The Art of Getting Good

[2nd In Command to Chris]

I have completed 525 of massage school, so technically I am not a student.  And yet I am a student all the time.  I am constantly devouring reference material and I LOVE learning about what I am interested in.  I don't want there to be a time when I finished learning new things....BUT....I really want to get good at being a massage therapist (really my goal is to be a holistic practitioner).Today a woman I know made a 30 min appointment for her grown daughter who has a crink in her neck (this is the info I got from the receptionist at the salon where I am an IC).  So I was thinking no problem...make sure the tissue isn't inflammed, I thought of how I could make a cold compress and a hot compress and use them during the session.  I feel pretty good about my neck work and my palpation skills and so I was looking forward to this appointment.Well when the daughter shows up I learn that she was in a severe car wreck almost 20 years ago that left her in a coma for 2 weeks and she had to learn to talk and walk again.  She told me that nothing broke in the accident but that she had major brain trauma.  She has by no means returned to normal, she doesn't have the use of her right hand, one of her eyes is permanently looking somewhere else, and she walks with great effort.  However, she's managed to take up left handed activities (she was right handed) and she's gone on to have four children!  Okay, so then she's telling me that she's got this crink in her neck and also her back hurts (both on the right side) and when I get her on my table I suddenly don't know what to do!  I start with her neck and I definitely feel trigger points, but really what was going through my mind was how she needed so much work done!I felt really incompetent.  I think my error was that I started assuming all this stuff about her and I didn't just deal with the pain she came to me for.  But I can't help but feel like SUCH a beginner, and I am really.  Without practice how will I get good?  But sometimes I feel like I don't even KNOW what to practice when I do get the chance.  Reading and reading and reading does nothing when I can't draw upon the information.Anyway, that's just how I feel sometimes.  Any thoughts or great stories to share or tips on practicing the art of getting good would be greatly appreciated.  Otherwise, I'm just sending it out there for someone else who might feel the same.Thanks for letting me share.

 

[Sammy]

Hi Anita. I have angst about what it's going to be like when I get out of school. My way of dealing with it so far has been to try and set up exchanges and practice sessions as often and with as many different people as I can. Like you say, more practice is what adds to confidence and competence.I'm sure everyone here has had that feeling of not knowing what to do at some point in their careers. It seems to me the way you're thinking about it, you're going to be a great MT.It also sounds like you got a pretty challenging client to deal with without any advance notice. From your description, she probably does need a fair amount of work. I know I have a difficult time keeping to a specific agenda when I'm working on someone who comes in with neck issues but I find trigger points in other parts of  their body. And I've never even had a complex one like yours! It sounds like it was a bit overwhelming. How did she react to the treatment?I love your attitude of wanting to consider yourself a student always. I'm 45, and expect to be a student the rest of my life.  That's what keeps life interesting!

 

[Gbubb]

The Art of Getting Good

How did she react to the treatment?

It was her first massage and she said it was relaxing.  Really the more I look back on it, I know that I overwhelmed myself unneccessarily.  She came in for pain in her neck and back just like alot of other clients and I chose to focus on the trauma of the car accident.  Live and Learn....I don't get overwhelmed with other clients and their pain.

Also when I am more busy than I am now I feel a certain "flow"...a certain level of productivity that helps keep the momentum going and I feel smarter and more on top of things.

Merlescuz, thanks for writing!

 

[Alec]

The Art of Getting Good

Sometimes I have moments of panic...I don't remember anything I ever learned, Oh my gosh what am I doing?? Sometimes I feel like there are so many things I don't know, so much that there is still to learn that it overwhelms me. I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone

 

[Waverly H]

The Art of Getting Good

Whenever I doubt myself, I always turn to 'focus' and 'intention'. I have over 800 hrs in school, and over 7 yrs of being in business as an MT, and sometimes I get a bit derailed too. It has always been my savior: taking a second to breath deeply & refocus on metta practice (loving kindness and being present). Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[Pompal 09.]

I have not been licensed very long, and honestly, sometimes I feel like a fraud.  The first 6 months it sometimes felt like I hadn't a clue what I was doing, and longed to be back in the clinic. It gets better over time with practice.

 

[kAt Go RaWr!!!]

The Art of Getting Good

Pearl, Why would you ever feel like a fraud? Keep it simple. Don't promise or explain what you don't know. Let the results & the changes & benefits clients experience speak for themselves. Your massages (even if they are great right now - some people just have the knack right away) will get better. Your knowledge will increase. You'll have more answers to more questions as you grow. And (here's the kicker) the answers will change as we learn more about the field of massage! (i.e. the lactic acid myth and the controversy about arterial vs local circulation increase). Its a constant evolution, if you move along the path as opposed to staying still. If you stay simple & concentrate on the experience you are creating for your client, you cannot go wrong. Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[xxxobscureabyssxxx]

It's a great reminder to just let the clients own their experience.  Often when people with pain and "knots" come to me I get the feeling they want me to be an expert on their pain and their muscle tension.  I sometimes allow myself to get wrapped up in it, perhaps because I WANT to be an expert and I too can feel like fraud at those times.  But when I remember to rely on the knowledge I do have and to let the client be the expert on their tension, I feel a better partnership with the client and more competent as a therapist.One thing I need to work on though is speaking to the client about what I know.  I get a case of the tied tongue when I start to explain some of the science behind massage.  It all makes sense when I am studying it but then rehashing it is difficult.Suggestions?

 

[wintersunshine]

The Art of Getting Good

akb - suggestion on being able to talk what you: write out a script for yourself on any aspect of massage you desire or want to talk over with your average client. Go over and learn your script. Practice in front of a mirror. Before you know it, you'll feel much more comfortable 'delivering' it. And remember, you already know the material!As for your client, when in doubt, glide. That simple rule of thumb was/is taught to us from day one. Gliding will inevitably lead to other strokes and then to more and more.An instructor mentioned offhandedly this weekend that most diseases are a result of the body being tense. If you think about it, that make makes sublime sense. So remember, giving a relaxation massage can be as therapeutic as a clinical one.

 

[debabrata h]

The Art of Getting Good

How 'bout this? Start providing a monthly newsletter (simple, one page; maybe your contact info & 3 short subjects) that talks the benefits & certain frequently asked questions. Whenever you're in a bind for an answer, say that you wish you could speak as eloquently on the spot as your hands do, so you have this series of special newsletters. If their question is not covered, make a point to tell them that you will make that a priority on your next newsletter. Then start asking & reading! (and make good on your promises to get back to them, if you say you'll email them a copy, etc).Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[Teh]

Newsletter! *slapping forehead* Bah!  Of course, what a brilliant idea.  Gaspen, you're so right, just glide and the next thing comes so much easier.  And it's true, helping the body relax does make a huge difference in and of itself!Writing snippets for a newsletter from the info I gather will really help. (But I can't practice in front of the mirror, I start looking at how silly my mouth looks when I talk, or how many eyebrows I need to pluck, or how I'm starting to wrinkle around my eyes. )I also want to get several different poster for my massage room....muscles, bones, chakras, yada yada, and that might help to keep the technical mumbo at the forefront.

 

[Billy G]

I have both a skeletal and muscle chart in my space. They are quite helpful for showing someone who is having difficulty in a particular area which muscles are involved and how a technique might help tham. It's also an excellent way to review all those things I had to memorize in anatomy class, only to forget  them the week after

 

[david k]

I have charts on the back of the door in my room, and just enough light to refer to them if needed. I find myself referring to them less and less lately. I was very worried about remembering the names of muscles and the more I do massage and feel how they work, it is becoming easier.  I am beginning to feel more like a therapist and less like a nervous student, finally. This has been a very recent occurrence, as more and more of my clients are rebooking appointments.The short time I have been coming on this board has helped me immensely not to be nervous.

 

[elphaba]

I believe that getting good comes with time, but it also comes with trusting in your touch.  Trusting in it that you know what your doing IS going to work.  The intent of your massage is huge.  You have all the techniques down.  Those are just your mechanical means of getting through an injury, or a dysfunction.   Nowk thats  you have to hone in on the intent of the massage....  Just know that you are doing the right thing, and I think thats half the battle.  I get a little better each and every day, and I will always continue to get better..

 

[Red Sox 4 Life!]

Getting "derailed" in a session takes me out of my body and into my head... sometimes in school I wouldn't notice until after the session, "Hey, that happened!" Now I usually become aware of it within a few seconds or minutes... In The Power of Now, Tolle talks about not beating ourselves up when we realize we weren't being present... the realization is the way we come back to presence.Anyway, on the subject of feeling like a fraud, or other related feelings... this is a big deal! Holding on to such a belief is one of the main ways I know I hold myself back from building a successful practice.Here are some common beliefs:- I don't have enough training or experience to really help people- I don't have enough training or experience to seem credible - Nobody will come to my workshops anyway- I have to offer massage for free to get anyone to do it- Most clients don't come back after the first session - I shouldn't be doing this and someone's going to find out- I'm afraid that people won't see any results- I feel bad charging people who have less money than meI've been working on my personal versions of these beliefs with Emotional Freedom Technique, although many folks like other tools.Please don't ignore these feelings or wait for them to go away. Hunt them down, look at them straight on, forgive yourself for having them and accept them fully, and then get rid of 'em!  

 

[infamous g]

I have decided also to implement regular massage in my life. *duh:*  Once a month at least and I'm shooting for twice.  This has already helped me with confidence simply by picking up things I don't do and feeling how wonderful it is.  Getting regular massage reminds me that I am making clients feel that good.  I am reading through a really great marketing book and practicing talking about massage in a very natural way, introducing people to massage and talking about the benefits of regular massage without sounding like a sales pitch.I think right now to admit that my strong points in massage are not necessarily doing "medical massage" is okay.  I don't need to save the world.I have been working more with my intention and "coming back" to the present moment when I notice I'm drifting.  I ground myself and continue.I appreciate people keeping this thread alive, I think we all have our moments of insecurity. For those still in school, it's important to realize learning truly never stops and not to get discouraged when you hit rough spots out on your own.