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Self Care
Tips for the massage therapist
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Manage your money properly and take care of yourself
financially. Do what marketing and customer service you need to do to
build a successful massage practice.
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Make sure that you get
a massage once a week. It keeps you physically, mentally and emotionally
in touch with what you do everyday. It helps prevent injuries, relieves
stress and cleanses the body of any physical, emotional and energetic toxins.
Have you heard yourself telling this to any of your clients?
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Make your days off,
your days off. If clients call with aches and pains do you go in
on your day off? It is important to set your boundaries and keep
them. If you don't you may end up feeling taken advantage of or drained.
Your needs come first. How will you be able to give treatments when
you are not healthy yourself?
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Take vacations.
Your clients will be there when you get back even though your first thought
may be -they will all go to someone else and never come back. It
is good for clients to go to other practitioners. It gives them some
perspective on what you do for them. They may find a more effective
treatment or practitioner, but that is what is best for them.
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Set your boundaries
with your families and friends. Have you been massaging them at the
drop of a hat, when you come home dead tired and needing a massage yourself?
The best thing to do is have them set up an appointment with you, the same
as your other clients. Are you working on them for free? It
is hard to charge a family member or friend, but you may want to consider
a barter system - I massage you - You take me out to dinner or a movie
or whatever it is that you may enjoy.
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What else do you tell
your clients that you don't do for your self? Eat right, get exercise,
take time for yourself, get enough rest or time to your self?
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Don't take the work
personally. If you can't "fix" a clients elbow tendonitis that they
have had for 2 months in one treatment, it doesn't have anything to do
with you.
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Every client that comes
to you is a gift from the universe with something to teach you. They
have chosen you out of the many therapists out there. What do they
bring to your life?
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Physically, massage
and bodywork is a demanding profession. Make sure your body mechanics
are correct. Have someone watch you work or video tape yourself working.
Your arms and hands should not be getting tired, your legs should get tired
first.
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Taking time for yourself
each day is important in remaining centered during each treatment.
Meditation, stretching, movement exercises and quiet walks or whatever
it is that make you feel centered are essential in maintaining your spirit.
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Meditation
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Journal Writing
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Counseling/Psychotherapy
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Retreats
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Learning
about psychology and
understanding the impact that you have on clients is an important part of
becoming aware of who you are.
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Supervision
and peer supervision groups are essential in
learning about ourselves.
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