Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/812910
CLASSROOM TO CLIENT education Learning the skills of excellent self-care is a key component in nearly every massage training program across the country. As veterans in the field know, without a focus on self-care, career longevity is compromised on all levels. In many cases, self-care training is focused primarily on activities such as personal fitness, eating well, eating consistently to maintain energy, staying hydrated, and receiving regular massage. What is perhaps less often discussed is the significant role of creating and maintaining boundaries within your practice. Here are just a few to incorporate into your practice. 1. JUST SAY NO TO A HEAVY WORKLOAD It can be tempting, especially directly out of school or after taking time off from your practice, to take on as many clients as can be fit into a day. After all, you want to earn a great income as quickly as possible. Or, if you are an employee, it might feel difficult to say no to your supervisor, who wants to accommodate the needs of the business and of the clients who support it. It's a new job and you want to be a go- getter. These experiences can affect you physically, mentally, and emotionally. When you haven't been practicing massage on 3–5 clients a day, five days a week, immediately doing so will cause injury. It's like working out. If your workout consists of only walking and doing gentle yoga three times per week, it wouldn't be wise to suddenly go to the gym and lift weights at high repetitions for multiple hours five days in a row. It's highly likely you will become injured. Be kind to yourself, put a plan in place to progressively increase your workload (and your fitness regimen), and trust that with Strategies for Career Longevity By Cindy Williams 36 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a y / j u n e 2 0 1 7