My Inspiration to Become a Massage Therapist

After high school, I was at a loss for what to do. I scored really high on my ACT test for literature. The community college counselor got all excited and said "that was MY major!". My thought was.... then what are you doing as a college counselor? Not that there's anything wrong with being a counselor, I just didn't see the connection to a literature degree. 

I didn't want to teach below college level, and I didn't want to go to school for the years needed to teach at the college level, and I didn't know there were many other options available for a possible English or Lit major. (Now I know otherwise, but at the time, I thought those were my only options.)  I despised math, and didn't feel particularly passionate about any other subjects in school.

I took a few community college classes after HS, which included a "career exploration" class. We took several personality tests and researched different careers that we might be interested in or that popped up as a good fit for our personalities.

I can't actually remember if massage therapist came up in my test results, but nurse definitely did and that kind of started me exploring similar paths. I was more interested in holistic health than nursing, and looked into acupuncture and massage. 

Acupuncture really intrigued me, but it was more schooling than I wanted to do and would have also involved relocating which I couldn't afford at the time. So I looked a little deeper into massage therapy. I interviewed a therapist and received my first massage. 

I don't actually remember it being anything amazing. Not because of the quality of the massage, but I think I was paying too much attention to everything to just enjoy it.


*Woo Warning*
If you're triggered into anger by mention of energy work or anything woo, skip over this next part. Side note: I'm not huge into woo, but I really hate how much energy therapists get harassed and bullied online these days by science-minded therapists who think they're superior. It's part of the industry, it always has been. Build a bridge and get over it.

Then I watched this therapist give a massage (with permission from her client). After only about 10 minutes into the session, I got very warm and felt like I was going to puke. I quietly slipped out of the room, and felt fine after a couple of minutes in the waiting area. I didn't go back into the treatment room, thinking I must be getting sick.

When the therapist came out at the end of the session, she asked why I had left the room. After I told her what happened, she explained that was the energy being released during the massage. Whaaaa??!

This is in the 90's, you guys. 

Talking about "energy" was not a common thing, and in fact I had never heard it discussed having come from a small farming community. I didn't know what to think of that. I found it fascinating and started to look further into massage therapy. You would think I would have gone down a more energetic path in my bodywork career, but it just really wasn't for me. My school was kind of heavy on the energetic aspect of massage, and maybe that's why I didn't get more into it as I felt my school left out a lot of science that I think would have made for a better balanced education. 

Anyway, that's where it all started - and here I am almost 20 years later still in the industry. I still have a private practice as well as working on Bodywork Buddy. There was certainly no such thing as online scheduling 20 years ago, and I'm so grateful for how much easier it has made running my practice!

What first got you interested in massage and bodywork? Do you remember receiving your first massage?

Cindy Slack is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.

My First Tui Na Massage

I took a trip to Chicago a few weeks ago. A friend (also a LMT) and I decided to try our first Tui Na massage from a business that touted "authentic Chinese massage".

They have many google reviews ranging all over the board, but the majority are positive. Most reviews rave about the reflexology, kind of bummed I didn't add that to my session! We both signed up for the Tui Na massage and having never tried before (and really not knowing anything about this technique), we weren't sure what to expect.

The business is a simple store front (not a spa). Personally, I've found some of the best massages are from small businesses rather than big chains or fancy spas.

My table was in a couple's massage "room" with 1 wall being a curtain to separate it from the hallway and other rooms. (All other rooms did have all walls.) The table was set really low and was the kind with the hole in the table for the face instead of a face cradle. Zero instructions were given from my therapist, so I just undressed and crawled under the sheet for draping.

My therapist started the session much like the below video - with rocking and compressions over the sheet. After that, she climbed onto the table and did compressions with her feet. Literally walking on my back. (I noticed after the session that there was some pvc piping on the ceiling for her to hold on to for support.)

Next, she undraped my back and used oil to do gliding strokes. I'm not sure if Tui Na is typically done directly on skin with oil, but this was their Signature Tui Na service, so maybe it was a blend of other techniques as well.

When she began working on my legs, it was as if the draping was in her way so she just pushed it off to the side. Completely off from me. I laid there completely exposed (prone) while she continued her work without missing a beat. If it'd been my first massage, I would have been completely freaked out, I think. But I just lay there thinking "well, this is different. I don't do it this way...". It is a different state (I need to do some further research to see if draping is a requirement in Illinois), and I'm sure there's also some cultural differences with Chinese massage.

But after the session was over and I talked with my friend, I discovered that she had left her underwear on for her session. When her therapist got to her legs, she just yanked my friend's underwear down to expose her glutes! Um, ok... that seems a bit more invasive and exposing than my therapist just pushing the draping off to the side.

Awwwk-waaaard.

I want to point out that I'm not massage-shaming this place. I just wanted to talk about the differences from what would be acceptable in my practice in my little Michigan town. As I mentioned, I don't know if state laws are different or if it's cultural differences, I just found it interesting. The massage was very effective, and while I wouldn't recommend it for newbies, I'm glad I got to experience it.

5 Ways to Relieve Anxiety in a Natural Manner

5 Ways to Relieve Anxiety in a Natural Manner

I think we can all agree that today’s fast-paced modern world is a tough place to live.

The incessant bombardment on our self esteem caused by our social media addictions, the fear generated by crisis-obsessed rolling news channels, tribal politics, global warming and overpopulation – basically the list of things that generate anxiety and stress is almost endless.

It’s enough to have you reaching for some industrial strength anxiety medication in order to calm your nerves. And many people do. Before you take that drastic step why not try instead these five ways to relieve anxiety in a natural manner first.

Do a digital detox

Smartphones and social media are two of the most important developments we’ve ever seen. Never before has the human race been so connected. The omnipresence of technology in our lives has seen a radical and profound shift in the way we interact with the world and each other.

The consequences of the technological revolution are still be fully understood but one thing is certain – we’ve become a society of tech addicts.

Our smartphones rarely leave our hands and we are hooked to the feeling likes and retweets give us, each one releases a tiny dose of dopamine into our bloodstream and it feels great. The downside of our technology addiction is like that of any other drug, we need more and more and when it’s taken away from us we get anxious.

Taking a step back from social media, and our smartphones in general, is a great way to see exactly what power they have over us. A digital detox of a week, or more, is a great way to reduce anxiety levels and to rediscover a little calm.

Laugh more

Laughter really is the best medicine.

Having a chuckle is an unbelievably potent and tragically overlooked tool when it comes to stress reduction. Whether it is sharing a great big belly laugh with your friends or putting on your favourite funny film and sniggering away for ninety minutes. The more we laugh the less anxious we are.

Researchers have even found that you can cheat the system. Simply remembering a funny memory, say that time your Aunt Mary’s hat caught on fire for instance, is enough to flood your body with a cocktail of stress reducing hormones.

Get a massage

When we are anxious it’s reflected in the health of our body. A hard week in the office will more often than not manifest itself in a sore back and tight shoulders. stretching exercises are a great way to help minimise this pent up anxiety. A relaxed hatha yoga class is the perfect combination of deep breathing and gentle stretching.

Another means to relieve this anxiety from your poor body in a natural manner is to get a massage. Have a well trained professional go to work on your problem areas and ease the stress away with their magic fingers. When it comes to stress relief a good masseuse is worth their body weight in gold. If you find a good one, treasure them.

Sleep more

We’ve always known that sleep is good for us but it’s only in the last decade that we’ve come to truly understand exactly how good for us sleep really is.

Sleep is now being referred to by many experts as not only the best natural performance enhancer available but also the best natural stress relief available. This is because when we sleep, our system is able to flush the body of cortisol, the so-called ‘stress hormone’.

Individuals who sleep badly, that’s less than seven hours a night, have been shown to have much higher levels of anxiety, stress and depression. Insomniacs have a far higher rate of suicide than their well-rested counterparts.

Knowing you should sleep more and actually being able to do so are two very different things entirely. For some tried and tested expert advice on how to improve your odds of a good night’s rest head on over to the Sleep Advisor blog. Thank me in the morning!

Exercise more

Alongside sleep, getting regular exercise is probably the best thing you can do to reduce anxiety levels naturally.

When we worry the body releases cortisol, this triggers a fight or flight response that was very useful in our caveman days. In today’s desk-based world fighting or fleeing are no longer usually an option, as a consequence raised cortisol levels remain in our system and cause a myriad of health problems, such as stress and anxiety – amongst many others.

When you go for a jog, shoot some hoops, dance the tango or simply run around the park with the kids, you are mimicking the fight or flight response and your body is able to burn off cortisol. That’s why you feel so relaxed after getting outside and getting a bit sweaty.

There you have it, five ways to reduce anxiety without a prescription in sight. Give them and whirl and here’s to many calmer and stress free days on the horizon.

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Are Happy Endings 'Part of the Business'?

Did you catch this article and video of a registered massage therapist in Canada reporting a creeper client to the police last month? It's a bit discouraging. 

A West Island certified massage therapist is urging Montreal police to examine how they handle complaints of unwanted sexual behaviour after an officer seemed to try to dissuade her from filing a report and repeatedly told her to not be "emotional."

Luckily, she recorded the conversation. She said police need better training on how to deal with women who turn to them for help.

Early on in my massage career, I did have the unfortunate need to contact the police about a client. Luckily for me, they took my complaint very seriously and were nothing but completely respectful and helpful.

Claudia Cavaliere had to not only deal with the creeper client, but then also with the detachment and disregard of the police when she tried to file a complaint. Thankfully, her recording is getting some attention that will hopefully lead to some changes and/or additional training for the police officers.

Photo ID is now required at the spa where Claudia works. This with a few other tips on how to screen out creeper clients may be helpful.

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.

The Power of Attitude

I was recently reading a blog post from the Center for Barefoot Massage on 10 Ridiculously Easy Ways to be More Successful.

#6 Stood out to me. 

Attitude-is your massage client taking advantage of a sale? Don’t act resentful about it or transfer any negative feelings towards them subconsciously. Instead, be grateful that they are choosing to spend money on YOUR massage. I’ve heard of many clients having bad experiences with Groupon massages because their therapist didn’t care, didn’t keep them in the whole time, or were just not the most pleasant.

This is something I always try to be aware of in my own attitude and actions. One thing that I've gotten good at over time is to not take any feedback personally and to be open to it so that I can improve my client's experience while they're on my table. I even tell first-time clients to feel free to let me know if there is anything I can adjust to make them more comfortable (pressure, music, temperature) and I specifically say "You're not going to hurt my feelings, this session is all about you - I just want you to have the best experience". I have literally seen some clients instantly breathe a sigh of relief when they hear this.

A friend once told me that her MT talked through her whole massage. After several sessions of this - the client mentioned that maybe they could chat before the session so that she could relax more during her massage. The next session she received was rough and painful, as if the MT was purposely trying to hurt her.  

via GIPHY

Now, maybe the MT has no time to chat before or after a session and was upset at the client for suggesting that. But that doesn't really matter - the client was letting her know what her needs were, and the MT chose to let her feelings about that feedback get in the way of giving a good massage. Or maybe it wasn't a conscious decision... yikes, I'm not sure which is worse.

With a positive approach you will feel in control and confident and you will perform at your best, whereas a negative approach will damage confidence, harm performance, paralyze your mental skills and may also impact your health. - The Importance of Attitude for Business Success

Of course, we all have bad days. What are some ways that you get into your zone to be at your best for your clients? One thing that I like to do is to get to my office early before I start my work day. I diffuse some essential oils and play some fun music while I fold my linens. It helps me to get in the right mindset for my work and clearly separate my personal life and whatever may be happening in the outside world from the oasis I'm creating for my clients. I find if I'm rushing around and only at my office for a couple of minutes before my first client, I'm frazzled and have a hard time focusing the rest of the day. (I know other therapists who have no problem doing this, I'm just not one of them!) I know that for myself, this little ritual of arriving early helps to prepare my mind and my attitude for my work day.

We've probably all experienced the subtle or not-so-subtle energy of a therapist with a bad attitude. Even if the technical aspects of their massage were "good", it probably wasn't the best massage you've had. Being aware of and adjusting our own attitude is one of the simplest ways we can improve our business and offer our clients our best work.

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.

How to Instantly Add Holidays to Your Bodywork Buddy Calendar

Veteran MT Advice: The Art of Stubbornness

Recently in my massage therapy business, I had to make the very difficult decision to stop accepting new clients. This was difficult because for the last 14 years I’ve been doing everything I could to attract these new clients!

When Cindy asked me to talk about how I got to this point in my career as a business owner and MT, I had to think about what exactly I did to reach this stage in my business. At first I couldn’t think of what I did to suddenly be so booked I couldn’t fit anyone in for 4 months. Then it occurred to me... it wasn’t sudden, it was all the hard work of running a business starting to pay it’s returns.

When you go to massage school, they teach you how to be a Massage Therapist, not how to run a business. These are two separate things that need separate training. When I graduated from massage school, I decided to work for someone else because I thought it would be easier. Their business model was for me to give free chair massages until someone decided to pay for a full massage, of which I received a commission of 50%. I gave a lot of free massages and starved. I had to move back home to my parent’s house. 

This is where the big lessons began for me. I’m sure many of you have similar stories or are at the beginning of your career convinced you are about to fail. Being of the Stubborn Persuasion, I wasn’t about to let this living with my parents situation define my career. However, humility was also on my Life Lessons Syllabus, so I had to have “The Talk” with myself on how I was going to make this career work. If I wanted it to work, I had to do the work. No Excuses.

I took a part time job at a chiropractor’s office and I learned from her how she ran her business. She became a great mentor and I learned that there are lessons in mistakes; that picking up and working with what is in front of you will go a long way. I also used the security of that job to help me build my own business. I could take a few more risks, in case I did make a mistake. 

Since I had moved back to my parent’s home two states away from where I was living, to a town I didn’t grow up in, I was in desperate need of colleagues... So I went to my AMTA state chapter conferences and hands on CEU classes so that I could talk to people. I joined Live Journal groups (I’m old) and read Massage Therapy Journal and Massage Magazine (the print versions!) to give me insights into the industry. I was stubborn, but I knew that I didn’t know squat!

I was told that the first 5 years were the hardest, so I just kept reminding myself of that when it got hard, and you know what... it turned out to be true (so hang in there!). I was told that MTs careers average 3- 5 years; I made a goal to be in practice for 10. My stubbornness wouldn’t let me quit and then when it started to get a little easier I didn’t want to quit.  

I tried new things: Online scheduling in 2010 was scary for my clients. Some even asked me to go back to paper. It was months and months before the first person actually booked online without me talking them into it. It was a couple years before a new client I had never heard of scheduled. I stubbornly stuck it out because I wanted online scheduling to work. Now I don’t have to answer the phone anymore. I maybe lost a potential client who didn’t want to schedule online, but I gained ones who did. 

Some things did not work: Buy 4 get 1 Free cost me a lot of money I desperately needed. I changed my package policy to be a significantly smaller discount; I could still pay the bills, but my clients still got a deal. I was able to buy groceries AND pay rent! When clients pine for the good old discount days (aka whine) I stubbornly refuse to give in, “$5 off is more than $0 off,” I remind myself. They are welcome to pay full price. 

The take-a-way here folks is this: There are a million little lessons that you are learning everyday. The beginning of your career is hard because you are bombarded by them. Some of those lessons hurt and some are exhausting. It seems impossible because everything is new and fresh and you just want to be amazing everyday. As you make it through the days, weeks, and years those lessons will feel familiar, and doable, and sometimes even an exciting challenge. Be patient, and maybe a little bit stubborn. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erin Howk Bennett, BCTMB
Therapeutic & Stress Reduction Massage