Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1078860
FROM FACEBOOK It's not your session, it's the client's. Listen to their wants for the session. You are there to facilitate healing—sometimes that means deeper/fi rmer techniques and other times it means lighter pressure. They are coming to you and trusting you with their health and wellness; respect them and give the best session every time. CAROLYN WINBUSH After a puzzling day of feeling off my game, I asked a coworker if she ever had those days and what she did to remedy them. She smiled and said, "Well, we can't always be Buddha every day, can we?" It eased my inner perfectionist, gave me the permission to just let it be, and not feel like I had to fi x something broken. It also reminded me that I'm human! TORI SCULLION MCKEOWN Tell us your favorite way to hack your practice. What have you done to make your work life more effi cient, easier; what "cheat" have you found that helps? Publication Date: May/Jun 2019 Is it part of a practitioner's job to exhibit (outwardly for clientele and inwardly for self) a healthy lifestyle—physically, mentally, and spiritually? Why? Publication Date: Jul/Aug 2019 Email your responses to editor@abmp.com. Your submission can be as short as you'd like and up to 250 words. Upcoming Topics SPEAK YOUR MIND What piece of constructive criticism about your practice positively affected you the most? Don't be so serious in my approach with clients. Be professional, be passionate, but still be able to laugh and let some of my own personality shine through while working. KRISTEN LOVING JENSEN Breathe before the session starts and center myself in the present. Be with the client in body and spirit. AMBER STEVENS Was right out of school. Had a client end the session within 10 minutes. I later asked the clinic administration if the client commented as to why. She said the client said I had no "fl ow." The client was right! I was still "mechanical" in my strokes. It was at this point that I decided to learn fl ow, to just let my hands go. NICK PANOS I thought building my practice meant giving everyone extra time until I made a yoga instructor almost late for her class, and she expressed I was not respecting her time. It took a while for me to see that she was right, and so now I tell clients what time the 60-minute session ends. After I started, it became clear that clients, even though they are told they get 60 minutes of hands-on massage, forget to factor in paperwork, bathroom, intake, changing, and paying time. Now, because of that event, I communicate a lot more about all kinds of things not pertaining directly to the session. JESSICA TIERNEY Make sure to follow the muscle from attachment to attachment. It feels so good! RHONDA WILLIAMS Yo u r M & B i s w o r t h 2 C E s ! G o t o w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e t o l e a r n m o r e . 21 When I took a break from massage about fi ve years ago, several clients told me they'd rather not have massage at all if they couldn't have one from me. I quickly realized how dependent they'd become on me for their self-care. When I returned to my busy practice, every appointment became a teaching opportunity to help clients become more mindful and aware of daily habits and practices that were contributing to their discomforts and ailments. I am not the be-all, end-all, and it is a much more rewarding practice. MICHELLE STREBCHUK Know your worth. Not only fi nancially, but also emotionally. Don't overwork yourself. And carve out time for vacations. Clients will survive without you for a week! The mental break will refresh your body, mind, and spirit. MICHELLE MACCUBBIN FROM TWITTER I came to massage from a very scientifi c perspective, and one of my clients said, "You're a wizard." I explained what I was doing myofascially and she said, "I know you know, but be a wizard." It sparked a revolution of bringing intuition to my practice. @GRANTFREERLMT