Here's a simple truth: there's a difference between doing massage and being a massage therapist. If you've been in practice any length of time, you know that.
Doing massage is all about the rubbing -- muscles, strokes, oil. Rub, rub, rub. There are certainly different ways of rubbing but you can learn the basics in just a few months. You may not excel at it but you will have the basics.
Learning to do massage is primarily an activity of the mind.
Being a massage therapist (or maybe it would be more accurate to say becoming a massage therapist) requires you to find a way to be a different kind of person. Some of it you can learn in school but a whole lot of it you learn by, well, doing massage! You have to learn compassion for complete strangers. You have to learn, in a way, to truly love and respect every person who comes into your room whether or not you even like them.
Being (becoming) a massage therapist is primarily an activity of the heart.
So, what's this got to do with business?
The business of massage therapy is also an activity of the mind and the heart. Yesterday I had a long conversation with a colleague and former student about the challenges of being a solo business owner. He spoke of continuing education and managing his finances and keeping his licenses and certifications current (all activities of the mind). He spoke even more passionately about representing his industry and professionalism and reputation. He spoke about the wisdom of healthy business practices and why, at the end of the day, this is just an extension of the care and respect he extends his clients in the treatment room. These are activities of the heart.
He's been in practice six years and every day he is getting better at the doing and better at the being. He represents our profession well and I'm proud of him and proud to have been one of his instructors.
Today I had a session that was probably one of the most sacred in my 25 years of being a massage therapist. I had a client coming in who had just gone through a traumatic event. I knew she would be hurting emotionally and spiritually. We share a common faith, so I asked her if it would be okay to use music (with vocals) that might be shared in the context of that faith, and the songs of which were themed toward healing of the heart. During the session, she asked me to sing along with the music playing (not something I've ever done during a session, but not an unpleasant event, given that I actually can sing). The result, for her, and for me, was more than an hour of massage therapy, and spiritual/emotional healing, and sharing a common (platonic) love. Today massage therapy became new again for me.
ReplyDeletebhuntcmt: That was beautiful Thank you for sharing!
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