1. Lengthen your massage career. How long did it take you to discover that the average career span of a massage therapist is 3-5 years (or 5-7, depending on the source)? They certainly didn’t tell me (Mary-Claire) about that in massage school. I think I found out somewhere along the way. Maybe it was when I started having tendonitis in…
Here we are: 2 weeks into the second annual Barefoot Massage Open, a weekly massage challenge for ashiatsu therapists – this Friday we’ll step into WEEK 3! But lets not get ahead of ourselves…. lets focus on the now! Today is Tuesday, which means it’s #2sdayTOESday & also massage day in our #AshiatsuChallenge…
(It’s also Mardi GrASHIATSU today!!)
Where do your start your massage? At the feet? Perhaps at the client’s initial complaint area? At their upper back or in their neck? With their breath?
There’s not a wrong answer here, it all has to do with the theory you choose to approach the massage with.
Having procedures and protocols can produce results – but every client and every condition is different. Learning a routine massage and always sticking to it is like being on autopilot: it might always produce the same results, but you may be bored, uninspired… and your clients progress may plateau.
Read a few of the ideas below, and see if changing up the sequencing of your next massage helps you and your client get the results you are looking for!
Many of us niche down pretty well after we’ve been doing massage for a long time. All of our instructors specialize in Ashiatsu barefoot massage. Some add in a little this or that in addition (like Pillossage or cupping), but we are, in essence, barefoot therapists. Who’s your ideal client for your massage?
When we first start out, our answer is usually, “EVERYONE!”
Massage therapists have a tendency to massage the way they’d like to be worked on. Love cranial? That’s probably your jam. NMT? You’ve likely taken a lot of classes.
What clients do you want to have?
You can’t determine who your ideal client is if you don’t have a firm handle on what your business is and what it does best. -Stephen Sheinbaum, Founder, Bizfi
My ideal client when I started massage is not the same as it is now.
Learning Ashiatsu was, by far, the best choice I’ve made in learning how to extend my massage career. However, after making a big financial and time commitment is when most massage therapists discover that their career may only last 3-5 years. Massage burnout and injury are the 2 biggest reasons.
Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals has reported that the burn out rate within the industry has been estimated at 50% to 88% within the first 3 to 5 years after graduation.
Massage Therapy Schools Information reports that “enrollment statistics seem to support this with over 50,000 students enrolling per year with 45,000 that leave the field annually.”