www.thebodyworker.com

One of the challenges the massage profession has is a major obstacle in educating the public as to what massage is or is not. Since we do not have a clear definition of it for ourselves - how can we educate people as to what it is?

The definitions created by states with licensing are quite varied. I am collecting them at my website www.massagetherapycareers.com and in doing so have been able to see why it is so difficult to be accepted by the public and to not be confused with prostitutes.

What is massage? What is bodywork? Is massage bodywork? Is bodywork massage? Is Reiki, structural integration, polarity therapy, reflexology, Bowen therapy, Trager, Rosen method, Rubenfield synergy, Shiatsu, Hakomi considered massage? Is it bodywork? Do you need to know Swedish Massage for those types of therapies (and go to massage school and be licensed as a massage therapist to do those types of massage techniques?)

Then there is the whole problem of defining ‘Medical Massage” - is medical massage a technique or just the ability to bill insurance companies for massage therapy services. If it is a technique - what technique or techniques are included and not included? Some are claiming that relaxation massage is not medical massage but if stress is the number one cause of most diseases and conditions and relaxation massage is the best modality for treating stress will we be cutting our own throats by not allowing relaxation massage therapists (who usually have less than 500 hours of massage training) to do medical massage? The problem now is that because it is not defined by the massage profession - the insurance companies are defining it.

The definitions of each different type of massage/bodywork or whatever you want to call it can be further defined for clarification. What is deep tissue bodywork? What is myofacial release? What is triggerpoint therapy? What is sports massage? What is swedish massage?
What type of training and experience is needed for doing each and every type of massage/bodywork?

The reason why we need to start clearly defining these words and techniques is so that we can then show these to state boards when they try to limit what we do or define what we do in other ways. It is also important in educating the public and promoting our profession as a whole and it really affects each massage therapist’s ability to work successfully with each client. This is seen when you go into a spa like I did a few months ago asking for a relaxing massage but not deep tissue as I have a lot of experience in getting Rolfed and doing structural integration. Deep tissue to me means challenging the deeper muscles of the body which usually has a degree of discomfort to it. I said that I wanted very firm relaxation massage and then when I got there I could hardly feel the persons hands on me. Now the clients experience is also so varied, but in this case the massage practitioner had no means of connecting to my needs. She never asked questions to find out how much pressure that meant to me or tried to figure it out in any way. I tried to keep telling her but I got no response and gave up (which is a whole other story - how many people getting a massage do not get their needs met because they don’t say anything?) Needless to say, I got a free deep tissue massage out of it later after speaking to the management. How we define and teach people to use such techniques really has a global effect of creating an image for the massage profession. How can we start defining ourselves to create a more professional and cohesive image? How can we start defining what we do so as to have a common language that ALL can understand?

Massage Definitions by State -www.thebodyworker.com

This research study attempts to help define massage -”Development of a taxonomy to describe massage treatments for musculoskeletal pain”

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If you don’t already have a Site Build It! Website, the question is why not?

Do you already have all of the clients that you need to make $100,000 a year as a massage therapist? (yes that’s right - you could be making that. It is about the money contrary to popular beliefs)

Do you not have the time to put into having financial freedom- a residual income?

Do you not know what to write about or create a site about?

Do you not have anything that you are passionate about or know a lot about?

What comes up for you when you start thinking about making more money just writing about what you love and know about?

We have such preconceived notions about work and making money and usually equate them with having it be just that- work. I for one have not worked in 25 years or so - I play and I make money playing. As a massage therapist for 18 years, I have never felt like I was working (ok the insurance billing did get to me a bit but now that I am out of it and just focusing on writing again my play time has gotten back to normal.)

Whether it is for your massage practice or to build a second income - SBI! is always improving and adding new features:

- the new Content 2.0 that allows readers to submit and create content for your website. More content means more great information for the search engines to peruse as well as builds trust in you as the authority on whatever topic you are writing about.

- the new Brainstomer that will be released next week hopefully (or really soon) offers a new concept in figuring out what people are searching for and how to use this information for creating a niche for yourself.

All this on top of all the things that they already provide.

It’s the back to work labor day sale or as I like to think - the “never have to go back to work” sale. Buy one SBI! website for your massage practice for $299 US and get the second one for only $100 extra for creating additional income on a hobby or interest that you have.

Are you guys getting this yet?

Here are some who are…

www.cure-fibromyalgia.com

www.a-body-for-living.com

www.deservingbodymassage.com

http://www.grow-profitable-seminars.com/

If you are worried about not having a topic, not knowing how to write or not knowing anything about websites - you don’t have to worry about that - SBI has a jam packed action guide that is in written and video form that will guide you every step of the way. You can even view the whole thing right now without even owning an SBI! yet - they are that confident of what they are doing.

And you don’t really have anything to lose with their money back guarantee- they realize that it isn’t for everyone. It is for you if you have the motivation and drive to do something better for yourself and family.

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The basis for my online success really just boils down to content. My site www.thebodyworker.com I started in 1999 and is now over 800 pages. My site www.massagepracticebuilder.com is probably about 200 pages. My site www.massagetherapycareers.com is about 250 and is done using Site Build It! - the all in one site-brainstorming-and-building-and-hosting-and-marketing, step-by-step system of software tools that delivers thriving, profitable business… and more.

Well today Content building just got made simpler. The new Content 2.0 system has been released for Site Build It! You no longer have to build the content yourself. Let your readers build it for you! It doesn’t get much easier than that…

The way it works is that anyone can fill out the form on your website and you can use it in a variety of ways - actually it’s potential is really unlimited. I am using it to create a directory of massage schools, to have people add their stories about becoming or being a massage therapist and to create a continuing education calendar for massage classes starting first with the Seattle area because I have some connections with local teachers who are looking for a way to promote their classes. I also am looking for guest authors to add their articles and information in the articles section - you can even get your own section if you want. It is sort of a myspace, blog, wiki all in one.

The way the new Content 2.0 system works is that you get to try it for the first 25 pages that are added and then it will cost extra. You don’t really put it on your site until you have about 30 pages of your own content and about 50 visitors a day. You need to have an established record and have a regular following who want to post pages for you.

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Everyone has been raving about this new book called the “Four Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris. I finally got it and read most of it and while there were a few good things in it, it really isn’t anything new.

The thing that struck me though is that it still sounds like he thinks of his work as work where I for one have never felt like doing massage or now writing ever felt like work. Some of the tricks he talks about to get out of doing something seem just that- like tricks - not quite deceitful but almost. Like he said he won the championship for kickboxing by finding two loopholes in the rules which allowed him to use dehydrating techniques to weigh in at a lower weight class and then rehydrate before the match and weigh almost 30 pounds more than his opponents. He also pushed his opponents off of the platform because there was a rule that said if someone went off 3x the other person would win. The bulk of the book is about tactics like that to get ahead in business.

Some of the things that he did point out that were quite interesting is the idea that who ever created the 8 hour day and how is it that ALL jobs - no matter what the type - require 8 hours a day to complete????

His idea that we all should be striving for happiness or ‘following your bliss’ or as he says excitement is what Site Build It! is all about but I would take it even a step farther and say -follow what makes you feel the most alive!

We get stuck in dead end jobs and just put up with it thinking that is the way it is all supposed to be. We keep trying to rationalize staying in abusive jobs that add to the feeling of deadness and boredom in our lives.

I already knew about not watching the news as he suggests and stop checking email 20x an hour and using automated responses to email to take care of some or most of your business details. That is what SBI! is all about.

The one big question he suggests that you ask yourself often during the day is “Am I being productive or just active?”

He also suggests focusing on the 20% of your clients who make you the most money and also weed out any problem clients who take up most of your time.

All of his suggestions are coming from a big corporation perspective- whether you work for one or run a business yourself. Applying them to a massage business may seem like you are causing more problems by turning clients away but I have found that the clearer I get about the kind of client that I want to work with, the busier my practice gets and the more I make which allows me to help others more.

He does make mention of a service business (of which massage therapy is included in that) and says that you should think about “converting your expertise into a shippable hard good to escape the limits of a per hour based model”. I would take that even farther and add that it doesn’t even have to be a hard good. Google Adsense is here which will allow you to write about a topic that you love and are an expert in and just get paid regularly for that.

He does have a few other good ideas for streamlining a business and taking a look at your dreams - but Site Build It! takes it way above and beyond some of his ideas and helps you brainstorm a business concept and takes you step by step -building an online empire that you can operate from anywhere in the world!

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To be effective as a massage therapist it is important to be able to manage your own feelings.
Managing your feelings doesn’t mean that you stuff them down and repress them. It means that you become aware of what’s going on inside of you, own your feelings as your own, heed the message that they have for you, and act responsibly. It means that you are able to have your feelings but not let them have you.

Managing your own feelings will allow you to remain present for your client and will also help give you insights as to what clients might be going through when they start to have feelings on the table.

Our emotions are very much a reflection of our beliefs about life events.

Say you are working in a spa setting or clinic setting and you suddenly are fired or let go for one reason or another. you are likely to feel an incredible amount of fear, as you perceive your very identity, much less your survival, to be at stake. If you are secure in allowing yourself to feel your feelings you will let yourself feel the sadness and pain of being let go. If you are not able to let yourself be vulnerable and feel those feelings, the feelings that are repressed are often released as anger or even rage and you may even feel like lashing out at someone verbally or even physically - you will be projecting these feelings onto another to relieve the stress that the feelings are causing.

When feelings of anger or even rage arise -while they are very real - they are a big sign that it is not the event or other person that is causing any feeling - it is your own beliefs that are the source of your emotions. If you find yourself lashing out, it is usually a result of you repressing another emotion such as feeling hurt, rejected or abandoned. Over-reactions are an indication that it is not about the current situation but from a repressed feeling from a very long time ago. You project that feeling onto another to try to relieve the stress it is causing you. You can tell when you are projecting a feeling by your reaction to it. If it is simply informing you than it is not a projection.

If on the other hand, you are a person who views your job simply as one aspect of your life, and you know that your inherent value lies in your unique skills and qualities, then your feelings and response to losing your job will probably be a whole lot different. You may just view this loss as an opportunity to explore a whole new path for yourself.

The bottom line here is this: how you feel in any situation corresponds exactly with what you believe about yourself and the situation. Master your beliefs, and you’ll master your emotions.

When we let our emotions run us, we miss the message that they carry. When we stuff them down for fear of what they might cause us to do, they simply lie in wait to emerge with a vengeance later on. Emotional mastery is the ability to process our emotions so that we receive their message and use their energy for appropriate action.

Being able to master your emotions will allow you to be more available to create a healing container for someone else to feel their feelings. The idea of a healing container comes from the psychology profession. As a massage therapist, the task is to create a safe place where people can learn to feel themselves. The therapeutic relationship often recreates our early patterns or blueprints that are embedded in the drama of your family of origin. Touch in the therapeutic relationship has profound ways of healing these patterns without the client even having to speak a word.

Peer Supervision is one way of becoming more aware of your challenges in dealing with your emotions and the challenges of staying present with a client. Getting regular massages also help you to understand what your clients go through when you touch them and assists in the process.

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