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	<title>LMT or Bust</title>
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	<link>http://lmtorbust.com</link>
	<description>massage therapy school&#039;s survival guide</description>
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		<title>Massage Resume Review: Education</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-education/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-education/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:32:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[massage jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credentials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job hunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resumes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1297</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Oh, the education section of your resume. How on earth will you distill months of study and sleeplessness and tears into a series of uninspired bullet points? What could you possibly say about the experience? Well, here&#8217;s what. Items you absolutely must include: The name of your massage school. The date you graduated (or intend [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh, the education section of your resume. How on earth will you distill months of study and sleeplessness and tears into a series of uninspired bullet points? What could you possibly say about the experience? Well, here&#8217;s what.</p>
<h3>Items you absolutely must include:</h3>
<ul>
<li>The name of your massage school.</li>
<li>The date you graduated (or intend to graduate)</li>
<li>If you have a college degree, when you received it, and from where (and in what, if it&#8217;s remotely pertinent)</li>
<li>If you don&#8217;t have a degree, your high school and graduation date.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Things you might want to include:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Techniques you&#8217;re well-versed in and use extensively. Don&#8217;t be ashamed if that&#8217;s just Swedish massage and deep tissue; that&#8217;s enough for a lot of businesses!</li>
<li>If you are a new grad, and you don&#8217;t have a separate awards or accomplishments section, you can include your GPA or class rank, but only if it&#8217;s really impressive.</li>
<li>If you don&#8217;t have a separate section for additional training, you could include the names, dates, and number of contact hours for continuing education courses you&#8217;ve taken.</li>
<li>Pertinent certifications like CPR, and the dates you last renewed them.</li>
<li>The approximate number of hours of your school program, especially if you attended school in another state.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Things not to include:</h3>
<ul>
<li>The fact that your school program was precisely 756.5 hours, and included massage techniques, massage theory, anatomy, physiology, pathology, business and ethics. <em>Everybody else studied the same stuff</em>, and it makes you look very inexperienced when this is the information you think makes you outstanding.</li>
<li>Your commercial driver&#8217;s license, social studies teaching certificate, or other completely unrelated credential. But if you&#8217;re an aesthetician, personal trainer, or accountant, that could work in your favor. Think about what the business does, and use your common sense.</li>
<li>Training in techniques that you&#8217;re not willing to provide. You may feel like you need to say that you&#8217;ve had training in TMJ massage just to fill that empty space on the paper, but if you hate doing it, you&#8217;re better off pretending it never happened.</li>
<li>Self-study from books you&#8217;ve read or videos you&#8217;ve watched.</li>
<li>How &#8220;prestigious&#8221; your massage school is. If your school is really that good, people will have heard of it.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Related sections you might want to add:</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Awards </strong>or<strong> Accomplishments:</strong> 97% on your licensing exams? Won a <a href="http://www.massagetherapyfoundation.org/education/case-report-contests/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.massagetherapyfoundation.org/education/case-report-contests/?referer=');">case report contest</a>? Most return clients of any therapist in your student clinic? If you&#8217;ve got two or more things to brag about, show them off with their own heading.</li>
<li><strong>Additional Training </strong>or<strong> Continuing Education:</strong> This is especially good if you&#8217;ve taken CE courses in specific techniques or in dealing with certain populations, but other courses might make sense too, depending on the job you&#8217;re applying to. For example, I took a class on massage in integrated healthcare settings, and included it when I sent my resume to a physical therapy clinic. A course on the <a href="https://www.amtamassage.org/courses/detail.html?CourseId=11" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.amtamassage.org/courses/detail.html?CourseId=11&amp;referer=');">anatomy of the spinal cord</a> might look great to a chiropractor.</li>
<li><strong>Skills:</strong> Generally speaking, I don&#8217;t think you need a special skills section for a massage resume, as your training and experience should speak for itself. If you&#8217;re going to do this anyway, at least keep it objective. &#8220;Experience with XYZ SOAP note software&#8221; is a skill. &#8220;Sensitive touch&#8221; and &#8220;great communication skills&#8221; are not. (If your communication skills are really great, your cover letter will already have blown them away, right?)</li>
</ul>
<p>In general, less embellishment is probably better when it comes to the education section of your resume. Remember that being new is nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody started essentially where you are now, and it&#8217;s not the sort of thing you forget. Keep it simple and accurate and be confident in your ability to keep learning as you go; that&#8217;s the kind of person businesses are looking to hire.</p>
<p><em>Next time: Experience? But I have no experience! </em><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-objectives/' title='Massage Resume Review: Objectives'>Massage Resume Review: Objectives</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-job-hunting-craigslist-tips/' title='Massage Job Hunting &#8211; Craigslist Tips'>Massage Job Hunting &#8211; Craigslist Tips</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/first-interview-first-impressions/' title='First Interview, First Impressions'>First Interview, First Impressions</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/first-steps/' title='First Steps'>First Steps</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/what-i-really-really-want/' title='What I Really, Really Want'>What I Really, Really Want</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Massage Therapy&#8217;s Teachable Moment</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-teachable-moment/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-teachable-moment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:33:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most folks who read this blog know that, before I was a massage therapist, I worked in early childhood education. This has had a pretty profound influence on the way I think, act, and speak. For example, I&#8217;ve been thinking a lot about the concept of the &#8220;teachable moment.&#8221; A teachable moment is the precise [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most folks who read this blog know that, before I was a massage therapist, I worked in early childhood education. This has had a pretty profound influence on the way I think, act, and speak. For example, I&#8217;ve been thinking a lot about the concept of the &#8220;teachable moment.&#8221;</p>
<p>A teachable moment is the precise moment when a person is best prepared to learn something. It could be, for example, that a child&#8217;s fine motor skills have just become advanced enough for her to close the snap on her own pants. But sometimes, a teachable moment isn&#8217;t a stage of development. Sometimes, it&#8217;s a situation that is so interesting that children are suddenly eager for discussion on the topic. A snowstorm. A mounted police officer riding by. An illness. A conflict between two students. All of a sudden, the topic seems <em>pertinent. </em>And this is the teacher&#8217;s golden moment of opportunity.</p>
<p>I think we&#8217;re seeing a teachable moment in the massage community right now.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s been some buzz among massage therapists about a new show coming out called &#8220;The Client List.&#8221; In it, a woman struggling to make ends meet gets a job in a spa, then realizes there&#8217;s more than just relaxation going on. She ends up embracing the sexual side of the business in order to support herself and her family.</p>
<p>First of all, I&#8217;m so glad I don&#8217;t own a television and don&#8217;t need to deal with unoriginal plotlines like this all the time. (If you want a great story about a family in desperate financial straits, pick up a copy of <em><a href="http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/1560/the-glass-castle" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/1560/the-glass-castle?referer=');">The Glass Castle</a> </em>at your local library. I read it a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it.)</p>
<p>Secondly, what a fabulous opportunity! The vast majority of the people around us are far too polite to ask our opinions on the historical and current connections between prostitution and massage. But now we have this unique chance, in which the subject will be in people&#8217;s living rooms each week, sparking their curiosity. It&#8217;s a perfect teachable moment.</p>
<p>But the thing about teachable moments is, they don&#8217;t work unless you <em>actually teach.</em></p>
<p>With your neighbors.</p>
<p>On your blog.</p>
<p>Through your business practices.</p>
<p>In your faith community.</p>
<p>At the dinner table.</p>
<p>Think of it like Show and Tell. You&#8217;ve brought a real, live massage therapist to show the class today. They&#8217;ve heard of massage therapists, but never examined one up close. What will you tell them?</p>
<p>Not every massage therapist used to hang out with toddlers all day. But every one of us has to be a teacher.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s your moment, so enjoy it. But don&#8217;t let it go to waste.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/ellen-massage-prank/' title='The Ellen Massage Prank'>The Ellen Massage Prank</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/trauma-massage-school/' title='What You Need to Know About Trauma and Massage School'>What You Need to Know About Trauma and Massage School</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/permission-respect-lov/' title='Permission. Respect. Love.'>Permission. Respect. Love.</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/house-massage-therapy/' title='Why I Don&#8217;t Own A Television'>Why I Don&#8217;t Own A Television</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/ethics-confusion-2/' title='Confusion. Ethics. All that jazz.  (Part 2)'>Confusion. Ethics. All that jazz.  (Part 2)</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Massage Resume Review: Objectives</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-objectives/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-objectives/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:43:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[massage jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job hunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resumes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1287</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Once upon a time, I worked as a secretary in a human resources office. My first duty was to shred the resumes of the other applicants for the job I&#8217;d just been hired for. I didn&#8217;t last very long there. It was an obscene amount of work to be doing for $5.90 an hour, and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Once upon a time, I worked as a secretary in a human resources office.</p>
<p>My first duty was to shred the resumes of the other applicants for the job I&#8217;d just been hired for.</p>
<p>I didn&#8217;t last very long there. It was an obscene amount of work to be doing for $5.90 an hour, and as it happens, it also turns out that I&#8217;m a terrible secretary. But it was also a great learning experience, because I got to see a Whole Lot Of Resumes.</p>
<p>I know that in a dream world, we would all be nice and helpful to one another no matter what, but this generally wasn&#8217;t how it went down at this place. People would get together in the hall and laugh at the bad resumes with all their spelling and grammatical errors circled in red ink. Sometimes with cartoons drawn on them. No kidding.</p>
<p>There were some gems, and if they impressed me, they almost always impressed my boss.</p>
<p>I want your resume to be one of those.</p>
<p>So, let&#8217;s start with the first heading most people include, after their name and contact information, which I&#8217;m just going to assume is correct.</p>
<h2>Objectives</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m going to say it: I hate objectives on resumes.</p>
<p>I have two reasons for this.</p>
<p>The first is that every employer knows your real objective already. &#8220;To land a job with you so I can get paid.&#8221;</p>
<p>Secondly, objectives waste a lot of precious resume space, and anything you can put in an objective could be said better in your cover letter.  But if you can&#8217;t send a cover letter because the employer has specifically said so, or you don&#8217;t have time to write a good one (a bad cover letter is worse than none at all), go ahead and put an objective on your resume if you want.</p>
<p>Still, there are plenty of objective disasters to avoid. Here are a few of them.</p>
<h3>The &#8220;I Like&#8221;</h3>
<p>Here&#8217;s a real life &#8220;objective &#8221; I found on a massage therapist&#8217;s resume:</p>
<blockquote><p>I am seeking a position in a Massage Therapy setting. I enjoy helping people work through muscular disfunctions and help bring them to a state of relaxation and compfort.</p></blockquote>
<p>Aside from capitalizing &#8220;massage therapy&#8221; for no reason, and misspelling &#8220;dysfunctions&#8221; and &#8220;comfort,&#8221; there is one major problem with this objective.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s all about what this person enjoys.</p>
<p>An objective is a goal. It&#8217;s the &#8220;object&#8221; of your desire. What you enjoy and what you are seeking do not belong here. Imagine a form stating &#8220;My goal is _____________.&#8221; If your objective doesn&#8217;t fit into that sentence, it doesn&#8217;t fit in this part of your resume. (Hint: it probably starts with the word &#8220;To,&#8221; followed by a verb.</p>
<h3>The Laundry List</h3>
<blockquote><p>Specializing in pain relief with experience in Headaches, Migraines, TMJ Dysfunctions, Neck, Shoulder issues, Upper and Lower Back Pain, Sciatica, Joint Pain, Fibromyalgia.</p></blockquote>
<p>To start, headaches, necks, and pain are not proper nouns. Secondly, if you are fresh out of massage school, you are by definition not a specialist in ANYTHING, no matter what your teacher told you about how special all his students are.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re going to make a list of every little thing you&#8217;ve ever studied (and don&#8217;t, it looks unprofessional), it belongs in the body of your resume.</p>
<h3>The &#8220;ME! ME! ME!&#8221;</h3>
<blockquote>
<h4><span style="font-weight: normal;">Professional growth and a deeper understanding in the way Massage Therapist work along side other medical professionals in a clinical setting.</span></h4>
</blockquote>
<p>I think it&#8217;s great that you want to grow professionally. I also think this person should grow in their understanding of grammar, especially the appropriate use of plurals. But employers, unlike your teachers, are not in the business of fostering your professional growth and understanding. They are running businesses, and if you can&#8217;t tell them about what you have to offer their clients or patients, then why would they take a second look at you?</p>
<h3>The Thesaurus</h3>
<blockquote><p>To be a synergistic member of an organization whose aim is to be a beneficial influence upon the quality of life of their clientele, by utilizing my proficiencies in Massage Therapy and Reiki.</p></blockquote>
<p>Seriously.</p>
<p>Translated: &#8220;To do Reiki and massage in a business that gives a shit about its clients.&#8221;</p>
<p>Translated again: &#8220;I am trying to sound extra intelligent by using big words and business jargon because I&#8217;ve heard this is what employers want and I&#8217;m too insecure in my own ability to communicate to use words that I might actually use in conversation.&#8221;</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t be this person, it&#8217;s just too sad. Be a more formal version of yourself, not a jargo-bot.</p>
<h3>The Vague</h3>
<blockquote><p>I am lookin for something geared towards sports or therapeutic massage. I am also looking to work on athletes and\or athletic teams.</p></blockquote>
<p>Everybody&#8217;s &#8220;lookin for something.&#8221; And/or something else.</p>
<p>Also, athletic teams are generally made up of athletes, rendering half of that sentence unnecessary.</p>
<h3>The Terse</h3>
<blockquote><p>Professional Massage Therapist</p></blockquote>
<p>Can Massage. Please Pay.</p>
<h2>Cool Things About Objectives</h2>
<p>Okay, so there are some cool things about objectives. One is that it&#8217;s a really easy thing to change without messing with the rest of the document, enabling you to customize your resume to your employer. So you can tell Hotshot Physical Therapy Clinic that your objective is to assist in patient rehabilitation, Rah-Rah Reiki that you aim to promote holistic wellbeing in community with others, and $elective $alon that you are driven by total guest experience.</p>
<p>You can also use it to point out things in your resume in a positive way. If you&#8217;re starting a new career and worry about the way your lack of massage background will look to an employer, you can say things like &#8220;To use both my massage therapy training and my background in customer service to provide &#8230; &#8221; etc. Because people look at your objective first, it is an opportunity to put the spin you want on the information that appears later on.</p>
<p>All that being said, it&#8217;s just like a cover letter: none is better than bad. Spelling errors, Pointless Capitalization, obviously generic goals (&#8220;To gain employment in a spa or clinical setting&#8221;), or objectives that clearly do not meet the job in question will all get your resume dumped in the trash much more quickly than having boring job descriptions or a lack of experience.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p><em>Next up: the education section.</em><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-education/' title='Massage Resume Review: Education'>Massage Resume Review: Education</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-job-hunting-craigslist-tips/' title='Massage Job Hunting &#8211; Craigslist Tips'>Massage Job Hunting &#8211; Craigslist Tips</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/first-interview-first-impressions/' title='First Interview, First Impressions'>First Interview, First Impressions</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/first-steps/' title='First Steps'>First Steps</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/what-i-really-really-want/' title='What I Really, Really Want'>What I Really, Really Want</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Massage Job Hunting &#8211; Craigslist Tips</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-job-hunting-craigslist-tips/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/massage-job-hunting-craigslist-tips/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[massage jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job hunting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1282</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, you&#8217;re looking for a job, or an independent contractor position, or a place to rent. And you decide to start at craigslist. Despite what some people will tell you, I think this is a good way to start. Almost every job and apartment I&#8217;ve ever found in my adult life has been through craigslist, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, you&#8217;re looking for a job, or an independent contractor position, or a place to rent. And you decide to start at craigslist.</p>
<p>Despite what some people will tell you, I think this is a good way to start. Almost every job and apartment I&#8217;ve ever found in my adult life has been through craigslist, and I haven&#8217;t been murdered yet. There have been a few sketchy moments (like the time I ignored my suspicions that a potential landlord was disorganized and incompetent, and it turned out the building in question wasn&#8217;t even residential), but a few tips will not only keep you safe, but help you find the best job possible.</p>
<h3>Start With the Right List</h3>
<p>You are five times more likely to get scammed in &#8220;salon/spa/fitness&#8221; than you are in &#8220;medical/health.&#8221;</p>
<p>Okay, I made that number up, but in my experience, the sentiment is basically true. It sucks if you&#8217;re really looking for that spa environment, but every creepy ad I&#8217;ve seen looking for &#8220;one more massage gal&#8221; has been in this section. Definitely check it out if you want to cover all your bases, but if you&#8217;re short on time and don&#8217;t want to deal with thinly-veiled requests for escort services, you&#8217;re better off sticking to the medical side of things. A number of businesses cross-post to both, anyhow.</p>
<h3>Credentials</h3>
<p>You&#8217;re best off responding to ads that specifically request a therapist with the appropriate credentials, whether that&#8217;s licensed, registered, or certified (depending on where you live). Beware businesses that get the wrong credential for your area (asking for certified massage therapists when the proper term in your state is licensed massage therapist), as these people, even if legit, clearly don&#8217;t know crap about massage and probably wouldn&#8217;t make the best employers. &#8220;No experience necessary&#8221; and &#8220;will train&#8221; are both warning signs. &#8220;Recent grads encouraged to apply!&#8221; doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean it&#8217;s creepy, but you can almost be assured the pay isn&#8217;t great.</p>
<h3>Details</h3>
<p>There are plenty of reasons why people don&#8217;t give too many details in a craigslist ad. They don&#8217;t want creeps to know exactly where they work, they haven&#8217;t yet told the person whose job they&#8217;re filling that they&#8217;ve been fired, they want to negotiate pay, whatever. But the ad should include (at a bare minimum) what city the business is located in (&#8220;west side suburb&#8221; doesn&#8217;t count), what kind of setting the business is (chiropractic office, upscale spa, community health clinic, etc.), and whether the position is part-time or full-time, and for an employee, renter, or independent contractor.</p>
<p>Any less than that, and you have no idea what you&#8217;re getting into.</p>
<h3>Miscellaneous Creep Factors</h3>
<ul>
<li>Poor spelling and grammar.</li>
<li>Requesting a photograph</li>
<li>Too many exclamation points</li>
<li>Obscenely high pay rate, but not a lot of educational/experience requirements</li>
<li>Request for a &#8220;bio&#8221; instead of a resume</li>
</ul>
<h3>Once You&#8217;ve Decided To Respond</h3>
<p>If you&#8217;ve found a good-looking opportunity, there&#8217;s one more step you can take to protect yourself from scams. I always send an email asking whether the position posted on craigslist on such-and-such a date, and explaining that while I don&#8217;t feel comfortable sending resumes &#8220;cold&#8221; to an anonymous email, I&#8217;ll be happy to send one once I know there&#8217;s a genuinely interested human being on the other end. If you only get a computer-generated response, don&#8217;t send in your information. Most employers understand your wanting to be cautious with your personal info, and I&#8217;ve never had one respond negatively.</p>
<h3>Making the Connection</h3>
<p>When you have an honest-to-goodness person on the other end, go ahead and send them your resume. Write a nice cover letter explaining a bit about yourself, and put it in the body of the email. Your resume, unless they request otherwise, should be attached as a PDF. Spell check it all to hell, but don&#8217;t be afraid to be yourself in the cover letter. (More about that another time!)</p>
<p>Odds are, you&#8217;ll at least get an email back. It might be a personal rejection or an invitation to an interview, but either way you&#8217;ve done your best with craigslist, a useful tool once you get past the quirks that come with a totally open environment.</p>
<p>Happy hunting!<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-education/' title='Massage Resume Review: Education'>Massage Resume Review: Education</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-objectives/' title='Massage Resume Review: Objectives'>Massage Resume Review: Objectives</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/first-interview-first-impressions/' title='First Interview, First Impressions'>First Interview, First Impressions</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/first-steps/' title='First Steps'>First Steps</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/what-i-really-really-want/' title='What I Really, Really Want'>What I Really, Really Want</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Getting Down to Business</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/getting-down-to-business/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/getting-down-to-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:03:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[balance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time management]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1278</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[December has been a crazy month for me. I&#8217;ve been scrambling to get things going so that I will have my own massage practice up and running in January. I&#8217;ve been working especially hard on setting up a web page. Writing content, organizing it effectively, developing a design that I can live with. I&#8217;ve even [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>December has been a crazy month for me. I&#8217;ve been scrambling to get things going so that I will have my own massage practice up and running in January.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been working especially hard on setting up a web page. Writing content, organizing it effectively, developing a design that I can live with.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve even written some extra content. I meant it to go on the main site, but then I realized it would just be clutter. It was better off going in the blog.</p>
<p><em>Blog?</em> Crap! I have a blog to attend to!</p>
<p>So if you&#8217;re wondering where I&#8217;ve been, that&#8217;s where. Off in not-quite-panic land, gearing up for a new adventure.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s scaring the crap out of me.</p>
<p>But WI&#8217;m a scaredy-cat. hat else is new?</p>
<p>(More on what&#8217;s new with <em>me </em>after the holidays, I promise. For Christmas, I will hang out with my Jewish relatives, go for a walk in a cemetery, remember how to spout a minimum of six puns a minute, and eat sushi on Boxing Day, because that&#8217;s how we roll. You?)<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/when-these-holidays-will-be-your-last/' title='When These Holidays Will Be Your Last'>When These Holidays Will Be Your Last</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/watershed-moment/' title='Watershed Moment'>Watershed Moment</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/what-i-really-really-want/' title='What I Really, Really Want'>What I Really, Really Want</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/forgiveness/' title='Forgiveness'>Forgiveness</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/inability-vs-inertia/' title='Inability vs. Inertia'>Inability vs. Inertia</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Nontraditional Approaches to Continuing Education</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/nontraditional-approaches-to-continuing-education/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/nontraditional-approaches-to-continuing-education/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:12:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[life outside massage school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[continuing education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[enrichment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-study]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1269</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Continuing education. We talk about it a lot in the massage community. Should it be required? How much? Who should require it? Who should teach? What should &#8220;count?&#8221; People seem to fall into two camps: continuing education junkies who are always looking for more classes taught by their favorite instructors or on a subject they&#8217;ve [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Continuing education. We talk about it a lot in the massage community. Should it be required? How much? Who should require it? Who should teach? What should &#8220;count?&#8221;</p>
<p>People seem to fall into two camps: continuing education junkies who are always looking for more classes taught by their favorite instructors or on a subject they&#8217;ve been dying to learn about (and there&#8217;s always a subject they&#8217;ve been dying to learn about) and those who do what they have to in order to stay licensed and insured.</p>
<p>You might be able to deduce that I am one of the former.</p>
<p>But, I&#8217;m also hovering valiantly above the poverty line. There are a lot of classes I&#8217;d like to take, books I&#8217;d like to buy, workshops I&#8217;d like to travel to, that are just not going to happen this year.</p>
<p>This doesn&#8217;t worry me.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve got more than enough &#8220;official&#8221; continuing education this year (to be honest, I didn&#8217;t need any to begin with: Ohio doesn&#8217;t require it and I&#8217;m still on my AMTA student membership from before I graduated), which frees me up to learn without messing around with hours or accreditation.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve written about formal <a href="http://lmtorbust.com/continuing-education-massage-student">continuing education</a> before. I&#8217;ve also written about viewing your education as a <a href="http://lmtorbust.com/capacity-building/">process of capacity-building</a>. Luckily, lots of other edpunks, autodidacts, and lifelong learners are out and about in the world, and learning what you want with out the BS is being refined into quite the artform.</p>
<h2>What do you want to learn?</h2>
<p>It seems kind of common-sense, in a way, to have a learning plan. You&#8217;ve got a business plan if you&#8217;re in business, after all. And since you&#8217;re definitely &#8220;in learning&#8221; even if you&#8217;re not in school, a plan for where you&#8217;d like to end up with all this learning business seems only sensible. <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2011/08/download_the_edupunks_guide_to_a_diy_credential_free.html" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.openculture.com/2011/08/download_the_edupunks_guide_to_a_diy_credential_free.html?referer=');">The Edpunk&#8217;s Guide to a DIY Credential</a> (a free e-book by Anya Kamenetz) will walk you through this process more thoroughly than I ever could here. It&#8217;s hugely helpful for differentiating what you want to <em>accomplish</em> from what you need to <em>know</em> from <em>how</em> you plan to learn it.</p>
<h2>How will you get there from here?</h2>
<ul>
<li>Sign up for the <a href="https://massage.bloomfire.com/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/massage.bloomfire.com/?referer=');">Massage Learning Network</a>.</li>
<p><a href="https://massage.bloomfire.com/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/massage.bloomfire.com/?referer=');"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://massage.bloomfire.com/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/massage.bloomfire.com/?referer=');"></p>
<li>Build up a list of useful blogs, and follow them.</li>
<p></a><a href="https://massage.bloomfire.com/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/massage.bloomfire.com/?referer=');"></a></p>
<li><a href="https://massage.bloomfire.com/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/massage.bloomfire.com/?referer=');">Peruse the </a><a href="http://www.ijtmb.org/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.ijtmb.org/?referer=');">International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork</a></li>
<li>Connect with a <a href="http://www.amtamassage.org/mentor/FAQs---Mentor.html" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.amtamassage.org/mentor/FAQs---Mentor.html?referer=');">mentor</a>.</li>
<li>Find out whether your public library has any books on massage, wellness, business, or whatever else you want to learn.</li>
<li>Engage in your own research.</li>
<li>Keep a journal (especially useful if you&#8217;re trying new things).</li>
<li>About a million other possibilities.</li>
</ul>
<p>I&#8217;m taking a class at Stanford University starting in February. No, I&#8217;m not a student there, but they are offering a course on starting a business, <a href="http://www.launchpad-class.org/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.launchpad-class.org/?referer=');">The Lean Launchpad</a> online for <em>free.</em></p>
<p>No, you don&#8217;t get actual college credit for it.</p>
<p>No, I have no idea how much of what I learn will be applicable to starting a massage business.</p>
<p>Yeah, I&#8217;m doing it anyway, because I think it will be pretty interesting not matter what. But you know what would make it even better?</p>
<p><strong>If there were a small group of new massage therapists</strong> (or new/future massage business owners) <strong>who were taking this class, who could interact online</strong> as a <a href="http://lmtorbust.com/study-posse/">study posse</a> of sorts. And if there were established massage therapists with successful businesses who felt like taking the course, and thought they could contribute to the discussion as mentors.</p>
<p>That would be awesome.</p>
<p>Anybody up for it?</p>
<p>Drop a comment if you want to be a part of this. Or even if you don&#8217;t. What&#8217;s in your learning plan?</p>
<p><em>PS- </em>Stanford is also offering a free course on the <a href="http://www.anatomy-class.org/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.anatomy-class.org/?referer=');">anatomy of the upper limb</a>. I have no idea if it&#8217;s any good, but at the very least it could provide some extra study material for the students out there. Can&#8217;t beat free, right?<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/learning-for-free/' title='Learning For Free: Two Resources Too Good To Miss'>Learning For Free: Two Resources Too Good To Miss</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/continuing-education-massage-student/' title='Continuing Education Tips for the Massage Therapy Student'>Continuing Education Tips for the Massage Therapy Student</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/capacity-building/' title='Are We There Yet?  Building our Capacity'>Are We There Yet?  Building our Capacity</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/why-attend-national-convention/' title='Why Attend National Convention?'>Why Attend National Convention?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/who-does-massage/' title='Who&#8217;s Who in Local Massage (And Who the Heck am I?)'>Who&#8217;s Who in Local Massage (And Who the Heck am I?)</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Thankful!</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/thankful/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/thankful/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:36:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[more than massage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1262</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m so thankful &#8230; for electricity. Because without electricity, there is no internet. And with no internet, there is no fabulous online community. And boy am I ever thankful for that. for Allissa, in particular. Because she introduced me to just about every person in this aforementioned community. I don&#8217;t know what I would have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m so thankful &#8230;</p>
<p>for electricity. Because without electricity, there is no internet. And with no internet, there is no fabulous online community. And boy am I ever thankful for that.</p>
<p>for <a href="http://writingabluestreak.com" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/writingabluestreak.com?referer=');">Allissa</a>, in particular. Because she introduced me to just about every person in this aforementioned community. I don&#8217;t know what I would have done without her.</p>
<p>for <a href="http://www.amtamassage.org/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.amtamassage.org/?referer=');">AMTA</a>, <a href="http://www.abmp.com/home/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.abmp.com/home/?referer=');">ABMP</a>, and all our other awesome massage organizations for doing everything they can to help the community of massage therapists and make sense of all our diverse, sometimes-contradictory desires.</p>
<p>for my husband, who has infinite patience with me when I consistently forget to do the laundry because I got caught up in writing blog entries.</p>
<p>for rainy days that clear up into brilliant sunshine just in time for me to grab the <a href="http://www.westsidemarket.org/vendor.aspx?id=75" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.westsidemarket.org/vendor.aspx?id=75&amp;referer=');">best falafel in Cleveland</a> with said infinitely patient husband.</p>
<p>for my clients, and for the fact that they trust me with their bodies.</p>
<p>for holidays with the family.</p>
<p>for my local public library, which is well-stocked with <a href="http://www.theppk.com/books/vegan-with-a-vengeance/" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.theppk.com/books/vegan-with-a-vengeance/?referer=');">vegan cookbooks</a>, which makes holidays and everydays so much more edible.</p>
<p>for sufficiency.</p>
<p>for work.</p>
<p>for love.</p>
<p>for you!<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-debate/' title='The Therapy Debate'>The Therapy Debate</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/thanksgiving/' title='Thanksgiving: An Attitude of Gratitude'>Thanksgiving: An Attitude of Gratitude</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/back-to-basics-touch/' title='Back to Basics: Touch'>Back to Basics: Touch</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/reaching-out/' title='Reaching Out'>Reaching Out</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/illness/' title='Guess Where I&#8217;ve Been?'>Guess Where I&#8217;ve Been?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>What You Need to Know About Trauma and Massage School</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/trauma-massage-school/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/trauma-massage-school/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:37:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[massage therapy school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[massage class]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weaknesses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1254</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are some things that I don&#8217;t normally talk about much here. Blogs are incredibly public, and while there are some topics I love to talk over with my massage therapy peeps, I don&#8217;t necessarily need them plastered all over the internet for the world and my grandma to see. (Not that my grandmother uses [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are some things that I don&#8217;t normally talk about much here. Blogs are incredibly public, and while there are some topics I love to talk over with my massage therapy peeps, I don&#8217;t necessarily need them plastered all over the internet for the world and my grandma to see. (Not that my grandmother uses the internet, but I&#8217;m sure if she did she&#8217;d read whatever she could find on me.)</p>
<p>But I was giving some advice to a student on my favorite massage therapy forum, and someone suggested that I really ought to write about it here.</p>
<p>I feel a little squishy about doing this. But because I want the people who NEED this sort of advice to HAVE it, I will.</p>
<p>Let me start by telling a story:</p>
<p>We were approaching psoas from the side-lying position. I was on the table. My amazing friend Matt was working on me. He called over Gary, our instructor, to ask if he were actually doing it properly. Gary put his hands over Matt&#8217;s, and moved deeper. Much deeper.</p>
<p>&#8220;What does that feel like?&#8221; Gary asked me.</p>
<p>&#8220;It feels like &#8230; crying.&#8221; I started to weep.</p>
<p>Poor Matt. He brought me a box of tissues and hovered awkwardly. I kept crying for a while. It felt like forever.</p>
<p>The thing is, I cry <em>every single time I have moderate to deep work done in the side-lying position.</em> Every time, without fail. It&#8217;s something I know about myself now, and it&#8217;s something my massage therapist needs to know, too.</p>
<p>If you have a history of trauma or abuse&#8211;physical, emotional, sexual, disaster-related, war-related, whatever, <em>your massage therapist needs to know before you get on the table.</em> I don&#8217;t care whether it&#8217;s listed on the medical history form. Circle &#8220;anxiety&#8221; and write the details in the margins, and make sure you discuss it ahead of time.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t know about you. Maybe you&#8217;re different from me. I&#8217;m told we&#8217;re all special little snowflakes or something to that effect, so you probably are. But supposing for a moment that you <em>are </em>like me, and you&#8217;re on a table, stark naked, and somebody starts <em>hurting</em> you (just a little, unintentionally) then your first reaction isn&#8217;t to say calmly, &#8220;Hey, that&#8217;s a little rough for me, my hamstrings are pretty tight and don&#8217;t take a stretch that well.&#8221;</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re me, your first instinct is to freeze. Hold your breath. Wait for it to stop. Hope the therapist doesn&#8217;t notice. Try not to be rude.</p>
<p>And meanwhile, this poor therapist, thinking you&#8217;re happy, keeps doing the <em>one</em> thing I can just about guarantee she <em>doesn&#8217;t</em> want to do: make you feel worse.</p>
<p>Writing it down on a history form is less scary than bringing it up in conversation out of the blue. And talking about it when you&#8217;re one fully-clothed, seated, professional individual having a conversation with another is much easier than talking about it in a dim room while you&#8217;re horizontal, next-to-nude, and feeling somebody&#8217;s hands doing something that doesn&#8217;t feel right.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re a student, you&#8217;re going to have to out yourself as a trauma survivor. Whether you do this to the class as a whole (more scary, but sometimes really empowering when you get so much understanding and support in return) or person by person (start with your instructor, then inform each of your partners as you work with them) is up to you. But school is even more likely to include draping mishaps, clumsy technique, miscommunication, and ignorance of trauma-related reactions than a professional setting. You&#8217;re much better off playing it safe by speaking up than keeping to yourself.</p>
<p>If anybody, anybody at ALL does not respect this information, tell your instructor, <em>right away</em>. If the person in question is your instructor, tell the director of your program. If those in positions of authority do not crack down on the disrespect, consider switching classes. Consider switching schools. This is no time to put up with people who do not respect your needs, your boundaries, your choices, or your body. Do whatever it takes to put yourself in a caring, supportive environment while you are in massage school.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve got boundary issues be aware of it. Teach yourself to think, &#8220;This feeling is an example of transference. That&#8217;s okay. What I&#8217;m receiving is a professional massage.&#8221; Does that sound clunky to you? It does to me, but the formality of the script helps keep my reactions in line.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve got negative feelings about your body, be aware of them. If you feel like people must be lying when they say they are happy to work with you, be aware of this. If you&#8217;re overeager to please, be aware of this. If you know the smell of sage triggers flashbacks, you REALLY NEED to be aware of this, but you knew that already.</p>
<p>Some people find having a safe word helps. Think that&#8217;s just for kinky sex? It&#8217;s not. Establishing ahead of time that &#8220;stop&#8221; or &#8220;hold it&#8221; or whatever means &#8220;I don&#8217;t mean to be rude but I need you to stop what you&#8217;re doing right now and take your hands off my body because I&#8217;m having a reaction at this moment due to prior trauma and we need to communicate before we can continue with this massage,&#8221; is SO much easier than trying to formulate a sentence when you&#8217;re feeling vulnerable.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re in therapy (the talking kind, not massage), you probably want to discuss massage school with your psychologist. Massage therapy school dredges up challenges, emotions, and issues in the most healthy of us. Your psychologist will probably have all kinds of helpful things to share with you. This person knows her stuff, far more than I do. Listen to what he has to say.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re a massage therapist or a student dealing with trauma: I&#8217;m sorry. It sucks. It sucks so much, and it isn&#8217;t fair, and you don&#8217;t deserve it.</p>
<p>But you also have a gift to offer others. The chance to learn from you. The chance to become better, more responsible, more compassionate, more sensitive, more trustworthy massage therapists.</p>
<p>And you may, as many of us do, find that learning massage is in itself a kind of therapy. Learning to touch other people in ways that heal, without pain, is an extraordinary blessing. Learning to be touched and to allow yourself to heal, without pain, is too.</p>
<p>I know that&#8217;s cheesy, but it&#8217;s true.</p>
<p>So, we&#8217;ve gotten a little up close and personal on LMT or Bust today. That&#8217;s how we do things, in the massage therapy world, letting people see all kinds of bits and pieces of ourselves that we normally keep under wraps. I&#8217;m not a psychologist. Actually, the only psychology class I ever took, I failed. But this is what I know from experience. And if you know anybody, anybody who might benefit from reading this, please pass it on. Because I wish I&#8217;d read something like it when I started school.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/ethics-confusion-2/' title='Confusion. Ethics. All that jazz.  (Part 2)'>Confusion. Ethics. All that jazz.  (Part 2)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/ethics-confusion-1/' title='Confusion. Ethics. All that jazz. (Part 1)'>Confusion. Ethics. All that jazz. (Part 1)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/worst-usp-ever/' title='Worst USP Ever!'>Worst USP Ever!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-teachable-moment/' title='Massage Therapy&#8217;s Teachable Moment'>Massage Therapy&#8217;s Teachable Moment</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/instinct/' title='&#8220;Instinct&#8221;'>&#8220;Instinct&#8221;</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Couples Massage</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/couples-massage/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/couples-massage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:33:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[massage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[study tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1245</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a sneaky thing nobody tells you in school: Couples massage is awesome. Why? You get to spy on more experienced massage therapists in action with actual clients, AND you get paid for it, AND nobody thinks this is weird. The number of things I&#8217;ve learned this way is bordering on unbelievable. (I&#8217;m not saying [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s a sneaky thing nobody tells you in school:</p>
<p>Couples massage is <em>awesome.</em></p>
<p>Why? You get to <em>spy</em> on more experienced massage therapists in action with actual clients, AND you get paid for it, AND nobody thinks this is weird. The number of things I&#8217;ve learned this way is bordering on unbelievable.</p>
<p>(I&#8217;m not saying you shouldn&#8217;t give your full attention to your clients. But if your mind is occasionally going to get distracted anyway, it might as well be distracted by something educational.)<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
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<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/who-does-massage/' title='Who&#8217;s Who in Local Massage (And Who the Heck am I?)'>Who&#8217;s Who in Local Massage (And Who the Heck am I?)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-study-tips-intrapersonal-learner/' title='Massage Therapy Study Tips for the Intrapersonal Learner'>Massage Therapy Study Tips for the Intrapersonal Learner</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-study-tips-tmi/' title='Massage Therapy Study Tips: Beating TMI Syndrome'>Massage Therapy Study Tips: Beating TMI Syndrome</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-education/' title='Massage Resume Review: Education'>Massage Resume Review: Education</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-resume-review-objectives/' title='Massage Resume Review: Objectives'>Massage Resume Review: Objectives</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>&#8220;Instinct&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://lmtorbust.com/instinct/</link>
		<comments>http://lmtorbust.com/instinct/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:28:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frustration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weaknesses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lmtorbust.com/?p=1235</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I got my first job in childcare when I was desperate. I had no experience aside from a brief stint as a babysitter, but I was willing to work for $6.50 an hour and had good references. I looked responsible. I liked kids. They gave me the job. It didn&#8217;t last very long. I didn&#8217;t [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I got my first job in childcare when I was desperate. I had no experience aside from a brief stint as a babysitter, but I was willing to work for $6.50 an hour and had good references. I looked responsible. I liked kids. They gave me the job.</p>
<p>It didn&#8217;t last very long. I didn&#8217;t function with the other teachers like a perfect unit. I didn&#8217;t make the right split-second decisions. It took me too long to help a kid in the bathroom, or to apply sunscreen, or to contain a temper tantrum. I didn&#8217;t hurt anybody, I just wasn&#8217;t great. The director told me she&#8217;d be happy to keep me if she had a position open with the older kids, since I seemed to do well with them. I just didn&#8217;t have the right &#8220;instincts&#8221; to work with the little ones. I lost that job. I was devastated.</p>
<p>In massage school, it took me longer than others to master the hands-on skills. I could do them, but my body mechanics just seemed off. I wasn&#8217;t smooth. I wasn&#8217;t intuitive. Some people took to massage like a fish to water. I took to it like a walrus to ice skates. I studied harder, but I was terrified. I was worried I didn&#8217;t have the right instincts.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s been 6 years since my first childcare job, and I&#8217;ve worked almost exclusively with toddlers since then. I know exactly how I want to react to a small child, and I do it without even thinking. I can&#8217;t spend more than 20 seconds with a child without slipping into teacher mode, observing their development and testing their abilities. I can quite literally change a diaper with my eyes closed. It appears that I&#8217;ve got the instincts after all.</p>
<p>And I give a good massage. I still get compliments on my face and chest work, at which I excelled in school, but now I hear that people like what I do with their necks, their legs. They feel good. Maybe I&#8217;m not the best massage therapist they&#8217;ve ever had, but it&#8217;s enough that a few people are saying, &#8220;When I come back for my next massage, I want to schedule it with you.&#8221; Just a few. But I&#8217;m new. There will be more.</p>
<p>&#8220;Instinct&#8221; is so often a lie. Instinct is birds flying south in winter, or babies sucking, or newly hatched turtles humping their way to the sea. If you&#8217;re getting paid to do something, you can bet it&#8217;s not something instinctual. So quit worrying over the instincts you haven&#8217;t got for &#8220;intuitive&#8221; things like massage, or having conversations with people, or writing, or keeping babies amused and safe. Give more massages, talk to more people, write more stories, play with more babies. Because they only way learned behaviors become &#8220;instinct&#8221; is practice. Lots and lots of practice.</p>
<p>You&#8217;ll get there. We all will. Me too.</p>
<p>And in the meantime, we&#8217;ll be mediocre, and we&#8217;ll learn. The trick is making the effort to realize that that&#8217;s okay.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts:</h3>
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<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/giveacrapus/' title='Treating the Massage Student&#8217;s Most Prevelant Injury'>Treating the Massage Student&#8217;s Most Prevelant Injury</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/trauma-massage-school/' title='What You Need to Know About Trauma and Massage School'>What You Need to Know About Trauma and Massage School</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/reaching-out/' title='Reaching Out'>Reaching Out</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/forgiveness/' title='Forgiveness'>Forgiveness</a></li>
<li><a href='http://lmtorbust.com/massage-therapy-debate/' title='The Therapy Debate'>The Therapy Debate</a></li>
</ul>
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