Massage Collage

I am seeing a disturbing trend in the past few years, and that is the children whose little bodies are such  stressed-out wrecks full of taut muscles and knots.  I’m not a parent, so this isn’t something I’ve dealt with personally on a daily basis (or been the cause of, thankfully).  But there are a few enlightened parents out there who bring their children in for massage, and it’s terrible to me to touch an 8-year old who feels like he has the stressed-out shoulders of a stockbroker on crash day.

One factor is certainly the heavy book bags kids carry.  Why does a first-grader need to carry twenty-five pounds on his back?  I urge parents to get a rolling suitcase instead. 

Sometimes, sports-related or other injuries are the reasons parents bring children in.  I often wonder how many injuries it takes to get it through to a parent that enough is enough.  One mother told me her daughter, whom she truly considered to be a future Olympian, had decided to give up gymnastics when she realized at the age of ten that she was having her thirteenth MRI.  In defense of the mother, she had supported, but never forced, her little girl’s desire to be a gymnast, but I have seen some children where that wasn’t the case.

Early in my career I had three sisters as clients, who when they started with me were 8, 12, and 16.  They were all competitive swimmers–because their father, a swim coach, insisted that they be.  They all hated it.  One of them wanted to take piano lessons; one wanted to be a cheerleader, and the other wanted to be in the local theatre group, but they were all forbidden outside activities that would interfere with their training time and their swim meets.  That was a lot of years ago.  I’ve thought about them from time to time and wondered if the resentment I could feel them carrying in their shoulders is still there.  I hope not. 

If you’re still a new therapist and haven’t yet had the opportunity to work with children, it’s good to have some guidelines to go by.  In my clinic, for anyone from infants through the age of twelve, we want the parent to be in the room during the massage.  The intake is very thorough, for no other reason than we want to take a little extra conversation time to make the child feel comfortable about a stranger touching them.  We insist that children leave their underwear on.  We don’t touch the gluts or any other potentially sensitive areas unless it’s really necessary to the treatment, we explain to the parent and child what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, and the parent is sitting right there.  We ascertain at the time the appointment is being made if the parent prefers a therapist of the same sex.  For very young children, we might limit the massage to thirty minutes; it’s sometimes hard to get them to lay still longer than that, and they don’t have as much terrain to cover as an adult.

Children have stress too, and they need positive touch.It’s a privilege to provide it to them. 

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on March 20th, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | 2 Comments »

This weekend the change over to daylight savings time is a sure sign that spring is on the way.  We had a little strange weather here in the NC mountains this weekend with a weird ice storm one moment, and five minutes later the sun coming out.  I’m glad to say it doesn’t look like the ice harmed the numerous daffodils that are already in full bloom here.

Spring is a great time of renewal all around, so why not look at it as a great time to renew your business and marketing strategies and do a little spring cleaning?  The other day I was watching Suze Orman, the financial advisor and author on television, and she talked about how clutter in our homes and offices is also a sign of clutter in our financial lives.  It struck me as being right on the money, so to speak, so I jumped up and started my spring cleaning right after the show! 

A fresh coat of paint in the office, bringing in a bouquet of some beautiful spring flowers, and implementing some fresh new advertising can help you get over the winter doldrums and revitalize and refresh you and your practice.  Spring break is just around the corner.  One promotion I’ve successfully done in the past was to advertise a mother/daughter day during spring break, with specials on hot stone massage or salt scrubs.  Lots of moms have taken advantage of it to treat their daughters that come home from college for the week.  It’s a little bonding time for them and a business boon for you.

You can hear a few more of my marketing strategies next Monday, March 17, 11:30 Eastern daylight time, by tuning into the free seminar  I am doing with Felicia Brown, owner of Spalutions! Felicia is a very successful massage therapist, a great instructor and is very in-demand as a business consultant to spas and massage therapists.  She offers an ongoing roster of teleseminars and webinars for people in our industry.  If you can’t listen to the live broadcast, it will be available for two weeks after the event, so you can still listen to it.  I’ve never done a live seminar on the web before so it’ll be exciting.  Please tune in if you can.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on March 10th, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »

I was fortunate enough yesterday to host Nina McIntosh, author of The Educated Heart, at my continuing ed facility for a class on ethics.  The Educated Heart was the first ethics book specifically written for those in our profession.  It came out in 1999, went through 8 printings, and in 2005 LWW acquired it and published the second edition.  

Nina is one of the grandmothers of massage.  After starting a career in psychiatric social work, she became a massage therapist in 1978 and later became a Rolfer, maintaining a practice for almost 30 years.  Her years of practicing bodywork have given her a wellspring of knowledge and experience to draw on that certainly benefitted everyone in the class.  One of the focuses of Nina’s class was boundaries–not the client’s boundaries, but our own.  We did some great role-playing that was not only enlightening, but fun, too. 

The class was a mixture of brand-new therapists attending their first continuing ed class, a school owner, and people who have been practicing for years.  We all got something new out of it.  One of the role-playing exercises was in dealing with difficult clients in a manner that was wishy-washy, then being judgmental, and then finally, acting like the professionals we are supposed to be.  I found out I’m not very good at being wishy-washy, but I’m pretty good at being judgmental!  Since that’s not a quality I want to maintain, it was definitely a useful exercise. 

We’re all faced with clients from time to time who want us to be more than we are.  We’re here to be massage therapists and bodyworkers.  We’re not here to be anyone’s savior, or to take on anyone’s personal issues, and yet, it’s easy to get caught up in that.  We sometimes get those clients who seem to be emotionally “needy”, and due to the personal nature of our therapeutic relationship with them, they choose us to be their lifeline.  You know the ones I mean; when they’ve left it feels like they sucked the oxygen out of the room and took it with them, leaving us feeling drained in their wake.

The newbies in the class both had the same comment about this type of client; they’re just starting out as massage therapists, still trying to build a clientele, and not exactly comfortable with the idea of dismissing a client who hasn’t really committed a tangible offense like doing something sexual.  But now they also recognize that at the beginning of their careers is the time to learn the tools for dealing with such clients, rather than waiting until they have a roster full of people who are trying to suck them dry.

Whether you’re just starting out, or an old hand, so to speak, Nina’s book is a great resource.  And if you ever get the opportunity to take a class from this great lady, don’t pass it up.  You can visit her website at www.educatedheart.com

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on March 2nd, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | No Comments »

Don’t you just cringe when you hear the term massage parlor?  I certainly do.  I usually try to consider the source and correct the person without being rude about it.  The other day an elderly client called her ride after the session and totally without malice said into the phone, “I’m finished at the massage parlor, will you come and pick me up?”  I realize that’s the terminology she grew up hearing, and at the age of 90 an old habit might be hard to break. 

I think we all have to do our part to change that perception, sometimes a little more forcefully than others. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I accept insurance at my office.  There’s a hospital nearby that gives their employees a monthly debit card for 200.00 as part of their benefit that they may spend any way they want to that’s related to healthcare, including massage.  I recently switched credit card processors.  I’ve noticed when I was working the desk that a couple of cards from the hospital employees had been declined, and at the time really didn’t give it any thought; I just assumed the client had gone over their limit for the month.  I would have gone on thinking that, until one of those clients called to tell me that she had called the credit card company to find out why she was declined.  The reason was because the credit card processing company had our business listed as—you’ve got it—a massage parlor.

I almost choked.  I called them immediately and demanded that they reclassify us as a healthcare business.  The woman on the other end of the phone was apologetic and assured me she’d take care of it.

A week later, it happened again.  This time, I called and asked to speak to a supervisor.  I told her I was very embarrassed about the fact that I had recommended the company to other massage therapists, and that I wanted this situation taken care of that same day.  Two hours later, she called me back and said it was taken care of.

I am just wondering how many therapists dealing with this huge company, or any credit card processors for that matter, are classified as massage parlors, and they’ll probably never know it if they aren’t accepting insurance.  Call up your processor and ask them how your business is classified.  I hope you don’t get the same rude awakening I did, but if you do, just insist that they change it and keep bugging them until they do. 

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on February 23rd, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | No Comments »

Are you already sick and tired of hearing about the presidential election?  I am, and just think, it’s going to drag on until November, but it’s made me think this would be a good time to write about the politics of massage. 

I am currently serving a term on our state massage therapy board.  What a rude awakening that’s been!  I would like to think, and so would you, that everyone who enters our profession is going to act ethically.  I’d like serving on the board much better if there were no such things as disciplinary hearings to participate in.  It’s distressing to be on the jury, so to speak, that is charged with deciding whether or not someone has behaved in a manner that should cost them their license to practice massage, but it’s part of the job.  It’s also a dance, of sorts, when the board members disagree with each other, as often happens.  We have to put ego aside, and try to act in the best interest of the public. 

Prior to my appointment to the board, I was serving our state chapter of AMTA in an administrative capacity.  Since there weren’t any disciplinary hearings involved in that job, it was a lot more fun.  The main thing that spurred me into action was simply wanting to be involved in an organization that does so much for the advancement of massage therapy.

There are a number of ways to get involved in the politics that shape our profession.  State boards are obligated to have a period set aside for public comment at each meeting, and every time I teach a class, I encourage the therapists who are present to attend a meeting and make their voice heard.  We do truly listen, and sometimes the comments from the public and members of the profession have been the catalyst for making a change in the practice act or board rules and proceedings.

AMTA and the National Board have their elections, and I wouldn’t miss a chance to vote for the people who are going to influence the direction of massage any more than I would miss voting for the president (although I must say, at the moment, that one is still up in the air for me). 

I’m very pleased at the number of states who have joined the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards.  This collaboration of boards is only going to enhance the profession and eventually the portability of licensure. 

I’m not a person who enjoys reading all the wherefores and whereas, but I want to exercise my right to have a say in where we take our profession in the future.  If you want to exercise yours, then vote for our leaders.  Attend a board meeting and your state and national conventions.  Volunteer to serve in any capacity you can make the time for.  Throw your name in the hat for an election if you’re so inclined.  In addition to learning a lot, being in service is also an invaluable networking opportunity.  And most important, it’s a way to give back a little of what massage therapy has given us.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on February 14th, 2008 by Laura Allen
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I had a painful learning experience this week. I got a call from a woman who said an acquaintance of mine had suggested she get in touch.  She explained that she does cardio screenings that detect blockages, check artery wall elasticity and so forth, and that she offers them at the low price of 30.00.  She told me about the device she uses and said it was FDA approved.  It sounded like a good service my clients would benefit from, so I agreed to have her come to my office on a certain day to do it.  That was my big mistake; agreeing to do it before I thoroughly researched the device.  At my age I should know better!

She followed up with an email with a link to information about the device.  I went to the website, and it appears that the sole purpose of the screening is to sign people up into a MLM company, and get them on autoship for an expensive product that will supposedly reverse heart disease.  People who don’t have any problems detected are encouraged to buy the product anyway as a preventative measure. 

I should state that I have been involved with a particular MLM company for almost a decade.  This is not a slam on MLMs.  I personally choose not to recruit people; I don’t hold any meetings or go to any meetings; I just want the product they sell for myself and being signed up as a distributor allows me to buy it at a cheaper price.  My beef is not that the company she represents is a MLM company; my beef is that I agreed to host something because I thought it was about providing a service, with no knowledge that it was really about selling something.  She had not mentioned any relationship to any product at all during our phone conversation.

I emailed her and told her I was still willing to host her at my facility, only on the condition that I would advertise it honestly to my mailing list as an opportunity to hear about a MLM product, and stating that the cardio screenings would be available.  I wanted people to know up front that they would be listening to a sales pitch.  I also asked her some questions about contraindications for the product, and what kind of intake process she conducted–because by that time I had done some research and found that there are certain people who shouldn’t take it at all–and she wouldn’t answer any of my questions, but diverted every one of them.

I had all kinds of red flags going off in my head about the whole thing at that point, so I told her I was very sorry that I had agreed to it without doing the research to see what it was about, but I was going to have to bow out of it. I tried to be as polite as possible about it.

A few hours later, I received an email from her attacking my character, telling me I was obviously the type of person that she wouldn’t want to be associated with and that it was apparent I am only in this business for the money.  I was so shocked I could have fallen over. 

What my clients think of me is important to me.  I want my customers to think of me as someone who is concerned with their well-being and someone who conducts my business honestly.  I can’t recall ever being attacked this way, and it hurt my feelings to have those things said to me–even though it was by someone who doesn’t know me or know anything about me, and I know I shouldn’t take it personally, but that’s easier said than done at times.

Retailing anything already puts us in the position of assuming dual roles, and we must be careful about it. It just did not resonate with me to suck people in on the guise of having a health screening when it was actually about selling them something.  My big mistake was not doing my research first. 

If you’re hosting a health screening of any kind, that is a nice way of providing a service to clients, and in the past I’ve hosted blood pressure screenings,cholesterol checks,  and so forth with no problems.  But if you’re offering some type of screening that is related to selling people a product, I think you should represent that upfront and honestly when you advertise it.  It’s just the right thing to do.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on February 2nd, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »

I realized some time ago that even if I stayed at my office until midnight every night, I’d still have things waiting to be done.  My list is long and on-going; cross one thing off and put on another. 

I’m an early morning riser and a recovering workaholic; usually up before 5, at the office no later than 7:30, and for the past four years since opening my clinic, I’ve been there until 7:30 many nights.  I’ve resolved to give that up this year as we’re heading into our fifth year.  I’ve been making a big effort to go home at 5 pm since the New Year, and I’ve probably made that goal at least half the time–a pretty big improvement.  I’ve also resolved not to work every Saturday this year, and no Sundays at all unless I’m teaching a class that’s of three days duration or longer. 

I don’t expect I’ll be doing any less work; in fact, I’m at home right now writing this column, and I do a lot of writing and class planning at home in the evenings or the wee hours of the morning. 

I’ve always been well organized, and I’m a stickler for punctuality, but even so, I’ve felt the need recently to take back control of some of my time.  Clients are the reason for our day, not an interruption of it, but I’ve started noticing how many other things that are interruptions are eating into my time.  Telemarketers call my office numerous times a day, in spite of the fact I’m on the do-not-call list.  People walk in the door trying to sell me something, in spite of the sign in red letters that says “no soliciting.”

I’m a plain-spoken person and I can be tactless at times.  I do try to control myself with clients and I don’t think I’ve ever been tactless in that area, but I’ve been catching myself getting a little testy with the uninvited callers and unwelcome solicitors, especially when they’re repeat offenders.  I’ve blocked calls, I’ve hung up on them, I’ve walked off and left them talking to the air while I left the phone off the hook; I’ve been a smart-aleck and asked them to give me their number so I could call back and bother them at an inconvenient time.  I’ve learned to say “So, I see you decided to ignore my no soliciting sign” in a voice that would make the wicked witch of the west cringe when someone walks in and starts their sales pitch.

My priority is taking care of the clients in my business, and taking care of the business end of my business.  I’m the maid and the laundry person, the receptionist, the bookkeeper and the insurance filer, in addition to being a massage therapist.  If you’re just starting out in business for yourself, chances are you’re doing all or most of those things too.  My office is spotless, but I can’t make the same claim about my house.  I just tell people I’m saving those cobwebs for the Halloween party.

While I think most people can relate to my irritation with telemarketers and unwelcome salespeople, I try to bear in mind that they’re people just like me who are trying to make a living; they just happen to have a job that irritates a lot of people. I wonder how many times a day the average telemarketer gets hung up on or cursed at.  I imagine their day is a lot different from yours and mine.  We’re used to our customers thanking us and singing our praises for making them feel better.

In the interest of promoting massage while practicing effective time management, I have decided not to hang up on telemarketers or be rude to unwelcome salespeople any more.  Instead, I’ll just interrupt them and ask them if they’ve ever had a massage.  Then I’ll start talking about the benefits of it until they get irritated and walk out or hang up on me. That’ll fix ‘em.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on January 27th, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | No Comments »

Once in awhile, everything just comes together.  This week was especially exciting for me. 

I’ve been trying to manifest a chiropractor joining our practice for several years.  I haven’t advertised for one; instead I trusted the universe to send me the right one at the right time.  That has happened this week in the person of Dr. Ezra Edgerton, who is also a naturopath.  He’ll be moving into the office the first week of February.  I actually met Ezra years ago at the Sunday music jam.  He plays the heck out of the fiddle too, and especially likes to play along on my Irish tunes, so it’s a double blessing for me to get him to join us. People walking up the sidewalk after hours may hear a jig or two wafting out the window!

A day after I got that news, I received the first copy hot off the press of my new book, One Year to a Successful Massage Therapy Practice (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins).  I wrote the book to give therapists a boost in no-cost and low-cost ways to market themselves. My hope is that it will really help those who are just starting out, as well as “old hands” who might be feeling a little stuck in their practice.

The third glorious thing that happened was snow!  Now, some of you folks who live up north and in the mid-west may be just plain sick of snow by now, but here in North Carolina, we haven’t had a good one since 1993.  I have attributed that to global warming, and I have actually been in fear that it was never going to snow again.  My dog is 8 years old and had never seen snow until this week.  He acted quite prissy about stepping on it at first, but then he really seemed to enjoy playing in it, and so did I.  I look at snow as a guilt-free day off work.  It’s beyond your control, so just take the day off and enjoy it.  I was quite surprised when one of my staff members called me at home to ask a question; it seems that four of my therapists, including one that travels nearly fifty miles to get here, had come to work anyway and were all busy!  They must have all wanted to work worse than I did, and apparently the people who had appointments scheduled weren’t going to let a few inches of snow interfere with their massage appointment.  My husband and I stayed home watching old movies on television.

I feel very honored to be invited to be on this blog.  I first read John Barnes’ book, Healing Ancient Wounds: the Renegade’s Wisdom (MFR Treatment Centers and Seminars, 2000) when I was still a new therapist and I’ve looked back over it many times.  Between Mr. Barnes and the other authors on here, I feel like I’m in very illustrious company. 

We’re all blessed, aren’t we?  We have the best job in the world–helping people feel better.  Every day is a new opportunity to make a difference in the quality of someone’s life.  That’s always been the biggest thrill for me in this business, even more so than the money, to see someone who walked in the door stressed out and in pain walk out an hour later looking like they just got back from a great vacation.  It is just a wonderful thing to be able to facilitate that for people and to go to a job I look forward to every day.  We’re all blessed, and we get to share that blessing in our work. 

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

p.s.  Go get a massage this week!

Posted on January 20th, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | No Comments »

This weekend I took a five-hour roadtrip to the other side of North Carolina to teach a class.  As usual, I didn’t plan for an extra day or two to meander; it was just get there and get back as quickly as possible, and that’s kind of sad.

My husband was doing the driving, which gave me more time to look at the scenery.  We left the mountains where we live and headed for the coast.  Some of the things I noticed made me wish we had planned a longer trip.  There was a gold-panning operation going beside a beautiful river.  Another few miles up the road, a sign pointed to “The Old Covered Bridge.”  Some of you might see plenty of covered bridges where you live, but they’re a rarity in these parts.  One exit ramp had a sign offering up “The Country Doctor Museum.”

The land flattened out and I started noticing the beautiful dark waters of the swamplands, and the fertile farms growing winter hay.  Old tobacco smokehouses stood abandoned in the middle of some of the fields, looking ancient and forlorn and almost surreal. 

It seems that every mile or two, there’s a historical marker telling about some Civil War battle or campsite or general born nearby, or the homeplace of some long-ago poet or politician. 

I started thinking about how many interesting and beautiful things I’ve never seen are practically in my own backyard, and I’ll bet most of us could say the same.  We’re busy, we’re in a hurry, and we just don’t stop to see them. 

I’ve realized my business isn’t going to fall to pieces if I take an extra day off, so next time, I’m going to plan to take the byway instead of the highway.  Maybe even stop to pan for gold, or picnic on the river beside the covered bridge.  I’ll  just take time to slow down and smell the hay, and be in the moment instead of getting to my destination as fast as I can.  I wish the same for you.

 Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Posted on January 13th, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »

I’m a musician myself.  I started learning piano when I was six, picked up the guitar at nine, and I’ve been playing in one band or another continuously since I was a teenager.  Over the years I’ve added the dulcimer, various drums, the harmonica, the autoharp, and a few other instruments into my repertoire.  If I want the  house to myself for a few hours, all I have to do is get my fiddle out of the case and my husband will develop a sudden urge to go somewhere. I can’t imagine my life without music in it.  It’s my joy and my stress relief.

Most of the music I play is not an appropriate accompaniment to massage, which brings me to the point of this week’s blog.  Do you give a lot of thought to the music you play in your massage room?

I remember when I was a massage student, I was assigned to double-team a client with an older and more experienced therapist who worked in the clinic attached to the school.  I entered the treatment room and was shocked to hear Lynyrd Skynyrd coming from the CD player.  As it turned out, the client had brought it with him, and as he had explained to the other therapist before I entered the room, he didn’t like that “wishy-washy” music that was usually played when he was getting a massage.

We’re taught in massage school to check in with the client about the pressure, the temperature of the room and so forth, but I can’t recall any of my massage teachers suggesting that we need to check in with the client about the music in the room, other than to ask if it’s too loud. 

I’ve had a number of clients over the years who asked me not to play any music at all, because they just wanted peace and quiet while they were getting their massage.  I’ve had other clients that brought in a CD (although never another one that brought in Lynyrd Skynyrd) that they wanted to hear during their session.

A few months ago I was giving a massage and playing one of my favorite CDs, which happens to be soothing classical guitar music with some nature sounds in the background.  The client asked me to take it off because, she said, it was “creeping her out”. 

One of the therapists who works in my office used to work for a chiropractor who had music piped all through the building, including her massage room, so that she (and the client) was forced to listen to whatever was playing at the time.  The day she came to my office to apply for a job, she stated to me that she had been giving a man a massage when Marvin Gaye floated over the airwaves crooning “Sexual Healing.”  There was no way for her to turn it off or even down, and she said it was just the final straw for her in working at a place where she was unhappy in her circumstances.

I have learned that not everyone likes Gregorian chants, the afore-mentioned nature CDs, kirtan, Irish airs on the harp, the Native American flute, mantras, classical music, or even the myriad of music made just for massage and labeled as such.  Just because I personally like it doesn’t mean the client does. 

My solution to this problem is just to ask the client if they would like to have music during the session, and to offer to let them choose a CD from a basket containing a dozen or so various selections. 

Music, or the lack of it if that’s their choice, should be a part of the client’s total massage experience.  We need to be tuned in to what the client finds soothing and relaxing, and realize that it might not be the same thing we find soothing or relaxing.

And if you’d care to hear me play the harmonica, you can visit my website at www.thera-ssage.com and turn up the volume!

 Peace & Prosperity,

 Laura Allen

Posted on January 7th, 2008 by Laura Allen
Filed under: General | 3 Comments »