The Massage Pundit

There are at least six books entitled “Walking Between the Worlds”.  I’m borrowing the phrase, in this instance, to apply it to the practice of massage and the other things we do in my clinic, which include chiropractic, acupuncture, spa treatments and aesthetics. 

I attended a massage school that has a big focus on energy work, psychosomatic work (mainly on yourself), clearing out your old B.S. (belief systems) and spiritual growth.  It just so happened that the school was located two miles from my house when I had my mid-life crisis and decided to shift careers; I didn’t choose it because it was a woo-woo school, but it wasn’t a deterrent.  I’m a stubborn old wench, and nobody could persuade me to believe in anything I don’t want to believe in.  As students, we weren’t encouraged to believe in anything in particular, just to examine our ingrained learning and to be open to new experiences.  The telephone repairman came in one time when we were having a holotropic breathing session, and asked me if the place was some kind of cult.  We all got a big laugh out of it. 

I practiced Healing Touch for five years before I attended massage school.  I’ve taken a lot of body/mind/spirit oriented classes, for lack of a better term, and experienced a lot of things both in those, and in private sessions with a variety of practitioners, that people might think of as woo-woo (of course, some people still think massage itself is woo-woo), and found a lot of them to be extremely effective and valuable for getting rid of pain, both physical and emotional. In the privacy of my massage room, if I detect that a client might be open to a little clearing in one of those methods, I’ll offer one, but it isn’t what I’m known for. 

I’m coming up on the fifth anniversary of having my clinic open next week; my business has evolved to the point where there are a lot of doctor referrals and about 40% of our business is insurance-based.  Energy work modalities including Reiki and Healing Touch are listed on our brochure with the other services we perform. We sporadically get clients who book energy sessions, and of course every massage practitioner who does any energy work is certainly doing some during massage.  However, of the half-dozen physicians that are actual clients in our office as well as people who refer to us, I don’t think any of them has ever availed themselves of an energy session or referred anyone for anything other than massage, except one doctor who refers for acupuncture. 

I’m a continuing ed provider and host a lot of other instructors at my facility, and I seem to be bombarded by people who want to offer metaphysical classes, or their services, at my facility.  While I might want to avail myself of some of this–somewhere else–I have made the conscious choice to run a more medical type of business, and I won’t be hosting a workshop in Karmic Cleansing by Getting in Touch With Your Animal Spirit or How to Ascend to the Intergalactic Cosmic Federation anytime soon.  I don’t think it would help the credibility that I have worked hard to establish with the physicians in our community.

When you decide what direction you want your business to go in, choose the direction that makes you happy, and the one that you think will help you meet your personal and financial goals.  If you feel comfortable offering tarot readings or past-life regressions on your menu of services, go right ahead.  There’s room in the universe for all of us, the medical massage therapists and the woo-woo massage therapists and everybody in between.  We even cross over and visit each other sometimes.

 Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

I’ve been on a mission to simplify both my work life and my home life recently.  This started back in the spring when I was watching Suze Orman, the financial counselor, on television.  She made the statement that clutter in our homes and offices is a sign of clutter in our financial lives.  I mentioned in a previous post that the comment had spurred me to do some spring cleaning, and I’m glad to say that I think I’ve now taken that to the extreme.

What started at home as spring cleaning turned into a grand purge of my house.  I decided to act as if I were moving (I’m not) and get rid of everything I wouldn’t want to go to the trouble of packing and hauling.  What a pile!  I decided to have a garage sale.  At six a.m. I was outside arranging everything, and contrary to the weather report, it started to rain.  I made the snap decision to call a friend who is a perpetual yard-seller, and gave it all away.  I also filled two trunks with family heirlooms that I want to pass on to my neices, with the thought that if I gave all that stuff to them now instead of making them wait until I fall over dead to inherit it, I could get it out of my house.

On to the office…by this time I was on a real rampage.  I cleaned and de-cluttered and enrolled the staff into doing the same in their treatment rooms.  How much stuff does it take to do a massage, anyway?  After a few years in practice, the things you collect just seem to get out of hand.  I remember a comedy routine that the recently departed George Carlin had about “stuff”.  He talked about getting rid of your “stuff” so you would have more room to get more “stuff”.  I have made a vow not to fall into that; I’m not getting any more “stuff.”

Then I decided to call a staff meeting.  I sent out for pizza and we had a pow-wow, cleared the air of a few issues that have been bugging me and others, as will happen anytime there’s a group of people working together, and just had a great time talking about where we all are in our process and where we want to go.  I swear you could actually see the energy shift take place.

We’re all facing our own issues in our personal and work lives.  We can hang on to those just as long as we want to, our we can take a deep breath and let them go.  I let a lot of stuff go in the last couple of weeks, and I even lost a few pounds without making any effort to do so–maybe those issues were carrying some real weight–but in any case, I even feel lighter.  The funny thing at the office is that even those clients who don’t actually have the consciousness of energy have come in and said things like “Did you paint in here?” (No.)  “Is that a new bench?” (No.)  “Is something different in here?” (Yes, the energy.)  Just affirming the fact that cleaning and clearing is, as Martha Stewart would say, a good thing.

Peace and Prosperity,

Laura Allen

I am happy to report that the revisions to our Practice Act passed unanimously through the NC House Finance Committee this morning without interference from the NCBTMB, as they had threatened to do.

I’m not quite finished with my rant, though.  Several months ago I contact the NCBTMB to ask them why their schedule of approving providers and renewals was set up so that those of us who are renewing weren’t supposed to have their renewals in until they were already expired.  I asked why we weren’t on a schedule of having them in earlier so that people are not out there providing education on an expired certificate.  The reply was that they “love to receive early renewals” and encouraged me to send it in early if I wanted to.  I did send it several weeks ahead of the deadline.  Yesterday I received a letter telling me that they were overwhelmed and that my renewal application would be reviewed at the end of August (after it expires).

I also found a letter in my mailbox, just a couple of days after six members of the NCBTMB appeared at our state board’s meeting, informing us that Chris Laxton, who was present with the rest of their representatives at that meeting, has been fired as CEO and informing us that no one was to have any contact with him, or with the media in regards to it.  Am I the media?  Yikes!  I’d like to know where the transparency is in this organization.  They’re acting like some sort of cloak and dagger operation. 

I also wonder, if they were staying at home attending to the business of actually operating the National Board, instead of out running around the country threatening state boards that are adopting the MBLEx like they did at our board meeting two weeks ago, if my renewal application could have been renewed on time. 

On a positive note, AMTA President MK Brennan sent out a press release earlier today about the upcoming Body of Knowledge meeting later this month.  I followed the link to the details and see that ABMP is in fact attending the meeting, along with around 17 other organizations.  I’m glad to see that work out.  Collaboration is a great thing.  Competition is a great thing.  Collaborative competition is a great thing.  Some of these organizations may be technically competitors of each other, but we all have a common thread, and that is using the power of touch to restore and heal.  If the attendees can take that spirit and that great energy and apply it to the task at hand, leaving ego at the door, it should be a great gathering.  Bless them all and the work they hope to do.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen