise their wages to attract and retain talent.
  10. There is only ONE positive as I see it. Massage Therapy is becoming accessible to the mainstream.

Finally,

Employers, Please pay higher wages.

Consumers, Please understand that you may be paying only $49.50 for a massage, but your therapist is earning $17 or less for the session. Please consider going directly to the source and avoid the middle man for your bodywork so the person who is  touching you receives the bulk of the fee. There are many wonderful massage therapists out there who will not work for those types of wages. Don’t you want to work with them?

Massage Therapists, please do not accept substandard wages. Just say “no thank you” and go to the next interview. If need be, do something other than massage and patiently work toward your goals…your practice will build and you can find people who honor your work with appropriate compensation.  You may want to explore some remedial business education if your school did not provide that for you in your program.

Educators, please teach your students that they deserve to make a very decent living as a massage therapist, and equip them with proper business skills and reasonable expectations. Please do not endorse or do any job placement with any under-paying employers.

Associations and Leaders, please do not associate with under-payers for fiscal support. You can find another sponsor who is not depleting the industry you love and represent.

To be clear: I am not talking about ALL franchises. I’m not talking about ALL educators. I’m not talking about ALL employers, only the unethical under-payers. And I’m not addressing ALL Associations and Industry Leaders.

Thank you for reading this. I know this is a very hot topic, and I don’t wish to offend anyone.  My goal is to be supportive to this industry that I love and cherish. The under-payers are never going away. You can count on that, but we educators can be instrumental in educating our students about the value of this work, avoid direct participation with these organizations, and promote higher standard wages for the bodyworkers.

I have been blessed as a therapist by all of my clients and deeply appreciate the privilege I have to share this art with my students.  Massage Therapists don’t just slap on cream and rub. We touch lives and share our hearts. The value of compassionate professional nurturing touch is extraordinary. The people who sign up to do this work should be treated with professional respect and compensated appropriately.

The Massage Gypsy

03 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Tidbits from the Massage Mamma

≈ 2 Comments

Being a holistic health care educator and one who passionately lives for the chance to explore our globe, I have had the opportunity to come in contact with a demographic of Massage Therapy Student who I fondly refer to as the “Massage Gypsy”.

The “Massage Gypsy” has this beautiful vision of traveling around the globe with their massage tools intact at the ends of their wrists massaging their way from one adventure to the next. It’s a fantastic and bold idea. I know…I had it too. I fully explored dropping that dream into reality in the biggest way, and would like to offer some information for my globe trotting bodywork brothers and sisters who wish to follow suit.

The first thing you need to wrap your head around is the world vision of a United States Citizen.(if that is what you are. I would imagine if you are Canadian or European it’s the same deal when traveling to any second or third world country.) From the perspective of a second or third world government you are a very wealthy and privileged person…because on the global scale, you truly are.

Governments have the responsibility to do a couple of things that may impact your dream. First, protect jobs for their native citizens, and second, collect taxes for the benefit of their nation. If you are a “Massage Gypsy”, and you perform massage in a foreign territory and collect money for that service you are benefiting from the economy of that country without giving back…at least this is how the government sees it. Additionally, if the country is regulating the activities of your industry, they have not had the chance to scrutinize you as a professional and ensure you have had the education necessary to keep the public safe.

I’m sure the reasons a government would not like a foreigner to perform massage in their country goes on…and these are just a few that I am aware of.

Another issue that may arise for you is if you compete with established locals for clients. There could be animosity, and they could report you to the authorities, and sometimes a worse fate…confront you.

If you plan to go somewhere and hang your shingle/start a practice that is one thing. Being in a location for 2 weeks and then moving on is another. Let’s visit both:

If your dream is to completely relocate to another country and plant your roots to live there, I would suggest to you that this is going to cost you a significant amount of money, and time. You may find yourself negotiating some unreal bureaucratic red tape. Even after you jump through those hoops, you may still not be able to get your work visa, or establish residency. Most third and second world countries will want you to demonstrate at least 6 months of steady income through a national bank before they grant you permission to work, and some want you to prove that you are doing something that is completely specialized, a service that no one else in their own country can provide!

Here are a couple of ways around these constraints:

  1. Marry a local citizen.
  2. Start a company which brings a great deal of income into the country, AND employs natives.

If you want to skip around you certainly can do that, and you most likely will be doing massage illegally as far as the government is concerned. If this is what you intend to do, and many MANY massage therapists do this, here is my strong advice to you. You MUST very clearly understand what penalties you will face if you RUB the Authorities the wrong way.

  • Will you be extradited?
  • Will you be arrested?
  • Will you have to pay a $5 fine?

Good things to know!

You can always work for a company under their legally operating umbrella. This can be great, however the inherent problem here is if it does not go well and you end your contract prematurely, you may not be able to work anywhere in that region legally without the umbrella. These opportunities are few and far between as  resorts, spas, and hotels etc. can pay the local talent far less than you require to do the work.

I hope I have not burst your pink bubble vision of seeing this beautiful planet by sharing the love and mad skills in your hands. You CAN make this work…you just need to be smart and resourceful and don’t expect the opportunities to fall into your lap. You need to be thoughtful and strategic. Plan ahead! In the end, if you want to be the globetrotting Massage Gypsy here are some strong recommendations.

Do NOT rely on your imaginary massage income to sustain your livelihood. Have a safety net! Be careful not to compete with the locals! Carefully consider if advertising is a good idea if you are not satisfying the government protocol and finally DO massage new friends in exchange for hostel stay, meals, and other traveler’s benefits such as laundry, souvenirs, and the joy of giving.

Good luck!