Monthly Archives: May 2014

Just Blog It- Day 12 Favorite Social Media Platform

Posted by on in Business, Massage Therapy 3 comments

Photo Apr 17, 9 31 17 PM

Pinterest is where I can share more of my passions, aside from Massage Therapy to a wide variety of people.

The place I’ve been spending a lot of my social media time is Pinterest, primarily because it’s where I can share other ideas other than Massage Therapy. I like to be known for what I do, but I am so much more than what I do. Sharing my other interests and passions makes me a more rounded person, and able to meet so many other people aside from the great ones in my line of work. I enjoy using Pinterest enough that I did a class earlier this year on how you could use it.

This, however doesn’t diminish my love for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. They are absolutely great for connection and sharing ideas, but for being creative, most of the stuff that I share or create myself, it goes right to Pinterest.

Here is my Pinterest page, to the right. This is one of the slides that I used for the class that I taught a while ago. If you’d like to check out the page, here’s the link.

Just Blog it – Day 11 – Tooting my Own Horn

Posted by on in Massage Therapy 4 comments

Chair Massage - Atlanta Pampered Ladies Expo - Photo Credit Moore Memories

Chair Massage – Atlanta Pampered Ladies Expo – Photo Credit Moore Memories

The one thing I love about myself, in regards to massage therapy, is that I love to tell clients and potential clients about things that we hadn’t talked about prior to the massage.

It’s weird, and the looks I get are amazing. I’ll find a knot, or really tight muscles in the lower back, and I’ll ask if they lock their knees when they stand up during the day.

“How did you know?” they ask quizzically. We hadn’t talked about it previously, and you can already see that they’re wondering really, how did I know their back was bothering them.

“Your back is talking about you…behind your back!” I usually reply, which make them laugh. After the session is over, I explain to them as to how I figured it out, and how they can get back into the habit of loosening those muscles and making them more flexible.

Just last week, I was doing a Chair Massage session for Daycare employees, and asked a few of them if they had a headache. A similar quizzical comment came through the face cradle, asking how did I know. Again, I explained to them how I figured it out, and how to take care after the session was over.

The one time I freaked myself out doing this was when I was working at Logan Airport, right after 9/11. I was in my first year of doing massage, and did a foot massage for a client on a layover. He’d been on his feet after refereeing an NBA game the night before. After I prepped to start this massage session, I misted his foot with a lavender and peppermint spray, and began to start working on his foot, when he flinched. My thought process is ticklish people also flinch, but this was different. And when I say he flinched, he jerked his foot so quickly, he kicked the chair.

“You must be a middle child,” I blurted out. We hadn’t had a conversation about family, so this comment was really out of left field for both of us.

He looked at me as if I tapped into an earlier phone call with family, and overheard something I shouldn’t.

“How did you know???”

“As an older sibling, I know what a ‘Punchbuggy’ flinch looks like.”

That was the last time I asked about birth order. That was freaky, even for me.

Just Blog It – Best Advice I’d Ever Been Given

Posted by on in Business 4 comments

I was in my 10th year doing massage, and working for someone else before I decided to go and start my own business. After working for a few months, head down, just grinding, it seemed as if I wasn’t getting too far.

Isn’t it great how life just puts people on your path to let you know whether you’re on the right path? I met Tierra Destiny Reid at a gathering at an Atlanta Capital event, celebrating Women Business Owners. After I peeled myself off the ceiling and finished gushing, we talked for a while that day, and several years afterward. The thing she always told me was that “If you show up, I mean really show up, things will fall into place for you.” Go above and beyond, exceed customers’ expectations, and just do your best. And, for a while, business did well.

After dealing with an illness in our family, I changed my focus, so that I could be there. I literally stopped showing up. Now, that it has been a few months since the passing, I feel as if I’m back to square one.

The best way I know how to cope is watching comedies, or anything that would make me laugh. Bill Cosby was just recently awarded the Johnny Carson Award at the American Comedy Awards, and during his acceptance speech, he reminded me what I’m supposed to be doing to get back on the path. During his acceptance speech, he reminded everyone that you have to SHOW UP, not only for your audience, but for YOURSELF.

I just sat there, and cried. It was a very good and happy cry. The very thing I was already told, was being told to me by someone else. Sometimes, you just need to be reminded. So now, I’m going to get back to what I’m supposed to be doing, and show up, not only for my awesome and patient clients, but for myself.

Just Blog It – Industry Pet Peeve

Posted by on in Massage Therapy 2 comments

2014-01-19 09.07.04As a Massage Therapist, many people believe a few stereotypes about us. We’re flaky, rarely ever on time, either fix every problem they have on the first session, or just bruise clients all over. All therapists are called “Masseuses”, and give Happy Endings are a few others stereotypes that are bandied about.

I cannot speak on behalf of all therapists, so I do my best to break every opinion that I can about massage therapists just by doing my job. Before I was a massage therapist, I was rarely ever on time, but being in a networking group called BNI changed that at the very first meeting. The beauty of that was that it didn’t just change only for meetings, but every attendance that required me being there. My family didn’t even recognize me, wanting to be everywhere on time, not just going to meetings.

To avoid driving Therapists crazy trying to distinguish a Masseuse (Female) from a Masseur (Male), just call them a Massage Therapist. They’ll correct you if they want to be called a Masseuse or Masseur. I usually correct you by saying, “I call myself a ‘Positive Attitude Adjuster'”.

From my standpoint, clients will never get a “Happy Ending” from me, and if they are looking for that, they have come to the wrong person. I enjoy helping people too much to be doing such foolishness. The last time I was subtly asked, I was so in a therapeutic mindset, I had no idea what was being asked of me. I closed the session, saying thank you for coming to me for your massage.

“That’s it?” he quizzically asked me.

“Yep, that’s it!” I replied, enthusiastically.

He asked me the same question twice more, and I left the room, wondering why he kept asking. Then, the light bulb exploded over my head, and I stood in the hall, and just laughed to myself, sent him to the cashier to pay for his services, and quit at the end of the day.

You can never control what other people think about what you do, you just have to do the best YOU can with what you DO.

 

Just Blog It – My Favorite Quotes

Posted by on in Mind/Body 0 comment

Inspirational quotes help a lot to keep one’s spirits up, especially when it comes at the right time.

What works for me are the ones that have a little humor, because laughter is my favorite coping mechanism. Here are a few of my favorites-

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(Ed. Note- As I was writing this last night, a fight broke out on the train, so these 2 quotes were SO apropos! The fight just meandered from one end of the car, to the other, spanning several stations. It seemed as most folks in the cab weren’t immune to Stupiditis.)