Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/434495
Balance Self-Care and Client Care Don't tune it out just because you've heard it a million times: self-care is critical to your professional success. "Self-care is a big component of [doing good work]," says Colorado- based massage therapist and educator Clint Chandler. Chandler, who owns and operates Corrective and Restorative Massage Therapy Services in Boulder, has been practicing and teaching massage since 1990. He knows the importance of self-care from personal experience. Quite simply, if you can't take care of yourself, how can you possibly care for others? "Getting bodywork is a big thing for me," Chandler says. But it wasn't always that way. "I didn't do that in my early years. I didn't have the time or the money in the beginning." Today, though, Chandler trades services with three bodyworkers, all former students he's mentored over the years. "We help each other out. It's a big component of my longevity." Client care also begs for attention, and finding a balance between the two is a true art form and a real predictor of success as a practitioner. "It all starts with the very first client who walks through your door," says Chandler, who won the 2002 Jerome Perlinski National Teacher of the Year award during his tenure at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy. "With our short attention spans, being fully present with that client for the whole hour is no easy task," he says. "It's a hard thing to teach, but I think it's inherent in each person. You can tap into it. The caution is that you don't have too much giving and not enough getting back. Self-care comes from figuring out what you need to balance that out." As a longtime educator and a member of the profession's Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP) work group, Chandler says he worries that some new therapists don't set their self- care boundaries or realize their limitations soon enough. "Sometimes these young people get into jobs where they are worked eight hours a day. Nobody can hold up under that. It's not a profession where you can do 40-hour weeks. Those are the people who don't last after two years. They're done. Their arms, their fingers, their backs—they're done." His advice? Figure out the schedule your body can endure and live by it—it will benefit you and your clients in the long run. Moral of the story: Walk your talk. Book your massage today and your vacation tomorrow. Encourage your clients to do the same. Don't try to be a superhero. Find the sweet spot between your needs and your clients' needs and honor that place of balance. 58 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5 Massage therapist and educator Clint Chandler (www.bionexusllc.com) says new therapists need to establish self-care boundaries early in their careers. Clint's Top Tips 1. "Change your posture throughout the day. Use a seated position. I sit on the ball a lot more." 2. "Take continuing education. It gets you thinking differently; it gets you motivated and excited about new ideas. Trying to keep your mind engaged is really important to staying interested and staying on the cutting edge of what's going on." 3. "Know how many massages you can effectively do in a day. I schedule people on the hour because I do better when I have momentum going. Some people need breaks. Figure your own schedule that's conducive to your clients' success. How do you keep the focus up, the presence up, to have an effective outcome? In private practice, you can control that. With an employer, negotiate your terms upfront, knowing yourself and your limitations."