As a Massage Therapy Practitioner How do we grow our practice to transform the wellbeing of our clients and ourselves? At every encounter, engage the audience with heart.
Find your Motivation
As massage therapists, what drives our progress? Above all, our role is to support and guide others to an improved state of wellbeing; we like our clients to leave the clinic feeling lighter, like themselves again.
Each of us is facing our own unique variety of challenges in life and we become reference points to each other in how we meet those challenges. Growing self-awareness can translate into our relating to others on a deeper level. Engaging from the heart allows us to communicate an acceptance of and a generosity towards the other without depending on words alone. The language of presence, spoken in our movement, delivered through our hands and held together by a tone of acceptance and encouragement throughout, is what effects real transformation for us as therapists and ultimately in our client’s experience of our massage practice
So, it seems, personal fulfilment through massage therapy practice relies on an exchange based on trust, on the assumption that when we listen with heart attention, peace prevails. To hear the quiet, hidden voice of another, we first have to hear ourselves – not an end goal but an ongoing process of realising that separation from the other is not real, merely perceived. We move mountains when we meet in that place.
In our world where complexity can overwhelm, it can be useful to direct regular heartfelt intentions. At its most simple, our massage therapy practice relies on:
Committing to continuous learning and growth;
Our engaging those who look to us for support from the heart.
With habit and attention, our focus deepens in carrying out our role. As the trust in our gifts grows, so too does the trust clients place in us to handle them with care – to hold the space for them to allow their layers of strain to unravel on the massage table. This concept is actually the origin of the word ‘martial’: not to overpower but to cross swords with another with the heart intention of each realising a deeper layer of self-awareness.
First Encounters
The tone of our therapy practice is set from the first encounters, however remote. How do our existing clients refer to us as practitioners when telling their friends about what we deliver? How does our support material (such as web presence, social media, printed communications, correspondence) influence prospect expectations of our practice?
Each of our clients has a rich background. As our depth of insight into the background is fleshed out, doors open up to release the strain patterns that have brought them to your massage practice By acknowledging and expressing an interest in the journey our clients have made on the way to receiving our massage therapy , we can establish a foundation of treatment that reflects the heart of our own unique style of expression. The entranceway is long and wide!
Small Steps
Wherever we are in our practice, we are blessed with opportunity; potential is abundant, infinite. When we look objectively at what we offer, it allows us to see the details that make a positive difference, as well as those that are out of tune. This is where the small details count. We could learn from the Japanese appreciation for the attention given to small details; to the gifts delivered in gentle gesture.
Setting the Stage
The environment in which we deliver our massage therapy service can support or be in the way of the intended effects of our care.
Research in behavioural science tells us that we tend to remember the beginning and the end of an experience more that the bit in the middle. Remember the lasting impression of a first encounter? What could we do to make our venue more welcoming, inviting? Do we finish on a note that awakens the self-appreciation that comes so naturally when allowed?
Warmth, clean air, gentle lighting and quality bedding make for a comfortable nest. Whatever the size of room, furniture can be arranged to allow natural flow of energy and traffic. Along with these concrete measures to improve the setting, the we can also benefit from regularly stating the intention to host a healing space.
In terms of our practice we have two main visible tools, ourselves as therapists and our massage table. Ensuring both of these tools are in the best shape possible to deliver therapy can positively affect the tone of your practice and our clients experience.
A stable and comfortable massage table is essential for a client to be able to hand over; if the table falls short, our skills are wasted on a client who isn’t in a fully receptive state.
Size, stability, cushioning, height, cleanliness and cost all need to be considered. Buying quality at an affordable price and setting it in a sacred space speaks volumes about the generosity of your intentions.
Onwards, Upwards
As a Massage Therapy Practitioner we owe it to ourselves and our clients to consider all the elements which influence our practice. Take time to find your motivation and set your stage to enable you to engage your clients with heart.
Whether or not we accept it, life keeps moving. Through the undulating terrain of practice, we commit to enjoying it in the flow no matter what. And we thrive.