Archive for the ‘Just For MTs’ Category

5 steps to Being Professional as a Massage Therapist

Friday, August 28th, 2009

1. Respond to Potential clients

Answer your phone, try to get back to voice mail and e-mail within one business day.

2. Look Serious.

It doesn’t have to be a uniform but take a look at yourself in the mirror before you leave.

3. Your clients should know you.

Introduce yourself, wear a nametag, be yourself - clients need to be educated on what it is you do, be open and honest and you’ll attract clients that are right for you.

4. Get to know other professionals.

It’s not just about knowing what others are doing, and being caddy. It’s about knowing other professionals, their strengths and how you can refer business to them. This holds for any profession and especially massage therapists, knowing a great Hot Stone Bodyworker, Thai Yoga, or Prenatal can keep you on track if you have other expertise.

5. Build a presence.

Have your name be synonomous with what it is you do. Use marketing of all types to make your name be at the top of the list when someone thinks of “insert massage or your specialty here”

Massage Music links

Friday, December 19th, 2008

A massage therapy session is a Solo Journey Massage Music links, everyone has different musical tastes, the possibilities are almost as limitless as the variations on massage sessions themselves.  It is important for the therapist to be
In tune Massage Music links with the massage client on every level possible.    There are those who could receive massage to anything, yes even Black Sabbath Massage Music links or Metallica Massage Music links.   Check out Vitamin String Quartet Massage Music links for a wide variety of Rock hits that may soothe any savage beast, and be pleasant for both the massage therapist and the massage client.

Music for Relaxation, Meditation and Massage can get expensive,  you and your clients do not want to hear the same thing over and over.  Even sound therapy machines have a wide variety of settings and even replaceable “sound cards” in some cases .

Music For Massage Massage Music links can be affordable, if you know where to look.  I found all of the CDs in the Musical Massage Collection Massage Music links at my local dollar store - just three bucks for all three (click the link to get it for just 75 cents more, and save a trip to the store. Musical Massage Collection, Vol. 2 Massage Music links is also available.

On my massage music page, you will find some iMixes I made with Widgetbox & iTunes.  It takes some time to make these when working with certain types and styles of music because all of the included songs must be available on iTunes.

“Deep Tissue” massage, always subjective

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

A client came in requesting [amazon-product type="text" text="deep tissue massage"]1556436505[/amazon-product] , stating she had previously received deep tissue and loved the massage therapist(a colleague I know) she had worked with. She gave me a list of what was going on (i.e. hip and low back problems, bad shoulders, etc.) and told me that most massage therapists commented to her about just how bad her back was.

It is a bit daunting to have someone request a copy of work they’ve loved from another therapist. Any good MT will tell you that [amazon-product type="text" text="deep tissue"]1556436505[/amazon-product] above all is very subjective, both from the client’s perspective as well as that of the massage therapist. The reason for this is that most massage does get deep at one point or another, from a client’s view, deep could either mean firm pressure (broad or even small strokes not targeted to muscle but the skin itself.) or “real [amazon-product type="text" text="deep tissue"]1556436505[/amazon-product]” which most purists on both sides would say of working with specific muscles being keenly attentive to fiber direction, insertion and origin points, and so on. (more…)

ABMP free website tips

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

 The ABMP free website has a fairly easy interface, that is if you use the right web application. I’ll only be talking PCs here for the time being, sorry Mac users. When creating your website ABMP will walk you through creating a start page, selecting a template, etc. Mozilla Firefox vs. Internet Explorer For PC users it is easier to use IE(internet explorer) than FireFox. Why? To tell the truth, it’s mostly about functionality, there are ways to use Firefox, you’ll see a little tutorial box at the bottom of the screen. However, this s deceptive as it only showed up once for me. I made the suggested change and no more tutorial button !?! A true WTF. However, my experience with the IE version has been quite different. The website you get is hosted by ABMP and they use Frontpage as the interface(Bill Gates wins again.) The reason is, that for the most part it’s easy to use. The Microsoft Motto seems to be, if you can use Word you can use anything, a fairly good philosophy for the masses. I’m no script kitten, I go with the "can’t someone else do the programming" mantra. So there you go, FrontPage, a fairly easy website creation application. Soon will follow the steps involved in creating a website, for free, using your hands, we massage therapists are good at that, right? Step One - Picking a template. There are ten or twelve options in the menu. You should be more concerned with format, orientation of frames, pictures, etc. Not typeface, the actual pictures themselves, or the number of pages. All of these can be changed easily. You can add those things, it’s the framework that matters most. Do you want rounded edges, clean lines, colored background? You can preview each template very easily. Now is the time to decide, pick whichever one speaks to you. Template notes: Think of the templates as framework, like a new house just before the walls get put in, Things can be added or subtracted, the frame simply lays a simple structure that can be easily worked with. The house can be painted different colors, have different pictures, but you still need the framework in order for any of that to happen.

Free website with ABMP membership

Monday, September 29th, 2008
Massage Therapy

ABMP

I am so glad to be a part of an organization which is truly dedicated to its members. The Association Bodywork and Massage Professionals offers its members a free website, this fact highlights the Professional aspect of the Association. I think in this time with web 2.0 and everything else going on in the world, technology has become a matter of fact and not mere fiction. People find the services and information they need through their computer and not merely through word of mouth or print as in days gone by.

My aim in the future is to help others in the Association utilize this in the best way possible. I myself, have expanded to an integrated ie. static(traditional) and dynamic(blog) site. This will happen in the form of a series of posts and comment responses, etc. I will help any therapist, near or far, as best as I am able.

If you are a massage therapist and are interested in making better use of the internet, no matter your association affiliation, I may be contacted directly at jvaughn@massagetherapy.com

Twenty sessions in three days

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

I’m finding it hard to believe myself. I would not really recommend this sort of pace to anyone, it just sort of happened. The same day I worked with Cirque I also had sessions at the spa.  Fortunately ,most of the 20 were half-hours, on the other hand they were also Deep Tissue Massage Twenty sessions in three days
. (Doesn’t anyone want a hot stone session?) Friday nights in Paradise are picking back up. Saturdays as well, it seems that love is in the air and couples are happily relaxing together.  So far today I just have three sessions, thank goodness.

I’m not exactly sure how I got thru last night, a little help from my friend Gena I think. I’m heading out for sessions 18 thru 20 now. Surprisingly, I’m feeling great, arms are a bit sore, but everything is working. I’m going to take my own advice about ICE and hopefully I will get some rest before the week starts over again. (note: my week ends on Monday, just a quirky thing about being an MT - the schedule is like no other)   Hopefully, I can find another therapist who hasn’t had a similar week to give me a much needed and well-deserved massage.