Welcome to my first Blog entry.

With the Holidays in full-swing, do you see an increase of stressed clients in pain? I seem to have more clients complaining of low back pain during the Holidays. Sacral torsions from prolonged standing with weight-bearing on one leg (Mall Back) is common. Do you think the sacroiliac ligaments are getting strained or possibly piriformis syndrome from increased walking, stooping and bending? Thoughts?

When you start a business you are going to want to get your name out there as much as you can, by giving massages to as many people as you can. One great way to do this is marketing events, and events where you will get to work on many people. These events can be very beneficial,  and sometimes it will even be worth it for you to practice massages for free, but be aware of people wanting your services for free and promising you a  ”business opportunity.”

People will approach you looking for a therpist to do massages for all types of events, and if they know you are a new business they will pitch the event as a networking thing or a way to help your business. LOOK OUT! Sometimes that is exactly what the event will be……but sometimes not.

About a month ago I was asked to do free chair massages at an event for a local business that is pretty large here in Burlington VT and a company that most business people would want to get involved with. I was told it was for three hours with as many breaks as I wanted, as well as I would be practicing massages for the “head-honchos” of this company. The person who was in charge of running the event told me it would be a networking opportunity, I would get lots of tips, as well as I could make 100 gift certificates to pass out in the goodie bags for each guest to take home.

When I arrived at the building where the event was taking place I was excited and ready to talk, and give massages. My energy was high and I was psyched! When I first walked in I noticed the woman who was my contact person, I got my station and my schedule. I gave her my certifictates that I made (by hand) and went to set up. It was not long that I took a good look around and realized that all the other volunteers were students. Men and woman who were still in massage school getting credit towards their certification. I then looked around more and all I could see were woman standing around, laughing, drinking wine, not interested in all about business’s or networking. My schedule said I was booked full for the three hours, which was fine-”tips”  I thought and if not atleast I could give out my business cards. I was so wrong. The woman were all there to get free massages, free pedicures and manicures, along with the free stuff they had in the raffle. I gave free massages for three hours straight-nobody gave me a tip, and very few people asked for my business card. Its not their fault, I was misled. You could also argue that maybe I am not a good massage therapist, but I do alot of events and I always atleast get tips or give out business cards.

Please understand that I am not saying “don’t do events” but what I am saying is make sure everybody involved is treated fair, and don’t get taken for what people will promise to be “business oppotunity’s” I have decided that after a year of pretty much doing all FREE massages I can pick and choose the events I want to give my time and skills to and you can too!

Bee Healthy. Bee Happy. Bee Well.

 ?Ms. N? received ?unsolicited mail? from my franchise company (to her it was JUNK MAIL) and wanted to know how we got her address.    I know this because she was kind enough to call me.

I LISTENED to Ms. N?.as a fellow massage therapist and gentle spirit I could tell she was passionate and I really appreciated her taking the time to talk to me.  I told her that our franchise sales department got the names but I was pretty sure it was from one of two national massage associations and that I would find out and get back to her. 

SHE SPOKE passionately ??.she could have easily just ?complained? to anyone that would listen and nothing would have been resolved.   What I liked about Ms. N is that although she was VERY PASSIONATE about not wanting unsolicited mail and upset about someone giving her name and address, she was professional, courteous and followed the Four Agreements (excellent read—if you don?t have it, I would highly recommend it)!    

THINKING and ACTING?. I am a consultant to the company that has franchised my business model and I own three franchises personally.  Ms. N.?s passion ignited something inside me??.so I started thinking, what can I do personally and in business to impact our environment?

Ms. N…….you REALLY made me think!  As a business consultant how can I impact our environment and how can the company franchising this business model also impact our environment. 

OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT was already ahead of me?.they recently  signed a contract for our business cards and brochures which will all be printed on recycled paper. 

OUR MASSAGE STUDIOS are virtually paperless.  There is one intake form completed by clients that is then shredded and recycled. 

FILTERED WATER is provided for our employees (to decrease production of individual water bottles).   What I also realized after talking with Ms. N is that I too get JUNK MAIL?.often from the same companies over and over.  All I have done to this point is throw it away?..but now (thanks to Ms. N), I will call these companies and asked to removed from their mailing list.  

SO CHEERS TO AN EMPOWERED AMAZING WOMAN who will SPEAK HER TRUTH!!!

Advertisers work hard to persuade the public that some so-called, ?natural foods? are healthy, regardless of the ingredients. Sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, trans fats and isolated chemicals are a few of those ingredients that have been linked to health challenges.  Repeatedly, ?natural? foods are cleverly disguised as healthy, when in fact they are not.

Paying closer attention to how natural foods are manufactured means looking beyond nutrition fact labels.  Consumers can steer clear of advertising hype by learning more about the differences between natural foods, and overly processed foods that are labeled as ?natural?.  With the right information, it is easier to live a healthier lifestyle without being led off course by clever ad campaigns.

Natural foods not only provide more usable fuel, they are easier on the digestive system. The significance of choosing truly natural foods is that the digestive system knows how to efficiently break down their components using the appropriate amount of energy.  On the flip side, foods that contain numerous additives and isolated chemicals take a longer amount of time to digest. They force the body to work harder to metabolize the additives.

Fiber is an important element that is frequently absent from the modern diet, but is abundant in many natural foods. High fiber foods help protect the body against certain preventable illnesses such as colon cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.

In general, it is important to remember that natural foods do not include ingredients like preservatives, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, added colors, flavors or isolated chemicals that do more harm than good.

Good day!   I like to ask my students “What moves you to work with those in eldercare or hospice?”  Over the years, some themes have emerged from the responses I’ve heard.  I’d like to share them with you here because I assume if you are reading this you have some degree of interest in working with elders or others with life-limiting illness. So, here’s what folks have told me.

“I’ve had a personal experience that led me to want to serve.”  These experiences range from having a grandmother in a nursing home to a close family member receiving hospice care to having grown up around older adults.  Those who identify with this report having both a comfort level and a desire to ‘give back’.

“I’ve been a massage therapist for a number of years and it’s taken a toll on my body.  I want to prolong my career and perhaps working with this population would be a good option.”  These therapists have a number of years in the profession and desire to find work that isn’t as physically taxing, thereby extending the longevity of their career.

“I don’t know exactly, but  I want to do this work– I just feel called in my heart to do it!”  This is the most common reason I hear.  The circumstances leading to the desire to work with this population can’t be pin-pointed, however there is a strong pull toward this form of service. 

Is one reason better than another? Of course not.  I think the most important thing is for each of us to ask the question and come up with our own answer. So, I ask you, “What moves YOU to want to work with this special population?”  I’d love to hear!
Take good care and enjoy the summer,
Ann

This weekend while I was teaching ethics to a class of 23 people, I asked how many present have read the Practice Act. As usual, the answer was TWO. I wonder how people think they can comply with the law if they don’t know what it is. I wonder if they know they can have input whenever the act is opened, as it occasionally is. I wonder if they know they can attend massage board meetings; that holds true everywhere, not just in my state; a public board is obligated to have open meetings and to offer a time period for public comment. If they don’t know, it isn’t because I haven’t attempted to personally spread the word–I do it all the time.

There is a lot going on in our profession right now. This week, the AMTA is holding their annual convention. I’ll be heading to Orlando tomorrow to participate. Since representatives from the National Certification Board, the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, the Massage Therapy Research Foundation, and many others will be on hand, it’s an opportunity to meet those people in person and give them a little feedback.

Last week of the first draft of the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge project was released, along with the solicitation for comments. We’ve also heard the recent announcement about the formation of the Alliance for Massage Therapy, the new organization led by Rick Rosen; the hiring of Angela Palmier and Christopher Alvarado as new Industry Relations Specialists for the NCB; the NCB’s announcement of morphing into a membership/insurance organization, and their recent announcement about a general advanced certification, which based on the comments on this blog, not too many people seem excited about. Those comments have been forwarded to the leadership of the NCB. We’ve got the MBLEx gaining ground and more states joining the Federation. We’ve got more states forming boards and enacting legislation than ever before. We’ve got more regulation of massage therapy than any other time before.

There are so many current issues that affect our profession. And as a massage therapist, that means they directly affect you. Have you voiced your opinion? Contacted the NCB? Attended a meeting or written a letter to your state board? Been in touch with your legislators? Written a letter to the editor of your trade publications? Weighed in on this or the thousands of other blogs and discussion groups that exist on the Internet? Do you belong to a professional association, and do you let them know what you think, or do you just automatically pay your dues and maintain the status quo?

I am not going to sit on my hands while things go on that have the potential to affect me and my colleagues. I’ve used this blog plenty of times to complain about something, and to give the occasional pat on the back, but that’s not the only action I take. When legislation comes up that affects the practice of massage in my state, I contact my legislators, and I send out announcements to every therapist on my email list. As a current member of the board in my state, I am obligated to be at meetings, but the fact is I attended quite a few before I was appointed, and plan to continue that when my term is over, so I can voice my opinion. I have written the leadership of AMTA on numerous occasions. I haven’t single-handedly managed to change anything, but I always get a response, and it’s good to know they’re listening. I haven’t just written about the NCB; I’ve also written directly to them.

Maybe people just don’t realize that they have the right to speak up. If that’s the case, I’m telling you now, you have the right. If something that affects us and our profession is on the horizon, why don’t you take a few minutes to voice your opinion? Write a letter. Make a phone call. Send a fax or an email. Post an answer to this blog or someone else’s, or write one of your own. Get involved. Don’t sit on your hands.

As a massage therapist we are forced to make decisions every day. Really, as human beings we make decisions every day. Ranging from what to make for dinner, to who you should hire to fill a new position, the consequences of our decisions can be long lasting. Making decisions feels very permanent with far reaching effects which causes us to over-think, rather than make the right decision.

This is why many people hesitate and second guess themselves when the time comes to make a decision. When it comes to making the decision they start to think about how they will implement their decision and what could happen if they make a particular decision.

Before they decide, they run through their head how they will implement their decision, what it?s going to cost them, what will happen if they fail?.all the reasons they shouldn?t make a decision.

I would like to suggest a different process to use when making a decision. I was taught this technique from David Neagle and it works very well.  

First make the decision. Put the ?how am I going to make this happen? aside. Don?t think about what others are going to say or think ? put your energy into making the right decision for you. If you need $20,000 to invest in your business, but you have terrible credit and nothing in your accounts receivables, you may start thinking about why you can?t get $20,000.

What I am asking you to do, before you think about how or why, is to make the decision to move your business forward. Make the decision that you are going to manifest $20,000. Just make the decision you are going to do it and nothing else.

Once you?ve made the decision (whatever it is) write it down on a piece of paper. Draw a line down the center of the paper. On the left column write down these words ?Why I can?t?. On the right column write down ?How I can?. Cross off ?Why I can?t? with a big X. You are done with that column. Why I can?t is no longer an option for you. You?ve made the decision to manifest $20,000. The Universe will bring it to you once you make the decision.

Now write down every single thing you can think of for ?How I can?. EVERYTHING; even if it seems crazy and impossible. Once you?ve written everything down, methodically exhaust every item on the list. Somewhere on that list is the solution to making your decision a reality.

It may be that one of the items you wrote down leads you to something else, which makes your decision a reality. The answer is somewhere on that list.

The key is to make the decision without thinking about the how. The universe will make the how happen. Your job is to go through that list tirelessly until you find what you are looking for. In this case it?s raise $20,000.

Here?s an example:

Decision:    raise    $20,000  

      Why I can?t      How I can

                                    Loan from bank
                                    Money from mom
                                    Sell 30 ebooks
                                    Gain 25 new clients
                                    Ask friends
                                    Have a sale
                                    Partner with Marathon
                                    Etc.

Try it. See if it works for you.

About the author

Founder of A Marketing Connection and The Copywriting Institute, Kelly Robbins, MA, is an award winning author, copywriter and healthcare marketing coach/consultant. Kelly is a blogger for both ChiroEco and MassageMagazine and is the author of Marketing 101: Why Successful Alternative Healthcare Practitioners Specialize as well as co-author of The Practice Evolution Success Kit. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, ?5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits? at www.AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

 
If you?re anything like me, you?ve got a million goals, plans and ideas and not enough time in the day to put a dent in any of them. I may pick one or two of my ideas and go gang busters working to get it going, and then another fun thing comes along and I get excited and go gang busters getting that one up and running.

There are a few downsides to this. The biggest being I am in the middle of a bunch of really great projects that aren?t done! It?s easy to see how this can happen next year too with all of us excited about our New Year?s resolutions. What happens to a lot of us is either my scenario above or the opposite happens ? nothing because you don?t know where to start.

With that said, I have a recommendation on how to handle this strange phenomenon this year?.make very small commitments that you know you can fulfill. By keeping your commitments small and simple you will have more flexibility to change, and more freedom to try different ways to keep your commitments.

Here are a few examples of what I?m talking about?

You may commit to doing one additional marketing piece or trying one new marketing strategy a month. Something simple. By the end of the year that really means that you will be trying 12 different marketing methods.

Another idea is to commit a certain amount of time to a specific project. For example, if you have a goal to write a book this year or develop products to sell online, set aside one hour a week (or a day ? whatever you can commit too) that is devoted to meeting this one goal.

I am not going to say I am going to work out every day after I drop the kids off at school. Yes, while being healthy is important, making such a stringent commitment realistically won?t happen. A better commitment may be to promise myself that I will work out consistently this year. For me that could be two times a week as opposed to my sometimes every day and other times nothing for three months.

Other ideas of small goals that can make a big difference in your day are to:

– Only check emails at 8:00 and 6:00
– Have a cup of coffee once a week with a new friend or business acquaintance
– Take two hours off in the middle of the week that?s free time
– Do one self-improvement tool or book or something a month
– Post on other people?s blogs once a week

But the deal is whatever commitment you do make, you HAVE to stick to it. So keep your promises simple and realistic.

If you?ve taken the time to develop long term goals and strategies for your business (or your personal life) that is great. You?ve done more than most people I know. If you don?t want this years resolutions or commitments to fall by the wayside, break those long term goals into super short smaller commitments that you know you can keep.

In issue 50 of our ezine, The Healthcare Marketing Connection, I talked about discipline and keeping your word to yourself. Now is the time to be thinking about what commitments you do make and your ability (or inability) to keep them. For us entrepreneurs and small business owners, oftentimes ANY commitment we make is one we make to ourselves only. No one knows about them, and no on else will hold you accountable to keeping them. Plug your commitments into a calendar, schedule the time with yourself to get them done, and don?t make a commitment or resolution unless you know you will keep it.

No one else knows you are making it, and no one knows if you break it.

Except the all important you.

Contact us at Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com or call 303-460-0285 for more information.

About the author
Founder of A Marketing Connection and The Copywriting Institute, Kelly Robbins, MA, is an award winning author, copywriter and healthcare marketing coach/consultant. Kelly is the author of Marketing 101: Why Successful Alternative Healthcare Practitioners Specialize as well as co-author of The Practice Evolution Success Kit.

Kelly Robbins also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, ?5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits? at www.AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

?Vibrations turn to atoms and atoms generate what we call life; thus it happens that their grouping, by the power of nature?s affinity, forms a living entity.?
Hazrat Inayat Khan

Recently during a session a rhythmic pattern arouse in my perception that felt to me like a slow, very long rumble within the client.  At the same time I felt like nerves from my hands were magically connected to my visual cortex.  I was feeling with my hands but concurrently seeing what my hands were feeling.  Images appeared as though I were watching a luminous slow-motion 3D film of someone tumbling in gelatinous crystal clear liquid.  I watched close-up scenes as the client?s body slowly floated in my vision, each pore, each cell, each miniscule part of her sinking and then rising again as if an invisible wave was moving the viscous fluid which in turn moved her.  What was this rhythmic wave?  Then I recalled coming across an interesting reference months earlier about sound and thought there may be a relationship to our session.

We live amidst a sound emerging from a group of galaxies 250 million light years from Earth called the Perseus Cluster.  ?The sound waves coming from it are in the form of a single note?? which is B-flat, and the frequency of these sound waves is 10 million years.

If I?m not mistaken this means that if we were to draw this B-flat frequency in time with its sound waves then the amount of time it would take to draw one sound wave going from the wave?s valley, to its peak, and then to the next valley, would be 10 million years!  By contrast if we were to draw a wave of the craniosacral rhythm, while staying in time with its rhythmic wave, it would take about 9 seconds.

We can sense and work with many biorhythms in CranioSacral Therapy. Some of these rhythms are generated through inner biological processes, such as cerebrospinal fluid seeping, blood oxygenating, lymph cleansing, even elements moving through a cell?s wall will create some form of frequency.

We can also feel and utilize rhythms that arise outside of ourselves since we exist in an environment awash with vibrations.  Some of these outer rhythms merge into our body to become an integral part of us.  For example, waves swooshing upon the shoreline, water trickling from icicles, rainwater flowing from roof to gutter to cistern, and fire crackling can all have an internal effect.

One of the astronomers who discovered the Perseus Cluster sound said it ??may be the key in figuring out how galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe, grow.?  Well then, could this sound be affecting our clients, the world, us?  Is it in some way organizing or at least affecting our growth and can we use this rhythm to help our clients and ourselves?  I wonder.  So I?m inviting this sound wave from the stars to arise more fully in my awareness.  Intuitively it seems there is much to learn from Perseus?s drone as well as other cosmic rhythms from our Milky Way galaxy and parts of the universe.

If you have time perhaps sit for a moment to experience Perseus humming, its low drone singing, dancing and chanting to us from 250 million light years away.

References:
Jenner, Lynn, ?Interpreting the ?Song? Of a Distant Black Hole?, Goddard Space Flight
Center, http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/universe/black_hole_sound.html,
Page Last Updated: February 23, 2008.
Khan, Hazrat Inayat, The Mysticism Of Sound And Music, Shambala Publications, Inc.,
Boston, Ma., 1991.
Weider, June Leslie, Dr., Song Of The Spine, Sound Healing and Vibrational Therapy, Booksurge Publishing LLC, North Charleston, SC, 2004.

My post a few weeks ago on the $100,000 massage business seemed to create quite a stir.  The idea that a massage therapist can make that much money seems too good to be true for most.  Many come to massage careers saying it isn’t about the money or that they just want to help.   Underneath the idea of wanting to help is usually another side of our profession that is not really talked about. The deeper reasons underneath wanting to help (which is also usually sacrificing our needs to make money) are usually what lead to giving too much and eventually burn out.   Since massage therapy is considered to be one of the many helping professions we have a lot to learn about our needs to help others.

I was first exposed to this idea early in massage school in 1987 when reading a book called “How Can I Help” by Ram Dass.  I actually didn’t think much of it at the time and didn’t think that it really applied to me at the time.  In the book he says:

The more you see yourself as a “helper”, the more need for people to play the passive “helped”.  You’re buying into, even juicing up, precisely what people who are suffering from want to be rid of: limitation, dependency, helplessness, separateness.  And that is happening largely as a result of self-image.

Often what is happening when we feel a compulsive need to help is that we have to get rid of someone else’s pain because it is hurting us too much. Out of helping usually comes feelings of power, respect and a certain knowing that we did all that we could for someone to try to take away their pain.

While helping can truly come from compassion, it is often confusing.  When we help it makes us feel like we are important and are appreciated.   Being able to tell the difference will mean the difference between your success or having to change careers because of being burned out.

Fast forward 15 year of working as a massage therapist and feeling burned out myself,  I read this series of articles by Jack Blackburn called “Caretaking vs Caregiving” and it all came together:

” When we caretake, we assume responsibility for our clients’ healing.

When we caregive, we support clients in assuming responsibility for their own healing.”

Caretaking comes in many shapes and forms.  It can be seen when you charge less than you need to make or don’t have any cancellation policies (or enforce them).   It can be seen when you give advice instead of just listening.   Caretaking has it’s roots in early childhood and usually in the way you learned how to attach (or not attach) to your caregivers.  When your early needs for attention, appreciation and love are not met, many people give up their needs in order to get that attention.  It continues on into adulthood and shows up in relationship, money and career issues and somehow seems to really show up in helping professions.   Setting your needs aside for others benefits while it may seem viruous and noble, usually is not really helping anyone.

I actually used to be one of those people who didn’t want much and didn’t charge much for my services.  I didn’t want to do any marketing or sales because I was shy and hated promoting myself.  I lived a simple life (and still do) but making money became as important as helping since I couldn’t help people when I was feeling burned out or didn’t have enough to take care of my needs. The more I learned about caretaking and ‘noble poverty’ ( the idea that having money is somehow wrong), the more I could see how I created my underearning to support my lack of self confidence.  The thing with underearning, noble poverty and caretaking is that they are really unconscious patterns and you don’t really see them until you are forced into looking at them.  Some people may never get to looking at them and that is OK too.

My basic message today is that caretaking is a big part of our profession.  As you become more aware of how caretaking influences your clients lives and your life, you can begin to make different choices that support caregiving (healing).   You can live simply but you don’t have to live in poverty and wonder if you are going to get by.  You don’t have to make $100,000 a year but you can make what you need to make to pay the bills, live debt free, take nice vacations each year and save for retirement.   The process of unraveling caretaking from caregiving will be a contining challenge.   It shows up in how you care for yourself financially – Do you raise your rates each year?  Do you have a cancellation policy and enforce it?  Do you give away your time to clients by doing longer sessions or excessive volunteering?  (What other profession gives away their time for free?)    It shows up when you are challenged by becoming friends with clients, by undercharging, by not doing the things you need to do to promote your business.  It shows up when you take low paying jobs thinking that is all that there is.

This is really a very short post about a very broad and intensive topic.   I would recommend that you begin reading about this in some of my favorite books and free online articles I have posted on my website.

Recommended Reading List

The Code of the Caretaker

Noble Poverty - Mikelann Valterra’s Website

Jack Blackburn’s articles “Caretaking vs Caregiving”

In the Service of Life – Rachel Remen.  This is one of my favorite articles that also started my interest in this topic.

The thing is that once you get started in exploring these issues with either a regular therapist or in the process of supervision you will most likely see your massage business grow.  The steps in building a business gets easier as you clear up some of the unconscious programming and beliefs about money and success.  So you can make $100,000 or more even if you want.  Making that much money isn’t a crime.  The more you make, the more you can actually help by doing things like setting up non-profit groups that offer free and low cost massage.