Do I Have to Take my Underwear Off?

3 Comments / Massage PSAs /

Before I became a massage therapist I’d had a few massages, not too many, but every single time I would stand there wondering, “Take them off or leave them on?” I’m talking about underwear, panties, drawers, tighty whiteys, we had a variety of names for them when I was a kid. After I grew up I learned that going without was called, “Going Commando,” which I personally think is better suited to the gentleman as a term. But, I digress…

Recently I had a client come in completely freaked out. It seems she had run out of the house that morning ‘Commando’. Is that the way you use that term? I don’t know, but you get what I’m saying. She stood in front of me like a child, chin to chest and “confessed.” I think she expected me to send her home or scold her. Instead I just started laughing. Perhaps not the most professional response, but I just couldn’t help myself and she’s that kind of client.

When I was in massage school our instructors would stride through the lab proclaiming, “And you are required to take your underwear off for labs.” Thus we learned to work the glutes uninhibited. When we started working on the public for our practicals, underwear became a tricky subject. One instructor insisted practice clients be nude, another wasn’t so insistent and let the client choose. Thus we learned to work the glutes around and through underclothes. Both equally important skills.

So what is my policy at Harvest Moon Massage? I let the client choose. I tell them that the more they take off, the better their massage will be as I will be able to more efficiently work the hips and glutes. Some choose to remove, others not so much. I’m fine with both and I think most massage therapists feel the same way though I have been to some who tell you to keep your drawers on. I’m not sure what’s up with that, perhaps they’ve had some kind of trouble in the past. I just find it hard not to remove. After a year of getting massages in school and learning how much better a massage can be on the glutes and hips when the therapist has free access I just can’t not.

Of course, all of this talk about removing underwear brings up the subject of trust. It’s hard to bare it all to someone. I’m going to write a separate post on that. But for now, just know that it’s ok. Whatever you’re comfortable with, I can work with.

Sharon BryantHarvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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My Fijian Experience

Fijian Barefoot Massage /

"Fijian Barefoot Massage"

So I’m sure if you follow along at all over on my Facebook page you already know that I’ve been in Nashville the last couple of days for a class. I had been considering and pondering and planning for quite a while about this class and then it just sort of fell into my lap.

I drove up Friday morning giving myself an extra hour of drive time which was a good thing. Have you ever driven in Nashville rush hour traffic? Yikes!

Fijian Barefoot Massage

The class was Fijian Barefoot Massage with Lolita Knight. I have been curious about this modality for a while. I wanted to try a different  kind of barefoot massage to see how it compares to Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy. And I have to say it was quite different. Similarities, of course, but interesting new ways to use the feet to get in there with the pressure.

And Fijian is similar to Ashi-Thai in that the client stays clothed, which is a plus if you’re working in public spaces. And it’s portable. Very easily portable. Essentially all you need is the floor (or ground if you’re outside). A thai-style mat would up the comfort level, but is not necessary if you’re in a real pinch.

I learned so much at this class and met so many interesting people that I’m still somewhat overwhelmed trying to process and integrate it all.

Meanwhile I have to tell you about the highlight of the entire trip because it is bizarre and surprising and made my day. We were mid-way to lunchtime and had been working for a while. I was chatting with my practice partner. Obviously I told her I was an AOBT and she was asking me some questions about it. Apparently she had been researching Ashi classes and was unsure of which organization to go with. Then she specifically asked about one of the copycat knock off providers and I was launching into my spiel about why she should choose Deepfeet.com when I heard a tiny voice from across the room say,  “I teach for them.”

It stopped me in my tracks. For a moment I wasn’t sure how to interpret that statement. You work for the knock off? You work for Ruthie at Deepfeet.com? I looked and there was this face that I recognized, but didn’t know and suddenly a name was flying out of my mouth and there was laughing and squealing and there across the room were two of my Ashi sisters. We all knew each other from our Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy Facebook Group, but didn’t know we were going to be in the same class. I spent the rest of the day hyper aware of where they were and what they were doing as we worked. Then we went to dinner together and had a fabulous time. That poor TGI Fridays in the Opry Mills Mall may never be the same.

Overall I had a great time learning Fijian and then later the luxury add-on Soft Touch Island Massage and getting to share it with my Ashi sisters made it all even better.

Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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Taking On More

Business & Marketing for Massage /

Recently I wrote about how busy November was going to be for me. Between several massage CEU opportunities, teaching an engineering class at UAH and Thanksgiving, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. This, I suppose, is why while at the AMTA-AL Chapter Fall Meeting I accepted the position as Website/Social Media Committee Chair. Obviously, I’m being facetious. The point being we all take on more than we can chew sometimes.

For a year I have served on this committee as a Social Media Liaison. Essentially that means that I have managed (played on) our AMTA-AL Chapter Facebook page. I think I’ve bitten off quite a chunk in agreeing to take over management of the website and bulk email program. It’s okay though, I love to learn new things and it’s a challenge.

For now I’m trying to integrate these new responsibilities in to the existing rhythm of my days. I can’t yet tell how it’s going. I may need to make a list. If you find that it becomes quiet here you’ll know that I’m busy trying to get and keep all the plates spinning. It won’t take long.

Sharon BryantHarvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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Mangia, Mangia!

Massage /

When I was in massage school my instructors told us over and over again that it was very important to take time out to have our bodywork done. Without it our tools (our body) would get worn out and eventually injury would set in possibly ending a career. Most massage therapists I know don’t have time to go get a massage. They are busy scheduling appointments, doing massage, managing paperwork and taxes and sometimes employees. Many have families at home to care for and like most folks in the caretaking business, we put ourselves last.

So I was very excited and proud of myself when I scheduled a massage before I was hurting so bad I couldn’t work. The day finally arrived and of course, I’d spent most of it giving massage and hadn’t scheduled myself a lunch break. So as I was driving to my appointment I was wondering what I could eat to tide myself over until dinner. Then I started debating whether or not it was smart to eat and then I started laughing at myself. My clients ask me this question all the time and here I was fretting over whether I should eat or wait.

Should I Eat Before My Massage?

Yes, eat. Always eat and hydrate. Massage, especially deep tissue massage, can cause your blood sugar to drop so having something on board is a good idea. Don’t eat like it’s Thanksgiving dinner. That would be uncomfortable and you could possibly get sick. I use a lot of pressure, probably more than you realize, but your stomach will tell you about it if it’s overly full and I don’t want to clean up the mess. Also, your blood pressure can drop. It’s a side-effect of the relaxation process so hydration is important to keep the blood pressure from dropping too low.

So the takeaway, eat a small snack and drink lots of water before your next massage. Then afterwards go eat a healthy meal if you still feel like you need it.

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Falling Off The Table

Massage /

"Harvest Moon Massage"I suppose it’s a natural question. I get it from almost all of my clients, if not the first time we work together, eventually.

Have You Ever Fallen Off The Table?

The short answer is no, I’ve never fallen off the table. The longer answer is yes, sort of.

When you ask me if I’ve fallen off the table a movie in my brain starts playing wherein I fall off the table head-first onto the inadequately padded, concrete floor. There is a lot of blood in my movie and I end up horribly injured, disfigured, and paralyzed. This has never happened to me, but suffice to say the prospect of truly falling off the massage table from a standing position scares the stuffing out of me.

I have however stepped off the table thinking my step stool was underneath my foot and missed. This is sort of like falling and the aftermath is not comfortable. I have also stepped onto the step stool and had it promptly turn over as I’m dismounting the table. This is almost worse than falling because I think I’m home free and then suddenly there’s danger. I’ve also just stepped straight down off the table onto the floor (on purpose) and jammed up my hip.

Usually my clients never know when this happens unless they hear the step stool thunk a bit. I have been fortunate in that I have never injured myself severely enough to have to stop a massage.

How Do You Keep From Falling Off The Table?

Hold on to the bars is the obvious answer, but sometimes I have to let go to change the drape as I move through the massage or adjust the position of an arm or leg or get off the table altogether. That’s when the safety training takes over. If I did something stupid and/or dangerous while I was learning Ashi (AOBT) or Ashi-Thai, my instructors counseled me. And by counseling I mean I was gently corrected, became the butt of a snarky comment or was downright yelled at if I was about to hurt myself or someone else. I was counseled several times during training. I also learned from my friends’ counseling sessions.

Now that I don’t have the luxury of an instructor scrutinizing my work, if I have a misstep during a massage I flag it in my memory and later come back to analyze it.  My general philosophy on mistakes is that I should learn as much from them as possible so I never have to repeat them. Thus I try to learn from each misstep or mistake; then I design the massage around my equipment with an eye towards maximizing safety for me and for the client. That way it’s all fun and games and no one gets hurt. And by fun and games I mean the deepest, most luxurious massage on the planet.

Sharon BryantHarvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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Educational Overload

1 Comment / AMTA /

"Harvest Moon Massage Therapy"Earlier this year a friend said to me, “I haven’t heard you talking about any new classes lately. What’s up with that?” To which I responded that I just hadn’t seen anything I wanted to take. Apparently I should have taken that question as an indicator that I needed to start saving up a lot of money. My educational plan for this year was to go very light on the CEUs because I spent more than I had planned on the Bamboo-Fusion class back in March.

But then the part of me that is a junkie for learning new things bit hard and  I now have more CEUs scheduled between now and January than you can shake a monkey at.

I was trying to be fiscally responsible when I signed up for three, 2-hour educational opportunities at a local Pilates studio. They were relatively inexpensive and local (score!) The first of those three start the end of October with the first installment of a two-part Hamstring class.

Then, and I don’t even remember how it happened, I found a 5-day Thai Yoga Massage class happening in Hohenwald, TN at Gray Bear Lodge. The time frame worked. It was within driving distance and lodging and food was included in the cost. But oh, the cost… I agonized over whether I should do it or not. After consulting with said friend from above, I finally decided that the opportunity probably would not present itself again and that I should just tap the savings account to do it so I signed up.

Then the announcement for the AMTA-Alabama Chapter Fall Meeting and CEU came out. Originally the CEU was for Cold Stone and Migraine Therapy. I was seriously on the fence about that and when I made the decision to do the Gray Bear Lodge/Thai Yoga Massage class I decided not to do the Cold Stone. Then the Cold Stone fell through and they announced Hal Richardson would be doing 3-D Manual Therapy for Legs, Ankles, and Feet and well, I just couldn’t resist. Being a member, I get the discounted rate for 6 hours of CEUs and who could turn that down. And since there’s only three days between the Hamstring I class and the 3-D Manual Therapy class I should get even more bang for my buck in the retention and integration department.

I called it done. No more CEUs this year. This is it. Yeah, right… then I read on Facebook that an Ashi-acquaintance had taken the Fijian Barefoot class and I just sort of melted. I emailed her and she asked if I’d like to come take the Fijian Barefoot with Oil class in New Orleans. I said I’d think about it because, again, I was trying hard to be fiscally responsible while at the same time trying to figure out if skipping this opportunity would mean that to get it I would have to travel to Illinois at a later date.

Then I got to wondering about the schedule for Fijian in general, hit the website and SHAZAM! Lolita Knight is teaching Fijian Island Barefoot Massage and  Soft Touch Island Massage in Nashville in the middle of November. Actually she is teaching about 4-days worth of all kinds of interesting things that I would love to take, but, alas, money.

I’ve been wanting to take the Fijian class for a couple of years. Once I finally felt like I was proficient in Ashi I started craving knowledge for different barefoot systems and this one seems to be a pretty well-developed course. Anyway, Lolita Knight developed the Fijian massage for the U.S. and she is planning on retiring next year. Who knows when I’d have the opportunity to take it this close to home and from the creator, herself. So I signed up. Sigh…

So, here’s how the next couple of months are going to shake out CEU-wise for me:

October 29 – Hamstring I

November 2 – 3 – AMTA – AL Fall Massage Mingle, Meeting & 3-D Manual Therapy: Legs, Ankles and Feet

November 16 – Fijian Island Barefoot Massage & Soft Touch Island Massage

November 28 – December 2 – Thai Yoga Massage

December 3 – Hamstring II

January 7 – Lordosis/Kyphosis Class

I’m tired just looking at this list, but on the upside I won’t need anymore CEUs for a long, long time and I won’t be able to afford them either.

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Is Your Website Pinteresting?

Business & Marketing for Massage /

If you don’t know about Pinterest yet, I will just apologize up front for introducing you to the crack of the Internet. I am hopelessly addicted to Pinterest and have finally found a way to justify that addiction.

Using Pinterest for Business Purposes

Recently I started a Pinterest board for Massage CEU Central. In creating and adding to that Pinterest board I have noticed I often run into the Pinterest error, “There are no pinnable images,” or find random images that don’t represent the website.

Imagine my horror when I came home to the Harvest Moon Massage Therapy website, mashed the Pin It button and found that I had a pitiful selection of images to choose from in pinning my own website to the Massage CEU Central Pinterest board. So I decided that I would write a blog post about how to improve your “pinnability” to Pinterest.

How to Make Your Website More Pinnable

The simplest answer to making your website more pinnable is to put beautiful images on your site. As a massage therapist who blogs as the main site format (on a WordPress.com platform at that), that means using more images in the posts themselves and making sure there’s an image widget in the sidebar. Apparently images inside other types of widgets don’t get indexed by Pinterest. This might have something to do with iFrames, which I don’t understand, but from what I can understand if you put an image in an iFrame, Pinterest ignores it.

Not having a lot of time to create my own artwork and having less than rudimentary skills with Photoshop, I have chosen initially to begin linking in a thumbnail of my headshot with my signature line for each post. Perhaps in the future as I develop more custom artwork for Harvest Moon Massage, I will begin using those randomly in posts.

A few don’t’s when creating pinnable images on your website/blog, they can’t be smaller than 80 x 80 pixels or Pinterest ignores them. There’s that iFrame thing I was talking about earlier and apparently Pinterest also does not know what to do with background images and therefore again, ignores them.

Have I Been Pinned?

Here’s something interesting. If you want to know if you’ve been pinned on Pinterest, go to “http://pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite.com” I can see from checking http://pinterest.com/source/harvestmoonmassage.com that I have some work to do.

So, I hope you’ve found something helpful here. I’m still formulating a marketing strategy for Pinterest. For now though,
Pinterest Button
 
 
Sharon BryantHarvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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Proper Etiquette for Interacting with the Deaf

Massage PSAs /

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a seminar concerning proper etiquette when interacting with deaf individuals. It was interesting and enlightening and I think the best part of it all is that since then I have stepped past my insecurities of embarrassing myself and made friends with a deaf person.

Years ago when I was in college at Jacksonville State University I remember sitting in the cafeteria watching and listening to the table of deaf students during lunch breaks. I always chose a seat near them because the constant flurry of hands and expressions, as well as all the noise they made, fascinated me. I even lived in an apartment complex with some of the deaf students, but I could never bring myself to befriend anyone. Mostly because I was scared of the unknown factors.

How would we communicate? What if I don’t understand them or they don’t understand me? Do I need to learn sign language?

I didn’t know so I just watched from afar. Now I realize I was somewhat stalkerish and it was probably good no one noticed. I’m glad that I now have some of the paralyzing questions answered and though I still don’t sign I can have a conversation with a deaf person and not be scared out of my wits about the prospect.

The seminar was given by Alabama Department of Rehabilitative Services and it was completely free. So if you, like I was, are dumbstruck by the idea of communication with someone who communicates differently, give them a call and ask about their next seminar.

***Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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AMTA – Alabama Chapter 2012 Fall Meeting & CEUs

Business & Marketing for Massage /

AMTA Alabama YellowhammerAMTA – Alabama Chapter will be hosting three events for massage therapists during the Fall Meeting

Massage Mingle

First event is Friday evening, November 2nd beginning at 7pm. Hal Richardson will be speaking at our very first Massage Mingle. It will be a casual, loosely structured fellowship for massage therapists. No RSVP necessary, but if you’re a Facebook junkie, RSVP at AMTA – Alabama Chapter Massage Mingle event.

3-D Manual Therapy: Legs, Ankles, and Feet

Our CEU  event is Saturday, November 3rd. I am guessing registration starts around 8, but I’ll clarify when I know more. RSVP at AMTA – Alabama 3-D Manual Therapy: Legs, Ankles, and Feet and with Ron at 205-655-2193.

We are very excited to bring Hal Richardson to our November meeting in Huntsville. He just returned from London where he was an official member of our Olympic team. Please join us for six hours of great bodywork to help all of your clients and yourself.

*** 3-D Manual Therapy is a method of soft tissue manipulation that combines a variety of myofascial techniques, movement & stretching with minimal to no lubrication. This seminar will show how this work can be used for injuries such as sprained ankle, IT Band syndrome plus quad, hamstring & gastroc strains. These techniques can be used with athletes at sporting events as well as your clients in the clinic.

Demonstration followed by practice on each other will help you be comfortable & confident using 3-D Manual Therapy when you return to your office. Wear comfortable clothing to allow access to your legs & feet preferably workout shorts.

The workshop will be held on Saturday and lunch will be included.

AMTA Member : $ 120 Everybody else :$ 150
To register for class contact Ron at 205-655-2193 or joganics@msn.com

AMTA Alabama Chapter Fall Meeting

The Fall Meeting will be Saturday, November 3rd at noon. Come join us for lunch at the AMTA Alabama Chapter Fall Meeting and find out about all the new and exciting happenings with your AMTA Chapter. RSVP at AMTA – Alabama Chapter 2012 Fall Meeting.

All events will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Huntsville South/Redstone Arsenal. If you need a room, contact Elle at 256-881-4170 to make a reservation.

Our chapter is re-energized and making lots of changes. Come find out about all the exciting new opportunities. Hope to see you all there this fall!

Sharon BryantHarvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Ashi-Thai and Bamboo-Fusion Massage

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