What are MY hands telling me? Help!

[Dodger]

OK...so I feel really silly asking but here goes!I ahve been out of school for a little but now and I am an IC at a Salon.  Everything is going as good as can be expected.  Just starting out things are slow and picking up but as we all know it is going to take awhile!Anyway, I love what I am doing but sometimes I feel like I am doing the same thing to EVERY client!The same routine, the same steps pver and over again.  Right now I am so confused with myself I don't even know what to do!  I am letting my hands tell me what they feel, and I am listening but I feel like theyy are telling me the same thing with every client?Do I not know what I am doing here?  Or I am just ignoring things?  I am really lost.  I feel like in school they focused SOOOOO much on the strokes and the technique all the other questions were just left for you as the Therapist to figure out on your own!Now I know that the clients body speaks for itself and I am trying to feel for things I just don't seem to be feeling anything! Am I just lacking confidence in what I am doing?I have had all satisfied clients and everyone is re-booking?I guess I am just LOST!Thanks--Stacey

 

[Season Rain]

Stacey, I think your hands are telling you that you are normal.  You are experiencing the same thing we all did at some point in our careers.  Just all depends on how long the internship was and how much practice we got in.So, just relax, keep working, get regular massage, enjoy life.  

 

[PiggyDog]

I agree.  It is a very normal feeling.  I find that I often get clients with the same issues at the same time and that begins to feel repetitive.I also found that in a salon/spa setting I was doing more of a basic massage instead of an injury specific massage like to mainly do now.  So it could be the setting.Usually when I am feeling this way I try to learn something different.  A different way to accomplish some of the same outcomes or a different modality that I can add in.  Something that is fresh and new for both me and the clients.  

 

[Mama of Zee]

I agree with Masthera.It's likely that being located in a spa or salon has your clients thinking you do mainly relaxation type work. Though honestly when I was at the massage I also had a good refferal relationship with a chiropractor in town.  The salon was just a couple blocks away from his office and people were able to go directly from the salon to his office in just a few minutes, they had less pain and spasm, leading to easier adjustments for the client.(If you are interested in pursuing that... Info4people has a great brochure on Massage & Chiropractic... I just attached a business card to the back and delivered them to his office every once in awhile.)Like Masthera said, it often seems like clients are suffering from the same things at the same time.Sometimes I'd have a "Special Interest"... like a friend or family member with rotator cuff issues... or knee problems, FMS, TMJ or one who had experienced whiplash. Through learning what felt good to people with each of these conditions, and what seemed to help... I was able to use that information to help other clients with the same problem.Maybe what you really need is more feedback. There are perhaps subtle ways you ARE helping these clients that you don't know about. Massage doesn't just work on the body... but the mind and spirit as well. Don't discount the work you are doing in your own mind just because you feel it's the same old thing all the time.Focus not just on your hands but also your heart.Try to "listen" to Your Intuition, if your client complained of low back troubles.. and you are lead to their feet... go there too.Massage is an Art... "practice" having fun in the "medium" that you enjoy.

 

[satty jr]

What are MY hands telling me? Help!

if they are rebooking that is great...you know your stuff...now it is time to learn more...I trade massages with other therapists to see if maybe I can feel something new...with a few of my regulars I will let them rub my neck or shoulders...I can feel touch other than my own...if I like it I try it on others...that way I do not bore myself...

 

[Dayana]

Don't worry.  It all comes with time and experience.  I've been practicing massage since 1986 and even took classes almost 30 years ago.  What has helped me the most in the last 5 years was taking CranioSacral and Lymphatic Drainage classes through Upledger Institute. I took these at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. These helped me slow down, center myself and use lots less pressure. I found out wonderful things with my hands and my senses.  I remember being very nervous when I started working and being on autopilot when I got stressed and busy. I'd recommend relaxing and giving a bit less with your massage.  Breathing and staying grounded sounds trite but really works.  Some of my best sessions have been ones that felt really easy and didn't tire me out. Good luck. Don't forget it takes time and some work-that's why it's called a "practice."Rubmyster

 

[Cherisse]

Stacey,I know exactly what you are saying.  I work out of a salon as well and most of my clients come to relax and they all seem to have either neck/shoulders or low back tension.  I don't question myself though.  I know that staying in tune with my client is key to knowing what they need.  My instructor had us use our imaginations when we were massaging.  Having us "make up stories" about the muscles...asking what does this muscle feel like, what color is it, what is it's texture...stuff like that, and there is no wrong answer, especially if you just let yourself listen to whatever comes to mind first.When I massaged her the vision I got was that her upper back felt very woody and her erector spinae was like the trunk of the tree...the tree felt very hard and nonmoving to me.  My goal was to loosen up the branches in her upper back and "till the soil" in the low back to get the roots some nourishment.  The moves I used were the same as with any other client, but my intention is what made all the difference.I struggled with using my imagination this way, but have found that it's very helpful and I love "making up stories" about the muscles now.

 

[mothers of invention]

I also think what you are experiencing is normal.  Is it possible you are getting bored by the "sameness of it all" as well?  I would add to the suggestions that maybe starting the client in a different position (supine rather than prone) or starting elsewhere on their bodies (start on their feet rather than the back or start with their hands) may also help you a bit.

 

[Hope]

Good idea Intuitouch. Another thing I've found helps me is trying a new product every once in awhile... or changing the music.Some music seems to "trigger" the intuitive side of me better than others I think too. *shrug*I do enjoy using new and different products on the clients hands or feet, and of course Aromatherapy is also a big interest of mine. So sometimes I will spritz a little essential oils into the air before the client arrives and walk under it breathing deeply. That helped sometimes to keep the massages from running together as one long boring day in my mind... I'm often surprised to see how a Tiny Little Change like music, scent or starting in a different position or on a different part of the body can break up the "boredom" for me.Of course CE is also a possibility... or just learning a new stroke  from another MT which can be added in can mix things up a bit too. Stacey... have you thought about bringing a pillow in and doing some work with them in a side-lying position?Sometimes little changes can have big results.  ;DPlease let us know if any of these ideas help!

 

[MichealTracy]

Interesting thread......I belong to a business networking group and each week, we have 60 seconds to give a brief commercial for ourselves, and I love to use a quick story about an anonymous client I worked on the preceding week.  I have found in fact that some weeks, I see (and feel) many of the same problems--- one week it's all about levator scapula, the next it's all about piriformis.  I also wonder if a client I help tells other people about it and they come for similar help?  Like last week when 4 people came in unable to turn their heads and left with much more full range of motion ....... hmmmm......I sometimes wonder if the Universe is sending me the review lesson of the week ---  I spend some time when I notice a trend brushing up on all the possible techniques to work with the region that is catching my attention..... the stretches, the positions, etc.  that work for those muscles.  As I practice NMT, I also read up on the possible perpetuating factors that can keep a particular region tight or painful ----- and clients are often blown away when I ask "do you hold the phone to your ear with this shoulder?" or "do you drive long distances without taking short breaks?"  etc.No matter what the reason for the theme of the week or month, it is so useful to me.  I do SOAP notes on each session --- sometimes very brief scribbles that are difficult later to translate, but in a perfect world, they let me really see what's going on in my practice.Thanks for this thread.Linda B. in NC