The Deep Philosophy of Massage

Big bodies,
Small bodies
White bodies,
Tall bodies,

Fit bodies,
Fat bodies,
Tanned bodies,
Black bodies,

Quiet bodies,
Shy bodies,
Tattooed bodies,
Dry bodies,

Thin bodies,
Peeling bodies,
Smooth bodies,
Healing bodies,

Young bodies,
Police bodies,
Warm bodies,
Mommies bodies,

Amish bodies,
Old bodies,
Abused bodies,
Bold bodies,

Cold bodies,
Fragile bodies,
Hairy ones, it's true,
Agile bodies.
Perfumed bodies and smelly bodies too.

Clean the Dirt!

Cleaning your massage table is a good idea and it's simple.  You want to make sure it's clean for everyone.  Everyone has body oils, germy breath, oily makeup, etc.  I always use massage table linens and launder them after one use - I hope that's what everyone does.  Not that it will kill anyone to use the same sheets as someone else, but most Americans will agree it's pleasanter and safer not to.

"I majored in Massage Therapy and minored in Laundry."

 

So after a massage and you remove the sheets for washing, it's time to clean the table itself.  

Probably the main thing to disinfect would be the face rest because the face is oily and your client was breathing right there for 30-60 minutes or so.  SO, get rid of the germs. 

I just use a misting bottle, from the hair-care area of the supermarket.   I fill it with about 1 part isopropyl alcohol and two parts water.  I just mist a little of this over my table focusing on the spots I think need it most.  Then I use a paper towel to wipe it and my bolster (which is just vinyl without a fabric cover) and my lotion dispenser, bottle, holster thing.  

Think about where the germs are.  If you press your lotion pump, touch a person, and then press your lotion pump again, there will be germs on there and you'll pass them to the next person.  Just a thought.

I Love Vistaprint!

I love Vistaprint!  I also love Polyvore!  Check out both! vistaprint.com polyvore.com

On Polyvore you can create collages for free and express your style or create a wish.  On Vistaprint you can buy awesome products for your business.  Pick a design you like and they can make almost any product with that design if you just give them a call.  Create an account and you can save all your designs and get all the great discounts.  If you're a member of the AMTA you get more dicounts on Vistaprint.

Paperworkpaperworkpaperwork

Have you ever had a chunk of cash one day and then the next, it's gone? Did you ask yourself "Where the heck did it go?!" Did you ever find you and someone else wondering if you paid them something you owed them or if they paid you something they owed you?

 Ugh, it can be frustrating... I am lazy. I hate writing down things when they happen, I'd rather just live my life, BUT in the long-run (poor, abused Long-Run) it WILL make my life much better.

Sooo, July was the one year anniversary of my business and I think it is high time I straighten out my paperwork. I have been working on it for weeks.


Creating Charts on:
#1. What I'm paid for being receptionist in the Chiropractor's office.
#2. What I earn outside of the office when I make therapy out-calls.
#3. Business purchases I make - and that includes rent of my space.
#4. All the clients I receive IN the office and what they pay me.
#5. Then my personal preference: my business statistics, which covers how my business has progressed in amount of clients and income over each month - it's very interesting.

I'm weird. I love all the quantitative stuff and figuring out why, how, when etc. I need to make myself notes more when something out of the ordinary happens in my finances because I WILL NOT remember next month! Sometimes I don't even understand my own notes though! Argghh.

Google Docs @ docs.google.com is my friend!! It immortalizes my documents online FOR FREE and is easy to use. And tidy. I highly recommend using that. I make a table with like 5 columns across and like 30 rows down and just fill in the Date, Amount, Check #'s if applicable, and End Totals for the month.

Example:

Date	Earned the Week Before	To Dr. 30%	To Taxes 15%
08/17/15	$45.00	$15.00	$06.75

I know all of this and maybe even more can be documented and managed best on something like QuickBooks, but that costs money and to me this is simple.  I have fun with it, too - except when the numbers don't match up!

So DON'T BE LAZY!  You won't regret it!!

Monday!

I love Monday.  I work 9am to 5pm with a 90 minute lunch break... sometimes we come back a little earlier than that.

Monday is my day to go over everything I have earned and what business purchases I've made.  I make sure it's all recorded on two different charts with details and dates.  I compare it to the office chart as well to make sure we have the same info.  I count my money and I receive my pay for last week's office work.  (I help out as a receptionist when not massaging.)

I love Monday because my bank account gets refreshed and I get to do the math.  I like the math.

Tomorrow is my shopping day because we are only open for work in the morning 9am-noon so I use the whole afternoon for getting groceries and whatever else I want to do.  I like Tuesday too.

Dressing the Part

As a Massage Therapist there are some  necessary sacrifices as with all professions. If you have a schedule like mine, you might sit around at work for hours if you have no clients.  You will have to leave your loud, crazy or stressed out side at home because you're here to help others relax.

 I doubt that in any massage setting you will be able to wear what you want.  In my case I have made it the standard for myself to wear scrubs as it makes me look more professional and healthcare-related.  Plus, I work at a Doctor of Chiropractor's office.  Sometimes I wish I didn't have to dress so unlike me every day, but the career choices I have made impel me to do so.  If I worked at a boutique or something of that fashion (pun), I could wear skirts, jewelry and let my hair down.

Another thing is your arms and hands are your tools, you have to take care of them.  I've found that my nails have to be cut till no white shows that way, my clients can't feel my claws.

I don't wear rings or bracelets when at work.  I can't massage with them on so why put them on for work just to take them off again? It's physical labor and requires plain, practical attire which is a little bit of a sacrifice.  One can polish one's nails, but I would go for a low-key "work appropriate" color.  Also don't forget classic clear or that lovely, gel, french manicure <3.
 I love rings.  One day if I get married I will probably get a tattoo wedding band, that way it will be practical and creative.

Draping Your First Massage

Remember what it was like getting your first professional massage?  What did you like?  What didn't you like?

My first one was in Boston at my uncle's chiropractor office.  It was a while ago but I remember it being mostly nice.  Unfortunately it's easier to remember the negative.  I didn't like when she did my scalp because it felt like she used her fingernails really hard.  It hurt and I hated the idea of all my dandruff being under her fingernails when she finished.

I guess at that point in my experience with massage I didn't know it was okay for me to tell her it hurt.  I did like when she used lavender oil and had me breath it in from her hands when I was face down (prone).

When it was time for me to turn face up or supine, it was super awkward for me because she lifted the sheet up into the air without much communication and asked me to turn.  I was like "what?" Then when I realized she wasn't actually looking, I went ahead and turned over.

So fast forward to when I was in school.  I think I went to a good school because they encouraged communication and putting the client's needs first.  They taught us to simply lean on one side of the table while "tenting" up the other side a little so the client could turn - so much better than my experience where the therapist lifted the sheet all the way up exposing me.

In school we had hands-on "clinical" in the afternoon.  In the beginning we massaged each other and then later on in the program we did the public.

When getting massaged, I remember feeling insecure about my breast being exposed when they worked on my arms (while supine) unless the sheet was good and tucked under.  I always make sure it is well tucked in for my female clients.

When draping the back of the leg, don't underestimate how far up you can drape and work.  Try to drape just below the Gluteus Maximus. As long as you aren't seeing butt cheek, you're all set because the hamstring bellies and attachments go all the way up to the Ischiums or "sit bones".  Some people actually expose more butt in exclusion of the "butt crack", BUT (pun) I prefer to work on the glutes with the sheet covering them.  That is how I was taught at school.